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."

The Resistance: Victory! Now, Get Back to Work

Repugs are sneaky motherfuckers and they haven't given up, but just for today let's bask in the win.

From the Courier:

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville said the collapse of the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare on Friday "feels like vindication" and said that American citizens deserve a lot of the credit for its defeat.

“They walked out on a plank and somebody sawed it off," Yarmuth said of the Republican leaders who backed the failed plan. "It was really the American people that sawed it off.”

Yarmuth said that this is a big moment for the Americans who have banded together in the wake of Trump's election to oppose the new administration.

"I think this is going to further energize and empower the resistance movement," he said. "They deserve a lot of credit."

Former Gov. Steve Beshear, who led Kentucky's effort to create its own health insurance exchange and expand Medicaid coverage, proclaimed a victory for everyone who benefits from the programs, not only here but across the country.

"The winners today are the millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who have been able to receive health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, many of them for the first time," Beshear said in a statement. "It's now time to put people over politics and collaborate across party lines to improve the (Affordable Care Act) and further reform our health-care system."

Dem Candidates Protest Farm Bureau Hate

In their bright orange protest shirts, no less!

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, and 6th Congressional District Democratic nominee Nancy Jo Kemper of Lexington joined about 40 protesters outside Thursday’s Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair to urge the Farm Bureau to change “discriminatory” practices.

The protest was peaceful without any arrests. Last year, three protesters were arrested by state police on misdemeanor charges that were later dropped, and the three have a pending U.S. District Court lawsuit against the state police.

Yarmuth, wearing an an orange T-shirt that said, “No Hate in Our State; Kentucky Farm Bureau Big on Discrimination,” said the Farm Bureau had policies against gays, teachers, unions, pro-choice advocates and death penalty opponents.

“Most people in that room don’t know the Farm Bureau’s policies,” Yarmuth said while standing outside the Kentucky Exposition Center, where more than 1,600 people, including a lot of politicians, gathered for the Farm Bureau’s 53rd annual breakfast.

SNIP

Kemper, who is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, in Central Kentucky’s 6th District, said she always has been for equal rights of all people.

She said she believes there are “gay kids in rural areas,” and the Farm Bureau should be concerned about them.

Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, said his organization and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Jefferson County Teachers Association and Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice joined in the protest.

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. 

All Five KY House Repugs Voted Against Fixing the VA

Mitchei-poo and the Tribble-Toupeed One both voted for the bill in the Senate, but Ed Whitfield (R-KY1), Brett Guthrie (R-KY2), Thomas Massie (R-KY4), Hal Rogers (R-KY6) and Andy Barr (R-KY6)* voted against it.

John Yarmuth (D-KY3) of course voted in favor of fixing the VA so Kentucky's 339,000 veterans can get timely healthcare.

When campaign season ramps back up after Labor Day, don't let Whitfield, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers or Barr get away with claiming they give a flying fuck about helping veterans, because that vote proves they don't.

Down with Tyranny:

Almost every Senate Republican-- even extremist obstructionists like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Richard Burr-- followed Bernie Sanders' lead last month to pass a bill to address the sordid situation at the V.A. It passed 93-3 with the only dissections (sic) from mentally unstable right-wingers Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-KKK) and Bob Corker (R-TN).

The House Republicans can't quite get their shit together on the whole V.A. mess they've been desperately trying to turn into a talking point. Talking points are a lot easier for them than actually doing anything. So, Thursday evening they failed to pass a motion to instruct their conferees to agree to the original, bipartisan Senate-passed V.A. overhaul. It failed by 2 votes, 207-205, only 13 Republicans with the guts to stand up to the Tea party sociopaths and obstructionists. Every Democrat voted "yes" and the 13 Republicans were a gaggle of relatively mainstream conservatives (or Members in fear of losing in November) 

* On the second vote on Friday, Barr switched his vote to yes.

Landslides to the Left of Us, Landslides to the Right, and Not a Decent Candidate in Sight

Mitch the Turtle 60 percent, Matt the Arrogant 36 percent.

Alison Repug-with-a-D-after-her-name Lundergan Grimes 76 percent, Greg Leichty eight percent. By Labor Day, there won't be a single issue on which Alison will admit to being willing to vote differently from Mitch.

John Yarmuth beat his token dem primary opponent 87-13, but that's the only bright spot.

