Andy Barr is the one who needs to apologize

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done nothing to hurt Kentucky or Kentuckians.

Candy Barr, however, has done nothing in Congress BUT hurt Kentucky and Kentuckians with every suck-up vote supporting the Pumpkin Traitor and his efforts to impoverish, imprison and immiserate every non-male, non-white, non-christian, non-straight, non-rich resident of the Commonwealth.

Not to mention Barr and every repug lying non-stop about everything progressive Democrats say and do.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is fighting for economic, environmental and healthcare legislation that will lift Kentucky out of its repug-created morass of lethal dependence on coal, poverty and corruption.

Shame on you, Candy.  If AOC deigns to notice your stupidity, she might tweet a response that will make you look even more foolish than you are.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, you are welcome in Kentucky any time.  Come for Derby!  And bring your friends Reps. Pressley, Tlaib, Haaland and Omar with you.

There are lots of progressives in Kentucky.  We'll show you horse country and have fun pointing and laughing at the silly repugs.

From the Herald:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is welcome to come to Kentucky and tour a coal mine, but first she needs to apologize, says Rep. Andy Barr.

Barr, a Kentucky Republican, wants Ocasio-Cortez to offer a mea culpa to “our colleague and patriot to our country” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, before she accepts Barr’s invitation to tour a Kentucky coal mine. 

In a letter Friday to the New York Democrat, Barr said her recent comments about Crenshaw “demonstrate a lack of civility that is becoming far too common in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

An apology won’t be forthcoming, a spokesman for the congresswoman said Friday.

SNIP

“We’re very proud and thankful for (Crenshaw’s) service, but what we are talking about is his fanning the flames of hate,” said Corbin Trent, a spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez.

He added, “Luckily, we still have open borders with Kentucky. We don’t need Congressman Barr to meet with coal miners and have a town hall, though we’d love his participation if we do.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article229191679.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article229191679.html#storylink=cpy

3 days

McGrath finally fights back against Candy Barr, and the Herald has it, but can't resist opening with a mendacious slap at the girl in the race.

Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath has spent the past few months talking about how she plans to run a different kind of campaign, one without negative attack ads to help restore civility in politics.

But from the opening question of the only debate between U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and McGrath on Kentucky Educational Television, the two candidates went on the attack.

In fact, McGrath has been running a high-road campaign all year, while Candy has run nothing but vicious, lying attacks on McGrath.  Shame on you, Herald.  Bothsiderism is not journalism, it's cowardice and incompetence.

Though the candidates talked about tax reform, the national debt and election security, the majority of the debate centered around the one issue McGrath has made the centerpiece of her campaign, health care. Not mentioned were immigration and abortion, two issues Barr has featured prominently in his attack ads.

At one point, as McGrath was accusing Barr of lying about her stance on health care, the congressman interrupted her.

“Is this a positive campaign?” Barr said. “Calling me a liar?”

McGrath paused.

“Are you done?” she said before continuing.

Across the country, House Republicans have had to defend their votes for an unpopular bill to replace the Affordable Care Act that ultimately failed in the Senate.

Barr defended the bill, saying it was one of the best opportunities Congress had to reform entitlement programs, while emphasizing that he supported replacing the Affordable Care Act in a way that wouldn’t eliminate protections for people with preexisting conditions.

McGrath said she wants to make the Affordable Care Act better and emphasized her support of a Medicaid buy-in plan for people over the age of 55 and a public option for health insurance.

SNIP

McGrath pushed back, calling Barr a liar for continuing to say she supported a single-payer system.

“Look, I came from an institution where if you lie, cheat or steal you get kicked out,” McGrath said.

And Candy belongs to a party that has to lie about everything, because its real agenda of stripping the middle class and giving everything to the idle rich wouldn't get five votes anywhere.

Tuesday.  THIS Tuesday.  6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  If you don't know your polling place, go here. 

Repug Trumpies Trying to Swift Boat Amy McGrath

C/mon, Herald: Don't fall for this shit.  Just because these critics are "veterans" doesn't mean they are not partisan shills doing the bidding of Cheeto Twitler.

