2008 Election Still Open to Repug Theft

When Talking Points Memo, which broke the US Attorneys scandal, says a story is flying under the national and MSM radar, bloggers should need no further encouragement.

Did you know that the mere fact a republican incumbent lost a tight re-election is proof that the election was rigged and needs to be done over?

No? Then meet former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, the biggest sore-losing WATB north of Rush Limpballs.

In a nutshell, Norm Coleman has lost but refuses to concede and now wants to throw out the original election, the one he lost, and hold a new one.

Coleman was ahead after the initial tally on election night, but then found himself 225 votes behind Al Franken after the state-mandated recount. So Coleman sued to have the results of the election overturned by a court, primarily (though not exclusively) on the grounds that certain absentee ballots were counted that shouldn't have been and others weren't counted but should have been. That's most of what the twists and turns of the legal dispute have been about (a political junkies dream, really).

But five weeks into the election contest trial, the court has repeatedly issued rulings that narrow Coleman's chances of either collecting enough newly counted ballots or throwing out already counted ballots -- or some combination of the two. So in recent days, the Coleman legal team has become increasingly shrill in its attacks not just on the court but on the entire electoral process in Minnesota, getting closer every day to outright calling for the Nov. 4 election be declared null and void and a whole new election be held between Coleman and Franken. And now Coleman himself has suggested that a do-over election may be necessary.

In the background of course is the fact that the longer the legal dispute drags on, the longer Senate Democrats are denied an important 59th vote, in the person of Al Franken. But let's not allow that to distract from the fact that Coleman (and the GOP) still desperately wants to win, and has shown himself willing to do just about anything to get there.

Throwing your hands up and saying let's just call the election a tie and do it again is the desperate last act of a losing candidate. That this ploy requires attacking the entire electoral process and the people who conduct elections in the state is just a sign of his desperation. But apparently even the Coleman camp is starting to see that a do-over election is the only avenue still open to Coleman that might, albeit remotely, allow him to return to his seat.

For years, and certainly most loudly since the Florida debacle of 2000, Republicans have made ill-founded election hijinks charges against Democrats. But Norm Coleman, with the support of national Republicans (keep in mind that one of Coleman's lawyers is Ben Ginsberg, the Bush campaign's top lawyer in 2000) is now poised to try to pull off what would be perhaps a bigger election robbery than Bush v. Gore: toss out the nearly three million votes cast on one of the most-anticipated election days in this nation's history in favor of a much smaller special do-over election. It's breath-taking. Yet for some reason this story still seems to be flying below the national political radar.

Read the the whole reality-defying fiasco.

Mitch on Tape: I'm Bush's Strongest Supporter

John McCain should thank his lucky stars every day that Jim Pence is too busy nailing Mitch McConnell to turn his full attention to Senator Depends.



h/t Barefoot and Progressive.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

Bruce Lunsford's Energy Plan: Strip-Mine the Bluegrass

I'll give Bruce Lunsford this much: he's not so much of an energy panderer that he promotes the myth of "clean coal" or the catastrophe of mountain-top-removal the way Steve Beshear does.

No, Bruce Lunsford is a visionary; he wants to strip-mine the horse farms and rolling hills of Central Kentucky's Bluegrass Region.

To lure voters weary of high gas prices, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford is embracing a GOP-led push for oil shale drilling, one policy goal Congress already achieved and one proposal that received mixed reviews from both parties.

Lunsford, who is challenging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in the November election, unveiled an eight-point strategy to reduce prices at the pumps in the short and long terms.

”I want action. The public wants action,“ he said at the United Auto Workers local union 862."

Lunsford neglects, however, to mention where one might find oil shale. It's not just out west in desert that not many Kentucky voters care about. It's right here in the Bluegrass.

The Knobs, the semi-circle of low hills that curve around the east, south and west sides of Lexington are chock-full of oily shale.

Lunsford knows this because he was an aide to Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown in the early 1980s, when high gas prices sent the state scrambling for possible alternatives. Brown's Energy and National Resources Cabinets both investigated oil shale mining and produced reports on its viability in Kentucky.

