KY Dem "Unity" Not Strength But Irrelevance

When the top of your ticket - the purported savior of your party - is the loser who got beat bad by the Tribble-Toupeed One, your party is not in trouble. Your party is the walking dead.

We. Are. So. Fucked.

Sam Youngman at the Herald:

Still, a number of indicators resulting from that loss and previous elections suggested a bleak future for Democrats in Kentucky as Republicans made gains in the state Senate, appeared to have a lock on federal races and were excited about the prospect of winning back the governor's mansion.

But with Grimes deciding to run for the lower-profile office and not challenging Attorney General Jack Conway in the Democratic primary for governor, a possible fatal split has been avoided. That leaves Conway as the presumed front-runner in the governor's race given that the four Republican candidates face a ruthless battle for the GOP nomination.

"I think Jack is definitely the front-runner, and it's all setting up well for him," said U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville.

Shortly after the deadline for candidates to enter the race passed Tuesday afternoon, Conway's running mate, state Rep. Sannie Overly of Paris, emailed their supporters a fundraising plea with "the big news."

"The deadline for candidates to file to be on the ballot has passed and no major Democratic candidate has filed to challenge Jack and me​ in the primary election," Overly wrote. "That means that we can focus on getting ready to defeat whomever comes out of the Republican primary election."

Yarmuth, an early supporter of Grimes in her Senate race and Conway in this year's race for governor, told the Herald-Leader Wednesday that had Grimes announced a run for governor, she "would've risked fracturing the party."

"That was a move toward party unity," Yarmuth said of her decision to seek re-election. "I don't think there's any question about it."

From top to bottom, the state Democratic Party appears to be in a strong position going into this year's election for state constitutional offices, in part because the factional in-fighting that has plagued the party for years seems unlikely given the lack of competition among the warring tribes.

SNIP

O'Neill and other Democrats said their optimism is largely founded on the fact that Conway and other Democratic candidates can focus their time and energy on raising and saving money and crafting a winning message for November.

How about spending time getting out and meeting actual Democratic voters, asking them what you can do to improve their lives, and imploring them to get out and vote in November?

How about calling out the repug motherfucking liars for lying about fucking their mothers?

How about running like goddamn Democratic candidates?

Jaime Comer Wants to Be Governor So Bad He's Pretending to Defend the Sluts

Kentuckians may hate Barack Obama and love Rand Paul, but under no circumstances will we put a teabagging repug in the Governor's Mansion.

Jaime Comer knows that, and is so desperate to prove he's not one of "those people," he's gone so far as to defend the sluts.

Janet Patton at the Herald:

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer is throwing his support behind a House bill that would extend domestic violence protection to dating relationships.

"I thought this was important to let people know not every Republican is against this," Comer said Thursday in an interview. "I feel strongly in favor of it, and I'm afraid other Republicans may not embrace it."

SNIP

Similar legislation has died in the Republican-led Senate in previous years. Asked Wednesday about the bill, Senate President Robert L. Stivers, R-Manchester, said he doesn't see the need for extending protective orders because people can seek arrest if they've been assaulted.

Comer, a probable Republican candidate for governor in 2015, said that as the only Republican statewide elected officer, he wanted to make it clear he disagrees.

SNIP

"People need to realize all Republicans don't think alike, even though it sounds like it because we always nominate the same old boring Republican men that talk the same old Republican talking points. I think it's very important and it's OK if I'm the only Republican supporting the bill."

Everybody who thinks Comer's first acts in office won't be to cancel kynect, expanded Medicaid and Governor Beshear's executive order barring state agencies from firing gay people just for being gay, and signing bills to ban abortion and replace public schools with religious and corporate charters, stand on your head.

He may want industrial hemp, but he's a coal-worshipping, corporate-cock-sucking, fuck-the-poor, shame-the-sluts repug through and through.

And there's not a Democratic candidate in the state who can beat him.

The Value of Personal Thanks From the President

Alison Lundergan Grimes and Steve Beshear think they're fooling Kentucky's Democratic voters with their little act.  Beshear promotes the Affordable Care Act nationwide and non-stop, on every news show that will have him, while Grimes slides under the radar, pretending nothing related to the president has anything to do with her.

They think Democratic voters are stupid.  They're going to get a nasty surprise when Grimes loses to McConnell next November by 30 points. 

From the AP:

Gov. Steve Beshear has gotten a personal thank you from President Barack Obama for a smooth rollout of the health care overhaul in Kentucky.

Beshear told reporters Wednesday that Obama called him on Tuesday.

Kentucky has not had the technical glitches that have plagued the federal health benefit exchange. More than 18,000 of Kentucky's 640,000 uninsured residents have signed up for coverage since Oct. 1. And nearly 34,000 have completed applications.

Hemp Fight a Preview of 2015 Governor's Race

Yes, it's Jack vs. Jaime two years early, and this time the one in sync with the zeitgeist and pushing for progress is the repug, and the one standing athwart history shouting STOP is the dem.

Gregory Hall at the Courier:

The argument over whether Kentucky farmers can begin growing hemp — as soon as next year — got hotter on Wednesday with Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway issuing a written opinion that the crop is still illegal, and farmers who grow it could be prosecuted.

Anyone who intentionally grows the crop “will expose themselves to potential criminal liability and the possible seizure of property,” Conway’s opinion said.That prompted a challenge from state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer’s office, suggesting that neither the federal or state government would charge growers.“The law is that industrial hemp is legal in Kentucky. If the feds aren’t going to prosecute industrial hemp, surely the attorney general of Kentucky isn’t going to move forward with prosecuting hemp farmers,” said Holly VonLuehrte, Comer’s general counsel and spokeswoman.

Comer is leaving the Democratic gubernatorial field in the dust, and has been since he was inaugurated two years ago.

The only hope dems have to keep the governor's office is if I'm wrong about Crit Luallen not running.