Pol Watchers

Fancy Farm could be presidential campaign affair

By Ryan Alessi
ralessi@herald-leader.com

The Fancy Farm picnic is Aug. 2 on the grounds of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Fancy Farm in far Western Kentucky. The picnic, which features an $8 lunch at the Knights of Columbus building, begins at 10 a.m. CDT. Candidates speak at 2 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is considering a cameo appearance at this August's Fancy Farm picnic in Western Kentucky, which would add national flair to the storied political event.

Talks between the campaign and picnic organizers heated up Friday, with Obama aides calling twice that morning to check on logistical details, said Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the annual event that's famous for its smoky barbecue as well as its spicy political speaking and theatrics.

”They think the chances are better than 50-50 that he'll come,“ Wilson said. ”They're definitely mulling it around in a serious way.“

The Obama campaign wouldn't confirm interest in the event, saying only that the Illinois senator's schedule isn't set more than five days in advance.

But Wilson said he has talked with a campaign spokesman, whom he declined to name, several times over the last month, including the two conversations Friday.

”They wanted to know the size of the crowds for the political speaking in a normal year and what could be expected if he speaks — just some general stuff,“ he said.

Most years, the picnic usually attracts about 10,000 people, but that could easily exceed 15,000 with a presidential candidate on hand, Wilson said.

Reporters from across Kentucky make the trip annually, but they could be joined by those from Nashville, nearby Cape Girardeau, Mo., southern Illinois and even southern Indiana.

And Obama might not be the only presidential contender interested.

Wilson said Republican Party of Kentucky spokeswoman Andi Johnson has called to get information in case Republican candidate John McCain decides to go.

”They're working on Sen. ­McCain and want us to keep them posted on the Obama side, too,“ Wilson said.

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McCain praised by old adversary

By Anna Tong
atong@herald-leader.com

LOUISVILLE — Putting old differences behind them, U.S. Sens. John McCain and Mitch McConnell buddied it up Saturday evening in Louisville at a record-setting fund-raiser.

About 650 of Kentucky's most influential Republicans — and a few Democrats — attended the $1,000 per plate event at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Organizers said the total raised was $2 million.

This was the first time McConnell — who is up for re-election this fall — and McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, have campaigned together in Kentucky, said the event's chairman J. Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist for Peritus Public Relations.

Jennings said that is the most money ever raised at a presidential-level fund-raiser in Kentucky.

The $2 million will be divided among the Republican National Committee, John McCain's campaign fund and the Kentucky Republican Party.

In the first few minutes of their respective speeches, McConnell and McCain both owned up to past disagreements.

”The Washington press corps would have you think we've been in a lot of fights over the years, and they're right,“ McConnell said, ”Nobody plays harder than John McCain.“

McCain, who represents Arizona, has the reputation of a maverick in the Senate and said he admired McConnell's resolve.

”Can I say how much I appreciate his leadership, steadfastness and courage,“ McCain said, ”and frankly, the very tough job Sen. Mitch McConnell has in D.C.? ... It's awfully easy to say "OK, we'll agree.'

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PHOTO CAPTION: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., waited backstage before being introduced at a fund-raiser in Louisville Saturday. Photo by LM Otero | Associated Press

McCain's their guy, but Ky. GOP does love pork

Search Mitch McConnell's and Hal Rogers' 2008 earmarks

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com 

Republican John McCain says he'll veto all congressional earmarks if he's elected president and use the savings – about $18 billion a year – to help offset his tax cuts.

No surprise: Throughout his long Senate career, McCain protested the special projects tucked into federal spending bills by lawmakers with little review, calling them ”wasteful pork“ and ”outrageous and obscene.“

But McCain's war on earmarks could turn into friendly fire for Kentucky's two biggest Republicans now united behind his campaign, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Congressman Hal Rogers.

Both are senior members of their chambers' appropriations committees and have earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars over the decades. As a result, Kentucky is one of the porkier states, with an estimated $56 in earmarked spending per resident compared to the $33 national average.

Are McConnell and Rogers ready to kiss their earmarks goodbye if their man wins in November?

Hardly, said David Williams, vice president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a non-partisan spending watchdog in Washington.

”McCain has been battling earmarks in Congress, and folks like Mitch McConnell and Hal Rogers have been battling him,“ Williams said. ”Given their party loyalty, they're probably holding their noses and hoping that if McCain is elected president, they can – quote-unquote – "work with him' and see if they can't keep their status quo going.“

McConnell did not return calls this week seeking comment.

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Clinton to help Obama in Kentucky

By Ryan Alessi
HERALD-LEADER POLITICAL WRITER

Regardless of whether U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes the Democratic vice presidential candidate, she's expected to campaign for nominee Barack Obama this fall in Kentucky, which she won in last month's primary by 35 percentage points.

