A Lexington columnist (via) notes that Rand Paul doesn’t know fuck all about Kentucky:
A person who has “lived” in Kentucky for 17 years might know how “Bloody Harlan” got its name and that The Dukes of Hazzard was set in the fictional Hazzard (two Z’s) County, Georgia, not the Kentucky city of Hazard (one Z).
[…..]Not only is Eastern Kentucky’s drug problem “a real pressing issue,” it is arguably the region’s and the state’s most pressing issue. For Paul to think otherwise, he must have spent his 17 years in this state in a cocoon — perhaps paying 24/7 homage to Aqua Buddha.
What I find interesting are the similarities with the original Tea Party candidate, Doug Hoffman:
Douglas L. Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate for the 23rd Congressional District, showed no grasp of the bread-and-butter issues pertinent to district residents in a Thursday morning meeting with the Watertown Daily Times editorial board.
[…..]Coming to Mr. Hoffman’s defense, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, who accompanied the candidate on a campaign swing, dismissed regional concerns as “parochial” issues that would not determine the outcome of the election. On the contrary, it is just such parochial issues that we expect our representative to understand and be knowledgeable about, if he wants to be our voice in Washington.
This shouldn’t be surprising: conservatism, at least in its Tea Party incarnation, is ideological and abstract, not pragmatic and concrete. Air-fairy ideas about “freedom” are considered much more important than a working knowledge of local issues.
Michael
Rand’s depth of non-understanding is really amazing in Eastern Kentucky, particularly in Bloody Harlan.
He seems to think that hardscrabble mining communities see blind support for the companies to fuck over their workers and rape the environment while making things desperately unsafe for those living in the shadow of mine operations is the sort of support for coal that resonates with Eastern KY voters and those dealing with strip mining issues in Western KY.
Combine that with his absence of concern over the pill scourge and disdain for ag subsidies in the productive farming regions in Central and Western Kentucky, and you’ve got a race that Conway could actually win in.
roshan
What part of “tax cuts and accidents happen” is working knowledge of local issues don’t you understand? Leave people alone man, they will figure out what to do, just vote for Paul, he will take care of all that you see (lasik wise).
Keith G
Buuuuut, how does he feel about the Ground Nil Mosque?
kommrade reproductive vigor
Fxd.
Comrade Dread
The reason for this is rather obvious. If they actually got into the local issues, their would-be constituents would figure out that the Tea Party of definition stands for:
Corporations have the freedom, nay inalienable right to pillage your lands, plunder your wealth, and rape as they please (sometimes quite literally).
The rest of you have a right to thank them for it and lube up, if you can afford it.
Then I imagine they’d be even less successful at getting elected.
That’s really why these people run from the media and hide. The less people know about them, their positions and their values, the more electable they are.
Davis X. Machina
He’ll let them keep their guns, though.
Economic self-interest and a quarter will get you a cuppa coffee. It doesn’t win elections.
Nor does class solidarity. The US is the Saudi Arabia of false consciousness — world’s largest producer, world’s largest proven reserves.
Paul by 4%
Sad_Dem
“Corporations have the freedom, nay inalienable right to pillage your lands, plunder your wealth, and rape as they please (sometimes quite literally).” Just ask Jamie Leigh Jones. Seen her on Fox lately?
Steve
“Accidents happen” is really such a great catchphrase for this campaign. Like Conway said at Fancy Farm:
Chris G.
Every time I see Rand Paul, I’m amazed he hasn’t, on general principle, gotten beat up that day.
Dave
If only the Mooslim Horde would build a mosque in Eastern Kentucky. Then Paul could coast to a win…
mai naem
That this is the best that the Kentucky Repubs could come up with is a problem. Seriously, Rand comes across as a mind bendingly clumsy buffoon.
The Grand Panjandrum
Hey, as long as they keep the gummint outta gandma’s Medicare we are all FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Davis X. Machina
I am close to the point where whenever I hear the word ‘freedom’ I release the safety catch on my Browning, except I don’t have a Browning.
El Cid
@Keith G: If Arabic civilization hadn’t given us the (Indian discovered) concept of zero, what would we call Ground Zero? Infinitely Minimal Ground?
Zifnab
@Davis X. Machina: It’s looking less and less likely. Randy doesn’t appear to know how to run an effective PR campaign. He hasn’t really ingratiated himself to fellow Republican Mitch McConnell – particularly since he’s a clear vote for Majority Leader DeMint if the GOP were to ever retake the Senate.
Simply plastering an (R) in front of your name doesn’t guarantee victory anymore. Particularly in a “Throw the bums out” year. Ask the Dem Senators from Alaska, Montana, and Virginia. Hell, ask Charlie Christ.