Not to mention the extreme hostility of old white male veterans toward any vagina-haver who dares to  tread on "their" turf

From the Herald:

It’s where Democratic candidate Amy McGrath, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot, was inducted into the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame two years ago. It’s near where she filmed campaign ads that drew national attention last year. And it’s where a group of veterans who support U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican, rallied for more than two hours Wednesday night to say she shouldn’t be elected in November. 
 
“McGrath’s commercials accuse Andy Barr of being scared,” said Travis Cassidy, a retired Marine Corps sergeant. “I am here to tell you Andy Barr has no reason to be scared. U.S. Marines know war is won on the ground, not by the air.”

Um, Sergeant? You do know that Candy Barr has not spent a single minute in the uniform of his country, right?  You do know that Candy's response to 9-11 was to suck up to Kentucky repugs even harder, right?  You do know that Candy has yet to say a word against the "president" who has publicly confessed treason, right?

McGrath, a retired lieutenant colonel, has made her military service the bedrock of her candidacy. She calls her campaign her 90th combat mission and has featured fighter jets in each of her ads. In her stump speech, she often talks about how her experience in the military will help her cross party lines to fix the nation’s problems.

SNIP

Mostly, the event served as a way to diminish the importance of McGrath’s military experience, her largest strength as a candidate.

Precisely.  These are the same mindless repugs who libeled genuine war hero John Kerry  to promote a Vietnam War draft dodger who deserted his post in wartime.

The same blind partisans who cheered the Pumpkin Traitor - another Vietnam draft dodger - when he slandered John McCain as a "loser" for getting captured and surviving 5 years of torture.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article217570495.html#storylink=cpy

Veterans can support any political candidate they choose.  But when they use their veteran status to lie about another candidate, it is the duty of reporters and editors to call them out for it.

Candy Barr and Cheeto Twitler don't give a flying fuck about you, veterans. Stop doing their dirty work.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article217570495.html#storylink=cpy

Aunt Lydia Not Welcome in This Lexington, Either

LOL Candy Barr thinking the HuckaBeast would help his campaign,

From the Herald:

Protesters came out in droves to voice their displeasure as the Republican Party of Kentucky prepared for its annual fundraiser in downtown Lexington Saturday night.

A chanting, sign-waving and, in some cases, Amy McGrath t-shirt-wearing crowd packed the sidewalk at Triangle Park for the Kentucky for Decency Rally, organized by the Kentucky chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Bluegrass Activist Alliance.

McKayla Weaver, who helped organize the event, said she had been asked if the rally was an anti-Republican event.

“I told them that it was an anti-deceit rally,” she said. “...What everybody here is hoping to get is transparency from their elected officials. Kentucky deserves better. I’m here because I love Kentucky. They’re here to make money for their campaigns.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article217284270.html#storylink=cpy

Candy Barr Insults All 300,000 Kentucky Veterans

Public service is not military service, Candy, you chicken hawk piece of shit.

But Candy can't even do public service right, the way he supports the Chicken Hawk in Chief, Cadet Bone Spurs, who got five deferments from Vietnam and then compared his Studio 54 days of avoiding venereal disease while fucking everything that moved to combat experience in Vietnam.


From the Courier:

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr compared his political experience to the military service of his Democratic opponent, Amy McGrath, a 20-year Marine Corps fighter pilot who flew bombing missions against Al Queda and the Taliban. 

Barr, the Republican incumbent who is running for re-election in Kentucky's sixth district, made his comments in a New York Times report published Thursday. 

“We both served our country,” Barr told the New York Times. “I’ve served in a position where ideas matter. My opponent has served her country in the military, where execution matters.”

The comment immediately drew backlash from Democrats. 

Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman for Kentucky Democrats, said Barr's comments were "out of touch."

"Andy has obviously lost his mind and is out of touch if he thinks serving six years as a politician is comparable to military service,” McNee said in a statement. "It’s an insult to our current and retired military members to suggest that wearing a suit and dining with bank lobbyists in Congress is the same as putting your life on the line for your country.”

American Bridge, a progressive super PAC known for giving to Democratic candidates, called Barr's comments "outright shameful."

Candy was born in 1973.  He was 28 on Sept. 11, 2001.  He kept lawyering and polishing some important political knobs in Lexington and Frankfort.

Amy McGrath was born in 1975.  She was 26 and a Marine pilot on Sept. 11, 2001.

