C-J endorses Lunsford

The Courier-Journal has endorsed Bruce Lunsford for US Senate:

An old political adage holds that a member of the U.S. House is a local official who happens to work in Washington, but a senator is a national figure who is chosen in one state.

It is through this lens, focused on the troubled state of the nation, that we hope voters will view this year's Senate race in Kentucky.

And it is with the country's best interests as the top objective that we endorse Bruce Lunsford, the Democratic challenger, to be Kentucky's next senator.

Senate race round-up

Kentucky's Senate race is really heating up. Here's a round-up of recent stories...

The Wall Street Journal ran an article highlighting Mitch's increasing vulnerability:

One sign of how bad things are for Republicans this year is the suddenly tough re-election campaign of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, running in a state that is usually a GOP stronghold.

A few weeks ago, Sen. McConnell seemed a shoo-in for a fifth term, with polls giving him a double-digit lead over an unpopular challenger. But two weeks of worsening economic news -- and the unpopularity of the $700 billion rescue package he helped push through Congress -- are unsettling races where Republican incumbents once were thought to be safe.

...What's especially telling is that Sen. McConnell is attempting to run from the party he helps lead, even while bragging about his clout.

CityBeat also wrote up an article on the campaign:

Being in touch with what people need and want is a key message for Lunsford. Concerns about fuel costs — recently joined by concerns about the economy, rapidly shrinking retirement savings, the undue influence of corporate interests and the current economic meltdown — have turned voters into victims, he says.

“We have a country today that 25 years ago had usury laws,” Lunsford says. “The reason we had usury laws was to keep stuff like this from happening. Today you have an open sea that says, ‘Do as you wish.’ We have taken all of the regulation out of the financial industry, whether it’s pay-day lending, whether it’s credit cards, whether it’s banking.”

...“My children and my grandchildren are going to have to pay for my generation because we’ve been selfish. No one is more of a poster boy of that than Mitch McConnell. He and (President) Bush, for the last eight years, have created irreparable damage to our country from a world-view standpoint and an economic standpoint.”

The Courier-Journal published an editorial on Mitch's latest outrageous attack on Lunsford:

The new Mitch McConnell ad disparages Valor, but with no documentation, on screen or off, and provides no details about the case in question. If there is documentation, the McConnell campaign had a responsibility to share it with voters and not withhold it for use as a gotcha once the issue of verification was raised. All that's been offered so far is a statement from the widow -- unsigned. The ad's creators knew that Valor is barred by federal privacy laws from defending itself against a smear by discussing an individual case.

Unfortunately, this is only the latest example of McConnell TV spots that have been false and/or deceptive, including clearly untrue claims that Mr. Lunsford was responsible for the run-up in gasoline prices and that he doesn't live in Kentucky. Then came the repudiation of the first Valor Healthcare spot, which tried to suggest that 83-year-old Navy veteran Adolfo Piña was dissatisfied with the care the company provided him.

Unhappy about being misrepresented, Mr. Piña explained, "Valor clinic is doing very good for me here in Texas City. They're doing a good job by taking care of our needs. They're taking very good care of my needs, and I'm just one of thousands of veterans of World War II. The McConnell people interviewed me and took my words out of context. And I don't appreciate that. They did exactly what I told them not to do."

Lunsford's new ad addresses McConnell's false attacks:



Mitch is obviously feeling the heat. Please help Bruce Lunsford win in November!

Only 3 weekends left before Election Day!

There are only three more weekends to go before the elections, and several of our Democratic candidates are ramping up their efforts to turn out voters. If you haven't volunteered to help yet, please do so now -- we need everybody's help in these last few weeks.

Here are some folks to contact if you'd like to volunteer your time:

Bruce Lunsford for US Senate
Contact Nick Lepham
(859) 261-2078
NLepham@KyDemocrat.com

Kathy Groob for State Senate
Contact Sarah Bailey
(859) 250-7932
sarah@KathyGroob.com

Merrick Krey for State Representative
Contact Jenny Jameson
(859) 391-9395
jenny.lynn.jameson@gmail.com

Lunsford: Middle class being squeezed

Today, Bruce Lunsford issued this press release:

Lunsford Ad Calls For Middle Class Solutions
Says Key to Improving Economy is Cutting Taxes for Families, Small Businesses not Millionaires and Special Interests

LOUISVILLE – Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford talks straight to the camera in his latest TV ad, saying “there’s a problem in Washington” and calling for policies that strengthen the middle class.

“While the middle class is being squeezed,” Lunsford says in the spot, “Mitch McConnell has been giving tax breaks to big oil companies and the wealthiest Americans. I have a different idea. Instead of cutting taxes for Big Oil and millionaires, I want to cut taxes for middle class families and small businesses. That’s what people need.”

24 year incumbent Mitch McConnell, who has taken more than $4.3 million from Wall Street and raised $3 million from Big Oil, is widely seen as President Bush’s enabler on everything from energy policy to financial deregulation. The Bush-McConnell economic policies, which favor the wealthy and special interests over middle class Americans, are viewed as the major causes of the current economic crisis.

