How A Dirty Fucking Hippie Liberal Beat the Entrenched Repug Incumbent in a Deep-Red District

If it could happen in Virgil Goode's better-dead-than-dem district in Virginia, it could happen in Kentucky's First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Districts.

The 5th District spreads from Charlottesville (the Tribeca of the South) down to the border of North Carolina. It's been Virgil Goode country since 1997—Goode being the congressman whose re-election campaign was predicated on insulting immigrants, Muslims, the mentally ill, homosexuals, teenagers, Northerners, and, eventually, pretty much everyone, in as many different ways as possible. In August, polls showed Perriello running 30 points behind Goode, who, right up until the night before the election, refused to learn how to pronounce his opponent's name.

SNIP

With three minutes to go before the announcement of his new gig, it sounds like job security isn't much of a concern to him. Hanging on to a congressional seat is not his first priority. Not at the expense of doing the right thing. Perriello muses that this new generation of leaders seems to feel that if they don't get re-elected, it would be OK. "I love what I did in Afghanistan and Darfur. If I have to go back to that, it wouldn't be the worst thing." That's why he so admires Virginia Sen. Jim Webb. "I think he's a great politician because he's a bad politician in the conventional sense. He says what he believes without any care for polls or messaging. It's about right and wrong."

Heads up, Kentucky Democrats. It's 446 days until the filing deadline for the next elections. In 2010 we'll be electing the entire state House of Representatives, half the state Senate, all six Congressional seats and Jim Bunning's Senate seat.

Start looking and listening carefully now for Real Democrats who speak out proudly about their Democratic values. Proud Real Democrats who view elected office as a public service, a temporary sacrifice, a significant but small part of a much larger life, rather than the end-all, be-all of existence.

Pay attention to those who work quietly and without credit to help others - those soup kitchen volunteers, those community organizers, those Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

The ones who speak softly but with passion, who find solutions despite obstacles, who quote Thomas Paine without effort.

And once you've talked them into running for office, for pity's sake keep them far away from the KDP.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....

There's more: "How A Dirty Fucking Hippie Liberal Beat the Entrenched Repug Incumbent in a Deep-Red District" >>

Proof of No god in North Carolina Election

If Liddy Dole loses re-election to the Senate, it proves there is no god.

Wait! Calm down - let me explain.

Liddy Dole has been running ads attacking her Democratic challenger as "godless" because she attended a function at which a handful of people were - hide your children! - atheists.

Without going into an encyclopedia's worth of detail on why this is the stupidest, most cynical, most ludicrous charge in the history of politics, let me just boil it down to this:

If there is a god, especially the kind of jealous, petty, insecure little god who punishes people for being in the same room as other people who don't believe in him, then obviously this god approves of Liddy Dole's attack ads and will reward her with re-election.

If, however, there is no god to lift Liddy Dole out of the fathoms-deep hole she's dug for herself with this ridiculous attack on a challenger who happens to be a deacon of her Christian church, then obviously Dole will lose.

Ergo: if Liddy Dole loses re-election to the Senate, there is no god.

Looking forward to getting this cleared up, once and for all.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....

There's more: "Proof of No god in North Carolina Election" >>

Will Mitchie's escape from military service be the nail in his political coffin?

Former Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo, whose investigation helped defeat former Governor Ernie Fletcher, has re-opened the issue of Mitch McConnell's military service.

A prominent Democrat questioned Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s military service — specifically his discharge from the Army Reserves — as McConnell launched his latest commercial Tuesday criticizing veterans’ health clinics with ties to his Democratic opponent.

Democratic state Rep. Greg Stumbo, the former Kentucky attorney general, called on McConnell to release his military discharge records.

“Elections should be about informed choices. He’s obviously not proud of his record, Sen. McConnell isn’t, or he would have shown it by now,” Stumbo said. “Something isn’t correct about it that might cause a lot of people, including veterans, to take a second look at him.”

McConnell enlisted in the Army Reserves in July 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War but received a medical discharge after less than six months for an eye condition called optic neuritis, according to limited information that has been made public.

(More after the jump)

Questions about McConnell’s military service have popped up toward the end of each of McConnell’s last three elections. After his 2002 opponent, Lois Combs Weinberg, claimed McConnell may have received “preferential treatment,” the Herald-Leader reported that McConnell’s eye problems led to a hospitalization before McConnell enlisted in the Army Reserves and that the condition has flared up occasionally since then.

“If Lunsford wants to question the senator’s honorable discharge, the Army’s decision and the Herald-Leader’s 2002 reporting on this subject, he should do it himself and not hide behind surrogates,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for McConnell in Washington.

Lunsford declined to touch the subject. “This campaign has been one about change — about the bigger issues,” he said.

But Stumbo — Lunsford’s running mate in the 2007 governor’s race — said Lunsford, should use it as a campaign issue. Lunsford served five years in the U.S. Army Reserves in the 1970s. McConnell has brought the scrutiny upon himself, Stumbo said.

“I’ll tell you how sorry he is, he’s sending young men and women to die in Iraq and Afghanistan and he will not share with the people of Kentucky how he got out of military service — how in the height of the Vietnam War he was able to dodge military service,” Stumbo said Tuesday before an event for Lunsford in Paris.

