Where Liberals Go From Here

Steve M. on how to take liberal advantage of the split vote in Ohio on Tuesday (heavy in favor of unions; even heavier against Obamacare):

It's easy for people like us to see this in categories of liberalism and conservatism. The voters, in the aggregate, see this differently: they're just hoping to prevent having any more of their money taken away by any interest they see as powerful -- whether we see that interest as left or right, liberal or conservative. They voted against a Republican government taking money of union workers' pockets -- and they voted against what they perceive as a Democratic president taking money for health care. They don't think they should be compelled to pony up more for schools -- and yet they're angry at Republicans.

This makes no sense if you think in poli sci categories, but it makes sense to voters. Wall Street screws them. Pols -- all pols -- screw them, in their eyes. The dominant Republican pols in Ohio made no secret of wanting to screw them, so voters said no to that, but they still think "Obamacare" and increased taxes for schools are part of a vast, across-the-board government conspiracy to piss away everyone's money and stick the public with the bill, then ask for even more so it can happen again.

The way you transform this discontent into widespread progressivism is by (a) getting a narrative into the public's consciousness that challenges the dominant "most government spending is waste" narrative, (b) getting the message out that, if you're looking for a culprit, it's the Republican Party stupid, and (c) making sure that message is true, which means that Democratic politicians actually have to make people's lives better by means of government -- not theoretically, but for real, and not less awful, but better.

It's a tall order, to say the least, but the progressive victories at the polls this week won't mean a thing in the long run unless all three of these things start happening.

Teabaggers Throw KY GOP an Anchor

Oh, please, teabaggers, would you force Kentucky repugs to be even more self-destructively insane than they are already? Pretty please with sugar on top?

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

Loyalists in Kentucky’s Tea Party movement who helped propel Republican Rand Paul to the U.S. Senate last year say they share no blame for the GOP’s poor showing in Tuesday’s state elections, especially in the race for governor.

Instead, they point to the Republican Party establishment, which they say too often backs and fields candidates who don’t adhere to their call for limited government and fiscal responsibility.

“I’m a registered Republican but my reasoning for Tuesday’s loss is that we saw an establishment candidate, Republican David Williams, get rejected by the Tea Party,” said Lexington conservative radio talk show host Leland Conway. “The establishment part of the Republican Party of Kentucky needs to learn that its candidates have to be true conservatives for the Tea Party to line up behind them and to win.”

Such comments reflect the Tea Party movement’s continuing efforts to gain influence in the Grand Old Party, which dominates the state’s delegation in Washington D.C. but has won Kentucky’s governor’s office only twice since World War II.

A year ago, Republicans in Kentucky were sky-high, celebrating a huge victory by Rand Paul, the Tea Party movement’s favored son. On Saturday, Republicans will gather in Louisville for their traditional Saturday-after-the election leadership with little to cheer about.

Kentucky's four repug congress critters are dug into safe districts. The only thing that could possibly allow a Democratic challenger to dislodge them would be the repug getting primaried by a teabagger or forced by teabaggers to start sounding like Herman Cain or Michelle Bachmann.

There is No. Way. Kentucky Democrats get that lucky.

Wallow in the Victories ... Then Start Working on 2012

We did it: pure liberal victories against repug horrors - victories that two months ago no one would have predicted. Savor each and every delicious one, slowly with great pleasure. Then get back into the fight.

David Atkins "thereisnospoon" at Hullabaloo:

A brief roundup of the mostly good news from (Tuesday) night:

First off, in non-election-specific news, it looks like the Texas Republican gerrymandering overreach will cost them: the courts will be redrawing the map, which will likely mean three more Dem House seats in 2012.

In election news, Mississippi's personhood amendment was defeated in a 55-45 landslide. That's a great result. What's not so great is that this thing was so extreme that even a bunch of Freepers voted against it. That doesn't bode well for the fact that 45% of Mississippians voted for a law that, beyond its misogyny, would have insane unintended consequences for in-vitro fertilization, birth control and other basic reproductive issues. Still, a victory is a victory, especially on an issue that up until recently had been polling dead even. Unfortunately, Mississippi did pass a stringent new voter ID law and the MS GOP may have taken control of the statehouse for the first time since reconstruction.

In Arizona, the recall of white supremacist, Arizona Senate President and SB1070 architect Russell Pearce was a resounding success. Russell has been replaced by more moderate Republican Jerry Lewis. It's a conservative Arizona Senate district that's unwinnable for even a blue doggy Dem (after all, it elected Pearce six times), so the backlash against Pearce and for common decency is a beautiful thing to see. For more, see here.

The Ohio union-busting bill was crushed in a huge victory for the middle-class and a defeat for Republican governor Kasich there. The Ohio result was coupled with a rejection of the state to be required to participate in the still unpopular ACA. That was mostly a symbolic vote without real consequences, though.

In Maine, voters chose to keep same-day voter registration even after the Maine GOP tried to accuse gays of subverting the election process. No joke.

In North Carolina, Dems retook the contentious Wake County School Board, which has been a subject of national attention since a teabagger takeover there.

In Iowa, Dem Liz Mathis easily won election in what was supposed to be a close race, keeping the State Senate narrowly in Democratic hands. Had the race gone the other way, marriage equality in Iowa could have been threatened.

SNIP

But all in all, the key theme for the night was Republican overreach. Republicans thought they had a big mandate in 2010, and they went for broke. Voters across the country gave conservative utopians a wake-up all, and the media is taking note.

All in all, last night was a very good night for progressives and bodes well for 2012. It's also a reminder that as much obsession as there is over the endless "Obama Wars", there are a lot of other elections and races that matter out there for a lot of people's lives. The chessboard is grand--and the President, while the most important, is just one piece on the board.

