Well, it's nice that Ben Chandler finally decided to publicly endorse Bruce Lunsford for Senate.
But.... 1,000 miles away in Denver? I'm hoping Ben comes back to Kentucky after the convention and follows up on that with some appearances and campaign stops.
Hope....
Heh. I'd love to be a fly on the wall there, but I'm sure that a FOIA request will give me the run down on the whole event 5 years from now.
Sometimes irony rawks.
You want to move Kentucky into the 21st century? Well, this is one way that you WON'T do it: by electing Dan Mongiardo as your Senator in 2010.
Dan Mongiardo stands for everything that is wrong with DINOs in KY, from his gay-baiting marriage amendment to his love affair with mountaintop removal and burning as much coal as humanly possible from here to eternity.
It should be the duty of every good progressive in Kentucky to make sure that if he runs, he does NOT get the nomination.
Who should? I'd take Conway in a heartbeat. And I stand by my statement that I have sources that have heard it directly from Ben Chandler that he is running in 2010. I had plenty of problems with Ben in 2007 (that's an understatement, yes), but he's been a pleasant surprise this year. If it's comes down to just Chandler or Lt. Dan, I'll be 100% behind Ben, you can count on that.
Less than 3 months until the election, and Greg Fischer is still hinting that Lunsford has to do more to get him to help out, and Ben Chandler still hasn't officially endorsed him.
Either these folks need to stop pouting, or Lunsford's campaign is woefully negligent in reaching out to them.
Less than 90 days folks.
And when will those ads showing Mitch McConnell filibustering to block health care benefits for children, vets and Medicare recipients be hitting the airwaves??? It's time for some real offense.
Please don't screw up this opportunity, peeps....
No one was tougher on Ben Chandler in 2007 than yours truly (perhaps with the exception of Yellow Dog). But as I've said several times this year, the Ben Chandler of 2008 has been a pleasant surprise. And today, he surprises me once again by finally seeing the light on Iraq.
After making his first whirlwind trip through Iraq over the weekend, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler said the United States should begin to withdraw troops now and force the Iraqi government to stand on its own.
”As long as we continue to fund this thing and as long as we continue to provide security, there is less incentive for the Iraqi government to do the things they need to do to control the country,“ Chandler told the Herald-Leader. ”I think we need to leave them with as stable a situation as we can but we need to lift off from the country as soon as possible.
”I think it's time to start withdrawing,“ he added, although he acknowledged that any such shift in policy isn't likely to occur until the next president takes office in January.
He also said he's increasingly concerned with the mounting cost of U.S. occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, which works out to roughly $330 million per day.
”It's a shocking amount of money and at a time when we're concerned about our ability to compete in a global economy,“ he said.
Chandler, a member of the House appropriations committee's subcommittee for State Department and foreign operations funding, traveled to Ramadi and Baghdad on Saturday with four members of Arkansas' congressional delegation and Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York.
In addition to meeting with troops and surveying the region, the group met with Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, who is commanding general of the multinational force in Iraq.
Chandler praised U.S. troops for being ”heroic“ in quelling sectarian violence that has flared up since U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003.
”It's unbelievable what they have had to deal with — wearing all this equipment in the heat and in dangerous circumstances where you don't know who is friend or foe,“ said Chandler, who was outfitted with a heavy flak jacket for protection in what he said was 120-degree heat during his trip.
Chandler said a surge of an additional 20,000 troops last year — which he spoke against on the House floor — clearly helped conditions.
”We've done a wonderful job really in bringing more security to the country,“ he said. ”You cannot dispute the fact that it is connected with putting more troops there.“
But he said U.S. efforts might have reached the ”point of diminishing returns.“
”We've given them breathing room to stabilize their situation, and I'm not sure for the money we're spending that we can accomplish a great deal more than that,“ he said. ”Essentially we're borrowing from the Chinese in order to pay for a war that, if you look at the final outcome, it's really questionable whether we gain a thing from it.“
The LHL editorial on Ben Chandler trip is Norm Dicks to view mountaintop removal sites shows that this IS an issue for Central KY too. Not the King Coal cares.
C-J shines the light on Mitch McConnell's disastrous energy votes in the Senate, and his "deceit" in his new TV attack ads. That's the correct word for it, btw.
Ben Chandler's new campaign website has a little preview, and apparently Ben likes to shoot animals too, therefore he is a real American like Jack Conway. (and hang out with Denny Hastert?). Ben has an easy race this November against Jon "Snowman" Larson.
In other news, big kudos to Ben for taking Congressman Dicks on the tour of mountaintop removal sites in Eastern KY. Hopefully we can make this a national issue and get the new Democratic Congress and White House in 2009 to tackle this problem head on federally.... because I can absolutely ASSURE YOU that Steve Beshear won't do anything to fight MTR.
I did find it really odd that Chandler "was reluctant to say Friday what his feelings are about restricting mountaintop mining". Huh?
But at least he's helping shine a light on this barbarous act, and I give him some rare kudos. This has been a much better year for Chandler than his disastrous 2007. Hopefully that trend continues.