Stumbo said he doubted that McConnell was discharged for medical reasons.

“I think he either had a personal issue that they threw him out of the armed services and military or he had a powerful member of his party or somebody get him out,” he said. “I don’t know why you get released from the Army at the height of a war unless you know somebody or unless you did something real bad.”

The only record of McConnell’s military discharge that has been publicly released was an Aug. 10, 1967, letter from then-U.S. Sen. John Cooper, a Somerset Republican for whom McConnell interned in 1964. Cooper’s letter to the commanding general at Fort Knox said McConnell was being medically discharged for optic neuritis, according to the Sept. 11, 2002, Herald-Leader.

McConnell’s former chief of staff Hunter Bates told the Herald-Leader six years ago that Cooper wrote that letter to “expedite a discharge” at the request of McConnell’s father after the Army informed McConnell his condition was grounds for leaving the military.

Read the whole thing.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic.

There's more: "Will Mitchie's escape from military service be the nail in his political coffin?" >>

Real Republican Trouncing Dino in KY Open Seat Race

One of these decades, the Kentucky Democratic Party is going to learn that
running DINOs against real republicans never, ever works.

But none of us will ever live to see it.

Republican Guthrie Positioned to Hold Open House Seat in KY2 for GOP: In an election for US House of Representatives in Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District today, 10/17/08, to fill the open seat of retiring incumbent Republican Ron Lewis, Republican Brett Guthrie defeats Democrat David Boswell 51% to 42%, according to this exclusive WHAS-TV new poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released three weeks ago, Guthrie is up 2 points; Boswell is down 1. This 3-point net gain for Guthrie comes at a time when many Republicans across the country were losing ground and Democrats were benefiting from Obama coattails. No such evidence in KY2.

Three times as many Democrats cross-over to vote for the Republican as Republicans who cross-over to vote for the Democrat. Guthrie leads by 10 points among men, by 7 among women. Among voters age 18 to 49, Guthrie leads by 13; among voters 50+, Guthrie leads by 4.

Boswell's a racist, misogynistic punk, but the real blame here for losing an open seat in a landslide Democratic year belongs to the Kentucky Democratic Party and the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for choosing to support a non-Democrat like Boswell over Real Democrats like Heather Ryan, KY-1 and Michael Kelley, KY-4.

Support the candidates who share your values. And do not send a thin dime or volunteer a short minute for anti-Democratic frauds like the KDP and the DCCC.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....

There's more: "Real Republican Trouncing Dino in KY Open Seat Race" >>

Repugs Think If They Ignore Their Opponents, the Voters Will Too

I swear the rapidly approaching Obama tsunami is causing serious mental illness among republican candidates even in supposedly "red" states like Kentucky.

How else to explain the toddler-level behavior of Mitch McConnell, Ed Whitfield and Geoff Davis in refusing to play nice with Kentucky Educational Television and debate their Democratic challengers?

Especially since their temper tantrums handed the challengers the stage all to themselves - an hour of free television time to field questions from local journalists.

The first to make the most of the opportunity was Dr. Michael Kelley, seeking to take the Fourth District Congressional seat from Geoff Davis.

Watch the video of the debate (in three parts) here.

Kelley's an obvious political neophyte, unpolished but determined to make his points and not afraid to call the republicans out for the lying nation-destroyers they are.

(Note to Kelley's campaign staff: stop trying to teach Kelley to talk like a politician; sit back and bask in the warmth of genuine, passionate integrity.)

You can get more of Kelley's outspokenness in the answers he gave to the Courier-Journal for its Voter Guide. (Do I need to add that Davis never responded to the Courier's questions?)

Some choice excerpts after the jump:

Republican mismanagement has severely damaged our economy. I will support Barack Obama's efforts to repair the damage caused by the Republicans and get America's economy back on track.

SNIP

We need to get our army out of Iraq starting now. By ending our occupation of Iraq we will start to rebuild our tarnished image in the region. We then need to launch a full-blown national effort toward breaking our addiction to oil - an Apollo Project for energy independence. Once we no longer are addicted to Middle East oil we will no longer need to prop up repressive oil-rich dictatorships. Much of the hatred of America stems from our support of these repressive governments.

Let's remember, Saddam Hussein was once protected by the U.S.A. - and he had been a brutal dictator the entire time we were protecting him. Once we no longer need middle eastern oil, we will no longer be held hostage by this region of the world.
Iraq will fall apart whether we leave now or a decade from now (or 100 years from now as McCain suggested.) The Shia, Kurds, and Sunni hate each other and always have. We cannot force peace upon them - they have to want peace enough to earn it for themselves

SNIP

I oppose mountaintop removal (coal mining), which is a practice that damages our waterways while despoiling our mountains. I am running because I want my children to inherit a community that is in a condition at least as good as when we inherited it. I don't see how mountaintop removal achieves that goal.
Furthermore, any talk of "clean coal" is currently wishful thinking. ... I believe it is time for our country to focus on moving beyond fossil fuels altogether. Global warming is real. We also suffer under frequent smog alerts. Let's move to clean solar, wind, and biomass.

