Is the New Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party Ready to Take Back the Legislature?

Hmmm.  Original Deaniac, Pike County roots, avoids actually saying dems need to pursue white male voters.

Is he a fighter?  Will he force the party to jettison the repug-lite campaigns that lost the state House for the first time in 98 years?  Ninety. Eight. Years.

Kentucky Democrats have a historic opportunity in 2018 to replicate the Virginia victory of 32 seats in the state legislature.  But not if we keep doing what keeps not working.

From the Herald:

Lexington businessman Ben Self, a co-founder of West Sixth Brewery, on Saturday was elected the new chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party, said party spokesman Brad Bowman.
Self replaces State Rep. Sannie Overly, D-Paris, who announced she was stepping down in August.

SNIP

Self, 40, told the Herald-Leader that the Kentucky Democratic Party was at a “pivotal moment, and it’s an exciting moment. There’s a lot of opportunity ahead of us.”

SNIP
 
Self said Democrats have to win elections, build long-term party capacity, which includes recruiting candidates, training activists, sharing best practices and building long-term knowledge inside the party. 

“It’s time to return the Kentucky Democratic Party to the people,” Self said. “While campaigns and candidates come and go, the only organization that can tie them together, and the grassroots energy and fundraising momentum they produce, is a strong Kentucky Democratic Party."

I don't hear anywhere near enough "Kentucky Democratic voters are sick and fucking tired of the sorry excuse for leadership that the Kentucky Democratic Party insists on protecting and perpetuating."

But if he said that out loud, the party poohbahs wouldn't have given him the job.  Let's hope that he secretly hates despises and loathes them all.

Meanwhile, fuck the party.  Get out their and light a fire under our voters.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article184132126.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article184132126.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article184132126.html#storylink=cpy

 

 Self, 40, told the Herald-Leader that the Kentucky Democratic Party was at a “pivotal moment, and it’s an exciting moment. There’s a lot of opportunity ahead of us.”

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article184132126.html#storylink=cpy

Sanders Leader Named Leader of Kentucky Democratic Party

So, the Kentucky Democratic (Republican) Party thinks it can fool the restive liberals in its ranks by naming a Sanders leader as executive director.

I sincerely hope that she knows better.  I sincerely hope she understands that party apparatchiks throughout the state are already sabotaging any effort to build a movement and organize members to elect real Democratic candidates. I sincerely hope she rallies the awakened and enraged progressives in the Commonwealth to take back the party that has betrayed us for decades.

But I doubt it.

From the AP:

The party announced Mary Nishimuta (Nish-ah-moo-tah) of Frankfort as the new executive director on Friday. She will serve under state party chairwoman Sannie Overly, a state representative from Paris.

Nishimuta was a national team leader for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and was a delegate for him to the Democratic National Convention.

SNIP

A graduate of Georgia Tech, Nishimuta has worked for various Fortune 500 companies and is the co-owner of the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe in Frankfort. She said her goal is to build a strong party in all of Kentucky's 120 counties.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article145953894.html#storylink=cpy

Freakazoid Bills Filed by Kentucky "Democrat"

Those would be the same freakazoid bills - the infamous HB2 - that cost North Carolina billions of dollars in lost revenue from corporations fleeing the state in disgust.

And why, you ask, has this traitorous piece of shit not been disowned by the Kentucky Democratic Party? Because there is no Kentucky Democratic Party.  Which explains just about everything.

Also, Rick Nelson is a coward.  He never dared pull this shit when Greg Stumbo controlled the Democratic House.

Tom Loftus at the Courier:

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Two controversial social conservative bills that many top Republican leaders have de-emphasized in recent months were filed in the Kentucky House on Tuesday by a Democrat.

Rep. Rick Nelson, a Democrat from Middlesboro, filed the transgender bathroom bill (House Bill 106) that would require public schools, state universities, state government and local governments to designate that bathrooms they control "only be used by persons based on their biological sex."

And Nelson's House Bill 105 is similar to past "religious freedom" bills filed in the legislature. It says that no law, regulation or court order shall impair the exercise of rights guaranteed by the constitutions of the United States and Kentucky including "a person's right of conscience" and freedom of religion.

