Free Republic

FRANKFORT — The largest private provider of health insurance policies on Kynect, Kentucky's health insurance exchange, is going out of business. The Louisville-based Kentucky Health Cooperative Inc. announced Friday that it will end current memberships on Dec. 31 and will not add new members because of financial problems. It will not offer health insurance plans on Kynect when open enrollment for 2016 coverage starts on Nov. 1. The cooperative has about 51,000 members in all 120 Kentucky counties. ... Jonathan Gold, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email that the federal government...

FRANKFORT — Kentucky Democrats are hoping to capitalize on a comment they say shows Republican Matt Bevin’s insensitivity toward Medicare recipients during Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate, urging about 40 senior citizens to rally against the GOP nominee on Thursday. Bevin’s campaign, however, is accusing Democrats of targeting seniors with scare tactics weeks before voters elect the next governor Nov. 3. Democrats are seeking to make hay out of an “on the draw” remark from Bevin. Conway asked Bevin why he favored drug testing Medicare recipients, and the Democrat clarified that he was asking about Medicare, not Medicaid, during his opponent’s response....

Matt Bevin: "Flashback to the last debate, when my opponent dodged a question on defunding Planned Parenthood." (video at link)

Attorney General Jack Conway maintains a nominal five-point lead over Republican Matt Bevin with just more than a month to go in Kentucky's race for governor, according to a new Bluegrass Poll. The poll shows little change from July, with Conway garnering 42 percent support, Bevin with 37 percent and independent Drew Curtis with 7 percent. Fifteen percent of voters say they are undecided. The survey of 701 likely voters was conducted Sept. 22 to 27 by SurveyUSA and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, which means the race remains a statistical toss-up. The...

... The topic turned to Hampton’s statements on early childhood education during the debate, as Hampton was asked about her comments she made calling federal early childhood education program Head Start a way “to get the kids at an even earlier age and just start the indoctrination sooner.” ... On Monday, a visibly perspiring Hampton, told the panel at WAVE 3, “…all we ask is that Head Start funds be evaluated objectively so we can see if they are being used properly, and effectively and efficiently,” “And, there’s no point spending those funds if we’re not seeing results,” Hampton said,...

Jenean Hampton, the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin, said the federal early childhood education program known as Head Start is used to indoctrinate young children. Head Start is a federal program providing 3 to 5 year old children from low income families with health and developmental screenings, meals and education services. On the campaign trail in Jessamine County on Tuesday, Hampton told a group at a meet-and-greet in Nicholasville that the program essentially does not serve a purpose. “I remember when Head Start began and it was just for low income, very low income kids because they...

MIDWAY — Set against the back drop of Kentucky’s lone women-only college, candidates for lieutenant governor Jenean Hampton a Republican and Rep. Sannie Overly a Democrat went head to head at Midway College tonight. ... Overly said she and running mate Attorney General Jack Conway, “want to encourage programs that offer partnerships, a state wide apprentice program, and other opportunities so students can earn while they learn.” Hampton spoke of her time of working her way through college, and using loans grants and scholarships. Hampton said that she and Bevin would work to strengthen partnerships and emphasized alternative education. “We...

Over at the Lexington Herald-Leader, political writer Sam Youngman offers a blistering critique of Jack Conway’s performance at Tuesday night’s debate. Not only did Youngman compare Conway to “A 1980s commercial for antiperspirant,” but said: “Between the Al Gore body language and the 1960 Richard Nixon sweating, Conway looked ill at ease on the stage, and he desperately needs strong debate performances from here on out to break through a political environment that is potentially apocalyptic for Democrats.” Conway’s answer to a question about a sexual harassment case bothered Youngman (among others) “The larger problem for Conway came from some...

Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin has launched his first campaign ad of the general election which features a football themed attack against Democratic candidate Jack Conway. The ad plays heavily on ESPN styling with head-to-head matchup graphics pitting Bevin and Conway. “Conway’s playbook supports Obama’s liberal agenda – that means Obamacare and Obama’s job-killing Cap and Trade Plan,” an announcer says. “Conway will take us the wrong way.” The ad follows the same track as recent Republican Governors Association ads which target Conway for his support of Obama. “Leading Kentucky’s team of greater prosperity is outsider businessman Matt Bevin,”...

