KY GOP Not Fooling Anybody

They are motherfuckers, and they are gonna fuck all the mothers, and they need every motherfucker they can get, no matter how racist, corrupt or otherwise purely trumpian.

 

Bruce Schreiner, AP:

Fellow Republicans considered preacher-turned-politician Dan Johnson to be a pariah during his campaign last fall after he kept racist images on his Facebook page disparaging Barack and Michelle Obama.

Now that he's sitting in the Kentucky House of Representatives, a party leader calls him a "fine fellow."

Johnson was welcomed as he quickly got to work during the General Assembly's frenzied first week. He gave floor speeches, joined GOP caucus strategy sessions on restricting abortions and weakening unions, and introduced a bill to keep "Sharia law" out of Kentucky's courts.

Kentucky Republicans won big as Donald Trump swept into the White House, but as political discourse becomes increasingly polarized and with the backlash against Johnson still fresh in their minds, they've sought to avoid controversies that could distract from their agenda.

"We told every member ... keep your eye on the ball, don't run off on tangents," said GOP state Rep. Kevin Bratcher, the new majority whip. "Our job right now is to pass legislation that gets people to work."

That means melting the party's initially icy approach to Johnson and his outsider campaign. The party stands by its denunciation of Johnson for the Facebook images, but considers it a "settled issue," said state GOP spokesman Tres Watson.

"We're ready to move forward," Watson said. "He's a Republican state representative and we're the Republican Party of Kentucky."