Of the five repug U.S. House members, two have no Democratic opponent in November, including freshman teabagger freak Thomas Massie in the Fourth.

And everywhere, repugs in the state Senate and House have already won re-election because no Democrat was willing to put up even token opposition.

Fire everybody who works for, volunteers for, donates to and runs the Kentucky (non)Democratic Party. Then burn party headquarters to the ground, piss on the ashes and salt the earth so nothing so republican can ever rise there again. Do it now. 

The Courier has the disgusting numbers here.

Congressman Awesome Strikes Again

I'd call this a gross understatement.

KY Repugs Vote to Allow Toxic Waste Everywhere

Ed Whitfield, Thomas Massie, Hal Rogers and Andy Barr all voted yes on HR 2279, which guts the Superfund law. Brett Guthrie did not vote, and Democratic representative John Yarmuth voted no.

Congratulations especially to Massie and Barr, whose Central Kentucky constituents will have them to thank when toxic fracking waste from the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline poisons our land and water but the pipeline company gets to skate without consequences.

Charlie Pierce:

The next time you see your friendly neighborhood Republican, ask him why his party is so enthusiastically in favor of toxic waste.

You know it's a corporate-financed, "business-friendly" scam because of the right party name they hung on it -- the Reducing Excessive Deadlines Obligations Act. With the stock market going through the roof, and CEO pay going into orbit, American business is simply too embattled and burdened to be bothered to carry enough insurance to clean up the toxins that the free market must unleash upon the land in order to maintain our liberty. And, also, before the EPA could designate a site as a Superfund site, the EPA now would have to jump through even more hoops constructed by some champions of the environment like Rick Perry, he of the unregulated exploding fertilizer plants, and Louisiana's "Bobby" (Y'all Come Poison Us, Heah?) Jindal. For 30 years, Superfund has been cleaning up toxic dumps all over the country. This bill was designed to make that job harder because the people who own American industry have created within the American economy a class of reckless sociopaths bent on turning the United States into another corporate state that they can bleed and poison for their own profit before moving along. This bill will die in the Senate or, if everyone in the Senate takes LSD at the same time, the president will deliver on his promised veto. But you have to keep an eye on everything passed by this House of Representatives. This is the wish list. They get the Senate in 2014, and the White House in 2016, this is the basis on which the country will be governed. Be aware of that.

Erik Loomis has seen the post-Superfund future, and we are fucked:

I now see why the Republicans passed the bill to gut Superfund. It’s clearly unnecessary, what with a company actually named Freedom Industries taking care of the good people of West Virginia.

Schools and restaurants closed, grocery stores sold out of bottled water, and state legislators who had just started their session canceled the day’s business after a chemical spill in the Elk River in Charleston shut down much of the city and surrounding counties even as the cause and extent of the incident remained unclear.

The federal government joined the state early Friday in declaring a disaster, and the West Virginia National Guard planned to distribute bottled drinking water to emergency services agencies in the nine affected counties. About 100,000 water customers, or 300,000 people total, were affected, state officials said they reported in requesting the federal declaration.

Shortly after the Thursday spill from Freedom Industries hit the river and a nearby treatment plant, a licorice-like smell enveloped parts of the city, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued an order to customer of West Virginia American Water: Do not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes with tap water.

The chemical, a foaming agent used in the coal preparation process, leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries and overran a containment area. Officials from Freedom, a manufacturer of chemicals for the mining, steel, and cement industries, hadn’t commented since the spill, but a woman who answered the phone at the company said it would issue a statement later Friday.

Now that’s some clean coal! Freedom indeed!!!

Repugs Still Sabotaging the Economy for Fun and Profit

A: Unemployment insurance benefits are neither an entitlement nor a handout. Workers pay unemployment insurance premiums out of their checks, just like home or car insurance. Cutting off those benefits is like the insurance company refusing to pay when a tornado destroys your home.

Just like repug Chris Christie is doing to thousands of homeowners still homeless after Superstorm Sandy

B. You cannot receive your unemployment insurance benefits unless you prove you have been searching for a job.  Every two weeks you have to provide proof that you are sltill applying for jobs.

C: Cutting unemployment insurance benefits, like cutting food stamps and welfare and housing aid, harms the economy by taking money away from people who would spend it immediately on rent, mortgage, utilities, food and transportation right in their own neighborhoods.

