WILL KENTUCKY DEMOCRATS TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO DEFEAT MITCH McCONNELL ON TUESDAY?

Only one of these three represents change

Greg Fischer has come a long way in his race to catch up with the well-known-- albeit well-known in the most negative of ways-- Bruce Lunsford. One of these two, the former a progressive Democrat, the latter some kind of reactionary freak who's a Democrat the way Zell Miller and Holy Joe Lieberman are Democrats, will go up against one of the most corrupt and deceitful men in the U.S. Senate, Bush's chief obstructionist, Mitch McConnell. We'll see on Tuesday whether Greg has come far enough fast enough. In yesterday's Congressional Daily Patrick Crowley handicapped the race:

Lunsford built his name ID among Democrats and seemed to curry allies among party leaders despite some un-Democratic tendencies. So that leaves Fischer the daunting challenge of not only getting to know Kentucky's voters but also overcoming a battle-savvy foe.

...Both Fischer and Lunsford have put their own money in the race. Fischer has loaned his campaign $530,000 and raised nearly $550,000 in the first quarter. Lunsford has loaned his campaign $500,000 and raised about $300,000.

By contrast, McConnell has raised more than $12 million. And therein lies the reason top Kentucky Democrats [not to mention the DSCC's Alien Lizard] are backing, either overtly or behind the scenes, Lunsford. Lunsford has shown a willingness-- some say recklessness-- to spend his own money running for office. He spent $14 million of it in the '03 and '07 Democratic primaries for governor.

Lunsford briefly abandoned the party-- infuriating many-- by backing Republican Ernie Fletcher after losing the 2003 primary to now-Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky. Chandler lost, but has since been elected to Congress.

Lunsford forced his way back to the fold in last year's primary. He lost to Steve Beshear, who went on to defeat Fletcher in November. But this time Lunsford stayed away from intraparty nastiness and has even picked up support from some of the same labor unions that spurned him in earlier races.

... With McConnell raising buckets of cash, the national party made it clear it did not have a lot of money to throw at the race. So [a lizard and] Democrats in Washington and Frankfort looked to the self-funding Lunsford to make the run against McConnell.

Beshear has admitted to "encouraging" Lunsford to run, even after Fischer had committed to the race. And four top Democrats last week called on Fischer in a letter to drop a campaign ad critical of Lunsford's failed nursing home company, Vencor.

"We urge you to remove your personal attack ad from the air immediately, take the high road and spend the final weeks of the primary running a campaign focused on why you are right for the job," wrote Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, Attorney General Jack Conway and Auditor Crit Luallen.

Fischer not only refused, but he stood up to the pressure.

"To make an informed decision, voters have to be able to compare the past performance and the record of each of the candidates," Fischer said at a news conference he called to address the ad and its fallout.
Fischer's defiant rhetoric might not help him with party leaders-- they are already with Lunsford-- but he might help to fire up the rank and file.

Fischer has been knocked for his quiet demeanor and a perceived lack of passion, despite working hard and putting up a chunk of his own money. Back-talking the party hierarchy might help to draw attention from an electorate that has shown willingness to embrace change this election cycle.

"I'll continue to talk about bringing change to Washington," Fischer said. "I'll continue to talk about... my desire to go to Washington to represent the working men and women of this state."

There's a great clip emphasizing Lunsford's record made by the county campaign director in super-red Pulaski County, a 15 year old boy named Halyn. I don't think that's the one the party hacks are all pissed off about. I think they're pissed off about this one: