Last Push For the Primary

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao met a group of supporters at Bowman Field this morning before boarding a plane to fly around the Commonwealth for one last day of campaigning before tomorrow's primary election.

Three opposition trackers filmed the send-off as McConnell  worked the crowd and waved good bye.   

Both McConnell and Chao seemed relaxed and ready to hit the stump.  The atmosphere was cheerful about the certainty of McConnell's impending win over Matt Bevin. 

Bevin has been an annoyance and a minor distraction to the McConnell campaign.  Nonetheless, the silver lining of the primary is that it gave the McConnell campaign a dry run for November -- an opportunity to refine get out the vote and ballot security initiatives.  In that regard, the McConnell campaign appears to be taking initiative that the national party and Romney campaign failed to achieve in 2012.  These efforts will not only help McConnell in November, but will also increase the odds of Republicans flipping the state House.

The most remarkable thing about the primary is that McConnell has been subjected to $4 million in negative advertising and direct mail, and yet he is better positioned now; he has maintained a 20 point lead in the primary against Bevin and improved by three points against Lundergan Grimes.  Most interestingly, the gender gap has closed by eight percent.  And with good reason:  Kentucky women -- especially mothers -- don't want to hear the Democrat fairy tale about a non-existent "war on women."  Kentucky women don't want Sandra Fluke and Nancy Pelosi talking to us about our "lady parts."

Kentucky mothers want to elect the U.S. Senator who gives us the best chance for allowing the private sector to flourish, to provide the kind of jobs to which our children aspire -- not a permanent class stuck at the minimum wage, who can only get a raise when the government so orders business.  Kentucky mothers know that Mitch McConnell is the best bet for our children being able to get good jobs, buy a home and support a family, not live in our basements and stay on our insurance plans until age 26,

Matt Bevin's Crappy Luck Continues

It's symbolic of his whole campaign:  Matt Bevin got rear-ended by a McConnell supporter while campaigning.

It was raining hard, and Bevin inexplicably stopped his SUV on an entrance ramp while he and a friend or aid decided where to go next, when a teenaged girl rear-ended him.  As they were surveying the damage to their cars, Bevin commented on a pro-Republican bumper sticker on the girl's car. He asked who she was supporting in the U.S. Senate race and the girl replied that she was supporting McConnell.

Sen. Lamar Alexander Gives GOP Address

Alison Lundergan Grimes is Wrong on Minimum Wage

Alison Lundergan Grimes's argument for increasing the minimum wage reflects the doe-eyed naivete that has characterized her campaign:  the policy she advocates would actually hurt those she purports to help.

It's as if Grimes thinks that the government can outlaw poverty by ordering businesses to give workers a raise. Why stop with just the minimum wage?  Let's give everyone in Kentucky a raise!

In Grimes's op-ed in the Courier-Journal, she makes the spectacular assertion that raising the minimum wage would create jobs, when in fact, it  would do the opposite.

Grimes's inability to grasp basic economic concepts such as the laws of supply and demand underscores that she is not ready to lead. The cost of labor is no different than the cost of raw materials.  When the cost goes up, an employer has three choices:  (1) cut the number of employees -- either by firing existing employees or declining to hire new ones; (2) cut workers' hours; or (3) pass along the increased labor costs to consumers by raising the prices for goods or services.

Grimes points out that more and more Kentuckians are working minimum wage jobs.  But that is just a function of the "Obama recovery."  The last thing that Kentucky businesses need is more government regulation making it more difficult and more expensive to survive. To the contrary, for Kentucky to attract new businesses, we need to cut taxes and regulation -- which is why Kentucky needs to flip the House.

Though she pitches her argument to Kentuckians, Grimes is advocating the national minimum wage increase that Obama has been seeking. Plainly,  Grimes and Obama are of the view that Washington knows best and one size will fit all, thereby preventing Kentucky from using our lower cost of living and lower labor costs to lure businesses here from higher labor states like New Jersey (which is reaping the disastrous effects of increasing its minimum wage).

