Win or Lose, Teabagger Violence Will Escalate

All I have to say is: Those Paulbots - what class. And thanks, guys, for demonstrating to the entire world exactly what Rand Paul and his Talibantastic repug friends plan to do to America.

Jake and Media Czech - who was there, and witnessed and recorded it - are all over it.

David Neiwert has the bigger picture, and concludes:

So I wonder when our liberal media are going to notice that we have a trend going here, eh?

-- Mentally unstable nutcases threatening liberal campaigners in Washington state, Illinois and Vermont.
-- A swastika-laden white-powder-terrorism attack on a Democratic congressman's offices.
-- Thugs hired by the Republican candidate in Alaska roughing up and handcuffing a reporter for asking questions at a public event.
-- Violent gunmen targeting liberal organizations after being inspired by right-wing talk-show hosts.
-- Republican congressional candidates who insist that a violent overthrow of the government is "on the table" if the 2010 Election fails to produce the desired right-wing takeover of Congress.
But of course, these are all "isolated incidents" that have nothing to do with each other, right?

Alex Seitz-Wald at ThinkProgress has more.

Read the whole thing and get the links here.

David Kurtz at TPM passes along a good analysis of the prosecution options for the curb-stomper.

But the description of Lexington/Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Ray Larson as "tough, hard-nosed" is laughably understated. Ray Larson would hold public executions in front of the courthouse if he thought he could get away with it.

If you wanted someone to suffer enormously, you couldn't do much better than advise him to commit a felony assault in public, on camera, in Ray Larson's jurisdiction.

Liveblogging Kentucky Senate Debate

Morning Updates:

I don't care that Conway has flip-flopped on capntrade as much as I care that he's on the wrong side now, but Jake is right.

Read the Herald coverage here.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I suffered bringing it to you! Note to self: next time, start drinking at least 30 minutes before starting to live-blog.

Have you made calls for your Democratic Congressional candidate today?

8:56 p.m.: Kentucky politican who most influenced you? Jack: Crit Luallen, Paul Patton, Wendell Ford. Rand: Jim Bunning. (!!!) Jesus Fucking Christ.

8:53 p.m.: rand: Social Security and Medicare are completely broke, and also cause AIDs! Privatize! Wall Street RULZ! Jack: His prescription wrong for Kentucky. If we'd privatized, be completely fucked today. Need to stand by Social Security. "Sick and tired of hearing about privatizing social security - I will never do that."

8:51 p.m.: Capntrade: Rand: It would be a disaster, Conway ambivalent. Jack: I am against capntrade. FUCK YOU JACK CONWAY.

8:48 p.m.: Rand: Ronald Reagan is GOD. Nuke the Department of education.

8:47 p.m. Rand: the Department of Education is full of Commies and causes AIDs!

8:46 p.m.: Jack: need early childhood education. "There's a role for federal government in helping young people get into college and graduate." WIN!

8:44 p.m.: Fucking idiot viewer has to bring up fucking abortion. But Jack rallies: "Abortion should be rare as possible, government shouldn't tell women what to do."

WIN! Jack Conway, I Forgive You Everything!

8:42 p.m.: Rand: you oversimplify everything, you don't listen, you just want to win, you are a BIG MEANIE! WAAHHHHH!

8:42 p.m.: Rand: tax people who own racehorses.

8:41 p.m.: Rand: "President Obama is a disaster!" Jack: "He's just making that up."

8:40 p.m.: Jack also has an unnamed "opponent." Stupid.

8:38 p.m.: Rand: PERVERSION! Obama is Perverted! Sick people who want health insurance PERVERT the market! And cause AIDs!

8:37 p.m.: Rand: when I said $2,000 deductible, I didn't mean NOW. (More LIES!) Lies upon lies upon lies about Medicare, about Obamacare, about whether the sun rises in the east ....

8:35 p.m.: Obamacare! Jack wants to fix it, but then goes on to praise all the popular stuff. Not perfect bill. Doesn't like deal cut with big pharma. Take that, Obama!

8:34 p.m.: Agreement on a myth: U.S. is very good at winning wars. Uh, not since World War II.

8:32 p.m.: What about returning vets? Jack: very important to take care of veterans - have to stand up for veterans, not cut vet benefits. Rand: That's dishonest (no, it's not you lying motherfucker.)

8:30 p.m.: Rand: I never said anything about segregated lunch counters - Jack Conway lies! Jack: Anyone can watch the videotape and see him say that.

8:28 p.m.: Goodman asked Rand, do you think social security is a ponzi scheme? Rand: Wahhh! Aqua Buddha! libtards! Wahhh!

8:27 p.m.: Rand: libtards lied about me - WAH!!!! Jack: I saw you embarass the shit out of yourself on Rachel.

8:25 p.m.: Viewer question about social security and Rand INSULTS HIM. Loser! Rand: Solution to deficit is to read bills.

8:22 p.m.: Jack: Should not have ignored Pakistan, need to have partners. Rand: I saw soldiers from Fort Knox go to Afghanistan. IN YOUR DREAMS, idiot! NO ONE from Fort Knox went to Afghanistan. Kentucky, do you want a Senator who doesn't know the difference between Fort Knox and Fort Campbell?

8:20 p.m.: Jack: not OK to stand back and say it's just too bad that people are losing their homes. HERO CONWAY! Need to find ways to keep people in their homes. Have to get back to sound practices in banking.

8:19 p.m.: Rand: if you got defrauded by your mortgage company, you deserve to die in the streets. Capitalism RULZ!

8:16 p.m.: Jack: TARP not success because no accountability. Holy shit - actual policy sense. Rand: TARP causes AIDs! And ass pimples!

8:15 p.m.: Jack: jobs, jobs, jobs. Rand: send less money to washington. BREAK! No chance for Jack to say Kentucky gets $1.50 back for every dollar we send to D.C. If we send less, we get less.

8:14 p.m.: Rand says Paul Krugman was WRONG! Why is he not burning for that blasphemy?

8:13 p.m.: Jack: we need prudent regulation. Rand: Regulation causes Ebola! And abortions! And a scary black man in the White House! Deficits make me shit my pants!

8:12 p.m. Rand: Regulations cause AIDs! Also, who is this "my opponent" of which Rand speaks? Why isn't that person on stage with Rand and Jack?

8:10 p.m.: Government Sux! Obama Evil Bad Big! Rand hates government! Jack has a jobs plan, and is a different kind of democrat. We know - you're the republican kind of democrat.

8:08 p.m.: Favorite state parks - Lake Barkley and Barren River. Boring. How about Rough River or Pine Mountain? Books: Poisonwood Bible and DaVinci Code. More boring.

8:06 p.m.: Rand Paul: "I'm not from Texas, really! I rode my bike all the way from Texas to Kentucky because I love Kentucky small towns!" (So fuck you, Louisville and Lexington. Also, I seriously doubt Bowling Green considers itself a small town.)

8:03 p.m.Jack Conway was born in a log cabin in Western Kentucky, where he studied lawbooks by firelight and split rails for fences ... the question was about you, Jack, not your ancestors.

8:01 p.m.: Jack Conway is from the DemocratIC party, not the Democrat party. Thank you, Bill Goodman!

7:50 p.m.: Via Media Czech, here is how you can submit questions during the debate:

* E-mail kytonight@ket.org.
* Call during the program toll-free, 1-800-494-7605.
* If you don't have e-mail, you can use the Kentucky Tonight Web message form.

7:45 p.m.: As for the usual teabagger/kochsucking lies, here's a smart-ass remark I'll give Conway free, gratis and for nothing:

"Wow, Rand. How do you keep your tongue from snapping right off its roller (bursting into flames, curling back and cutting off your windpipe ...) when you lie like that?"

7:40 p.m.: Watch the webcast live here.

Live-blogging begins as soon after 8 p.m. as I pour a stiff whiskey.

7:30 p.m.: Before the debate begins, here are the big questions:

Are the Villagers dead wrong about the Aqua Buddha ads that revealed Jack Conway as a real fighter and Rand Paul as a whining, pissing little bitch being bad for Conway, or are the Villagers Humongously, Galactically Wrong about the Aqua Buddha ads that revealed Jack Conway as a real fighter and Rand Paul as a whining, pissing little bitch being bad for Conway?

Will Conway keep playing offense, hitting Paul hard on economics, especially the 23 percent sales tax?

Will Paul stay defensive, either blowing up again or maybe even bursting into tears and peeing his pants?

Will Paul shake hands with Conway?

Will Kentucky's media mini-Village stay in the tank for Paul?

Does Conway have an adequate sound bite to swat down the idiotic but inevitable attacks about his brother?

The Fighter Wins

Uh, no.

Democrat Jack Conway’s aggressive television ad raising questions about opponent Rand Paul’s religious faith could hurt Conway more than it helps him at a crucial time in the U.S. Senate race, political observers said Monday.

Yep, that's exactly the kind of don't-upset-the-bullies advice that's been defeating Democrats for decades.

Here's a more realistic reaction:

Based on the emails we're getting it's fair to say that our readers, or at least the ones who are taking the time to write in (which is a lot), overwhelmingly, almost unanimously love Jack Conway's ad whacking Rand Paul over 'Aqua Buddha' and see resistance to that kind of politicking as a root flaw of the Democratic party.

As I commented at Zandar's place yesterday:

I have been as critical of Conway as anyone, and I also criticized this ad on Constitutional, not political, grounds.

Politically, this ad is FUCKING GENIUS. It also worked like a charm.

It got under Paul's skin to the point he came off looking like a whiny-assed titty baby AND a boor who wouldn't shake hands.

And it doesn't matter what Conway actually said or accused Paul of doing or being.

What matters is that voters see Conway FIGHTING ON OFFENSE. And Paul whining in defense.

The fighter wins. Every time.

Rand Paul Melt Down

Remember the 2000 Senate race in New York? Rick Lazio refused to shake his opponent's hand after a debate because he was pissed about an ad. Hillary Rodham Clinton beat his ass by a mile.

From the Herald:

A debate filled with unabashed personal attacks concluded Sunday night with Republican Rand Paul briskly brushing past Democrat Jack Conway, refusing to shake the hand of an opponent who raised questions about his religious beliefs.

“Jack, have you no decency? Have you no shame?” Paul asked Conway during the fourth of five scheduled debates between Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidates.

Paul said Conway’s actions were “a disgrace” that should disqualify Conway from the heated contest Kentuckians will decide Nov. 2.

Paul’s initial comments in the debate focused on a Conway TV ad that began airing over the weekend that says Paul was in a secret brotherhood while in college at Baylor University that mocked Christianity. It also alleged that he tied up a woman while in college and forced her to bow down to a god named “Aqua Buddha.”

Read the whole thing.

Media Czech has the tape.

The Last Despised Minority

This shouldn't be a surprise, coming from the man who thinks his job as the number-one law enforcement official in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is to spend millions of taxpayer dollars arguing in court that Kentuckians don't need no steenkin' laws cuz an invisible sky wizard does magic for us.

From the Herald:

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway questions the religious faith of his Republican opponent, Rand Paul, in a new television ad launched Saturday.

“Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that calls the Holy Bible a hoax …?” asks the ad. “Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up. Tell her to bow down before a false idol and say his God was Aqua Buddha?”

Paul’s campaign immediately attacked the ad, saying Conway “stepped way over the line” in “a shameful and despicable ad that questions Dr. Paul’s Christian faith.”

Paul said in a statement that he is a “pro-life Christian” who has “never written or spoken anything that would indicate otherwise.”

Paul is a member of The Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green, where his wife Kelley is a deacon.

The Conway campaign said Paul needs to explain why he joined a secret society in college after the president of Baylor University banned it in 1978, two years before Paul attended the Texas school, because it “made fun of not only the Baptist religion, but Christianity and Christ.”

Paul is, of course, a Mitch McConnell/Jim Demint repug, more than happy to carry water for corporations, Wall Street, the obscenely wealthy and the Xian Taliban. That's disgusting, depressing and un-American, but unfortunately neither illegal nor unconstitutional.

Attorney General Jack Conway, however, by attacking Paul's religious belief, is flouting the Constitutional prohibition on establishing a religious test for political office.

In that ad, Conway is saying that Rand Paul is not qualified to be a U.S. Senator because he is not Christian enough.

That is an absolutely outrageous thing for anyone who calls himself an American to say. It is despicable.

As I have written before, I think that belief in the efficacy of prayers to an invisible sky wizard of any denomination is sufficient proof of rational incompetence to bar anyone from any position of responsibility.

I would love to have the opportunity to vote for a candidate who proudly declares her atheism and insists that devotion to reality makes her a better candidate than a christian or muslim or jew or hindu or buddhist whose belief in a myth trumps facts, logic and reason.

But I would never declare a candidate unqualified for office for not being freakazoid enough.

(The last despised minority is, of course, rational thinkers. Otherwise known as atheists.)

Bill Clinton Stumps for Jack Conway in Kentucky

Media Czech has it all, of course.

President Bill Clinton Part One:



Jack Conway Part One:



See the rest of both speeches here, as well as the speeches of Senator Wendell Ford, who for 24 years held the seat for which Conway is running, BlueDog DINO Ben "Wire Hangar" Chandler, repug-lite KY-6, and Lt.-Gov.-without-portfolio Daniel "Sour Grapes" Mongiardo.

Read the Herald's coverage here.

Tea Party Darling Rand Paul Goes Commie

Paul's flips are almost beyond the ability of ordinary mortals to follow, but fortunately for us, Media Czech is no ordinary mortal:

Rand Paul constantly argues that we need to let rich people horde all of their money, since they are the chosen people who create jobs and wealth, and anyone who advocates taking money from them is committing class warfare and most likely a socialist/collectivist/statist.

But we all know how Rand Paul acts when he faces political pressure. Stop, squirm, and run, like the very worst kind of stereotypical politician. And since he's under a deluge of pressure because of his stupid Medicare deductible remarks, guess who has to duck now?

Rich folks:

Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul brought up the idea of having wealthier people pay more for Medicare coverage during a speech in his hometown of Bowling Green.

I'm so glad that Rand Paul is now down with "punishing people because they're successful" and "spreading the wealth". Karl Marx is smiling up at him from Commie Atheist Hell.

Read the whole thing.

Jack Conway and Rand Paul "Debate" on Fox

No, I didn't watch it, but David Shankula at Barefoot and Progressive did. He labels it "Conway/Paul Smackdowzzzzz:"

Rand Paul and Jack Conway got their debate on this morn courtesy of the satirical current events show "FOX News Sunday."

Chris Wallace asked Conway why he's called Paul "crazy" on the campaign trail.

Conway responded that anyone who thinks blacks should be barred from sitting at a lunch counter in this day and age is obviously crazy. He then went on to hammer Paul on the Americans with Disability Act, his association with neo-Nazis and...

Wait. Oh. No, sorry. This is Jack Conway. Nevermind. Here's what he actually said:

"I just think he's out of touch with the values of mainstream Kentuckians. You know, as Democrats, we need to talk about our values a little more. I think we value inclusivity."

Ziiiiing.

Here's the video. Watch it if you dare.

Conway Cuts Paul's Lead from 15 to ... Two

Don't panic, folks: Jack has more than five weeks to let his republican-lite freak flag fly. He can still lose this one.

And yes, this poll is of likely voters:

Democrat Jack Conway has cut sharply into Republican Rand Paul's once-commanding lead in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race, moving into a statistical tie with a little more than five weeks before Election Day, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

The poll shows that Conway, the state's attorney general, is now appealing to voters who say they are neutral on the tea party — Paul's base of support.

And Conway is building a significant lead among women, who earlier were almost evenly split between the two candidates.

According to the poll, Paul leads Conway 49 percent to 47 percent, with 4 percent undecided. That lead is well within the poll's 4 percentage point margin of error.

The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, questioned 611 likely voters Tuesday through Thursday.

The previous Bluegrass poll, released the first week of September, showed Paul leading Conway 55 percent to 40 percent.

Read the whole thing here because you won't find it on Jack's website.

Rand Paul Runs Away from Real Voters, Abuses Senior Citizen

Do NOT fuck with the Hillbilly. For he WILL get you on tape and expose your cupidity and rudeness for all the world to see.

I believe Rand Paul and folks like State Senator Dan Seum showed their real colors when they, what I consider, manhandled, pushed and shoved this 71 year old blogger around in a Government building simply because this 71 year old blogger was trying to exercise his constitutional rights as a citizen of the United states of America and then, according to my sources called the AP to say that Rand Paul was being harassed by this 71 year old blogger. Never mind that this 71 year old blogger has videotaped the President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Mitch McConnell, just to mention a few. Now that takes balls.

The video of Dr. Rand Paul and Kentucky State Senator Dan Seum, making what I consider, asses of themselves is below. The video is uncut. The only things edited in the video are, audio levels and a little color correction.

One last thing, the "Meet-N-Greet" thing with Dr. Rand Paul that was supposed to last from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. was over, according to my iPhone clock, at 6:30 pm. Further proof that Dr. Rand Paul and folks like State Senator Dan Seum love speaking to the choir, but hate it when when real folks ask real questions.

Senator Dan Seum, my arm where it was grabbed forcefully is really hurting bad. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do about it?

Note: If you watch the entire video you will hear a man ask Dr. Rand Paul "do you want to walk around any more" and Dr. Rand Paul says "no we've had enough" that's at the very end of the unedited video.

Read the whole story here.

Do not fear the teabaggers or their candidates. Like all bullies, they are cowards. Stand up to them, demand answers, and they will run away and hide.

Conway Rejects DADT

He may hate liberals and love tax cuts for the obscenely rich, but when it comes to the military, national security and civil rights, Jack Conway has his head on straight.

Media Czech:

There's just something about legislating repugnant discrimination that Rand Paul can't get enough of. We know that he's a fierce advocate for the right of private businesses to discriminate, but this May he told us how much he personally "abhors" discrimination and favors the government not discriminating. Oh, unless you're gay, I guess:

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway says gays should be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, while his Republican rival, Rand Paul, says the military should decide the issue.

SNIP

And for those of you looking for a reason to vote FOR Jack Conway instead of just against Rand Paul... THERE YOU GO.

Read the whole thing.

Conway Still Searching Where the Votes Aren't

Remember that old joke about the guy crawling around on the ground near a street light? Another guy stops and asks him what he's doing. First guy says, I lost my keys. Second guy says, where'd you lose them? First guy points down the street - over there. Second guy: so why are you looking over here? First guy: the light's better here.

We finally have a poll of likely voters that shows Jack Conway within single digits of Rand Paul.

Daily Kos/PPP:

The race is still engaged, but these results show us just how tough Kentucky is. Obama has a 37-60 approval rating in the state, including a weak 60-37 among Democrats (many of whom are social conservatives more than happy to vote Republican). Indeed, while the sample is 49 percent Democratic and 39 percent Republican, it's also 53 percent McCain voters and 40 percent Obama voters. It's that kind of state.

Now Conway is holding Obama supporters, but Paul is holding McCain voters, and there's lost more of those. In fact, Conway's deficit comes at the hand of those who consider themselves most conservative, since the Democrat's lead among liberals is 84-10 and among moderates 60-29. It's that 14-78 deficit among conservatives that's killing him.

SNIP

The Democrats’ problem in Kentucky isn’t the enthusiasm gap- Rand Paul took care of that for us. It’s because after showing some wariness earlier in the summer, when we had the race tied, the McCain voters have pretty much all gone home to Paul. In late June he was getting 70% of their votes and now for all his missteps he’s getting 80% of their votes. In a state that went as strongly Republican last time as Kentucky Conway is going to have to be able to pick off more of their voters than that to have a path to victory.

Wrong, wronger, wrongest.

We have a name for people who voted for McCain/Palin: republicans. Sure, in Kentucky thousands of 'em are registered Democratic, so they can fuck with the Democratic primary, but they are republicans who vote for republicans and who will never, never, ever vote for a Democratic candidate under any circumstances whatsoever, including massive bribes and unbearable torture.

That 7-point-gap among likely voters means that there are still thousands of registered real Democrats who think it's a waste of time to vote for a Democratic nominee who is running as a repug-lite.

I'm starting to see their point. Conway phone bank scenario:

"Hello, Mr. Jackson? This is the Jack Conway for Senate campaign calling to remind you to vote on election day November 2."

"Remind all you want, young man, I ain't doin' it."

"But Jack Conway's opponent is Rand Paul, who wants to repeal the Civil Rights Act, eliminate federal anti-drug grants and kill Social Security."

"Yep, Rand Paul's crazier 'n a shithouse rat, alright, but that just makes him the last honest republican. Jack Conway wants to give millions of my tax dollars to those rich fuckers on Wall Street. That makes him a traitor to the Democratic Party. I've been voting Democratic since decades before you were born, and I've seen a lot of assholes with a D beside their names, but Jack Conway is the first one to actually campaign on a promise to take money away from working people and give it to millionaire parasites."

Whatta ya say, Jack? How about going after votes where the Democratic ones are?

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

How Likely Are You?

Polls are coming thick and fast on Kentucky's U.S. Senate race, and a pattern is emerging though it's not the one you think it is.

Rand Paul's up by 15!

Nope, Jack Conway's within 3!

Wait - Paul's up by 15 again!

Nope, Conway and Paul are tied!

And that's just this week.

Here's the pattern: the polls showing Conway close, slightly ahead or tied are polls of registered voters. The polls showing Paul ahead by double-digits are polls of likely voters.

In other words, Conway supporters are a bunch of lazy-ass, apathetic wastes of oxygen who can't be bothered to spend five minutes casting a vote in a nation-changing election.

Or, Jack Conway is a lazy-ass, apathetic waste of oxygen who can't be bothered to give actual Democratic voters a reason to vote for him.

Or both.

So that's it: the votes are there for Jack Conway. Half the electorate prefers Conway to Paul for U.S. Senate. But they don't prefer him enough to actually cast a vote for him.

Could it be because he wants to explode the deficit by keeping criminally low tax rates for the obscenely wealthy 2 percent of Americans, of whom there are maybe 14 in the entire state of Kentucky?

Or because he's eager to sacrifice yet more generations of impoverished Kentuckians to the giant fiery maw of Big Coal?

Or maybe it's because Kentucky voters are sick and fucking tired of yet another election in which our only choice is between the real republican and the fake republican.

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

New Polling Showing Conway Ahead of Paul is Extremely Bad News

Because it's going to convince Conway that his me-repug-too idiocy is working.

Media Czech:

Ryan Alessi has the new cn|2 poll up, and goodness gracious do we have a jump:

Jack Conway- 41.7
Rand Paul- 41.2

The poll from two weeks ago had Conway down 10, 41-31.

Keep checking back here as I'll be adding crosstabs throughout the next half hour...

UPDATE: More crosstabs:

Male/Female
Conway- 35/48
Paul- 50/33

Yes, that's what we might call a gender gap right there.

Read the whole thing.

Cue Conway coming out against the 14th Amendment and demanding Obama be impeached in 3, 2, 1 ....

Attn Jack Conway: What Part Of This Chart Do You Not Understand?

Ryan Alessi gets the idiot on tape:

Conway said he favors keeping in place many of the cuts approved during George W. Bush’s administration. Among those specific breaks Conway favors keeping for “five, eight, maybe 10″ years include lower income tax rates for wealthy and middle class Americans and a lower capital gains tax. And he said he wants to continue the temporary elimination of the estate tax.

Such positions are similar to that of his Republican opponent, Rand Paul.

Sigh.

Wire Hangar, KY-DINO, of course supports keeping the Bush deficit exploders, but that's because he's a repug.

Conway, I'm sorry to say, is just fucking stupid. Want to wrap this race up tomorrow, Jack? Tell the truth:

"Rand Paul, like Mitch McConnell and the rest of the repugs, wants to take 34 billion of your tax dollars and give it to their already obscenely wealthy friends. I want those obscenely wealthy people to start paying their fair share of taxes, so that we can use that money to create jobs, save Social Security and lower taxes for Kentucky's working people."

If you don't get that, you richly deserve to lose. But because this country does not deserve the feudal, serf-driven economy Rand Paul has in mind for us, I am begging you - begging you - to stop playing repug lite, get economically populist, and give Democratic voters a reason to go to the polls.

Rand Paul: E. KY Drug Problem? What Drug Problem?

I honestly didn't think Rand Paul could say anything more out of touch with Kentucky reality than claiming that people threw beer on speakers at booze-free Fancy Farm, but boy was I wrong.

Sooooooo wrong.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul said he doesn’t think the drug problem in Eastern Kentucky is “a real pressing issue,” even though others have described substance abuse in the region as an epidemic.

Paul’s latest comment, made in late July while speaking to an Associated Press reporter, expands on his previously stated position in favor of cutting federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs. Many officials say both are badly needed in Appalachia, a hotbed for marijuana growers and drug dealers selling prescription pills and methamphetamines.

His Democratic opponent, Jack Conway, favors using federal money, as does the region’s Republican congressman, U.S. Rep. Harold Rogers of Somerset.

Read the whole thing.

OK, seriously: a candidate actually trying to throw this race would never say anything so - oh, what's the phrase? - over-the-top STOOPIT.

Drugs are not of course the only problem in Eastern Kentucky, which has way more than its share of very serious problems, but ubiquitous drug abuse is the obstacle that prevents progress on any of the other problems: poverty, crime, school dropout rates, domestic abuse, poor health, lack of jobs, the power of the lethal and destructive coal industry - the list doesn't end.

Shit, even the drug dealers in Eastern Kentucky know it's "a real pressing issue."

Rand Paul Escapes Handlers Again; Insults KY Voters

Somebody tell Rand Paul that Robert Gibbs' gratuitous slap at the Democratic base yesterday was not a contest to see who could alienate the largest number of his own voters.

Oops, too late.

“We were in a place called Fancy Farm, which is just a wild picnic where they boo your entire speech,” Paul said at the end of the show. “And it’s a very partisan thing, and you do worry about people throwing beer on you and throwing things at you, so it is kind of wild thing to run for office.”

Though there was plenty of booing, nothing was thrown at politicians at the picnic on Saturday. It annually draws politicians who spend the day glad-handing with voters and delivering stump speeches. It has been a good fundraiser for the western Kentucky parish for 130 years and has evolved into the traditional kickoff of the fall campaign season in the state.

Read the whole thing - it gets worse.

I'm trying to imagine an anti-Kentucky insult worse than comparing Fancy Farm to a gang riot, and the only thing I can come up with is suggesting Churchill Downs replaces the Derby horses with greyhounds.

Does Rand think he's running for U.S. Senator from Fox News? How stupid does he think Kentuckians are?

Conway's Run-to-the-Right Strategy Working Like a Charm

Paul's broken 50 percent. It's over. From the Courier:

A week before the traditional start of the fall campaign in Kentucky, Republican Rand Paul leads Democrat Jack Conway by eight percentage points in the U.S. Senate race, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

The poll, conducted last Tuesday through Thursday by SurveyUSA, found that 51 percent of likely voters would support Paul if the election were held today, while 43 percent said they would vote for Conway.

Congratulations, Jack. You had the best opportunity in 30 years to rally non-voting Democrats back to the polls, and you blew it.

But now the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky is just a republican primary, and you've already lost.

Global Warming Could Sink Rand Paul

July was the 4th-hottest month in Louisville history.

But how bad could global warming really be for Kentucky? We're far and high enough from the ocean that rising seas just mean a quicker drive to the new beach. Shorter, warmer winters mean lower heating bills. A longer growing season means bumper crops, right?

Wrong.

Weather extremes likely attributable to the climate instability of global warming are ruining Kentucky's corn crop.

Jeffrey McMurray at the Courier:

Corn and soybean farmers in western Kentucky are accustomed to adapting to spring floods or summer droughts, but the combination of both in the same year threatens to make this harvest season one of the shortest in recent memory.

May downpours forced farmers to plant crops later than usual, and the lack of rain in June and July could also force them to harvest it weeks earlier than they want.

Darian Irvan, a University of Kentucky agriculture and natural resources agent for Hickman County, said corn is now at most shoulder high. Even more problematic, he said, is how little of it appears to be usable on each stalk.

“When the temperatures get up above 90 degrees, corn has a hard time pollenating,” Irvan said. “You pull the shuck back, there might be 15 kernels on the cob. Several cobs have three to four, or less.”

Although temperatures were cooling to the mid-80s by Friday, much of the damage has been done, prompting the likely premature harvest possibly as early as mid-August.

Before November, Kentucky farmers are going to be lining up for federal crop relief. When Rand Paul goes on television to berate them for sucking at the big-government teat, will that finally persuade Kentucky voters that the teabaggers don't have our best interests at heart?

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

Rand Paul No Longer Biggest Bigot in KY Senate Race

That would be Billy Ray Wilson, whose website name is "americanforussenate.com." Because it's about damn time we had one.

Jake has the scoop:

Billy Ray Wilson, an independent of London, just filed as a write-in candidate for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race.

He’s written a book (a couple books, actually), run for congress as a Republican and he’s got a fancy campaign website, on which he writes about being a deist and hating religion.

Read the whole thing, if you can stand one of the strangest anti-semitic rants I have ever encountered. Did you know Jesus was an Arab? Which is apparently way better than being a Jew.

Yep, Rand Paul just lost the really crazy vote.