Short version of the results: Gas prices were almost high enough to make oil shale economically competetive.

But only if you didn't count the astronomical cost of filling the Bluegrass region inside the Knobs with mountains of post-extraction waste rock - waste 10 times the volume of the mined shale.

Yes, Lunsford is discussing oil shale "drilling," which is theoretically less destructive than strip mining. But in Kentucky we're still blowing the tops off mountains to get to coal. When it comes to fossil fuels, we don't do "safe" or "clean." Environmentally sound is for wimps.

One of the prettier highway drives in Central Kentucky is the Bluegrass Parkway between Lexington and Elizabethtown. As you drive west from Lexington, you'll see a line of low hills rise up in front of you. Those are the Knobs. The oil-filled shale Knobs.

Now imagine the view of the oaks, hickories, maples, dogwoods and redbuds covering those hillsides replaced by mountains of gray, dead, sterile waste rock sucked dry of its oil.

At that very point on the parkway is a sign that reads: "Welcome to Hardin County. A Clean County."

Not for long, if Bruce Lunsford has his way. Not for long.

Taylor Shelton of Green KY nails Lunsford on the self-destructiveness of his "let's use more fossil fuels!" energy plan, but then gives him absolution:

I would personally like to see a little more leadership from Lunsford here, as this is where I think he really shows himself to lack the progressive credentials that alot of Kentuckians and alot of Democrats are looking for these days. While I don’t agree with Lunsford’s new energy plan, make no mistake that voting for Mitch McConnell in November is a vote against the environment, a sound energy policy, a healthy, green economy and thriving communities in Kentucky.

And when the new Senator Lunsford from Kentucky persuades his "Democratic" colleagues that strip-mining the Bluegrass is the solution to our energy problems, Taylor, will you still think he's an improvement over McConnell?

Shelton does a great job at Green KY of keeping Kentucky's many and serious environmental issues near the top of the blogosphere agenda, and I'm grateful for and appreciative of his work.

But at some point, we have to stop pretending that Bruce Lunsford is really a progressive Democrat in his heart.

All evidence to the contrary.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.

Mitch Picks Up Third-Party Challenger

Looks like Libertarians are really out to get the republicans this year: one of them has issued a third-party challenge to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

And not just any Libertarian either; but a famous Hollywood actor!

No, not that one.

Sonny Landham, perhaps best known for his role as "Billy" in 1987's Predator movie, has called a press conference in Frankfort for 1:45 p.m. Wednesday in which he will announce that he is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian Party candidate.

Landham, who lives in Ashland, flirted with Kentucky politics in 2003 by announcing for governor as a Republican before dropping out before that year's May primary.

What a coincidence! Bruce Lunsford, the Democratic nominee in the 2008 Senate race, also ran for governor in 2003 but dropped out before the primary.

To get on the November ballot as a Libertarian candidate, Landham must pay the state's $500 filing fee and collect at least 5,000 signatures by Aug. 12.

Even though Landham is a former Republican, state GOP chairman Steve Robertson said he didn't think Landham would divert votes from McConnell.

Landham has appeared in 53 movies, according to the International Movie Database. Most recently he played "Boone Cagle" in a 2007 movie called Disintegration. He also has acted in a number of adult films in the 1970s, including ones called Slippery When Wet, The Trouble with Young Stuff and Steam Heat.

Media Czech is all over it.

Far be it from me to disturb MC's fun - and he is having way too much fun - but I wonder just which party's voters Sonny is going to draw.

Yes, repugs are disgusted with their national party, but here in Kentucky they worship Mitch. Kentucky Democrats, on the other hand, are deeply divided and disgusted by Bruce Lunsford.

Sonny may not attract Democrats under ordinary circumstances, but for those seeking an anti-Bruce vote, a Libertarian alternative has got to look good compared to Mitch.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.

Race to Challenge Mitch McConnell: Ficher's endorsements

With nine days left and still 19 points down, Kentucky Democratic Senate Primary candidate Greg Fischer has picked up the endorsement of the state's second-largest (but best) newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Vote Fischer in Senate primary: Newcomer offers fresher voice, less baggage than Lunsford
Greg Fischer wants the chance to unseat McConnell this fall. Seven Democrats are seeking the opportunity to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell this fall, but just two of the candidates have a legitimate shot at winning their party's nomination in the May 20 primary.