Davis X. Machina
@Zifnab: Zifnab, wake me up when he’s no longer white. Then we’ll see. There’s something special about Kentucky
The Moar You Know
@Davis X. Machina: That’s an easily solved problem. As a member of a group (liberals) who have been the repeated targets of eliminationist rhetoric and action from the right, I suggest you rectify that situation. Quickly.
An unarmed liberal will one day be a dead liberal.
stuckinred
@The Moar You Know: So, you figure it’ll come down to shootin huh? Here’s my problem with that line of thinking. WE sit here an hammer the right for their fear-mongering and then fall prey to it ourselves. Most people don’t give a fuck about all this shit one way or another.
Persia
@mai naem: Case in point: I keep seeing ads for him on this blog.
You Don't Say
This is worse than carpetbagging, IMO. He’s lived there for 17 years and has no clue about the drug problems or the history of Harlan County? Shameful, and I hope voters see it that way. He doesn’t give a shit about anything but his lofty libertarian ideals.
cleek
a self-certified ophthalmologist can’t see beyond his own nose?
shocking.
Mike G
Fixed.
Davis X. Machina
@The Moar You Know: I’ve got an Yugo SKS and a ton of cheap — pre-Colored President — 7.62 for biannual open day at the range and pretending to hunt deer with the neighbors. That’s about all the budget runs to.
Omnes Omnibus
@stuckinred: Agreed.
stuckinred
@Davis X. Machina: How much are those running these days?
Davis X. Machina
@stuckinred: No idea. With inflation, maybe $300, based on what mine cost two kids ago, when there still was a toy budget.
Alwhite
We saw this sort of thing here in Minnesota. Complete incompetents like Jesse Ventura getting elected Governor not based on what he believed or proposed but because most of the people that voted for him in a three-way race were low-information voters, AKA morons, AKA teabaggers target demo, thought that his absence of substance meant he agreed with their fairly-land desires for more services & lower taxes with a pony.
Given the power of stupidity I would highly recommend this approach for winning office. Now where’s the Brawndo I have some batin to do.
stuckinred
@Davis X. Machina: You hit it on the head from the looks of the google!
stuckinred
@Alwhite: How did the rest of the morons you have in office get there?
catclub
@Davis X. Machina:
“No idea. With inflation, maybe $300, based on what mine cost two kids ago, when there still was a toy budget. ”
Maybe this explains the right wing obsession with inflation.
Ever since the 2008 election, all they have been buying is guns and ammo, and the inflation there has probably been tremendous due to the massive fearmongering.
It also is why I haven’t been buying – I hate doing something that benefits those fearmongers.
Zifnab
@Alwhite: Minnesota currently has two of the best Senators a liberal can ask for, so I wouldn’t sell the state completely short.
Take a moment and consider the options in ’98. Nepotism-at-large candidate Skip Humphrey, milquetoast moral midget Norm Coleman, and someone that wasn’t one of these two clowns. It’s moments like this when you really want to blame the system in general. There weren’t many good options.
Morbo
Just say no to double negatives, DougJ.
Davis X. Machina
@stuckinred: Just a guess — the 1992 cost x2. Thought the Fear of A Black Planet may have goosed it a bit more.
Brachiator
OT: One of the revolving Balloon Juice tags is “A Dingo Ate My Baby.” And here is a breaking news story:
Shalimar
Since Tea Party conservatives and libertarians don’t believe government should do anything at all, it doesn’t take any knowledge of local issues to do nothing about those issues.
In other words, every single person in the country over 30 years old is qualified to be a United States Senator from their point of view since there are no job requirements other than saying no to everything.
Omnes Omnibus
@Davis X. Machina: Model 1898 Mauser for me. Gift from an Uncle. Plus my grandfather’s Lefever 12 gauge and Winchester single barrel 20 gauge.
Turgidson
@mai naem:
An even bigger problem is that he’s currently winning the race despite being such a massive tool. Egad.
roshan
@Brachiator:
Strange and tragic.
Shalimar
@You Don’t Say: It’s not so much the 17 years that strike me as the problem. I have lived in Alabama for 32 of my 41 years and I couldn’t tell you beyond vague generalities what the local issues are in 2/3rds of the state. And I grew up with 2 newspaper editors for parents and follow politics fairly closely (though not as much as I did 20 years ago). On the other hand, Paul has been running for statewide office for a year now and won a damned primary so you would think someone on his staff would have briefed him on these things. That is what really shows his contempt for real Kentucky problems.
Eric U.
Just don’t take a nice gun to the gun range. The teabaggers are arming themselves for the revolution, and they don’t seem to care if they have to kill a fellow gun owner to do it.
