Trey in Louisville Wed.

Trey Grayson's bus tour will be in Louisville Wednesday, at 10:00 a.m. at the 1000 Building, 6200 Dutchman's Lanes.

Trey to Conway: Sue to Stop Health Care Bill

Florida filed suit today to invalidate the mandates in the Obama health care bill; a dozen states are expected to do likewise. But not Kentucky.

Trey Grayson called on U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway to do his day-job as Attorney General and file suit on behalf of Kentucky. From Grayson's release:

Today, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson called on Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to join other Attorneys General around the country in filing suit against the federal government over passage of the health care bill.

“Washington is broken, and nothing demonstrates that truth more than the government takeover of health care, which the President signed into law today. Despite overwhelming and bipartisan opposition, Democrats in Congress have forced massive new bureaucracy and unsustainable spending on American families already burdened from decades of bad decisions in Washington. Fortunately, there is still an opportunity to prevent this intrusion into our lives as more than a dozen states have declared their intent to challenge this law in court. Today I call on Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to join in this effort and file suit against the federal government for the unconstitutional overreach of its authority with the passage of this health care legislation. Jack Conway should stand up to Washington and fight for the Commonwealth of Kentucky against this massive new unfunded and unconstitutional federal mandate on states like ours,” Grayson said.

Trey: Repeal It!

Trey Grayson reiterated his opposition to the health care monstrosity and has signed a petition to repeal it.

According to Grayson,

“I support health care reform that does not cost taxpayers more than $2 trillion and that will not add to the deficit. The Democrat leadership and President Obama have used budget gimmicks to hide the true cost of this bill, and they’ve used procedural short cuts, strong arm tactics and have cut backroom deals to win narrow passage of legislation that will affect one-sixth of our economy and every American family and small business. The only thing bipartisan about this bill has been the staunch opposition to it,” said Grayson.

The bill will:

- Increase taxes on small businesses and families

- Cut Medicare by more than $520 billion

- Increase unfunded mandates on states by expanding Medicaid eligibility without paying for it

- Penalize married couples with higher premiums

- Tax/fine those who do not purchase insurance acceptable to the government

- Expand the role of the IRS into enforcing health care mandates

- Increase the cost of health insurance

- Increase spending on health care."

Rand Paul Reneges On Promise To Debate

Rand Paul apparently thinks he has better things to do than to debate Trey Grayson. The Metropolitan Republican Women’s Club (of Louisville), an affiliate member of the Kentucky Federation of Republican Women, today announced that Paul has pulled out of a Public Forum on March 17 in which he was to appear with Grayson. The event had taken on special significance since KET will not be televising a debate this year.

According to Club President Julie Hinson, Paul's campaign manager confirmed on December 21 that Paul would participate in the MRWC Public Forum in Louisville. President Hinson then followed this discussion with a detailed letter dated February 18, 2010. She not only mailed this letter to Paul headquarters, but hand delivered it to the candidate at the Jefferson County Lincoln Dinner. She spoke with Paul personally and he never gave any indication whatsoever that he would not attend.

Hinson commented that Paul's "withdrawal at this late date is unfathomable. To withdraw just 13 days prior to the event while dedicated volunteers labored and expenses were incurred is unacceptable. Our expenses include among other things hall rental, insurance, and printing. These are not insignificant. I had fliers advertising the event printed that can now not be used.”

Hinson added: “Let me assure you that this event will go forward with or without Candidate Paul. His absence will obviously not go unnoticed. KFRW is a strong force statewide in electing Republican candidates at all levels and has played an important role for over 50 years. Women voters are a majority of the electorate, and we are saddened by Candidate Paul’s failure to recognize our entire organization’s importance in the election process. It is our hope that once he considers the opportunity that he is conceding to his opponents, that he will standby his original commitment and appear."

So Candidate Paul, what do you have to say?

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Trey's Thoughts On Porkulus Anniversary

Trey Grayson notes that when Congress passed the stimulus bill one year ago, Kentucky's unemployment was 9.3 percent. Nearly a trillion dollars later, Kentucky's unemployment in December was 10.7:

One year after the massive trillion dollar stimulus bill, nearly 40,000 more Kentuckians have lost their jobs. Despite President Obama’s promise that this massive legislation would put Kentuckians to work immediately, the out-of-control spending agenda in Washington has failed to curtail the enormous job loss in the Bluegrass State.

