The Democratic House Caucus doesn’t plan to hire a Director until 2010. How dumb is that?
Richie Farmer wants to run for Governor in 2011.
Jim Bunning will drop out (duh), as he just reported having $150,000 on-hand, less than he had in September.
And John Will Stacy is still being ignored by fellow members of House leadership.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Novena // Jan 23, 2009 at 4:27 pm
“The Invisible Man”
How will we know whether the Bunster is our US Senator or not? Neither his presence nor his absence from the halls of Congress seems to be missed or noticed. He appears to exalt in his invisibility. Why send him contributions to extend his undistinguished tenure in office?
2 Michael // Jan 23, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Richie Farmer/Richie Farmer’s Mustache in 2011.
3 Bimbeau // Jan 23, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Is Farmer’s mustache as politically charged as Stan’s?
4 Greg // Jan 23, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Farmer ought to wait his turn. The repubs need someone with substance and credibility to challenge the governor.
5 Steve // Jan 24, 2009 at 2:50 am
Richie Farmer is a nice guy. But given the challenges of the office and the demands of the times, I don’t think his turn will ever come. And if it did, I’m afraid it would be a turn for the worse.
Not all nice guys are equipped to preside over state government.
Enough said.
6 Jeff Noble // Jan 24, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Steve’s closing “Enough said” reminds me of a t-shirt I have left over from the 1980 presidential primary, my first as a voter, in which I first supported Jerry Brown and then later Ted Kennedy. It read “Peanut Butter – Enough Said.”
*****
Of the rumors mentioned above , the one that should give Democrats pause and for which we should be preparing, is the second one. Richie Farmer is a proven vote-getter in the Commonwealth, irrespective of his mustache, political views (if he has any), and Party affiliation. And, as Steve points out, he seems to be a nice guy.
This morning, I was a guest speaker at the Shelby County Democratic Executive Committee, where a workshop was held to help map out a future for their county. Chad Aull, president of the Kentucky Young Democrats, with whom I serve on the KDP State Central Committee, was the principal presenter; I simply offered some backup statistics. But I recall an offhand statement I made somewhere in my running commentary that Richie was the most popular politician in the state. That is based on two statistics. Although his race drew 59000 fewer votes than that of the governor’s, which drew the most, Farmer outpolled everyone in any race with 644036 votes, which was 64% of those cast in the AgComm race. By comparison, Governor Beshear polled 619552, or 58.7%. Further, Farmer received about 67000 more votes than Mr. Grayson, the other Republican statewide victor. Some may argue that Farmer was helped by running against a non-entity named David Williams, but the same could be argued for Governor Beshear, who ran against a corrupted and indicted governor in Ernie Fletcher.
I agree that Commissioner Farmer is not up to being governor. The challenges are great and our current governor is working hard to meet them, but he is doing so in a state (and its political leaders) unwilling to pay/fund the needs it expects to receive from the Commonwealth. And Governor Beshear is doing so with the other David Williams’ sole purpose in life being to thwart the efforts of any Democratic proposal to govern in any way, irrespective of the outcome for ordinary citizens. Senator Williams is, like his leader in Washington DC Senator McConnell, a very good obstructionist.
What Steve says in closing is true. Not all nice guys are equipped to preside over state government. But they do tend to get elected.
JN
7 Republican // Jan 24, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Not that I’m a great Richie Farmer fan (although we’re probably distant cousins) and I probably won’t support him in either a primary or general election, I must say that if Jesse Ventura and Arnold Swartzenegger can be governors, and if Bill Bradley and Jack Kemp and Jim Bunning can be senators, and if Heath Shuler and Steve Largent and J.C. Watts can be congressmen, then Richie Farmer can be a governor too.
8 Steve Bittenbender // Jan 25, 2009 at 12:37 am
Jeff and Republican are dead on here.
Richie Farmer is a folk hero and his reach extends beyond Eastern Kentucky.
9 Taylor // Jan 25, 2009 at 10:44 am
If one of the Unforgettables was going to run for statewide office, why couldn’t it have been Mashburn or Pelphrey? at least they were good…
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