Greg Fischer and Bruce Lunsford have much in common. Both are Louisville businessmen capable of self-financing part of their campaigns.

(SNIP)

Each of these two men would be a worthy candidate for the Democratic Party. And either would be a preferable alternative to McConnell, who has spent 24 years in the Senate serving his rich friends and campaign contributors far more ably than he has served Kentucky.

The bottom line for Democrats comes down to the question of which candidate has the best chance of defeating McConnell in November.

Lunsford has more name recognition, courtesy of two unsuccessful gubernatorial campaigns. And he probably could put more of his own money into the race.

But baggage accompanies Lunsford into any race he runs, baggage that has been thoroughly vetted in previous campaigns and will not be rehashed here.

Fischer is the fresh face in the race, the untested political novice. And frankly, he hasn't run the best of campaigns in the primary. If he wins, he will need to do far better against McConnell.

But Fischer has a couple of things that speak in his favor.

One is the fact that, as a novice, he delivers the message of change with a fresher voice.

He makes that message resonate with more hope, more idealism, more commitment.

And if "change" is the message the Democrats think can inspire Kentucky voters in November, who better to deliver it than a fresh face with a fresh voice?

The second thing is the simple fact that Fischer lacks Lunsford's baggage.

Whomever the Democrats nominate, McConnell will loose the attack dogs on him, just as he has loosed them on all comers for 24 years. But as Fischer asks, why give McConnell "a target-rich environment"?

Between Lunsford and Fischer, there is no bad choice for Democrats. They're both good candidates who would represent the state well in the Senate.

However, Fischer's fresh voice and lack of baggage for McConnell to target give him a slight edge in this primary race.

I'm afraid that Lunsford hatred and hopefulness generated by the Obama campaign have led the Herald astray.

But I can't deny that the closer we get to a primary which Bruce Lunsford, unfortunately, is going to win in a landslide, the more endorsements Fischer picks up.

On Friday, Fischer's campaign sent out this email:

A host of prominent Jefferson County Democrats, including former Louisville Mayor David Armstrong, former Congressman Ron Mazzoli, and Speaker Pro-Tem of the Kentucky House of Representatives Larry Clark, endorsed Greg Fischer Thursday in a ceremony on the steps of the Jefferson County Courthouse in Downtown Louisville.

"We're taking this campaign across Kentucky -- courthouse to courthouse-- and the response is overwhelming," Fischer said, addressing the crowd. Fischer promised he would fight for working people in Kentucky to control gas prices and to lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, that he would fight for quality, affordable health care for every American and that he would work to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. He promised to bring meaningful change to Washington.

Mayor Armstrong and Rep. Mazzoli both spoke of Fischer's honesty, integrity and conviction.

Invoking his belief that Fischer is the best Democratic candidate to run againt Mitch McConnell this fall, former State Sen. David Karem stirred the crowd with a ringing endorsement: "If you support John Yarmuth for Congress, you want Greg Fischer on the Democratic ticket. If you support Hillary Clinton for President, you want Greg Fischer on the Democratic ticket. If you support Barak Obama for president, you want Greg Fischer on the Democratic ticket."

The list of endorsers who attended yesterday's event also included: State Representative Mary Lou Marzian, State Senator Perry Clark, State Representative Jim Wayne and State Representative Tom Burch.

They're promising endorsements from "grass roots leaders" next week.

I'm not endorsing Fischer, Lunsford or anyone else in this ludicrous farce of a Senate primary. Whoever "wins" will be shark bait in November anyway.

But if you want to read the eloquent case for Lunsford from someone who made his reputation exposing and condemning Lunsford, check out Media Czech at Barefoot and Progressive.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

How to Vote When You Want Them All to Lose

For years, I have been demanding that Democratic candidates and elected officials stand up proudly for what they believe. Stand up in front of voters, tell them what you believe and insist that if they share those beliefs, they must vote for you. Stand up in office and vote for what you believe, just because that's what you believe.