D. So vicious morons like Rand Paul are lying about the facts, lying about the policy, and lying about their own motivations for refusing to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

From the Courier:

At least 37,000 out-of-work Kentuckians and Hoosiers will see their unemployment payments end today after Congress did not extend long-term emergency benefits before heading home for the holidays.

While lawmakers likely will take up the issue when they return to Washington next month, political lines already are being drawn over whether the government should continue to provide help to Americans who have been without work for at least half a year.


“This is not the time to take it out on the Americans who are suffering the most,” Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, said in an interview.

But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a potential 2016 presidential candidate, said on “Fox News Sunday” that extending unemployment benefits would be “a disservice to these workers.”

“You are causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy,” he said.

SNIP

Among those losing benefits is Melanie Howard, 57, of Louisville, who discovered her unemployment was exhausted Thursday. She checked her bank balance online and saw the automatic deposit of her check was $318, half the biweekly benefit she has received since being laid off in September 2012.

“I was surprised, because the unemployment office previously told me they expected the benefits to be extended,” said Howard, who said she has had difficulty finding work to replace her $20-an-hour job as an office manager.


“I am trying to find something that is reasonable,” Howard said, adding she needs medical coverage. “I have been out there looking.”

Kentucky's Obamacare Is the Gold Standard

Yeah, suck it, California: the President likes us best.

James Carroll at the Courier:

WASHINGTON – Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s implementation of the new health care law for the uninsured won praise from President Barack Obama during a private meeting with House Democrats Wednesday.

That’s according to Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, who was at the meeting.

Obama met with the lawmakers to discuss the partial government shutdown and the looming Oct. 17 deadline for raising the debt ceiling. During his remarks, the president also talked about health care law, which was the Republicans’ original target in the shutdown dispute.

“The president said (the Affordable Care Act) got really good rollouts in some places you wouldn’t expect it, and he said the place that has done best is Kentucky,” Yarmuth said in an interview on Thursday.

The Louisville congressman said Obama noted that irony of that, given that two of Obamacare’s most vocal critics are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Yarmuth went up to Obama after the meeting to thank the president for the Kentucky shout-out.

“The president said that Steve Beshear has done a phenomenal job in embracing the law and making sure it worked well,” Yarmuth said.

And the guv gets prouder every day.

Kentucky’s Democratic governor says implementing the Affordable Care Act is “the morally right thing to do.”

Kentucky is the only southern state both expanding Medicaid and operating a state-based health exchange.

Appearing Thursday on the WNYC's "The Takeaway," Governor Steve Beshear said Kentucky can’t afford not to do it.

“We have some of the worst health statistics in the country," explained Beshear.  "If there’s some way I can attack that and change the course of history in Kentucky on health care, I’m going to do it, and the Affordable Care Act gives me a historic opportunity and a tool to do just that.”

SNIP

You can hear the complete interview with Governor Steve Beshear by clicking here.

 More than 10,000 uninsured people now signed up for coverage as of Friday.

As of 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time on 10/11/2013

213,299

unique visitors to kynect.ky.gov; viewing 4,409,080 web pages.

191,094

people conducted pre-screenings to determine qualifications for subsidies, discounts or programs like Medicaid.

31,475

applications for health care coverage have been started; 21,931 are completed.

10,290

individuals are enrolled in new affordable health care coverage.

269

small businesses have started applications for health insurance for employees.

39,941

calls managed by kynect contact center at 1-855-4kynect (1-855-459-6328).

Meanwhile, the Kentucky teabagger dead-enders are getting desperate.

David Adams' pathetic op-ed in the Courier:

Kentucky Democrats may soon turn against Obamacare in the interests of self-preservation. 

If Kentucky’s state-run health insurance exchange survives my legal challenge headed now to the Commonwealth’s Supreme Court, it will then face a stiff immediate challenge in January.

Yeah, you wish, moron.  Go on - knock yourself out.

Massie, Yarmuth Vote to Defund NSA Spying on Americans' Phone Calls

This is one of those rare grounds where liberals and (supposed) libertarians can meet.  But don't think Northern Kentucky's teabagger Massie's distaste for the NSA means he opposes equally intrusive spying by corporations, or government intrusion into your bedroom or your uterus.

