It is no secret that Kentucky is considered a red state nowadays. However, that wasn't always so. Kentucky has a long Democratic tradition. The Republican Governor we just ousted was the first one in forty years. Our Congressional seats that fell into Republican hands all had long traditions of Democratic representation.
Kentucky is truly a battleground in the fight to forge a new Congress. If we can hold our own and pick up ground here, we will most likely expand our Congressional majorities and make life easier for our new President. Expanded majorities also serve as an insurance policy in the unlikely event we lost the White House.
Three Kentucky races could very well serve as a bellweather to whether we will hold and expand our majorities. I want to look at the candidates running for these vital seats.
KY-Sen: Bruce Lunsford- It is no secret that I did not support Mr. Lunsford in the primary. That said, there is no worse Senator in the nation than Mitch McConnell. As long as men like McConnell have any power in Washington, we will never achieve even the most basic progress. I had my reasons for not supporting Bruce Lunsford, but now we have a common goal. The defeat of Mitch McConnell. Bruce has admitted his past mistakes and assured us he will fight for us. I will trust him to keep his word.
Besides, I went to his website and it is not so bad. I like a lot of what I read. On the War in Iraq:
It has been more than five years since the war in Iraq began and there is no end in sight. With more than 4,000 American casualties, 29,000 Americans wounded, and many of Kentucky’s brave young men and women serving overseas, I pray for the safe return home of our troops. As a former member of the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves, I have great respect for our men and women in uniform and their families. They are making tremendous sacrifices and bearing an inordinate burden. Our soldiers are being asked to serve multiple tours in Iraq, often on very short notice. This is poor policy and must change.
Mitch McConnell has repeatedly voted to write blank checks in support of the Bush administration’s failed policies in Iraq, with no strings attached and no accountability. McConnell voted against withdrawing our troops eight times in 2007 and has allowed the American taxpayer to foot the enormous bill for the war, which has so far cost more than $525 billion. According to the Joint Economic Committee, the war has drained $1.3 trillion from our domestic economy, or roughly $16,500 per family of four.
I support a different approach. As the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended, we must give the Iraqi government the very clear message that maintaining law and order is its responsibility and we must help the government work toward this goal as we carefully and responsibly redeploy our troops to protect ourselves from direct threats to our country. We have lost focus on the enemy who attacked us on 9/11. We must concentrate on defeating Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and secure nuclear stockpiles and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Make no mistake - until our troops are withdrawn from the poorly reasoned and ill conceived war in Iraq, I want to make sure they are fully armed and have the proper equipment to conduct their mission. Unlike Senator McConnell, I would not vote against giving troops the body armor they need to protect their lives, against funding for armored vehicles, and against tax credits for employers who pay workers who are in the National Guard or Reserves and have been put on active duty.
http://www.bruce2008.com/...
Here is Bruce in my hometown of Paducah:
Go here to contribute to this race on ActBlue, or hit Bruce up on his site. Join the fight to Ditch Mitch!!:
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KY-03: John Yarmuth- Another race that is very important is the seat of John Yarmuth. He will be running against the woman he defeated in 2006, Anne Northup. She is well known in that district, and will raise a boatload of money for this race. Yarmuth will need our support. As one of the very best pickups in th whole country in the House from 06, I think he has earned it.
Here is an example of some of the awesome work he has done:
Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) and the Freshman Class in Congress are calling on the Appropriations Committee to "require the Government of Iraq to take more ownership over the reconstruction projects and training for security forces."
The United States has spent $45 billion on Iraq's reconstruction, while Iraq has spent less than five percent of its multi-billion dollar surplus.
Below is a letter from the 47 freshman Democrats in the House of Representatives to Appropriations Chairman David Obey and Defense Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha:
Dear Chairman Obey and Chairman Murtha,
As you work with our colleagues to craft upcoming spending bills, we ask you to consider language emphasizing the government of Iraq's cost-sharing responsibility.
With so many competing priorities, from emergency domestic spending to funding for our national security, it is clear that taxpayer dollars will be stretched thin. As you know, with the amount of money that we have spent in Iraq, we could fund virtually every emergency domestic priority in this country, as well as fully fund the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. As new Members of Congress, we hope to be able to return to our districts with news that Congress is asking the Iraqi government to stand up for itself.
Specifically, we hope that you will consider language in upcoming spending bills that requires the Government of Iraq to take more ownership over the reconstruction projects and training for security forces. Additionally, the Iraqi government should take responsibility for the $153 million per month that the United States Government spends on fuel in Iraq. Both the American and Iraqi people will gain from increased involvement of the Iraqi government in these endeavors.
Whether our colleagues support or oppose the Iraq war strategy, we can all agree that when it comes to the $600 billion in American taxpayer dollars that we have spent over the last five years, we must find another way. American taxpayers are spending $339 million a day in Iraq. The amount of money we spend in Iraq each day could house 48,000 homeless veterans, hire over 2,000 new Border Patrol guards for a year or give 2.6 million uninsured Americans access to health care. We write to you in the hopes that you will agree that it is time for us to pursue this issue in a more fiscally responsible manner.
This is one seat we simply can't afford to lose. In his two years in Congress John Yarmuth has been a constant voice for Progressives.
Support Congressman Yarmuth here:
http://actblue.com/...
KY-01: Heather Ryan- Last but not least, we have a race that could very well help determine just what our Congressional majorities will be. In Kentucky's First District we have a young, energetic and Progressive fighter in Heather Ryan. She is a veteran and wife and mother that lives and works among the citizens of Paducah, Kentucky. She is facing an essential part of the Mitch McConnell machine here in Kentucky, Exxon Ed Whitfield.
This race is so important because if we pull out races like this one, we will succeed in not just saving face, but actually expanding our majority. This district is 63% Democrat, and President Bush has very low approval ratings here as he does everywhere else. If we get Heather's message of change, with Whitfield's record of rubber-stamping Bush, and his tireless advoacacy on behalf of Corporate Welfare and Big Oil and Energy out to these voters, Heather wins. She is not afraid to fight:
She understands the pain we all feels and wants to fight for change:
This is one race that the blogosphere could really make a huge difference if they supported this candidate. With that in mind I created Americans for Ryan, to support Heather and win this race. Please help us!!:
http://www.actblue.com/...
If you want to see a serious battleground in the fight to expand our Congressional majorities look no further than Kentucky. This state could truly be a bellweather. Please support our candidates and make a difference!!
Best wishes!!