Tag: Ed Whitfield

I believe we are going to elect a Democratic President this year. Voter turnouts in the primaries and caucuses so far have shown that America is simply fired up about our great Presidential candidates. Why shouldn’t they be? I mean, our party should look at pride at the candidates we put forth this year.  

I mean, men like Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, and even Mike Gravel are far superior to ANY candidate put forth by the other side. AND THAT WAS OUR SECOND TIER IN THIS PRIMARY!!! Then we you look at our final three, Obama, Clinton, and Edwards, you begin to realize why our party is so much more superior to the Republicans.

Our final three candidates offered hope to millions in there own way. Obama with his ability to reach out and bring new, young voters into the process and fire them up, Clinton with her toughness and resolve and determination, and Edwards with his ability to appeal to our better angels, yes ALL our candidates are far superior to anything the Republicans offered. And the voters have proven it.

Now, we are down to two awesome candidates. I think either one would be a vast improvement over the last eight years. I think too, that either one will need more than just the slim majority of seats offered in both chambers of Congress to get Progressive change enacted. We have seen that when you count Democrats that don’t always support us, we actually have a slim MINORITY for enacting Progressive Change.

We are putting a lot of stock in our Presidential candidates. The support that has been shown them is staggering. However, lets not forget the fact that even if we do succeed in electing one of these fine Democrats, which I believe we will, if we do not expand their majorities in both chambers of Congress with the kind of Democrats they will need, Democrats that will fight, their hands will be tied. We must not only give them a mandate at the polls, we must give them a mandate of expanded majorities of committed Democrats in the House and Senate to achieve the progress we want. Otherwise, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment even with a Democrat in the White House.

That is why I am pleading with you now. Here in Kentucky’s First Congressional District we have a chance to replace an established Republican from the McConnell machine with an awesome Democrat who will fight with a backbone for the policies of our new President. Heather Ryan can win this race with your support, and send a clear message to the Republican establisment that Kentucky is no longer stomping grounds, and that they will no longer impede progress in this state.

Just read why she decided to run for this seat:

I was propelled into this race when I became the victim of

a corrupt politician.  

It was after my experience that I realized that the Republican Representation

Kentucky has in Washington, D.C. is part of the “Culture of Corruption” from which

our communities are currently reeling.  

Ed Whitfield, KY-01’s current representative, is no exception.  He consistently votes

for his own financial interests, has only introduced one piece of legislation in 13 years

as Representative

(a ban on eating horse meat) and opposed SCHIP legislation which would have

increased health care benefits for poor children!

I refuse to allow a powerful few to bully me and the First Congressional District.  We

need someone who is not afraid to stand up for the rights of their constituents – not

another puppet of the rich and power hungry.

I will be a TRUE Representative for the people of Kentucky’s First District!  Not a

No-Show like “Exxon Eddie Whitfield”

Read some of the issues that matter to her:

As a veteran of the United States Navy, and an active member of the American Legion, my

dedication to the men and women in uniform is unyielding.  The current service member is

highly skilled, highly trained and highly ignored by this administration.  The American people

were duped into an ill-conceived war under false pretenses and the administration continues

to over utilize a national guard system which was never intended to be used for sustained

combat missions.  Congress must insist that an exit strategy be planned and implemented

immediately.  By the Bush Administration’s own account, the nation will be forced to

reinstate the draft system again should we continue to over-tax our National Guard with

sustained combat.  I am not a supporter of reinstating the draft for as history clearly shows

us, the draft is merely for those of us who are not wealthy enough to buy our way out of

active duty.  We must not allow this ill planned and ill executed war to continue to destroy the

brave men and women in our armed forces while simultaneously placing our nation at a

heightened risk with a limited national guard.

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

As a veteran, Heather will fight endlessly for real respect for our troops with more than talking points.

She also will fight for good jobs here in Western Kentucky and all over the nation, something that is sorely needed:

It is not hard to figure out that outsourcing American jobs to third world countries is

destroying our middle class.  We must stop rewarding companies who send our jobs

oversees with tax cuts and begin rewarding companies who invest in our nations future.  

