Larry Dale Keeling of H-L sets off firestorm.

Larry Dale Keeling, a Columnist with the Lexington Herald Leader, has set off a firestorm of sorts between Northup and Fletcher. Over the weekend, LDH published his take suggesting that Dan Druen's anticipated testimony during the impending trial of Sam Beverage for merit system will spell doom for the Gov.'s re-election efforts, prompting the Northup/Hoover campaign to send out this campaign email:

Over the weekend, the Lexington Herald Leader ran a story outlining the problems confronting the Fletcher Administration. Governor Fletcher seems to be facing yet another crisis flash-point.
Special prosecutor Larry Cleveland says he will bring a former Transportation Cabinet official to trial on perjury charges stemming from the Fletcher abuses of the state merit system. That likely will put the governor in the untenable position of facing three choices, any one of which, according to Herald-Leader columnist Larry Dale Keeling, would doom whatever slim chances he retains to be re-elected in November.
Fletcher faces the unenviable prospect of having to: 1) Pardon an official who he as already pardoned once2) Testify under oath in open court3) Or take the Fifth Amendment. In any case, his decision will dredge up the entire scandal once again, remind voters of why the governor’s poll ratings are at an all-time low and why he is so unelectable in a General Election.
It is imperative that Republican voters understand that Governor Fletcher’s hiring scandal is not going to go away. If he is the nominee this issue will paralyze him in the General Election. Keep in mind that in 2003, the most optimal time for a Republican to run, over 100,000 Democrats voted for Ernie Fletcher. Kentucky is still a Democratic state and without this amount of crossover no Republican can win. Like it or not, these Democratic votes are gone for Ernie Fletcher.
Jeff Hoover and I have stepped forward after hearing a call from Republicans across the state who wanted an electable alternative. We look forward to continuing our discourse and sharing our vision of where we plan to lead Kentucky over the next four years!

A few minutes ago, the Fletcher/Rudolph campaign took the email seriously enough to send out its own email:

You may have recently received an e-mail from Anne Northup attacking Governor Fletcher yet again. It is unfortunate that her entire campaign is based on repeating arguments championed by the Democrats and attempting to use them for her personal ambitions.
As the first Republican Governor in 32 years, Governor Fletcher has begun to turn state government around. After inheriting a $1 billion deficit, we now have an over $700 million surplus. He has reduced the size of government by 2,000 employees and gone from 14 cabinets to nine. He has increased education funding by 25%. He has undertaken the most expansive road building program in our state’s history. And he did all this without increasing taxes. In fact, Governor Fletcher cut taxes for 78% of working Kentuckians, and removed 500,000 family members from the tax rolls altogether.
But we don’t hear Mrs. Northup talking about those issues that are important to Republicans. Instead, she is taking the arguments presented by the most liberal columnist in Kentucky and presenting them as reasons to vote for her.
The columnist of the Lexington Herald Leader, Larry Dale Keeling, makes his living by trying to run conservatives out of government. It is his opinion that she has chosen to parrot, and we do not agree. Here are some of his other opinions that we do not share:
Gay Marriage Will Triumph Eventually, August 29, 2004
Research Would Make Embryos Death Useful, July 23, 2006
Get Cash-Sniffing Hounds to Find Mitch (McConnell), October 18, 2006
Most Republicans don’t put much credence in Mr. Keeling’s opinions, but apparently Mrs. Northup does.
Republican primary voters deserve more. Tell Anne Northup that giving lip service to the liberal Democrats' attacks on Governor Fletcher should end. She should either tell us how she would better lead our state, or get out of the way. Governor Fletcher is providing true conservative leadership that we call all be proud of.
Stay tuned as the gubernatorial election could start getting ugly.