BLUE AMERICA WELCOMES GREG FISCHER, THE DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR THE KENTUCKY SENATE SEAT

It would be hard to imagine anything more politically satisfying than seeing Bush's #1 Senate obstructionist, Mitch McConnell defeated in his re-election bid this November. Back in February we had a little Blue America session with a man claiming he wanted to run against McConnell, Andrew Horne. It was the only candidate chat we've ever had where we didn't endorse the candidate or put him on our Blue America page. Horne seemed ok but... there was something that wasn't quite right. And, sure enough, a few days after our session, he pulled out of the race under odd circumstances and 2 days ago he endorsed the man he had denigrated and castigated right here. I hope he was rewarded handsomely enough to sleep at night. Fortunately there is a progressive Democrat running against McConnell-- Greg Fischer, who I've been talking with on the phone and corresponding with for a couple of months. And Greg has won Blue America's endorsement and is on our Blue America page (which I hope you'll visit and make use of to help defeat LunsfordMcConnell).

Before Greg can get to McConnell, he has to take on one of McConnell's long-time allies, a fake Democrat many of us will remember from when he tried defeating first Ben Chandler and then, last year, Steve Beshear in gubernatorial primaries in which Kentucky voters, smelling a Republican in Democrat's clothing, firmly rebuffed him both times-- although not until he had spent $14 million. Don't cry for him; he's stinkin' rich. Which is why he has a powerful ally this time, a senator who has a nose for the smell of money as acute as McConnell's; yep, the Kentucky version of Zeller Miller/Joe Lieberman is being pushed by... Chuck Schumer.

It's hard to imagine that there's anyone who reads any of the Blue America blogs who doesn't understand why Mitch McConnell is one of the worst members of the U.S. Senate. But for anyone who's just accidentally wandered in here looking for Barack Obama's bowling score, here are some key points to remember from now until November:

On the Economy:
     • McConnell voted NO on repealing the tax subsidy for companies that move U.S. Jobs offshore.
     • Voted against the Temporary Relief Act of 2007 would have provided 23 million middle-class families with more than $50 billion in tax relief by protecting them from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax.
     • Voted NO on increasing tax deductions for college tuition.
     • Voted to block the Foreclosure Prevention Act in February and yesterday caved into pressure and voted to negotiate with the Senate Democrats on compromise legislation.
     • Has a lifetime 11% rating from the AFL-CIO

On Health Care:
     • McConnell voted NO on expanding SCHIP eligibility.
     • He voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices just as the Veterans Administration presently does.
     • Supports President Bush's health care policy of personal Health Saving Accounts.

On Iraq:
      • Last July he led an all-night filibuster in favor of an open-ended commitment in Iraq.
       • Last September he blocked the proposal, introduced by Senator Webb (D-VA), that would have added time between deployments, forced the withdrawal of troops on a substantially swifter timeline and protected troops from serving protracted and debilitating deployments.
       • Has continued to block legislation to withdrawal our troops from Iraq.

That's why Greg is running for office. I'm going to let Greg, who-- like Lunsford-- hasn't held elective office, speak for himself on the issues. He fits the Blue America requirements of advocating a safe and speedly withdrawal from Iraq, favoring privacy and choice, favoring equality for all Americans, and favoring real campaign finance reform. His positions on health care come out of his business experience. And it was his business experience that attracted me to his candidacy, since it was something I was able to assess in terms of my own experience. Like Greg, I founded a small company. Each of us also ran large companies. I learned early on that the most successful way to run a business is to run it for the long term, not just to squeeze out short term profits. A business run with employees, customers, share holders and the community in mind, is a business to be proud of and it is the kind of business that succeeds. It's the way I ran my company and it's the way Greg runs his. Lunsford's business history is a nightmare of lawsuits, Medicare fraud, government raids and bankruptcies. Lunsford has a record of ethics questions to rival McConnell's own. And as Lunsford's newest supporter, Andrew Horne, told us, "We can't beat McConnell with McConnell-lite."

Please take a look at this video of Greg talking about why he's running when you get a chance. And please consider even a small contribution to his campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page.

