Blue Bluegrass

Rand Paul is channeling Hitler again. Okay, so this time, it wasn’t quite as disgraceful as last fall in Lexington, when he directly compared the President of the United States to Adolph Hitler.

But see, Rand Paul read an article in Reader’s Digest, in his office waiting area for his patients. It was just in between Life in These United States and Humor in Uniform, and in it, Rand Paul developed his deeply intellectual views, which include his belief that debt in the United States could lead to a new Hitler.

Come to think of it, in many of the photos of Rand Paul, isn’t he reminiscent of…well, who does he remind you of?

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For 27 years, Don Blevins served as the Fayette County Clerk. He served all Fayette Countians, not just those that he was directed to serve, and not just those of a certain political party. That reputation for independence and productivity, along with decades of well-earned recognition for how he served in office, are what he brings to his challenge to Alice Forgy Kerr, who votes exactly as she is directed by Kentucky’s obstructionist in chief, David Williams. Don Blevins will be a rubber stamp for no one. He won’t vote blindly with the party line, and he won’t take any marching orders from the moneyed special interests on any issue. He will make decisions based on what he thinks is in the best interests of Lexington.

From Don’s website:

I am running for the Kentucky State Senate because I want to restore the 12th District’s voice, which has been so silent for so long, in Frankfort.
For 27 years, you knew me as your County Clerk. During that period I handled my public duties in a fair and responsible manner. Those duties included the administration and management of voter registration and elections for our county. Again, as your Clerk, I demonstrated that I could handle the election process without favoritism or partisanship. In the Senate, I pledge that I will represent the interests of Fayette County and the 12th District without radical partisanship. My allegiance will be to you, not some political boss or special-interest group.
Kentucky and Fayette County need meaningful jobs. We must keep those we have now and continue to secure new ones in order to maintain and improve the quality of life in our county and our state.
Please sign up to get campaign updates, volunteer, or contribute. Remember to check back often for campaign updates. Together, we will build a better Kentucky.

Next Tuesday, on August 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. there is a fundraiser featuring over 40 co-hosts. The event for Don Blevins is set at the Signature Club, 3256 Lansdowne Drive, Lexington, Kentucky. To learn more about Don’s campaign, visit his web site, friend him on Facebook, and like his Facebook campaign site.

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Phil Moffett is running for governor of Kentucky.

In the paragraphs below are a detailed analysis of his experience, strengths, and resources for the campaign, as well as his qualifications to serve:

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Before yesterday, there was a no-brainer answer on who was the most bigoted candidate running for the United States Senate in 2010. It was Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky.

But Jake found a topper, right here from the Bluegrass state. Meet Billy Ray Wilson.

In short order, Joe made the leap—is Rand Paul in danger of losing part of his base; namely, those who hate Jews?

Anywhere else, this would be a comedy bit on Saturday Night Live. But here, it’s a serious question. And that speaks volumes about what is at stake in the Commonwealth of Kentucky this year.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Jack Conway put up this video of his Frankfort ADA anniversary rally.

And attack sites are popping up from the campaign, posing fair questions.

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Instead of letting the opposition do the defining, there’s some pushback going on, and an awareness that this election is able to be defined in terms of votes against the Republican Tea Party extremists, especially those like Rand Paul, the Republican Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate. There’s a (Republican) app for that:

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About the only thing that a group like Fred Phelps or his insane Louisville clown posse of imitators cannot deal with is being laughed at and ridiculed. But that would never happen, right? Well, ask the Comics Alliance:

They’ve faced down humans time and time again, but Fred Phelps and his minions from the Westboro Baptist Church were not ready for the cosplay action that awaited them today at Comic-Con. After all, who can win against a counter protest that includes robots, magical anime girls, Trekkies, Jedi and…kittens?
Unbeknownst to the dastardly fanatics of the Westboro Baptist Church, the good folks of San Diego’s Comic-Con were prepared for their arrival with their own special brand of superhuman counter protesting chanting “WHAT DO WE WANT” “GAY SEX” “WHEN DO WE WANT IT” “NOW!” while brandishing ironic (and some sincere) signs. Simply stated: The eclectic assembly of nerdom’s finest stood and delivered.

To see all the documentation and photos, click here.

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Think Obama’s Stimulus Plan was wasteful deficit spending? Think again.

