How Chuck Schumer Guaranteed Mitch's Re-election

All the details aren't in yet, but it's clear that Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Kentucky's new Democratic Governor Steve Beshear forced retired Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Horne out of the race to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

They deliberately and knowingly forced out the only Democrat in the state who had a chance of beating McConnell.

And they did it in favor of Criminal, Democratic Traitor and Two-Time Electoral Loser Bruce Lunsford, one of the most hated politicians in the state.

PageOneKentuckyhas a great round-up of the current coverage and speculation.

The power brokers of Kentucky and Washington, D.C. just made a decision for you, Kentucky, and that decision is one which says you’re too stupid to select your own candidate.

Read up. Get fired up. Don’t settle for strongarming.

Don't miss the comments. Lots of anger and lots of fun rumors, including speculation about a 527 fund connected to Lunsford that funneled big bucks to Beshear.

One of the more stupid excuses for the strongarming is a recent poll that tagged Lunsford's name recognition in Kentucky at 44 percent and Horne's at 14 percent.

What that poll didn't show, however, is how many of those 44 percent "recognize" Lunsford as the person who:

- threw poor, sick, old people out of his nursing homes to make room for higher-paying patients;
- bankrupted thousands of Kentucky investors in his nursing-home company;
- donated tens of thousands of dollars to republican politicians, including - wait for it - Mitch McConnell;
- spent $8 million on ads attacking the 2003 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee, then endorsed the republican candidate and eventual winner, and
- wasted $17 million on two state-wide election campaigns that he lost by double-digits.

Yep, that's the Bruce Lunsford Kentuckians love to hate. We know him well, and hate him even more than that.

If you surveyed Kentuckians on the name recognition of Satan, you'd get a positive response of damn close to 100 percent. That doesn't mean Satan could garner many votes here. Although if Satan were running against Bruce Lunsford, Satan might win.

Lunsford has six opponents left in the democratic primary, all of whom are so lame they actually make Lunsford look slightly less than horrific.

Iraq combat veteran Horne soared so far above the seven dwarves it wasn't even a contest. Which is, of course, why Schumer and Beshear had to force him out. Probably they just made it clear he wouldn't get a dime or minute of support from the state or national party, although other threats are not out of the question. Horne has a wife recovering from cancer and two minor children - far be it from me to judge his decision.

But it leaves Kentucky progressives depressed, angry and in no mood to help Beshear and Schumer re-elect Mitch.

This Senate race is about as FUBARed as politics gets in Kentucky, which is saying quite a bit.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

Kentucky Dems to Schumer: Drop Dead

UPDATE Below

As Chuck Schumer works frantically at the DSCC to promote a notorious DINO to run for Mitch McConnell's Senate seat, Kentucky progressives and its liberal blogosphere are fighting back.

Rumors are rampant here that Schumer is begging Criminal and Democratic Traitor Bruce Lunsford to challenge Mitch's re-election.

In a rational world, the person in charge of electing Democrats to the U.S. Senate would be pushing republican-in-disguise Lunsford to run either in the republican primary to wound Mitch and drain his war chest, or as an independent in the general election, to split republicans and guarantee a Democratic victory.

In a rational world, the person in charge of electing Democrats to the U.S. Senate would never dream of undermining the candidacy of a near-perfect Democratic candidate like Andrew Horne.

But Chuck Schumer lives in the DLC's Beltway World, where they think DINOs like Harold Ford actually win Senate seats against real republicans.

In 2004, Kentucky progressives, reeling from the republican takeover of the governorship, let the DLC talk us into electing DINO extraordinaire Ben Chandler to Congress. Chandler has thanked us by voting with Smirky and Darth to impoverish working families, legalize torture, promote permanent war, undermine the rule of law and destroy the Constitution.

Never again. No more DINOs.

Media Czech of BlueGrassRoots launched the first missile last week with this video of Lunsford yukking it up with his dear, dear buddy Mitch McConnell. (The other chucklehead is disgraced former republican governor Ernie Fletcher.)

Emails cited two Bluegrass Report posts from back in the spring, when Lunsford was running in the Democratic primary for governor (which he lost by 20 points):

"Top Ten Reasons to Vote Against Bruce Lunsford."

"More on Lunsford's Love of the Republican Party."

But there's more! If you've finished throwing up at the idea of this millionaire scumbag representing the Demcoratic Party at so much as a backyard picnic, try these:

Media Czech details Lunsford's 14-year record of large donations to republicans, including $7,500 to - wait for it - the National Republican Senate Committee in 1997. "Bruce Lunsford? Surely You're Joking."

And CFK activist Mike Bailey makes an impassioned plea for not letting Schumer's blackmail and Lunsford's money sway real Kentucky Democrats.

UPDATE, 9 a.m.: Page One Kentucky says Lunsford is definitely moving toward declaring his candidacy for the Democratic primary for Mitch's Senate seat.

Page One says Lunsford is making a mistake, even after disclosing that its editors once worked for Lunsford and consider him a friend. Page One has, in fact, often defended Lunsford against critics like yours truly. For Page One to tell Lunsford to stay out of this race is a huge indicator of just how united Kentucky Democrats are in support of Andrew Horne.

Post has been edited.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.

Chuck Schumer Can Bite Me

Major stupidity going on in the race to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Scumbag-KY.

There are Democratic parties in red states all over this country that would kill for a Senate candidate like Andrew Horne.

Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, Iraq combat veteran, family man, national anti-war spokesperson, skeleton-free, responded to a primary election loss by turning his supporters on a dime to work their butts off for the winner (John Yarmuth), proud Democrat not afraid to criticize party leaders for cowardice - the man makes Jim Webb seem like a piker.

Then one of his two strongest potential primary opponents bows out of the race, and the other seems on the verge of doing so. The way is clear for Horne to cruise past two weak primary opponents to become the Mitch Killer.

So Chuck Schumer is celebrating, right? He's dancing on the tables at the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee while minions scoop campaign cash into bags addressed to Horne?

Wrong.

After spending months courting State Auditor Crit Luallen - and making no secret of it - Schumer is now, depending on which rumors you listen to, either sitting out the primary or frantically manuevering behind the scenes for someone - anyone - other than Horne.

Yoooo-hoooo! Chuuuuuuck! Over heeeeeeere! Chuck! Goddamn you, LOOK!

Seriously, that idiot is supposedly courting two Louisville millionaire businessman, one of whom is gun-shy since losing in 2003 as Ben Chandler's lite-gov running mate, and the other of whom is supported by die-hard republicans who have raised millions for Mitch and Smirky.

The excuse for even mentioning these two losers is money, and the need for many millions to beat Mitch.

Let's see. Mitch has $10 million in the bank, the vast majority of it collected back when Mitch was in the Senate majority and had a lot more power. This year, Steve Beshear, as a Democrat challenging an incumbent republican governor, raised more than $7 million in five months, and $9.6 million in less than 10 months.

He did it without the power of incumbency. He did it without earmarks. He did it without the support of the national Democratic congressional or senate campaign committees.

If Steve Beshear could raise almost $10 million as a Democratic challenger for the governor's race, how much more could the Democratic challenger to the third-most-hated republican in the country raise?

Especially if it's somebody already supported by progressive Democrats nationwide (in 2006, Horne was endorsed by Democracy for America, whose Kentucky members (Change for Kentucky) worked tirelessly for him.)

Fortunately, Andrew Horne appears to be ignoring the always-wrong Beltway "experts." Media Czech notes comments from Horne in several Kentucky newspapers over the weekend that make an announcement sound imminent.

Cross-posted at Watching Those We Chose.