It will be just a one-off if we don't use the post-victory elation to build a bigger victory for next year.

Digby on the Mississippi victory:

The good news is this:

On the No on 26 Facebook page, people who seem to have been previously unengaged have been excitedly talking for days about continuing their work after the election.

“It’s so helpful to know that you’re not alone,” Hemmins told me just before the election. “There’s been some talk of staying together after the vote as a group, I’m not sure for what purpose or to what extent… The religious right seems to be coming at women from so many different directions. Unfortunately, I can see us needing to rally the forces in the future.”

Indeed. On the Personhood Mississippi page, they’re already talking about taking the cause to the legislature.

We seem to be entering a new age of civic and social engagement and these battles are training activists for the demands of citizenship. Even in Mississippi. That's unequivocally a good thing.

Have you talked to your Democratic neighbors today?

Farmer loses ag commish race to farmer

The big story out of Kentucky's election tonight is that Kentucky voters apparently are not as stupid as we were sure they were. Or maybe they are more susceptible to blanketing commercials pitching a single, simple idea.

Yes, repug nominee James Comer, who claims to be an actual working farmer, has snatched a clean sweep away from the dems by beating Democratic nominee and Department of Agriculture employee marketing executive - but not actual working farmer - Bob Farmer. It wasn't even close - Comer got 62 percent of the vote to Farmer's 38 percent.

Comer ran non-stop ads on the theme of "there's only one real farmer in this race," but most of us doubted such a subtle message could overcome the Democrat's built-in advantage of a name that not only described the job but also is the exact same name of the incumbent commissioner: losing Lt. Gov. repug nominee Ritchie Farmer.

It didn't help that Democratic nominee Bob Farmer is a former stand-up comic who repeated worn-out jokes about Eastern Kentuckians, which is shooting fish in a barrel. Warning to aspiring politicians: if you must publicly insult people whose vote you might want some day, try to make sure no one is videotaping you doing so.

Big winner is Allison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's Secretary of State-elect who ran on a platform of protecting the franchise against repug nominee Bill Johnson's despicable attempts to prevent minorities, students, the elderly, the disabled, the poor, the homeless and veterans from voting.

Grimes had the largest vote percentage of the night - 64 percent to 36 percent for Johnson. Even Beshear got just 57 percent.

I am not a fan of Grimes and will be watching her carefully, but if all she accomplishes for the next four years is ensuring that everyone votes, she will be the most successful Democratic office-holder in Kentucky since Paul Patton left the Governor's Mansion in 2003.

Comer, by the way, is a state legislator, so there will be a special election to fill his seat. Don't get excited though; Democrats have a comfortable majority in the House and don't need Comer's seat.

Losing gubernatorial repug nominee David Williams unfortunately does not also lose the state senate seat from which he terrorizes the Commonwealth; he's not up for re-election until 2014.

But there's a silver lining: incumbent Commissioner of Agriculture Ritchie Farmer lost his bet on being Williams' lite guv and is now out of Kentucky politics for good. Though with any luck, not out of the news: his extremely messy divorce goes to court later this month.

Kentucky Blogging Treasure Joe Sonka is twittering election night here.

Even in Kentucky, Repugs Have to Cheat

My first reaction when this story broke last week was: He's lying - no way David Williams' father-in-law has $1.3 million to waste on a losing campaign, even to make his daughter happy.

But then I learned that the man has actually thrown more than two million bucks down the Williams shitter.

So I revised my reaction to: How pathetic is your campaign if the vast majority of your donations come from your Daddy?

Now it's Just how stupid do you think Kentuckians are to expect us to believe you're not consulting with your biggest donor who also happens to be your father-in-law?

From the Courier:

The Kentucky Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the state Registry of Election Finance alleging that Republican David Williams' campaign, his father-in-law and the group Restoring America are involved in an illegal coordinated effort to elect Williams.

Williams’ father-in-law, Russell Springs businessman Terry Stephens, has given more than $2 million to Restoring America, which has run ads criticizing Gov. Steve Beshear and supporting Williams for the past month.

In the complaint, Democrats offered no proof of collusion, instead producing only circumstantial evidence.

The latest move comes a week after the two sides ended a battle in Franklin Circuit Court that resulted in Restoring America filing a report with the registry naming Stephens as the sole contributor to the organization, which is based in Ohio.

The group and another organization funded by Stephens through the Republican Governors Association have spent about twice as much money helping Williams as he has raised and spent himself.

In a press release announcing Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Logsdon’s latest salvo, the party said Stephens was Williams’ “sugar daddy.”

Williams is 28 points down to Beshear in the latest poll. Meanwhile, Democratic voters all over the state are being intimidated away from the polls - Democratic voters, that is, who are not so discouraged and disgusted by the moribund state of the Kentucky Democratic Party that they're not planning to go to the polls at all.

Yes, of course Williams is engaging in election fraud - he's a repug running for office, so that's a given. But with Democratic voters and county parties starving for support all over the state, this is what the KDP thinks is a good investment of time and money?

Kentucky Judge Bars Ads by Super PAC

This may be an idiosyncratic rejection that will be overturned before you can finish reading this post, but go ahead and revel in this probably temporary but possibly ground-breaking court ruling.

Beth Musgrave at the Herald:

A Franklin Circuit Judge issued a rare restraining order Monday to stop a group from airing attack ads against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear after finding that the organization violated Kentucky’s campaign finance laws.

The Kentucky Democratic Party asked for the order against Restoring America, a third-party campaign committee, after the group failed to properly disclose its donors in a report to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance in recent days.

The group, organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service code, must report the source of its more than $1.3 million in contributions to the registry, according to state campaign finance laws. But the committee’s finance report listed Restoring America Inc. as its only contributor. Both Restoring America and Restoring America Inc. were started on the same day and use the same mailing address.

