Roll Call follows up on a story posted first here last week, reporting that Secretary of State Trey Grayson is on track to raise $500,000 for his U.S. Senate exploratory committee. That's the same total this blog previously reported.
GOP insiders are anxiously awaiting second-quarter reports from both Grayson and U.S. Sen. Jim [...]
We reported earlier this month about GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Cathy Bailey's plans to host a fundraiser for the GOP caucus trust in the state senate. Tonight was the big night, and our deep undercover source at the shindig says it was a "total bust."
The fundraiser comes on [...]
Two storylines are expected to emerge from second-quarter Federal Election Commission reports (deadline: June 30) to be filed by Kentucky's U.S. Senate candidates next month.
1) Sources close to Attorney General Jack Conway's campaign expect him to post a fundraising total north of $1 million. His major opponent, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, [...]
We relayed in March that Kentucky Democratic activist and fundraiser Matthew Barzun was poised to be tapped by President Barack Obama for a prominent foreign post. Word out of Stockholm today is that Barzun will be the next ambassador to Sweden (it's a coveted position).
Here's a story from The [...]
Too many inexperienced chefs in the kitchen over at Trey Grayson for Senate headquarters are a mess in the making if the last 24 hours of press coverage are any indication. Two news stories prove the point.
First, the Herald-Leader reported yesterday that State Senate President [...]
Despite losing subscribers, the Herald Leader did one heck of a job on its reporting on the spending of tax payer dollars by the Kentucky League of Cities. The League is funded in large part through dues paid by member Cities from the General Funds of municipalities across Kentucky who [...]
Some numbers to chew on. Circulation statistics for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Louisville Courier-Journal over the past six years:
Lexington Herald-Leader
Daily
Sunday
2004 118,070 147,004 2005 116,894 147,208 2006 114,135 141,019 2007 111,124 138,986 2008 109,624 135,250 2009 104,221 119,607 Louisville Courier-Journal
Daily
Sunday
2004 216,934 279,611 2005 215,734 276,032 2006 217,814 271,920 2007 218,796 266,594 2008 215,328 258,778 2009 193,992 250,277 *Compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations [...]Former ambassador and GOP fundraiser Cathy Bailey is co-hosting a fundraiser at her home in Louisville later this month, benefiting the Senate Republican Trust and honoring Senate President David Williams. Her role in the event is sure to be seen as a slight to Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a potential opponent in next year's primary [...]
Undercover sources connected to the fledgling "campaign" of U.S. Senate hopeful Cathy Bailey are boasting loudly about Bailey hiring a Louisville public relations firm to "manage her image." It seems that Bailey has contracted with Peritus Public Relations to kiss-up to the media on Bailey's behalf.
Our source tells [...]
Will the Revolution have the money to be televised? That's what Kentucky GOP insiders are asking -- and fearing.
Raising $25,000 in a week or so online is one thing. It will take much, much more for Rand Paul to buy the TV advertising to effectively spread his message across the GOP [...]
Sources tell KyPolitics.org that Cathy Bailey, the former ambassador and GOP fundraiser, is close to making a decision on entering the race for the Senate seat currently held by Jim Bunning. Bailey is leaning towards running.
A fundraising committee list for potential candidate Trey Grayson, announced by his exploratory committee on Thursday, has done little to dissuade [...]
What a mess.
A war of words between Kentucky's two U.S. Senators has spilled onto the national stage. The quarrel is over Jim Bunning's decision to run for reelection. And the results are tragic.
Neither Mitch McConnell nor Bunning -- two of the Kentucky GOP's most accomplished figures -- are living up [...]
We don't buy the "freeze the field" theory pitched by the media and Trey Grayson cheerleaders. As in, Jim Bunning is freezing the field so Trey Grayson can run unopposed, or with limited opposition in the Kentucky Senate GOP primary.
If all things were equal in Kentucky politics, it might be the case. Why' [...]
The Kentucky Enquirer's Pat Crowley filed the following report from last night's anti-climatic statewide Lincoln Day Dinner:
Bunning intends to keep fighting
LOUISVILLE - Republicans who have been clawing at one another for months over next year's U.S. Senate race put aside their animosity Saturday night and spoke of unity and success during [...]
24:00
Perhaps the most intriguing U.S. Senate race sideshow: Rand Paul's potential to raise millions overnight for a primary contest against mainstreamer Trey Grayson.
A relative unknown to most GOP voters, Paul attracts a following of thousands on Facebook and other social media. Backers brag today that Paul could set "set" [...]
December 3, 2007: Bunning, leaning towards retirement, contemplates his successor
[...]What is it about mafia taxes that they put the fear of gawd in lawmakers? Kentucky is no exception. The bill to remove the so-called "Prevailing Wage" tax on school construction, amounting to 30% or more, hasn't been brought up for a hearing. You'd think that legislators, [...]
From our friends at Kentucky Club for Growth:
IT IS TIME TO ACT!
The federal stimulus, spending hundreds of billions of dollars we don't have; sending billions to states that are raising taxes anyway; bailouts going to companies that should be restructured instead of sustained; 9,000' [...]
Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh questions Greg Stumbo's leadership as Speaker so far -- finding several open critics in the state House. Have a listen:
Click here for a text version of the story.
[...]If you didn't know her, you missed something in life. Angela Cox began her career in Governor Ernie Fletcher's office as a case worker in Constituent Services located in the Capitol basement. No windows, no marble floors and fancy furniture, just cubicles and phones ringing' [...]
Kentucky Democratic activist and fundraiser Matthew Barzun is poised to land a top appointment from President Barack Obama, sources say. Barzun, a member of Louisville's powerful Brown family, racked up extraordinary fundraising figures for Obama and other Democrats in 2008 -- some lists have ranked [...]
A great effort is forming behind legislation to add $600 million in school construction money by repeal of the "mafia tax," also known as Prevailing Wage. See the following announcement from the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition:
The Kentucky Opportunity Coalition would like to inform you about SB 145, an Act Relating to [...]
Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his economics professor and says, "I don't understand this stimulus bill. Can you explain it to me?"
The professor replied, "I don't have any time to explain it at my office, but if you come [...]
At the Purchase Area Lincoln Day Dinner in Murray, Rep. Ed Whitfield offers unqualified support for embattled Sen. Jim Bunning, should Bunning stay in the race. From Sunday's Paducah Sun (subscription required):
“Jim Bunning has been in the state Senate, the U.S. House, has served two' [...]
In his recent column, the Herald-Leader's Larry Dale Keeling may be more correct than he realizes in his criticism of House Speaker Greg Stumbo (left) and Senate President David Williams' General Assembly Accountability and Review Commission (GAARD) legislation.
Williams (below) and Stumbo, now best buddies, [...]
From Kentucky Progress:
Congressman Ron Paul's son Rand is going to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jim Bunning if Bunning ultimately decides not to run, he said Thursday night.
"We will need a conservative to run against that liberal David Williams," Dr.' [...]
Word tonight that several of Sen. Jim Bunning's closest and most loyal supporters are now urging him to reconsider his decision to run for a third term. Bunning's actions in recent days, including his distasteful remarks about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and subsequent apology, have brought negative [...]
UPDATE 12:22 p.m. -- Contrary to rumors swirling around Frankfort and reports received earlier today, Sen. Jim Bunning has no intention of retiring, according to his spokesman, Mike Reynard, who contacted this blog. Bunning plans to run for reelection, says Reynard.
[...]Looking to dodge the bullets fired during Sen. Jim Bunning's Tuesday conference call with the media, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, dropped the hammer on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his staff.
Quoted in a story posted this evening on' [...]
“But there’s the thought that the more they push, the more Bunning wants to stay."
Brammer and Alessi sort through the shrapnel...
Bunning apologizes for Ginsburg comments; Williams ponders run
FRANKFORT — State Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, wouldn't rule out running for U.S. Senate next year, the latest hint of behind-the-scenes machinations among Republicans that underscore GOP Sen. Jim Bunning's political fragility.
Bunning, meanwhile, didn't help his [...]
Via KY Club for Growth ED Andy Hightower:
Williams Jumping in Backwards?
The buzz out there is about State Senate President David Williams' interest in a primary challenge to Kentucky's US Senator Jim Bunning.
Earlier today, Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill reported that Williams was in DC meeting with "officials at'" [...]
A political bombshell this weekend from several well-placed GOP sources, in Frankfort and Washington: State Senate President David Williams met with officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) on Friday to discuss his interest in running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Jim [...]
KY-01 congressional hopeful and GOP political hot shot Scott Jennings made the news last week as he prepared to go several rounds with U.S. DOJ investigators. A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records the records of former New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici to probe the firing of [...]
The list of GOP state legislators that broke the ATR tax payer protection pledge by voting for HB 144:
Senate
Charlie Borders (S-18)
Carroll Gibson (S-5)
Ernie Harris (S-26)
Dan Kelly (S-14)
Vernie McGaha (S-15)
Robert Stivers (S-25)
Also, Democrat Walter Blevins (S-27)
House
Bob DeWeese [...]
A Democrat blog recently asked for proof that the Merit System Investigation by former Atty. Gen. Greg Stumbo (pictured below and now Speaker of the House) was bogus. A friend sent in the following, which was never published. We guess that our friend offered an argument so compelling that even Stumbo [...]
U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) today takes center stage for disseminating the following video that has labor leaders seeing red. It's a satire produced as a response to the mega-public workers union, ASCME, and its TV ads pounding Republicans in Congress for voting against the Democrats' so-called Stimulus Bill.
The Plum' [...]
Here's a story the mainstream media isn't whooping and hollering about: U.S. Senator Jim Bunning shows surprising strength against Democrat comers. He leads them all. By the way, this poll was conducted by the liberal left blog, Daily Kos.
Right now, Bunning is digging in his heels, taking a far more aggressive' [...]
There is no lack of enthusiasm among Democrats to take on Kentucky's junior U.S. senator, Jim Bunning (shown at right when he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1960s) in the 2010 election.
Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo came close in 2004 in knocking off the [...]
