I won’t build the suspense. Yes, it’s everybody’s favorite lyin’ Libertarian, and all purpose dick, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. For a long time I looked at this race as almost a Christmas Wish List seat for the Democrats. But recently, two things have happened that have made me look at it more closely.

Before we get to the reasons, let’s set the stage. Rand Paul is by no means anybody’s favorite GOP Senator, probably including his wife. Since the day he took office, Paul has made it his life’s passion to be the biggest pain in the ass to McConnell as he could. Rand Paul wouldn’t know a true Libertarian if one came up and stepped on his foot, and neither would his idiot father. Rand Paul is a dick, pure and simple.Paul votes how he wants, and is obnoxious about it towards leadership. Who the hell wants to go and campaign for Rand Paul?

For a long time, when I looked at this race I thought it Possible but highly improbable. For a Democrat to pull it off, 2 things would have to happen. A 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election massive turnout from Democratic voters, and a depressed GOP turnout. But in the last week or so, two things have happened that make me think it much more likely, if not yet probable that this could happen.

The first of course, is the Tuesday results from the Kansas ballot initiative to protect abortion rights. As I have already written, there is no way that it could pass with 59% of the vote without strong GOP support. And moderate and suburban GOP voters turned out and provided it. And in November, there is an abortion rights initiative on the Kentucky ballot. Which means strong moderate and suburban GOP support for it, along with massive Democratic turnout, which can only benefit Charles Booker,  the Democrat running against Paul. Add in the fact that there is an independent candidate who is highly more likely to strip votes from Paul than Booker.

The second reason is a totally self inflicted gunshot wound. Paul was one of the GOP Senators who gleefully turned coat and voted to torpedo the Burn pit bill in the Senate. And after he did, he went to the airwaves to slam comedian and activist Jon Stewart for his support for the veterans. Kentucky is a veteran rich state, and they are rightfully proud of their service, and protective of their rights. Strike one.

But long after the majority of the GOP had tucked their tails between their legs and run, Paul went on to be one of 11 GOP NO votes for the final passage of the bill. But before he laid that insult on, he just couldn’t resist letting his inherent dickishness from shining through.

Before the final vote, Paul took to the floor of the Senate, and made a speech that was as self destructive as it was arrogant and petulant. He said that The bill was a waste of money at the taxpayers expense. After all, only 2-3 million vets suffer from burn pit symptoms, while 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes. But nobody is doing anything to help them!

With that stupid pronouncement, Rand Paul hit into a triple play. First of all, diabetes is a natural disease, while Burn Pit cancers are the results of the military burning tons of toxic shit in 50 yard long pits, and letting their own soldiers breathe that shit in. Second, the Democrats are trying to help those diabetes patients, with a bill that caps insulin costs at $35 a month. And third, this country made a vow to our veterans that we would protect and care for them if they protected and cared for us, and now Paul wants to do it on the cheap.

Make no mistake, this is still an uphill climb for Democrats. But circumstances are falling into place that make it less of an uphill battle then it was. Rand Paul is the poster child for the power of incumbency. Nobody really likes him, but they don’t find anybody to like better every 6 years. That may be about to change.

 

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15 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t know the numbers for diabetes in Kentucky but given how poor that state is my guess is they’re through the roof. As for Veterans there it’s not a large state population wise but I’m sure some are pissed off. Enough even to sit home if they simply can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat. But the diabetes thing, now that’s a real kitchen table issue that if properly served up on the plate will hit home. And not just motivate Kentuckians NOT to vote for Paul, but might, just might even get them to vote for a Democrat. And then there’s the abortion issue and that’s going to hurt every single Republican including Paul. Thomas making noise about other hot button issues (yet not a peep about inter-racial marriage which in Kentucky goes over like a lead balloon!) if the point about banning prescription birth control gets highlighted a helluva lot of “good ole (white – it might be a southern state but it’s not got a large non-white number of people – roughly ten percent are minorities) boys won’t take at all kindly to having to rely on “rubbers” so there’s that.

    I don’t think Paul going down is likely, but I think you’re correct to suggest keeping an eye on this race. It just might turn out to be interesting and if Paul looks like he’s in trouble AND McConnell’s internals show the GOP is going to lose seats he will quietly work to ensure Paul loses. So it’s more than a small possibility that ole Rand will have to go back to being an eye surgeon. Not that I would EVER let that sumbitch operate on MY eyes! Hell, one of the probable reasons he hates the VA so much is that we get excellent care, including eye care. State of art care in fact. All those cataract and other eye surgeries that we get through the VA is money he wants in his own fucking bank account! Come to think of it that’s another thing to hammer his ass on.

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    • Yes diabetes is a significant problem here. We do have a sizeable population of vets, so many they had to open a new vet cemetary a few years ago just south of Louisville along the highway to Fort Knox. Lots of service members who retire from Fort Campbell or Knox tend to stay in the area, for the medical, PX and commissary bennies, even if they are not originally from here.

      • One of my old Marine pals moved back to Berea when his enlistment was up. Sadly, we lost touch over time but he and his wife were both delightful people.

        • Berea is one of the best places in KY. It has a private college that only accepts poor students (no tuition) with good grades and was one of the first to accept any poor student, regardless of race. They do have to work their way through (cafeteria, library, janitorial) but they graduate most of them. It also has a very avant-garde art scene. I think most southern states have these little hidden gems that only the natives know about.