SNIP

(On gas prices:) There is no short term solution aside from consumer-driven conservation. For the 30 years since our last oil crisis, our leaders have spent their time doing exactly nothing to push America toward a sustainable energy policy. Thanks to this failure of leadership we find ourselves with crushing energy prices. It's time to do what we should have been doing all along - and what Carter tried to get us to do - use less fossil fuels.

SNIP

(On universal health insurance:) I am a practicing family doctor and I know healthcare can be affordable for all Americans. Other developed countries spend half what we do on healthcare with quality at least as good as ours.

(SNIP)

(On the financial bailout:) If I was going to ask the taxpayers to hand over 700 Billion (on top of our approximately 10 Trillion debt,) then I would prefer that we invested in infrastructure (such as fixing our crumbling bridges, sewers, power transmission and rail networks, etc.,) conservation, renewable energy, research, and possibly education. Those kind of investments increase the wealth-building capacity of our nation, help us live more safely and sustainably, and result in the creation of jobs.
Bailing out irresponsible lenders and borrowers is not my idea of an investment, especially when the bailout contained no regulations to prevent this from happening again.
President Bush's attempts to force the bailout through with fear-mongering and panic flew in the face of the traditions of responsible governance. This rush-job smells a lot like the rush-job that landed us in the mess in Iraq.

Read the whole thing, and be sure to watch watch the video of the debate.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Repugs Think If They Ignore Their Opponents, the Voters Will Too" >>

Michael Kelley: Kentucky's Best-Kept Progressive Secret

Wishing you lived in Western Kentucky so you could vote for Real Democrat Heather Ryan? If you live in Kentucky's Fourth District, which runs through Northern Kentucky east from Louisville to Ashland, you're in luck!

You've got a Democratic Congressional Candidate you can be proud of.

On September 18, I sent an emailed question to the four people in Kentucky who are running as challengers on the Democratic ticket for a seat in Congress: Bruce Lunsford (Senate), Michael Kelley (KY-4), David Boswell (KY-2), and Heather Ryan (KY-1).

I asked each of them the same question:

I would be very interested in your response to the following excerpt from Senate testimony this week, particularly in how you, as a new Member of Congress, would work to restore Congress' Article One power and responsibility.

(At that link, long-time former GOP Congressman Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma testified before a Senate hearing on the rule of law and excoriated Congress for abdicating its Constitutional responsibilities of oversight and balance of power.)

Only Dr. Michael Kelley, Democratic nominee for the Fourth Congressional District seat of incumbent Geoff Davis, bothered to send an answer. In thanks and due respect, I am posting his response in full:

(More after the jump.)

We have seen a failure of duty in all the branches of our government. We have seen the executive branch veer off wildly into uncharted territory. Territory in which the Constitution, human rights, civil rights, and the Geneva Convention are no longer respected.

The Judicial branch went off the rails right from the start when they selected the president in 2000 in a decision that was both bold and indefensible.

The "fourth branch" of government, the press, has similarly let us down by backing such nonsense as "Saddam masterminded 9-11" and "warrantless wire tapping is somehow needed to fight terror."

When seen in this light, it seems that Congress' failure to up hold their constitutional duty to serve as a check and balance to an administration run amok is only moderately contemptible.

The fear of being accused of "being soft on defense," being a "defeatocrat," "unpatriotic," failing to "support our troops," to name a few, turned congress into a grouping of boot-lickers. As long as the majority of congresspersons care more about their own job security than the nation's long term well-being, this will not be the last failure they will produce.

I am a family doctor who is running in hopes of straightening out some of these messes. I'm not taking PAC money, lobbyist money, or bundler money. I'm not taking one red cent of special interest money. This makes my odds longer, but if elected I'll get in with no strings attached. If elected I will not forget Congress' "power of the Purse," and I'll not ever place my own self interest before the nation's best interest.

That's how a real Democrat talks, y'all. Tomorrow, more on the outspoken Dr. Kelley.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Michael Kelley: Kentucky's Best-Kept Progressive Secret" >>

Republican Party of Florida Launches Mock Websites

There are some very close Congressional races in Florida for seats that are normally held by Republicans. One is the Feeney v Kosmas race that I've covered quite a bit. Real Clear Politics has that race +1 for Feeney so, in the real world, Kosmas is probably leading.

Another is the rematch between Christine Jennings and Vern Buchanan. This race, FL13, was quite the talk of the 2006 election cycle when it was discovered that there were 18,000 electronic ballot undervotes in the district. The election went to Buchanan by 369 votes. RCP had Buchanan up by 18 at the end of August, but he's been hurt by allegations of contribution pressure from former employees. That race has probably tightened.

To that extent, the Republican Party of Florida has launced two websites - one for Jennings and another for Kosmas - that play off MTV's The Real World. They are getting quite a bit of attention in political blogs in most of the major Florida newspapers political blogs.

I don't think this kind of thing is going to be very effective in changing the dynamics of either race. It's very clear from the actions of the RPOF that they think they're in real danger of losing both of these races - even without an Obama win.If Obama's coattails are big enough, we could actually pick up 4-6 Republican House seats in November but I'm betting we pick up these two no matter what.

There's more: "Republican Party of Florida Launches Mock Websites" >>

Boswell Ad: Vote for Me, I'm a Republican!

Boy, there's nothing that revs up the Democratic base and gets 'em off their duffs and out to the polls to vote like a Democratic nominee who runs television ads bragging about being a republican.