Monday’s ruling was believed to be among the first in the nation to halt advertising by a third-party group, sometimes referred to as Super PACs in federal elections.

Jon Fleischaker, a Louisville lawyer who specializes in the First Amendment and media law, said he believed Monday’s ruling would be overturned.

“I think it’s unconstitutional,” Fleischaker said. “Political speech is at the core of First Amendment rights.”

First, political speech is at the core of First Amendment rights of people. Not corporations and not political front groups funded by corporations, the 21st century's Dred Scott decision notwithstanding.

Second, the ruling is based on the SuperPAC's refusal to obey Kentucky state law, which requires disclosure of donors.

The instant that Restoring America reveals the actual source of its $1.3 million dollars, it can buy all the political speech it wants.

The only question here is why Restoring America is hiding its donors.

Not that it's any mystery.

Call the Waaaaaaaaaaaaahmbulance

David Williams has built his political career on bullying. He is re-elected to the state Senate by his constituents and to the Senate presidency by his colleagues because he is a bully. People either fear his bullying or want to benefit from his bullying of others. His primary qualification for office is his reputation as a bully.

Now he's whining like a little bitch because the big bad media is portraying him as ... a bully.

Beth Musgrave at the Herald:

Trailing badly in the polls, Republican David Williams said on Monday that a decade of bad press has hurt his campaign for the state’s top office.

In an interview with the Herald-Leader’s editorial board, the Republican nominee for governor said he has been unfairly portrayed as a bully by the media.

The Burkesville native, who has been president of the state Senate since 2000 and was first elected to the legislature in 1985, said he often shouldered the blame and political heat for unpopular stances taken by the Senate Republican caucus.

“Y’all have helped beat the hell out of me,” Williams said, referring to the media.

He has sometimes been referred to by his opponents and in editorials as the “Bully from Burkesville.”

“Nobody in Burkesville calls me a bully,” Williams said. “And few people in Frankfort do.”

Stop, you're killing me!

Everybody calls him a bully. People who hate him say it with disgust, and people who love him say it with pride, but everybody says it.

Hey David: people may disagree about the attractiveness of bullies, but everybody hates a WATB.

Repugs Lie About Beshear Supporting Clean Air and Water

Yeah, you read that right: the latest GOP ad in the Kentucky governor's race attacks the incumbent for supporting EPA regulations.

Here's the irony: Steve Beshear, a supposed Democrat, adamantly opposes EPA's efforts to minimize the water pollution and air pollution from coal mining - pollution that is directly and literally killing Kentuckians in the coal fields.

And here's the hysterical part: The Lexington Herald ran a piece exposing the ad as a lie:

The statement: “Beshear supports Obama’s EPA plans that will drive out our coal jobs by driving up our energy costs.”

— Restoring America, a group supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams, in a television ad this week attacking Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.

The ruling: False

The facts: Throughout this fall’s campaign for governor, Republican nominee David Williams has tried to tie Gov. Steve Beshear with Democratic President Obama, who is unpopular in the state.

And here's what's missing from the Herald's "campaign watchdog report:" For the last year, Steve Beshear has gone far out of his way to attack President Obama and blame the EPA for everything wrong in Kentucky coal country.

Barefoot and Progressive has the video of Beshear hysterically attacking President Obama for daring to protect the health and safety of Kentuckians:



It doesn't make any difference. Beshear is rolling to a landslide win. From the Courier:

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has extended his lead to 31 points over Republican Senate President David Williams, with just five weeks left before the Nov. 8 election, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, found that Beshear leads Williams 57 percent to 26 percent among likely Kentucky voters. The third candidate in the governor’s race, independent Gatewood Galbraith, had 8 percent, and 9 percent were undecided.

The poll questioned 569 likely voters Sept. 22-27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Beshear led Williams by 24 points in the last Bluegrass Poll, conducted in late July, and the fact that his lead continues to grow has some political observers convinced that his coattails will be long enough to carry most, if not all, of the state’s other Democratic candidates for constitutional offices to victory.

Why Barack Obama lets a dime of federal money cross the border into Kentucky is beyond me.

Conway Takes Liberal Stand on Principle

Are you searching for a reason to vote for Jack "I really don't want to run again" Conway? Here it is.

From Firedoglake:

The latest AG to stand with Schneiderman and against the attempts to whitewash the fraud of the big banks is Kentucky AG Jack Conway. He is up for re-election this year, and is known nationally by virtue of his unsuccessful challenge to Rand Paul for Senate in 2010. Conway, in conjunction with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, sent an email to supporters aligning himself with Schneiderman.

The same Wall Street banks whose irresponsible actions led to our nation’s economic collapse are now pressuring all 50 states to give them legal immunity. The banks want to block any criminal or civil accountability for actions that have yet to be investigated.

Attorneys General from Delaware, Minnesota, Nevada and New York have been fighting back. Today, I want to make a clear statement in support of Wall Street accountability and against immunity for banks — and I ask you to join me on this statement:

“Today’s economic crisis was caused by Wall Street acting improperly. Every American has paid the price — with families losing their homes, investors losing their money, and many Americans losing their jobs. There should be absolutely no criminal or civil immunity given to banks for activity that has not yet been investigated.”

Several things are important here. Kentucky didn’t really have a big housing bubble – Conway is supporting this on principle, rather than in service to a wide swath of dispossessed and struggling borrowers who are victims of fraud. Second, he writes this in the context of an election which has tightened up minimally. So he obviously finds this to be a winning issue on the campaign trail. Third, it would be tempting to just ignore a proposed settlement that isn’t going to happen. Conway sees political advantage in stamping on this process, which is already flailing.

