Jim Pence April 3rd, 2008

Andrew Horne, a man I respect, has endorsed Bruce Lunsford. I know Andrew, I’ve been on the streets with him protesting the Iraq war and Senator Mitch McConnell’s policies, but I’m still going to do my best to remain neutral in this process to elect a candidate to defeat Senator Mitch McConnell.
Today, the Lunsford campaign invited bloggers to a conference call with Bruce Lunsford and Andrew Horne. I participated along with Joe Sonka of Barefoot And Progressive and Jacob Payne of Page One. Bruce Lunsford took a risk in doing this, and I respect him for doing so.
I asked him how he would combat the old Chandler ads and the endorsement he gave to Fletcher in 2003. He said that he’s apologized before and made amends last year by staying positive and helping Beshear out big afterwards. He said that it was an emotional response to the Chandler ads, and it was a bad mistake. He also said that beating Mitch would certainly heal all wounds. To view the videos I was speaking of click here, here, here, and here.
During the conference call Bruce took the time to explain why he didn’t attend the Ruby Laffoon event in Madisonville, Kentucky and I found his reason to be acceptable to me.
Much has been said about positive and negative campaigning during this race for the Senate, but I believe that tough and hard primaries are necessary to vet and prepare the candidates for the general election. I hope none of the candidates take any of their options off the table so that when we get to the general election the winner of the primary will be fully vetted and there will be no surprises in the general election. As in the past I will do my best to post as much video as possible of all the candidates, as objectively as possible, so that the voters can make their decision May 22, 2008, after all it will be the voters in Kentucky, not the bloggers or the media, who will decide the US senate Democratic primary and I have great confidence the voters will make the right choice.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Bruce Lunsford , Video , Youtube
• Comments(6)

Jim Pence February 17th, 2008

(cross posted at Hillbilly Report)
I’ve been all over Kentucky the last several years taking photos, shooting video of political events and rallies in the following Kentucky cities, Cecilia, Shepherdsville, Elizabethtown, Lexington, Louisville, Frankfort, Berea, Calvert City, Fancy Farm, Paducah, Buckner, West Point, Columbus and more. While in these cities I’ve watched as folks looked into the camcorder and told George Bush and Senator Mitch McConnell where to go. I’ve hugged these folks and been hugged back, listened to their stories, laughed and even cried with them.
Yes we have progressives here in Kentucky, I know because I’ve seen moms, dads, preachers, priest, sisters, college kids, blacks, whites, straights, gays, Hispanics, veterans, Muslims, Jews, Atheist, Christians and more protesting for a better America, against George W. Bush and Senator Mitch McConnell. The progressive protests throughout Kentucky, have been so effective and weaken Senator Mitch McConnell’s approval ratings so much that he, Senator Mitch McConnell, had to start spending his money and airing political ads early. The weakening of Senator Mitch McConnell’s approval ratings didn’t go unnoticed by those wanting to replace Senator Mitch McConnell, and all of our hard work produced some unexpected results, eight Democratic Primary Candidates.
A few days ago one of the most beloved men in all of Kentucky politics, Andrew Horne, dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary and many of us were devastated and some of us still are. Joe Sonka expressed how many of us feel with this post.
I don’t know who will win the Senatorial race here in Kentucky, but I know this the progressive movement is in full bloom here and the person that gets elected will be held accountable by the progressives and they don’t care if he is a Democrat or a Republican!!!
Most of us remember how bad we felt in 2004, when George W. Bush, Anne Northup and Ron Lewis got elected and how good we felt when John Yarmuth beat Anne Northup in 2006, I’ll take that 2006 feeling every time.
So where do we go from here? I don’t know, I’m not a Dr. Phil and I’m not giving advice, but a song from the movie “Swing Time” came to my mind as I pondered the dilemma we are in, here in Kentucky “Pick Yourself Up”, so this old hillbilly is going to pick his self up dust his self off and start all over again!!
ps The Daily Kos don’t know jack shit about Kentucky and the only time Markos Moulitsas comes to Kentucky is when he is on his way to someplace else or to hawk his book, but that’s OK, we’ll take the time to be hospitable and even videotape his arrogant ass.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(11)

Joe Sonka February 11th, 2008

Dear Friend,

I'm writing you today with some disappointing news. This afternoon I informed Governor Steve Beshear of my decision to withdraw from the United States Senate race.

This decision was difficult for many reasons, not least because of the major challenges facing our Commonwealth and Country. Millions of Americans live without quality health care, we have shamefully disregarded the needs of our veterans, our education system is deeply flawed, and we remain embroiled in a mismanaged and ill-conceived war.  Through it all, Mitch McConnell is more interested in expanding the scope of his own power than using his office to benefit the hardworking families who make our country great.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for everything you have done to support me in this campaign.  I won't be the Democrat challenging Mitch McConnell next November, but our work is far from done.  We must continue to fight for the values that brought us together.  I look forward to working with you for many years to come.

Again, thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Andrew Horne

Shocked.

(and (1) no, i had no idea, and (2) i don't know what's behind this)

• Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(13)

Joe Sonka February 11th, 2008

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)

The proprietor of THE best blog keeping track of the Senate races coming up this Fall takes an in depth look at Kentucky's race against Mitch McConnell this year. Worth a look.

The Democratic primary will likely be dominated by three candidates: former state Secretary of Commerce and two-time gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford, businessman Greg Fischer, and Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Horne. Lunsford is best known for his two Democratic primary defeats for Governor; Fischer is best known for his company's invention of the ice & beverage dispenser used by many fast food and other restaurants; Horne is best known for his 2006 Congressional campaign in Kentucky's 3rd district.

****************

Both from their videos and their websites (Horne, Fischer), I get the distinct impression that Lt. Col. Horne has a much clearer vision for why he is running for Senate, compared to Fischer.

Horne’s website has an issues section that touches on the economy, education, health care, Iraq, etc. Fischer’s site has no issues section.

In his introductory video, Horne discusses his personal, civilian-professional, and military background. He discusses personal motivations, from his wife’s health care battles to a desire to keep jobs from being shipped overseas to Mitch McConnell’s failed leadership. Horne even seems ready right now to take on McConnell in a debate with such zingers as “Senator Mitch McConnell is more than part of the problem; he is the problem,” “Simply put, while Mitch McConnell carries George Bush’s water on Iraq, I carried a rifle in Iraq,” and “This campaign is about you, not the lobbyists and political insiders; Mitch McConnell has forgotten that.”

In Fischer’s video, he highlights his business background and “outsider” status, but I simply don’t get a sense of what he is passionate about.

While Fischer has only been in the race a month, Election Day is less than nine months away, and primary day is even sooner – Fischer needs to do a better job of explaining why he’s running. I’m left with the distinct impression that, since Fischer has the capability of self-funding a significant portion of his campaign, he expected that his checkbook would lead him to the Democratic nomination. That will likely not be the case, especially considering Bruce Lunsford (and his ostensibly even larger checkbook) entered the race just before the filing deadline.

In his two failed gubernatorial bids, Lunsford spent about $14 million, and failed to win the Democratic primary either time. Nevertheless, it appears that Lunsford has the inside track on insider support, reportedly receiving the tacit encouragement of Governor Steve Beshear as well as national Democratic leaders in Washington DC, ostensibly because Lunsford has the most money to put into the race. There are two major flaws in that logic though. First, if Lunsford’s money couldn’t win him a statewide primary in two tries, there’s no overwhelming reason to believe his money will put him over the top in both a primary and a general against an exceedingly well-funded McConnell this time around. Second, depending on how much McConnell’s eventual Democratic opponent loans his campaign, by virtue of the “Millionaire’s Amendment,” McConnell will be able to increase the limits on how much he can take in from his contributors, further increasing his campaign war chest.