Kevin Drum at Mother Jones:

Rep. Justin Amash's amendment to defund the NSA's bulk collection of domestic telephone records failed in the House this afternoon. That's probably not too surprising given the full court press coming from the president, the leadership of both parties, and the intelligence community. But take a look at the vote count. When was the last time we saw something so genuinely bipartisan? In the end, 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats voted in favor, and the leaders of both parties—John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer—all joined with President Obama to oppose the amendment and keep the NSA program in place. Despite disagreements at the margin, support for the fundamental structure of the modern national security state truly spans both parties.

Congressman Awesomely Fucking Wrong Yarmuth

Are fucking kidding me, John Yarmuth? A passel of Blue Dog, DINO, conservadem pieces of shit - and you?  Why? What possible excuse could you have for voting for the tar sands pipeline that will tip climate catastrophe into too-fucking-late-now-bend-over-and-kill-your-ass-goodbye?

Down with Tyranny:

"If he honestly believes," says Van Jones in the video clip above, "that this pipeline-- which will be a huge part of his legacy-- is a good thing, he should call it the Obama Tar Sands Pipeline." Yes, a huge part of his legacy. The House may have made it easy for him-- whichever decision he makes. Last week they passed H.R. 3, which removes Obama from the decision-making process, despite this being a deal that involves the U.S. border, over which he has constitutional authority. So... he can veto it on that basis alone-- if it passes the Senate (a distinct possibility, since the majority of the whores in that esteemed body have already come out in favor). Of course, if Obama really wants the pipeline to go through and just would rather avoid the stain on his legacy, he could let that go through and say "Congress did it, not me," although only idiots-- so, roughly, half the voters, could possibly buy into that lame excuse.

When the House voted not a single Republican voted NO, although Planet Justin (Amash-R-MI) voted "present." The real horror, though was that 19 Democrats scurried across the aisle to vote with the GOP, not just for the Keystone XL Pipeline, but to remove Obama from the process. And they weren't all just the Blue Dog reactionaries and racists. Here's the whole list:

• John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)

• Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)

• Cheri Bustos (IL)

• Jim Cooper (Blue Dog/New Dem-TN)

• Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)

• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)

• Bill Enyart (IL)

• Al Green (TX)

• Gene Green (TX)

• Ruben Hinojosa (TX)

• Sean Maloney (New Dem-NY)

• Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)

• Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)

• Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL)

• Bill Owens (New Dem-NY)

• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)

• Terri Sewell (New Dem-AL)

• Filemon Vela (New Dem-TX)

• John Yarmuth (KY)

Yarmuth Takes Pass on Protecting Social Security

The sole Democratic member of the Kentucky Congressional Delegation, a self-proclaimed progressive,  yet on the single most critical Democratic and Progressive issue of literally the century, "Congressman Awesome" runs and hides. 

For shame.

Yeah, yeah, the DCCC has issued orders to dems to keep quiet about Obama's plan to destroy the New Deal, but not everybody is electorally stupid enough to obey.

Down with Tyranny:

Who Will Protect Us From The Boehner-Obama Plan To Wreck Social Security?

Wondering who signed the Grayson Takano No Cuts letter, the one that says "We will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits-- including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need?" As of today, here's a list of signers:

• Alan Grayson (D-FL) • Mark Takano (D-CA) • Joyce Beatty (D-OH) • Corrine Brown (D-FL) • Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) • Matt Cartwright (D-PA) • Kathy Castor (D-FL) • David Cicilline (D-RI) • William Lacy Clay (D-MO) • Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) • John Conyers (D-MI) • Elijah Cummings (D-MD) • Peter DeFazio (D-OR) • Keith Ellison (D-MN) • Marcia Fudge (D-OH) • Gene Green (D-TX) • Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) • Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) • Alcee Hastings (D-FL) • Michael Honda (D-CA) • Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) • Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) • Barbara Lee (D-CA) • Stephen Lynch (D-MA) • Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) • Ed Markey (D-MA) • Jim McGovern (D-MA) • Jerry Nadler (D-NY) • Grace Napolitano (D-CA) • Rick Nolan (D-MN) • José Serrano (D-NY) • Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) • Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Hey, Kentucky repugs: if Obama's budget plays out the way it looks now, with dems taking the blame for killing Social Security and losing 50 seats in 2014 because of it,Yarmuth's Louisville district might be easy pickings.

If Congressman Awesome turns into Congressman Stupid.

John Yarmuth Not Awesome on Social Security, Medicare

I am disappointed.  Yarmuth's proud liberal stances have earned him the sobriquet (coined by LEO's Joe Sonka) of "Congressmen Awesome," yet on one of the most important progressive issues today, he's absent.

