Hillary wins Klantucky -- Louisville needs to secede

UPDATE: Halfway across the globe Al Jazeerah reported on how race played a factor in the Democratic presidential primary. Pay attention to the first woman.

Watch, she almost says it.
"I just don't want to vote for a--"


It's a bit disheartening watching Hillary Clinton declare her Klantucky victory in Louisville considering she lost the Derby City to Barack, 52% to 44% by 12,000 votes. Growing up in Louisville, you get a lopsided perception of the Bluegrass. We forget that outside our metro oasis outlined by the Watterson Expressway is an entirely different world. A world where minstrel black-face figurines still adorn kitchen cabinets.

Especially if you're from the neighborhoods within West Louisville, which is the most densely black populated area in the entire state, you tend to forget you're in Kentucky. We're reminded about that face when the contrasts between Louisville & Kentucky are drawn after elections where exit polls illustrate a lucid difference. Using a rubric of education, age and race means that overall Kentucky is uneducated, old and white. By themselves those demographics are harmless, but combined it's a lethal equation (Barack got wiped out by 35%.)

When African-American Kentuckians travel they often hear, "They got black people in Kentucky?!?" Watching Hillary's victory speech on MSNBC and analyzing the results, I see why.

As Howard Fineman noted on MSNBC:

"There's a huge resentment between Louisville and the rest of the state and Obama became the downtown Louisville candidate"

Ironically, Hillary declared victory at the new Marriott in downtown Louisville. As my former editor at The Cardinal, Dylan Lightfoot commented:

"Just proves what we all know: The Ville is a nucleus of progressivism surrounded by a protoplasmic ooze of assbackwardsness."

After today's results where 21% of Kentucky voters openly said they voted based on race we cannot deny the writing on the wall.

I want to make something abundantly clear to outsiders. I'm from Louisville, home of Muhammad Ali and Hunter S. Thompson, and damn proud of it. The basketball team I cheer for is U of L (NOT UK). My congressman is John Yarmuth.

I love my city, but Louisville needs to secede.

LEO Elects...

After reporting on the Louisville appearances of both Hilary and Barack, Stephen George nails it with his observation for LEO's cover story.

By the way, LEO endorsed Barack, with a noted dissenting opinion from Sara Havens supporting Hilary.

Am I the only one who cringed at the cover art? Anyway, you should really pick up this week's issue. Especially to learn more about the most important election on May 20th, which is the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate between Bruce Lunsford and Greg Fischer. Yes, it's a big Zzzzzz to most but is a preview to who'll face 'Son of a Mitch' in the general election. Oh, and I covered the 2nd and 6th district Metro Council races too.

From LEO:

Despite the Obama destiny, too many Democrats believe that Clinton still has some path to victory — other than, of course, this one: Enough superdelegates decide to go against the popular vote, the pledged-delegate count and, now, the pledged superdelegates, and nominate her. That is not math. That is a machine. It will reek of the 2000 election, of the politics of George W. Bush, and it will destroy the Democratic Party. - Stephen George

Face it Hilary supporters, the uppity colored boy from Kansas won. Burn your bras, but if your candidate attempts to overthrow or undermine Barack's nomination -- kiss the black and youth vote goodbye. Trust me, this new generation is aware of her Dixiecrat tactics. We'll stay home or vote for Cynthia McKinney.

It's sad really. For a generation black voters and white female voters have been the bedrock of the Democratic Party. I wish these two historic candidacies didn't occur simultaneously. I wish the two most important American social justice movements hadn't gotten into such a public political wreck. In the end, however, someone had to win. Might as well be Barack.

Ready, Set, Obama

Barack's in Louisville today, which means downtown Louisville will be a cluster &$#% from 3pm til 8pm. Sorry Obamaniacs, he'll probably lose the Bluegrass to Hilary. Politically KY is old, white and uneducated --- her base!

Though he's already got two Bluegrass superdelegates (Rep. John Yarmuth and Rep. Ben Chandler), Hilary's got three. KY Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo endorsed Barack over the weekend, but sorry again Obamaniacs, Mongiardo is not a superdelegate. That would be our commander-in-hick, Gov. Steve Beshear, who is keeping up the Kentucky tradition of staying neutral.

Anyway, this essay on B. Hussein Obama in Esquire by Charles P. Pierce is a must read. My favorite line thus far: The war in Iraq is the powerful bastard child of the Iran-Contra scandal, which went unpunished. Zing!

