In his quest to keep the rich and Corporate America from paying any taxes Rand Paul continually shows us one thing. He just does not get it. Yes, because of his hatred of the federal government his "starve the beast" mentality would actually "starve Kentucky" and deny us much needed federal money. Paul's answer?? Let our cash-strapped state pay for everything itself.
It is really an amazing thing. The more oil that gushes into the Gulf of Mexico, the more Republicans step forward to defend BP. It really should come as no surprise. Republican politicians have long ago sold what little soul they had to the devil that is Corporate America. They constantly defend the greed, lunacy and unpatriotic actions of the greediest and least patriotic among us at every turn. To them, all the folks out of work because of the actions of bailed out corporate America need only get off their lazy asses and get a job. Yes, while they want to hold YOU accountable, Corporate America should not be responsible for anything but sucking up Corporate welfare and taking huge tax breaks and taxpayer subsidies to outsource our jobs.
You know, as much as Progressives are always forced to speak out against their own party one thing should be certain. When we get a proven, Progressive voice that is not afraid of making the tough votes and fighting for real progress in this country we simply must fight for them. Russ Feingold, no matter what state you are from is a Senator for Progressives everywhere. His record speaks for itself and it is hard to forget when only one Senator voted against the Patriot Act that Senator was Russ Feingold. He has the courage and conviction to stand alone for the right thing, which is a rarity in Washington.
Well, after all the Tea Party banter and everything else in Kentucky's Senate race as Harry Carey used to say, "we have a brand new ballgame". Yes, even with his resounding victory in the Republican Primary after placing his foot in his mouth several times and being reeled in by Mitch McConnell, then joining the McConnell machine it appears as if Rand Paul may not be the odds on favorite in the Kentucky Senate race. According to Public Policy Polling as of today the race for Kentucky Senate is tied.
Poor Rand Paul. He thought he would use the fundraising base of his father and cruise to tea-party victory. What he did not depend on however was his extremist views on just about everything being completely exposed by those who are voting. Now, in a state rich with farming some of those statements are coming back to haunt him as rural Kentucky sees that he scorns them as much as everyone else. Of course, in typical McConnell Republican fashion the Mad Doctor is just flip-flopping and floundering.
It is an enigma I have long struggled to understand. Anyone in the state of Kentucky voting Republican. For a while now we have had mostly Republican representation in the Congress except for the mixed bag voting record of Blue Dog Ben Chandler. Only with the inclusion of Congressman Awesome John Yarmuth from the Third District have working Kentucky families had a solid voice in the Congress on all issues. Now the price of voting against our own interests is catching up with us.
As if his shameful defense of BP, and comments condoning discrimination by business were not bad enough the Mad Doctor a few years back made some comments that sum him up in a nutshell. Far from the soaring rhetoric of smaller government and politicians that are responsible to the people who elected them Paul gave us a keen insight into his real mindset. You see, just like every other politician in the McConnell machine Rand Paul believes if he were to break the law and get caught he should be above that very law and pardon himself.
We all remember "the Architect" of the Bush Administration, Karl Rove. Yes, "the Architect" laid the foundations for trillions of wasted taxpayer dollars in the middle-eastern wars, Corporate Welfare, and deregulation which led to the crashing of our economy. Far from being satisfied with a failed Presidency that spurned a crashed economy, loss of American jobs, loss of American morale and prestige, Rove has moved on to newer things. However as it turns out every thing this man touches turns to failure.
Boy, Rand Paul is fitting in very nicely in the hypocritical Republican Party of Kentucky. You know, the Republican Party that is against any government spending unless of course that spending is going to Corporate Welfare for the greediest and least patriotic among us as they outsource our jobs and cut wages. In the case of Rand Paul, he wants to slash government spending except of course the government spending that has made him rich.
The Kentucky Senate race has some new developments today. The Mad Doctor Rand Paul is ignoring the fact that the budget gets written in the House and he is running for the Senate, and in a move no doubt intended to fire up the tea-bag fringe has announced that he will write his own balanced budget for the United States. Meanwhile, the Conway campaign is pounding him with a web ad that puts his Senate run in perspective.