In fact, Yarmuth is not even a member of the Congressional Progressive caucus. 

Is his reason for not joining the CPC the same one for not committing to protect Social Security?

Now we know.

Every member of Congress has chosen whether to sign a letter making a crucial commitment: “We will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”

The Democratic Party hierarchy doesn’t like the letter. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has said that cutting Social Security would “strengthen” it, and President Obama’s spokespeople keep emphasizing his eagerness to cut Social Security’s cost of living adjustments. The fact that Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit is beside the austerity point.

Since mid-February, across the country, many thousands of people have sent personal notes, submitted petitions and made phone calls imploring members of Congress to sign the letter, initiated by Congressmen Alan Grayson and Mark Takano.

Twenty-eight members of the House of Representatives have signed the letter.

Here are their names: Brown, Cartwright, Castor, Clay, Conyers, D. Davis, DeFazio, Ellison, Faleomavaega, Grayson, G. Green, Grijalva, Gutierrez, A. Hastings, Honda, Kaptur, Lee, Lynch, C. Maloney, Markey, McGovern, Nadler, Napolitano, Nolan, Serrano, Takano, Velazquez and Waters.

If you don’t see the name of your Congress member on that list, you live in a House district without a representative standing up for economic decency.

Especially noteworthy are 49 members of the House who belong to the Congressional Progressive Caucus but have refused to sign the Grayson-Takano letter. In most cases, they represent districts with a largely progressive electorate. In effect, their message is: We like to call ourselves “progressive” but we refuse to clearly stand up to an Obama White House that’s pushing to slash Social Security and Medicare benefits. To see the names of those 49 members of Congress, click here.

Yarmuth calls himself a progressive, and his votes almost always back that up. Maybe he's being a loyal soldier on this one and following the dead-wrong and self-destructive Democratic Party "leadership." If so, he should know better.

How Much Do Mitch and AynRandy Hate Women?

This much.

This afternoon the Senate overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, 78-22. Every Democrat plus 23 Republicans voted for it. All four of the Republican women in the Senate, Kelly Ayotte (NH), Susan Collins (ME), Deb Fischer (NE) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) were among the 23 who voted YES. And then there were the other 22-- all male, right-wing extremists, the Hatred and Bigotry wing of the Republican Party. What a disgrace, that on the same day Republicans were showcasing potential 2016 presidential nominees Marco Rubio and Rand Paul by having them respond to President Obama's State of the Union address, both of them were in the small minority of anti-women fanatics and misogynists. Here's the full list:
SNIP

• Miss McConnell (R-KY)

• Rand Paul (R-KY)

SNIP

President Obama was grateful for the strong support the bill got on both sides of the aisle. "Today the Senate passed a strong bipartisan bill to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act," he said minutes after passage. "This important step shows what we can do when we come together across party lines to take up a just cause. The bill passed by the Senate will help reduce homicides that occur from domestic violence, improve the criminal justice response to rape and sexual assault, address the high rates of dating violence experienced by young women, and provide justice to the most vulnerable among us. I want to thank Senator Leahy and his colleagues from both sides of the aisle for the leadership they have shown on behalf of victims of abuse. It's now time for the House to follow suit and send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law."

Ah... the House. Yes, the crazy, extremist House. Boehner and Cantor have indicated they will refuse to allow it to come up for a vote. Last month Gwen Moore (D-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI) introduced an identical bill to the one that passed today, H.R. 11, which has 194 co-sponsors... all Democrats. Boehner has it bottled up in the Judiciary Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Education and the Workforce Committee, the Financial Services Committee, and, oddly, the Natural Resources Committee, where his reactionary cronies who head those committees, respectively Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), Fred Upton (R-MI), John Kline (R-MN), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Doc Hastings (R-WA) are dutifully keeping it from serious consideration. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is one of the Senators who supported the legislation who had a message for Boehner and his cronies today: "Domestic violence and abuse are inexcusable. And so was the House of Representatives' failure to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act last year... There are 24 new victims of domestic violence every minute. An average of three women will be killed today by their partners. It's long past time to bring the Violence Against Women Act back, and to take a stand against domestic violence."