“This ad highlights the key difference between Bruce Lunsford and Mitch McConnell,” said Lunsford spokesman Cary Stemle. “Lunsford grew up on a working farm in Northern Kentucky and paid his own way through college. He knows how tough it is to make ends meet these days and wants to provide hardworking Kentucky families and small businesses with the tax cuts they need. Mitch McConnell on the other hand has taken millions of dollars from the special interests and fights for their agenda. After 24 years in Washington, Mitch McConnell is not on our side. We need change now more than ever.”

The ad begins airing statewide today on broadcast and cable television.

Pol Watchers upgrades Kathy Groob's race

Pol Watchers, the Herald-Leader's political blog, has updated their "Top 10 interesting races with 3 weeks to go." Kathy Groob, running for the 23rd Senate District, has been upgraded one spot to #4:

4. 23rd State Senate District: Democratic challenger Kathy Groob is the only Senate challenger to out-raise an incumbent opponent, giving some Democrats hope for an upset in this race. She pulled in $194,000 in the election, compared to $162,000 Sen. Jack Westwood of Crescent Springs raised.

Kathy is also on the air with a TV ad. Here's the ad, via YouTube:



The Democrats can take back the State Senate this year. Let's do everything we can to help elect Kathy Groob!

Democrats holding party for Krey

Courtesy of the Enquirer:

ALEXANDRIA -- Campbell County Democrats are hosting a Monday night gathering for statehouse candidate Merrick Krey.

The event is 5-9 p.m. at VFW Post 3025 on U.S. 27. Food and drinks will be provided.

Obama in the Tri-State

Barack Obama made an appearance at Ault Park in Cincinnati today. Channel 9 reports:

Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama was in Cincinnati Thursday afternoon speaking to a crowd of thousands in Mount Lookout.

...Senator Obama spent much of his 30 minute talk addressing how to improve the floundering economy, with tax cuts for the middle class, energy independence and fixing the broken health care system.

Senator Obama says, "My opponent talks about giving every family a tax credit for everyone to buy health care. What he doesn't say is that he'll also tax your benefits for the first time in history. Come on! That's a bait and switch. He'll give you a tax credit with one hand but he raises your taxes with the other."

Courtesy of the Obama campaign, here's an excerpt of Barack's speech:



You can view Obama's entire speech at Channel 5's website.

Veterans Object to McConnell’s Campaign Tactics

Yesterday, the KDP issued this press release:

Kentucky Veterans Object to McConnell’s Campaign Tactics
Call on McConnell to Pull His Deceptive Television Ads

LOUISVILLE, October 8, 2008 - Military veterans gathered in Louisville earlier today to denounce campaign tactics employed by Mitch McConnell, who has repeatedly used veterans to slander his opponent, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford. One veteran who appeared in a McConnell ad already spoke out against McConnell, saying his words were taken out of context; he has since appeared in an ad for Lunsford saying that "McConnell has used veterans in a very bad way."

Retired Army Officer Mike Weaver of Elizabethtown led today's press conference and expressed outrage over the politicizing of veterans. Beyond misusing veterans for political gain, McConnell has also drawn criticism from the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which has called for him to stop using the name of the organization his ads saying that the ad "violates the spirit of our bylaws."

"I'm always appalled when I see veterans used as political props," said Retired Army Officer Mike Weaver. "I'm even more appalled when the politician who uses the veterans has never shared the foxhole."

In addition to using America's veterans for his political gain, McConnell has a poor record on veterans' issues in the Senate, repeatedly voting against additional funding for veterans programs. McConnell cast the deciding vote to slash TRICARE, a program that provides healthcare to vets, and was one of only 25 senators to oppose expanding healthcare benefits for our National Guard and Reserves. Further, McConnell voted against funding to treat post-traumatic stress disorder; was one of 22 senators to vote against education benefits for America's fighting men and women; and voted against providing more downtime between deployments.

Retired Marine Abe Pena also spoke today and expressed a similar sentiment as Weaver. "Mitch McConnell has turned his back on Kentucky's veterans for too long," said Abe Pena. "Whether it's opposing a new GI Bill to expand educational opportunities for our returning troops or voting against increased funding for veterans health care, Mitch McConnell has proven that he is not on our side. Kentucky's veterans need change."

McConnell is uniquely unqualified to speak about veterans' issues considering that his own active duty lasted all of six weeks before he used political connections to expedite a medical discharge for a temporary medical condition during the Vietnam War.

For the full story, visit KentuckyTruth.com.

Wanted: Mitch McConnell

The DSCC just put out a new ad on Mitch McConnell. Check it out!

Kathy Groob's race named 'one to watch'

Pol Watchers, the Herald-Leader's political blog, yesterday released their list of "10 Kentucky races to watch." Kenton County's own Kathy Groob made the #5 slot:

5. 23rd State Senate District: Republican state Sen. Jack Westwood of Crescent Spring faces a rematch from 2004 with Kathy Groob, a Democratic activist with a public relations background. Gov. Steve Beshear has been in Northern Kentucky to campaign with Groob, but the area remains conservative.

Let's show the rest of Kentucky that Kenton County is no conservative bastion. Help elect Kathy Groob to the State Senate!