How can I do any differently? I will vote in the Kentucky Democratic Primary for Mitch McConnell's Senate seat based on what I believe.

I believe Bruce Lunsford is a turncoat and liar who cannot be trusted as far as a child could throw him (he's pretty short.)

I believe Greg Fischer is what Media Czech calls a "thrillionaire:" in the race for the ego trip, lacking any genuine progressive values.

I believe Michael Cassaro has good intentions, but knows nothing about politics or managing a campaign.

I believe David L. Williams runs for office as a hobby, and desperately needs a new one.

I believe Kenneth Stepp might have potential, but he seems unable to establish, much less build, a base of support even in his hometown.

I believe James Rice is a Republican who saw opportunity in a wide-open Democratic primary.

I believe David Wylie thinks his appointment by Governor Patton to a state commission was way more politically influential than it really was.

I believe Andrew Horne is an honorable man and a great candidate who would have had the financial support of progressives everywhere and who would have beaten Mitch McConnell. I still don't understand exactly why he dropped out, but if he really believed what Governor Steve Beshear and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer told him about how he couldn't win without their support then he's too gullible to be Senator.

I believe that no matter who wins the Democratic Senate nomination, Mitch McConnell is going to win the general election in November.

So I'm voting for the candidate who has been from the beginning and still remains Democrats' best chance to win. As a bonus, I believe every vote this candidate earns will stick in the craw of Beshear and Schumer, and that will be one small victory.

Andrew Horne.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.

When Democrats Attack

Four of Kentucky's most prominent progressive Democrats in elected office have sent a letter to Greg Fischer asking him to remove his attack ad on Bruce Lunsford because it is hurting the Democratic Party.

... your campaign has launched a personal attack against a fellow Democrat’s character. By doing so, your campaign is playing right into Senator McConnell’s hands and is endagering the opportunity for change this November.

We urge you to remove your personal attack ad from the air immediately, take the high road, and spend the final weeks of the primary running a campaign focused on why you are right for the job, not divisive character attacks that are part of the reason Washington needs to change.

I could name a few dozen acts committed by prominent elected Democrats in Kentucky (though NOT the ones who signed the letter) that have caused, are causing, and will continue to cause far more damage to the Democratic Party than anything Greg Fischer could ever do.

Nevertheless, in the context of this particular race, John Yarmuth, Crit Luallen, Dan Mongiardo and Jack Conway are correct to criticize Fischer.

But I would like to know where those four were in February when Steve Beshear and Chuck Schumer guaranteed Mitch's victory by forcing Andrew Horne out of the race.

Both Barefoot and Progressive and PageOneKentucky have the letter.

Ryan Alessi has Luallen's insistence that she is not endorsing Lunsford, and Fischer's response that the ad is not misleading and his campaign will continue to discuss Lunsford's record.

Nineteen days, 21 minutes until it's over.

Nineteen days, 20 minutes until it's over.

Nineteen days, 19 minutes until it's over ...

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

Ludicrous Race to Unseat Mitch McConnell

Kentucky Democrats face a choice in the May 20 Senate primary in which we have to choose between dying slowly of tortuous drowning because of congestive heart failure, or dying slowly of tortuous drowning because of waterboarding. The pain, the suffering and the result are all the same.

No matter which of the eight "Democrats" vying for the nomination to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell actually wins the primary, the pain, the suffering and the result are all going to be the same:

Five and a half solid months of McConnell TV ads that so excoriate the Democratic Senate candidate that it destroys every Democratic candidate on the ballot, culminating in McConnell's re-election by a landslide and victories by feckless, worthless repugs downticket.

Kill me now.

Democrats, meet your choices:

Bruce Lunsford, whose real accomplishment in this race appears to be having caused an irreparable split among Kentucky Progressives, pitting those who would chew off their own arms before voting for Bruce Lunsford against those who would pay any price to unseat Mitch - even electing Mitch's very own BFF Bruce.

Greg Fischer, who talks about progressive issues the way an atheist makes small talk at a church picnic - "That's interesting. Something to think about. Is that potato salad I see over there?"