As a member of a staunch union family, and a former union member myself, I understand first

hand the need for a living wage as well as benefits and training programs.  I will work

tirelessly to fight for the rights of the working person.  For far too long, the citizens of

Kentucky have been victimized by the million dollar boy’s club.  It is time for change!

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

Just listening to her announcment to run for Congress tells you a lot about what kind of a Congresswoman Mrs. Ryan would be:

I have lived in Kentucky’s First District my whole life. I can attest to the fact that we need someone in Congress, someone like Heather Ryan. However, as one of the poorest Congressional districts in the nation, we need help from Democrats everywhere that want to fight for the Progress expanded Congressional majorities would bring.

That is why I personally am asking for your help. I have started an ActBlue fundraising page to benefit Heather in her run for Congress. I hope to raise $1500 dollars online for her by the time our primary comes in May. She is already on the ballot in the fall since she is the only Democrat that filed in the first by the deadline.

Investing in Heather is an investment in expanded Congressional majorities. For former Edwards supporters such as myself that want to continue to fight for the ideals he presented, this is a chance to support a candidate who will embrace many of the policies of One America in the Congress, and for the supporters of Obama and Hillary this is a chance to invest in them having a Congress that will allow either one of them to achieve their agenda when elected. Folks, this young lady will fight for all of us that support the Democratic Party!!!

Please go to my page and help me to raise $1500 during the primary for an awesome candidate that is already running in the fall against an established Republican. We won’t be recieving a million dollars in special interest money like Exxon Ed Whitield, so we have to rely on fellow grassroots Democrats like all of you to win, please go here and help me towards my goal of $1500 by May 20!!!:

http://www.actblue.com/page/am…

Watch in the coming days for our first installment of Ask Heather Ryan, where Heather answers questions on video directly to the grassroots Democrats who ask them!!

Also, be sure to visit her site and sign up for email updates from the campaign here:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

Please show the power that grassroots Democrats can have when they stand up together for candidates that will fight for us!! Please help me to support Heather Ryan and give her the funding she needs!!

Best wishes fellow Democrats!!

Here in the First District of Kentucky we have an awesome candidate to unseat Exxon Ed Whitfield. Whitfield is a McConnell clone who can’t wait to vote his stock options, and rubber-stamp every failed policy of McConnell and Bush. He doesn’t own a home in our district, and is essentially a carpet-bagger.

Heather wants to earn your support in her run against Exxon Ed Whitfield. The defeat of Whitfield would be a huge blow to the McConnell machine here in Kentucky. That is not the only good thing about supporting this race however.

Heather is an awesome grassroots Democrat that supports the ideals of our party. She will have the strength and courage to stand up with something our party seems to be lacking in Congress, a backbone!! She will fight for Democratic ideals and won’t run from them.

But why not meet Heather, and listen to what she has to say in her own words? Here is the first installment of her video diary:

Please help us in this race. I know Heather personally and have seen her dedication to her family, our country, our party, and the people of the First District of Kentucky first hand. As the fiasco with Andrew Horne has shown us all, we simply can’t depend on our national party to fight for Kentucky. We can win this seat with help, and we are already in the General election against Ed Whitfield this fall.

Please go to Heather’s site and sign up for email updates to watch this race. While there, read up on Heather and the issues she cares about:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

While there, please consider supporting fellow grassroots Democrats in Kentucky that are determined to fight against Mitch McConnell and his well-oiled, well-funded machine. We are a mouse fighting a gorilla and need your support!!! You will not be disappointed in your investment in this race. We will put it to work immediately to fight the McConnell machine. We are grassroots Democrats just like yourself. Please, invest in us here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/ry…

We can and will win this race with the help of grassroots Democrats everywhere!!!

I will be keeping you updated on the newest installments of her video diary, as well as keeping you up on the hypocrisy of Ed Whitfield in the coming days. Please, join our campaign of grassroots Democrats fighting against established Repug money!!

Here is Kentucky’s First Congressional District we call our Congressman Exxon Ed Whitfield. This is because he holds stock in Exxon and Chevron, but not the people of our district. Now, holding stock in itself is not wrong. Making profit and being successful is not wrong. However, when you are a Congressman that doesn’t even own a house in the district you represent, and you continually vote in the interests of your stock holdings over the people you represent, that is a problem.  

The investment in the fuels of the future could be essential to building good jobs, and re-opening plants shut down by free trade to do something new, refine the fuels of the future here in Kentucky’s First District. With our endless acres of farmland, a little investment in research could end up being very beneficial to Kentucky. We could grow the products to make bio-fuels here, and create endless high-paying jobs refining them. After all, Kentucky’s First District had a whopping poverty rate of 17.62% in 2006.

However, Exxon Eddie is far removed from those of us who live in, or just above poverty. Look at his net worth as of 2005:

From $1,402,041 to $3,658,000

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfd…

With his cushy job and personal fortune, why should he worry about the citizens of Kentucky’s First falling further behind? He doesn’t live here, and definately has plenty to fall back on. Including his stock in Exxon and Chevron:

Chevron Corp  $100,001 to $250,000  

Exxon Mobil  $100,001 to $250,000

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfd…

Now, as stated before, success is not a bad thing in America. However, lets look at how Exxon Eddie voted for Exxon instead of the citizens he represents who need investment in the fuels of the future that could give Kentucky and economic boom.

Here are some votes where Exxon Eddie supported Big Oil over the citizens of Kentucky. These started in 2003:

On April 10, 2003, the House of Representatives defeated, by a vote of 162 – 268, a proposal to require a 5 percent reduction in automotive fuel use by 2010, (which would equate roughly to an average standard of 30 miles per gallon). A YES vote (to require a reduction on fuel use) was the pro-environment vote. All of Kentucky’s representatives (Lewis, Lucas, Whitfield, Rogers, Northup, and Fletcher) voted NO.

http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos…

Of course, less fuel use means less money for Whitfield’s stock in Big Oil.

But it doesn’t end there:

On April 11, 2003, Ron Kind (D-WI) offered an amendment to the energy bill (HR 6) that would have removed harmful oil and gas drilling provisions and subsidies from the Energy Bill. The Kind amendment attempted to strike Title II from H.R. 6, which threatens special wildlands and sensitive coastal areas, exempts drilling sites from water pollution standards, and provides unnecessary Federal hand-outs to industry at the cost of the American taxpayer. Despite a recent study by the Interior Department confirming most oil (85%) and gas (88%) resources on our public lands are already available for development, this title seeks to further expedite the permitting and leasing of these resources at the expense of meaningful public involvement and environmental review. Title II of the House energy bill provides unnecessary corporate subsidies for the oil and gas industry during a time of record profits. This title also promotes the use of government funds for unnecessary studies and research that would solely benefit the oil and gas industry. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the provisions of Title II alone will cost taxpayers $414 million over the next ten years. The Kind Amendment would have removed these harmful provisions, as well as a variety of handouts to oil and gas industry, from the energy bill but was defeated by a vote of 171 to 251. YES was the pro-environment vote. All of Kentucky’s representatives (Lewis, Lucas, Whitfield, Rogers, Northup, and Fletcher) voted NO.

http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos…

Corporate subsidies for Big Oil at a time of record profits? It is safe to assume who Whitfield voted for there, and it WASN’T the citizens of Kentucky’s First District!!

But not to worry, Exxon Eddie was watching out for the big electric utilities too:

On April 11, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an outdated, polluting energy bill (HR 6), rejecting a host of common-sense solutions and choosing instead to sacrifice the crown jewel of America’s National Wildlife Refuge system.  HR 6 continues our dependence on oil by failing to provide any significant increases in the fuel economy of cars, SUVs and other light trucks. America’s automobiles guzzle more than 8 million barrels of oil per day. HR 6 exposes consumers to more corporate fraud by rewriting the rules on electricity markets to benefit the utility industry and expose consumers to more Enron-like debacles. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has found that utility companies gouged California’s consumers by creating false electricity shortages. HR 6 provides huge subsidies on polluting industries by providing billions of dollars to polluting industries including coal, oil and nuclear. Over the next 10 years, these three industries are already scheduled to receive over $33 billion in handouts. Finally, HR 6 threatens America’s special places. By relying on destructive drilling in Western public lands, possibly including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and threatens sensitive coastal and marine areas. Pillaging the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would yield less than a six-month supply of oil but would cost America our last pristine Arctic wilderness.  The Energy Bill passed 247-145. NO was the pro-environmental vote. All of Kentucky’s representatives (Lewis, Lucas, Whitfield, Rogers, Northup, and Fletcher) voted YES.

http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos…

Huge subsidies for polluting industries such as coal, oil and nuclear? Industries that already have $33 billion in subsidies scheduled? Last but not least, allowing the Oil Industries to rape one of the last remaining pristine Arctic Wildernesses for pure greed? Big Oil definately has a friend in Exxon Ed Whitfield.