Additional concerns exist with Lunsford’s commitment to Democratic Party ideals. Lunsford has a very long history of political campaign contributions to Republican candidates and committees, including $1,000 to Mitch McConnell in 1993 and another $250 to McConnell in 1999. On top of that, after his failed 2003 gubernatorial primary bid, Lunsford endorsed the Republican nominee over the Democratic nominee – that Republican was corrupt Ernie Fletcher. I don't readily see how Lunsford answers the question from Mitch McConnell, "How is it that you can contribute to my campaign on one day, support my Party and my candidates one day, and then turn on me and my Party the next day?"

At this stage, Fischer and Lunsford both have as their task at hand to explain how their campaigns represent more than just checkbooks – why they're running and how their campaigns promote Democratic ideals. Of course, McConnell will be well-funded, but that alone does not win campaigns. In 2006, we saw a number of Republican incumbents significantly outspend Democratic challengers in losing efforts. Democrats Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester saw Republicans Jim Talent and Conrad Burns spend twice as much as they did, respectively. George Allen’s spending tripled Jim Webb’s. And Rick Santorum outspent Bob Casey by over $10 million. Those four Republicans lost despite enormous financial advantages.

This is not an endorsement at this stage, by any means. But, right now, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Horne appears to be the strongest Democratic challenger to take on Mitch McConnell and question McConnell’s shameful record before the voters of Kentucky. I encourage you to view his campaign introductory video again and visit his website.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Bruce Lunsford , Greg Fischer , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(3)

Joe Sonka February 9th, 2008

Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Horne will be liveblogging on the uber-popular blog Firedoglake today from 2-4. Go check it out and ask Horne some questions if you have some, should be fun.

• Andrew Horne
• Comments(2)

Joe Sonka January 18th, 2008

Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Horne wrote a great diary on DailyKos today. If you’re so inclined, head on over there and recommend it. Here is the transcript:

• Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell , Netroots
• Comments(4)

Matt Gunterman January 11th, 2008

So, WHAS’s Mark Hebert has posted that Louisville businessman Greg Fischer (D) will announce next week that he’s entering the Democratic primary for the opportunity to oppose Sen. Mitch McConnell (R).

If that’s the case, and Fischer does run, then I think the Democratic primary between Fischer and Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D) [I'm assuming here that millionaire Bruce Lunsford (D) isn't getting into the race] will tell us a lot about how strong a force the progressive grassroots in Kentucky really are.

The race between Horne and Fischer will be between passion and the pocketbook, respectively. I’m told Fischer can only plop down a few million of his own dollars into the race. That’s enough to get him through the primary. He’s wealthy, but not wealthy enough to match McConnell’s war chest. Now, you and I both know that a Democratic candidate doesn’t need to match Mitch McConnell dollar-for-dollar to take the bugger out. We saw that in contest after contest in the 2006 defeats of Republican incumbents.

The Democratic primary this May will tell us how closely Kentucky Democrats are listening, how engaged they are in taking on McConnell, how much they’re hungering for his defeat. If the pocketbook wins and there’s no accompanying passion behind Fischer, then Kentucky Democrats might well be disinterested in the process — content with McConnell and voting for a name made familiar by millions of dollars spent on advertising. I write that last sentence fully aware that passion may fire up around Fischer. I’m not discounting the possibility.

But I know there’s passion around Horne. His supporters are die-hard. And his supporters will be out telling their friends and neighbors about Horne, and they will be doing it around a candidate who’s built up an impressive network around the state. Horne may not be well known among the electorate outside of Louisville, but he’s not unknown within the Democratic activist networks.

A primary will be good for Kentucky Democrats and for the candidates. It will hone their messages, keep them in the eyes and minds of the voters, and make their campaigns stronger and make them stronger campaigners.

Fischer is Running, Announcing Next Week

Louisville businessman Greg Fischer has told several people that he’s running for the U.S. Senate. He will apparently make his candidacy official next week.

Fischer’s entry into the race will set up a tough democratic primary with the winner taking on Mitch McConnell in the fall. Fischer is a wealthy Louisville business CEO and the son of well-known Louisville businessman and former Brown administration cabinet secretary George Fischer. One would expect Fischer to personally fund most of his campaign.

His main competition is Andrew Horne, a Louisville attorney and Iraq war veteran. Horne has some political experience, having lost the democratic primary for 3rd district congress to John Yarmuth last year. This will be Fischer’s first run for public office. Neither Horne nor Fischer is well known outside Jefferson County and Fischer is hardly known inside the Louisville Metro limits.

Horne says, if Fischer runs, he’ll discover the same thing Bruce Lunsford has, that money can’t buy a win in a democratic primary race. Horne says, since he announced his campaign a couple of weeks ago, he’s gotten positive responses across Kentucky. His biggest problem will be fundraising and articulating his positions on issues other than Iraq. As you’ve seen in a posting earlier today, most Kentucky voters think the economy and health care are the top two issues in the presidential race, not Iraq. We look forward to finding out Fischer’s views.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Greg Fischer , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(19)

Joe Sonka January 9th, 2008

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots and DailyKos, go recommend it!)

Why will Andrew Horne beat Mitch McConnell? Because he will not just win over people in Louisville and Lexington. He will win over rural voters. People like Tim Havrilek.

Havrilek (possible Czech brother?) commented yesterday about how he was going to hear Horne speak in Hopkinsville that night. He was quite skeptical of Horne, but eager to find out more about him. Havrilek, as you can tell from his blog, is probably a little right of center, though not a far right-winger.

Havrilek saw Horne, and was quite impressed.

I had the opportunity to meet and speak at length with Col. Andrew Horne tonight and was quite surprised at his candor and understanding of the issues important to Rural and Western Kentucky. Answering my questions for almost 30 minutes, Col. Horne addressed all eight issues that I selected as a sampling. Many of these issues have been a draw back for most Democrats seeking to go to Washington the last 15 years. I found Horne to be impressive in his delivery and appreciated his honesty. At no time did Col. Horne try to dodge a question or spin an answer. He was forthright and appeared eager to hear about some of the issues that affect the Pennyrile.

*************

Col. Horne made it pretty clear that he believes in the Constitution and that his political convictions were not the convictions of a Democrat or a Republican but were convictions derived by someone who believes in the United States Constitution.

I found Col. Horne to be unique in his positions and philosophy about issues. Whereas we in Rural Kentucky have always required a litmus test for our candidates, Col. Horne seemed to make his candidacy very simple in this regard, If the Constitution affords you the right to do something then he supports your right to do so as protected under the Constitution.

As a Conservative on most issues, I'm known for being a hard sell for Democrats trying to get elected down here but I will have to admit that I found Col. Andrew Horne very appealing. He has all the qualities of a good candidate. While not giving up his personal beliefs and support of issues like the enviorment, Col. Horne came across as someone who is practical in his approach to finding solutions to our Nations problems. It was obvious to me that Col. Horne was very sensitive to the prevailing view that Republicans and Democrats have failed the middle class and that Rural voters are looking for new leadership that will provide a no non-sense and common sense approach to government. While we don't always like what others do, I believe Col. Horne will fight to preserve our God given rights and the rights of others whom we may not always agree with. For Col. Horne it is not about left or right, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican its about an oath he took to protect, defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States for all Americans.

It is still a little early but I think Col. Andrew Horne may have enough matches in his box to start a big fire down here in Western Kentucky.

A big fire, indeed.

McConnell will surely trot out the liberal boogeyman against Horne, the cut-and-runner, tax-and-spend label that appears to be the only campaign tactic that people like Mitch McConnell know. For Mitch, this usually works.

But not this year.

People are fed up with politics as usual in Washington. They are fed up with politicians that enable the incompetence of people like George W. Bush. They are fed up seeing their tax dollars go to fund "bridges to nowhere" in far away states because a Senator wanted to reward contributors while their collegues, like Mitch, look the other way while our deficit grows even larger. They are tired of seeing our soldiers put their lives on the line for a government that would prefer to sit back and do nothing while we do all of the work. They are fed up with politicians like Mitch McConnell who refuse to admit that there is a health care crisis in this country and that drastic measures are needed. They are fed up with career politicians like Mitch McConnell that would rather cynically obstruct popular legislation and blame the other side, than help move our country forward.