After the 9/11 attacks, McGrath, as one of the more junior WSOs, was one of the first to report to duty at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base before the closing of the gates due to DEFCON 3. She was paired with a senior pilot on the flight line waiting for the order to protect Los Angeles, San Diego, and the west coast to potentially shoot down one of the hijacked aircraft, an order that did not come to pass.^[2][17]

In classic repug fashion, Candy is attacking McGrath's strengths:  her military service and her proud support of progressive values.

Ya got nothin', Candy.  And you're gonna lose to a girl.

Keep Calling Amy McGrath a Radical Liberal, GOP: It'll Get Her a Landslide Win

The more you lionize her as a liberal, the more you burnish her progressive bonafides, the more disappointed dems you draw back to the polls. 

And Candy Barr's cowardly lying and hiding since Monday guarantees he'll get none but the most fanatically trump-taint-licking votes.  That won't be enough.  Even in Kentucky.

From the Herald:

The Republican Party of Kentucky criticized Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath Tuesday for her opposition to President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, their latest attempt to paint McGrath as too liberal for Kentucky’s only swing district.

Republicans were responding to a Facebook post McGrath made a week earlier, on July 10th, in which she echoed the concerns many of national Democrats about Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

“Despite Ms. McGrath’s attempts to con the voters of Central Kentucky into believing she is a moderate, her attack on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh shows the real Amy McGrath: a far left liberal who will be another cog in the Pelosi political machine,” said Sarah Van Wallaghen, executive director of the Republican Party of Kentucky.

SNIP

 “He has shown himself to be against women’s reproductive rights, workers’ rights, consumer protections, and will be among the most partisan people ever considered for the Court,” McGrath said of Kavanaugh on Facebook. “Apparently, he will fall to the right of (Neil) Gorsuch and (Samuel) Alito on ideology, and just to the left of the arch conservative (Clarence) Thomas. Kavanaugh will likely be confirmed and we are starkly reminded, again, that elections have consequences, and this consequence will be with us for an entire generation.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article215036320.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article215036320.html#storylink=cpySNIP

Candy Barr Still Hiding While McGrath Speaks Out

So what do you say, Sixth District Democratic voters?  Is this fighter pilot worth getting out to vote for?

From the Herald:

Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath said she was “outraged” Monday with President Donald Trump’s refusal to support the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. 

“Today, the commander-in-chief again sided with a foreign adversary rather than on our own intelligence community,” McGrath said. “It’s breathtaking. When will Republicans in Congress put the country before their political party and flat out condemn these actions?”

The retired Marine fighter pilot was reacting to a Monday summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a joint news conference after a one-on-one meeting between the two world leaders and their translators, Trump did not push back when Putin denied that his government attempted to interfere with the U.S. Presidential election.

SNIP

Trump’s remarks brought swift criticism from both Republican and Democratic politicians, but U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, was not among them. Jodi Whitaker, his spokeswoman, said Barr was in meetings and hadn’t seen Trump’s comments.

SNIP

When McGrath was asked about Putin Saturday as she opened her Anderson County campaign headquarters, she made a similar criticism of the Republican-led Congress.

“It does come down to leadership, it does come down to putting your country above your political party,” McGrath said. “There is a reason Congress is doing nothing right now and it’s because it’s controlled by Republicans who care more about their political party and the ramifications of this to their political party than their country.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article214965550.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article214965550.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article214965550.html#storylink=cpy

KY's Congressmen on the Pumpkin Traitor: Two Turncoats, Three Cowards and Congressman Awesome

Yeah, AynRand Paul and the soul-less Thomas Massie decided that just shitting on the poors isn't enough; they're ready to join the Tangerine Twat in pledging allegiance to the Russian Thug.

Meanwhile, Candy Barr lied about being in "meetings" - c'mon, there isn't a meeting on the planet that wasn't interrupted yesterday so everyone could watch the dotard lick Putin's taint live on TV.  I bet Amy McGrath's "where's he hiding" commercial is already in production.

John Yarmuth, of course, demonstrated true American patriotism by denouncing the mangy cocksucker in no uncertain terms.

Thomas Novelly at the Courier:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and several other Kentucky representatives said they agree that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, breaking with Donald Trump's comments after his friendly meeting with Vladimir Putin. 

