CAN KENTUCKY'S REACTIONARY OBSTRUCTIONIST MITCH McCONNELL BE BEATEN IN NOVEMBER?

In Kentucky Bush's approval ratings have followed the economy into the tank. And with Mitch McConnell being such a high profile sycophant and the ultimate rubber stamp, his powerful position in the Senate has brought him plenty of misery back home. McConnell's current approval rating-- as of April 14 (so before his latest obstructionist jihad of blocking equal pay for equal work and aid for veterans)-- is 46%, coupled with a 46% disapproval. In 2006, no Republican Senate incumbent survived who had such a low approval rating. The only thing that could possibly save McConnell at this point is if an even worse "Democrat," Bruce Lunsford, gets foisted onto the Democratic ticket by New York party boss Chuck Schumer.

The way Kentucky voters can keep that from happening is by supporting Greg Fischer, the progressive alternative to the execrable Lunsford. Greg has been traveling back and forth all over Kentucky introducing himself to voters. Many Democrats already know what a lowlife Lunsford is and wouldn't vote for him even if he was running against Beelzebub. But there are also plenty of voters who care barely find the time to make ends meet, let alone pay attention to politicians who never seem to do them any good anyway. Last January Yellow Dog at Blue in the Bluegrass laid out the case against Lunsford.

Bruce Lunsford is by all accounts a personable guy. I met him once, and the Mark of the Beast is barely visible.

But here's why all true Democrats curse his name.

Lunsford made his millions with a Louisville health care company called Vencor. He touted it as the next Humana, and drew thousands of small investors from all over Kentucky eager to invest in a local boy done well. But Vencor was less Humana than Enron.

When expectations outgrew revenues, Lunsford starting throwing old, sick, poor people out of his nursing homes to make room for rich old people who could pay more. When that didn't work, he pulled out the remaining cash and left the empty shell for creditors to fight over. Thousands of middle-class Kentucky investors lost millions.

Lunsford skated away from the disaster he'd created, and turned his attention to politics.

As I wrote back in April, when Lunsford was running in the Democratic gubernatorial primary: (Just substitute "McConnell" for "Fletcher.")

It's a close call as to which is more important: defeating Fletcher, or defeating Lunsford.

Lunsford’s a multi-millionaire (he sank $8 million into his 2003 primary run before quitting), supposedly willing to put his personal fortune into the general election. That’s why some seriously deluded/desperate Democrats are claiming he has the best chance to beat Fletcher.

Bruce Lunsford made his millions off the backs of two groups: the poor, sick old people he threw out of his nursing homes to make room for richer patients, and the poor, trusting Kentucky families who lost their life savings investing in Lunsford’s company before he bankrupted it.

His vicious ads attacking State Attorney General Ben Chandler in the 2003 gubernatorial primary fatally wounded Chandler in the general election, especially after Lunsford dropped out of the primary and endorsed Ernie Fletcher.

Read that again, slowly: A Democratic primary candidate endorsed the Republican primary winner. After promising to support the Democratic primary winner.

Ernie won, and gave Lunsford a nice job. Since 1995, Lunsford has given more than $40,000 to Republican candidates, and less than $12,000 to Democratic candidates.

Now he wants to be the Democratic nominee.

Ernie Fletcher has been one of the worst governors in Kentucky history. Cleaning up the mess he’s created will take years if not decades and billions of dollars Kentucky doesn’t have. We can’t afford another four months, never mind another four years of Ernie Fletcher.

But a lot of Democrats will be voting for Fletcher – if Bruce Lunsford gets the nomination.

Not all Kentucky voters read blogs and Lunsford and Schumer are doing their worst to make it seem like the only "choice" Kentucky voters will have in November will be between two sides of the same rotten coin. Plenty of grassroots Kentucky groups are trying to help combat the Lunsford menace. Below is an answer to his latest misleading ad. Greg's got to run ads like this on television; so far he hasn't. If you'd like to see Mitch McConnell defeated in November, please help Greg Fischer now. You can do it at the Blue America ActBlue site.



This one says it even better and here's an oldie but goodie from Ben Chandler that will probably get a reprise from Lunsford's dear friend Miss McConnell .