"I just want to make sure those bills are out there in case the other side decides not to do them. I support them and think they're pretty good," Nelson said.

He said both bills are nearly identical to ones filed in recent legislative sessions but blocked in the House, which until Tuesday was controlled by a Democratic majority.

SNIP

Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, said Wednesday that he's concerned about Nelson's two bills.

"Together these bills are North Carolina's House Bill 2," Hartman said, referring to a controversial law that was met with a response that included cancellation of sporting events and business expansions.

Hartman said that the "religious freedom" bill would allow owners of businesses to discriminate by refusing service based on beliefs. "It would subvert fairness ordinances in the eight Kentucky cities where they exist."

 Kentucky Democrats:  Finding new ways to make Kentucky a National Laughingstock.

It's Called "Politics," Matt

What is it with these Bro Faux Libertarians?  So thin-skinned, such Whiny-Ass Titty Babies. Warning to new moms: when you fail to teach your infants the meaning of "no," they grow up to be Matt Bevin and (shudder) Rand Paul.

Joe Gerth at the Courier:

The Kentucky Democratic Party said that Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin stopped by party headquarters Friday afternoon to complain to a receptionist about a marquee sign on Interstate 64 in Frankfort that said, “You still can’t trust Matt Bevin.”

Party spokesman David Bergstein said that Bevin came into the building’s lobby and began telling the receptionist about civility and then became agitated when speaking about the sign.

“You’not going to believe this,” said Bergstein. “Matt Bevin just came to our headquarters and yelled at our receptionist,” he said. 

Bevin’s campaign acknowledged that he went to the Democrats’ headquarters but gave vague answers to why he was there – but spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said, “There was no yelling.”

But was there the stamping of tiny feet and red-faced crying?

It was the second time Bevin stopped by the Democratic headquarters because of the sign. Earlier this month, he filmed a short video from the side of the road in which he sarcastically thanks the Democrats for featuring his name on the marquee and offering to have a company he owns replace the old sign with a a snazzy new LED sign.

They should take him up on it. Then program the sign to flash:

"Somebody change Matty's diaper; he's getting cranky./"

Kansas, Here We Come

Yep, repugs are poised to take over Kentucky state government and turn us into the hellhole Sam Brownback created in Kansas.

Kevin Wheatley at cn2:

In the first independent poll of the 2015 campaign cycle, Republican candidates for constitutional office hold single-digit leads on their Democratic opponents, with GOP gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin ahead of Attorney General Jack Conway by 3 points.

Public Policy Polling released the results of its survey of 1,108 Kentucky voters Tuesday, describing the race for governor as “pretty up for grabs” with Bevin leading Conway 38 percent to 35 percent, with independent candidate Drew Curtis netting 6 percent support and undecided voters totaling 21 percent.

When Gov. Bevin shuts down the schools and restricts health care to only the rich, be sure to blame the geniuses in the Kentucky "Democratic" Party who thought Jack "Such a Loser He Lost to Rand Paul" Conway was the perfect candidate.

KY Dem Party Still Doesn't Know How to Run Campaigns

For the eleventy-millionth time, there are no swing voters who can be persuaded to cross party lines.  There are only occasional voters in both parties who have to be inspired or bullied into getting off their fat asses and into the voting booth.

This stupid shit just pisses people off and subtracts thousands more Democratic votes from the total number any Democratic candidate needs to win statewide.

Unless the state Democratic Party starts knocking on doors and talking directly to Democratic voters, begging them to go to the polls, we're going to get Governor Heiner and the Democratic party will have no one to blame but itself.

Sam Youngman at the Herald:

It has become conventional wisdom in the 2015 race for governor that one of Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway's greatest assets is the contentious Republican primary.

Highlighting that asset, the Kentucky Democratic Party released a new web video, titled "Slugfest," on Tuesday that demonstrates the heated turn the Republican field has taken in the last few weeks.

The state party said in a news release that the video shows "how the GOP primary has turned into a brutal, intra-party fight that is exposing the flaws in each candidate and will leave their ultimate nominee deeply wounded."