Grimes's makes the argument that "[p]rivate-sector leaders, including Gap. Inc. and Costco, have independently raised wages for their workers, including Kentuckians right here in the commonwealth."  (Note to Grimes:  we all understand that Kentuckians, by definition, are "right here in the commonwealth." Stop treating voters like we're stupid.)  But as to her point about Gap and Costco, that  illustrates that employers can raise the minimum wage without government compulsion.  If an employer like Gap or Costco wants the best workers, it will pay more to get them.  That's how supply and demand works.

Grimes then goes own to assert that 'recent polling shows that a majority of small business owners support increasing the minimum wage."  Again, Grimes's point undercuts her argument; if a majority of business owners want to increase wages, they are free to do so.  There is no law or regulation preventing them from doing so.  And if Grimes's assertion was true, it would already have happened, and other businesses would respond in kind by similarly offering higher wages.  The reality in the age of Obamacare, however, is that businesses are struggling to keep open under its onerous costs; the last thing they need is the government mandating that the cost of production and services go up even more.

Grimes ignores that minimum wage jobs are an entree into the workforce.  They offer employment experience for young people and women who may be returning to the work force after having taken time off to raise children.  A minimum wage job offers much more than just the wage -- it is an opportunity to get a fresh line on the resume showing recent employment history, a chance to earn a reference so that one can eventually move on to a higher paying job.  An employer will be less likely to take a chance on a worker if the government forces it to pay a wage for which that worker may not be able to deliver value.

Perhaps most disturbing about Grimes's and Obama's characterization of the minimum wage is the unspoken assumption that workers will stay stuck in minimum wage jobs, permanently.  To be sure, Obama and Harry Reid have created an economy where entrepreneurs are loathe to take a risk, start a business, hire new employees. Wages are stagnant and employment is such that huge chunks of the potential workforce have simply given up looking for a job. Yet Grimes wants to go to Washington to help Obama and Reid do more of the same.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell understands that the best way help minimum wage workers is through economic growth and innovation that only comes when we cut the shackles of government regulation and taxes.  The best way to help a minimum wage worker is not by mandating a raise -- which might get that worker fired -- but by creating an economic environment whereby the minimum wage job is a first job, not a sentence for life.

KY Republicans Need to Continue Outreach to Minorities and Youth

Thomas Solwell's column today, on How Republicans Can Win Black Votes, reminded me of a bit of progress I observed recently.

The Jefferson County Republican Party tried something different this year.  Instead of a traditional Lincoln Day dinner,  a few weeks ago it hosted a "Party for the Party," complete with a band and a nominal entrance fee. The idea was to make the event fun and relaxed.  The genius of this approach is that it drew people who would not have paid to eat rubber chicken at a Lincoln Day dinner with a bunch of old white guys who all knew each other. This kind of outreach is key to the very survival of the Republican party.

So I was encouraged at the Party for the Party by the presence of Blacks and young people (teens and early 20's).  To be sure, there were not huge numbers of either group, but the presence of any is real progress, and we cannot let political correctness stop us from acknowledging this. 

One Black woman we spoke with observed that she is sick and tired of Democrats taking for granted that African-American voters will always vote for the Democrat. She therefore appreciated the real efforts that Sen. Rand Paul has made to court the Black vote.

Paul received considerable media coverage for speeches he has given to historically-Black colleges such as Simmons College and Howard University.  In addition to those speeches, however, Paul has quietly been meeting with African-American leaders on a continual basis.  That is how Paul came to recognize the importance of restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their time. He sat down and listened, and thereby learned that it matters deeply to members of the Black community.  Then he went to Frankfort and testified for and successfully lobbied for the necessary legislation to change Kentucky's constitution. In all likelihood, restoration of felony voting will help Democrats more than Republicans, at least in the foreseeable future.  Paul understood this and pressed on anyhow, because he thought it was the right thing to do.

As Sowell notes in his column, school choice is an issue where conservative principles can transform the lives of children -- disproportionately minority children -- stuck in failing schools that the teachers' unions oppose closing. This, too, is an issue that Paul has been vocal about, calling it the "civil rights issue of our day."