          • Well, it was back in the late 1980s that he went home. He became part owner in a gun store and even, knowing how I’d always wanted an M-1 Garand held one for me to give me first crack. Their gunsmith had retired from the Corps after a full career spent as an armorer and had tuned it up to match grade quality. And made special fittings so a scope could be mounted. He said it had the original stock with some dents and scratches but nothing serious and polished up they gave the thing character and I don’t doubt him. RD said he’d let me have it for almost nothing more than he’d put into it but it was still quite a sum even over thirty years ago. My ex freaked and vetoed the purchase. Shit. Oh well. We had little contact after that. He’s a bit older than me so he might be retired now but if you find yourself in Berea and want to look up a gun store and find one with an owner with the initials RDH drop in and tell him I said hello. Yeah, it’s a gun store but if you offer to buy him lunch somewhere he’s one helluva entertaining storyteller! Mention a hunting trip one year to WV where he saw a nice buck mating. If you ever encounter him he’ll put a smile on your face describing that event.

          • There’s no reply button under your last post Denis. So, while my husband loves traveling, he’s also a gun nut. His dad was quite the sharpshooter. Apparently in the San Fernando Valley of California there were civilian gun clubs (not affialiated w/NRA) that held competitions and his Dad was such a good marksman that most of the competitions he entered he won. He inherited his Dad’s collection and has added to it. I can’t risk any more purchases. It’s funny, he spent more than 30 yrs in hospital admin and I spent 24 yrs in military/law enforcement and he’s the gun nut.

    • I live in Ky. ( only because I married a guy from here) But I read that Rand Paul didn’t actually finish training and isn’t qualified to practice eye surgery .

  2. Rand Paul has only been elected twice. First race in the primary he won against a milquetoast McTurtle hand-picked candidate Trey Grayson. He then faced then KY AG Jack Conway who barely campaigned in the general. Last election he had no primary and faced Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, who is openly gay. Even though he was born and raised in KY and his family owns and runs a major construction company, Gray lost by more than 10 pts.

    Charles Booker ran against Amy McGrath in the Dem primary for McTurtle’s seat in 2020 and almost beat her. She had been smeared by outside groups as the Schumer hand-picked corporate Dem and so lost quite badly to Moscow Mitch.

    After that election Booker formed a non-profit (From the Hood to the Holler) and has been travelling the state doing good works. He helped w/ clean-up and supplies after the tornadoes in Western KY in Dec and has been delivering water and cleaning supplies to Eastern KY since the recent floods.

    The biggest obstacle Booker faces is racial bigotry. There just aren’t that many blacks or browns in KY. The largest contingent is in Louisville where blacks are about 13 %. Every now and then I am surprised by my fellow Kentuckians, but I will be shocked if he is elected (and I am actively supporting him). He’s also having trouble w/funding – last report he had 900k COH compared to Paul’s 9M. The national Dems who couldn’t stop giving to McGrath have largely ignored Booker.

    All that said, my choice for a surprise win would be Iowa. Chuck Grassley is too effing old and doesn’t enjoy popular support this cycle. Admiral Mike Franken looks like a youngster next to Chuck. He has a military background and is Iowa born and raised, attributes that Iowans like.

  3. Has Paul EVER voted for anything that would help others, besides wealthy craporations and inDUHviduals? He gives less than a fuck about veterans and IF he votes to fund our nation’s defense it is because he is supporting the companies making all the hardware used by our military. If our military was supplied by our own government workers he’d cease supporting our nation’s defense at all.

    If Kentuckians were smart, and they are not, they’d give this jackass the boot. They voted the first asshole in when they voted Yertle into the senate and followed up 12 years ago with their second asshole. I am not looking for any sea change for this state in this upcoming election because they really like assholes.

    • I’m trying not to take offense. We are a poor and poorly educated state. The poorly educated are easily swayed by con-men. I thought when the Orange Menace said, “I love the poorly educated,” they would be offended, but apparently not. But the PACT Act got so much attention and we do have a considerable veteran population and those who are not vets have family members who are, that his very public stance on this bill should sway voters. And if nothing else, his arrogance is quite off-putting.

      • I lived in KY and have a bachelor degree from one of the universities there (WKU). I saw up close and personal just how “poorly educated” folks were.

        Look man, you don’t elect people like Yertle time after time, even after knowing how much he and his wife made because of his position, unless you are just not all the way there upstairs. Electing Paul not once, but twice, underscores how stupid they are. Kentuckians have been voting against their best interests in a very big way.

        I will wait and watch. I loved Bowling Green, the university, and all that. I just get so fucking depressed seeing these putzes getting re-elected all the time.

  4. Wasn’t it just a few years back that the last GOP governor effectively gutted funding for education in Kentucky? At least they were wise enough to dump the cretin.
    Regarding Paul, look who he’s name for: Ayn Rand, a selfish existentialist who died a pauper living off the government hand out she railed against. And here’s little Rand earning a nice income from that same government but he doesn’t anyone else to share in the pie. There are several ways to spell hypocrisy – GOP, Trump(s), Paul(s), and anyone who votes for any of them.

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