Gee, that sounds familiar ... oh yeah.  That's what the repugs said about Clinton and Obama in 2008.  I wonder how that turned out.

"the GOP primary has turned into a brutal, intra-party fight that is exposing the flaws in each candidate and will leave their ultimate nominee deeply wounded will force the candidates to hone their arguments and leave the eventual nominee enormously strengthened."

FIFY. 

KY Dem "Unity" Not Strength But Irrelevance

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

We. Are. So. Fucked.

Sam Youngman at the Herald:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SNIP

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

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

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

How about running like goddamn Democratic candidates?

Wendell Ford: RIP and Good Riddance

I would dearly love to know what Wendell H. Ford, former Governor, former U.S. Senator, and godfather of the Kentucky Democratic Party since before most current members of it were born, really thought about President Barack Obama.

Because while Governor Ford pushed progressive policies in Kentucky beyond what would be possible even today - massive public spending, getting the General Assembly to approve the Equal Rights Amendment and a coal severance tax - U.S. Senator Ford kept the FDA from regulating tobacco, supported anti-abortion legislation and poured billions of tax dollars down the "synthetic fuels from coal" toilet.

Given his age and background, I am quite certain Ford was a stone racist, though a quiet one. But he was also a stone Yellow Dog Democrat, reviling repugs at every opportunity and supporting Democratic candidates.  In the 2008 and 2012 elections, did the racist or the Yellow Dog win out?  I can't imagine him voting for a repug, but I can't imagine him voting for a black man, either. 

In the end, I can't forgive him for retiring from the Senate in 1998, allowing repug Jim Bunning to replace him. In Ford's day 40 years ago, Kentucky had one of the deepest Democratic candidate benches in the country.  You could predict which Democratic candidate would win the governor's race 20 years out, just by looking at the current holders of state offices. 

Repug voters registered as Democrats just so they could vote in the Democratic primary, the winner of which automatically won the general election.

Now, there's not a Democratic candidate in sight who could beat a widely-hated repug with a 35 percent approval rating last year, or any of the current repug candidates for governor in November.

Ford let that bench collapse. And because of that, by Jan. 2017 Kentucky is likely to have an all-repug state government.

And we'll all be envying Ford, safe in his grave.

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.

When the Empry Dress Fits, Stop Demanding Apologies

Jared Smith at the Kentucky Democratic Party is forwarding around a week-old email from Ditch Mitch seeking signatures on a petition asking Mitch McConnell to apologize for calling Alison Lundergan Grimes "an empty dress."

Sigh. Whatever international award for empty campaign gestures that make your candidate look weak and stupid the Kentucky Democratic Party is apparently working toward, KDP's gotta be the front-runner.

Hey, Jared: Instead of demanding a meaningless apology for a standard campaign tactic - making both you and your candidate look pathetic - how about proving the motherfuckers wrong with some campaign substance instead of the empty dress Grimes has presented so far?

Oh and Alison? That advice you're getting from Steve Israel at the DCCC to dodge questions on Syria? It lost you the chance to beat McConnell to the punch and look like a dress that might actually fit Kentucky's Democratic voters.

KDP Breaks Rules to Promote Grimes

A fundamental bylaw of the Kentucky Democratic Party prohibits party officials from taking sides in a primary.  If there is more than one Democratic candidate competing, the party is supposed to remain neutral.

For months, while two little-known but courageous Democrats dared to step forward to challenge Mitch McConnell, the KDP pretended they didn't exist, whining to everyone about the need for a Democratic challenger to McConnell while two were already campaigning.

Party officials even worked behind the scenes to sabotage Ashley Judd because she wasn't the candidate they wanted.

Now, while the repug-lite candidate they wanted campaigns as if she didn't have to run in a primary, one of her Democratic opponents is calling foul on the KDP.

Jack Brammer at The Herald:

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ed Marksberry thinks his party is not playing fairly with his campaign.

Marksberry, an Owensboro contractor who lost a bid for Congress in 2010, filed a lawsuit Monday in Franklin Circuit Court against state Democratic Party chairman Daniel Logsdon, alleging the party is favoring the candidacy of Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

"I love the Democratic Party, but if it keeps on doing what it has been doing, it looks like they're ignoring the working class in the party over the rich," Marksberry said Monday during a telephone interview.