School choice (vouchers) and charter schools have a chance of becoming reality in Kentucky in the near future. Republicans stand poised to gain a majority in this state House come November, for the first time in nearly a century.  The House is the last obstacle to preventing school choice, given that it only takes a simple majority to override a veto by the governor here. And maybe we will get a Republican governor in 2015; Hal Heiner has been a strong proponent of school choice for years.

As for the young people at the Jefferson County Party for the Party, Paul gets some credit for speaking to issues that they care about:  that our profligate government is saddling them with debt and also invading their privacy.  Paul's recent speech at Cal Berkely shows that he is willing to go into unfriendly territory to grow the party. (Credit must also be given to the Nate Haney and his staff at the Jefferson County Republican Party for aggressively reaching out high school students as a new source of volunteers.)

Republicans have issues that can appeal to minorities and to Millenials. The Mainstream Media are not going to make our argument for us however.  Paul's outreach and the Jeff. Co. Party for the Party remind us that we must be willing to take the message to new venues, to new voters, to be innovative and welcoming.

Photos From GOP Women's Lunch

Peggy Grande, Kelley Paul, Claudia Coffey, Cathy Bailey

Former U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, Cathy Bailey and Peggy Grande

Former Special Assistant to Ronald Reagan, Peggy Grande

Kelley Paul addresses Republican Women on so-called "War on Women"

GOP Women Want to Flip the House

Former U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Cathy Bailey hosted 70 women today to hear speeches by Kelley Paul and Peggy Grande that made us determined to elect Republicans this fall. Bailey's ability to gather, motivate and then mobilize conservative women is the key to Republicans flipping the house and reelecting Sen. McConnell. Now she has a PCA, Kentucky Rise PAC, to help do just that.

Former President Ronald Reagan's Special Assistant, Peggy Grande, gave us a glimpse on her view of Reagan in his last last ten years, up to planning and attending his funeral. As Reagan's personal photographer, she sat in on Reagan's personal meetings with world leaders such as Margaret Thatcher. Grande used her vantage point to observe the attributes that made Reagan not just a great president, but a great person.  She highlighted his authenticity, respect and optimism.  Reagan's life was organized around his love for his God, his wife and his country, Grande told the packed room.  She shared one of her favorite Reagan sayings:  "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly. Leave the rest to God."

Just when Grande had moved us to tears and had us missing Reagan unbearably, she reminded us of these words from his farewell address:

The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.

And something else we learned: once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it'll end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world.

After Grande made us nostalgic for one of the greatest leaders of conservatism who accomplished so much, Kelley Paul reminded us of the pressing needs our country faces today -- most urgently, the need to repeal Obamacare.  Whereas Grande spoke of the past successes of conservatism, Paul evoked the future.  It made me grateful for her husband's bold and courageous leadership, and a little less bereft about Reagan's absence.

Paul (Kelley, that is) seems to get better with each speaking engagement.  A few months ago, she gave a tremendous speech to the Jefferson County Republican Party in which she essentially illustrated conservative principles -- faith, hard work, family, humility -- by telling stories about her grandmother.  It was a masterful example of showing without simply telling.

Today, Kelley focused explicitly on policy.  The speech was every bit as substantive as what Sen. Paul would give.  She blew off the "window dressing" on the supposed war on women, item by item, refuting issues like the Lilly Ledbetter "Fair Pay" Act, Obamacare, the glass ceiling. Citing her own extensive experience in advertising and the telecommunications industry -- as well as the fact that law schools and medical schools are now 50 percent female -- Paul put the lie to the Democrat fairy tale that women are victims in need of Big Government to save us from the Misogynists. She quoted her husband's observation that if there was a war on women, those number suggest women won.

Paul gave an anecdote to remind us that in stead of looking to save a $10 co-pay on birth control, women should look to see if their insurance will cover the hospitals that could save a life:  it may no longer, thanks to Obamacare.

Paul told us that Sen. Tom Coburn has lost his doctor due to Obamacare.  I knew Sen. Coburn was retiring; I did not realize that it was because his cancer has returned.  Paul pointed out that Coburn, as a member of Congress,  was forced to sign up for Obamacare.  However, M.D. Anderson -- which saved Coburn's life the first time he had cancer -- does not accept Obamacare.  Consequently, those doctors who know Coburn's history and treated him successfully before, cannot do so under his new and supposedly improved Obamacare insurance (unless Coburn wants to pay out of network, $60,000).

