Free Republic

People are outraged after the Herald Leader published political cartoonist Joel Pett's recent cartoon about Governor Elect Matt Bevin. The cartoon has been viewed by many as an attack on Bevin's adopted children. The Governor Elect is calling Pett a racist and some people are demanding that the paper fire Pett and the entire editorial staff at the Herald Leader. The cartoon, published Thursday, shows Bevin under his desk, shivering with fear. The caption reads, "Sir, they're not terrorists...they're your own adopted kids!" The children referenced in this cartoon are the four Ethiopian children the Governor Elect and his wife...

FRANKFORT — The race for Kentucky attorney general slid to the right during the last 60 days as Democrat Andy Beshear lost the seven-point lead he held in July over Republican Whitney Westerfield. Beshear and Westerfield are tied at 38 percent in a new statewide Bluegrass Poll of 701 likely voters conducted Sept. 22-27 by SurveyUSA. Twenty-two percent said they were undecided; 2 percent said they were not following the race. The poll, taken on behalf of the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington and The Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8...

Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has been promoting his plan to fight heroin use in Kentucky, including mandatory minimum prison terms for dealers, better access to anti-overdose medication for emergency workers and a "Good Samaritan law" that legally protects drug users who report an overdose to authorities, all of which he says should be done "without further delay." But Beshear's proposals — featured on his campaign website — already are the law. They were included in last winter's hotly debated Senate Bill 192, signed by his father, Gov. Steve Beshear, in March, and crafted in part by...

The Republican Attorneys General Association has launched a new television ad released Thursday again linking Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear with President Barack Obama. A female narrator in the ad, titled “Follow the Money,” says Beshear has collected “hundreds of thousands from the same liberal donors who funded Barack Obama.” “Why? Because Beshear would support Obama’s policies, putting Obama ahead of Kentucky,” the narrator says in the 30-second spot, which can be viewed here: Scott Will, executive director of RAGA, said in a statement, “You may not always know what Andy Beshear stands for, but you know who he...

The Republican Attorneys General Association is launching another ad attempting to connect the dots between Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear and President Barack Obama. The ad is beginning to run as the campaign for Beshear launched the first two ads of their advertising campaign, totaling more than $1 million. A search of FCC documents shows that RAGA purchased $100,000 worth of ad time over the course of a week in the Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati television markets. RAGA never returned multiple calls from Pure Politics seeking comment on the ad on Monday. The ad from the group says that...

FANCY FARM — Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway heaped criticism on his GOP opponent at the 135th annual Fancy Farm picnic Saturday, repeating numerous attacks against Matt Bevin that have sprouted in his two runs for office. In response, Bevin completely reversed the Fancy Farm norm, eschewed the partisan tenor of Kentucky’s signature political event before leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and painting in broad strokes in his remarks. “The one thing that discourages me, however, about this process is that we literally are celebrating the very worst elements of the political process,” Bevin said. “We are...

FANCY FARM — Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear and Republican candidate Whitney Westerfield traded barbs face-to-face on Saturday with both referencing cosmetic treatments to feet and toes. The reference dates back to a 2007 personnel report first detailed by Pure Politics in mid-July. An August 2007 entry in Westerfield’s personnel file cites complaints with courtesy, professionalism and attitude. The file says that, “Personal interests often take priority over work duties,” including “Teeth Cleaning vs. Jury Trial,” “Pedicure vs. Arraignments,” and “Cell Phone in Court.” And it was the pedicures which both Beshear and Westerfield mentioned in their speeches on...

The campaign of Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear is attempting to have an ad by the Republican Attorneys General Association removed from Lexington airwaves. The ad first was launched on Tuesday in the Lexington market where the 30-second spot is airing on: WLEX-TV, WKYT-TV and WTVQ-TV. As previously reported, the spot highlights Republican candidate Whitney Westerfield, a Hopkinsville attorney and the state Senate Judiciary chairman, as having spent time as a prosecutor “who put criminals behind bars.” The ad targets Beshear for having a lack of law enforcement experience, having a campaign “funded by special interests he would oversee...