The PCCC put this out with a petition, getting supporters to sign on to Conway’s vision that there should be no liability release without an investigation. Conway becomes at least the sixth AG – joining Schneiderman (NY), Beau Biden (DE), Martha Coakley (MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and Lori Swanson (MN) – in objecting to a settlement without proper investigation.

I think this may be the first time in Jack's career that he has taken a liberal stand on principle. Maybe he's finally figured out that there's a giant pool of Democratic votes out there just waiting for someone to show some spine. Or maybe he doesn't realize that Schneiderman is on the side of the dirty fucking hippies.

Only One KY SOS Candidate Wants You to Vote

And it's not the one who imagines that it's against the law for homeless people to vote.

From the Courier:

Republican Bill Johnson supported requiring people to present photo identification before voting, while Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes denounced it as a “barrier to the ballot box” as the candidates for Kentucky secretary of state met in a debate Monday night.

The rivals also differed on whether Kentucky’s Constitution should be amended to provide automatic restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their sentences. Johnson opposes such a measure. Grimes voiced personal support but said it’s up to state lawmakers to decide whether to put such a measure on the ballot.

SNIP

Grimes countered that Kentucky already is among 29 states requiring voters to produce an ID such as a Social Security card or driver’s license, or to be known by precinct officers.

“We do not have a problem of voter impersonation which would require us to essentially build another barrier to the ballot box,” she said.

Denouncing it in personal terms, Grimes said such a photo ID law would “require my 91-year-old grandmother to go get a government-issued ID to vote at the precinct she’s been voting at for the last 40 years.”

As Media Czech wrote at Barefoot and Progressive back in July:

It appears that there's been a small increase in the number of homeless people registering to vote in Kentucky this year. New Tea Party Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown (who likes to talk about "Barack Hussein Obama", how they're stealing our Ft. Knox gold, and dress up cardboard cutouts of Sarah Palin in his campaign shirt on his FB page) was able to immediately connect the dots, as the Mexican infiltrators at ACORN will now steal our elections and Liberty by using the homeless:

Kentucky election officials have reported an increase in the number of voter registration forms from the homeless, raising concerns among some about potential election fraud.

After the small increase, State Board of Elections Executive Director Sarah Ball Johnson wrote in a memo to county clerks last week that applications should be approved if they have “homeless” or “place to place” listed as addresses.

Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown said Tuesday he fears the policy could lead to vote fraud. He objected to the longstanding procedure in a letter to state election officials.

Naturally, Some Dude Named Bill Johnson will not let the homeless (who may or may not be members of the New Black Panther Party) steal our democracy:

Republican Secretary of State candidate Bill Johnson said he believes the policy violates a state law that requires would-be voters to list their place of residence to ensure that they're entitled to vote in a particular precinct.

“I am sensitive to the plight of the homeless,” Bill Johnson said in a statement. “However, I am equally sensitive to the need for honest elections. If an address cannot be determined, then a person should not be allowed to vote. It's that simple.”

See? It's that simple. No address, no vote. Democracy intact.

By the way, the Kentucky Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that there are approximately 1,000 homeless veterans in Kentucky. Remember that when you hear Bill Johnson play up the military out on the campaign trail over the next 4 months.

David Shankula at Barefoot and Progressive on how Johnson embarrassed himself at the Secretary of State debate:

Bill Johnson explained that homeless people should not be allowed to vote. Because they have no address, all Kentuckians who have fallen on hard times — which is increasingly likely given the policies being pushed by members of Bill Johnson’s own party — should not be allowed to vote.

And if we make exceptions for economically struggling Kentuckians, if we allow poor people to vote, then where will that take us? Bill Johnson has the answer:
What about somebody wealthy for example, who may be afraid? Because their house may be robbed? Or their child may be kidnapped?

That’s a fair comparison. Poor people who’ve lost their homes and want to vote… and very rich people who are being targetted by criminals who have absolutely no other way to locate their address or their child’s school or where they go on vacation without accessing voter rolls.

Just embarrassing.

As Ms. Grimes said in response:

“I have come to believe that his actions and statements are not for a lack of understanding but rather they are an intentional misrepresentation of the law. And that’s wrong for Kentucky. That’s wrong for the people of this state.”

She then went on to explain clearly the law of the state, the very law Bill Johnson willfully misunderstands, and the law he’s supposed to be running to enforce.

Lundergan Grimes is on the "other" side of a intra-party Democratic feud here in Kentucky, and I thought I was going to have to hold my nose to vote for her in November, but after her clear, proud, loud stand in favor of voting rights I'm going to have to vote for her proudly. Shit, I might even have to display her bumper sticker.

Johnson, by the way, proved himself a teabagging shit of the first order by filing a formal complaint against the Secretary of State's Office, claiming that registering homeless people to vote violates the state constitution.

From the Herald:

The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has decided to take no action on a complaint filed by Bill Johnson, Republican candidate for secretary of state, over voter registration of homeless people.

Johnson said Tuesday that John Steffen, executive director of the ethics commission, told him that the panel lacks jurisdiction to consider his complaint against Secretary of State Elaine Walker and the State Board of Elections.

Steffen declined Monday, after the commission’s regular meeting, to comment on the case, saying the panel can only comment on a case when it acts on it.

Johnson contended in his complaint filed in August that Walker and the elections board are violating the Kentucky Constitution by allowing people who don’t have addresses to register to vote.

Liberals know the only way repugs can survive electorally is by preventing as many Democratic-leaning people as possible from being able to vote at all. Every voting "reform" repugs propose has as its goal making it impossible for Democrats to vote.

Williams Does the Full Wingnut Monty

The next time your septic tank gets clogged, don't ask David Williams for help.