Real recovery requires small businesses and entrepreneurs to be freed to create jobs. They are suffering under the Obama agenda: excessive government spending, the prospect of higher taxes, higher inflation, expensive health mandates, draconian EPA regulation, restricted international markets, and government-supported unionization. The best stimulus would be to stop doing more harm.\

Kentuckians know that Grayson is right on this issue, which is why President Obama will not come campaign for whomever his party nominates to run for our U.S. Senate seat.

Grayson Kicks Off Senate Campaign

I could not attend Secretary of State Trey Grayson's campaign event yesterday, but Joe Arnold reports, quoting Grayson:

"We are in uncharted territory when it comes to our nation's fiscal health, and there is no end in sight," he said. "That's why we must enforce tough limits on our national debt, create a realistic plan for a balanced budget, reign in wasteful spending and end the unprecedented government takeover of the private sector."

"Our tax dollars are bailing out big banks and paying multimillion-dollar bonuses to people who ran their companies and our economy into the ground, and that's wrong," Grayson said, drawing applause from his northern Kentucky supporters. "The government has already taken over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Motors and Chrysler. Now this administration is intent on the government taking over health care and your doctor's office."

Grayson's appeal for limited government sounds pretty much the same as Dr. Rand Paul. Arnold notes, however, that Grayson is running as the GOP insider:

As Roll Call reported on Tuesday, twenty-three GOP Senators -- including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Bluegrass State's senior Senator -- are hosting a $500 per person fundraiser for Grayson at National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters Sept. 23.

The NRSC has not officially endorsed Grayson but the location of the event and the fact that NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) is one of the hosts of the fundraiser is a good indication of where the committee's loyalties lie in the race.

According to Arnold, Dr. Dan Mongiardo's campaign responded by making fun of Trey Grayson's given name and attempting to tie Grayson to former President George W. Bush:

"Charles Merwin Grayson, III has been anointed by the same Washington Republican leadership whose failed economic policies have plunged us into the worst recession since the Great Depression. Fortunately for Kentucky's working families struggling during these tough economic times, Daniel Mongiardo is the one candidate in this race who they can count on to stand up and fight for them."

As Arnold notes, Mongiardo's strategy of running against Bush might look pretty stale by November 2010; voters will be assessing the Obama administration by then.

Trey's Pulling In The $

Secretary of State Trey Grayson told the Metropolitan Republican Women's Club last night that fundraising for his exploratory committee is going strong.

Although Grayson will not reveal the exact number of his second quarter contributions until Monday, Grayson did say that he has received donations from approximately 1,000 individuals, mostly Kentuckians, in the range of $5 to the the statutory maximum.

Sen. Jim Bunning, meanwhile, has done little in the way of fundraising and his second quarter filing will no doubt reflect that. Look for Bunning to announce that he will not seek reelection within the week.

Grayson took questions, most of which focused on health care reform. He demonstrated a real mastery of the subject -- particularly for someone who has not worked in the field -- and a hunger to learn all he can.

He argued that it is not enough for Republicans to oppose the Kennedy-Dodd monstrosity now flailing around Congress; we must propose creative solutions that will control cost and improve quality without rationing.

To that end, he pointed to the medical specialties of dental and eye care as two areas with the most competition (because consumers can and do shop around). In both specialties, quality has improved due to innovations like LASIK surgery and competition has driven the cost of these new procedures steadily downward. The same is true in the dental field for braces, sealants and implants. (Of course, the same argument applies with equal force to the field of cosmetic surgery, but Grayson was to much of a gentleman to go there. )

This is exactly the sort of creative thinking that Republicans need. We must identify success stories and figure out how to replicate them.

Send Trey Your $$$$

In case you did not receive Trey Grayson's email blast yesterday or the direct mail piece that preceded it, click here to (1) tell him to run for U.S. Senate and (2) contribute to his campaign.

Thank God Republicans have a candidate of Trey's talents willing to step up after all of Jim Bunning's stonewalling and crazy antics.