Sarah Palin Endorses Todd P'Pool

Sarah Palin's endorsement of Todd P'Pool may be too little, too late. Her endorsement of Rand Paul actually helped him in the Republican primary against Trey Grayson, and might have given P'Pool a boost in name ID when he really needed it early on. It's odd that Palin's endorsement comes at this point, when Republicans have all but given up. Maybe it will motivate a few people to go to the polls, but certainly not enough to change the inevitable outcome.

Meanwhile, a local tea party group is running a radio ad during a.m. rush hour on 970 AM, the Bill Bennett Morning in America Show.  The ad promotes P'Pool and Jamie Comer -- but not David Williams. It's like he doesn't exist. Williams has evolved from radioactive to invisible.

Now Who's Endorsing Todd P'Pool?

A mysterious media advisory from Todd P'Pool's campaign:  look for a "major" endorsement of the Republican nominee for Kentucky Attorney General, to take place this Wed.

Who could it be?

He already has both of Kentucky's U.S. Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.  David Williams backed him early on. Several Attorneys General from other states have endorsed him or even campaigned.  Trey Grayson has praised him, as well as Mike Huckabee. The Fraternal Order of Police has endorse P'Pool.

Maybe one of the presidential contenders?  Not sure that would make much difference.

Perhaps a sports celebrity?

Huck to Campaign for Todd P'Pool

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee will appear at a fundraiser for Republican nominee for Attorney General, Todd P'Pool, at the home of Cathy and Irv Bailey

That's a perfect fit for the P'Pool campaign; many of us have been struck by the similarities between P'Pool and Huckabee in terms of style and substance.

Todd P'Pool Takes to the Air

Republican candidate for Attorney General Todd P'Pool is running his first TV spot. It's well done:  top of the line narrator and a positive tone to introduce his candidacy. Though the ad is feel-good, it is substantive regarding Todd's attributes (faith, family, hard work) and his key issues (fight crime, protect coal, fight Obamacare).

With respect to Obamacare, Virginia Attorney General  Ken Cuccinelli will campaign with P'Pool on September 29th in Elizabethtown.  Cuccinelli made a national name for himself as one of the first state Attorneys General to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Todd P'Pool Praises 11th Circuit's Obamacare Ruling

The Republican nominee for Kentucky Attorney General, Todd P'Pool was quick to praise the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for holding the Obamacare individual mandate to purchase insurance unconstitutional.

 P'Pool has made his opposition to the individual mandate a cornerstone of this campaign -- in contrast to Attorney General Jack Conway, who refused to join the multi-state Attorneys General challenge the the healthcare takeover.

Conway justified his failure to join the multi-state challenge on the grounds that he did not want to waste taxpayers' money on a "frivolous" suit. Now, the 11th Circuit has vindicated P'Pool and made Conway's legal skills look sub-par.

Here's P'Pool's statement:

I am encouraged to see that the 11^th Circuit ruled to uphold liberty and protect the general police powers reserved to the states by ruling Obamacare unconstitutional"; said P’Pool.

“Jack Conway believes that Obamacare is irrelevant to his job as Attorney General. When I’m Attorney General, the Constitution will be relevant to this job.”


On Friday, the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, ruled the individual mandate in Obamacare to be unconstitutional. Since the individual mandate provision is the cornerstone of President Obama’s law, this ruling is a significant blow to the White House and to supporters of the 
President’s health care reform.

Todd P’Pool has pledged throughout his campaign that he would join the other 26 Attorneys General from around the country who are challenging Obamacare in federal court. Democrat Attorney General Jack Conway has refused to join any of the lawsuits, repeatedly referring to them as “irrelevant” or as a “gimmick.”  

P'Pool Pounces on GITMO Issue

Republican nominee Todd P'Pool was smart to hit hard on an issue that has united Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rand Paul and even Gov. Steve Beshear:  send the Kentucky terrorists to GITMO.  Here's P'Pool's release:

Republican Attorney General candidate Todd P’Pool waded into the debate Friday about what whether suspected terrorists charged in Bowling Green on May 25^th should be tried in a Kentucky civilian courtroom or at secure military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  

“As a conservative and a prosecutor, I believe the first and foremost priority of government should be keeping our citizens safe from enemies – foreign and domestic,” said P’Pool. “Terrorists should be tried as enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, not here in Kentucky.”

Attorney General Jack Conway has previously issued calls to close Guantanamo Bay, and even chastised President Obama for campaigning to close Guantanamo Bay and not following through. In an interview viewable on YouTube, Conway even suggested that bringing suspected terrorists for trial on Kentucky soil might be acceptable.  That prompted P’Pool’s campaign manager, David Ray to assert that Conway was far from the mainstream opinion in Kentucky.

“Facing the possibility of having suspected terrorists tried on Kentucky soil, it’s not surprising that Jack Conway hasn’t challenged the Obama administration on this issue,” said Ray. “Conway’s reckless position could endanger Kentuckians and cost the state vast resources to protect and detain suspected terrorists. This is yet another issue where he owes the voters of Kentucky a thorough explanation.”

P’Pool also thanked Kentucky law enforcement for their efforts in keeping Kentuckians safe from this ongoing threat.