Lt. Col. Andrew Horne is the candidate that they will be looking for. Honesty, integrity, experience and straight-talk. That's what will cut into McConnell's support in Western Kentucky and other rural or "conservative" areas.

Enjoy D.C. while it lasts, Mitch. Your time is up.

• Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell , Rural America
• Comments(3)

Joe Sonka December 13th, 2007

Jon Soltz, Chair of VoteVets, has a column up about how he thinks Andrew Horne is going to stomp all over our boy Mitchie next year. His post is also up on DailyKos, so go recommend it, if you’re so inclined)

As an Iraq war veteran, today is pretty exciting for me and all the other vets I talk with. Today, one of our own took the first step towards knocking off Senator Mitch McConnell in 2008. Iraq War Veteran Andrew Horne jumped into the race.

Andrew Horne, who had to step down as a Senior Advisor to VoteVets.org to run this race, not only has a good shot to beat McConnell, he has a tremendous shot. That’s got us Iraq veterans pumped because not only will we have a voice in the Senate that comes from our own ranks, but we’re also going to take down the guy who is the single most responsible person in Congress for the war in Iraq, as well as the defeat of pro-troop, pro-veteran legislation.

Let’s take just a small walk through the record of Mitch McConnell (Warning: Hold your nose):

• He led the filibuster of the Webb-Hagel “Dwell Time” amendment that would have given our exhausted troops as much time at home as in the field.

• He led the all-night filibuster of legislation that would have set us on a real change of course in Iraq, that would have allowed us to give Iraqis more responsibility, while freeing U.S. forces to take on the real threat to America — al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• He consistently worked his side of the aisle against the same veterans he’s been fighting tooth and nail to keep in Iraq, beating back amendments to ensure a funding stream for veterans’ health care, increase Veterans’ medical services by closing corporate tax loopholes, and guarantee full-funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• And, most recently, he callously quipped that we ought not feel too bad about those who died in Iraq, because, afterall, “remember, these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.”

Andrew Horne is going to serve Kentucky well. I’ve known Andrew for a couple of years now, and he’s one of the brightest, toughest guys I’ve ever encountered. But, more importantly, he’s fiercely loyal. At any point over the last couple of years, he could have broken away from the veterans movement and tried to make a name for himself. But, he didn’t. He felt a profound sense of responsibility to those he was fighting alongside, something that we all feel in the military. Kentucky can trust that he’s never going to abandon them and “go Washington” like Mitch McConnell.

But, more importantly for the readers on here, Andrew’s candidacy represents the best shot beat the largest obstruction to veterans care and responsible use of the military that Congress has ever seen.

For all McConnell has done to hurt troops and veterans, how sweetly ironic it is that it’s going to be an Iraq War Marine that sends him packing.

That’s why, today, I’m truly, truly excited.

Read more about Andrew and consider making at donation at www.AndrewHorne.org

• Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell , VoteVets
• Comments(5)

Matt Gunterman December 13th, 2007

Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D) makes it official and announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. The campaign’s website is at AndrewHorne.org , and there’s an excellent video there of Horne explaining to Kentuckians the need for change and the power of his candidacy to bring that change.

Here’s excerpts from the Horne camp’s press release:

ANDREW HORNE ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR U.S. SENATE IN KENTUCKY

“I’m running for the United States Senate because it’s time for change. Senator Mitch McConnell is more than part of the problem. He is the problem,” said Andrew Horne

Louisville, KY – Lt. Colonel Andrew Horne (Ret.) launched his campaign today to take back the U. S. Senate seat for the people of Kentucky, now held by Mitch McConnell. Horne, while a Marine and Reservist, served tours of duty in Desert Storm and recently in Iraq. Horne outlined his decision to run and what he plans to focus on as Senator in a video released on the internet this morning.

[...]

I’’m running for U.S. Senate because it’s time for a change and because Senator Mitch McConnell is more than part of the problem. He is THE problem. It is time for Kentuckians to take our government and country back. We should not be told to take a backseat to the wealthy and powerful. It’s time to tackle the challenges facing our country instead of passing them off to our kids. It’s time for leaders who’ll take the right stand,” Horne says in the video.

“Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader, symbolizes everything wrong with Washington. He bows to big business, practices the worst kind of politics, and doesn’t take a stand when faced with tough issues. Simply put: Mitch McConnell carries George Bush’s water on Iraq; I carried a rifle in Iraq” he added.

Horne noted that under the Bush-McConnell regime, Washington politicians have:

* failed to fix our health care crisis;
* sent our jobs to China and Mexico;
* failed to lead on immigration reform;
* ran up a nine trillion dollar debt for our children, and
* led our country into an ill-conceived and mismanaged war in Iraq.
Horne also noted yesterday that the Bush-McConnell obstructionism has continued to hinder progress, pointing to the latest example, the President’s veto of S-Chip fully supported by McConnell.

In the coming weeks and months, Horne will lay out his proposals to benefit the people of the commonwealth.

[...]

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne
• Comments(14)

Joe Sonka December 10th, 2007

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots and DailyKos)

In light of Mitch McConnell's despicable comments last week about our military deaths, its worth noting this story from the LA Times last Friday on how Republicans are hemorrhaging support from the military. Check out these numbers from the Bloomberg/LA Times poll conducted Nov. 30th to Dec. 3rd of active military, veterans and their family:

Was it worth going to war in Iraq?- only 36% yes, 57% no (was 64% yes in 2004)

Should we withdraw our troops now or within the next year? Or should we stay as long as it takes?- 58% withdraw, 35% stay

Do you approve of the way that Bush is handling the needs of active duty troops, veterans and military families?- 35% approve, 53% disapprove

What party do you trust to do a better job of handling issues relating to military families?- 39% Democrats, 35% Republicans

And military families in KY are quite aware of the fact that Mitch McConnell has rubber-stamped Bush's failed policies every step of the way. And let us not forget, it was Mitch McConnell that TWICE filibustered Sen Jim Webb's amendments to restore proper troop rotation and rest between tours, which both had broad bipartisan support and 58 votes. I noted back in July the LHL story on the shift in attitudes towards Bush/McConnell/Iraq in Ft. Campbell, where the strain on military families has reached the breaking point.  

A few days after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bo Ward put these words on the sign at his 12-chair barbershop near the main gate at Fort Campbell: "President Bush, show no mercy. Kick their ass!"

But almost six years later, and after more than four years of war in Iraq, Ward's no longer so sure.

"Soldiers are tired; wives are tired; families are getting worn down," Ward said. "I know these boys can't just pick up and come home from Iraq, but we need some kind of exit plan."

**************

Kentucky has given heavily to the war effort. Fort Campbell's latest round of deployments will push to 23,000 the number of soldiers from the post serving in the Middle East conflict.

At Fort Campbell, the place Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, once called home, feelings about ongoing efforts in the Middle East and Republican leadership during the war are mixed.

On any given weekday, Ward's barbershop, the fort's largest, is a place where privates and senior officers sit side by side waiting for a trim. Ward chats with these soldiers as he snips away. And he says he thinks many of them now would be happy to see Washington set a date for leaving Iraq.

"Right now, you've got first sergeants and sergeant majors and E-7s and E-8s that are getting out of the army right and left," Ward said. "They're saying 'I've been deployed three times, I'm pressing my luck, I'm not going to give up my life and my family for something where there's no end to it.'"

Karla Tucker works at a furniture store just down the street where many military families shop. She also says that many soldiers, exhausted by repeated deployments, are deciding not to "re-up" as their enlistments end.

"These young men and women are coming back with all kinds of problems; some of them are on anti-depressants; their marriages are in trouble," Tucker said. "There are families right and left that are deciding not to hang around; they're leaving here and going home. I personally have not heard anyone say they're going to re-enlist. It's sad."

It is sad, and this war's tragedy goes far beyond even the high number of deaths and serious injuries. The effects of the war have taken a deep psychological toll on many soldiers returning, breaking up families and even leading to a 26-year high in the suicide rate among the Army's active duty.  Below is the video of Lt. Col. Andrew Horne on MSNBC, explaining the strain on families from the extended tours that Mitch McConnell filibustered in order to maintain.