“As I’ve said repeatedly, the Russians are not our friends and I entirely agree with the assessment of our intelligence community," McConnell said in a statement to the Courier Journal on Monday. 

Trump received immediate backlash from politicians on both sides of the aisle when he met with Russian President Putin. During the meeting, he accepted Putin's claim that the Russians did not interfere, contradicting the U.S. intelligence community's research. 

SNIP

Kentucky's delegation in the House of Representatives, which consists of five Republicans and one Democrat, was split on the matter.

Rep. John Yarmuth, the lone Democrat from Louisville, said he believes Russia unequivocally meddled with the 2016 election, according to spokesman Chris Schuler. 

"President Trump showed the free world today that they cannot rely on the U.S. as an ally because Vladimir Putin now calls the shots," Yarmuth said in a statement. "This is a disgraceful chapter in American history and proof that U.S. interests are not even a factor in the decision making of this president."

Rep. Andy Barr, from Kentucky's 6th District, had "been in meetings all day" and did not have a chance to respond, according to spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker. Rep. Brett Guthrie and Rep. James Comer did not return a request for comment. 

But Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky's 4th District, and Sen. Rand Paul, the two self-proclaimed libertarians of Kentucky's delegation, were less critical of Trump's meeting and welcomed the chance for discussion. 

"I believe that dialogue with other countries is important and President Trump was right to meet with Russia to promote peace and commerce, just like President Obama was right to meet with Cuba," Massie said in a statement. 

Rep. Hal Rogers, from Kentucky's 5th District, stood by Paul's comments, according to spokeswoman Danielle Smoot. 

(Hal Rogers is 163 years old, wins by double-digits and doesn't give a shit.)

SNIP

Yarmuth added that he was disgraced at the state of the United States presidency after the summit.  

“The President of the United States made his choices clear today in Helsinki," Yarmuth added. "He chose a murderous dictator over his own intelligence community, propaganda and bullying over a Constitutional free press, his own political aspiration over U.S. election security, and frankly, Russia over America."

Candy Barr Cheers Bevin Killing Kyians Just for Being Poor

The only thing you have to know about Candy is that he's a trump-taint-licking repug, and all his fake concern for caged babies on the border can't hide it.

From the Herald:

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr said Monday he supports Kentucky's ability to determine who receives Medicaid benefits, a day after the Bevin administration eliminated access to vision and dental coverage for 460,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid.

SNIP

(Democratic challenger Lt. Col. Amy) McGrath was critical of the Bevin administration's decision to eliminate dental and vision coverage for the 460,000 Medicaid recipients who received coverage when former Gov. Steve Beshear expanded Medicaid eligibility under the federal Affordable Care Act.

"Bevin's obvious goal is to take health care away from Kentuckians," McGrath said. "He tried to do it by instituting his unconstitutional work requirements. When that didn't work, he's just going through with taking health care away any way he can."

 

You Have 17 Days Left to Save the Nation from Repug Tyranny: State Senate and Congress Edition

Filing deadline for local, state and national races in Kentucky is January 26.

There are 38 Kentucky State Senators, serving four-year terms.  Half are up for election in even-numbered years.  This year, even-numbered districts are up: 19 of the 38.  Those without Democratic candidates are the 2nd, 6th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 20th, 24th, 30th, 36th, 38th.

Congressional races in Kentucky might be interesting. The single Democratic representative and the strongest repug are without challengers:  John Congressman Awesome Yarmuth in the Third and Hal Rogers in the Fifth, although Rogers has a repug challenger for the primary.

In the First District, Jamie Comer, who is in a world of trouble for being an all-around asshole, has one Democratic challenger already.

The Second District's Brett Guthrie appears to have some problems; he has three Democratic challengers.

Thomas Massie in the Fourth has not filed yet, but already has two Democratic challengers.

Candy Barr is hurtin' in the Sixth: he has three Democratic challengers, even though retired Marine Colonel Amy McGrath hasn't filed yet.  Also, the SoS site has Candy withdrawing from the race on the same date it shows him filing.  Calling Alison's webmaster!

Is there no Louisville repug brave enough to challenge Congressman Awesome in the Third?  C'mon, guys: give us a chance to ruin some up-and-coming wingnut's political career by crushing him right out of the gate.