It is clear as long as Exxon Ed Whitfield haunts the hallowed halls of the U.S. Congress, that he will fight against having the fuels of the future, that hold promise for our workers, and industries here in Kentucky’s First to fight for Big Oil and his stock options. He will defeat any kind of progress to create high-paying jobs in Kentucky because he is invested in the old guard and profiting handsomely from it.

So what can we do? Kentucky’s First needs to send a real Representative to Washington. A representative with union roots, that is a working person and wants to represent working people. A representative that doesn’t benefit financially when Progressive change is defeated in this country.

That representative is Heather Ryan. Mother, Navy Veteran, union supporter, and most of all, working American who knows the challenges facing those of us who scratch and claw daily to make ends meet.

We are already in the general against Exxon Ed Whitfield in the fall. Go to Heather’s site and read up on her here:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com/

Sign up for email updates and keep up with our campaign to expand our Congressional majorities. The FISA vote shows we need as many Democrats with a backbone in the Congress as we can get. Heather is that, and would fight for us without cowardice, and without rolling over. She supports a Democratic vision for this country and does so proudly.

To win this fight however, we simply must have your help. We are up against the McConnell Republican machine here in Kentucky, which as you all know is well-funded and well-oiled. Exxon Eddie has a million dollars to spend from the Big Oil interests he so gleefully represents. We need grassroots Democrats to stand up and support us desperately. Won’t you make an investment in the future of our party and our Congress, and support a “Fighting Democrat”?

The loss of Andrew Horne in Kentucky’s Senate race has shown us that we cannot depend on the leaders of our party to support real Democrats. It has shown us that Kentucky will once again be ignored and conceded by the leaders of our party. If we want to elect grassroots Democrats who will change things, it is up to us to give them the resources they need.

I can promise you while our national party has no stomach for this fight, this grassroots Kentucky Democrat has just begun to fight. My home and neighbors are important to me, as they are to Heather Ryan. Please, go here and support this fight against Exxon Ed Whitfield and the McConnell machine and send a message to the Democratic leadership as well as Mitch McConnell. We are still itching for a fight!!!:

http://www.actblue.com/page/ry…

Don’t let the powers that be derail change in this country once again. Kossacks, lets fight for Ryan!!!!

For those who may have missed it, here is Heather announcing her run for this seat, and the reasons for it:

Please, help us!! We can win this race with national Democrats behind us!!

We all remember the chaos of Hurricane Katrina. We all remember watching our fellow citizens that desperately needed a competent response to this disaster as they were left behind. This was a huge disaster, but the fact of the matter is that it could have been handled better. The fact of the matter is that it was a disgrace that it wasn’t.  

Just look at this quote from Wikipedia:

Within the United States and as delineated in the National Response Plan, disaster response and planning is first and foremost a local government responsibility. When local government exhausts its resources, it then requests specific additional resources from the county level. The request process proceeds similarly from the county to the state to the federal government as additional resource needs are identified. Many of the problems that arose developed from inadequate planning and back-up communications systems at various levels.

This way of doing things in regards to disasters was proven a complete and total failure. What if we are hit again soon with a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina? Have our leaders done anything to change a fundamentally flawed system that leaves our citizens such as the ones in New Orleans behind? Are they even trying?

One candidate in Kentucky’s First District is speaking on this. Heather Ryan, Democratic candidate for Congress is calling for a National Emergency Plan:

National Preparedness:  Where would you go if there was a national, state or local emergency?  What would you do if severe weather hit your area?  What if you lived in a mobile home or had no transportation to get to higher ground?  These are serious issues that the Republican party has had 7 years to think about and plan around since the War on Terror began.  

When Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, thousands of low income people were without a plan and were abandoned by the Bush administration.  When tornadoes hit Kentucky and the south on February 5th, 2008 my family and I found ourselves in the same situation.  A low income family, living in a mobile home park with nowhere to go.  The people who died in those storms were largely like us, they knew they were in danger but they had no plan.  WE NEED A NATIONAL EMERGENCY PLAN!  

Every life in our nation is precious and deserves protection against the elements and terrorist threats; not just the lives of the Republican Party’s rich donors deserve to have shelter in times of crisis.  As your congressional representative, I will immediately begin work on a national emergency plan.  Unlike the Republicans, who want you to be afraid, I do not believe that Fear Mongering is a plan, instead it is a tool for their re-election campaigns.  I will be part of the solution – not the problem!

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

Mrs. Ryan is exactly right on this issue. We need more people in Congress that are in touch with the problems that face Americans on Main St., not just Wall St. We need to elect leaders like Heather to the Congress who will make sure that we develop a national emergency plan that doesn’t leave citizens and states behind when tragedy strikes.

Heather Ryan is an awesome, grassroots Democrat that is already running in the fall against Exxon Ed Whitfield in Kentucky’s First. An investment in her is an investment in increasing our Congressional majority for the next President. Won’t you make an investment in grassroots Democrats who want to fight for our party? Please, help us by going here and investing in fighting Democrats:

http://actblue.com/page/ryanfo…

We are already facing over a million dollars of special interest money in one of the poorest Congressional Districts in America. Won’t you chip in to help grassroots Democrats pull an upset in Kentucky?

Heather Ryan for Kentucky!!

A lot of the oxygen in the room is being sucked up by the Presidential campaign right now. I know there has been a lot of passion for that race, and understandably so. However, there are many more elections this year that Democrats need to be focused on. In both chambers of Congress, we have threadbare majorities. Even if we win the White House in the Fall, we still face gridlock without an expansion of our Congressional Majorities in the Congress.

Just imagine too, as depressing as it is that John McCain lucks up and wins in the fall. We will need a Congress that can hold him, and the irresponsible Republican Congressional delegation in check. Either way you look at it, no matter who wins the White House, we simply MUST expand our majorities in the Congress.

What good will it do Obama or Clinton if they are elected and we still have spineless Democrats in the House and Senate who won’t fight for us or them, and team up with the Repugs to defeat Progressive change? What happens if the Republicans are allowed the numbers to mount a filibuster in the Senate against our new agenda? In two words, NOTHING GOOD!!

We simply MUST expand our majorities in both houses of Congress. Not doing so spells a certain disaster for our party, and our President if we manage to elect a Democrat. We need Democrats all over this country elected who not only talk about change, but fight for it.

So what can we do? With hundreds of millions of dollars flying around the Presidential race, we simply must invest some of that money in our Congressional candidates around the country that seek to expand our majority. Furthermore, we need to invest in those candidates who believe in the ideals of our party and have the backbone to fight for them.

With that in mind, I would like to tell you about Heather Ryan, an awesome Democrat that is running in Kentucky’s First Congressional District to defeat one of the worst Congressman in the land, Exxon Ed Whitfield. Whitfield is a Mitch McConnell clone that doesn’t even own a house in our district. His basis for holding our Congressional seat is his parent’s house in Hopkinsville, and an empty lot in Madisonville. He is highly invested in oil stocks, and other big business stocks and votes in the interest of his bottom line, not the voters of Kentucky’s First District. Hence, we have nick-named him Exxon Eddie!!

This time around, we plan on sending Exxon Eddie back to Florida, or wherever it is that he really lives. We are determined to not only send him packing, but to elect a “Fighting Democrat” with a backbone who will stand for the voters of our district and for the principles our party was founded on.

Enter Heather Ryan. A mother, Navy veteran of the Gulf War, and proud Democrat. Here she is, in her own words telling why she is in this race:

I was propelled into this race when I became the victim of

a corrupt politician.  

It was after my experience that I realized that the Republican Representation Kentucky has in Washington, D.C. is part of the “Culture of Corruption” from which our communities are currently reeling.  

Ed Whitfield, KY-01’s current representative, is no exception.  He consistently votes for his own financial interests, has only introduced one piece of legislation in 13 years as Representative

(a ban on eating horse meat) and opposed SCHIP legislation which would have increased health care benefits for poor children!

