All Politics are Local

In an interview with cn|2 Pure Politics, Republican attorney general candidate Todd P’Pool said he thought government inspection and regulation of coal mines in Kentucky has “gone too far.” P’Pool grew up in western Kentucky and is the son of a coal miner and the grandson of a federal mine inspector. The Hopkins County Attorney discussed his upbringing in the coalfields, and said he thinks the United Mine Workers of America has outlived its usefulness in Kentucky.

Danville has another interim city manager. After almost two hours in executive session Monday, the City Commission unanimously approved hiring Ron Scott to take over the position left vacant when John W.D. Bowling resigned last week. Scott, who moved from Frankfort to a farm on U.S. 127 in 1993, worked for the Kentucky League of Cities for 26 years, including 15 years as the assistant executive director and director of insurance and risk management. Since retiring from KLC in 2001, he has worked as a contract lobbyist for Preservation Kentucky.

Raising more eyebrows in Kentucky’s race for attorney general, Republican candidate Todd P’Pool announced Tuesday that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will headline a campaign fundraiser in October.

Candidates running in the 2011 gubernatorial race have aired ads across Kentucky stressing their toughness in recent weeks, and now a non-profit group is putting their political courage to the test.  The non-partisan group Project Vote Smart is sending Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Gailbrath its Political Courage Test this Wednesday to gauge their views on a number of issues.

Keeping up with his skills as a licensed ophthalmologist, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will briefly return to the operating room Sunday to perfom six free cataract eyes surgeries.  Because Senate ethics rules prohibit Paul from receiving pay for performing those surgeries, he will work as a volunteer for Surgery on Sunday, a non-profit group in Lexington that provides outpatient services for those who can’t afford health insurance and do not qualify for government assistance. From the Herald-Leader‘s Bluegrass Politics:

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is traveling the state while congress is in recess.  In his speech to the Rotary Club, Paul again sounded the call for smaller government, lower taxes, and the repeal of President Obama's health care reform law. As for the 12-member super-committee formed as part of the deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling, the senator said he's confident it will find the necessary 1.2 trillion dollars in cuts, but expressed skepticism that the deal will have much effect. Asked what he's been hearing from constituents, Paul said economic frustrations continue to top the list.

Republican attorney general candidate Todd P’Pool announced Thursday that former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson and former University of Kentucky basketball player Travis Ford will headline a fundraiser for him in October. Grayson served as Kentucky Secretary of State from 2003 to 2011, before taking a position in January as the Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

Democratic Governor Steve Beshear has picked up another endorsement from a noted Republican politician. Former Sixth District Congressman Larry Hopkins says he has nothing against GOP Challenger, David Williams, but he believes Beshear is doing a good job and should be re-elected.

A week after his campaign manager quit, Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams announced plans to move forward with a committee of consultants for the remainder of the race.  Last week, Luke Marchant, who joined the campaign in May to help garner Tea Party support, stepped down to pursue other professional opportunities. Opponents have pounced on the resignation as a sign of Williams’s weakness as Democratic Governor Steve Beshear holds a commanding 24-point lead.

Call it the urge to merge. Thanks to a 2006 law and perhaps the distressed economy, public discussion about the unification of city and county governments is under way in more Kentucky communities now than ever before.

Responding to an attack ad released by the Republican Party of Kentucky on Friday, the campaign to re-elect Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway is scolding Republican challenger Todd P’Pool for taking money from universities that are under investigation.  The GOP released the YouTube video to mark 100 days of criticizing Conway for helping his brother, Matt, obtain legal counsel while he was the focus of a narcotics investigation.

Guaging  public sentiment on a wide variety of issues is common practice today.   But, political surveys may top the list.  And, assessing Congressional performance is a question routinely put before likely voters.

“Congress tends to be unpopular and has been for decades really since we’ve done polling…there’s some ups and downs, but this we’re reaching new lows every day at this point,” said Joe Gershtenson

A former admissions officer at the for-profit Spencerian College in Louisville  told the Lexington Herald-Leader Thursday that executives being investigated by Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway have urged employees to support his opponent in the fall election.  Campaign finance records show the chancellor of Sullivan University, which owns Spencerian, and his executives contributed $12,000 to Republican attorney general candidate Todd P’Pool’s campaign.

The campaign manager for Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams is stepping down to pursue other professional opportunities, leaving the GOP nominee without anyone to run his day-to-day operations.  Luke Marchant joined the campaign in May to replace Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, who stayed on as a consultant.

Comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler in a letter posted to former presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche’s website, state Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, calls for the president to step down over what the Kentucky lawmaker calls the “unconstitutional” debt ceiling legislation.  Using official state letterhead, Clark says the recent agreement to raise the debt ceiling and create a 12-member super committee to reduce spending violates the U.S. Constitution. The south Louisville Democrat goes further, saying the bill is a “direct echo” of legislation that handed over power to the “murderous Hitler government” in 1933.

The campaign manager for Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams is stepping down to pursue other professional opportunities, leaving the GOP nominee without anyone to run his day-to-day operations.

Luke Marchant joined the campaign in May to replace Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, who stayed on as a consultant.