Logsdon did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.

Marksberry said in the four-page lawsuit that he was surprised and shocked when the state Democratic Party released an email July 1 about Grimes' announcement of her candidacy and mentioned her fundraising efforts.

Marksberry said the party had declined his request to distribute various announcements about his campaign events through its electronic mailing network. He said he was told that sending such communications would violate the party's bylaws, which prohibit the party from using its assets to endorse or support one Democratic candidate over another Democratic candidate in a Democratic primary election.

The party's email about Grimes was "in violation of the clear and unambiguous language of its bylaws," the suit says. "Clearly, resources of Kentucky Democratic Party were utilized to promote Alison Lundergan Grimes' campaign and denied to supporting the candidacy of Edward Marksberry."

Grimes is going to be the nominee, but she's going to lose every working-class and liberal Democratic voter in the Commonwealth getting there.

Then she's going to lose to McConnell by double-digits, which is exactly what the Kentucky Democratic Party deserves.

Second Indication Grimes Is Not Serious

Really?  Why was this website not complete and ready to publish the day she announced?  Maybe because she didn't expect to announce until the last minute? Could the Kentucky Republican Democratic Party possibly get more incompetent/inthetankforMitch?

Jack Brammer at the Herald

Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes launched a bare-bones campaign website Friday for the U.S. Senate — four days after she announced she would challenge U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and two days after a Republican group posted its own website about Grimes.

McConnell's campaign and national Republican groups have spent much of the week belittling Grimes for announcing her candidacy Monday at a hastily-called event in a Frankfort building that lacked air conditioning. Political pundits noted that national Democrats who may have heard about Grimes for the first time this week had no way to donate to her campaign.

The site Grimes launched Friday, Alisonforky.com, allows supporters to sign up for updates from the candidate and make a contribution. It trails the Grimesforsenate.org website launched Wednesday by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Sixteen months out and Grimes' campaign in the single biggest and most important race in the nation is already cover-your-eyes awful.


:

KY Dem Party Commits Felony Political Stupidity

Here's an email from Daniel Logsdon, the Republican chair of the Kentucky "Democratic" Party:

It's a long time until November, and we've got a lot of work to do if we want to Ditch Mitch.

That is why we need to know that you’re in. Can you click here and let us know you’re in to Ditch Mitch?

Thanks for telling us you’re in,

Dan

First and foremost, the Kentucky Democratic Party has neither the will nor the inclination to do a lick of work in the direction of "ditch"ing Mitch.

But that's the lying part, not the felony stupid part.

 

The chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party thinks Mitch McConnell is standing for re-election in "November."

This November.

Of 2013.

12 months before McConnell is actually going to be on the ballot.

It's now official: any donation of money, time or respect to this asshole and the state party he presumes to lead is the equivalent of donating directly to Mitch McConnell and every other repug politician in the state.

And then we have the disgusting sexist part. That email was originally addressed to a female person of the Democratic persuasion.  Let's call her Jane.  So fat, sweaty, republican Dan Logsdon addressed this email to "Dear Jane."  And the subject line of the email was - I shit you not - the following:

"Jane, do you want to?"

The sound you hear is a million Kentucky Democratic women voters puking in unison.

Kentucky Democratic Party Just Letting McConnell Run Away With Election

Give your money directly to candidates, always. Never, Never, NEVER give money to state or national parties. This is why.

James R. Carroll at the Courier:

One of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s political axioms is that a candidate can start too late in a race but can never start too early.

This year, Kentucky Democrats are ignoring that strategic insight.


While McConnell, Kentucky’s top Republican, continues to rake in cash for this 2014 re-election bid, Democrats remain in a holding pattern.

Actual Kentucky Democratic voters are dying for a real Democratic candidate to beat McConnell and give us actual representation in Congress again, but the state party only cares about keeping that sweet coal cash flowing to their conservadem candidates.

Will Grimes Be This Round's Sacrifical Lamb to McConnell?