"Yes, Senator Clinton will come back and be a part of the Kentucky political process and will do whatever she can, whether it's visiting Kentucky or calling her donors and supporters to ask them to do what it takes to make sure Senator Obama is elected," said Jonathan Hurst, the Clinton campaign's Kentucky political director.

Obama, as the Democrats' presidential candidate, starts the general election race in Kentucky with a huge mountain to climb. A Herald-Leader/WKYT poll last month showed him trailing Republican John McCain by 25 points in the fall campaign.

Last week, a SurveyUSA poll of 400 Clinton supporters in Kentucky revealed that they would be more than twice as likely to support Obama if Clinton were his No. 2.

Just 21 percent of the Kentucky-based Clinton backers interviewed said they plan to vote for Obama, but that jumped to 57 percent if Clinton joined the ticket.

Clinton in recent weeks has prominently expressed her fondness for Kentucky, which gave her one of her larger wins -- both in margin of victory and net gain of votes. She mentioned the Bluegrass State three times in her speech Tuesday night after the final primary contests ended.

But there's more than just the electoral boost Kentucky gave her. Clinton will probably be eager to return because the Clintons "really enjoyed" their time stumping here, Hurst said.

There were former President Bill Clinton's late-night requests to go bowling in Hopkinsville; staunch supporters like the 11-year-old who sold his bike to pay for a campaign contribution to her; and, of course, Bill Clinton's now-famous diversion to make a campaign stop at the Flemingsburg Dairy Queen.

Hurst said the Clintons credited their Kentucky campaign chairman, Jerry Lundergan, with crafting a winning strategy in the state that helped drive up turnout.

"On Election Night the president hugged Jerry and said, 'You made it happen for us, my man,'" Hurst recalled.

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Democrats pick delegates to go to Denver

Democrats at their statewide convention selected a ninth superdelegate, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's key Kentucky fund-raiser, Matthew Barzun, and filled out a roster of 51 other delegates.

Among the prominent names who will be going to Denver for the August convention are the Democratic statewide constitutional officers. Here's the list:

Superdelegates

• Gov. Steve Beshear
• State Party Chairman Jennifer Moore
• State Party Vice Chairman Nathan Smith
• U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville
• U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles
• Terry McBrayer, DNC member
• JoEtta Wickliffe, DNC member
• Moretta Bosley, DNC member
• Mathew Barzun of Louisville

Party Leaders and Elected Officials (6 spots)

• Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo
• Attorney General Jack Conway
• Auditor Crit Luallen
• Treasurer Todd Hollenbach
• State Sen. Ed Worley
• State Rep. Charlie Hoffman, D

At large delegates
    Will be picked at the Central Executive Committee Meeting Saturday night

Clinton delegates:

• 1st District: Howard Dawes
• 1st District: Micah Spicer
• 1st District: Pat Vincent
• 1st District: Diane Wood
• 2nd District: Mary Gibson
• 2nd District: Joseph Mattingly
• 2nd District: Arshiya Saiyed
• 2nd District: House Speaker Jody Richards
• 3rd District: Jerry Ferguson
• 3rd District: Bill Ryan
• 3rd District: Olivia Fuchs
• 3rd District: Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward Pugh
• 4th District: Bath County Judge-Executive Carolyn Belcher
• 4th District: Marshall Tyler Murphy
  
• 4th District: Terry Mann
  
• 4th District: Sara Sidebottom
  
• 5th District: Robert Terrell
• 5th District: Bill Weinberg
• 5th District: Toni Canterbury
• 5th District: Stanley Allen Price
• 5th District: Lois Combs Weinberg
• 6th District: Harold Robinson
• 6th District: Jacqueline Coleman
• 6th District: Betty Pace
• 6th District: John Lee Murphy

Obama delegates

• 1st District: Charles Moore
• 2nd District: Claudia Hanes
• 3rd District: Brooke Pardue
• 3rd District: Carolyn Tandy
• 3rd District: Tim Longmeyer
• 3rd District: David Tandy
• 4th District: Mattie Copeland Parker
• 6th District: Reginald Thomas
• 6th District: Elizabeth Marshall

- Ryan Alessi

Yarmuth challenges voters on race

By Ryan Alessi
ralessi@herald-leader.com

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth addressed the racial overtones from Kentucky's Democratic presidential primary, urging state Democrats Friday night to challenge voters who dismiss presumptive nominee Barack Obama simply because he's black.

Yarmuth, of Louisville, cited exit polling that showed one in five Kentucky Democrats said after voting in the May 20 primary that race was a factor in their decision. Ninety percent of those who said so voted for U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton instead of Obama.

"In recent weeks, racial bigotry has reared its ugly head. We've been labeled -- perhaps unfairly, perhaps not -- one of the most racist states based on exit polling," Yarmuth told 1,000 Democratic faithful at the party's Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Lexington.

