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Bunning Q&A summary: more Mutual Assured Destruction, more of the same Racketeering that we have all grown to love and respect from the Federal Reserve, more obfuscations, more Colonel Jessup bullshit (aka "You can't handle the truth"). With Bernanke's reconfirmation vote coming on Thursday, all Senators should read the latest garbled and encrypted pamphlet from the Fed as to why nobody in America is smart or relevant enough to have an understanding of the key items that determine US monetary policy (except for Goldman Sachs and its alumni, of course). Also, we are happy to announce that the questions proposed...

If you think Ben Bernanke's confirmation hearing went smoothly today, think again. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) lays into Bernanke with furor over the subprime crisis. Click to watch

Sen. Jim Bunning has placed an additional hold on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term. Bunning's office confirmed that the Kentucky Republican is joining with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, to seek to block Bernanke's confirmation to a second term atop the Federal Reserve Board. Bernanke has come under fire from lawmakers on the left and the right, who have expressed varying concerns about his record as Fed chairman, though his course to a second term was eased somewhat on Thursday when a number of members of the Senate Banking Committee, including Chairman...

U.S. Senator Jim Bunning delivers his statement at the Senate Banking Committee explaining why he will oppose the nomination of Ben Bernanke to serve a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Gee, so you mean that there are some people in The Senate who actually understand what Bernanke has been up to - and are willing to ream him on it? Fancy that.... can we find 39 more please? CALL YOUR SENATORS AND TELL THEM **NAY** ON ANY CLOTURE VOTE - A HOLD REQUIRES 60 VOTES TO OVERRIDE.

A group of eight Democrats today asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the health care reform bill to be posted online for 72 hours before a vote on the measure and once again before a vote on the conference report that will meld the House and Senate versions. The senators told Reid that health care reform should be more transparent and easier for their constituents to understand. A CBS poll released last month showed that two-thirds of Americans say the issue is confusing and just 31 percent say they have a clear understanding of what reform will mean for...

Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) leads both of his Democratic opponents in the battle to replace retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), according to a new independent poll. Though he is known by fewer Bluegrass voters than either Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D) or Attorney General Jack Conway (D), Grayson leads both by slim margins. Grayson outpaces Mongiardo by a 45-41 percent margin, while he leads Conway 46 percent to 40, according to the Research 2000 survey taken for the liberal Daily Kos website.

Web site tries to give Paul a fund-raising boost FRANKFORT — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul and a mysterious supporter are attempting to paint GOP front-runner Trey Grayson as a Washington, D.C., insider. Supporter Josh Manuel, whom Paul Campaign Manager David Adams said he doesn't know, has launched a Web site promoting a "Kentucky Fight" between Paul and Grayson on Sept. 23. The site, titled "Rand 'We the People' vs. Trey 'The DC Insiders,'" notes that 23 Republican U.S. senators, including Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, are to hold a $500-per-plate fund-raiser for Grayson's 2010 U.S. Senate campaign in Washington on...

^ Rand Paul speech in Nicholasville, Kentucky [Click Here]

TAKE BACK THE GOP! On September 23rd, twenty three Republican US Senators are holding a $500 per plate fundraiser in Washington DC for Trey Grayson - Rand Paul's opponent. This deck stacking favoritism in a highly contested GOP primary is unacceptable! Join in the fight and help Rand Paul deliver a knock out punch to establishment candidate Trey Grayson with a pledge to donate $100 on the same date! Read about the DC establishment's fundraiser for one of their own here. Our goal is to bring together 5,000 common people to donate $100 each creating a one day donation total...

Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), is touting the first public poll on the GOP primary for next year’s U.S. Senate race. According to the survey, conducted for WHAS11, Paul trails GOP frontrunner Trey Grayson by only 11 points, 37-26. Among “conservative” Republican voters, he only trails by 7 points. And Paul only trails the two potential Democratic nominees by single digits. (Grayson leads both candidates, Attorney General Jack Conway and Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo.) “Great news for Rand Paul ahead of his scheduled ‘moneybomb’ internet fundraiser on August 20,” writes Joe Arnold in an analysis of...