Teabagger shitbag Thomas Massie of Kentucky's Fourth will of course vote against it, and John "Congressman Awesome" Yarmuth of the Third will vote in favor. How the Commonwealth's other four repugs break on this will say much about their willingness to invite a 2014 teabagger primary by voting with President Obama. The Fifth's Hal Rogers is safe, and the First's Florida resident Ed Whitfield doesn't seem to give a shit about anything or anybody in Kentucky. But Brett Guthrie in the Second might be vulnerable, and Candy Barr in the Sixth is a coward who so far has voted with Massie every time.

Domestic violence against women has always been a right-wing value. It's part of their Bronze Age patriarchal ideal. It's sick and has no place in the 21st Century-- just like the Republican Party. Many of the senators who voted for domestic violence today are in backward, brainwashed states like Utah and Idaho or in states where backward brainwashed people still command majorities at the polls, like in Oklahoma and Texas. There is no one to hold those senators accountable for their vote; they'll probably be feted for it! I have a feeling, though, that this vote can come back to bite Miss McConnell and Lindsey Graham in their butts in 2014. And Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson and Roy Blunt are clearly out of step with voters in Florida, Wisconsin and Missouri.  

As Juanita Jean put it:

It’s kinda my job to let you know that both Texas Senators voted against the Violence Against Women Act.

They hate the President more than violence against women.
Well, either that or they’re wife beaters.

Ky's Yarmuth Proposes $100 Max Campaign Contributions

No, Congressman Awesome does not fuck around.

James R. Carroll at the Courier:

Imagine a campaign for the U.S. House in which the definition of a fat-cat donor is somebody who gives the maximum — of $100.

Imagine that same race, but with the federal government providing a 5-to-1 match for every dollar a candidate raises from state residents.


Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, not only can imagine it, he’s sponsoring legislation that would make it law.


For a candidate, “your support is much more broadly based, and the odds of your being influenced by a big donor are reduced — essentially eliminated,” the Louisville congressman said recently.


For a candidate’s supporters, public campaign financing “gives voters a much greater opportunity to participate and feel that they’re actually helping a candidate,” Yarmuth said.


“We consider this to be a good government initiative,” he said.

No, of course it doesn't have a chance in hell in this Congress.  But what did I just tell you about fighting the fight? File this bill now, make a big honking stink about it, attract the attention of some sit-home Democratic voters who have been waiting to hear about just this kind of reform, and maybe they go to the polls in 2014 and take the House of Representatives away from the repugs.

Liberal, Teabaggers and Mitchiepoo Unite on Industrial Hemp

Now that's a trio you couldn't get to agree on lunch, but they're together on the one thing that can save Kentucky's economy from Death by Coal.
 
From the Kentucky Department of Agriculture:

Today, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement of support for Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and the effort to re-introduce industrial hemp into Kentucky agriculture. Leader McConnell’s office issued the following statement:

“After long discussions with Senator Rand Paul and Commissioner James Comer on the economic benefits of industrialized hemp, I am convinced that allowing its production will be a positive development for Kentucky’s farm families and economy. Commissioner Comer has assured me that his office is committed to pursuing industrialized hemp production in a way that does not compromise Kentucky law enforcement’s marijuana eradication efforts or in any way promote illegal drug use. The utilization of hemp to produce everything from clothing to paper is real, and if there is a capacity to center a new domestic industry in Kentucky that will create jobs in these difficult economic times, that sounds like a good thing to me.”

Comer expressed enormous gratitude for McConnell’s support:

“When the most powerful Republican in the country calls to discuss your issue, that’s a good day on the job,” Comer said. “Leader McConnell’s support adds immeasurable strength to our efforts to bring good jobs to Kentucky.”

In unprecedented bi-partisan cooperation, U.S. Reps. John Yarmuth and Thomas Massie are confirmed to testify alongside U.S. Senator Rand Paul and Commissioner Comer in support of Senate Bill 50, state Senator Paul Hornback’s legislation on industrial hemp.

“Our federal delegation is showing tremendous leadership,” Comer said. “They recognize this is not a partisan issue. It’s about jobs. And we will continue to push forward to make sure Kentucky is first in line for them.”

Adding to this momentum, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce today voted unanimously to support SB 50 after hearing arguments on its behalf from state Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer and Senator Hornback. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council is also expected to pass a resolution endorsing the industrial hemp initiative today.

SB 50 will be heard in the Senate Agriculture Committee on Feb. 11, 2013 at 11 a.m. EST.

Call or email your Kentucky legislator to support SB 50.

