Seeking to persuade Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, to support President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package, about a dozen members of MoveOn.org endured the bitter chills of winter outside the federal courthouse to deliver a petition to the senior senator’s Louisville office today.

“We had over 1,500 signatures in support of Obama’s economic recovery plan,” says Jim Webb, an organizer for MoveOn here in Louisville. “We hope that the plan will address the need for green jobs, the housing foreclosures and the health care crisis as opposed to bailouts for Wall Street and tax breaks for the rich.”

Webb says even though the delivery of the petition to McConnell’s secretary lacked drama, it sends a message to the Senate minority leader who has questioned the Obama package. Webb told LEO Weekly that the group will request a face-to-face meeting with McConnell during the congressional recess.

“I’m sure [Sen. McConnell] will try to be an obstructionist but I think the character of his constituency will be changing as people face more hard times,” Webb says. “I can see it, reading the comments in the petition. People are hurting.”

McConnell beings his 25th year in the U.S. Senate, which makes him the longest serving Senator in Kentucky history. He defeated Democratic challenger Bruce Lundsford in November. LEO Weekly called Sen. McConnell’s office in Washington, but his spokesperson was unavailable for comment.