You know with all the bluster coming from the Mad Doctor Rand Paul about debt and deficit one thing remains true. Paul's ideas are starve the beast lunacy that would almost completely strip our country of any kind of social programs whatsoever. Luckily Kentucky has a sane candidate running for Senate. A candidate that has already saved this state's taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by fighting against the right people, not the most helpless among us. Come to find out too that not only is he the only candidate in this race actually has saved the taxpayers of this state money but he has several ideas to save our country billions without raising taxes.
Wow, it wasn't but a few short hours when I wrote this diary about how Mitch McConnell had told Rand Paul that he really just needs to shut the hell up. Well, the Senator from Communist China might have known what he was talking about in reigning in the mad doctor with the twisty curls. You see, every time Rand Paul opens his mouth a cherished Republican belief that they have worked so long and hard to disguise spews forth. Now, Rand Paul thinks we fat and sassy working folks just make to much money!!
Ah, it sure did not take long for the "outsider" tea-bag candidate Rand Paul to start taking the marching orders. It did not take long for him to start placing blame for his own actions on others either, a typical modern Republican trait. You see, after making an insensitive fool of himself on national TV, Paul has shaken up his staff. However, in light of his racist remarks as pointed out at Barefoot and Progressive a man with ties to white supremacy seems like a curious choice. Now, the true boss Mitch McConnell has conveniently told Paul to shut the hell up.
It is no secret that soon after Rand Paul made his outrageous statements that show what he truly believes on civil rights and corporate responsibility Jack Conway was going to smell blood in the water. We all did. Now he is hitting back on Rand Paul and his radical views. He called him out for his uncaring attitude on Corporate oversight and his outrageous ideology on Civil Rights.
We will be watching the Kentucky Senate race here with great interest as Jack Conway tries to keep the irresponsible and dangerous ideology of Rand Paul out of the United States Senate. However Hillbilly Report is not only a Kentucky blog, but a forum for all Progressives in rural America. With that in mind we are watching another race just to the west of the Bluegrass state. In Missouri, Robin Carnahan is fighting incumbent Congressman Roy Blunt for the Missouri Senate seat and she needs our support.
Last month much was made among the right-wing foghorns on the radio and elsewhere about the Republicans taking the lead in the generic Congressional ballot among the American people. Despite all the self-righteous celebrating one thing was lost on them that evidently has set in on the American electorate. Republicans have absolutely no vision, or solutions to fix the huge problems that still confront our country. They offer only the same failed ideas that have been disgraced and have failed time and again. The party of no, no ideas and nothing good may be finding out that it takes something besides a lot of hot air to win elections. It takes ideas.
Tuesday in Kentucky we will go to the polls and choose our Democratic nominee. While I will not endorse in that race on the same day up in Pennsylvania there is another Senate race that I really hope Joe Sestak wins. I think this would send a mini "tea-bag" message to the Democratic establishment that while not as rabid as the right-wingers our base is tired of being taken for granted too. We do not have to reach out to opportunists like Specter to win elections or enact agenda and it is time our leadership realized that and fought for real Democratic values, not only those that are "convienient".
While I am still undecided in the Kentucky Senate primary one race I have made up my mind in is the one in the Keystone state. Up there, Republican Arlen Specter is facing a primary from Joe Sestak. Now, many of us believe that Specter chose to change parties only so he could be re-elected. I am highly suspicious of his motives, and of the principles he would fight for as a "Democrat". Because of this, I am really hoping that Joe Sestak pulls this primary out.
The Kentucky Senate race was getting quite boring. Leave it to eccentric, Looney Tune Jim Bunning to heat things up. One would like to think that the outgoing Senator who was shunned by the McConnell machine because he is a can or two short of a six pack decided to shake up this race but then you realize that well, Bunning is a can or two short of a six pack. However, his callous, uncaring and hypocritical "stand" earlier this week against the nation's unemployed has indeed ignited the Kentucky Senate race, which quite frankly was becoming a yawner.