I refuse to allow a powerful few to bully me and the First Congressional District.  We need someone who is not afraid to stand up for the rights of their constituents – not another puppet of the rich and power hungry.

I will be a TRUE Representative for the people of Kentucky’s First District!  Not a No-Show like “Exxon Eddie Whitfield”

As you can see, like many citizens of Western Kentucky, Mrs. Ryan is sick and fed up with the arrogance and elitism offered up by McConnell and Whitfield. She wants to fight against more than eating horse meat, (yuck), she wants to fight for Kentuckians. While I am sure that horses in Kentucky are breathing easier, the citizens aren’t.

Heather Ryan is determined to fight for our new President, and a Democratic agenda in the Congress. Lets look at a couple of her priorities on her website which is still under construction:

It is an absolute travesty that 50 million Americans struggle without health care in the wealthiest nation in the world.  What’s worse is when our representative votes against improvements in access to health services for children and the poor.  Unfortunately, these are

both realities that we’ve experienced under the current leadership.  I propose that health care for every American is more important than tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.  

It is time we had a representative who thinks about more than just how much money he can make when he helps pass legislation that benefits drug and insurance companies.  As the leaders of the free world, it is an embarrassment that we are the only industrialized nation that does not offer health care for our citizens.

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

It sounds like Mrs. Ryan is right on par with what we need for our citizens to recieve healthcare. Former Edwards supporters, I think this shows that she supports the healthcare initiative that would help create One America. Won’t you help us in this venture?

Another telling statement can be found on Heather’s site that shows she will fight the Corporate control of our government also:

The Budget Reconciliation Bill, signed by President Bush and passed by Congress, cut future spending for Medicare, Medicaid, Student Loans and even free and reduced lunches for poor children; all while giving a $2.3 Billion tax break to Oil Companies and affording a $5.7 billion slush fund to Pharmaceutical Companies (both of which Representative Ed Whitfield has personal financial investments and large campaign contributions).  Corporate welfare for profitable companies who donate heavily to Congressmen is corrupt and scandalous.  I will

work diligently against the culture of corruption which permeates the political system.

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

Heather is dedicated to Government Reform which doesn’t allow Congressmen such as Exxon Eddie to rake in millions of dollars from special interests and then shamelessly vote for them over the interests of the citizens of the First District of Kentucky. She shares our outrage at a system that is tilted toward the rich and powerful and away from us.

In case you might have missed it, here is Heather’s announcement to run for the Congressional seat in Kentucky’s First District:

So, how can you help? Well, first you can go to our site and check out Heather Ryan and her stances. The site is still under construction, but Heather wanted to get her views on some important issues up as soon as possible. Second, got to her site and scroll to the bottom and sign up to recieve updates on our campaign here:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

Finally, unfortunately money is the one thing that no campaign can get started or survive without. Kentucky is one of the poorest states in the union, and the First is one of the poorest Congressional Districts. Unfortunately, the people who really need Heather Ryan and support her have very little money to give. They are scratching and clawing in the second America John Edwards talked so eloquently about in this election. We need the help of national Democrats!!

Now keep in mind that Heather is the only Democrat to file by the deadline for this race, and will not face a primary. By supporting her you are not only helping fellow grassroots Democrats in Kentucky’s First, but you are supporting a “Fighting Democrat” with a backbone that WILL BE running to unseat a sitting Republican in the fall. You are not only supporting Heather, you are supporting the expansion of our Democratic majorities for whatever President takes over next year!! Please go here and make an investment in our party, and our Congress here:

http://actblue.com/page/ryanfo…

No amount is too small, and anything you send will be put to work immediately towards the expansion of our Congressional Majority. I know it is easy to get caught up in the Presidential, many of you remember me as an ardent Edwards supporter and blogger, but we can’t afford to ignore our great Congressional and Senate candidates who are seeking to infuse this party with something it desperately needs, A BACKBONE!!! Heather Ryan is such a Democrat and we desperately need your help!!! Please show us some love!!!  