He'll burn your house to the ground and form a committee of your neighbors to figure out how to improve the plumbing in the home you no longer have.

From the Herald:

Republican nominee for governor David Williams wants to eliminate state personal and corporate income taxes as part of his plan to create and retain jobs in Kentucky.

Williams’ plan, released Wednesday, also recommends several short-term tax suspensions designed to jumpstart Kentucky’s job market and several changes in the law, including allowing local voters to decide if their county should have a right-to-work laws. The plan also allows local voters to decide if local governments should have to pay the prevailing wage for public works projects.

Williams faces Democratic incumbent Gov. Steve Beshear and independent Gateood Galbraith in the Nov. 8 general election.

The plan also calls for creation of a commission of economic and tax experts to come up with a new state and local tax structure that would receive an up-or-down vote in the legislature.

Reporter Jack Brammer, who certainly knows better, simply transcribes this insanity as if it had a chance in hell of creating a single job rather than destroying what's left of Kentucky's economy.

Cutting. Taxes. Never. Creates. Jobs. When even proud "Capitalist Tool" Forbes magazine says so, the debate is over.

It’s a mainstay of conservative orthodoxy that tax cuts create jobs. In fact, the complexity of the tax code does create jobs for high-priced tax attorneys and accountants. But do tax cuts create “real” jobs?

The answer appears to be no for companies big and small. After all, U.S. public companies pay well-below the official 35% tax rate while 13.5 million American workers search unsuccessfully for jobs And start ups tell me that tax cuts don’t affect whether they’ll create new jobs. In short, the tax cut rhetoric, while effective politics, is lousy economics.

George H. W. Bush wisely pointed out in his 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan that expecting to balance the budget with tax cuts and defense spending increases was “voodoo economics.” But along with Reagan’s ascendancy came the rise of huge budget deficits — that Bush wisely helped end when he agreed to raise taxes in 1990.

Kentucky's tax system desperately needs reform, but Williams' plan is treating a brain tumor by cutting off your head. The operation was a complete success - the tumor's gone. Too bad the patient died.

Blatant Panders to Freakazoids Gain Beshear Nothing

For the millionth time, no matter how much a supposed "Democratic" candidate kow-tows to the repugs and freakazoids, they will never give him credit and never, never, ever vote for anyone with a D beside his name.

The $40 million tax dollars Steve Beshear unconstitutionally promised to the moronic backers of the Flintstones Truther Park weren't enough to save him from accusations of commiemuslinterrism.

From the Herald:

A state lawyer's recommendation that the Bell County school district stop allowing prayer over the public-address system at football games has sparked controversy in Kentucky's gubernatorial election.

Republican David Williams, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear in the Nov. 8 election, urged Beshear in a news release Friday "to denounce this attack on prayer at public functions and lead the efforts of state government to defend our citizens' right to voluntarily pray anywhere they choose."

Do I really have to explain that Bell County citizens - and all Kentucky citizens - still have the right to demonstrate their stupidity by muttering demands to an invisible sky wizard anywhere they please? That it's only the government that's not allowed to endorse religion by leading or promoting such idiocy?

On Friday night, Bell County High School's underdog football team managed to beat powerhouse Lafayette High School with no apparent divine intervention.

Liberal Victory in New Hampshire

If the national political landscape looks bleak for liberals, the picture at the local level is far more promising. In conservative New Hampshire, Bob Perry showed how it's done.

Carol Shea-Porter at Down with Tyranny:

Bob Perry is a well informed activist who always attends political events, respectfully asks politicians tough and honest questions, and volunteers on campaigns. In 2006, he decided to run for New Hampshire state Rep because he was so concerned about what was happening to the middle class. He served for four years, and was absolutely devoted to campaign finance reform, clean elections, and to supporting legislation that held corporations accountable and helped the middle class.

Bob lost in the 2010 anti-Democrats wave. He knew though that the right wing Republicans would try to push legislation that hurt regular citizens, so he did something extraordinary. He kept going to hearings at the State House, so he could be a witness and then educate others about the plans. Bob never faltered or gave up. When one of the new state reps resigned, Bob answered the call to public service again. He first had to win a primary, and then he took on a free stater who had support from many right wing groups. He just did his job, going door to door in the hot summer sun, talking to people about his plans to help the middle class "rise again," as he puts it. He's a true public servant who never gave up on politics. He often uses this quote at the end of his email: "People often say with pride 'I'm not interested in politics.' They might as well say 'I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future or any future ...'
If we mean to keep control over our world and lives, we must be interested in politics." Sometimes the good guys do win! Martha Gellhorn (1909-1998), American travel writer, novelist, and journalist.)

SNIP

Bob Perry won the Republican seat Tuesday with 58% of the votes. He won 5 of the 6 towns in the district and only lost the 6th one, the smallest, by 9 votes. Carol attended the victory party and heard him say that "I will advocate on behalf of working men and women. I look forward to sustaining the governor's veto on the Photo I.D. bill, which is contrary to New Hampshire's tradition of trusting voters." New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley:

"In a historically Republican district, New Hampshire voters turned out in the middle of summer to send a loud and clear message to the out of control Republican majority. Its relentless attempts to make cigarettes cheaper but college more expensive, slash women's health care, and kill jobs by taxing hospitals must stop immediately. Tonight's special election is a clear rejection of the out of touch GOP agenda that puts corporations first and Granite Staters last."

It's less than 15 months to the 2012 elections. Start working now to make liberal victories happen where you live.

How Liberals Got So Close in Wisconsin, and Why They Fell Short

Liberal Prosperity didn't disappear overnight, and we won't restore it overnight, either. But each battle gets us closer, and teaches us lessons for the fight.