 It is little comfort to Coburn, Paul noted, that Coburn now has an "approved" plant that gives free birth control and diet counseling.

Better Her Than Them To Teach Your Children Well

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.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte Speaks at McConnell Center

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R.-N.H.) spoke at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center today. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell gave the introduction and shared the stage with her.

Ayotte used the first portion of her speech to praise McConnell as Republican leader and a man of courage and conviction, a statesman who puts the interests of the country ahead of political expediency. She commented that no matter how busy McConnell is with running the Republican caucus, his fellow Senators know that first and foremost he loves Kentucky.

Clearly, McConnell has been a mentor to her, and she credited him with guiding her on how to be an effective Senator.  And effective she has been:  although she has been in the Senate for just three years, she has become an important Republican voice on foreign policy and defense. McConnell said that he values Ayotte's judgment and looks to her as a leader in the Republican caucus.

The second part of Ayotte's speech dissected the Obama administration's "Re-set" policy with Russia, and the horrific consequences that have flowed from it. Ayotte is very much of the Reagan view of peace through strength -- that the best way to avoid a war is to be prepared to fight one.  The corollary, she said, is that weakness invites aggression, which is why every time the Obama administration tries to be conciliatory to Vladimir Putin, he responds in ways that make the world more dangerous.

Ayotte singled out the Obama administration's failure to honor America's promise to provide missile defense systems to Poland and the Czech Republic,  Obama's failure to call out Russia for violating its missile treaties and Obama's failure to make any meaningful response to Russian interference with Georgian sovereignty.  With each failed opportunity to respond to Russian aggression, Putin became further emboldened, culminating in his invasion of Ukraine.  And make no mistake about it, Ayotte stated, it is an invasion.  A free election does not occur within shooting distance of 60,000 Russian troops.

Ayotte noted that when the U.S. complained about Russian human rights violations by enacting the Mignitzky Act (freezing U.S. assets and prohibiting entry to Russians who commit certain human rights violations), Russia responded with cutting off American adoptions of Russian babies.  Ayotte's discussion of the adoption retaliation was noteworthy, because it gets so little press and realistically, most politicians probably do not understand it well enough to explain to an audience.  It was another example of Ayotte's superb command of her subject material.  It was also a stunning example of Putin's cruelty -- it made me wonder, how did we miss these tea leaves?  A man who will condemn a disabled Russian baby, whom nobody in Russia wants, to an orphanage when an American couple lies waiting to adopt, it takes a uniquely cruel human being to do that. 

Ayotte did not belabor the point. She speaks with a clinical, legal precision, like the prosecutor she was before her election to the U.S. Senate.  She does not go in for theatrics.  Although very pretty, the most striking thing about watching Ayotte is her knowledge of her subject matter.  She has internalized advice that McConnell often gives students:  work hard and know what you're talking about. Ayotte in this respect is very much like McConnell, and the complete antithesis of Obama:  she is serious about doing the people's business. In an age when Obama cheapens his office by trying to be hip and funny, Ayotte and McConnell are content with the dignity that comes with discipline, focus and adherence to conservative principles.

In response to a student question about the federal debt, Ayotte circled back to her support for McConnell. The debt is the most significant national threat facing the U.S., Ayotte said. She credited McConnell's focus on reducing wasteful spending, saying that if Washington does not get the debt under control, nothing else matters. She urged the students to demand that their elected leaders reduce spending so that they are not saddled with paying for politicians' inability to make the hard choices. 

Ann Coulter Makes the Case for Mitch

Ann Coulter's column in support of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is devastating. Though she never mentions him by name, she makes Matt Bevin look like a complete hack. Same for the "shysters" at the Senate Conservative Fund.  It is by far the most incisive opinion piece yet written on the Kentucky Senate race.