Military families know the role that Mitch McConnell has played in being Bush's lapdog in respects to Iraq, and what once helped him will now be an anchor around his neck as they turn on Bush. Just look at McConnell's recent poll numbers among those in Western KY (where Ft. Campbell is located). In just 2 months, McConnell's approval/disapproval rating went from 66/23% to 49/36%. Western KY is usually where Mitch pulls in his biggest amount of support, but if a candidate is able to significantly cut into this, Mitch could seriously be in trouble next year.

As I mentioned back in July:

Meanwhile, Marine vet Jim Webb shows how you deal with a repetitive talking point regurgitator and Bush enabler on Meet the Press.

Can you imagine Mitch McConnell having to debate a tough Marine veteran like this in his Senate race next year? Someone that actually has a distinguished military record and can speak for the veterans and their families that have paid such a heavy price for their sacrifice to their country in Iraq?

Perhaps we can make that happen, eh?

Perhaps we can, indeed.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Filibuster , GOP , Iraq War , Jim Webb , Mitch McConnell , Opinion Polls , Republican Party Decline
• Comments(3)

Matt Gunterman December 7th, 2007

Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R) calculus of dying soldiers: some are more tragic than others.

Of course, what McConnell wants to distract people from is the fact that even if the soldiers were all draftees, the deaths would still be for a war built on the lies of Pres. George W. Bush (R) and McConnell himself to the American people.

All men and women who die in service to their country in whatever capacity do so in great honor. It’s simply a shame that a wicked commander-in-chief ordered them into harm’s way for a mission he knew to be a lie.

Here’s a powerful installment from Senate2008Guru:

Mitch McConnell Doesn’t Know Sacrifice

Kentucky: By now, we’ve all heard about Mitch McConnell’s abhorrent comment on courageous soldiers dying in Iraq:

Nobody is happy about losing lives but remember these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.

Well, somebody who knows something about military service and sacrifice, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Horne, has responded to McConnell’s repugnant comment:

“I would say that Mitch McConnell owes every member of our service and the families of the fallen an apology, but no apology from him can take back the venom he has spewed at our troops, this time. For anyone to believe that casualties of war are somehow more acceptable because they were not draftees is disgusting. For the Republican leader in the United States Senate to say that is beyond repugnant.”

“This is just Mitch McConnell once again demonstrating that he has no idea of - and has no interest in learning - what our troops have sacrificed. Whether it is filibustering a bill that would give proper time at home for our overextended troops, or voting against increased funds to take care of veterans who have come home, Mitch McConnell has shown nothing more than complete ignorance about our military and those who serve our nation in it.”

“To my fellow service members and veterans, let me apologize on behalf of Kentucky for Senator McConnell’s putrid comments. He most certainly does not represent our views, nor the high regard in which we hold you and your families.”

The next time Mitch McConnell goes to Fort Campbell for a photo op, maybe he’ll think of some of these names.

# 9/10/07: Pfc. Sammie E. Phillips, 19, of Cecilia, Ky., died Sept. 10 in Rustamiyah, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery, Kentucky Army National Guard, Carlisle, Ky.

# 9/2/07: Staff Sgt. Delmar White, 37, of Wallins, Ky., died Sept. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery, Kentucky Army National Guard, Carrollton, Ky.

# 7/24/07: Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, 20, of Louisville, Ky., died July 24 while conducting combat operations in Diyala province, Iraq. Lynch was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

# 6/19/07: Sgt. 1st Class William A. Zapfe, 35, of Muldraugh, Ky., died June 19 in Muhammad al Ali, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. Zapfe was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

# 5/30/07: Pfc. Joshua M. Moore, 20, of Russellville, Ky., died May 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

# 5/4/07: Staff Sgt. Christopher N. Hamlin, 24, of London, Ky., died May 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations May 4 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

# 4/6/07: Chief Petty Officer Gregory J. Billiter, 36, of Villa Hills, Ky., died April 6 from enemy action while conducting combat operations near Kirkuk, Iraq.

# 4/4/07: Cpl. Joseph H. Cantrell IV, 23, of Ashland, Ky., died from wounds suffered Apr. 4 in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

# 4/1/07: Spc. William G. Bowling, 24, of Beattyville, Ky., died April 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

# 1/15/07: Sgt. John E. Cooper, 29, of Ewing, Ky., died Jan 15 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

# 1/5/07: Maj. Michael L. Mundell, 47, of Brandenburg, Ky., died Jan. 5 in Fallujah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. Mundell was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 108th Division (Institutional Training), Spartanburg, S.C.

# 12/10/06: Staff Sgt. Thomas W. Clemons, 37, of Leitchfield, Ky., died Dec. 10 in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, from a non-combat health-related incident. Clemons was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor, Leitchfield, Ky.

# 12/4/06: Lance Cpl. Thomas P. Echols, 20, of Shepherdsville, Ky., died Dec. 4 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

# 10/25/06: Lance Cpl. Jonathan B. Thornsberry, 22, of McDowell, Ky., died Oct. 25 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Johnson City, Tenn.

# 10/17/06: Staff Sgt. Garth D. Sizemore, 31, of Mount Sterling, Ky., died Oct. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries suffered when his patrol came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. Sizemore was assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

# 10/8/06: Spec. Timothy A. Fulkerson, 20, of Utica, Ky., who died Oct. 8 in Tikrit, Iraq, when a landmine detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. Fulkerson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

# 9/23/06: Spc. Windell J. Simmons, 20, of Hopkinsville, Ky., died of injuries suffered in Taji, Iraq, on Sept.23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Simmons was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

# 8/29/06: Cpl. Christopher T. Warndorf, 21, of Burlington, Ky., died Aug. 29 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

# 5/16/06: Staff Sgt. Santiago M. Halsel, 32, of Bowling Green, Ky., died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 16, when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a dismounted clearance mission during combat operations. Halsel was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

# 4/23/06: Sgt. Robert W. Ehney, 26, of Lexington, Ky., died of injuries sustained in Taji, Iraq, on April 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. He was assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

# 4/19/06: Pfc. Robert J. Settle, 25, of Owensboro, Ky., died in Taji, Iraq, on April 19, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Settle was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

# 4/16/06: Master Sgt. Clinton W. Cubert, 38, of Lawrenceburg, Ky., died on April 16, in the Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, Ky., of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq, on Sept. 11, 2005. Cubert was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 2113th Transportation Company, Paducah, Ky.

# 4/15/06: Lance Cpl. Justin D. Sims, 22, of Covington, Ky., died April 15 when his HMMWV struck an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Sims was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

# 4/10/06: Spc. James W. Gardner, 22, of Glasgow, Ky., died in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 10, from a non-combat related cause. Gardner was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

# 2/3/06: Sgt. 1st Class Lance S. Cornett, 33, of London, Ky., died in the vicinity of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Feb. 3, of injuries sustained earlier that day while engaging enemy forces. Cornett was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

# 2/2/06: Pfc. Scott A. Messer, 26, of Ashland, Ky., died in Ashraf, Iraq, on Feb. 2, when his HMMWV accidentally rolled over during convoy operations. Messer was assigned to the Army’s 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

# 1/1/06: Sgt. 1st Class Jason L. Bishop, 31, ofWilliamstown, Ky., died in As Siniyah, Iraq, on Jan. 1, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

# 9/20/05: Staff Sgt. William A. Allers III, 28, of Leitchfield, Ky., died in the vicinity of Khalis, north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle. Allers was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 198th Military Police Battalion, 75th Troop Command, Louisville, Ky.