BLUE AMERICA WANTS YOU TO MEET ANDREW HORNE, THE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR SENATE IN KENTUCKY

Andrew Horne with his wife Stephanie and their son Nicholas at the Louisville Aids Walk

Last time Andrew Horne ran for office, Blue America was neutral. It was a Democratic primary pitting two excellent progressives, Andrew and now-Congressman John Yarmuth against each other for the Louisville congressional seat Ann Northup had decided to relinquish by playing the role of complete Bush rubber stamp. This year Andrew finds himself in another primary race with a Democrat, one Blue America community members will probably remember from last year, corrupt, ultra-reactionary putative Democrat Bruce Lunsford, the multimillionaire Establishment hack Steve Beshear defeated last year on the way to become governor of Kentucky. Unfortunately, Beshear didn't have a silver stake and Lunsford in back. Thank goodness, so is Andrew.

The race couldn't be more important; it's for the U.S. Senate seat held by Bush's Lord High Chief Obstructionist, the incredibly unpopular Mitch McConnell. Lunsford, a former McConnell campaign contributor-- as he was for several other right-wing Republicans-- is about as much a Democrat as his pals Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman. But he has something Chuck Schumer couldn't get out of his mind: millions and millions of dollars. Schumer, head of the DSCC, cracked the whip and is trying to pass Lunsford off as the front-runner and the "preferred" candidate. For workingmen and women in Kentucky and for grassroots activists, Lunsford is anything but preferred. Andrew Horne, on the other hand, would make a great Democratic candidate and a great progressive U.S. Senator. His website will tell you a lot about him and we've invited Andrew to join us at Firedoglake today at 2pm EST-- a getting to know each other session.

When I spoke with him on the phone after he was enthusiastically endorsed by DFA, there were two issues he kept coming back to, that he emphasized over and over again-- and they're both a perfect Blue America fit: the Iraq War and universal health care. The two issues hit home for Andrew when he got called up for active duty in Iraq, just as his wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Being attorneys, they had health insurance. Being Democrats, they are hardwired to feel empathy for those who don't. And being a small businessman he also sees how providing health insurance for employees impacts on firms' expenses and competitiveness. Feel free to ask Andrew anything you'd like to know about his campaign and why he's the right Democrat for this race and how he's be different from Mitch McConnell. Meanwhile, take a look at this clip that Andrew put together when he announced he is running for the Senate:




UPDATE: SCHUMER SUCCESSFULLY DROVE HORNE OUT OF THE RACE

OK, so what next? Some Kentucky bloggers, not sure how many, think McConnell is so bad that we should actually support Lunsford. I wasn't born yesterday. And today 19 Democrats joined the GOP to vote for warrantless wiretaps and retroactive immunity for Bush's criminal telecom cronies. There can be no question where Lunsford would have stood today. And there can be no question that Lunsford, while not as hideous as McConnell, will be every bit as bad as Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and all the traitors to Democratic values who have prevented the Senate from moving the agenda Americans elected them to push forward-- like health care and a sane foreign policy. Lunsford: NEVER!

MORE AND BETTER DEMOCRATS, NOT WORSE DEMOCRATS-- LIKE KENTUCKY REACTIONARY INSIDER BRUCE LUNSFORD

Yesterday corrupt multimillionaire Bruce Lunsford entered the Democratic primary which will pick a candidate to run against Mitch McConnell. Lunsford's candidacy comes as a big disappointment to Kentucky progressives and moderates. Many Democrats had hoped they would never heard from Lunsford again after the very expensive thrashing he took when he tried injecting himself into the governor's race last year. Unless the kind of Democrat you like is Zell Miller or Joe Lieberman, Lunsford ain't your kind of guy.

Count on DWT to follow this race closely. How ironic it would be to finally get rid of Mitch McConnell only to see him replaced with some just as bad-- and a former supporter to boot! It should come as no surprise that anti-grassroots Insiders Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer both encouraged DLC hack Lunsford to run. There is also a moderate in the race, Andrew Horne. I expect Daily Kos will become a hotbed of activity promoting his campaign.