Only One Human Being in Kentucky's Congressional Delegation

And of course it's Congressman Awesome.

Chris Kenning and James Carroll at the Courier:

Saying “doing nothing is not an option,” U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, promised Monday to support a comprehensive new package of gun control legislation he believes can pass Congress in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings .

“I have been largely silent on the issue of gun violence over the past six years, and I am now as sorry for that as I am for what happened to the families who lost so much,” he said in Louisville news conference during which he called for “meaningful action.”

But while Yarmuth publicly endorsed greater gun control, other Kentucky and Southern Indiana lawmakers — most Republicans — were reluctant Monday to take a stand, either sidestepping the issue or refusing to comment altogether.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a speech on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, said there was “no escaping the fact that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary stands out for its awfulness.” But the Kentucky Republican did not say whether he believes there is a need for new gun-control measures.

Mitchie-poo's always been a coward, but you'd think the Commonwealth's Tribble-toupeed Teabagger would be shouting libertarian gun-nuttery from the rooftops.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for an interview.

I'll bet Ashley Judd would leap at the chance to talk about Sandy Hook.

Reps. Brett Guthrie, Tom Massie and Andy Barr also chickened out of commenting, although Reps. Ed Whitfield and Hal Rogers, whose asses are permanently grafted to their House seats, offered typical weasel words.

It's not as if Kentucky doesn't know the shock, pain and permanent damage of a school shooting. Fifteen years later, Heath High School in Paducah is still kept locked around the clock, and shooter Michael Carneal is still appealing his life sentence on grounds of mental defect.

No fucking kidding, motherfucker.

At least Carneal admits what he did and that it was wrong.  That's more than McConnell, Paul, Guthrie, Massie, Barr, Whitfield and Rogers can say.

Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Is Exactly What We Have

Because it's not about global warming or pretty forest streams; it's about an unnecessary industrial practice that destroys whole communities. James Carroll at the Courier:

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, and a dozen other House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would impose a moratorium on new or expanded mountaintop mining in Kentucky and other Appalachian states. “The Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act will provide the families in these communities the answers and the protection they deserve,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who is the chief sponsor of the bill with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. Yarmuth is the only Kentucky lawmaker co-sponsoring the bill. He said mountaintop mining “destroys entire ecosystems, contaminates the water supply in mining communities, and makes people sick.” “In addition, it has cost Kentucky more than half of its mining jobs,” the Louisville congressman said. “If it takes a government health study to finally end this destructive practice, I support it.” The legislation would put a hold on new or expanded mountaintop-removal mining operations until scientific research identifies the potential health risks from such mining.

Find out more about mountaintop removal mining and the efforts in Kentucky to stop it here.

This is Why We Call Him Congressman Awesome

John Yarmuth is Louisville's - and Kentucky's - redeeming political value.

TPM:

An outspoken Kentucky Democrat is directing an unusually pointed attack at a member of his own delegation. And not just any member — the single biggest target.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) laid in to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a letter delivered last week for misleading their mutual constituents about the facts and benefits of President Obama’s health care law.

And in a follow-up interview, Yarmuth again attacked McConnell, his former ally, for putting partisan politics before representing the people of his state.

“I’ve known Mitch for 40 years,” said Yarmuth. “We were political allies at one point. I was a Republican ‘til 1985. In recent years, as I’ve said publicly before, he has a considerable knack for being scrupulously accurate and rarely honest.”

In this instance Yarmuth is referring to an op-ed McConnell wrote in the Louisville Courier-Journal. In his letter, Yarmuth calls into question five claims McConnell made in the op-ed. And he wants McConnell to address his concerns.

McConnell’s spokesman declined to comment.

“His constituents are my constituents. It irks me when he’s misleading them,” Yarmuth said. “There are about 15,000 small businesses that could be eligible for a tax credit in my district. Only 530 or so have taken advantage of it. And I know that’ s because they’re convinced it’s terrible for small businesses. And that’s not accurate.”

Yarmuth has never taken such a public tack against McConnell. But unlike Yarmuth, McConnell’s not up for reelection this year, and this is a blunter-than-usual way of pressuring him not to be so partisan.

“He’s just become such a total reflexive partisan politician, he’s playing a different role, and it’s not necessarily being a senator from Kentucky,” Yarmuth said. “He’s become totally detached from any obligation to be remotely fair and honest.”

Read Yarmuth’s letter here.