On the primary contest vs. Sec. of State Trey Grayson: "I think he'll be a challenge." Paul says Grayson is "harder to pigeonhole" because he's in a non-partisan positon. "A large percentage of the time, he's been out shaking hands to run for the next office." "He really wants to stay in government and he will do, I think, what it takes But I don't think he has the fire in his belly that I have to change things. I don't really care to go up there forever. I want to go up there and throttle a few people and...

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Kentucky ophthalmologist who has been eyeing a U.S. Senate campaign says he will run for the seat now held by Jim Bunning. Republican Rand Paul of Bowling Green ended months of speculation Wednesday when he told The Associated Press in an interview that he is entering the race. Paul told the AP of his decision in advance of a series of planned media events, including an appearance on national television Wednesday evening. Paul had been considering running even before the 77-year-old Bunning announced last week that he intends to retire when his second term ends next...

With Bunning out, the stage is set for a classic confrontation between the establishment: Grayson with McConnell’s backing, either overtly or covertly -- and Dr. Rand Paul of Bowling Green, son of Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Tex.). Young Paul is a cinch to have the backing of his father’s nationwide network of donors who were the force behind Paul, Sr.’s abortive bid for the Republican presidential nomination last year. In addition, a number of party workers who loved Jim Bunning are likely to roll up their sleeves on behalf of first-time candidate Paul.

Though the Washington punditocracy was relieved with the retirement announcement by Sen. Jim Bunning (R.-Ky.) earlier this week, Republicans in the onetime major league star’s homestate may not feel the same. And it certainly is not the case among the Republican activists in the Bluegrass State. “Among folks who lick envelopes, work on phone banks and go to precinct committee meetings, Jim was a star,” one longtime party activist who requested anonymity told me, “He opposed all of the Wall Street bailouts, the Obama stimulus package, and was even critical of [former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan] Greenspan before it...

Cantankerous Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning has officially dropped out of next year's reelection campaign -- citing his paltry fundraising efforts.

Two-term Sen. Jim Bunning announced Monday that he won't seek re-election. Bunning had been facing an uphill battle, falling behind in fundraising against his main primary challenger and having lost support from fellow Kentucky Republican and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

When it comes to next year's primaries, three senators probably are feeling a lot like Rodney Dangerfield: They can't get any respect. As veteran lawmakers, Sens. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Jim Bunning, R-Ky., should be coasting, under normal circumstances, to the general election. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., appointed in January as Hillary Rodham Clinton's successor, has the White House's backing. Yet each has party challengers clamoring for a primary fight in 2010. That's unusual in the Senate, where incumbents typically sail smoothly into the November vote. It's created awkwardness and tension for party leaders who like to avoid contentious and...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday that he'll oppose Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, lending his voice to a chorus of conservatives who've vowed to vote no on making the appellate judge the court's first Hispanic justice. McConnell's announcement followed several days of Sotomayor testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which several panel members tried to unravel Sotomayor's views on race and determine if ethnic loyalty rather than judicial oath would influence her rulings. A day earlier, Kentucky's junior senator, Republican Jim Bunning, said he also found the jurist "unsuitable to be a member...

A possible bid for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination in Kentucky certainly won't enable eye surgeon Rand Paul to rake in the mega-millions in campaign donations procured by his much better-known father -- Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul -- when he campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination on his strongly libertarian-tinged platform.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may have a tepid relationship with fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, but he's giving GOP rising star and 2010 Senate candidate Florida Gov. Charlie Crist a thumbs up. According to Crist's Web site, McConnell gave the governor a full-throated endorsement. "Decisions are being made every day in Washington that have a direct impact upon the lives of all Americans and we need Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate to ensure that those decisions will benefit the citizens of Florida.” Crist, McConnell and other party luminaries are slated to attend a campaign fundraising...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Bunning acknowledged Tuesday that during a meeting in December, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told him that "I was too old and I couldn't win" a re-election battle in 2010. Bunning, 77, went on to call McConnell a "control freak." He also said he'll fare well in Kentucky without McConnell's endorsement in the Republican primary, since during the senior senator's tenure as a member of the GOP leadership the Republicans have lost several seats and could lose more in 2010. "If Mitch McConnell doesn't endorse me that may be the best thing that could happen to...