# 9/16/05: Sgt. Matthew L. Deckard, 29, of Elizabethtown, Ky., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 16, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank during patrol operations. Deckard was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

# 8/31/05: Spc. Jason E. Ames, 21, of Cerulean, Ky., died on Aug. 31, 2005, in Mosul, Iraq, from non-combat related injuries. Ames was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

# 8/6/05: Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, 21, of Lexington, Ky., died Aug. 6 as a result of an explosion from a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Amiriyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

# 8/5/05: Sgt. 1st Class Robert V. Derenda, 42, of Ledbetter, Ky., died on August 5, 2005, in Rubiah, Iraq, when a civilian fuel truck collided with his HMMWV while performing a convoy mission. Derenda was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve’s 1st Brigade, 98th Division, Rochester, N.Y.

# 7/17/05: Spc. Ronnie D. Williams, 26, of Erlanger, Ky., died on July 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on July 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his M1A2 Abrams tank left the road and entered a canal during patrol operations. Williams was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.

# 7/3/05: Spc. Ryan J. Montgomery, 22, of Greensburg, Ky., died July 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while his unit was conducting convoy operations. Montgomery was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery Regiment, Campbellsville, Ky.

# 6/23/05: Sgt. Joseph M. Tackett, 22, of Whitehouse, Ky., died June 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. Tackett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

# 6/23/05: Sgt. 1st Class Christopher W. Phelps, 39, of Louisville, Ky., died June 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Phelps was assigned to the Army’s 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.

# 6/14/05: Pfc. Michael R. Hayes, 29, of Morgantown, Ky., died June 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a rocket-propelled grenade hit his HMMWV while he was providing security cordon for an improvised explosive device found earlier. Hayes was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company, Richmond, Ky.

# 5/25/05: Sgt. David N. Wimberg, 24, of Louisville, Ky., died May 25 from wounds received as a result of small-arms fire from enemy forces while conducting combat operations in Hadithah, Iraq. Wimberg was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Columbus, Ohio. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

# 5/7/05: Petty Officer Third Class Jeffery L. Wiener, 32, of Louisville, Ky., died May 7, in a combat related incident. Weiner was a Navy hospital corpsman assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF).

# 4/3/05: Sgt. James A. Sherrill, 27, of Ekron, Ky., died April 3, in Bayji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Sherrill was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 2113th Transportation Company, Paducah, Ky.

# 3/30/05: Spc. Eric L. Toth, 21, of Edmonton, Ky., died March 30 on a supply route when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Toth was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery Regiment, Tompkinsville, Ky.

# 3/19/05: Spc. Jonathan A. Hughes, 21, of Lebanon, Ky., died March 19 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Hughes was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery Regiment, Campbellsville, Ky.

# 11/16/04: Sgt. Christopher T. Heflin, 26, of Paducah, Ky., died Nov. 16 as result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Heflin was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.

# 11/7/04: Lance Cpl. Sean M. Langley, 20, of Lexington, Ky., died Nov. 7 from injuries received as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Langley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

# 10/28/04: Pfc. Stephen P. Downing II, 30, of Burkesville, Ky., died Oct. 28 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, from small arms fire while conducting combat operations. Downing was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, Camp Hovey, Korea.

# 9/29/04: Pfc. Joshua K. Titcomb, 20, of Somerset, Ky., died Sept. 29 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained on September 28 when an improvised explosive device exploded near his military vehicle. Titcomb was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, Korea.

# 6/21/04: Lance Cpl. Deshon E. Otey, 24, of Hardin, Ky., died June 21 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

# 5/14/04: Sgt. James W. Harlan, 44, of Owensboro, Ky., died May 14 at Camp Anaconda, Iraq, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb next to his vehicle. Harlan was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 660th Transportation Company, 88th Regional Readiness Command, Zanesville, Ohio.

# 4/17/04: 1st Lt. Robert L. Henderson, II, 33, of Alvaton, Ky., died April 17, in, Diwaniyah, Iraq, when his convoy tried to avoid an overturned trailer and came under small arms attack. 1st Lt. Henderson was assigned to the Army National Guard’s Detachment 1, 2123rd Transportation Company, Owensboro, Ky.

# 4/8/04: Cpl. Nicholas J. Dieruf, 21, of Versailles, Ky., died April 8 due to injuries received from enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

# 4/7/04: Staff Sgt. George S. Rentschler, 31, of Louisville, Ky., died, April 7, in Baghdad, Iraq, when his military vehicle was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. Rentschler was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

# 2/19/04: 2nd Lt. Jeffrey C. Graham, 24, of Elizabethtown, Ky., died of injuries sustained from small arms fire and an improvised explosive device attack.

# 1/27/04: Sgt. 1st Class James T. Hoffman, 41, of Whitesburg, Ky., was killed on Jan. 27 in an improvised explosive device attack in Khalidiyah, just east of Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

# 11/21/03: Cpl. Gary B. Coleman, 24, of Pikeville, Ky., was killed on Nov. 21 in Balad, Iraq. Coleman was on patrol when the vehicle he was driving flipped over into a canal trapping him inside the vehicle. Coleman was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), based in Fort Carson, Colo.

# 11/15/03: Sgt. Michael D. Acklin II, 25, of Louisville, Ky., was killed on Nov. 15 when two 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Mosul, Iraq. Acklin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

# 10/12/03: Spc. James E. Powell, 26, of Radcliff, Ky., was killed on October 12 in Baji, Iraq. Powell was killed when his M2/A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle struck an enemy anti-tank mine. He died as a result of his injuries.

# 9/29/03: Sgt. Darrin K. Potter, 24, of Louisville, Ky., was killed on Sept. 29 near Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq. Potter was a member of a military police team searching the prison area. During the search, his vehicle left the road and went into a canal. SGT Potter died in the vehicle. Two other soldiers escaped.

• Andrew Horne , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(3)

Joe Sonka December 7th, 2007

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)

Here's Andrew Horne's reaction to Mitch McConnell's disgusting statement about our troops' deaths:

"I would say that Mitch McConnell owes every member of our service and the families of the fallen an apology, but no apology from him can take back the venom he has spewed at our troops, this time. For anyone to believe that casualties of war are somehow more acceptable because they were not draftees is disgusting. For the Republican leader in the United States Senate to say that is beyond repugnant."

"This is just Mitch McConnell once again demonstrating that he has no idea of - and has no interest in learning - what our troops have sacrificed. Whether it is filibustering a bill that would give proper time at home for our overextended troops, or voting against increased funds to take care of veterans who have come home, Mitch McConnell has shown nothing more than complete ignorance about our military and those who serve our nation in it."

"To my fellow service members and veterans, let me apologize on behalf of Kentucky for Senator McConnell's putrid comments. He most certainly does not represent our views, nor the high regard in which we hold you and your families."

Here, here.

• Andrew Horne , Mitch McConnell
• Comments(6)

Matt Gunterman November 25th, 2007

This week in the Kentucky blogosphere, mainly on the left but also on the right, controversy erupted around the political jockeying that’s taking place at this very moment to become the Democratic candidate to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) in 2008.

Whatever the behind-the-scenes reality, appearances are that some people with power and influence in Democratic circles in the state and national party and the state and national blogosphere are lining up behind State Auditor Crit Luallen (D) in an attempt to muscle out other potential candidates from a Democratic primary, namely Attorney General Greg Stumbo (D) and Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D).

As one insider told me in a Friday-night conversation, it’s generally understood that a few Luallen supporters are out there making “assholes” of themselves and in the process, in my opinion, are doing a disservice to their favored candidate among the state’s grassroots.

So, in the context of the workings of these aforementioned and institutionally recognized assholes, came earlier this week the rather odd coincidence that, when reporting on the freshly released and newsworthily dismal approval ratings of Sen. McConnell, national bloggers Kos of Daily Kos and Jonathan Singer of MyDD, simultaneously chose to highlight the draft movement for Crit Luallen while entirely ignoring the far more official candidacy of Greg Stumbo and the strong grassroots movement to draft Andrew Horne.

Again, whatever the reality, it very much appeared that Kos and Singer were participating in a coordinated effort to paint Stumbo and Horne out of the picture.

Add to the Kos and Singer episode the fact that Liz Fossett, a northern Kentucky native and student at Georgetown University who is coordinator of the Draft Crit website, appears to have been participating in a trolling operation that targeted the comments sections of neutral or non-Crit aligned blogs using the handles Kim, Katie, and Kati.

