Reflections on the latest gubernatorial race poll
Matt Gunterman August 8th, 2007
Most of you are already likely aware of the latest poll out in the Kentucky governor’s race. If not, check out WHAS political reporter Mark Hebert’s post and analysis. In short, Beshear leads by 21 points three months outside the election.
By now, with all the open talk of how Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) is receiving political life support from Senator Mitch McConnell (R), it’s quite apparent that Mitch was the father of the idea to use the expanded gaming and casino issue as a political wedge in the November election.
And it’s clear that it’s not working. I personally don’t know that McConnell ever thought it would work. Perhaps he was just working with what he had, and in Ernie Fletcher and his dumbass goon of a runningmate Robbie Rudolph there’s not much to really mold and work with.
Sure, McConnell and company can ramp up the rhetoric a bit and expand their campaign against it to television and radio and whatnot, but if that sort of strategy were going to make a difference and tip the balance, we’d have already seen some movement in the polls on the issue.
Why isn’t it working? First, the majority of Kentucky’s population lives within a short distance of a casino in other states. Second, those Kentuckians have seen that those casinos have not brought the social and economic doom and gloom that McConnell and Fletcher claim (I, for one, can say that downtown Evansville, Indiana is MUCH better off with a casino than it was without one). Third, Kentuckians have had more than a decade’s experience with state-sanctioned gambling in the lottery; they’ve acclimated to it.
The dynamics of Kentucky politics are shifting and McConnell’s old tricks aren’t working. For instance, do you actually believe that McConnell anticipated that when he dropped the names of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi at Fancy Farm last weekend in a derogatory sense that the two women would receive a roaring endorsement and standing ovation from the heavily Democratic crowd? Democrats are proud to be Democrats again. That sort of energy is bad for McConnell.
The real question in my mind is what’s McConnell’s Plan B? Because Plan A is a non-starter. He’s got three months to change the conversation. The current conversation, which he started and which has dominated the campaign is going nowhere. What to do? What to do?
- Ernie Fletcher , Fancy Farm 2007 , Gubernatorial race '07 , Mitch McConnell
- Comments(9)
Your mistake is that you assume Fancy Farm is a reflection of Kentucky’s political make-up. It isn’t, and it never has been. It has always been a pep-rally for the fartherest fringe of the Democratic base… the one’s who are actually willing to admit they’re liberal. The make-up there has always had a pro-Democratic base from the olden days of the Union’s busing in their officers from all over. The one time Republicans evened the crowd out set off shock and horror in the Dems that they had to change the rules to give the dems their advantage… seeing the unfair playing field many Republicans like myself decided the whole thing is a sham that isn’t worth going to. You can get much better food at any local Catholic picnic and the people are friendlier almost anywhere else you go. Plus, the incompetence at Fancy Farm ranges from the parking-lot attendents to the food servers to the organizers. Not worth bothering with.
As for Mitch’s role with the emphasis on the Dem’s pro-Casino agenda, you know that it didn’t take Mitch to tell Fletcher’s crew what to run on. The two issues the Dems are out of touch with most Kentuckians on (okay, they’re out of touch on many issues, but the two issues Dems are willing to admit they’re out of touch on) are Casino’s and Abortion. Therefor, any Republican (especially this one plague by some stupid mistakes) would have to run those two issues into the ground. You know dang well that it wouldn’t take Mitch’s political genius to come up with that.
If you want Boss-Hog wannabee’s like John Bays to have influence over every community in Kentucky, then vote for the Dem’s pro-casino agenda. If you want to keep those jerks out, then vote against them. We all know that the next Dem will put in Casino’s (and that’s why Bays high-tailed it after Fletcher won last time).
let me ask you why so many casino’s are giving contributions to mitch and the ky republican party??
what do they have to gain??
where do you fit in herodotus ????
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?CID=N00003389
The top industries supporting Mitch McConnell are:
1 Lawyers/Law Firms $885,104
2 Health Professionals $871,791
3 Pro-Israel $681,450
4 Securities & Investment $599,476
5 Real Estate $589,677
6 Retired $548,187
7 Insurance $523,924
8 Oil & Gas $451,111
9 Commercial Banks $433,705
10 Mining $414,299
11 Crop Production & Basic Processing $322,690
12 General Contractors $319,150
13 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $314,950
14 Business Services $278,070
15 Misc Business $260,413
16 Tobacco $257,725
17 Beer, Wine & Liquor $254,554
18 Food Processing & Sales $252,390
19 Lobbyists $248,656
20 Electric Utilities $245,750
The issue on Casino Gaming is not a D, R or I issue.
If you take time to Google some facts you will quickly see the impact on citizens by making it easy to loose your money. And, that is what one does, loose their money.
Now affluent always have a KITTY for recreation and special things. If the affluent loose several thousand dollars in one evening that is play money.
But, a man making minimum wage or less . . .that would be a family disaster.
If Casinos come to Kentucky statics show 33,000 citizens are going to BLIND SIDED with an attraction that promises SOMETHING FOR VERY LITTLE. This is the number according to national statistics that will be impacted by Casinos.
Will it be your son, your uncle, your dad, your wife.
We won’t know until the roulette wheels appear.
It is bad public policy and encourages those that can least afford to loose their pay check at the Casino.
But, then if you need extra, there is always the
PAYDAY LENDER.
Jim i hate to tell you but there is a casino just 35 mile from here, do we need to close the state line or is that to much of a distance to drive also harrods casino in metropolis illinois and Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana and river downs cincinnati,ohio i guess that big old river will hold back all the poor people from gambling out of state LOL
Your right… the poor minimum wage guys who dream of getting something for nothing by hitting it big in the casino is going to be the real loser. But no worry, the Democratic party will be there to promise them bigger welfare checks so they’ll have more to spend at the Casino. If you’ve ever been to a casino you know… those are your people, your base… they’re obviously easily attracted to “something for nothing” or they wouldn’t vote Democratic.
Oh, as for where I fit in… I guess you could say Pro-Isreal, but I don’t think I fit in any of those other categories. Likewise, I don’t think I’ve ever donated any money to Mitch. I have put up a few dozen signs for him over the years though.
Also, where are the Casino donations on that list? I don’t see them… you have some numbers or are you just shooting off the first random, unrealistic thought you have in your head? Sounds like you know your side is in the wrong by being tied to Casino’s and all you can do to defend that is to lie and say “the other side takes Casino money too.” Well, did Mitch? How much? If you had hard proof it’d make you a nice story, but you dont, do you?
Jack Abramoff Connection
McConnell “said through his spokesman that the money given to him and his political committee by three [American Indian] tribes will be donated to the Wayside Christian Mission in Louisville, which helps the poor and homeless. While federal records show McConnell received $18,500, his office’s accounting showed $19,500, and that is what will be given to Wayside,” James R. Carroll reported in the January 5, 2006, Louisville, Kentucky, Courier-Journal.