Kenneth Quinnell at Crooks and Liars:

While we didn't win everything we wanted in Wisconsin, we scored a significant victory. Of the Republicans the left tried to recall in the state, three of the seven were successful. That's a pretty powerful message, since there were only four recall elections prior to that in the state's history. There are a number of important things we learned last night, or at least, a number of things we should learn...

1. The grassroots can overcome Citizens United-inspired massive spending: Between $20-$40 million was spent by the right on this recall. The results of that were two losses and several narrow victories in strongly Republican districts. This is very encouraging.

2. Money still talks, although the influence is less than it used to be: Alberta Darling is still a state senator because $8 million was spent on her campaign. That's the only reason. Similarly, Rick Scott is governor of Florida because he spent $72 million. Without these large sums of money, these candidates couldn't have won. They have nothing else going for them.

3. Left-wing GOTV methods are inadequate: Looking at the narrow margins in these races (and many other races in recent years) it is obvious that better GOTV could have swung a lot races, particularly in the 2010 midterms. I think it's time to completely, and scientifically, re-examine left-wing GOTV efforts. Learn what works and doesn't work and abandon the traditional methods that don't work. And there are probably a lot of them. Then we need a coordinated and well-funded effort to train everyone on the left nationwide how to do things the right way.

4. Republican districts, everywhere, are mostly just districts where people with good values just don't show up to vote: Can anyone honestly say that there weren't a few thousand more leftists in each of these losing districts last night that couldn't have voted? There is a mountain of evidence that our issue positions are the majority positions across the nation. How do we get that majority to show up to the polls? In every election? If we figure that out, the right is doomed for generations.

5. Left-wing messaging is still inadequate: This is less about last night than it is about the left in general. Democrats did pretty well last night because there was a clear message -- Scott Walker and his cronies are hurting the state and hurting you. That drove turnout pretty well and Democrats picked up traditionally Republican seats. The problem is that message won't work twice. It never does. Shilling and King have to get rid of the crony part of the message now and focus on Walker. But what happens when they have no boogeyman/men to go after? What happens to Democratic incumbents? If they don't have good messaging, they'll be on the wrong side of the anger that is growing with the public.

6. The right-wing agenda is toxic when the public knows about it and understands it: Democrats didn't do well last night because they outspent the other side. And there's ample evidence that the other side was very active in the grassroots, too. So how did Democrats do so well? Because the Republican agenda sucks. And when people know that, anyone who isn't a right-wing ideologue votes against that agenda.

7. Left-wing infrastructure is still inadequate: Last night showed that there has been major improvement in our infrastructure in recent years. Tons of groups helped out in Wisconsin and it made a difference. But what happens when that infrastructure has to focus on 50 states at the same time? The right has good infrastructure in almost every city. They are constantly training the next generation of activists and candidates and funding them to make sure they don't leave the movement. We're nowhere near anything like that. This might be our most pressing need, though.

8. Democrats still don't know how to fight: Why would anyone concede a close election where there are potential shenanigans with the clerk counting the votes? Recounts are not about overturning close elections, they are about ensuring the integrity of the vote. Don't give up until you know that you've lost. Don't assume it because that's the way it looks. Stand up and fight. Even if you lose this battle, people will remember you as a fighter and will support you next time. Quit worrying about what the media and Republicans are going to say about you -- they're going to say that anyway. Get over it. Assume it's going to happen (it always does) and do the right thing.

9. Things are changing because the people want change: The process is slow and very painful. It could be going more quickly and many people who could be doing better should be doing better (yes, I'm talking to you Mr. President). But things are moving in the right direction. They are far from perfect and we are losing some battles in the short run. Wisconsin is a great example of this. Things moved in the right direction last night and now there is a legitimate chance (with a crossover Republican vote) of stopping the most extreme things Scott Walker wants to do. That's progress. And it's happening because more and more people are growing tired of the same old nonsense. Now, our job is to capitalize on that and to increase the pace of that change.

10. The media isn't on our side, but that doesn't really matter: Every election cycle, the mainstream media become less and less important in determining the outcome of elections. People already use the Internet for their information on candidates and use DVR and other technology to skip campaign commercials. And, really, who gets their voting advice from TV pundits? I'm sure some do, but that influence is decreasing.

I'm sure there are other things we should be discussing about Tuesday night, but we certainly shouldn't be upset about the results. We should be encouraged that we were able to take out three Republican districts in very short order and against a tide of money and right-wing activism. There is something going on in America and if we pay attention and approach it the right way, we can achieve the bigger change we want. It isn't going to be easy and it isn't going to be quick, but we can make it happen. Wisconsin showed us that.

Learn from both victory and defeat; apply the lessons of Wisconsin to your precinct, your district, your state.

Teabagger manager leaves Williams' campaign

I'm going to guess that Marchant wanted Williams to go full teabagger in the campaign, telling Kentuckians he's going to shut down state government the way Rick Scott in Florida, Scott Walker in Wisconsin and others have done.

Williams, who certainly plans to do just exactly that, is not stupid. He knows that for all of our complaining about state government, Kentuckians cherish the public services state government provides. We'll never vote for someone who actually admits he's going to take those away.

So, the 'bagger departs. Jack Brammer at the Herald:

The campaign manager for Republican gubernatorial hopeful David Williams has left the campaign, its chairman confirmed Thursday.

Luke Marchant, a political consultant with strong ties to the Tea Party movement, is leaving to pursue other opportunities, said former state Adjutant General Donald Storm, the chairman of the campaign.

Marchant, who was hired by the Williams' campaign after the May primary, previously was political director for Marco Rubio's successful U.S. Senate race last year in Florida.