You'd think her Daddy at least would have noticed that the repug-lites Kentucky Democrats run against Mitch McConnell all suffer the same fate:  not just losing the election, but disappearing from politics forever thereafter.

Allison Lundergan Grimes has a bright future in Kentucky and maybe national politics, but only if she refuses to fall on her sword for the good ol' boys of the Kentucky "Democratic" Party.

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

After a busy legislative session and a business trip to Taiwan, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is pondering whether to run for the U.S. Senate next year against Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell.

Grimes, a Democrat, said Tuesday she is "now going to take the time to reflect with my family, my supporters on how I can best continue to serve the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Grimes did not set a timetable for making a decision, saying only that she will "give it the due diligence it deserves."

Political observers differ on how quickly Grimes should decide.

Meanwhile, the pro-Mitch money continues to pile up.

A new, independent super PAC is being formed to help U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in his re-election bid next year.

Kentuckians for Strong Leadership announced Tuesday in an email that it is filing incorporation papers with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office.

"President Obama and his liberal allies know they can't achieve the rest of their big government agenda unless they take out Senator Mitch McConnell, and we will raise and spend whatever it takes to prevent that from happening," said Scott Jennings, the PAC's senior advisor, in a statement.

He said the group expects to set spending records for an independent political action committee.

No, there's no chance at all this is the repug version of the anti-McConnell stumblebums who set progressive politics in Kentucky back a century.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/04/23/2612570/new-group-formed-to-support-mcconnells.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/04/23/2612079/grimes-still-pondering-a-run-against.html#storylink=cpy

Politics Abhors a Vacuum - and Will Fill It With Idiots

When liberal Democrats sit home waiting for someone else to fix their dysfunctional state Democratic party, this is what you get:

Did you think the race-baiting tweet PAC of amateurs at Progress Kentucky was done assisting the campaign of Sen. Mitch McConnell by making the dark lord of obstruction look almost like a sympathetic creature?

No. No, they are not done.

From the blockbuster story out (Thursday) by WFPL, a Democratic source says the PKY Wonder Twin geniuses of Curt Morrison and Shawn Reilly recorded the audio by standing outside the door in the hallway:

SNIP

If the McConnell campaign was smart, they wouldn’t press charges. With those two in jail, the campaign would lose two of their greatest allies in the race so far, as they’ve helped McConnell’s cause more than any person outside of Rand Paul. Fortunately for Democrats, every single one in the state has distanced themselves from the amateurs and made it clear that they wouldn’t touch the toxic group with a 10-foot pole.

As for the McConnell campaign’s accusations of “wiretapping,” “bugging” and “Gestapo” tactics by “the Left,” those look really silly right now. But they will certainly do their best to continue portraying the incompetent Gang of Two as part of an alliance of important Democrats in D.C. and Kentucky, probably even the White House. That’s what they do. Let’s see if the media falls for it.

Morrison, at least, is even more of a moronic amateur than Sonka demonstrates.  Apparently Morrison's idea of exposing state government wrongdoing is to email a state agency at random, demand the spokesperson respond to an undocumented accusation regarding a different agency, then when the spokesperson directs him to the correct agency, threaten the spokesperson with vague retribution.

Reilly and Morrison aren't just giving massive assistance to McConnell's reelection campaign; they are making it impossible for any grassroots liberal movement in Kentucky to acquire or maintain credibility.

For the foreseeable future, any effort to inject progressive values into the conservadem establishment will be met by cries of "Another Progress Kentucky!" and strangled in the crib.

Well done, idiots.

The Kentucky Democratic Party Will Take Your Money and Let McConnell Win

The Kentucky "Democratic" Party doesn't want to defeat Mitch McConnell; they just want to use your hatred of him to get money out of you. 

Money that they will use to keep electing the destructive DINOs who Talibanized the Commonwealth and to maintain the conservadem establishment that sabotaged Ashley Judd's nascent campaign.

Roger Alford at AP:

The Kentucky Democratic Party has been using Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's re-election bid as a catalyst to raise money even before a serious challenger gets into the race.