During an appearance in Paducah on Friday evening, Dr. Rand Paul told a crowd of about 50 people that they could expect to hear something definitive regarding his candidacy for the US Senate by this Thursday, May 14th. Moments later, Paul used langauge that was a bit more straighforward:"I'm going to give this a go...It's a long shot at this piont, but I wouldn't do this unless I think it was a possibility."  After Paul's speech, Christopher Hightower, Paul's right-hand man, confirmed that national media coverage has already been scheduled for next Thursday. Paul, who considers himself an "outsider" from...

Rand Paul, son of Congressman Ron Paul, gauges support for Senate run in Bowling Green & Paducah! Some politicians feel the need to travel to Washington, DC to ask permission to run for office or to obtain some regal blessing. Rand Paul, this week, will travel to Teresa's Diner at 509 Gordon Ave Bowling Green to gauge support for a possible US Senate Run. Dr. Paul will be there for breakfast at 7AM Thursday May 7th.

When it comes to Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, everyone’s a critic. With the formation of Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s exploratory committee, national media has started a “Bunning Campaign Death Watch” of sorts: outlets everywhere have cranked up the speculation on when Bunning will drop out of the race, even though the Senator says he has no plans to retire. Now, the snarky political blog Wonkette has weighed in. The editors are no fan of Ron Paul, and the story focuses on the possible candidacy of the Texas Congressman and former Republican Presidential Candidate’s son, Bowling Green eye doctor...

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky's embattled junior senator is blaming GOP leader Mitch McConnell for losing Arlen Specter to the Democrats and costing the party Senate seats. Sen. Jim Bunning has been at odds lately with McConnell, Kentucky's senior senator. McConnell hasn't publicly asked Bunning to retire but hasn't endorsed him for re-election next year. Bunning says he's still in the race but Republican leaders have been sending not-so-subtle messages that he should retire rather than face a strong Democratic challenge.

Rand Paul, son of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, says he is poised to enter the race for U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning's seat. Paul, who has been stumping across Kentucky, told The Associated Press that "every bone in my body says there is going to be a race." But the Bowling Green physician said he won't run unless Bunning opts out. Paul is a fan of Bunning's conservative fiscal philosophy and said he simply wants to be ready to jump into the race quickly if the 77-year-old senator decides to retire instead of seeking re-election next year. Bunning has...

Kentucky Secretary of State Forms Senate Exploratory Committee By John McArdle Roll Call Staff Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) has formed an exploratory committee to run for Senate, a move that would appear to indicate that a retirement announcement from Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) is imminent.

Now that congressional candidates have filed their first-quarter Federal Election Commission fundraising reports, a clearer picture of the 2010 election cycle is developing. The following is POLITICO’s list of the top 10 insights gleaned from the first round of fundraising — and what they reveal about the 2010 landscape.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Legal Newsline)-After just two years as the Kentucky attorney general, Jack Conway announced Thursday he will seek the Democratic nomination in 2010 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Jim Bunning. Conway, 39, made his announcement in a seven-minute video posted on his campaign Web site.

It’s been a tough year so far for two-term Republican Sen. Jim Bunning and a new survey by Public Policy Polling conducted April 2-3 has some more bad news with Kentucky voters disapproving of his job performance by 54 percent to 28 percent with 18 percent undecided. In trial heats against four Democrats, Bunning trails them all. It’s also cause for concern for his fellow Republicans who have made no secret of their concern that he is in danger of losing his seat), not only because of poll numbers, but his anemic fundraising numbers. To make matters worse, he has...