Pierce writes with such clarity and wit and cynicism, this is why I write. The essay looks at Barack's entry into the American public scene as the so-called hope-monger and the context of the crumbling American empire. I'd say it is one of the best pieces on Barack thus far.

From Esquire:

“Yet, even as we speak,” Obama said, “there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spinmasters and the negative-ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there’s the United States of America.”

(A month later, at the Republican convention, the cynic saw fat little delegates and their fat little wives wearing Purple Heart Band-Aids to mock John Kerry’s war wounds. He saw the Swift Boat ads. The country bought it. The country moved on.)

“There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America, there’s the United States of America.”

(Three months later, the cynic watched black voters be systematically disenfranchised in key precincts all over the country. There was no anger. There were no demonstrations. There was no great rising in defense of a fundamental right. There was, instead, nothing. The country bought it. The country moved on.)

“The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states: red states for Republicans and blue states for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. We are all of us one people, all of us defending the United States of America.”

(Over the next several months, the cynic watched as the Republicans masterfully used the threat of gay people getting married to gin up turnout where they needed it the most. It was a creepy, shabby election that wasn’t about anything that was really happening in the country. The country bought it. The country moved on.)

Follow up to Ali Center brothel by Frankfort's Finest

Give kudos to The 'Ville Voice and Joe Gerth at the C-J. They're sticking with the story about KY Senate President David Williams and other state’s legislators having a big pimpin' Thunder party at the Ali Center last Saturday, which was paid for by lobbyists.

From Gerth's blog The List:

"Williams, on WHAS Radio, said the event on the top floor of the Muhammad Ali Center was meant to provide transparency since members of the Senate were being invited to parties all over town with little or no oversight by the Legislative Ethics Commission.

'You know, all this information will be out there for the public and they'll be able to decide how they feel about it. And if they don't like the activities of their particular legislator, they have the opportunity at the polls to take some action,' he said on WHAS.

The problem is that while lobbyists have to report what they spend on senators at the event, they don't have to report which members of the Senate attended. And neither do the senators.

Since Williams said the event wasn't open to reporters (we offered to forgo food and drink and even avert our eyes when planes passed by and fireworks exploded), we weren't quite sure how voters would know upon whom to take out their anger."

Gerth goes on to say that Williams said he will comply with an open-records request by the C-J (all deliberate speed Davey) to see who RSVP'd the event. Still, we may never know who actually attended. However, cnce the RSVP list it out it'll be nice to see who chickened out once the party became newsworthy.

Today's editorial in the C-J lists the tangible results of Frankfort's failure, which gives this story a slimier context. We're facing a grave economic crisis in the Bluegrass.

From 'Ville Voice:

"For those who did go, let’s hope they have political opposition at the polls, since Williams arrogantly told WHAS Radio last week that if voters don’t like it, they could “have the opportunity at the polls to take some action."

Here. Here.

Frankfort's Finest to turn Ali Center into political brothel for Thunder

Here's exactly what I meant when I wrote in LEO this week that with dull regularity the local media covers the customary sideshows leading up to the equine gallop. In the frenzy of Derby we neglect the important news for the entertainment bullshit.

This Saturday when 700,000 plus converge downtown to watch Thunder Over Louisville in a giant cluster &#*@, some of Frankfort's finest will turn the Ali Center into a whorehouse, a political brothel filled with lobbyists and state officials in the aftermath of one of the worst legislative sessions in recent memory.

hat tip to The 'Ville Voice:

"If you’re really planning to brave the chills downtown for Thunder, you’ll be pleased to know that the same state government officials who are slashing budgets in education and social services will be warm and cozy inside the Ali Center, noshing on top-of-the-line food and drink bought and paid for by lobbyists. You know, the folks who pressure politicians to make unpopular moves, like blocking cigarette taxes and a gaming proposal, despite overwhelming public support.

Members of the State Senate, led by President David Williams, are all lining up to get in for the expensive party as guests of lobbying firms, who will bend their ears over shrimp and martinis, peering out the Ali Center’s giant windows at the poor suckers fighting for a patch of damp grass on the Great Lawn, all the while watching the action on big-screen TVs...

It’s hard to find anything in local media not related to the big Thunder show Saturday...But through all the Thunder news, I caught a significant political story by WLKY’s Andy Alcock, in which he questioned the idea of lawmakers, fresh on the heels of a dismal performance in Frankfort, hobnobbing with lobbyists in the posh indoor climate of the Ali Center."