Michael Cassaro, a physician who actually teared up at a public event when a party activist got in his face and demanded he withdraw from the race. His main contribution so far has been a letter supporting gay rights. In Kentucky, that makes him a politician of courage.

David L. Williams, a perennial candidate with no apparent qualifications for anything, who won the Democratic primary for Secretary of Agriculture las year because he has the same name as the Republican president of the state senate. Yeah, I know. But he could actually win the Senate primary the same way.

David Wylie from Harrodsburg is a former postal worker and member of the Kentucky Commission of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. As far as can be determined from his minimal website, he has never held public office.

Kenneth Stepp is an Eastern Kentucky trial lawyer who was the only Democrat in the Fifth District who had the courage to run against incumbent repug Harold Rogers in 2006. Stepp lost in a landslide, but he put quite a few better-known Fifth District dems to shame.

James E. Rice of Campbellsville calls himself a conservative Democrat but his platform leans to the radical side of Dick Cheney. He also says he's "The Candidate for the Common Man." Thanks anyway, Jimmy, but I like to think of myself as uncommon.

Andrew Horne of Louisville, attorney, retired Marine Lt. Colonel with Iraq combat experience, a genuine progressive who has challenged Mitch about Iraq in national forums for the last two years, the Savior of Kentucky Democrats. Until he dropped out of the race and broke our hearts. But his name is still on the ballot, and I will not be surprised if he outpolls Greg Fischer.

And as final proof that the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky is the stupidest election ever, Mitch actually has a republican primary opponent. Daniel Essek. Whose official mailing address on the Secretary of State's web site is in - wait for it - Jellico, Tennessee.
No, I am not contributing to the bad reputation Kentucky politics already has by giving you links for any of these losers.

So, the latest Survey USA poll has Bruce Lunsford down four points and Greg Fischer actually doubling his percentage. Wait - do we have a Bruce Killer on our hands?

No. Unfortunately, Lunsford's four-point drop takes him down to just 43 percent, and Fischer's 100 percent jump takes him from 9 percent to 18 percent.

Fischer's campaign is a complete train wreck, which PageOneKentucky has been relating in painful detail.

Fischer's supporters are nothing if not determined, at which you can marvel on BlueGrassRoots.

Down with Tyranny made a pitch for Greg Fischer, in the course of which he quoted extensively from my own strong attacks on Bruce Lunsford. I appreciate the link, Down, but I have not endorsed Greg Fischer or anyone else in this race.

Which brings us to the point: Who am I going to vote for in the Democratic Primary Election for the challenger to Senator Mitch McConnell?

I have tried to stay above the fray - or rather out of the shit - of this race since Horne dropped out and Kentucky's "Democratic" "leadership" embraced Bruce Lunsford.

But I am going to explain how I'm going to vote and why.

Tomorrow.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

"Race" to Unseat Mitch McConnell Too Tragic for Farce, Too Ludicrous for Tragedy

UPDATE Below

If Kentucky Democrats had written a specific plan of action to ensure that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would win re-election this year despite even the most complete Democratic tsunami that swept every other republican from office, it would look pretty much exactly like the clusterfuck we've got right now.

1. Discourage, intimidate, bribe or blackmail every well-known and well-liked Democratic official in the state from entering the Senate race.
2. Encourage half-a-dozen losers, no-hopers, perennial candidates, clueless novices and who-dats to file for the race.
3. Persuade the single most reviled politician in the state to run for the Democratic nomination, although he is a long-time donor to republicans and BFF to Mitch himself.
4. When a strong, viable, uncontrolled candidate emerges, enlist national power-brokers to help force him to drop out.
5. Plant multiple stories on both progressive and wingnut state political blogs exaggerating the BFF's personal fortune and statewide popularity.
6. Spread rumors emphasizing the naivete, incompetence and general lameness of the six also-rans.

So here we are. Not a single Democratic office-holder, past or present, is running for Mitch's seat. Six of the eight candidates are unknowns, perennial losers or cruel jokes. Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Horne dropped out under pressure from Governor Beshear and DSCC chair Chuck Schumer.

