Rand Paul Update

Rand Paul for Senate just sent out an email declaring the following:

The Rand Paul for US Senate Campaign has now raised over $710.000 dollars this quarter with three weeks left before third quarter deadline. This brings the total amount raised to over $820,000. Over 10,000 individual donors have donated to the campaign, with donors from all 50 states. The average donation is still under 100 dollars.

Another money bomb is being planned by supporters for September 23. The website, Kentuckyfight.com, aims to counterpunch an establishment fundraiser planned for Rand’s opponent in DC on the same date. Please take the time to visit the website and learn more about the event.

What?! Only $710.00?! Heh. I think you mean, $710,000, but whatever. I have another question, though: if you’re still pimping KentuckyFight.com, does this mean your going to do the right thing and have them put and FEC disclaimer on their site? Let us know.

What the Van Jones Controversy Teaches Us

This is a state news blog, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a view on national politics either, does it? Um, no. Here’s a piece I wrote a few days ago that Duane Lester at AllAmericanBlogger.com was nice enough to publish as a guest post.

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You’d be hard pressed these days not to know who Van Jones is, and just how his ship sunk. Of course, you may not even know who he is if you limit yourself to the main stream media and still have your head in the sand when it comes to the Obama administration. All the same,  Jones has never been what most of us would call “normal”, at least politically anyway. The man was appointed to be the “green jobs czar” under the present administration, itself a controversial position. Then we learned of a few of his comments and some of the skeletons in his closet.

First, he thinks “Republicans are a**holes”, then we hear about him wanting to “change the whole system” and finally it’s revealed that Van Jones signed a petition asking then Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer and other to investigate the 9/11 attacks as an inside job. Jones’ response? “he did not carefully review the language in the petition before agreeing to add his name.” Yeah, and I’m Rosie O’Donnell (who is conveniently a loony truther as well). Sunday morning, just after midnight, on a holiday weekend, in a very limited announcement, the self described communist resigned from his unconstitutional position of czar and told us that Obama did not pressure him to do so.

And so, the conservative movement felled a liberal giant. The big guys attributed to the success are Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin,

Image by roberthuffstutter via Flickr

but more accurately it was us, the nameless individuals of the grassroots that lit the fire beneath Van Jones’ feet, But just what does this teach us? Above all it teaches us that we have more power than we thought. We now know that Obama has been using the “czar” positions to return political favors and bypass the confirmation process to avoid any vetting of the kooks he has appointed. We now know that it is possible to take down the loons that the President has been hiding from with a simple Google search. Perhaps best of all, we now see the President’s true colors are not “hope and change” but instead he’s a supporter of radical liberals who can’t stand the heat when they are finally rectified in their pursuits to power.

Now we have to continue pushing against such radicals. Probably next on the hit list is Cass Sunstein, a true whackjob who promotes removal of organs after someone’s death without “explicit consent”. Further, he asks “In what sense is the money in our pockets and bank accounts fully ‘ours’?”. We would all gladly take the money from his accounts, wouldn’t we? There’s more, though:

“We ought to ban hunting.”
“we could even grant animals a right to bring suit”
“before long, Congress will grant standing to animals to protect their own rights and interests.”

That’s probably not even the worst of it.

Van Jones’ resignation has been barely reported on by any major news outlet, but nonetheless he came down thanks to conservative commentators and the work of everyday conservatives who love America. We cannot, however stop to celebrate. Too many challenges await us: drastic health care revamps that we can’t afford, Cap and Trade, the Fairness Doctrine and the filibuster proof liberal majority in Congress.

Take this as a shot of adrenaline, because we have a long fight ahead of us.

Robin Webb (D) Wins Senate Seat in 18th District

It’s kinda official, the Democrats will take the 18th district State Senate seat from the Republicans. From BGPolitics:

Robertson County goes for Webb: Dem. Robin Webb, 168; GOP Jack Ditty, 142; independent Guy Gibbons, 12.

Lewis County goes for Ditty: GOP Jack Ditty, 1,184; Dem Robin Webb, 1,072; independent Guy Gibbons, 63.

Greenup County goes for Ditty: GOP Jack Ditty, 3,407; Dem Robin Webb, 2,737; and independent Guy Gibbons, 538.

Bracken County goes for Ditty: GOP Jack Ditty, 520; Dem Robin Webb, 474; and independent Guy Gibbons, 62.

Mason County goes for Ditty: GOP Ditty, 1,194; Dem Robin Webb, 1,128; and independent Guy Gibbons, 79.

Carter County goes for Webb: Dem Webb, 3105; GOP Ditty, 1955; and independent Guy Gibbons, 199.

A super contested race, that is a rare win for Beshear in his  attempt to pass gambling legislation. We wish the best of luck to Robin in her new position. Here’s the total numbers:

Jack Ditty: 8,402 (46.6%)
Robin Webb: 8,684 (48.1%)
Guy Gibbons Jr. 953 (5.3%)

Source: WSAZ

Only 282 votes separation, wow!

September is Kentucky “Bourbon Heritage Month”

Beshear just MAY just be good for something, and that thing is giving months different names. Stevie B’s Press Release:

Gov. Steve Beshear today honored Kentucky’s signature bourbon industry for its tremendous economic and tourism impact by declaring September “Bourbon Heritage Month” in the Commonwealth.“From jobs to investment to tourism, bourbon is a vital part of the Bluegrass economy that benefits all of Kentucky’s citizens,” Gov. Beshear said. “It’s also a key export and a proud symbol of our heritage that’s known and acknowledged around the world.