Ben Chandler's big trip to bring attention to Mountaintop Removal was completely sabotaged.
Much more on this to come, as I talked to someone on the ground in Eastern Kentucky that was waiting for him.
Ben and his staff are PISSED.
Again, stay tuned.
I've recently heard from a very very good source that Ben Chandler has changed his mind about running for Senate in 2010. Apparently, he now in.
I've also heard that if Ben does this, Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry is going to run for his 6th Dist Congressional seat.
Just so you know Jim, if you do this? You thought the Preserve Lexington movement was impressive? Wait until you see the grassroots support for whoever the Democrat
ERNESTO, PLEEEEEEESE RUN!!!
PS- Another word to the wise, Jim. Once you cross Limestone Friday, you might want to put in some earplugs.
Word on the street is that Blue Dog Democrats in the House are going to try to block the Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008, a beefed up version of the GI Bill.
Ben Chandler has been great so far this year, but let's just give him a friendly reminder that we want him to break with the Blue Dogs and support this bill.
(202) 225-4706
Act like a DINO, you get jeers.
But good behavior brings rewards.
Stick your neck out and endorse Obama, you get $17,000.
Chandler doesn't need any of that, buy he'll be able to send that elsewhere to those who need it.
Woot.
And remember to thank Chandler and cancel out all the racists or other folks calling Chandler's office right now to jeer him.
If you read anything that I wrote last year, you'll know that I was very hard on Ben Chandler.
Very very very very very very very hard, with a Rootie for Most Spineless Democrat as the cherry on top.
Quite frankly, it was deserved.
Some called this "unconstructive" criticism. Others said it scared the bejezzes out of him and will make him move to the left.
Well, as far as 2008 goes, all I have to say is "How 'bout that Ben Chandler!!!"
First of all, he finally made the American vote on the FISA Bill, choosing not to further shred our Constitution.
And yesterday, Chandler chose to stick his neck out for the proper choice to be our nominee, soon-to-be President Barack Obama.
Is this a sign of things to come in 2008 from Ben Chandler? Have his DINO ways gone the way of the dinosaur?
I know of only one thing for sure: keep an eye on him, keep contacting him on important bills, and give him credit when he does right by us.
So be sure to send him a thank you note:
1504 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202)-225-4706
Fax: (202)-225-2122
District Office for casework:
1021 Majestic Drive, Suite 180
Lexington, KY 40513
Phone: (859) 219-1366
Fax: (859) 219-3437
Press Contact:
Stephanie Pepper
Phone: (202)-225-4706
Fax: (202)-225-2122
Also, here's some great footage shot by the one and only Jim Pence yesterday of Chandler's endorsement:
"Today I am pleased to announce my support and to offer my endorsement to Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. I have listened to this man, I have met with him and like many of you, I am inspired by his message of change and of hope for our future. But more importantly, I am convinced Barack Obama will provide the steady hand and leadership we need to chart a new path for our nation.
In these tough economic times, when many in our nation and right here in Kentucky are struggling to make ends meet and to provide for their families, too much is at stake for us to do nothing. I hope all Kentuckians and citizens throughout the nation will join with me in firmly supporting Barack Obama to lead our nation to a better future and to a place of respect for our country around the world."
Said Obama: "I am honored to have the support of Congressman Ben Chandler. As a Congressman, Ben has been a tireless fighter for working families and seniors, our troops in Iraq and our veterans at home. When he served as Kentucky Attorney General, he fought to pass Megan's Law and protect women and children, and he took action to protect the elderly from patient abuse and neglect. I look forward to working with Ben to strengthen our middle class and to keep our sacred trust with our past and present servicemen and women.”
It's hard to overstate how huge Ben Chandler's endorsement of Barack Obama is. Ben is not only a super delegate, he's a big-time super delegate. What will be the ripple effects?
Will this swing big time points to Obama on May 20th? You bet it will. This might cause up to a 20 point swing in Central KY, which will certainly narrow the gap.
Will this sway the remaining super delegates in KY? Most likely not, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Word on the street is that Gov. Beshear and KDP's Moore will wait until after the election and go with the winner, which barring her dropping out before then will be Hillary. But you never know what will happen if there's enough grassroots pressure (...ahem!)
Will this send a message to super delegates around the country? You better believe it. When a conservative democrat from a heavily pro-Hillary state decides to get on the Obama Train, you better believe that sends a message to the rest of the country that it is time to end this charade and get behind our nominee, Barack Obama.
Expect both the margin in the KY poll numbers and the super delegate gap to shrink in the following week....
Yep, how bout them apples?
Funny, some people thought that it wasn't "constructive" to criticize Ben Chandler so much last year. Judging by his FISA vote and this endorsement, I might disagree with that.
Oh. My. God.
I can't believe it.
Ben Chandler stood up and took the right vote today, denying retroactive immunity for telecoms who assisted Bush in breaking the law.
You know, some say that criticizing Ben Chandler for his votes doesn't move him to the left.
I just sit back and smile at that. :)
Posts
All Comments