“Kentucky’s law enforcement represents some of our bravest citizens, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their role in this case. The high level of professionalism displayed bythe FBI’s Louisville Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, the Louisville Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Justice Department’s National Security Division is to be commended.”

On May 25^th, Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohaned Shareef Hammadi were charged by a federal grand jury with terrorism charges. According to the grand jury, the two Iraqi refugees were plotting to ship sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, explosives and money to their home country to be used in attacks on U.S. troops.

Todd P'Pool Opposes Big Government and is Tough on Crime

Republican candidate for Kentucky Attorney General, Todd P'Pool -- who currently serves as Hopkins County Attorney -- has angered some Tea Party types for a recent prosecution of Dusty's Adult World.

Kentucky State Police executed a search warrant on the president of Dusty's two weeks ago and discovered a "display case [that] had salvia or simulated salvia and salvia paraphernalia items in it. Troopers also located a number of items that were of an obscene nature including DVD’s and magazines" according to Surf Mgulehnberg.

The president of Dusty's, Jo Ann Warner, was then charged with:

• 79 counts of possession of drug paraphenalia;
• 23 counts of prohibited practices concerning substances that simulate controlled substances; and
• 16 counts of distribution of obscene matter.

Kentucky is one of 19 states that outlaws salvia. Many of us did not even know that the plant is being smoked as a hallucinogenic until Miley Cyrus was caught taking a bong hit of it on YouTube. Salvia has been associated with causing dangerous increases in the user's heart rate -- particularly coupled with the ADD medicine so many teens now take. Kentucky was therefore wise to criminalize its use.

Likewise, Kentucky criminalizes selling something posing as a controlled substance, in this instance, fake salvia. This is not a consumer protection statute for drug users. Rather, the statute criminalizes facillitation of the intended purchase a controlled substances, whether the actual substance was what was represented or not. So the dealer can be prosecuted whether the supposed pot was Oregano, or whether the drug was one of the designer clones (like K2) that are appearing with alarming regularity.

The obscenity charges apparently stem from simulated kiddie porn.

Todd P'Pool took an oath to uphold the law as County Attorney. If the Kentucky State Police make an arrest that appears valid on its face, he should prosecute. (Note, moreover, that before obtaining the search warrant, the police had to go before a judge to establish probable cause.)

P'Pool has a duty to enforce the law, period. He is not the face of an over-reaching government. To the contrary -- P'Pool is running for attorney general so he can join the multi-state challenge to Obamacare.

To those who think Salvia -- or fake Salvia -- should be legal, that's an argument for the legislature, not the prosecutor. Likewise for kiddie porn. Constitutional conservatives can understand that this is a separation of powers issue in the first instance.

Personally, given Kentucky's drug problem, I am thrilled at the prospect of finally getting an attorney general who has experience as a prosecutor. I reject the notion that drug use should be the choice of an adult; it is the common theme among too many of the sad cases of abuse and neglect that clog the dockets of Kentucky's family courts. The victims here are small children, not just the adults who chose to use.

And in any event, P'Pool faces no primary opponent. He is the Republican nominee. For those who want a conservative who believes in limited government and rule of law, he is the clear choice over Jack Conway, who refused to joint the suit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Come Meet Comer and P'Pool

Here's a free chance to meet Republican candidate for Attorney General Todd P'Pool and Republican candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, James R. Comer.

This meet and greet will take place Monday, February 21st from 6:00 to 7:30 at the home of Congresswoman Anne and Woody Northup 3340 Lexington Avenue, Louisville.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting James Comer, but I have talked with Todd P'Pool and was very impressed. This is a guy who can beat Jack Conway and give Kentucky a real Attorney General, who will join the 24 state fight against to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Todd P'Pool for Attorney General

I had an opportunity to meet the Republican nominee for Attorney General, Todd P'Pool, recently and was very impressed. To be sure, his name is a bit of a distraction. Turns out he is from an old Kentucky family named Petitpool and the name got hyphenated along the way.

It is high time that Kentucky put a prosecutor -- rather than a plaintiff's lawyer -- in the important office of Attorney General. P'Pool was elected County Attorney in Hopkins County in 2006 and reelected 2010. He was the first Republican elected to a county-wide office there since the Civil War; the county has 70 percent registered Democrats. Those electoral victories, plus his ability to tap former McConnell state director Larry Cox as campaign chair, suggests that P'Pool has considerable political acumen. That is why others who looked at running for A.G. backed off, in my opinion.

He strikes me as extremely bright and yet, unlike Jack Conway, P'Pool is very humble. He comes from a fourth generation coal family. As County Attorney (which collects child support from deadbeat dads), his staff showed him his mother's own child support case in that very office. He doesn't need to pretend to be a man of the people because that is who he is. That genuineness will contrast to Jack Conway, who like Hillary Clinton, attempts to vary his accent to suit his audience.

On the issues, P'Pool is a Federalist Society conservative. He will join the other Attorneys General to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare. And he will prevent the Obama administration's undemocratic attempts to achieve Cap and Trade and other assaults on coal through regulation -- because they lacked the votes to impose such measures through statute.

P'Pool is the real deal. We are very fortunate to have him as our unopposed Republican candidate. Jack Conway probably doesn't realize it yet, but his days in office are quickly drawing to a close.