KY-06 Officially a Free-for-All

You just relax, Candy.  Four dems in the primary means you can skate to re-election.  Pay no attention to money-raising and the Democratic voter enthusiasm and the candidate-strengthening effect of a primary fight.  You're cruisin'.

From the Herald:

After months of will-he, won’t-he whispering among Kentucky Democrats, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray made it official early Tuesday: He’s running for Congress.

“We need to bring people together; we need to reach across partisan lines,” Gray said as he launched his campaign in Berea. “This is why I’m running for Congress. Lexington, fortunately, is on the right path. Our country is not. And this is the time for citizens, for leaders to step up.”

Gray enters the race as the presumed favorite in a Democratic field that includes former Marine Corps fighter pilot Amy McGrath, state Sen. Reggie Thomas and perennial candidate Geoff Young. 

The winner of the May primary will take on U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Lexington Republican in his third term in Congress.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article188086754.html#storylink=cpy

Candy Barr is So Fucked

She could still turn out to be a repug-lite like Tulsi Gabbard, or even the kind of anti-abortion creepy freakazoid the DCCC is so eager to fund, but for the moment I'm going to bask in the vision of Candy Barr getting beaten up (with votes!) by a girl.

Attack her, Candy.  Go ahead.  I dare ya.

Evan Hurst at Wonkette:

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, a Democrat from Kentucky, obviously won’t make that common Sarah Palin mistake as she runs for Congress to unseat wingnut GOP dickhead Rep. Andy Barr, a guy who votes with Donald Trump 100% of the time. Is Kentucky’s 6th district doable for the Democrats? Trump only won it by 15 points, so sure, why the fuck not, because badass Democrats should be challenging A-hole Republicans in ALL THE DISTRICTS, KATIE. Besides, Marines have that “Can Do” thing going for them, which should prove helpful in such a race.

McGrath has released a really great ad. It is very PEW PEW! BANG BANG! MARINES! That’s just fine with us because A) McGrath is running in KY-06, which in case you are not up on your geography, is not located in Berkeley, B) she was the first lady Marine to fly an F-18 in combat, so she can do what she wants, and C) PEW PEW! BANG BANG! WE ARE A CORPORATIST HILLARY-MONSTER WAR-MONGER DEMOCRAT!

Just kidding, we are not really a war-monger, but we are a pro-military, national security Democrat, so we like it fine, though your mileage and that of other Wonkette writers and editors AHEM may vary. Regardless of whether you are a #War Democrat or a #GivePeaceAChance Democrat, look at this through the lens of a voter in KY-06, which includes the city of Lexington (which is pretty lib-gay) and Frankfort, the little bitty state capital:

SNIP

 

We really like how McGrath pivots from “I AM A BIG BAD GRRRR MARINE WHO BEATED UP AL-QAEDA AND THE TALIBAN” to “I AM A BIG BAD GRRRR MARINE WHO WILL SAVE YOUR HEALTHCARE, UNLIKE THAT PIG TURD ANDY BARR!”

And this last part is fantastic:

This is my new mission. To take on a Congress full of career politicians who treat the people of Kentucky like they’re disposable. Some are telling me a Democrat can’t win that battle in Kentucky. That we can’t take back our country for my kids and yours.

WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT.

WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT, is what she just said.

Reckon we will!

From her website:

MY PLEDGE TO THE VOTERS OF KENTUCKY'S SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

When my country called, I proudly served to defend our nation against those who would do us harm.

Today, a government that doesn't work for the people threatens our way of life more than any foreign adversary. The public deserves leaders who are grounded in integrity and brave enough to tell them the truth, instead of misleading them into thinking that quick fixes are right around the corner.

We must have members of Congress willing to stand up to partisanship, divisiveness and duplicity, and meet our challenges head on, always putting country before politics.

That’s the style of decisive leadership I learned in the Marines and it’s what I’m prepared to bring to Congress. Our country is in crisis. We need leaders who never flinch.

From Political Animal:

The Cook Political Report rates Kentucky’s 6th as R+9. Romney won it 56-42 and Trump 55-39. Barr won re-election in 2014 and 2016 by 20 points. Even so, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Conway won the 6th 49-46 while he was losing statewide 53-44, and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray carried it 52-48 while he was losing his 2016 Senate bid to GOP incumbent Rand Paul 57-43. According to data complied from special elections in 2017 by Matt Yglesias, that would put McGrath right on the edge of a possible win in 2018.