To Washington conservatives they were egregious examples of “big government” overreach, but the White House’s economic stimulus and bailout policies have saved 8.5m jobs and averted a further slump of 6.5% in US economic output, according to a study by two influential economists.
An in-depth modelling exercise by Moody’s chief economist, Mark Zandi, and a Princeton University expert, Alan Blinder, paints a bleak scenario of a 1930s-style Great Depression if the US government had enacted none of its $1.7tn (£1.3tn) programmes to avert a financial meltdown.
Using historical statistical relationships and a focus on the government’s impact on narrowing credit spreads, the pair found that the downturn would have continued into 2011, with unemployment peaking at 16.5% rather than last year’s actual high of 10.1%.
They believe US gross domestic product would have slumped by 7.4% in 2009 and by 3.7% in 2010, producing a “peak to trough” decline of 12%, rather than the anticipated 4%. Starved of demand, shops and employers would be cutting prices and wages.
“With outright deflation in prices and wages in 2009 to 2011, this dark scenario constitutes a 1930s-like depression,” says the study, entitled How the great recession was brought to an end”.
Thwarting stiff opposition from Republicans in Congress, the Obama administration introduced an economic stimulus package of more than $780bn last year, adding to giveaways of $170bn by the Bush administration in 2008 that included tax refunds to tens of millions of Americans. Adding in banking-bailout measures of $600bn and smaller programmes such as the “cash for clunkers” scheme and a rescue of insurer AIG, total commitments by the US government reach $1.7tn.
Zandi and Blinder say that although economic activity and job creation remain extremely sluggish, the US economy has made “enormous progress” since its nadir last year: “Maybe the country and the world were just lucky. But we take another view: the great recession gave way to recovery as quickly as it did largely because of the unprecedented responses by monetary and fiscal policymakers.”

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In the turn of another century (the 20th), corporations were routinely in the business of making outright purchases of politicians. The most famous was the Teapot Dome Scandal, where the energy executives spent enough money with administration officials of the Warren Harding administration that they secured a no bid monopoly contract to drill for oil on public lands.

And within a few months of the U.S. Supreme Court opening back up corporate purchasing of politicians, special interests of industry have invested in two additional resources. Corporations do not have any obligation to any sort of better society—they are mandated to follow the business interest rule. The business interest rule means that they do only that which will increase their bottom line of earnings.

Apparently the two additional resources being invested in by corporations are Rand Paul and Andy Barr. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has again made it legal for corporations to purchase elections, that business interest is compelling millions to be poured into elections, to cause greater-than-usual distortion of a free and fair evaluation of the opposing political candidates. The corrupting influence of the moneyed interests is appropriately enough choosing Andy Barr, whose sole political claim to fame was as the counsel for the corrupted administration of disgraced former governor Ernie Fletcher. And in the senate race, the choice is Rand Paul, who has demonstrated that his opposition to corporate bank bailouts was only a temporarily principled position, and one that is subject to being purchased with a bank bailout ball of contributions immediately after securing the Republican nomination.

John Cheves reports:

Several major coal companies hope to use newly loosened campaign-finance laws to pool their money and defeat Democratic congressional candidates they consider “anti-coal,” including U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway and U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler in Kentucky.
The companies hope to create a politically active nonprofit under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, so they won’t have to publicly disclose their activities — such as advertising — until they file a tax return next year, long after the Nov. 2 election.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last winter that corporations and labor unions may pour unlimited funds into such efforts to influence elections.
“With the recent Supreme Court ruling, we are in a position to be able to take corporate positions that were not previously available in allowing our voices to be heard,” wrote Roger Nicholson, senior vice president and general counsel at International Coal Group of Scott Depot, W.Va., in an undated letter he sent to other coal companies.
Nicholson declined to comment on his letter Tuesday, after the Herald-Leader obtained it.
“A number of coal industry representatives recently have been considering developing a 527 entity with the purpose of attempting to defeat anti-coal incumbents in select races, as well as elect pro-coal candidates running for certain open seats,” Nicholson wrote. “We’re requesting your consideration as to whether your company would be willing to meet to discuss a significant commitment to such an effort.”
Nicholson listed three races “of interest”: Conway against Republican Rand Paul for Kentucky’s open Senate seat; Chandler against Republican Garland “Andy” Barr in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District; and Democratic U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall against Republican Elliott “Spike” Maynard in West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District.
The coal industry already has supported Barr and Maynard through individuals’ relatively small and legally limited donations. But working together as a 527, the companies potentially could spend millions of dollars on political activity, as long as it isn’t coordinated with the Republicans’ campaigns.
“I think this is certainly troubling, and it’s going to put an entirely different face on American politics now that companies can do this,” said Tony Oppegard, a Lexington attorney and mine safety advocate. “People are going to have to expect the rhetoric to get heated.”

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The old John Prine song lyric is relevant:

And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we’ve both seen.

So, is the United States condemned to another era of specifically bought and sold politicians, to be ended only by another specifically outrageous bribery scandal like the Teapot Dome Scandal? Because that is what brought about the restrictions on corporate campaign spending which the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down. If that is the future, then the past century of possible progress on restricting the corrosive and corrupting influence of money on politics has been completely wiped away, as if it never existed.

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