In a series of emails bashing McConnell last week, Gov. Steve Beshear and other party leaders called for financial donations to end the Republican floor leader's three-decade Senate career.

"For far too long, Kentucky families have suffered under the so-called 'representation' of Mitch McConnell in Washington," Beshear said in an email message. "And we've suffered the consequences - nasty partisan
bickering, divisive political games, and an inability or unwillingness to get things done for the people of this nation and the people of this commonwealth."

State and national parties always - always - waste your money.  Wait until you see a real progressive candidate and give your money directly to that candidate.

And tell the Kentucky "Democratic" Party to fuck off and die. 

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/04/02/2583654/democratic-leaders-bash-mcconnell.html#storylink=cpy

Kentucky Democrats Already Self-Destructing Against McConnell

If you set out to destroy the Kentucky Democratic Party, you couldn't do it more effectively than the KDP is doing to itself.

Joe Sonka at Leo's Fat Lip:

LEO Weekly has learned from multiple Democratic sources that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is now applying the brakes to their once all-in support of Ashley Judd as the challenger of choice against Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014. While not ready to abandon Judd, they are now taking a serious second look at recruiting Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

David Atkins at Hullabaloo on why that's the path to self-destruction:

The point is that from now until 2022, Democrats are going to have a difficult decision to make. The country is on their side on nearly every issue of importance and controversy. But to win the seventeen House seats it will take to wrench the gavel out of John Boehner's hands may require Democrats to water down their brand and take unpopular conservative positions out of step with the American people.

Democrats can choose to spend the next 9 years chasing Republicans to the right in the hope of knocking out a few Michele Bachmanns. Or Democrats can spend that time painting conservative Republicans farther and farther into a corner, potentially taking the House over the next four to six years, with a view to an overwhelming knockout blow after redistricting in 2020.

It's a difficult choice. Republican cheating via the gerrymandering process certainly makes the Rahm Emanuel decision more attractive. And the experience of the wrecking ball that is the GOP House just these past few months makes the prospect of nine more years of similar gamesmanship almost unthinkable.

But chasing the Republicans to the right is a fool's errand. Playing politics that are deeply unpopular and harmful public policy on a national level in order to win over a few abnormally conservative districts will weaken the brand and deflate the base such that victory will not be possible. On the other hand, as with the immigration debate and even possibly the gun debate, pushing the Republicans farther off the brink of unpopularity may force them into the moderating ground on a number of fronts, whether or not they continue to hold the House.

It will be difficult, but the right choice for America and for the Democratic Party lies in holding popular ground and not shifting rightward for the sake of a few outlier districts. Even if it means giving up already vain hope of retaking the House in 2014.

Allison Lundergan Grimes is a good little Blue Dog who will do everything the Wall Street Big Boyz tell her to do.  She won't upset the Kentucky conservadem apple cart.

Ashley Judd is a Proud Liberal who's not afraid to say what she thinks. The Boys in Frankfort, DC and Wall Street have no hold on her. If she does what none of them can do - beat McConnell - they'll be humiliated forever. They'd rather McConnell win than lose to Judd.

Just How Stupid Are Kentucky Dems?

This stupid.

Actress Ashley Judd’s movement toward a Senate run against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell makes Democrats in Washington, D.C., happy.

But back in Kentucky, for many Bluegrass State Democrats, a potential Judd run brings a different feeling: heartburn.

“If she runs, I think that it would be a catastrophe for a lot of downballot races in Kentucky,” said Jimmy Cauley, a longtime Kentucky Democratic strategist who doesn’t believe Judd can win a general election. Among Democratic state legislators, he said, “there is significant worry about Ashley being on the ballot.”

Democrats plugged into the Frankfort, Ky., zeitgeist publicly and privately confirmed those sentiments. The crux of their worry is this: As a celebrity and strong supporter of President Barack Obama, Judd’s position at the top of the ticket could nationalize state and local races. They see her losing the Senate contest — an uphill climb for any Democrat — and potentially poisoning the conservative brand of some state Democrats.