"I'm pro-life, pro-gun and against higher taxes," says a denim-clad Boswell ....

Not one image, not one word in the ad even hints that Boswell is running as the Democratic nominee.

Which figures, since Boswell is not a Democrat. Something the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has yet to figure out.

(More after the jump.)

Last week, Boswell sent out a press release bragging about making the DCCC's priority list of races in its Red to Blue Program. The day before that press release, I'd sent him an email asking for details about his elevation to that list and his participation in it.

I see that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has promoted your campaign from an emerging race to a highlighted Red to Blue Race. Congratulations!

Could you please provide more details about what this means for your campaign? The DCCC's Red to Blue web page states: "The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, and strategic support. These candidates earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress."

What specific "financial, communications and strategic support" have you received from the DCCC since the announcement September 12?

What specific "demanding fundraising goals" did you surpass to earn a place in the Red to Blue program?

How did you specifically "demonstrate to voters that you stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress?" What specific change do you propose? What new priorities will you represent?

How much money have you raised through the ActBlue DCCC Red to Blue page for donations to your campaign?

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you very much.

Although I received an email from Boswell's campaign the same day - September 15 - acknowledging receipt of my message, I have not received a reply to my questions.

Can't blame him. If I were a misogynistic, racist coward and waste of oxygen hoping to sneak into Congress on the coattails of a party I despise and betray, I wouldn't answer those questions either.

According to the Swing State Project, the DCCC is dropping a cool $1.75 mil on ads for its Red to Blue candidates, but not a dime for Boswell. Maybe it's not as dumb as it seems.

And the Courier-Journal noted that once again, a "debate" between Boswell and the republican nominee failed to reveal any actual policy or philosophical differences between the two.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Boswell Ad: Vote for Me, I'm a Republican!" >>

Dreams of Obama in Kentucky

One Democratic Congressional challenger in Kentucky is a proud, full-throated supporter of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, despite running against an intrenched incumbent in a deeply conservative district.

Another "Democratic" Congressional challenger in Kentucky is a misogynistic, mouth-breathing racist who refuses to even recognize the name of his own party's nominee for president and reacts to an offer of support from the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives with an
insulting refusal to vote for her as Speaker, despite running for an open seat against a lesser-known opponent.

Guess which one the Kentucky Democratic Party is supporting.

To his credit, Governor Steve Beshear has sincerely requested Barack Obama campaign in Kentucky, despite antediluvian protest grunts from lizard-brains afraid to campaign as Real Democrats.

(More after the jump.)

Come to Kentucky, Barack. Come to the First District across the Mississippi River from Missouri, where Heather Ryan will roll out the red carpet and take you to all the best barbeque joints.

Then slide on over to the Second District, where you will gladden the hearts of liberals by making David Boswell hide in a closet to avoid shaking your hand. Campaigning in the First could generate wins there for both you and Heather, but campaigning in the Second would win the District for you while losing it for Boswell.

And that would be the real accomplishment, proving once and for all that the canard about Kentucky's "conservative voters" rejecting real Democrats is a lie.

It's as true today as it was when Harry Truman first said it 60 years ago: "If you give people a choice between a real republican and a fake one, they'll vote for the real one every time."

But even conservative Democrats will vote for a candidate who stands up proud for real Democratic values every time.

Too bad voters in Kentucky-2 don't have that choice this year.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic.

There's more: "Dreams of Obama in Kentucky" >>

David Boswell: Setting New Standards in Political Stupidity

Let's play a little game of Political IQ.

You're a state senator and conservative Democrat running as the Democratic nominee for a republican-held open Congressional seat.

You've got better name recognition and overall support than your republican challenger, but you're way behind in fundraising.

The Democratic Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives announces during a fundraiser for a different Kentucky candidate that your race could be a target for national Democrats, meaning that if you behave, you could get just the big bucks you need to win.

(More after the jump.)

Do you:

A) Thank the Speaker profusely, praise her to the skies, say you're looking forward to serving under her fine leadership.

or

B) Insult the Speaker by saying publicly that if you won your race you wouldn't vote for her as Speaker, thus guaranteeing that not only will you never get a dime of national Democratic money, but that your few remaining potential Democratic donors in Kentucky will run as far away from you as they can get.

Because you are not too stupid to live, of course you choose A. Regardless of how you personally feel about the Speaker, you need her support and the money she can generate for you. You know that you need national money way more than you need to prove to your conservative voters that you're man enough to slap a liberal woman around.

Guess which one Boswell chose.

Boswell, meanwhile, said Monday night he has tentatively scheduled a fund-raiser in Washington, D.C., for Sept. 18 that will be headlined by Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and former U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford, for whom Boswell once worked as a constituent services liaison while Ford was Kentucky's governor.

That is the first sign of help national Democrats have given to Boswell. However, Boswell told reporters that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Kentuckians at a fund-raiser this summer for U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth that the 2nd congressional race was a target for them. Boswell, who started the summer with $45,000 in his campaign account, acknowledged that he needed to pick up the fund-raising pace before the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would make a significant investment in the race.

Despite receiving positive vibes from Pelosi, Boswell hesitated in committing his support to voting for her as speaker again if he's elected to Congress.