A few highlights on why America needs Kentuckians to reelect Mitch:

(1) For more than a decade, Sen. Mitch McConnell has stood alone in fighting unconstitutional campaign finance laws, earning him the undying enmity of The New York Times. (The Times is probably the largest contributor to the Senate Conservatives Fund opposing McConnell.)
 
McConnell took on the entire MSM, as well as members of his own party, principally John McCain and President Bush, who incomprehensibly signed McCain-Feingold into law with the idle musing that the Supreme Court could strike down any unconstitutional parts. (It didn't -- until some of it was finally overturned in Citizens United.)   McConnell was the Ted Cruz of campaign finance laws, leading filibusters to block these outrageous infringements on free speech, writing op-eds and giving speeches denouncing them, and directly suing to have McCain-Feingold declared unconstitutional in McConnell v. FEC.
. . .
(2) As minority leader, McConnell managed to get every single Republican in the Senate to vote against Obamacare -- even "Strange New Respect" Republicans like John McCain, Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham. No other Republican leader has ever accomplished anything like that.
 
For example, under Minority Leader Bob Dole, seven Senate Republicans voted for Clinton's 1994 crime bill, which contained the assault weapons ban widely credited with Republicans' sweep of Congress later that year. That's not merely a reflection of Republicans being worse back then: Among the "Ayes" were conservative John Danforth (Mo.) and William Cohen -- as good as you get from Maine.   The importance of a solid Republican vote against Obamacare can hardly be overstated. Thanks to McConnell, there is no confusion about which party is responsible for this widely detested law -- and which party you should vote for to get rid of it.     (3) McConnell tricked Obama into accepting the only spending cuts to the federal government in more than half a century.   Obama originally proposed the sequester on the assumption that its provisions were so harsh, Republicans would never accept it. But McConnell called his bluff and, for the first time since Eisenhower's first term, a bill was signed into law that would impose large-scale spending cuts on the federal government.   Even Ronald Reagan didn't cut federal spending!   McConnell did -- and that was with a Democratic president and a Democratic majority in the Senate. (Imagine what he could do with a Senate majority!)   Unfortunately, that deal was lightly thrown away by Rep. Paul Ryan last month,
. . .
(4) On the most important issue -- immigration -- McConnell not only voted against Marco Rubio's amnesty bill, but at the moment, he may be the only thing standing between us and a scheme to import 30 million new Democratic voters. As House Speaker John Boehner works feverishly behind the scenes to push amnesty through, McConnell recently announced that there would be no immigration bill in 2014 (thank almighty God).

Who You Gonna Crush?

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's quote in yesterday's New York Times is getting taken wildly out of context.

McConnell did not state that he would crush the Tea Party. Here's the actual quote:  “I think we are going to crush them everywhere,” the Times reported McConnell stating. “I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.”

But as Truth Revolt pointed out (and as even the Times article reflects), the "they" to whom McConnell referred was not the Tea Party generally but rather the Senate Conservative Fund -- the Jim DeMint group that's been running TV ads against McConnell here, and a big Matt Bevin backer.

Note the distinction that McConnell is drawing:

I’ve always been and continue to be a big supporter of the Tea Party and the conservative change it’s bringing to Washington. One of the biggest obstacles to that change, however, is the Senate Conservatives Fund, a rogue political operation that has co-opted the Liberty movement for its own enrichment to the detriment of the conservative cause. This is a point that I have been making repeatedly and energetically over the past several months, because in my view this group has deceived a lot of good people. They claim to share our goals but undermine them at every turn. I think they should be stopped, and I don’t mind saying so.

Good for McConnell for calling out DeMint and his crazy band of so-called purists.  These people have elected more Democrats than the DNC.  Plainly they have no interest in actually winning elections or governing.

Kentuckians For Strong Leadership, moreover, has a new poll that shows McConnell crushing Matt Bevin -- including among self-identified members of the Tea Party:  McConnell beats Bevin 60 to 23 among Tea Party Supporters. McConnell actually polls better among conservatives than moderates.  McConnell's lead over Bevin is widening as the primary draws nearer.