The principle outlets were this blog, PageOneKentucky, BlueGrassRoots, and Rural Democrat. The principle targets of the trash talking were Andrew Horne and Joe Sonka of BlueGrassRoots and DitchMitchKY, who was accused of being a “bought” blogger.

Now, trolling and vindictiveness in the comments of blogs has been with us since the beginning and I predict it will be with us until the end, but if you are a person leading a draft movement for a candidate, it’s wisest not to participate in that behavior.

When confronted with the evidence of the trolling efforts, Ms. Fossett wrote a mea culpa of sorts in a diary at BlueGrassRoots. While Ms. Fossett admits that the various inflammatory comments did come from a single IP address that is a computer in her family’s home in northern Kentucky, she denies that she wrote the comments. Instead, it is her contention that other people in this household participated in the digital flogging. I myself find this scenario difficult to believe.

I personally want to say that I like and respect all the potential Democratic candidates for this race. I deeply admire the fight within and political conviction of Greg Stumbo and am thankful for the personal encouragement he gave him in my own campaign for county judge/executive in 2006. For me Stumbo appeals to my working class roots, and I believe he has a strong and guiding sense of fairness.

I have never met Andrew Horne in person, but I have many good friends who are his die-hard supporters. Many people in his extended political network have helped in nurturing this blog along and have aided efforts across the state to highlight the miserable record of Mitch McConnell.

I met Crit Luallen at Fancy Farm this August, where she gave two invigorating and rousing speeches, one at the Democratic breakfast and the other on stage at the picnic itself.

All three of these people would make fine candidates against Sen. McConnell.

I believe that if one looks at the field objectively and takes into consideration what is likely to be the political environment and national mood of 2008, then one is forced to admit that, on the whole, none of these candidates stands measurably above the rest in his or her potential against McConnell.

Each has his or her strengths and, likewise, weaknesses. Yet, there are examples from 2006 of Democrats very much like Stumbo, Horne, and Luallen all defeating Republican incumbents in the Senate. In Rhode Island former state attorney general Sheldon Whitehouse (D), whose tenure in that office had not been uncontroversial, defeated Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R). In Virginia former Marine Jim Webb (D), who had never before held elected office, took down George Allen (R), and in Missouri state auditor Claire McCaskill (D) defeated Jim Talent (R).

While none of our potential Democratic candidates in Kentucky are perfect, it’s important to keep in mind that not even the perfect candidate is guaranteed to beat Mitch McConnell, who himself is about as far from perfect as a human being can be.

We aren’t striving for perfection in our candidate. We’re striving to find a candidate and a message that we can rally 50 percent plus one of the voters around on November 4, 2008.

I see no problems if all three candidates run. I think the eventual nominee would be stronger for having gone through a competitive, issue-based primary.

Kentucky Democrats have proven over the course of the last two years that they can indeed run against one another in primaries and rally around the eventual winners.

Horne and his supporters were enthusiastic supporters of Rep. John Yarmuth (D) in November 2006. The 2007 Democratic gubernatorial primary was generally well behaved, and Stumbo was gracious in coming up short of victory there. For Luallen, having to run a competitive statewide primary would help her demonstrate that she can campaign hard to corners of the grassroots that see her 2003 effort as weak and her 2007 contest as far from baptism-by-fire.

In the end it will be much easier for Kentucky Democrats of every stripe to rally around the eventual nominee if each knows his or her candidate was beaten fair and square at the ballot box. It does more harm than good to pressure potential candidates out of the Democratic primary because the supporters of those candidates would rightly feel cheated.

They would rightly feel cheated because allowing that to happen would be an example of Democrats with much individual power and influence stopping Democrats with little individual power and influence from exercising what little power and influence they do have. For the latter category, the ballot box serves as their chief means to express political will.

It’s naïve to think that people with power and influence will ever stop trying to use their advantages to game the system, but the rest of us can better organize to resist them.

And that’s what’s going on.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Crit Luallen , Greg Stumbo
• Comments(11)

Matt Gunterman November 20th, 2007

So the new Survey USA numbers come out today showing that McConnell’s approval is tanking, and several national bloggers pick up on what should be a purely happy and schadenfreude-filled story for all parties concerned with the effort to banish Mitch McConnell (R) from the halls of congress.

Unfortunately, many of those big-name bloggers took the good news and managed to alienate needlessly a significant portion of the grassroots in Kentucky with it. Of particular note are Kos of DailyKos and Jonathan Singer of MyDD who ended their posts on the matter with nearly identical lines. To quote Singer, “If you want to help turn up the heat on McConnell, head over to DraftCrit.com — which is seeking to get Democratic state Auditor Crit Luallen to run for the Senate — to get involved.”

Now, everybody here knows that Crit Luallen (D) isn’t the only Democrat considering a run against Mitch McConnell. Attorney General Greg Stumbo (D) and Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D) are actively doing so, as well. Everybody knows that; it’s been talked about for months now.

And since everybody knows that, that’s what makes the singular focus of Kos and Singer on the draft Luallen movement (which is by no means a bottom-up, grassroots effort; it’s entirely driven by the Kentucky Democratic establishment) a blatant dissing of Stumbo, Horne, and their respective supporters.

DitchMitchKY as a blog has remained neutral among these various Democrats, while pretty much every other major blog has picked its pony. Only nice things have been said about the serious potential candidates here, from Charlie Owen (D), to Stumbo, Horne, and Luallen. No matter who the eventual Democratic nominee is against McConnell, this blog will enthusiastically support him or her. Our mission here is simply to ditch Mitch.

I have my own opinions about which candidate might be best at making that goal a reality, and I have my own opinions about the individual strengths and weaknesses of the potential candidates. I’m keeping those to myself, however, and we are using this platform to inform and edify the people who find their way here.

And, you know what? This nation and its progressives will rally around whichever Democrat is the eventual nominee. That’s a fact. So, Kos, Singer, and the like achieve absolutely nothing positive in thumbing their digital noses at Stumbo and Horne supporters. This race is for Kentucky Democrats to decide. The one thing they did achieve (along with whoever is encouraging them to focus solely on Luallen at this stage) is to tick off a lot — and I mean a lot — of Kentucky progressive activists.

No-one’s saying that honest discussion and handicapping of the candidates isn’t appropriate, but to ignore that the other candidates are in the race is simple arrogance. All supporters of the other candidates are asking is for a little respect for the Democratic process and for their candidates.

And by offering only implicit disrespect, these national bloggers are doing the budding Kentucky progressive movement no good.

UPDATE(Wed. 1:00pm ET): I retract my use of the word “entirely” above when speaking of Crit Luallen’s draft movement being a Kentucky Democratic establishment phenomenon. That’s simply not the case. I should have written “significantly”.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Charlie Owen , Crit Luallen , Greg Stumbo
• Comments(36)

Matt Gunterman October 28th, 2007

You no doubt all seen the new Herald-Leader commissioned poll that finds the support of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) to continue its fast-paced erosion.

In short, it finds that McConnell’s unpopularity is now surpassing his popularity, and that all his potential Democratic opponents are sitting very pretty a year out from the election.

Here’s the quick breakdown:

McConnell v. Chandler: 46/41
McConnell v. Luallen: 45/40
McConnell v. Stumbo: 46/37
McConnell v. Horne: 45/34

What are the most telling findings of the polling?

First, that McConnell never gets above 46 percent support against any of the Democrats. Second, that that’s the case even against Horne, whose inclusion in the polling essentially represents — because of what I suspect is low name recognition across the state — the equivalent of “generic Democrat.” A majority of Kentuckians don’t want to vote for McConnell.

What’s the most inane comment in the H-L article? This one from Danny Briscoe:

[...]

Although Chandler and Luallen showed the same deficit to McConnell, Chandler is better off because he’s already endured barrages of harsh ads during the 2003 election, said Danny Briscoe, a Democratic campaign consultant.