As an Edwards supporter, I was extremely disappointed to see my candidate leave the race for the Democratic nomination. However, as many of us have stated, our fight has just begun. We are as determined as ever to keep the message of One America alive. To do this, we simply must support candidates who believe in the message of creating One America, and support Democrats who will fight with a backbone in Congress.

One such candidate is Heather Ryan, Democrat in Kentucky’s First Congressional District. Heather is running to expand our majority in the Congress by unseating Exxon Ed Whitfield. She is a proud, Fighting Democrat who served her country honorably during the Gulf War. She also supports policies to create One America. Here she is speaking on the need for Universal Healthcare:

It is an absolute travesty that 50 million Americans struggle without health care in the

wealthiest nation in the world.  What’s worse is when our representative votes against

improvements in access to health services for children and the poor.  Unfortunately, these are

both realities that we’ve experienced under the current leadership.  I propose that health

care for every American is more important than tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.  

It is time we had a representative who thinks about more than just how much money he can

make when he helps pass legislation that benefits drug and insurance companies.  As the

leaders of the free world, it is an embarrassment that we are the only industrialized nation

that does not offer health care for our citizens.

More importantly, Ryan would continue the work of making our government accountable to the people, not the Corporations:

The Budget Reconciliation Bill, signed by President Bush and passed by Congress, cut future

spending for Medicare, Medicaid, Student Loans and even free and reduced lunches for poor

children; all while giving a $2.3 Billion tax break to Oil Companies and affording a $5.7 billion

slush fund to Pharmaceutical Companies (both of which Representative Ed Whitfield has

personal financial investments and large campaign contributions).  Corporate welfare for

profitable companies who donate heavily to Congressmen is corrupt and scandalous.  I will

work diligently against the culture of corruption which permeates the political system.

Our fight for One America WILL continue. Now however, it must continue on the grassroots level by supporting Democrats running for Congress that will have a backbone and stand up for us. Heather Ryan is such a Democrat, and will continue the work we started on the grassroots level.

Will you help us by supporting Heather Ryan? We need Democrats everywhere to help us fight against the millions dollars of special interest money Exxon Eddie has amassed. Please join our campaign and sign up for email updates at the bottom of the screen here:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com…

More importantly, please make an investment in the expansion of our Congressional majority, and the electing of Democrats with a backbone that seek to create One America here:

http://actblue.com/page/ryanfo…

We cannot forget the awesome Democrats who seek to fight for us from the ground up!!

 

[Crossposted @ DitchMitchKY.com]

With all the tragedy as of late in our nation’s coalmines and with Kentucky’s Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao at the center of a web of money-grubbing and influence-mongering in Washington that has left these many coalmines the deathtraps that they are for the sake of the almighty campaign contribution and a few ticks on the profit margin, I think the analogy of Kentucky’s gubernatorial election this year being the GOP’s canary in a coalmine is a fitting one.

Watch this latest video from Jim Pence of DitchMitchKY and the HillbillyReport.  What’s going on in the video with security personnel at the Kentucky State Fair trying to end an anti-war protest (until they’re set straight by the State Police) is fascinating enough, but what’s even more fascinating is what’s going on in the background: all those cars honking in support of the protest.

Recall that thirteen years ago in 1994, on the cusp of the so-called Republican Revolution, Kentucky served the Democrats in a similar capacity.  Then the death in March of that year of Democratic Congressman William H. Natcher (KY-02)-who had represented the district since 1953 and who continues to hold the all-time record for consecutive votes in Congress at 18,401-set up a special election for the seat.

I was only 17 years old at the time, but I had been politically aware since the 1988 presidential campaign, when a longtime Democratic activist in my church started hauling me to rallies, the biggest of those being Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen‘s appearance at the Big Tobacco warehouse in Owensboro, today the largest city in the Second District.  I don’t remember anything about the substance of what was said there, but I remember the energy, the pomp, and the confidence among the Democrats gathered.

Yet, a mere six years later the entire region of the Second District was seething against the political establishment and its status quo, its distance, and indifference.  That establishment was Democratic. 