Bevin is about to get crushed, deservedly so.  His campaign has been a complete waste of time and money.  Just a few years ago, Bevin looked at running against Yarmuth.  He even went to D.C. and met with some of the party types, but after kicking the tires, took a pass.  He will not get another such opportunity.  At least not as a Republican.

Stephen Stills Meddles vs. Mitch

Laura Ingraham, said it best:   celebrities should just Shut Up And Sing. Stephen Stills (Crosby, Nash & Stills) obviously has not read her book. So after the intermission at last night's Louisville concert, Stills deigned to advise Kentuckians how to vote.

Suffice to say he is not a fan of Mitch McConnell.  The leader will no doubt be glad to hear that aging. Woodstock rockers who enjoy freebasing cocaine are not in his base.

After urging voters to get rid of Mitch, Stills then waxed poetic about how marvelous that pot is now legal in Colorado.  It seemed he'd had a little himself during the intermission, after which time his intonation was uh, interesting.

As for the crowd's reaction to his plea to vote Mitch out, it was greeted with enthusiastic approval by about 46 percent -- same percentage Alison L-G will win in the general.

Rep. Tom Cotton Gives GOP Address on Obamacare

Party For the Party --Tonight

The Jefferson County Republican Party will hold a "party for the party" tonight in Louisville at the downtown Marriott.  Sen. Rand Paul will be the guest speaker. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Congressmen Barr, Guthrie and Massie will attend as well as Agriculture Sec. Jamie Comer -- and many others.

As Sen. Paul described it, this will not be a "stuffy dinner."  Just good conversation with like-minded conservatives and even music (the Monarchs!).


It should be a really fun event.  Click here for details.

Bevin Was For TARP Before He Was Against It

 Ronnie Ellis has an excellent summary of Matt Bevin's latest truthiness problem. For those who have been unable to pry themselves away from the Olympics, we now learn that in 2008 Bevin personally signed an investor report that spoke glowingly about TARP. That would be the same TARP he blasts McConnell about daily.

Politico broke the story, quoting the investor document Bevin signed:

 "Most of the positive developments have been government led, such as the effective nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the passage of the $700 billion TARP (don’t call it a bailout) and the Federal Reserve’s intention to invest in commercial paper,” wrote Bevin and Daniel Bandi, chief investment officer and vice president of the fund. “These moves should help to stabilize asset prices and help to ease liquidity constraints in the financial system.”

I am just tired of Bevin and I wish he'd go away.  He has become more tedious than ice and below-freezing temperatures.  Like the bad weather, he too will pass.  Not fast enough to suit me, though.

Oh, the shape-shifting excuses proffered by Bevin and his supporters.  Channeling Nancy Pelosi:  he had to sign the SEC document to find out what's in it?  Please.  Or this:  he didn't really believe what he was signing.  That's not making me feel any better about him.  Or, the SEC made him do it?  Duress, right.  Or, he didn't draft it?  Blaming it on the staff is not classy; so much for personal responsibility.

The whole sorry episode brought to mind one of Bevin's other whoppers that has always struck me as particularly brazen.

This is the same guy that listed MIT on his LinkedIn profile under education and then complains that we, the great unwashed, were dumb for thinking that the listing implied he that he actually attended  MIT, as in matriculated and took real classes there. No, we the unenlightened should have realized it was just a continuing ed. class, so the argument goes. 

 Kentucky requires lawyers licensed here to attend continuing legal education classes ("CLE"), 12 hours annually.  I have never, ever listed my attendance at a CLE on my LinkedIn profile.  I would be embarrassed to do so.  Nor have I ever seen another lawyer list attending a CLE in  a LinkedIn profile -- even when the lawyer was so lucky as to get a boondoggle junket to take the CLE some place interesting, say Harvard Law School.  It's just not done. 

The oddest thing about Bevin's latest issue with the truth is the name of the fund for which he signed the SEC form:  Veracity.  Orwell would be impressed.

Cathy Bailey Wishes Sarah Palin Happy Birthday

Former U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Cathy Bailey, along with other GOP notables, appears in the birthday video card in honor of Sarah Palin's 50th.  Bailey and Palin became friends when Bailey was the Kentucky Victory Chair for McCain-Palin in 2008.

