Commentary
Can Cameron get voters to pay attention? Will he play the Trump card?
As it nears its final fortnight, the Kentucky governor’s race might seem one of the biggest wastes of money in our state’s history. More than $40 million has been spent, much of it for mostly misleading TV attacks on Gov. Andy Beshear, who seems to have withstood them or gotten stronger. That must vex Republican […]
COVID-19 is still testing Kentucky’s political leaders
At some point during the COVID-19 pandemic it dawned on me: We were living in a time of no good options.? The “reward” for doing the right thing was isolation and unemployment.? Opportunists in politics and media inflamed distrust between already hostile camps. And people suffered and died because of crazy stuff they believed from […]
A Kentuckian transplanted to Detroit ‘sat down’ with the United Auto Workers in ’37
I saw on Instagram that the daughter of a 1937 sit-down striker at a Flint, Michigan, General Motors plant recently walked a picket line with United Auto Workers strikers at a GM facility in Swartz Creek, Michigan. “86 years after the sit down strike, UAW members are standing up!”?uaw.union?posted. I’m sure Western Kentucky natives Ermon […]
The UAW strikes are working, and now Kentuckians are joining in
The United Auto Workers’ (UAW) Stand Up strikes came to Louisville last night when the 8,700 workers at the massive Ford Kentucky Truck Plant held a surprise walk out. They join the 25,300 employees now on strike at other Big Three facilities across the country. And the movement they’re leading is gaining momentum — the […]
I apologize, Kentucky
I owe Kentucky an apology and should have made it before now. You may remember me as a “conservative” political columnist and commentator in various commonwealth media. In that capacity I, with a few notable exceptions, generally praised and supported Republican positions and politicians. In 2016 I broke with the GOP and Republican politicians over […]
This ain’t ‘Gunsmoke.’ The victims of gun violence, their families and friends are real.
With a month to go before Election Day, GOP attorney general candidate Russell Coleman launched his first ad titled “Lawman.” It opens with an image of Coleman looking menacing on a shooting range: dark sunglasses, black ear protection, black vest, black handgun firing. While the attorney general is often referred to as a state’s top […]
Saddling Steve Scalise with David Duke’s baggage
Almost as soon as Kevin McCarthy lost his position as speaker of the U.S. House, attackers pivoted their artillery toward Majority Leader Steve Scalise, an obvious candidate to replace him. Scalise’s detractors loaded their cannon with the same ammunition fired at him nine years ago, when Scalise sought to become GOP whip, and it exploded […]
On abortion, GOP is the dog that caught the car
Two months ago, I began gathering string to write about abortion and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, after he seemed to have a problem dealing with the issue. Now he’s having bigger problems. The day before the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, the Republican nominee for governor spoke to about 25 people at a hilltop park that […]
Long Covid isolates sick people and their loved ones
My girlfriend’s idea felt brilliant to me: Put out a call on Facebook for Covid-cautious people in our area to rent a theater together. We could watch the Barbie movie while wearing high-quality masks to keep each other safe. The plan turned out to be quixotic. No one responded to Sarah’s request. She scrolled through […]
Utility-scale solar is coming to a farm near you
We are undergoing a wonderful, historic, frustrating and devastating transition to renewable energy. Solar panels will be on buildings and parking lots, and in highway medians, landfills, and brownfields. Utility-scale solar should be installed in those places before we put it on farmland. But that’s not what’s happening. Like it or not, utility-scale solar is […]
On his 99th birthday, Jimmy Carter is fondly remembered for hammering in the hills of Kentucky
The lively young girl was excited about her brand-new home, as well she should be. It had been built in a miraculous five hot and sometimes rainy days, by a gang of friendly volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. She was showing me what would soon be her very own room. Telling me where she planned […]
Prevention is conspicuously absent from Louisville Republicans’ ‘Safer Kentucky’ plan
After watching the Sept. 26 news conference held by Louisville House Republicans to introduce their proposed 18-point Safer Kentucky Act, I pulled out my scribbled, contemporaneous notes from a Sept. 19 meeting of the legislature’s Task Force on School and Campus Safety.? An hour into that meeting, I wrote: “These meetings are a way for […]