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning on Tuesday blamed his early fundraising difficulties on fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. Bunning, 77, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators up for re-election next year. The Hall of Fame pitcher barely beat Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, at the time a little-known Democrat, to win his second term in 2004. Recently, Bunning had to apologize for taking the Lord's name in vain after remarks to reporters. Nearly a month earlier, he stirred controversy by saying U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could die of pancreatic cancer within a year. Bunning...

U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky says he won’t release the results of a statewide poll he commissioned last month to guage support for his re-election bid next year. Bunning was asked about the poll numbers during his weekly conference call with reporters Tuesday. The Republican would say only that the poll was indeed conducted. He didn’t mince words when asked what that means. “That means it’s none of your g**d*** business,” he said, laughing. Bunning has repeatedly said he plans to seek a third term in 2010, even though he has raised relatively little campaign cash. He’s considered by...

Can Bunning Make Good on Resignation Threat? Jim Bunning (R, Ky.) is one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate. Unlike so many who wear the conservative label to get votes, but betray conservatives when called upon to vote, Bunning stands tall on issues like the defense of innocent life, the preservation of the natural family, and the paramount importance of securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws. Mind you, I'm not saying I think he's perfect. (Not unlike myself some years back, he hasn't yet figured out the connection between so-called free trade and the...

He claims that the US is in awful shape if Geithner is the best that we can do.

Rep. Ron Paul, Republican of Texas and former GOP presidential candidate, who had warned about this crisis, called the Paulson plan “a slipshod proposal, slapped together haphazardly and forced on an unwilling Congress with the threat that not passing it will lead to the collapse of the financial system.” On the contrary, he said, passage of the plan would “lead us down the road toward economic ruin.” On the Senate side, DeMint outlined a plan to stimulate economic growth through lower taxes, reform of government programs, and immediately expanding domestic energy production. Meanwhile, USA Today has been caught blatantly misrepresenting...

Phone number: 202-224-4343 United States Senate, Washington, DC Friday, September 26, 2008 Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to speak about the current economic situation and the bailout bill that will soon be coming to the Senate floor. Let me start by saying that I am just as concerned about what is going on in the financial markets and the economy as everyone else. I know there are extreme tensions in the credit markets and those problems could soon have an impact on businesses and individuals who had nothing to do with the mortgage mess. However, I do not agree...

Gas prices were big topic of the day. "Sheiks" follow McConnell's Democrat opponent, Bruce Lunsford, to "thank" him for his energy plan Senator Mitch McConnell (R) Fancy Farm speech - "these liberals love high gas prices" Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) Fancy Farm speech - "official drink of the Obama campaign is Kool-Aid" Secretary of State Trey Grayson - pre-Fancy Farm speech at GOP rally "...disappointed to read that Obama was coming...would love to see him without a teleprompter facing a crowd of bitter voters who cling to their guns and religion..." Democrat candidate Bruce Lunsford heckled by "sheiks"...

Opposition to U.S. immigration bill intensifies Tue May 22, 2007 8:14 AM IST By Donna Smith WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opposition to a compromise immigration overhaul grew on Monday, with labor unions and Hispanic groups saying the deal brokered by leading U.S. senators and the White House was bad for workers, families and employers. The League of United Latin American Citizens, one of the country's oldest and largest Hispanic groups, said it opposed the plan's limits on family-based immigration. A labor union and another Hispanic group said they would work to change the proposed law as it moves through Congress. The...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning broke with the sitting governor from his own party on Monday, throwing his support behind Anne Northup's campaign to unseat Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the Republican primary. Fletcher has garnered endorsements from a number of Republican politicians, but Bunning became the biggest name to back a candidate in the May GOP primary. Fletcher said he didn't consider it a snub. "I'm very confident that this is just all in the family, if you will, and after the primary we'll all come together as a family again," Fletcher told reporters in Frankfort after Bunning's...