Bailey and Palin were pivotal endorsements for Sen. Rand Paul as well as prolific fundraisers for his campaign. Both of these women have done so much to advance conservative principles in Kentucky and across America.

When I think of Palin, two things spring to mind.  One, her speech at the Republican National Convention in 2008 was the best political speech I have ever seen, or probably ever will-- it surpassed even Reagan.  I count myself very fortunate to have been there in person.  Second, I think of the viciousness and condescension that she has endured, none of which would have been heaped on her had she not strayed from Feminist orthodoxy.

Happy Birthday, Gov. Palin, and thanks for your work on behalf of limited government, liberty and personal responsibility.

Bothered By Bevin's Push Poll

Two nights ago, I was called by a polling firm; another Registered Republican I know received a similar call.   Of course, the pollster did not identify who paid for the poll, but it seemed clear to both of us that it was the Bevin campaign or someone promoting Bevin.  The focus was on the Republican primary for the Kentucky U.S. Senate race with lots of questions about the Tea Party.  If it was Bevin, he should apologize.

I answered the questions without complaint until the point when I was asked to react to different "statements."  For example, I was asked for my reaction to the "fact" that Sen. Mitch McConnell has never held a job in the private sector.  As I pointed out to the pollster, that "statement" is simply not true.  McConnell was a lawyer, in private practice in Louisville.  As any attorney who has spent time in private practice can attest, it is hard work, not just substantively, but in terms of running the business side of it.  So I asked the pollster whether he still wanted me to react to his false statement and he said "No, I think we got it." 

He started talking really fast at that point because he wanted to get me off the phone. He asked another whopper:  How did I feel about the fact that McConnell spends most of his time in Washington, D.C.?  I pointed out that again, the premise was false.  McConnell spends as much time in Kentucky as possible.  He loves his Cards and almost never misses a home game.  He actually loves the Commonwealth and his time here.

To be sure, he has to be in Washington for votes, and running the caucus.  The notion that McConnell has "gone native" is incorrect, however.  McConnell once observed that the fastest way to lose one's convictions in D.C. is to go to the cocktail parties; it can become too tempting to want to garner favor with the Washington Post and the elites that look to it to shape their opinions.  So McConnell avoids the D.C. cocktail party circuit, and Kentucky and the country are the better for it.

Even more offensive was a series of questions about McConnell's net worth. He has a house in Washington, and real estate there -- unlike the rest of the country -- has skyrocketed along with the deficit. (Seen the Hunger Games? Things are different in the Capital.)

The clear implication from this line of "statements" was that if McConnell's net worth has increased while he was in office, then he must be corrupt, or at the very least, that the increase in McConnell's net worth is attributable only to the taxpayers paying his salary.

There were no "statements" asking me to react to Secretary Elaine Chao's family coming to America with nothing, fleeing the Communists, and through hard work building a successful business that enabled four daughters (including Elaine) to attend Harvard Business School.  (The Chao's recently donated $40 million to Harvard Business School.) There were no "statements" regarding whether McConnell and Chao file joint tax returns.

 The line of "statements" about McConnell's net worth was a transparent, disgusting attempt to smear a public servant.  It's the sort of class warfare that we have come to expect from the Democrats.  It has no place in the Republican primary.

Does Governor Beshear Need An Exorcism?

And you thought the Grammy Awards this year were creepy with all of the satanic references in Katy Perry's and Beyonce's performances, now comes the state of the union address.  We thought it must have been extemporaneous when President Obama called Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear "possessed" about Obamacare, but no, lo and behold, that bizarre verb was right there on the teleprompter.  Only an administration profoundly deaf to religion would misappropriate such a horrendous word to give what we think was intended to be a compliment.  We aren't fans of Obamacare, but even we wouldn't stoop so far as to call someone "possessed" who supports it.  But, we suppose, it's refreshing for the architect of the (un)Affordable Care Act to acknowledge the devil of a time it is inflicting on America. 
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.

Sen. Roy Blunt Gives GOP Weekly Address on Job Creation

'Twas the Night Before Christmas