“It’s a privilege to proclaim September ‘Bourbon Heritage Month’ in recognition of our historic distilling industry. My administration is committed to working with our distillers to help this essential part of our economy grow and thrive.”

I love that, “grow and thrive”. Which is why you approved of the new alcohol tax that has the potential to cripple the very same industry. AWESOME.

But, uh, I’m sure a lot of people are happy or give a durn about this. Right? Right? No? Then why am I writing this?

McConnell Plans to Fundraise with Other Senate GOPers for Grayson

Image via Wikipedia

I can hear the conversation now:

“Mitch, I think we may have a problem.”

“What is it, Trey?’

“Rand Paul just dropped a ‘money bomb‘. It didn’t do as well as they expected, but Paul has a lot of money on hand now.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“Could you come help me out here? I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

And thus, this happens:

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and 22 other Republican senators are hosting a $500-per-person fundraiser Sept. 23 for Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s Senate campaign.

The event will be held at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters in Washington, Roll Call reported Tuesday.

This could be taken one of 2 ways: The Grayson camp is showing it’s grief after Rand Paul’s money bomb that earned over $600,000 OR, which I think is most likely, Trey Grayson and friends want to appear like they’re essentially already a shoo – in for the Republican nomination (they almost are). By giving themselves the legitimacy of Mitch and others joining him for a fundraiser, it would appear to most that the deal is done.

HOwever, that won’t stop Paul from using all that fancy cash he earned to exploit Grayson’s coziness with the GOP elite.

On a barely related note, tomorrow Trey starts his “announcement” tour and will be coming to “Ashland” which to him seems to meant the Worthington Airport. He’s probably landing, giving a speech and heading elsewhere. Niiiice.

John Waltz (D) is Using Dennis Kucinich’s Old Campaign Team

John Waltz, the Democrat running against Geoff Davis (R) next year, just sent out an email announcing how the 4th district need a representative “who is not a “business-as-usual” congressman; someone who has not been influenced by special interests; and someone who does not use obstruction as a political expedient.” Which, to my knowledge, is quite a big stretch if he’s criticizing Davis – who has proven to be a pretty straightforward and clean politician despite how oxymoron-ic that sounds.

The juiciest part though was the last paragraph: “This week marks a turning point in our campaign to reclaim Kentucky’s Fourth for the people with the addition of the same team that helped run Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s Presidential campaign. With their help and yours, we can finally see progress ahead on the issues that most trouble the people of our great state.”

Did anyone elese’s boogers fly out their nose when they read that? Dennis Kucinich’s campaign team? The same on that is writing up legislation proposing a ban on the purchase, sale, transfer, or possession of handguns by civilians? The same Kucinich who supports the Fairness Doctrine and pushed to impeach Bush? And SAW AND HEARD ALIENS? Yeah, I think so. This is hilarious.

State Sec. Finance Johnathan Miller Endorses Jack Conway (D)

Image via Wikipedia

So says an email from the Conway camp and Miller’s Twitter, anyway:

We are thrilled to announce former State Treasurer, State Party Chair, author and current Secretary of Finance Jonathan Miller endorsed Jack Conway in the 2010 United States Senate race. Jonathan and Jack first made their announcement on Twitter and Facebook (www.facebook.com/JonathanMillerKY or http://twitter.com/MillerKY).

This endorsement comes on the heels of U.S. News and World Report (8/10/09) calling Conway the “Democratic favorite” in the Kentucky Senate race.

“I am deeply honored to have Jonathan Miller’s endorsement,” said Jack Conway. “Jonathan  is one of Kentucky’s best and brightest public servants.  Jonathan and his entire family have worked hard to make Kentucky a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

Video: Rand Paul (R) Announces His Candidacy

Told you I’d get it!

Let’s Put Conway’s Stupid Remarks and Fancy Farm to Bed

Obviously, there have been some good laughs that came from Fancy Farm itself and even more from Jack Conway’s rich language that set off a faux firestorm of “controversy”. There are understandable suspicions that the Daniel Mongiardo campaign was behind a couple videos on YouTube that poked fun (actually worse) at Conway and and his “tough hide”. This is my personal favorite and the most controversial:

Note: My hair is almost exactly like Jack Conway’s, minus the color changes (legit or not, as according to Jake at PageOne) so the ending stepped on my toes a bit.

Anywayyy… This is positively ridiculous. I don’t praise liberals very often, but when I do, I’ll likely do it in spades. The liberals who realize that this is a non-issue are right. If it’s mentioned on The Colbert Report, you know it’s dumb. Why can’t Mongiardo and Conway debate Cap and Trade, the 2nd amendment, or even who’s got a fancier website? Anything, anything, would make more sense than this. Fow what it’s worth Conway’s even apologized.

I’m moving on, and I hope everyone else can too.

KY Tidbits: Beshear’s Cabinet, Ol’ Lady Northup and a Governor Reunion!

Beshear shuffles cabinet:

Larry Hayes named Secretary for Economic Development (Warning: Press Release)

Gov. Beshear names Mary Lassiter Secretary of Executive Cabinet (Warning: Press Release)

Senate OKs Northup, Barzun Woo! She gets to approve things!

The Races: Senate 18 – All Six Living Democrat Governors to Raise Funds Wait, Rand Paul catches heck for rasing funds outside, KY, shouldn’t Webb for doing so outside her district? Of course not… it’s called a double standard.