Storm's statement said there were no other changes in the campaign staff, despite rumors in Frankfort that the campaign had a top-to-bottom shake-up. Recent polls have shown Williams trailing Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear by a wide margin.

Remember: Marchant's departure doesn't mean Williams has had a change of heart about putting Frankfort to the torch; he's just not willing to tell the truth about it.

Beshear's Pander to Freakazoids Won't Gain Him Votes

If anything could make me stay home this November rather than donning my hazmat suit to vote for Steve Beshear, this would do it:

Peter Smith at the Courier-Journal:

So much for the God gap.

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear is getting huge support from church-goers. And GOP challenger David Williams isn’t making up any ground among other categories of reliably Republican voters, such as opponents of abortion and gun control.

The "God gap" refers to the trend in recent elections, both in Kentucky and the nation, in which white voters who attend worship regularly tend to vote Republican.
This has been one of the best predictors of who’s voting for whom in recent elections. In fact, those who are both frequent attendees and Republicans represent "the hardest votes for the GOP to lose and the easiest to recover," researchers Mark Silk and John Green have written. In Ohio, for example, the church-going vote went in favor of a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2006 but against him in 2010.

The Courier-Journal Bluegrass / WHAS-TV Poll found that Beshear had the support of 51 percent of frequent worship attendees, compared with 32 percent supporting Republican opponent David Williams. The poll of 512 likely voters was taken by SurveyUSA in late July. Overall, Beshear holds a 52-28 percent lead.

Beshear is leading Williams among gun owners (47-31 percent) and virtually tied among pro-lifers (40-38 percent).

Williams, the Senate president, has long been an ally of religious conservatives, promoting legislation in favor of Ten Commandments postings and restrictions on abortion. But his negatives are high, according to the poll.

And Beshear has closely guarded his right flank — championing tax incentives for the Ark Encounter theme park, blasting federal regulations on coal and supporting a state law mandating that the Homeland Security office give credit to Almighty God for the state’s safety. The first words out of Beshear’s mouth in his first re-election campaign ad were: "I grew up here in Dawson Springs, where my dad and granddad were preachers." Whether President Obama snubbed Beshear or vice versa during the president’s recent Fort Campbell visit, Beshear certainly showed no public disappointment in the lack of a joint appearance with someone unpopular among Kentucky voters.

Beshear also led among frequent attendees when he was elected in 2007.

Yet the support he maintains among this generally conservative constituency is notable, particularly after more than two years of an anti-Obama backlash, one that swept libertarian Rand Paul into the Senate in a statewide vote.

Silk, responding to our query about the latest poll results, said he wasn’t surprised:

"Other conservative Southern Democratic governors have managed to get elected and stay popular by doing nothing to get evangelical activists’ noses out of joint. West Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas are recent cases in point. In general, partisanship matters less in gubernatorial races than in statewide federal ones, so it’s not uncommon for very blue states to elect GOP governors, very red states to elect Democratic governors. And especially in border and mid-South states where there continue to be majority Democratic registrations, it’s just not that odd to find conservative Democrats doing well among frequent church-goers. The real problem for them comes when they go for national office."

Beshear is likely to win re-election, barring some last-minute scandal, but he won't do it with freakazoid votes.

What that poll shows is freakazoid approval of Beshear's inexcusable pandering to the god-botherers: $40 million tax dollars the state doesn't have to the Flintstones Truther Park, the new I'm-a-fucking-moron "in god we trust" license plate, the constant invocation of an invisible sky wizard's influence on secular government.

Freakazoids never, ever vote for the Democratic candidate. They deplore any sign of respect for the separation of church and state and cheer all gestures toward Dominionism, but that's just to keep cowards like Beshear kow-towing to them.

Liberals support candidates who govern according to our secular state and U.S. Constitutions.

Watch Fancy Farm LIVE on KET Today

You should be there. But if you're not, KET has the next best thing: live coverage.

The unofficial kick-off of every election season in Kentucky is the annual Fancy Farm picnic, and KET is the only station in the state broadcasting the entire event live on television. KET will be there with a special Comment on Kentucky, live coverage of the event, and the 2011 edition of the highlight show “Fancy Farm: Pork, Pie and Politics.”

SNIP

Then, on Saturday, August 6, Bill Goodman and Renee Shaw will broadcast live from Fancy Farm. The afternoon’s political stump speeches will be broadcast in their entirety.

Joining them with analysis of this year’s races will be John David Dyche, a Louisville attorney and author of Republican Leader: A Political Biography of Senator Mitch McConnell, and Jennifer Moore, former Kentucky Democratic Party chair. In addition, there will be taped commentary from Bob Babbage, former secretary of state, and Lowell Reece, former editor and publisher of the Kentucky Gazette, as well as other political heavyweights past and present.

This live coverage begins at 2:30/1:30 p.m. on KET and KET Live Webcast. On Monday, August 8, Goodman and Shaw will present highlights from the Fancy Farm picnic and introduce excerpts from the speeches in a special one-hour edition of “Fancy Farm 2011: Pork, Pie and Politics.” This program airs at 8/7 p.m. CT on KET in place of Kentucky Tonight.

“Fancy Farm is so unique to politics, not only in Kentucky but across the entire United States,” Goodman says. “I always look forward to Fancy Farm, in particular this year because of the gubernatorial contest. This is a great assignment for a journalist: it’s fun, it can make or break a candidate, and I can’t think of a better place to spend a hot August day than in Graves County.”

Goodman predicts that everyone will be watching the performances of the gubernatorial candidates: incumbent Governor Steve Beshear, Senator David Williams and Gatewood Galbraith.

“Although Governor Beshear has the lead at this moment, we have a long way to go before the elections in November, and developments at Fancy Farm could tighten the race,” Goodman says.