From the budget cuts in education to the failure of the steam bill to the abortion of the cigarette tax, this is rather shameful. Sadly, you probably won't hear much of it underneath the avalanche of Derby coverage.

For the rest go here.

A pause for KY's rising prison population

Well it's March Madness time in Kentuckiana, so you know what that means. The weight of news coverage shifts to college basketball and our great democratic debates consist of bracket bets.

Meanwhile...

After covering the racial disparities in KY prisons last month, the C-J gave some noted coverage to the overall rise in KY's prison population.

"Kentucky's prison population is rising at the fastest rate in the nation, according to a report last month by the Pew Center on the States, a nonpartisan Washington research and policy group. Kentucky currently has about 22,600 felony offenders in jail or prison, and this year's state corrections budget is about $431 million -- compared with about 3,700 inmates in 1980 and a budget of $30 million."

The ignoble designation of leading the nation in prison population growth compounded with the costs of maintaining our prison industrial complex has at least given lawmakers a reason to hold a meeting. According to the C-J Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown called the state Criminal Justice Council to meet today in Frankfort.

For the rest go here.

Majoring in debt

Most of Kentucky's best and brightest are on spring break. When they return to the classroom they may see some of the highest tuition hikes in over a decade. Below is an excerpt from my piece in LEO, 'Long road to nowhere':

The blossoming of spring in the Bluegrass brings with it the seasonal issue of tuition increases at Kentucky colleges and universities. Anticipating the impact of a looming double-digit increase spawned by an economic crisis in the commonwealth, a group of University of Louisville students plan a protest for March 26. The walkout is set to begin at 1:11 p.m. and is being led by a student-run group called the Progressive Action Coalition, which hopes the action, followed by a rally at "The Thinker" statue outside Grawemeyer Hall, will draw at least 500 students, faculty and community supporters...

Sadly, the news coverage of the annual musical chairs among state government, universities and students has become a predictable human wreck. Media outlets find one quote from a student bound for financial expulsion. Behind those single sentences are oceans of stories with hundreds of students working two jobs to pay for living expenses on top of college costs, or amassing lifelong debt that will haunt and taunt them into old age. It should never become easy to hear stories of smart, qualified and committed students getting forced out of college, but flip through enough archives on tuition increases and you'll see that story is customary.

For more visit LEO Weekly.

Beshear Blows it Again

Behind the political curtain I've heard some pretty nasty references about KY Gov. Steve Beshear's lackluster leadership in the Commonwealth. Today Rick Redding (isn't that a great comic book superhero name?) dropped some well deserved hot coals into his lap.

hat tip to 'Ville Voice:

"Waiting until the legislative session is two-thirds gone to admit the political reality that a cigarette tax is necessary and prudent is the latest in a long line of disappointing acts from Steve Beshear.

Who’s he listening to?

Don’t get us wrong. The cigarette tax is the right thing to do. But Beshear’s reluctance to embrace the idea for 40 days, time when he could have been making the case for it, is shameful. It’s certainly not a sign of that “leadership” he campaigned on.

Beshear, you remember, ran his 2007 campaign on the concept of raising money for the state though expanded gaming. Rather than having a bill ready on the day he came into office, he waited. Then he introduced a flawed bill, all the while giving opposition the time to build momentum and public support. His whining about the state of the budget and the education cuts he plans hasn’t motivated anyone to support casinos."

Read the rest here.

More blacks in KY prisons -- who knew?

"Honey, I thought Obama's candidacy ended racism?!?"

The C-J ran a piece of the racial disparities in Kentucky prisons. Look at the numbers in Jefferson County (Metro Louisville), where black folk make up 57% of the people sent to the state prisons but only only 20 percent of the counties population. Other counties like Kenton and Daviess have a much worse ratios.

"Marc Mauer, executive director of the Washington-based National Sentencing Project...said that while both whites and blacks use illegal substances, blacks are arrested and incarcerated more frequently, as law enforcement tends to focus more resources on the low-income, minority community."

The good news? Mauer said the Bluegrass is below the national average. Here blacks are only 5x times more likely to be incarcerated than whites. The national average is 5.6x -- hooray for .6%, keep hope alive!

The Bill Cosby/O'Reilly crowd will cite parenting, personal responsibility and ghetto values as the culprit. And undoubtedly that's at play. Not every imprisoned black person is Mumia.

