[Alberta's Child]

You realize that a Democrat in that part of rural Kentucky is probably more conservative than 95% of the Republicans in Washington today, don’t you?

[tanknetter]

You realize that a Democrat in that part of rural Kentucky is probably more conservative than 95% of the Republicans in Washington today, don’t you?

That's it, exactly. People who don't live there generally don't "get" the politics of Kentucky.

It's one of the, if not the, very last places where Zell Miller-style "Conservative Democrats" exist in numbers. In large part due to the strength of the state Democratic Machine and due to a yellow dog/blue dog style of long-term socialized loyalty.

This is why Democrats who present themselves as "Conservative" win state-wide elections, and hold the majority in the State Legislature, while the state (with the exception of uber-Progressive Louisville) goes overwhelmingly Republican in Presidential US Senate and US Rep elections. They actively brand themselves as "different" from their fellow, non-Kentucky, Democrats.

The problem facing Kentucky Democrats right now is that for all the strength of their machine and sense of loyalty to their state brand (but not national brand) the political situation in Kentucky is ceasing to be insular to a point where they can successfully avoid national controversies and differentiate themselves. That's why the Democratic Attorney General, who is the Democratic nominee for Governor, is refusing to indict Davis for dereliction of duty. It's also why the Democratic Speaker of the Majority-Dem State Legislature really, really, seriously wants the Governor to call a special session to provide legal cover to government officials like Kim Davis.