"I would support Nancy Pelosi on certain issues that are germane and relevant to the people of my district," he said. "I don't know what kind of opposition Nancy Pelosi might have. I think it would be presumptuous for me to walk in there and say 'Yeah, I'm going to give blanket support for Nancy Pelosi,' not knowing who might be running against her."

"Moron" does not even begin to describe.

In other news about Boswell and the other repug running in the Second District, during a candidate forum in Elizabethtown with the subject of agricultural issues, Boswell and his opponent found "nothing to disagree about."

How sweet. I'm sure the many small farmers of the rural Second District struggling to survive the eighth year of destructive repug anti-small-farm policies appreciate that.

Polwatchers has the video.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "David Boswell: Setting New Standards in Political Stupidity" >>

Don't Mess With the Redhead: Click for Heather Ryan to Get $5,000

Russ Feingold is having another contest to choose a Real Democrat running for Congress to get $5,000 from his Progressive Patriots Fund, and Kentucky's Own Heather Ryan, Mitch McConnell's Nemesis, is one of the finalists!

Heather Ryan is running a true shoe-string, grass-roots campaign, traveling non-stop in her huge district that stretches more than 250 miles from the Mississippi River to the Appalachians, and even more than she needs our help she has earned and deserves it.

Heather sets the room on fire everywhere she speaks, and stole the show at that political trial by fire we like to call the Fancy Farm picnic.

Vote for her today and every day, and if you've got a couple of spare bucks, send them her way.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Don't Mess With the Redhead: Click for Heather Ryan to Get $5,000" >>

Messaging While the Campaign Burns

OK, who put Democratic Common Sense Powder on Ben Chandler's oatmeal?

Buried at the bottom of a thumb-sucker column by Ryan Alessi claiming that Kentucky Democratic candidates can't win in a Democratic landslide year unless they find some kind of unspecified "message," we find this:

Chandler said the message for all Democrats running for Congress should be as simple as ”Time for a change“ — just like Lunsford has started to say, and just like the line Republican Ernie Fletcher used in 2003 to defeat Chandler in the governor's race.

”It's so basic,“ Chandler said. ”That's what the Democrats did in the 2006 election — they just talked about change and a new direction and they didn't really say much about anything else.“

What Ben Chandler forgot during that losing 2003 race for Governor, but has learned recently, is that Democratic candidates who stand up proudly for Democratic values (John Yarmuth) win elections, and those who follow republicans, chirping "me, too!" (Harold Ford) lose.

Unfortunately, we still have political writers like Alessi and the NYT's Matt Bai nattering on about how Democrats, in a year when people would rather chew off their own arms than vote for a republican, can't win unless they "develop a message and stick to it."

There's a good chance that all the Democratic Congressional challengers in Kentucky will lose this year, given that they are all down double-digits in the polls and out-financed by a factor of 10 - but if they do lose, it won't be because they don't have a "message."

The only message Democratic candidates - in Kentucky or anywhere - need this year is this one:

"I'm not the republican."

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Messaging While the Campaign Burns" >>

Why Heather Ryan Should Be Running Against Mitch McConnell

Fancy Farm quick hits:

Mitch McConnell provided by far the best performance art, but only because he pays for it. Even the most rabid Lunsford volunteers couldn't compete.

Mitch brought a posse of baby Nazis from his D.C. office. Some carried triple-decker campaign signs on 20-foot-high staffs. They almost impaled several elderly people wearing republican stickers, and reminded me of those giant standards displayed by Roman emperors.

Other Gestapo-in-training wore long fake black beards and Arab-looking robes and burnooses, wearing signboards that blamed Lunsford, Obama and the Democrats for high gas prices. I sure hope he paid those kids well, because those costumes must have been brutal in the heat. Note to burnoose-wearers: the signboard is not very effective if the words are covered by your trailing headpiece in back and your fake beard in front.


If Heather Ryan doesn't beat Ed Whitfield in November, she should run against Steve Beshear in 2011. Mitch's baby Nazis hung arond long enough to try to scream her down, too, and she let 'em have it. She told the story of how her 12-year-old daughter asking McConnell about Iraq scared little Mitchie so much he got Heather fired.

"So thank you for being such a thin-skinned coward, Mitch," Ryan called out. "Because if you weren't, I wouldn't be here!"

(More and more pictures after the jump.)
At the Graves County Democratic Party breakfast before Fancy Farm, Ryan's speech was by far the best, beating even Lunsford for red-meat-throwing and drawing a standing, stamping, whistling ovation second only to the one for Lunsford.


Bruce Lunsford, dammit, gave the second-best speech of the day (after Heather.) Despite having to talk over non-stop screaming from Mitch's baby Nazis and their sitters ("Six More Years!"), he gave far better than he got and sounded - much as I hate to admit it - far more Senatorial than Mitch ever has.


McConnell and Kentucky's other Senator, Jim Bunning, read their speeches, barely lifting their heads or changing their tone, while Ryan, Lunsford, Beshear and Mongiardo spoke heads up and eyes forward (no teleprompters at Fancy Farm.)