Pathetic.One expected no better of the Senate Democrats, who want to get out of Iraq as soon as possible, or sooner than possible--most of them don't really care--and who want to embarrass president Bush. But couldn't the Senate Republicans have stood and fought against passing an irresponsible resolution suggesting that Americans want to get out of Iraq more than we want to win?The Republican leadership may have figured they didn't have the votes to defeat the Democratic proposal without giving their members a weaker alternative to vote for. But better to lose such a vote by a small margin than...

WASHINGTON - Aiming to spur baseball and other sports to adopt tougher steroids policies, Sens. Jim Bunning and John McCain are reintroducing legislation that would standardize drug testing and penalties for professional leagues. The new bill combines two already proposed separately by Bunning, a Kentucky Republican who was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1996, and McCain, an Arizona Republican. Bunning, a former major league pitcher, said the new legislation would be introduced Tuesday or Wednesday. "We have heard a lot of talk from professional sports leagues that they would do something to clean up this mess, but so...

The doughty band of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reformers isn't beaten yet. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby plans to mark up a bill this week to protect taxpayers against the risky business of these "government-sponsored enterprises," and the question is whether he can coax enough skittish Republicans to pass it. The Alabama Senator's proposal is a quantum improvement over the non-reform that passed the House Financial Services Committee earlier this year. In particular, it would force Fan and Fred to reduce their portfolios of mortgage-backed securities, a source of great profit for the companies but also of significant...

Senators from both sides of the aisle competed on Monday to extol the humane treatment of detainees whom they said they saw on a weekend trip to the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. All said they opposed closing the center. "I feel very good" about the detainees' treatment, Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said. That feeling was also expressed by another Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska. On Monday, Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, said he learned while visiting Guantánamo that some detainees "even have air-conditioning and semiprivate showers." Another Republican, Senator Michael D. Crapo of Idaho, said...

Alliance for Marriage Recognizes 13 Senators With “Defender of Marriage” Award Rudy Takala The American Eagle News And Economic Report May 27,2005 Pine City, MN Last May 19th, the Alliance for Marriage (AFM) recognized thirteen senators with their first annual “Defender of Marriage” Award. The award was given to both Republican and Democratic senators who voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004, including Senators Allard (R-CO), Bunning (R-KY), Burns (R-MT), Byrd (D-WV), Brownback (R-KS), Cornyn (R-TX), Frist (R-TN), Inhofe (R-OK), Lott (R-MS), Santorum (R-PA), Sen. Enzi (D-WY), Hatch (R-UT), and Smith (R-OR). Ultimately, the amendment failed by a vote...

FRANKFORT - Daniel Mongiardo just can't win. As a lifelong bachelor at the age of 44 during last year's U.S. Senate race, Mongiardo was the target of Republican insinuations that he might be gay. Now that he's dating a 19-year-old woman, he's drawing static for robbing the cradle.

On the surface there would seem to be little to unite the Aryan racialists of the neo-Nazi movement with the terrorists of radical Islam. To the neo-Nazis, Muslims are almost all members of ``inferior`` races; and to the Islamic terrorists, the neo-Nazis are almost without exception either atheists or members of fringe quasi-Christian sects. But the reality is that there has been close cooperation between Muslim extremists and Fascists ever since the founding of the Nazi movement in the 1920`s. For all of their differences, Muslim extremists and Nazis have always been united by a common group of beliefs and...

Below is VANITY based on current results on website. (And earlier facts from website). This looked like a loss of a Republican seat earlier. Senator Jim Bunning-R, Kentucky, was trailing in the early to middle of the returns. The margin is: 50.6% to 49.4% with 99.6% of the precints complete. It appears he has narrowly avoided defeat.

Put info and links about Kentucky here.

Bluegrass Poll shows Bunning ahead by only 49% to 43%, down from 51% to 34% on September 20.