“Ben Chandler’s had millions of dollars attacking him, Crit Luallen’s never taken a punch,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine if she had millions attacking her that she’d be in the position she’s in now.”

[...]

This makes no sense. Then why is Chandler sitting in the position he’s sitting in, even after the millions of dollars spent attacking him? Are we to imagine that negative advertising takes a person a set distance from some base? Did Chandler start professional life at something like 70 percent, and after decades of negative advertising he’s been eroded to 41 percent against McConnell? Because, you know, there’s never been a case in all of electoral history where a challenger defeated an incumbent by surviving (and actually gaining popularity) in the face of his or her rival’s relentless negative attacks.

Where do they find these inane people?

Plus, I’ve heard lots of people argue — and not that I agree with it — that a strength of a Luallen candidacy is that it’s harder to relentlessly attack a woman. I’m not so sure about that. It might be hard to attack them in the conventional sense, but there are ways of undermining people’s confidence by playing on stereotypes, whisper campaigns, and the like.

The thing to keep in mind here, I think, is the case of Sen. Jim Webb (D) of Virginia. In 2006, Webb’s incumbent opponent Sen. George Allen (R) outspent Webb $19 million to $8.5 million.

In June of 2006, six months out from the election, Webb still trailed Allen 56 percent to 37 percent.

So, neither Horne, Stumbo, Luallen, or Chandler is in a bad position.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Ben Chandler , Crit Luallen , Greg Stumbo , Jim Webb , Mitch McConnell , Opinion Polls
• Comments(4)

Matt Gunterman October 3rd, 2007

A message from Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D):

I know that many people are extremely focused on the Iraq War and the defeat of Mitch McConnell in 2008. But in the next 5 weeks we can do more to replace Mitch [and maybe a few Congressmen] than we have been able to do all year.

Electing strong Anti-Iraq Democrats is the best way to get us out of Iraq and electing Steve Beshear, Daniel Mongiardo, Jack Conway and all our Democratic Party Candidates with an overwhelming mandate is the best way to do that. Right now the Kentucky Democratic Party is building voter files as never before using a state of the art targeting system that will
revolutionize grass roots politics.

BUT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN WE NEED YOU.

Only grass roots volunteers can make the calls and walk the ground to get the job done just as volunteers have brought so much pressure on Mitch McConnell.

Please contact Lisa Tanner for the coordinated campaign. Lisa can give you the location of one of a dozen call centers across the state [there is one near you] where you can plug in and make a difference, or pick-up walk packets and walk your neighborhood.

I know that focusing on the current races can seem to be far a field from the Iraq debate or Ditching Mitch, but we must fight smart if we are to win this fight. The race for Governor is a key battle in the campaign to take back our country. Just yesterday MoveOn.org announced that it is sending several workers to Kentucky to focus on this November’s races. We can do no less. Steph and I have already walked several precincts in Louisville and are making calls the next five Mondays.

Join us.

Semper Fidelis,

Lt. Col. Andrew J. Horne

“A House divided against itself cannot stand.”

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Gubernatorial race '07
• Comments(1)

Jim Pence September 21st, 2007

Louisville, KY 09.21.07 – Today Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (Ret.), Spc. Brian Smith, Sgt. Bill Zubaty, Kentucky veterans and military families gathered outside Senator Mitch McConnell’s Louisville office to protest his continued support for President Bush’s failed Iraq war policy. Kentuckians are urging Sen. McConnell to stand up to President Bush and vote to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq.
Sen. McConnell once again blocked an end to the war today, voting against legislation offered by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI). The measure was an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization bill, would have begun the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq within 90 days and wrapped up the process within nine months.

• Andrew Horne , Bill Zubaty , Brian Smith , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell , Video , Youtube
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Jim Pence September 21st, 2007

• Andrew Horne , Video , Youtube
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Joe Sonka September 21st, 2007

Everybody in Louisville: There’s a big protest today at 4:30 outside of Mitch McConnell’s Louisville office to protest his recent votes to continue the Iraq war. Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, veterans and military families will be there to let Mitch know that this rubber-stamping of Bush’s folly will not stand.

Office of Sen. Mitch McConnell
Mazzoli Federal Building
601 W. Broadway
Louisville, KY 40202

Here are the details:

Louisville, KY – Today Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (Ret.), Spc. Brian Smith, Sgt. Bill Zubeaty, Kentucky veterans and military families will gather outside Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Louisville office to protest his continued support for President Bush’s failed Iraq war policy. Kentuckians are urging Sen. McConnell to stand up to President Bush and vote to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq.

Sen. McConnell once again blocked an end to the war today, voting against legislation offered by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI). The measure was an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization bill, would have begun the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq within 90 days and wrapped up the process within nine months.

Even before today’s vote, Sen. McConnell has been feeling the heat from his constituents for his continued support of the President’s reckless Iraq war policy. A recent poll by the Lexington Herald-Leader and Action News 36 showed that majority of Kentuckians – 55 percent of those polled – oppose Sen. McConnell’s continued support for the war and 57 percent said the cost of the war has been too high in terms of expense and loss of life. The poll also indicates that his reckless Iraq position is hurting Sen. McConnell’s credibility with Kentuckians: his approval rating has sunk to 47 percent, with 44 percent disapproving.

GET OUT THERE AND LET MITCH KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!

• Action! , Andrew Horne , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell
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Jim Pence September 20th, 2007

• Andrew Horne , Blackwater , Video , Youtube
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Matt Gunterman September 13th, 2007

Bob Moser’s excellent analysis of the development of the movement to support the troops, end the war, and ditch Senator Mitch McConnell (R) has hit the stands.

The piece is too long to block quote here, but I’ll include excerpts particularly relevant to the Kentucky progressive blogosphere. You can read the entire article here.

Kentucky at War
Bob Moser

[...]

As summer–and McConnell’s recess vacation–approached, two new sets of nontraditional allies materialized to help LPAC bird-dog the senator, who makes his home in Louisville with his wife, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. Matt Gunterman, a 30-year-old rural Kentucky native and Yale University graduate student, launched the DitchMitch blog earlier in the year, bringing together a varied band of bloggers from around the state on a composite site with a common goal. And in June, two young native Kentuckians and a Navy veteran opened an Iraq Summer headquarters in Louisville, part of a national campaign by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) to target key members of Congress with a homegrown antiwar message before they returned to Washington to resume the war debate.

By mid-August McConnell was sending out fundraising letters complaining about being harassed by “the ’60s antiwar movement on steroids.” But as the Republican kingmaker well knew, the reality was something altogether different from that old stereotype–and considerably more formidable.

Jim Pence is a 68-year-old, Salem-smoking, pickup-driving, self-proclaimed hillbilly from economically devastated Hardin County, retired after thirty-five years in the factory at the American Synthetic Rubber Corporation. Politically inactive until 2004, when Bush’s re-election and the war in Iraq spurred him to “vow to fight with every ounce of my strength from then on,” Pence now makes some of the freshest, funniest antiwar and political videos anywhere–and as a result, he’s become the unlikely heart and soul of Kentucky’s DitchMitch campaign.

Linking from his own Hillbilly Report website to DitchMitch and YouTube, Pence puts up snappy vignettes on subjects ranging from Kentucky’s annual bipartisan political hoedown at Fancy Farm–where McConnell made a hasty exit this year after being jeered by protesters carrying signs showing him as Bush’s hand puppet–to a fanciful take on Bush and Condoleezza Rice’s relationship, set to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” to a hard-hitting series of exposés of liquor-industry fundraising by Ron Lewis, the holy-rolling Congressman from Pence’s district. “I don’t know, I just disappear into them,” Pence says on a dog-day August morning, navigating Louisville traffic en route to the Iraq Summer office. “I stay up some nights till 4 and 5, editing these things.”

DitchMitch creator Gunterman, whose postgraduate goal is to fire up an Internet-based “Ruralution,” connecting grassroots progressives from rural America to spur political action, sees Pence as a prime example of the passion and wit that generally go untapped by Democrats and urban progressives. “There’s no one like Jim in the entire United States,” says Gunterman. “Not with his age and his ornery attitude. He is very much a hillbilly, and he’s reinvigorated the term.”