The republicans don't seem to know who they're running against. The cardboard fan passed out to republicans had a list of republican talking points on one side and a list of republican candidates on the other side. Kentucky dems aren't always well-organized, but we can spot one of our own candidates at a good 10 feet.

McConnell and Bunning both seemed confused about who their opponents are. Neither one of them mentioned Lunsford, Ryan, Beshear, Mongiardo, or any other Kentuckian.


Mitch is running against some guy named Obama who bears no resemblance to the presumptive Democratic nominee but apparently has been going around Kentucky personally raising gas prices.

Bunning is running against long-married grandmother Nancy Pelosi, whose heterosexal, monogamous, child-rearing values scare Jimmy to death.

Ed Whitfield, who never mentioned his actual opponent Heather Ryan, seems to think he's running against Bruce Lunsford. That may be because this supposed representative of Kentucky's First Congressional District doesn't actually live here; his actual residence is - and has been for several years - in Florida. That's 500 miles and at least three states away from Western Kentucky, Ed.

Ed also doesn't know - or doesn't care - that it's illegal to remove another candidate's signs. His supporters couldn't stand that the home-made-in-her-front-yard Heather Ryan signs outnumbered Whitfield's expensively printed signs along U.S. 80 approaching Fancy Farm, so they pulled them up. Cowards. Criminals. Losers.

The Ditch Mitch crowd had some cute signage on U.S. 80: a series of large boards listing Mitch's crimes and corporate cop-outs over the last 24 years. If only the anti-McConnell movement had a candidate worth fighting for.

Climate conditions were 92 degrees and 45 percent humidity - practically sweater-weather for experienced Fancy Farmers used to 100 degrees with matching humidity. The new covered pavilion is not an improvement: the bleachers block the view of the speakers from everyone in the grass outside the pavilion, and the increased body heat from people crammed inside cancels out the cooling effect of shade.

Herald's coverage here, and here, Courier's here. Page One watched KET's coverage and comments here. KET webcast the whole thing.

And Kilowat has great pix here, here, here, here and here.

And of course Jim Pence was there taking video all day long.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Why Heather Ryan Should Be Running Against Mitch McConnell" >>

A Kentucky Candidate Says No to Big Tobacco

Rep. Geoff Davis, R-KY4, isn't known for either intellect or political smarts. But by voting against federal regulation of tobacco when his Democratic challenger is a physician, he may have surpassed his own record of stupidity.

In response to Davis' vote, Dr. Michael Kelley wrote:

... So who would be opposed to a common sense idea such as FDA regulation of tobacco? Our current U.S. Representative, Geoff Davis. Once again Representative Davis has come out on the side of his big corporate campaign donors at the expense of the American public. He has voted against this bill which would protect Americans, and instead voted to protect Big Tobacco. In doing this he has voted for higher healthcare prices and for worse health for Kentuckians. (Kentucky has the highest adult smoking rate in the nation and 25% of Kentucky teens smoke.)

Davis claims that his ‘no’ vote was simply an effort to help the poor, overworked folks at the FDA, which “struggles to handle its current responsibilities.” How kind of him! But Davis and his ultra-conservative allies in Congress are partly to blame for the under-performance of important government agencies - since the conservative philosophy is to defund government until it is “small enough to drown in a bathtub.” Collapsing bridges, FEMA mismanagement, and an underperforming FDA are all linked to conservative distrust of, and under-investment in our government.

I am a practicing family doctor, and I see patients every day who are sick because of smoking. I cannot see how Representative Davis can stand to look at himself in the mirror after voting against common sense and the best interests of his constituents - unless he considers his true constituents to be his Big Money campaign donors. Geoff Davis’ voting record - one that proves he serves Big Money backers over the best interests of Americans - is why I chose to run against him. I can promise you this: if you elect me as your Representative, I will serve you – and never Big Money.

Read the whole thing.

If you don't live in a state where they grow tobacco, trust me when I say that in Kentucky opposing smoking, cheap cigarettes or Big Tobacco is an act of political courage. Although many Kentucky communities have banned smoking in public buildings and the amount of tobacco grown in the state has dropped significantly, opposing any part of the tobacco industry is still considered anti-farmer and anti-Kentucky, even by non-smokers.

Keep givin' 'em hell, Dr. Kelley.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "A Kentucky Candidate Says No to Big Tobacco" >>

DCCC Ad Buys Ignore KY-1, KY-2, KY-4

TPM Election Central has the latest list of swing district Congressional races to which the Democratic National Committee has allocated ad money, and it mostly ignores Kentucky.

The latest list, which adds up to $17.6 million in 20 districts across the country, paints an extraordinary picture of just how grim the GOP's outlook is in House races: About three fourths of the money the DCCC is plunking down is going to races for seats that the GOP currently holds and now has to defend.

But the new list, as well as the previous list, ignores three GOP-held seats being challenged by Democrats in Kentucky.

Heather Ryan in the First, David Boswell in the Second and Michael Kelley in the Fourth don't make the DCCC's lists of races worth spending money on, even though Boswell is running for an open seat and recent polls showed him slightly ahead.

(More after the jump.)


Now I'm no fan of Boswell's, but the Second is a probable dem pickup - certainly more likely than the First or Fourth, even though Ryan and Kelley are far better Democrats as far as I'm concerned.