Here's her website.  The Donate button is right smack in the middle of the home page. Hit it. 

This Dem Candidate Should Be Challenging Massie Instead of Barr

C'mon, Lt. Colonel: Candy is a pushover.  Don't you want a challenge?  You grew up in the 4th District, the District that Thomas Massie is making into a national laughingstock for electing and re-electing him. Take him down.

From the Herald:

A combat fighter pilot who grew up in Northern Kentucky might run for U.S. Rep. Andy Barr’s seat, according to CNHI News. 

Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot, former congressional aide and instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy has expressed interest in the race to Kentucky Democratic Party Chairwoman Sannie Overly.

“I can confirm that Col. McGrath is considering the race,” Overly told CNHI news. “I’m impressed with the caliber of the potential candidates, including Col. McGrath.”

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article147356464.html#storylink=cpy

SNIP

After flying 85 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, McGrath served as foreign policy adviser to U.S. Congresswoman Susan Davis, D-San Diego, according to CNHI news. 

“She has been a trailblazer,” Davis told CNHI news. “She is not intimidated, so being a woman in the Congress would not intimidate her. She’s had far more difficult assignments.”

Candy's a punk, but Massie's a motherfucker. Go get him, Colonel.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article147356464.html#storylink=cpy

Candy Barr Clings to Trump In Face of Constituent Protests

Really, Candy?  More than half of congressional repugs are running away from the Orange Clusterfuck as fast as they can, but you're going to be the last rat on the sinking ship?

 

From the Herald:

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr was met with a sea of red at his town hall in Lexington Monday night, but the glow wasn’t from Make America Great Again hats.

The overwhelmingly Democratic audience had red and green signs to hold up when the Republican congressman made a comment they either liked or didn’t like — green for agree and red for disagree.

As Barr stood and adamantly defended the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, he saw a whole lot of red.

“I believe that we can do better than what we have now,” Barr said, going through a slideshow on healthcare. “Why? Because the ACA is in a death spiral.”

He was then booed for 12 seconds.

SNIP

Throughout the night Barr was booed, shouted at, heckled and occasionally cheered over the Republican replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, a bill that was pulled from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in March because it did not have enough Republican support.

Each time, Barr defended the bill, highlighting some aspects of the bill he values. It saves the government money, he said. It adds work requirements to become eligible for care, it gives leeway to the states to set their own agendas and, he said, it would increase competition.

But most members of the audience didn’t like what they heard.

In the 6th Congressional District, a study by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy found that 69,724 people would lose coverage under the new health care proposal.

Candy's an ass, even by the standard of trumpian repugs. If the Sixth District conservadems can't come up with a candidate who can beat Candy in 2018, the losers should just give up and let real liberal progressives lead the party.

KY Repug Reps Too Scared to Face Constituents

All over the country, people are turning out by the thousand to demand their representatives do their fucking jobs, but we can't do that in Kentucky because all of our piece of shit repug congress critters are hiding under their beds, sniveling and shitting themselves in terror because a bunch of elderly, obese, disabled voters might ask them questions.

Brand-new First District Rep James Comer: ZERO Town Halls

Old Second District Rep. Brett Guthrie:  ZERO Town Halls

Hypocritical Fourth District Rep. Thomas Massie:  ZERO Town Halls

REALLY Old Fifth District Rep. Hal Rogers:  ZERO Town Halls

Smarmy Sixth District Rep. Candy Barr:  ZERO Town Halls

Only Democratic Third District Rep. John "Congressman Awesome" John Yarmuth is showing his face in public.

Now we happen to be personally acquainted with some of Yarmuth's more politically involved constituents, and we can testify that they know how to get loud and rowdy at elected officials.  And we have also seen Yarmuth in action facing those loud and rowdy crowds, and the man does not back down.  He knows that his job is to represent his constituents and show them respect because he works for them.  Unlike Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers and Barr, Yarmuth is not afraid of the people who elected him.

Sold Down the River

Yeah, all you Kentucky coal county folks who voted 90 percent for a corrupt game-show host, his repug buddies in Congress are now killing your union health care and retirement.  Stop acting surprised.  Hillary Clinton and all us commie muslin terrist feminazi faggots have been telling you so for months.