"I can only hope and pray that when Sen. Obama takes the Oval Office next January, those who are offended or intolerant of his race are at least open to being impressed by his talents," Yarmuth said, sparking applause from the crowd that visibly tensed up when Yarmuth began wading into the sensitive subject.

He urged Democrats to challenge those who say they won't vote for Obama because he is half black.

"We must not walk away and let that blind hatred fester," Yarmuth said.

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Beshear wants Clinton to be Obama's running mate

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear and state Democratic Party officials Jennifer Moore and Nathan Smith are going to vote for Barack Obama for their party's presidential  nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and Beshear wants Hillary Clinton to be Obama’s running mate.

Beshear released this statement today regarding questions about how they would vote as superdelegates.

“For the last several months Democrats across the nation have engaged in a spirited contest for our party’s presidential nomination.  That contest is now over.  Sen. Obama now has enough delegates and will be the Democratic nominee for president. 

“Sen. Clinton has run a great campaign and carried Kentucky handily in its primary.  She has accepted the results of our process and will be endorsing Sen. Obama shortly.  She realizes, as we do, that it is time for Democrats to come together to win back the presidency this fall.

“Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Moore, Democratic Party Vice Chair Nathan Smith and I will follow Sen. Clinton’s lead and will be casting our votes for Sen. Obama at our Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“We need to put forth the strongest possible ticket this fall.  Therefore, I have written personal letters to both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton, urging Sen. Obama to select Sen. Clinton as his running mate and urging Sen. Clinton to accept any such offer.  In my opinion, such a ticket would be unbeatable.” 

--Jack Brammer

Beshear aware of new superdelegate deadline

National media outlets, such as the Los Angeles Times and The Politico, are reporting that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid have imposed a Friday deadline for still undecided superdelegates to pick a side.

The three Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Wednesday, the morning after U.S. Sen. Barack Obama surpassed the 2,118 delegate threshold needed to secure the party's presidential nomination.

The brief statement, according to the Times, says: "The voters have spoken ... Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted super delegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week, so that our party can stand united."

Among the 140 superdelegates, who according to RealClearPolitics.com are still uncommitted, are three from Kentucky: Gov. Steve Beshear, state Democratic Party Chairman Jennifer Moore and Vice Chairman Nathan Smith.

All three said they wouldn't decide until after Tuesday's final primaries in South Dakota and Montana.

Beshear hadn't received a copy of Dean, Pelosi and Reid's communication, said the governor's spokesman Dick Brown. "But he is aware of it."

Brown said Wednesday morning that Beshear hasn't come to his conclusion. "I think he's still weighing his decision."

- Ryan Alessi

Survey USA poll tests possible tickets in KY

A recent SurveyUSA poll showed that a John McCain ticket with several different running mates would trump any Democratic slate led by Barack Obama.

But the survey, taken between May 16 and May 18 in the days before Kentucky's May 20 primary, didn't test the possibility of an Obama-Hillary Rodham Clinton slate.

Here's how the hypothetical tickets would match up in Kentucky, according to the SurveyUSA poll, which has a margin of error of 4.1 percent:

    McCain and former presidential candidate and past Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: 55 percent
    vs.
    Obama and former presidential candidate and past U.S. Sen. John Edwards: 35 percent

    McCain/Huckabee: 59 percent
    vs.
    Obama and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius: 28 percent

    McCain/Huckabee: 57 percent
    vs.
    Obama and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell: 27 percent

    McCain/Huckabee: 56 percent
    vs.
    Obama and Iowa Sen. Chuck Hagel: 27 percent

    McCain and former presidential candidate and past Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: 54 percent
    vs.
    Obama and Edwards: 37 percent

   

Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee

In getting the last word after the last polls closed in the final voting state of Montana, Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama claimed the nomination and reached out to his rival, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama used the first part of his speech to 20,000 supporters in Minnesota to thank his family, his former opponents -- including Clinton -- and his supporters.

"Because of you tonight I can stand here and say I will be the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America," he said in St. Paul, Minn., where the Republicans will hold their national convention in September.

Despite losing to Clinton in South Dakota Tuesday, Obama secured enough pledged delegates from that state to pass the threshold of 2,118 party delegates to lock up the nomination even before the polls closed an hour later in Montana, where he defeated Clinton.

He praised his chief Democratic rival as "a leader" and someone the country can look to for fighting for causes such as health care for years to come -- another hint that he could reach out to her as a key ally and adviser and perhaps even his running mate.

"Our party and our country are better off because of her. And I am a better candidate for having the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton," he said.

Obama closed his speech with a call for national unity wrapped in his campaign themes of hope and change.

"America, this is our moment. This is our time -- our time to turn the page on the past ... our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love," he said. "The journey will be difficult; the road will be long.

"I face this challenge with profound humility and knowledge of my own limitations, but I also face it with unlimited faith in the capacity of the American people."

- Ryan Alessi