What's more, some of these districts where Dems are vying to knock off GOP incumbents are historically hostile territory for Dems, such as the open Second District in Alabama, or the Idaho seat now held by right-wing Rep. Bill Sali.

But in Kentucky, the DCCC is playing it safe by supporting only John Yarmuth, incumbent in Louisville's Third District, who is up by double digits over two-time loser Anne Northup.

I realize that even in this year of Democratic campaign wealth, the DCCC's resources are limited, and I am grateful that the DCCC is actually fighting to win in 50 districts, as opposed to its usual 10 or 12.

But I can't help but resent that national Democratic resources are being sunk into Idaho, of all the dem-forsaken places, when a courageous Navy veteran like Heather Ryan, who personally challenged Mitch McConnell, fights a tough campaign with chewing gum and paper clips.

Check out the full listing.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "DCCC Ad Buys Ignore KY-1, KY-2, KY-4" >>

When Has Even a Blue Dog Democrat Crossed the Line?

On June 24, I sent State Senator David Boswell, the Democratic candidate for retiring Rep. Ron Lewis' Second District Congressional seat, an email asking Senator Boswell his position on five issues. The last issue was this:

Publicly endorsing Barack Obama and enthusiastically campaigning for him.

On July 11, I received Senator Boswell's response. His answer to the last issue, on publicly endorsing Barack Obama and campaigning for him, is, in full:

"I am proud to be a Democrat."

Really, Senator? More than a month after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination and received Senator Hillary Clinton's strong endorsement, that's all you have to say?

"I'm proud to be a Democrat"? Really? Because Kentucky's Democrats sure as hell aren't proud to have you as a Congressional candidate.
(More after the jump.)

Kentucky's Second District may poll conservative - although that may also be an artifact of not having a real Democratic choice for the past 15 years - but does Boswell really think rejecting his own party's Presidential Nominee is going to endear him to Second District Democrats?

Boswell's fundraising has been weak since his May 20th primary victory, and public response to his candidacy indifferent, to put it politely.

A recent fundraiser in one of the more prosperous communities in the rural Second District had to be re-named a "reception" because of the reluctance of invitees to commit to making a donation. Even so, fewer than 40 of the anticipated 100 attendees actually showed.

Boswell struggled to connect with the guests, and his short speech drew barely polite applause at the end. Perhaps that's because he spent most of the time telling irrelevant stories about A.B. "Happy" Chandler and Earle Clements, two former governors who were rivals more than 50 years ago.

The closest Boswell came to discussing the issues of the campaign was to say:

"I don't have to tell you what the issues are, because you know what they are."

Yes, Senator, WE know what WE think the issues are; we want to know what YOU think the issues are.

In answer to other emailed questions, Boswell said he was

against the FISA amendments that "give unlimited
unConstitutional warrantless wiretapping powers to the president, and gives amnesty to lawbreaking corporations." Easy to say now that the vote is over.

supported "withdraw without time line" from Iraq

supports "cutting taxes on wage earnings below $50,000 per year," although he failed to respond to a question about increasing taxes on those earning above $200,000 per year

"supports" establishing single-payer health insurance comparable to that enjoyed by members 0f Congress

and of course, with regard to his own party's nominee for President, Boswell is "proud to be a Democrat."

If only he really were one.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "When Has Even a Blue Dog Democrat Crossed the Line?" >>

Independent Takes on Safe GOP Incumbent in Kentucky

The most electorally secure member of Kentucky's Congressional delegation, republican Hal Rogers of the Fifth District (Appalachia), finally has an opponent.

But it's not a Democrat. Jim Holbert is an Independent.

The only one of the five incumbent congressmen running for re-election who didn't draw a Republican or Democratic challenger now will face independent Jim Holbert of London, who officially filed his paperwork with the Secretary of State's office July 7.

Holbert is a helicopter pilot. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear recently appointed him to the Kentucky Airport Zoning Board to fill a term that expires Aug. 8, 2008.

Rogers, one of the most senior members of the U.S. House appropriations committee, is seeking his 15th two-year term in Congress. He has easily won his seat back in recent elections.

Rogers originally won election and re-election in the "Old Fifth," the deeply republican counties of south-central Kentucky. But when the 1991 redistricting added the most solidly Democrat counties of the former 7th district of eastern Kentucky to the new Fifth, Rogers was suddenly vulnerable. He won Appalachia's loyal democrats the old-fashioned way: pork. Bacon jobs, ham steak roads, tenderloin water plants.

Today, thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in pork Rogers delivered to the mountains, he's as insulated from party identification as any republican in Congress. That's why he rarely draws serious Democratic opposition. This year, he didn't draw any Democratic opposition at all.

You know your state Democratic Party is in deep trouble when the independent candidate who had the balls to challenge the most secure Republican in the state has a platform that is more progressive, liberal and what used to pass for Democratic than the state party's own platform.

Holberts wants to withdraw immediately from Iraq, restore the Constitution, repeal NAFTA, stop globalization, stop imprisoning non-violent offenders, create jobs, support renwable energy, balance the budget. Of course, he's also anti-immigrant and pro-flat tax, and believes in the myth of "clean coal," but that still positions him to the left of Blue Dog Democrats.