Charlie Pierce:

... the (repug) elves in the Congress are busy, busy, busy selling out the Rust Belt suckers to whom, if the guilt-ridden elite political media is to be believed, we all owe a cookie for the next decade. First up, the coal miners! From the MetroNews in West Virginia:

The Miners Protection Act to address health and pension benefits for coal miners and their families will not be included in a continuing resolution bill, according to a Tuesday announcement. Congress said the bill, which would continue to fund the federal government, only has four months of funding for those retired miners and their widows. Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America, called the announcement "a slap in the face to all 22,000 of them who desperately need their health care next month, next year and for the rest of their lives."

But, wait, isn't West Virginia represented in the Senate by that highly influential Democrat, Joe Manchin, who's been running around telling every camera crew inside the Beltway that that his party has to get right with the workin' man? Yeah, he's got the juice, no question.

Approximately 12,500 retired union miners and the widows of retirees stand to lose their pension and health care benefits across the nation

And those stalwart Kentucky defenders of Big Coal - which will benefit enormously from the ass-fuck, as opposed to the actual coal miners, AKA the ass-fuckees -  Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and Representatives Hal Rogers, Thomas Massie, Brett Guthrie, Andy Barr and Ed Whitfield, repugs all, voted for the ass-fucking then refused to face the voters they just ass-fucked.

Folks, you're being sold down the river. I feel for you because selling you down the river is not good for the country. It never was. It is not immigrants who are selling you down the river. It is not minorities who are selling you down the river. It is not LGBTQ folks who are selling you down the river. Please remember all of that when you wake up pissed that you're, you know, down the river. If you look around the table and can't figure out who the mark is…

KY Reps Already Voted to Kill Medicare

The House took a vote last year to "privatize" (translation: destroy) Medicare.  Kentucky's only congressional Democrat, Congressional Awesome John Yarmuth, of course voted no.  Hal Rogers, Ed "I live in Florida" Whitfield, Candy Barr and Brett Guthrie all voted to let their elderly constituents die in the street. Thomas Massie voted no, probably because it was part of a budget bill and he claims to hate all spending.

From TPM:

Here's our write up from 2015 when the Ryan budget blueprint passed for the fifth time.

Like previous proposals by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the new plan by House Budget Chair Tom Price (R-GA) transforms Medicare after 10 years into a market exchange (which bears many similarities to Obamacare) where seniors receive a federal subsidy to buy insurance from a menu of options. 

The menu includes private insurance plans and the option of staying in traditional Medicare. Like Ryan's proposal last year, it does not impose a cap on how much Medicare is allowed to spend per beneficiary, a GOP budget aide said. It is a response to criticism that the "premium support" structure could lead to high out-of-pocket costs that make coverage unaffordable for seniors.

The budget passed by a vote of 219 to 208. All 219 were Republicans, all but 26 members of the GOP caucus. Did your Rep vote for it? Easy enough to find out. Here's the roll call. For all 219 of them, they've already voted for the plan. They know about it because they voted for it. So no one can wriggle out of saying they don't know about it or there's no plan or they haven't announced a position yet. They already voted for it - at least if they're among the 219 who voted for it.

The only question is whether they plan to vote on it again now that Obama's veto pen is out of the way.

So TPM asked its readers to call their congress critters and ask.

Andy Barr is a loud and proud Fuck You, Sixth District old people.

Thomas Massie leads the Cowardly Caucus, refusing to respond to constituent questions.

Apparently no one has called Yarmuth, Guthrie or Rogers (Whitfield finally closed his 10-year one-man show "I live in Florida but get paid to represent Western Kentucky people about whom I don't give a shit.  Hahaha, what morons they keep voting for me.")

Candy Barr Performs Massive Pander in Desperate Play for Black Votes

Camp Nelson richly deserves to become a national park.  It's a scandal that it has been ignored by federal authorities for so long.  

 

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Barr proposes this park honoring black soldiers in the Union Army just as he is facing a strong challenge to his re-election and needs every black vote he can scrounge.

Greg Kocher at the Herald:

An effort has begun to put a Jessamine County historic site into the National Park System.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, has introduced a bill that would authorize the Department of Interior to conduct a study that would be the first step toward bringing Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park into the National Park System.