Jesus fucking christ where to start? The feeling those dems are getting is not heartburn; it's shrunken testicles. There's not a penis-person in the state with a chance in hell of beating Mitch and they know it.  If a person in possession of a vagina does it, every penis is the state is going to shrivel right up and die.

Secondly, dems are in deep trouble in the legislative races next year, but not because Judd leading the ticket will remind everybody of That Ni**er in the White House. Dems are in serious danger of losing the state House because with a handful of exceptions they are worthless pieces of repug-lite shit who don't deserve a single Democratic vote.

Really, guys - and of course they're all guys - just who do you think has a better chance than Judd?  Three-time loser Dan Mongiardo? Jack Conway, who lost to the Tribble-Toupeed One? Ben Chandler, who lost to a repug after his district became MORE Democratic?

Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes could give Mitch a run for his money, but only because her Daddy is tight with the Big Dog. But that's another vagina-person the old white guys running the state "democratic" party don't want to think about.

Face it, boys: Judd's your only chance of beating Mitch.  That she will also explode the Kentucky Democratic Party  right under your withered asses in the process is the price you will pay - and the sight the rest of us can't wait to see.

Revitalizing a State Democratic Party

The recipe seems simple enough: start by electing an ACTUAL DEMOCRAT to be state party chair. Are you listening, Kentucky central committee members? Do you give a flying fuck that the state party you supposedly represent is run by a registered repug who contributes to Mitch McConnell?

 

Down with Tyranny:

Randy Voller was elected as the State Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Saturday (Feb. 2) afternoon. Chairman Voller was considered to be the scrappy grassroots candidate who traveled throughout the state winning endorsements and support for his campaign. He defeated former conservative congressman and gubernatorial candidate Bob Etheridge in a close race.

Randy is quite an interesting guy. He's the Mayor of Pittsboro and the Democratic Chair for Chatham County which had amazing results for Dems in 2012. He is also a board member of the Progressive Democrats of North Carolina. Here is his approach:

In Chatham County, we revitalized the Democratic Party by rebuilding from the grassroots up through the precincts to the county level. Party rebuilding in Chatham did much more than put a new structure in place. Rebuilding our Party revitalized our community as we implanted a stronger infrastructure that wins elections for Democrats, elects women and minorities and raises money from the small sustaining donors at the grassroots-- the very things that a once effective Democratic Party used to do really well.

...Where some see devastation and fear the loss of influence that has sent transactional donors to the new power brokers in the General Assembly and the Governor's Mansion, I see opportunity.

Voller’s win signals that the insiders and consultants have long ago left the dance and with them the old money that kept them in power. Now is an opportunity to build the party and with it attract new donors. North Carolina is still the 10th largest State with a growing Latino and Asian population. It also has a long tradition of great Progressive minded Politicians.

2016 is right around the corner and the NCDP is going to need all the help it can get. North Carolina will again play a critical role in Presidential Elections and Republicans know this. It is how they beat us to the punch last time.

But now there is a glimmer of hope. The Vice-Chairs of the Party elected Saturday, most notably Zach Hawkins and Andy Ball, are also total rockstars with strong grassroots background who are the party’s future leaders.

It certainly is a new day in North Carolina as a complete outsider takes the reigns of the party’s future. His vision and approach couldn’t come at a better time. As a nation we need him to succeed. And as a Democratic leader himself in North Carolina, Rep. Brad Miller is also eager to see Randy succeed in building and strengthening the party.

Randy's reputation both as a mayor and a party leader is a grassroots progressive. I think he will pay more attention to the grassroots than to the Democratic establishment, which is what we need right now. Grassroots Democrats are pretty progressive, and the establishment is the business wing. The Democratic establishment's power has been from raising money by peddling "access." A lot of the contributors who gave to establishment Democrats in the past are Republicans or nominal Democrats. The Democratic establishment really doesn't have any access to peddle to them now. If North Carolina Democrats are going to get back in the game, it's not going to be because of establishment money, but grassroots energy.

The election wasn't all about the grassroots and the establishment, of course. Some grassroots progressives really think we need a chair who is known statewide, and Randy isn't yet. But I think the most important thing we need in a state chair is someone who will work with grassroots Democrats. Randy knows how to do that.