Conway Cites Owning A Female Dog When Asked How He's Made Kentucky Safer For Women - video

LOUISVILLE — The three candidates for governor met Tuesday night at Belleramine University in an hour-long debate where social issues took a sharper focus. Democratic candidate Jack Conway, Republican candidate Matt Bevin and independent candidate Drew Curtis shared the spotlight on Tuesday night in Louisville at the debate sponsored by The Courier Journal, WHAS-TV, WKYT-TV and the Lexington Herald-Leader. Bevin and a visibly sweating Conway exchanged barbs over state pension plans and same-sex marriage from the stage as a crowd of 300 people watched on from the Cralle Center. All the while Curtis slipped in and out of the wider...

With the campaigns focusing on their fall strategy and increasing their television presence, politicians are being forced to react to the controversy surrounding Democratic Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis. Bob Babbage, the former Democratic secretary of state and managing partner of Lexington-based lobbying firm Babbage Cofounder, described the Davis situation as “significant” in the political realm not just in 2015, but likely for politicians in years to come. No public poll has been taken since Davis’s incarceration and release for contempt of court, but Babbage said the conventional wisdom is that she helps GOP candidate Matt Bevin in the short-term....

Kentucky Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin sparred with CNN host Don Lemon in a contentious interview on national television Tuesday night. Bevin appeared on CNN to discuss the controversy surrounding Democratic Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses and her incarceration on contempt charges. The back-and-forth between Bevin and Lemon became labored at times. During the interview Lemon played Bevin a clip from the TV show “The West Wing,” which has gone viral in response to the Davis controversy in recent weeks. The clip features actor Martin Sheen playing fictional President Jed Bartlet quoting Bible verses...

The Republican Governors Association has returned to the airwaves in Kentucky in defense of Matt Bevin’s tax record. The ad, released Tuesday, seeks to characterize Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Conway as misrepresenting the facts behind Bevin’s tax delinquencies — a point raised by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and his allies in the 2014 GOP primary for Senate. “Jack Conway is playing fast and loose again. Matt Bevin did pay the taxes,” a narrator in the ad says. The ad is split into half defensive mechanism, and half positive spot featuring Kentuckians speaking on behalf of Bevin’s family bell business...

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A defiant county clerk in Kentucky is willing to stay in jail for her beliefs, but she would prefer to be a free woman. Attorneys for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis have officially appealed a judge's decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The three-page motion doesn't include arguments as to why Davis should be released but amends Davis' earlier appeal of the judge's order. Davis objects to same-sex marriage for religious reasons. U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses and the U.S. Supreme...

Today, Matt Bevin responded to the arrest of Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis. “It is utterly unnecessary that Rowan County clerk, Kim Davis, is sitting in a jail cell, when there is a simple solution that would respect the rights of every Kentuckian. I first put this solution forward many weeks ago. Why the cowardly silence from our Attorney General, Jack Conway? Jack Conway violated his oath of office as Attorney General when he refused to defend our state in court. Where was our Governor then demanding his resignation? The double standard applied in this case is reprehensible. Jack Conway...

A new outside group has kicked off a fundraising effort to help Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin win in November. Fighting for Kentucky, a super PAC run by two Kentucky Republicans and one from Texas, said it has $100,000 in pledges and hopes to raise $1 million by Sept. 15. In a fundraising email sent to Republican donors Wednesday afternoon, the group's founders said they are not bound by state laws that ban corporate donations to candidates and limit other contributors to $1,000. "To win, this campaign will cost millions of dollars, so our super PAC is raising unlimited contributions...

The political 501(c )(4) group Americans for Prosperity is jumping into the fall election cycle with an ad attempting to tie Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Conway to President Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act. The ad, first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, launched Monday in what AFP told the newspaper is a “hefty” six-figure ad buy. AFP is supported by the billionaire ultra-conservative Koch brothers. “Jack Conway chose Washington insiders over Kentucky families when he decided not to take Obamacare to court — now we are yolked with double-digit premium increases and thousands of lost jobs,” Julia Crigler, state...

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky County Clerks Association will propose removing clerks’ names from the document in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. Overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage has prompted Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and two others to deny licenses to all couples, drawing a federal lawsuit against Davis as well as calls to change the licensing process. Leslie County Clerk James Lewis, chairman of the association’s elections committee, told reporters Tuesday that his group is drafting “a simple solution” to the matter. “You would have the county and the county seat listed...

Democratic super PAC Kentucky Family Values is sharpening their messaging in their latest TV with a focus on Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin’s refusal to release his tax returns. The 30-second ad released on Tuesday by the pro-Jack Conway PAC focuses on the “tradition” of gubernatorial candidates releasing their tax-returns for public inspection as a candidate. The ad also turns to the previous tax delinquency claims made by the campaign of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 GOP primary against Bevin, and numerous Democratic attacks in the gubernatorial campaign this year. “It’s a tradition in Kentucky,” A male narrator...