About Fancy Farm: Every year since the early 1880’s, St. Jerome Catholic Church in the small town of Fancy Farm in Western Kentucky has hosted an annual community picnic. It was a local affair at first, but at some point, political candidates began to see the Fancy Farm Picnic as a good chance to meet, greet and stump for votes. Soon a platform for speaking was added, and by the middle of the 20th century, Fancy Farm had become the unofficial kickoff event for the fall campaigns in Kentucky.

And the inimitable Media Czech will of course be there with his unique perspective. As he wrote last night:

I’m headed down to Fancy Farm in Western Kentucky right now to witness all of the statewide candidates hootin’ and hollerin’ at each other in the scorching heat.

I’ll be covering Democratic and Republican events tonight (around 6 p.m.) and tomorrow morning (too early), and the Big Show tomorrow around 2:00. Wi-fi Gods willing, you can follow my comments on the Twitter Machine here, and you should also follow the #FancyFarm hashtag to get a wider perspective of the craziness this weekend.

And if you’re going, I’ll see you down there. And drink plenty of fluids. And don’t throw beer at Rand Paul, no matter how much you’re tempted to.

Does Beshear Have Enough Time to Blow a 24-point Lead?

You betcha.

The Courier:

Gov. Steve Beshear holds a commanding 24-point lead over his challenger, Senate President David Williams, in Kentucky's governor's race, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

The poll found that Beshear leads Williams 52 percent to 28 percent and that the incumbent governor is ahead in all but three demographic areas. Independent Gatewood Galbraith is a distant third with 9 percent of the vote.

Conducted by SurveyUSA, the poll is based on computerized and live telephone interviews carried out from July 22– to 27. It includes the responses of 512 likely voters in the Nov. 8 governor's race and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Among Williams' problems, the poll found that more than a third of the voters don't like him, while Beshear remains in good standing with nearly half of the voters despite a sluggish economy.

The campaign of the most hated man in Kentucky brings the funny:

The Williams campaign expressed optimism that as voters learn more about Beshear and his record, they will turn to Williams.

“Beshear has a terrible record on jobs. He and (his running mate Jerry Abramson) are not pro-life,” said Williams campaign manager Luke Marchant. “They both openly endorse Obama's dramatically unpopular health care plan and war on Kentucky coal.”

Repugs have spent so many decades exploiting Kentucky's poor and the coal industry, they haven't noticed that the poor are benefitting from the Affordable Care Act and the coal industry employs a tiny fraction of the people it employed just 20 years ago.

Beshear can still lose this one if he maintains his more-conservatard-than-thou campaign, and if this poll doesn't make the repug big money boys write Williams off.

Fancy Farm is next Saturday. We'll see who can keep standing in the heat, humidity and crowd abuse.

Beshear's Re-election Campaign Will Cost KY Taxpayers $169 Million

No, not because Beshear is illegally charging campaign expenses to the taxpayers, which may or may not be the case.

It's because instead of spreading out $169 million in necessary budget cuts over the full 12 months of this fiscal year, Beshear will put off making any cuts until after the election, thus wasting five months of budget time.

Trying to cram $169 million in cuts into seven months instead of 12 months means that Kentuckians will suffer nearly twice the public service cuts we would have to suffer if Beshear would man the fuck up and initiate the cuts today - or rather yesterday, the first day of the fiscal year.

From the Herald:

Gov. Steve Beshear's administration must cut $168.9 million from the state budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which started Friday, but the administration remains mum on details of how the cuts will be made.

Kerri Richardson, a spokeswoman for Beshear, said this week that the administration was considering its options and concentrating on closing out the 2011 fiscal year.

Under the two-year budget passed by the state legislature, the Beshear administration had to find $131 million in savings or cuts for fiscal year 2011 and $168.9 million in cuts for fiscal year 2012. The state's general fund budget for fiscal 2012 is $9.3 billion. Because of a steep decline in state tax revenues, the legislature has had to balance the budget eight times to make up for shortfalls since Beshear took office in December 2007.

Sen. Robert Leeper, chairman of the Senate budget committee, said Republicans are concerned that if Beshear waits too long to implement the cuts for fiscal 2012, the amount of money that state agencies will have to cut will be even greater in future months.

"If they are trying to postpone these efficiencies until after the election, that's going to be extremely dramatic cuts," said Leeper, an independent from Paducah.

Beshear, a Democrat, faces Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, in the general election in November.

When asked when the cuts will be announced, Richardson declined to give a date.

"We are still working on a plan and will advise agencies when those plans are complete," Richardson said.

They're already complete. They won't be released, however, until oh, right around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

No, Let's Make Candidates' Religion A Campaign Issue

Herald headline: "Kentucky gubernatorial campaigns say religion isn't an issue."

The fuck it's not.

Incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear is turning the entire state into a giant asylum for creationist crazies by handing $40 million tax dollars the state doesn't have over to the Flintstones Truther Park. Far from creating a single job, that Bronze Age Fable monstrosity is going to kill thousands of jobs by sending rational employers screaming for the exits.

Republican challenger David Williams is an obedient creature of the corporate-owned, freakazoid-run GOP, crawling for endorsements to such vicious hate-mongers as Frank Simon while planning to follow the scorched-earth policies of such repug heroes as Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Scott of Florida.

Independent Gatewood Galbraith has devolved from a genuine maverick and free-thinker to a fanatic freakazoid of the catholic variety, topping even His Popey-Rapeyness in misogyny by banning abortion even for victims of rape and incest.

These three morons may not be criticizing each other's religion - mostly because it's the same one - but their mutual eagerness to put the freakazoids in charge of running government most certainly makes religion a campaign issue for all of us members of the reality-based community.

Have you talked to your Democratic neighbors today?