Perhaps that environment is best encapsulated in a scene that has now been immortalized in Michael Moore‘s latest film SiCKO.  On August 29, 1994, at a rally in Owensboro, “Tobacco Rights Activists” burned an effigy of then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in protest of President Bill Clinton‘s health care plan.  With a bluegrass band playing the back ground, Stan Arachikavitz, president of the Kentucky Association of Tobacco Supporters, chanted “burn, baby, burn,” as the effigy was doused in gasoline and two women set it ablaze.  When asked for comment by a reporter, Arachikavitz replied, “Hillary didn’t last as long as my Marlboro.”  The nation was outraged, but there was a quiet satisfaction among many across western Kentucky.

At that rally was Ron Lewis, the Second District’s newly elected Republican congressman.  In what had been a shock to Kentucky’s political establishment-if no-one else-Lewis had defeated longtime Kentucky State Senator Joe Prather in the May special election to succeed Natcher.  Lewis had won with 55 percent of the vote on a turnout of less than 20 percent.  A fundamentalist Christian, Baptist minister, and religious bookstore owner, Lewis had been recruited to the race by Senator Mitch McConnell, who had been narrowly elected to his own seat ten years earlier in 1984 on the coattails of Ronald Reagan. 

You may recalled that Lewis’s campaign commercials in the special election had famously morphed Prather’s head into that of Bill Clinton, who was then near the height of his unpopularity.  The national GOP considered the technique a success and went on to use it widely in the general election that year.  Meanwhile, rumors had circulated in the district that Joe Prather was in Washington to look for a house.  Perhaps it was just a rumor spread by the McConnell machine, but it might as well have been true, such was the arrogance and sense of entitlement of Kentucky Democrats of the day.

McConnell went on to recruit Republican Ed Whitfield-who had just as much personal dynamism as Lewis-to run in the First Congressional District in the fall.  Both Lewis and Whitfield won; Whitfield became the first Republican ever elected to the First District.

My point with all this is that the political establishment in Kentucky at that time-conservative Southern Democrats-was a bloated and opaque bubble.  Its bloated-ness allowed the good old boys to make room for more of their own inside and its opaqueness kept their less-than-altruistic dealings hidden from the masses, but those very same qualities kept the good old boys from witnessing the trouble that was brewing for them on the outside–in the real world. 

Mitch McConnell burst their bubble.

Unfortunately, the Kentucky Republican Party that Mitch McConnell replaced the good old boy Democrats with was a political machine that set about inflaming the ugliest elements of Kentucky’s own culture: its racism, its bigotry, its sexism, its churlishness, its phobias, and its anti-intellectualism. 

The thing to remember about Mitch McConnell (and this is something that his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate are discovering now about him in his capacity as Minority Leader) is that McConnell always has McConnell’s interests first.  He’s not at all concerned about the long-term consequences of his tactics and actions on the people of Kentucky.  What he’s counting on is that Kentuckians and the state’s chattering class will never fully digest the disaster that was McConnell’s Senate career so long as there’s plenty of pork named after him spread around the state.

Mitch McConnell took Kentucky, a state already at the bottom of the cultural and economic barrel of the nation, and he exacerbated the very social qualities of the place that had kept true progress (making gains on its peers, rather than playing catch up) out of reach for so long.  McConnell’s strategy was to spear his political legacy with a wicked trident of slash-and-burn partisan politics, redneck populism, and moneyed corporate interests.

McConnell’s Kentucky GOP is today the political establishment in the state, and you can see what sort of establishment it is by the criminal behavior and incompetence of the administration of Governor Ernie Fletcher (R). 

As I write, that Republican establishment is bunkering itself deep beneath the political reality on the ground in Kentucky.  While Ernie Fletcher and his minions ratchet up their language of fear on expanded gaming and hate against sexual minorities and while Mitch McConnell continues to cultivate the corrupt environment of campaign finance in Washington that he fathered and stands steadfast behind the reckless presidency of George W. Bush, neither Fletcher or McConnell is making headway among Kentuckians. 

Both are indeed consolidating support among their conservative base, but that base is shrinking.  Kentuckians are waking up to the reality of what Fletcher, McConnell, and conservatives truly are.

The people of Kentucky are once again seething against their political establishment, but this time there is an energized and organized progressive Democratic party waiting in the wings.  Whereas last time when Kentuckians cleaned political house they replaced bad with worse, this time the alternative to entrenched Republican corruption is a Democratic party that offers the hope of change and a better future for us all.