I happen to agree with Michael Eric Dyson, however, who says though they're not all political prisoners their incarceration is certainly politicized. Especially in KY where felon's voting rights are constitutionally denied unless restoration is signed by the governor.

So much for rehabilitation.

Alas, progressives use a lot academic buzzwords like socioeconomic status, institutional racism and prison industrial complex. They just don't have the same rallying affects as Cosby's ignorant rants of black stereotypes.

Until then...listen to Lupe

Yarmuth endorses Obama, but what about Horne?

Rep. John Yarmuth (D -KY3) officially announced his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president today. "Barack Obama has the unique capacity to build support from Americans of all parties from Kentucky to Idaho to Connecticut, and he will lead us to recapture our potential when as President," said Yarmuth in a press release.

Surprising? Not really.

Just a few weeks ago he "unofficially" supported Obama on WLOU 1350AM when he was a guest on the Simmons Saturday Morning Solutions radio program. And it's not very risky either, according to Federal Election Commission reports Louisville's wallets support Obama over Billary 3-to-1. Plus, Yarmuth staffers love to say Louisville discovered Obama's house packing charisma when he appeared at Slugger Field during Yarmuth's congressional campaign in 2006.

Still, every little bit helps.

KY bloggers have already sidestepped this feathery news. Most want to know if Yarmuth is going to follow-up his "unofficial" endorsement of Andrew Horne -- "He is the person to take on Mitch McConnell" -- in the upcoming Senatorial race against the Godfather of KY, Sen. Mitch McConnell, who awaits whatever Democrat survives the primary.

Yarmuth's endorsement in that race is significant considering his proximity to KY politics and that nearly 40% of Kentucky’s voters reside in the 3rd Congressional District.

McConnell ad with U of L doctors criticized

First, the ad:


Nothing especially egregious. It features U of L physicians saying a bunch of nice things about the university and medical research, connecting them to Sen. Mitch McConnell's moneybag tactics in Washington.

Well according to the C-J's piece the physicians, along with U of L President, James Ramsey and Dr. Donald Miller, director of the Uof L Brown Cancer Center, didn't know the comments would be used for television or re-electing McConnell.

"Two of three University of Louisville physicians who made videotaped statements of support for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell last year say they didn't realize their comments would be part of a television ad for the senator's re-election campaign...

Ramsey said he initially believed the videos would be used only on a McConnell Web site. Had he known they'd be broadcast more widely in televised campaign commercials, he said, he would have handled things differently. 'I should have known that anything that goes on the Web is public domain.'

Dr. Larry Cook, U of L's executive vice president for health affairs, and Dr. Donald Miller, director of the Brown Cancer Center, said in interviews that they believed their testimonials would appear only on the Web, and not in television ads.

Dr. Laman Gray, chief of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, whose video appeared on the campaign Web site, said he wasn't sure how the video was going to be used."

I'm sorry.

You have to be incredibly naive to believe that in an election year a Machiavellian politician won't use your words to stay in office.

Also, a question for President Ramsey: why does it matter if the videos were web-exclusive? If the university prohibits employees from using their affiliation to make political endorsements, the ads being made -- not being more widely viewed -- should be the problem. Right?

Son of a Mitch -- McConnell to Mom: You're Fired!

Waiting outside her workplace at Maiden Alley Cinema with her 12-year-old daughter, Paducah, KY residentHeather Ryan wanted to ask Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) about the Iraq war. Sen. McConnell was at the theatre last week filming a campaign commercial. Thinking wisely she also brought her videocamer to tape his answer.

Not surprisingly Mitch gave her the cold shoulder. When American politicians ascend in rank their power shields them from a dosage of citizenry. What put this story on blogs across the country, from KY homegrown blog, DitchMitchKY to the nationally known DailyKos was that only a few days later Ryan was fired as director of the Maiden Alley Cinema.

Hat tip to DitchMitchKY for not just blogging from afar but for going down to Paducah and talking with Ms. Ryan personally (watch it here).

And watch the local coverage below.



I'm honestly surprised. My days as a McConnell Scholar at U of L taught me that at the very least Mitch was a decent human being. Even when he attacked 12-year-old Graeme Frost during the State Children’s Health Insurance Program debate last fall, I thought, hey that's a casualty of political warfare, another unfornate victim of the Godfather of KY's ruthless right-wing Machiavellianism.

But the pettiness of this...breathtaking.