In his three years of crisscrossing Kentucky to publicize its antiwar and progressive insurgencies, Pence has also stirred up the state’s traditionally timid left-wingers. “When I first went out with my camcorder, I’d go up to people at peace rallies and ask them, ‘Would you like to say something to Mitch?’ and they’d just go, ‘Uhhh…’ Or even if they would say anything, they’d say, ‘But I don’t want my picture taken.’ I just kept saying, ‘The newspaper’s not even going to cover this, and if TV does, it’ll be for ten seconds. Whereas this video’s going up on YouTube tomorrow.’” As Pence kept filming and posting his increasingly popular videos, the activists opened up and embraced this new mechanism for showing that, yes, the military stronghold of Kentucky has a vigorous antiwar effort. “People are stepping out more than they would a few years ago,” Pence says. “Now I can’t get them to stop talking when they see that camera. People know me now, and for the most part they trust me–whether or not they should!”

While Pence and DitchMitch have inspirited Kentucky activists, they’ve also pushed the state’s more established media to take notice of the progressive groundswell. “DitchMitch gives us the power to hold the media accountable in Kentucky for the first time,” says 24-year-old Shawn Dixon, a native of rural western Kentucky who’s just started his first year at NYU law school. In 2004, when Dixon was working as deputy policy and communications director for Democrat Daniel Mongiardo’s uphill Senate challenge to Republican Jim Bunning, he spent much of the campaign in a state of frustration over Kentucky newspapers’ assumption that the incumbent would cruise to victory. “There was no recognition that this would be a competitive election and that this guy was beatable until about a month before the election, when it became impossible to ignore.” Bunning wobbled back to Washington with a slender 23,000-vote victory, but this time around, with LPAC continually raising eyebrows and DitchMitch helping to popularize the anti-McConnell movement, “the media don’t have a choice,” Dixon says. On the same day in late July that Louisville’s Courier-Journal ran a column about McConnell’s dip in popularity (below 50 percent approval), the Herald-Leader in Lexington ran a story, sixteen months before the election, titled “McConnell Vulnerable.”

That’s music to Pence’s ears. “It’s not just what he’s done to perpetuate this war,” says the high-tech hillbilly. “It’s what he hasn’t done for Kentuckians, with all his power, on healthcare and so many other issues that really matter to folks at their kitchen tables. We’re trying to cut through the kind of moral-values crap that McConnell’s been using for twenty-five years to get himself elected. We’re doing what we can to show the emperors without their clothes. And show that the folks who don’t like Mitch, and can’t stand this war, are just regular people like me who finally woke up and spoke up.”

[...]

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Americans Against Escalation in Iraq , Andrew Horne , Aniello Alioto , Ditch Mitch , Ditch Mitch Singers , DitchMitchKY.com , Elaine Chao , Fancy Farm 2007 , George W. Bush , Iraq Summer , Iraq War , Jim Bunning , Jim Pence , John Yarmuth , KY Blogosphere , Kentucky , Kentucky Blogosphere , Matt Gunterman , Mitch McConnell , Republican Fascism , Republican Party Decline , Republican Scandal , Ron Lewis , Rural America , Ruralution , Shawn Dixon , U.S. Senate , VoteVets , War
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Matt Gunterman September 12th, 2007

Coming to a newsstand near you: The Nation with Bob Moser’s cover story entitled “Kentucky at War,” which examines Kentucky’s progressive grassroots community and how it’s reshaping the political and ideological landscapes of that state — and doing so outside the rigid, tepid, and unresponsive party structures.

It’s gonna be a hell of a read!

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Americans Against Escalation in Iraq , Andrew Horne , Aniello Alioto , Ann Northup , Blogging , Daniel Mongiardo , Ditch Mitch , Ditch Mitch Singers , DitchMitchKY.com , Family Values , Fancy Farm 2007 , George W. Bush , Gubernatorial race '07 , Immigration , Iraq Summer , Iraq War , Jim Pence , John Yarmuth , KY Blogosphere , Kentucky , Kentucky Blogosphere , Matt Gunterman , Military Service , Mitch McConnell , Republican Party Decline , Republican Scandal , Rural America , Ruralution , Shawn Dixon , U.S. Senate
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Joe Sonka September 6th, 2007

Daniel Solzman of The Kentucky Democrat has a great interview with Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, who has been quite active this summer with Vote Vets, assisting the Iraq Summer Campaign, and continuing to pressure Mitch McConnell on his rubber stamping of Bush’s failed Iraq policy.

Some interesting comments in the interview, such as his discussion on how KY blogs have been able to coordinate with activists, using the wildly successful protests at Bellarmine, Mitch’s apartment and Berea as examples. He also discusses the 2008 race against McConnell, and what it would take to get him to join Stumbo in the Democratic primary next Spring.

Some excerpts:

DS: Did you ever outreach to bloggers on Kos or MyDD during your campaign? Also, do you have any thoughts on the way that blogs have revolutionized politics altogether?
AH: During the campaign I never personally initiated contact directly with any bloggers. I had some contact me and I know my supporters were very active in that regard.

I was and still am impressed with the way the blogs can disseminate information in a way that mobilizes people. However, there are blogs where the participants are simply talking but not getting involved. The important synergy is between the blogs and grass roots that can turn words into passion and then into action. A good example is the Iraq Summer Campaign. The blogs disseminated information across the state and the nation so that a small group of people in Berea, KY knew they were not alone in opposing the war and challenging McConnell to bring a responsible end to it. I have no doubt that some of those 100 people in Berea were there because they heard about 800 people in Louisville, KY or 400 in Boise, Idaho, or one of the other 40+ locations across the nation. That would not have happened without the blogs. The people in Berea did not hear about other events through the traditional media and would not have heard or seen the passion without YouTube and the blogs. I believe this trend will only continue as people who participated in the Iraq Summer Campaign and other similar causes adapt these tactics to their own agenda. I would call it non-linear activism.

…..

AH: If the right race comes around I am not done in politics. Regarding 2008 against McConnell, the encouragement I am getting is humbling but that is a race that should not be taken on lightly. Because of the amount and breadth of support I am getting I will take a very serious look at it, but in the end I will base my decision on what is best for my family and whether my candidacy will be in the interests of the people.

The entire interview is at The Kentucky Democrat.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Action! , Americans Against Escalation in Iraq , Andrew Horne , Blogging , Ditch Mitch , DitchMitchKY.com , Greg Stumbo , Iraq Summer , Iraq War , KY Blogosphere , Kentucky , Kentucky Blogosphere , Kentucky Dems , Mitch McConnell , VoteVets , War
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Joe Sonka August 17th, 2007

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)

Lt. Col. Andrew Horne was on MSNBC last night, speaking about the 26-year high in suicides rates among soldiers. It is an absolute tragedy the way our government has treated our soldiers, those willing to give their lives in order to protect our country. From a government that started the war on political calculation and deception, to the abysmal planning and comprehension of the type of warfare our troops would be faced with, to the stubbornness of our president and Congress to admit their errors and set up an exit strategy, to the continual deployment of soldiers for their FOURTH tour of duty already. They deserved better.

And Mitch McConnell has been there rubber-stamping Bush’s folly the entire way. Filibustering timetables, and even worse, filibustering the Webb Amendment to give our troops the proper rest and rotation between tours of duty that they deserve. This is what is causing so much strain on our troops. They are continually torn away from their families in order to be thrown into the middle of a religious civil war in intense and confusing urban warfare. The stress this has caused is just staggering. Last year 99 active duty soldiers in the Army killed themselves and over 900 tried to kill themselves.

But Mitch McConnell would rather filibuster legislation to restore proper troop rotation. Sick.

And once again, it’s great to see a prominent KY public figure standing up for our troops. Kudos to Horne. I really wish he would have some more help from our public officials.

• 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne , Filibuster , George W. Bush , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell , TV Interviews , VoteVets , War
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