And Bruce Lunsford - Criminal, Democratic Traitor, $40,000+ Donor to Republicans, and Best Friend Forever to Mitch McConnell - is, six weeks before the primary, the presumptive democratic nominee to challenge McConnell.

It is a tribute to the utter through-the-looking-glass nature of the Democratic clusterfuck that it is necessary to debunk the propaganda that Lunsford is a viable candidate.

Bruce has spent the last five years piling up such a record of supporting republicans and attacking democrats that Mitch won't have to film a single ad against him; he'll just rerun clips from Bruce's previous campaigns.

If Mitch wins by less than 20 points, it'll be because Democrats finally remembered how to try to rig an election.

Page One Kentucky's posts on Lunsford's inevitable win in the primary and loss in the general.

Page One Kentucky's posts on Greg Fischer's lame campaign and missed opportunities.

BlueGrassRoots' posts on why Greg Fischer is a better choice than Lunsford.

UPDATE, 8:17 p.m.: Meanwhile, the national Senate electoral picture is shaping up as a rout for Democrats, who have recruited strong challengers just about everywhere. Everywhere except here. Memo to the Kentucky Democratic Party: next time New Yorker Schumer comes calling, beware Yankees bearing empty promises.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

Amen, Ditto, and Give 'Em Hell, Media Czech!

Media Czech at Barefoot and Progressive righteously rips Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Moore a new one over her plea for a "unity pledge" from all seven Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate race.

Actually, it's not so much a request as it is a none-too-subtle threat to get behind Criminal, Democratic Traitor and Republican BFF Bruce Lunsford now before we slap you down like we did Andrew Horne.

MC:

... listen to what Jennifer Moore is advocating: "This oath is the first step in making sure we have a unified party going into the General Election. It is a crucial part of Democrats’ ability to provide the strongest possible front against Mitch McConnell."

That essentially means, "let's hurry up and get this primary out of the way so Bruce can win without any scars". Now, you may agree or disagree with the KDP's strategy, but let's be honest and call it exactly what it is.

Third, remember just who is asking for this "unity pledge", asking for democrats to "stay positive" and "not attack each other" to provide the "strongest front against McConnell".

I tell you what Jennifer, I have a unity pledge of my own that I'd like you to sign. Here it is.

1. When "pledging" to field Democratic candidates in every race, I will not simultaneously try to force Democratic candidates out of Congressional races in which the Republican would run unopposed without that Democrat running.

2. I pledge to not bow down in front of Chuck Schumer's thrown (sic) and let him decide what is best for the people of Kentucky. Nor will I be punk'd by reptilians into thinking that he'll actually spend money on us if we do what he says.

3. I pledge to not call the major donor base of a legitimate Democratic candidate in a primary and try to persuade/force them not to give that candidate any money. Such behavior from the head of the KDP is irresponsible and, dare I say, "negative".

How about it Jen?

Do NOT get me started on the unforgivable blunders committed by the "reformers" some of us busted our asses for four years to get into power at the Kentucky Democratic Party.

We half-killed ourselves to get rid of corrupt DINO Jerry Lundergan only to end up with spineless whiner Jennifer Moore.

This ludicrous, hypocritical and despicable "Unity Pledge" isn't the first time they've stepped on their dicks (Yes, Jennifer, I'm talking to YOU) and it won't be the last.

But this Saturday, at 10 a.m., we're all going to be at our polling places, chomping at the bit to elect new precinct officers - angry, pissed-off, loaded-for-bear precinct officers - and send them to County, District and State Conventions to slap a few arrogant party officials upside the head.

If you are a registered Democrat, this Saturday, April 5, 10 a.m. at your polling place is your once-every-four-years chance to decide who gets to run the Kentucky Democratic Party. You elect one man, one woman and one youth to represent your precinct. They choose who represents your county party, who choose who represents your Congressional District, who choose who represents all Kentucky Democrats on the state central committee.

Don't vote for anybody who thinks the current party leaders are doing a fine job. Don't vote for anybody who isn't screaming bloody murder for change. Don't vote for anybody who thinks Bruce Lunsford should ever be allowed to run for anything as a Democrat.

And for FSM's sake, get there by 9:30 to make sure they don't shut you out.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.