Rogers' district is chock-full of experienced, well-known Democratic politicians who certainly had a better chance of knocking off Rogers in this Democratic year than novice Heather Ryan has of beating incumbent Ed Whitfield in the First District. Or than John Yarmuth had of beating incumbent Anne Northup in the Third District in 2006, which he did handily.

Yet come the filing deadline on January 30, they were nowhere to be found.

Nor will they be anywhere to be found come November 5, if the anti-incumbent tsunami hits eastern Kentucky and sweeps Independent Jim Holbert into the seat Democrats could have had.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Independent Takes on Safe GOP Incumbent in Kentucky" >>

Beware DCCC Bearing Gifts

Democratic Congressional candidate David Boswell has made the DCCC's potential funding list, which probably dooms him to a double-digit loss.

Boswell, a state senator from Owensboro, is a classic DINO mouthing progressive platitudes just long enough to fool real Democrats desperate to take back a republican seat into voting for him.

Actually, he doesn't even bother to pretend to be progressive. His website, which lacks an issues page, mentions tax credits - the perennial repug favorite non-solution to everything - and threatens criminal sanctions against illegal aliens.

But it's in his senate voting record where his real political beliefs shine through. This year, he supported Senate Bill 40 to require doctors performing abortions to first take an ultrasound image of the fetus and then - wait for it - show the image to the patient.

Otherwise known as the "Look Upon Your Sins and Repent, You Evil Whore!" Bill.

Similar votes by Boswell in 2007 and 2006 prove he is a charter member of the Justice Anthony Kennedy "We have to protect these poor weak females from themselves" school of health care law.

Boswell is running for an open seat in the Second District, since seven-term repug Ron Lewis is stepping down. His opponent is Bowling Green state senator Brent Guthrie, who as a genuine republican is going to clean fake republican Boswell's clock, no matter how much money the DCCC pours into the race.

Meanwhile, in far Western Kentucky's First District, Mitch McConnell Nemesis Heather Ryan, a genuine proud-and-loud Liberal Democrat who is firing up progressives across the state, struggles against incumbent Waste of Oxygen Ed Whitfield without a dime of support from the DCCC.

The fact that the DCCC is considering supporting Boswell and ignoring Heather Ryan is yet more proof that the DCCC has its head up its ass.

Remember, this is the organization which in 2006 refused to give the Third District's John Yarmuth a dime, but showered Second District challenger Mike Weaver with bad advice to run as a Bush-supporter.

Anybody remember how that one came out? Yep, the DCCC-ignored Proud Liberal Yarmuth won, and the DCCC-helped Bush-lover Weaver lost.

Even if the coming Democratic tsunami passes Kentucky by this year, I'll bet right now that Real Democrat Ryan does better than DINO Boswell.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Beware DCCC Bearing Gifts" >>

Heather Ryan Steals Hillary's Show

It appears the real star of Hillary Clinton's visit to Madisonville, Kentucky yesterday afternoon was Mitch target and Democratic Congressional challenger Heather Ryan.

Jim Pence of Hillbilly Report got the video, and briansmith of BlueGrassRoots has the report.

Last night Congressional candidate Heather Ryan made her debut as the most dynamic Democrat to emerge from Western Kentucky since Alben Barkley. Speaking at the annual Governor Ruby Laffoon dinner in Madisonville, KY she rocked the audience with an impassioned call to end the “culture of complacency” fostered by her opponent, republican “Exxon” Eddie Whitfield.

Read the whole thing, watch the video,and if you're as inspired as we are, heed Brian's plea:

Please visit Heather’s website at RyanForKentucky.com and donate to the redheaded firebrand who will be travelling the length and breadth of the enormous First District from now until November.

There's also a Facebook group for Heather Ryan supporters. Join and invite your friends.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

There's more: "Heather Ryan Steals Hillary's Show" >>

David Boswell: Proud Democrat?

UPDATE Below

Democratic State Senator David Boswell, running for Kentucky's Second District Congressional seat, may not yet have a campaign website, but he does have the stones to speak a truth ignored by cowardly Democrats:

Sen. David Boswell made comments at a recent legislative forum sponsored by the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce indicating that anyone who signs a no new tax pledge should be fired.

Page One Kentucky continues:

The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer documented it all this past Sunday. The paper's site is subscription-only, so you'll have to rely on our excerpt.

Boswell said part of state's revenue problem is that some legislators have signed pledges for no new taxes. Meanwhile, efforts to pass expanding gambling bills - which supporters believe would generate millions of dollars in new revenue -have not generated any traction, Boswell said. "Anyone that signs a no tax pledge should be fired from elected office, Boswell said.

This as good an explanation as any for why the state budget is completely FUBAR, which you'll just have to trust me on, because I am too depressed and disgusted to post on it.

But the good news here is that Boswell, who has a history of DINO-type behavior, is showing hints of having learned the Yarmuth Rule:

Democrats who stand up proud and loud for Democratic values win elections.

UPDATE, 6:09 p.m.: Jennifer at BlueGrassRoots gives us links to three pages proving Boswell's strong DINO/BlueDog record. Senator Boswell: Your slap at Grover Norquist is a good start, but you've got a long way to go to prove you've really grown a progressive soul.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.

There's more: "David Boswell: Proud Democrat?" >>