Roger Moore
@Shalimar:
QFT. If the government isn’t supposed to do anything, the only important factor in a representative is a willingness to do nothing, though I’d guess that ethnic solidarity counts for a lot as a tie breaker.
You Don't Say
@Shalimar: I’ve lived in Nevada for nine years and follow local politics little. I still don’t know why some people despise Harry Reid so much. But I’d have to be blind not to see the damage done by meth in these here parts. I imagine Kentucky is similar. And I know basic local history, even though I try hard not to.
But, like you said, he should know better as someone running for statewide office. He should also know better as a politician than to publicly dismiss anything that he doesn’t have a clue about. Better to be silent and feign concern than dismiss something that may be a big issue to voters. From an optics standpoint at the very least.
Mike in NC
Don’t worry — once the GOP is back in control, they actually do have a three-part plan:
(1) Roll back cigarette taxes nationwide. Cheap smokes during a bad economy is a winning issue, and it benefits the tobacco lobby and health insurance industry.
(2) Roll back gasoline taxes nationwide. Cheap gas is another no-brainer. The oil spill in the Gulf is ancient history. Drill, baby, drill!
(3) Roll back whatever gun laws are still in effect nationwide. Second Amendment, bitches! Cheap guns and ammo plays to the base. South Carolina currently has at least one week (weekend?) per year where there’s no sales tax on guns and ammunition. Expect every other state to follow that example.
licensed to kill time
Accidents never happen in a Perfect World
Complications disappear
Linda Featheringill
It always struck me as laziness. Even if you have ideals to peddle, you need to explain these principles in concrete terms to your audiences, using local examples. Of course, you would have to know the local examples, I guess.
Other candidates of both parties have assistants that fill them in with the local history/concerns/hot topics of each campaign site just before they arrive. It’s just being polite to not insult your hosts.
Why can’t these guys do that?
Nicole
It just makes a person want to bang her head on her desk. I remember all the grumble grumble about Hillary Clinton carpetbagging and wearing a Yankees cap and blah blah blah while she was campaigning, but the woman worked her ass off learning about the local issues so she could campaign effectively. And all these teabag idiots have to do is yammer the gen-yoo-ein right-wing fear-mongering talking points and the voters nod approvingly. This past weekend I had to listen to my Republican (though much beloved) uncle talk about what a “straight shooter” PA candidate Pat Toomey is.
mcd410x
@Morbo: Dang it. Beat me to it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Linda Featheringill:
I am going to go with because they don’t care about policy.
Sarcastro
Can we just start calling them the Dick Army now?
Jeff
I heard a Democratic candidate from Washington State totally screw up a question. She was asked why she supported federal funds for a local bridge (it’s an EARMARK! Worse, it’s “PORK”!). She kind of scurried around the question instead of citing the importance of the bridge and suggesting that those questioning her would rather see the bridge collapse.
We need better Dems!
one two seven
I’ll start finding this stuff humorous when I see a poll that shows Conway ahead.
mnpundit
I’ll said what I said when it was about Hoffman. I totally understand. I don’t really care so much about whether the city council has a better process for auctioning off contracts. I care a LOT about whether the Republicans are going to nuke muslim countries. Moreover, I don’t really care about the intricacies of the health system or energy in my area. But universal health care and massive improvements to mass transit and renewable energy will benefit that area regardless of what I know about it.
But I’m not a Congressional Rep! Personally I like the system in parliaments where people vote for parties but until we do if you run you better know something about the constituency you are representing.
Honus
@Shalimar: “That is what really shows his contempt for real Kentucky problems.”
Unfortunately, what really shows Kentucky’s contempt for Kentucky problems is that the pig fuckers will elect him
asiangrrlMN
@Alwhite: Well, with him I think it’s partly the fame thing. Plus, we always have third-party voting in the 5%-10% figure range, which really has an impact on races overall.
@stuckinred: OK. First of all, yes, we have arguably the biggest moron in Congress (Michele Bachmann), but her district is this very weird red pocket. As for Ratface Pawlenty, see my answer above. He won with under fifty percent of the vote each time. Beyond them, we actually have some of the best pols. Besides our senators, we have Keith Ellis and my own personal rep, Betty McCollum. I think they more than offset Ms. Loonytunes. However, if Emmer (the Republican) becomes governor this year, I take it all back. He is so crazy, I would vote for Pawlenty over him in a heartbeat, and that’s saying a lot.
The next to last samurai
I lived briefly in harlan co in the late 70s and in the 1st few days i was there i was told all about bloody harlan’s history; old grudges are about the only thing the south does well. Even then the area was 3rd worldish and had drug problems. I hate to think what it must be like now.