The heritage park tells the story of black soldiers who were recruited and trained to fight for the Union. The park is off U.S. 27 about six miles south of Nicholasville.

“This is a place of national historic value,” Barr said in a visit to the park Thursday.

SNIP 

Camp Nelson was established by an order of President Abraham Lincoln. It was named for Maj. Gen. William “Bull” Nelson.

As many as 10,000 black troops trained there. Eight regiments were founded at Camp Nelson and five others were stationed there, making it the third-largest such center in the nation.

Other training centers for black troops in Philadelphia and New Orleans were larger, but more archaeological resources were preserved at Camp Nelson because it was in a rural area, said Stephen McBride, director of interpretation and archaeology at the park.

Get out to vote on Nov. 8, you Sixth District Democrats.  Nancy Jo Kemper will be a much stronger advocate for Camp Nelson than Candy Barr has any intention of being. 

Andy Barr's a Lying Idiot Who Hates Kentuckians

The War on Poverty, aimed directly at the horrific conditions in the Kentucky Mountains, failed because President Lyndon Johnson had to pay for the War in Vietnam, and then Dick Nixon and congressional repugs stripped the rest of the programs' budget.

Yes, Barr's remarks are repug orthodoxy for the past 40 years, but that does not make them any less vicious and cruel to the working poor people of the Commonwealth who are being fucked over by a repug governor and congressional repugs like Barr.

From the Herald:

The federal government’s war on poverty was an expensive failure that made generations of Americans dependent on handouts, says U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, who is promoting a conservative alternative this election year.

Barr has co-authored a report for the House Republican Study Committee that recommends sweeping changes in federal benefits for the poor. There would be more work requirements and lifetime limits, similar to what Congress imposed on welfare recipients in 1996. The federal government might turn over programs, such as food stamps, disability payments and public housing, to the states in the form of block grants, while encouraging states to narrow eligibility and eliminate fraud.

SNIP

Back in Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, Barr’s Democratic challenger on Nov. 8, Nancy Jo Kemper, said she isn’t impressed by his suggestion that poor people “just need to get a job.” For one thing, many poor people already work or desperately want to, Kemper said.

“Part of my complaint with this,” Kemper said, holding a copy of Barr’s report at her campaign office, “is how much it blames the poor for their poverty, rather than our failure as a society to help with job training, child-care expenses, reliable transportation, health insurance, minimum-wage increases — all of which could lift people out of poverty. He says quite strongly that Washington bureaucrats cannot lift people out of poverty. And I beg to differ. You have only to point to increasing the minimum wage to see what it does to add a boon to the whole economy.”

Nancy Jo Kemper, you voters in the Sixth District.  Get the fuck off the couch and make sure she kicks Barr's lying, repug, Trumpist ass out of Congress.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article95320067.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article95320067.html#storylink=cpy

KY's Congress Repugs Voted to Hide Altered Food From You

The real issue here is not food safety, but food supply.  GMO crops are corporate possessions; farmers cannot save seeds for next year's crop, but must buy new seeds every year from Monsanto.  GMO put one of the planet's most toxic and despicable corporations in control of the entire world's food supply.

Regardless of whether genetically-modified organisms in food are dangerous to human health, they are absolutely lethal to the food supply and the ability of farmers to maintain sustainable crops.

But four of Kentucky's six representatives don't give a flying fuck about that.

Only Democrat John Yarmuth of Louisville and repug/teabagger Thomas Massie of Northern Kentucky voted to prevent Monsanto from sneaking unlabeled GMOs into our food.

Repugs Ed Whitfield, Brett Guthrie, Hal Rogers and Andy Barr all voted to take control of the nation's food supply away from farmers and consumers and give it to giant corporations.

Down with Tyranny:

This is a relatively simple issue. Food activists want to see potentially dangerous GMO food labeled so that consumers can make up their own minds about whether or not to feed it to their families. Monsanto and the GMO-Republicans, led by the Koch brother's Mike Pompeo (R-KS), want to make sure that there is no labeling and that the states that have already passed labeling laws to protect their citizens-- Connecticut, Maine and Vermont-- are over-ruled. I guess the concepts of states' rights and small government are trumped in GOP minds when their Big Business allies squawk loud enough! The bill passed (last week) 275-150.