Louisville Courier Journal Endorses Bruce Lunsford for Senate. No Surprise There -- Or Is There?
Lunsford for Senate
An old political adage holds that a member of the U.S. House is a local official who happens to work in Washington, but a senator is a national figure who is chosen in one state.
It is through this lens, focused on the troubled state of the nation, that we hope voters will view this year's Senate race in Kentucky.
And it is with the country's best interests as the top objective that we endorse Bruce Lunsford, the Democratic challenger, to be Kentucky's next senator.
The incumbent, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, is an estimable figure -- highly skilled in the political and legislative arts, knowledgeable, experienced and powerful. He argues that as Republican leader of the Senate, he has attained influence that is rare for a Kentuckian in Washington. The state, he insists, is the beneficiary of his accomplishments.
At times that is true, but it is an argument that can cut two ways.
Sen. McConnell says that he is responsible for providing $500 million in the last year alone for Kentucky communities and universities. But there are also important areas where Kentuckians regularly are denied adequate federal help -- children's health insurance and heating assistance, for example -- because of the opposition of Sen. McConnell and other Republican leaders to key legislation.
The overarching consideration, however, should be Sen. McConnell's role as a pivotal and unapologetic enabler of the Bush debacle. From ruinous tax cuts aiding the wealthy to shameful sanctioning of torture, from lack of Capitol Hill oversight to acceptance of sweeping assertions of executive authority, Sen. McConnell has backed policies that have created grave challenges at home and abroad.
Most tellingly, perhaps, Sen. McConnell insists to this day that the war resolution of 2002 authorizing military action in Iraq was neither a mistake nor a vote that he would change, even knowing what he knows now. Given the false premises for war and its numbing cost in blood and treasure, that is an astonishing position for any senior American leader.
In Mr. Lunsford, Kentuckians would get a hard-charging former entrepreneur with state government administrative experience. His platform embraces new directions in health care, education, job training, tax policy and energy.
Moreover, he recognizes that Iraq was a terrible error and supports a responsible exit as quickly as feasible, with renewed emphasis on Afghanistan and international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation.
Mr. Lunsford rightly identifies the economy as the key issue right now.
To be fair, Sen. McConnell deserves praise for his leadership in the recent bipartisan passage of a financial rescue plan. We wish Mr. Lunsford, who avoids a direct answer as to whether he would have supported the bill, recognized the importance of quick action.
Looking forward, however, Mr. Lunsford advocates more of the relief that consumers badly need, including bankruptcy reform to aid homeowners facing foreclosure and interest limits on credit cards and payday loans.
As a freshman senator, of course, Mr. Lunsford would not be calling the shots. But the challenge before the nation, and Kentucky, is to send to Washington an administration and Congress that will begin to repair the damage of the past eight years and chart new directions that will benefit all Americans.
Bruce Lunsford is a far more credible agent for change than Mitch McConnell. We urge his election.
Editor's comment: Wait for our own endorsements. Plenty of surprises, I promise.
An old political adage holds that a member of the U.S. House is a local official who happens to work in Washington, but a senator is a national figure who is chosen in one state.
It is through this lens, focused on the troubled state of the nation, that we hope voters will view this year's Senate race in Kentucky.
And it is with the country's best interests as the top objective that we endorse Bruce Lunsford, the Democratic challenger, to be Kentucky's next senator.
The incumbent, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, is an estimable figure -- highly skilled in the political and legislative arts, knowledgeable, experienced and powerful. He argues that as Republican leader of the Senate, he has attained influence that is rare for a Kentuckian in Washington. The state, he insists, is the beneficiary of his accomplishments.
At times that is true, but it is an argument that can cut two ways.
Sen. McConnell says that he is responsible for providing $500 million in the last year alone for Kentucky communities and universities. But there are also important areas where Kentuckians regularly are denied adequate federal help -- children's health insurance and heating assistance, for example -- because of the opposition of Sen. McConnell and other Republican leaders to key legislation.
The overarching consideration, however, should be Sen. McConnell's role as a pivotal and unapologetic enabler of the Bush debacle. From ruinous tax cuts aiding the wealthy to shameful sanctioning of torture, from lack of Capitol Hill oversight to acceptance of sweeping assertions of executive authority, Sen. McConnell has backed policies that have created grave challenges at home and abroad.
Most tellingly, perhaps, Sen. McConnell insists to this day that the war resolution of 2002 authorizing military action in Iraq was neither a mistake nor a vote that he would change, even knowing what he knows now. Given the false premises for war and its numbing cost in blood and treasure, that is an astonishing position for any senior American leader.
In Mr. Lunsford, Kentuckians would get a hard-charging former entrepreneur with state government administrative experience. His platform embraces new directions in health care, education, job training, tax policy and energy.
Moreover, he recognizes that Iraq was a terrible error and supports a responsible exit as quickly as feasible, with renewed emphasis on Afghanistan and international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation.
Mr. Lunsford rightly identifies the economy as the key issue right now.
To be fair, Sen. McConnell deserves praise for his leadership in the recent bipartisan passage of a financial rescue plan. We wish Mr. Lunsford, who avoids a direct answer as to whether he would have supported the bill, recognized the importance of quick action.
Looking forward, however, Mr. Lunsford advocates more of the relief that consumers badly need, including bankruptcy reform to aid homeowners facing foreclosure and interest limits on credit cards and payday loans.
As a freshman senator, of course, Mr. Lunsford would not be calling the shots. But the challenge before the nation, and Kentucky, is to send to Washington an administration and Congress that will begin to repair the damage of the past eight years and chart new directions that will benefit all Americans.
Bruce Lunsford is a far more credible agent for change than Mitch McConnell. We urge his election.
Editor's comment: Wait for our own endorsements. Plenty of surprises, I promise.
Labels: Endorsement
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 5:00 PM
4 Comments:
It certainly won't surprise me if you endorse Obama even though you were one of the first Republican bloggers to support McCain for the GOP nomination!
I voted for John McCain in 2000, but that John McCain is missing in action NOW.
You are right, I was one of the earliest supporters of John McCain when all Conservatives and Republicans -- notice, if you will, that the is a difference -- treated him like he suffered from leprosy.
But that was essentially for three reasons: (10 I am my own man, and I dance to NO one's tune; (2) John McCain was the best of the bunch, particularly when it looked like PHONY Mitt Romney was going to "buy" the election. I was NOT about to about to let that happen, as much I had the breath left in me to speak my mind; (3) I wanted to give John McCain another chance to be the maverick once again, but instead he: picked Silly Sarah for a running mate, who turned out to have been a joke; and, John McCain allowed the "DIXIECRATS" in the Republican Party to s-l-o-w-l-y turn him (with help from Sarah) to s-l-o-w-l-y bring out the WORST in many RACISTS amongst us.
That, my friend, I will NOT stand for. So while I have NOT made up my mind who to endorse, General Colin Powers endorsement, coupled with the points I made above, lead me to believe that, if things remain the way they are, not only will I endorse Barack Obama, but I will vote for him and do all I can to get him elected.
Just because I am a Republican does NOT qualify me as an IDIOT SAVANT.
If you truly believe in and support Obama's promise to raise taxes and his socialist agenda then by all means vote for him!
"If you truly believe in and support Obama's promise to raise taxes and his socialist agenda then by all means vote for him!"
That is, indeed, LAUGHABLE.
While I do NOT subscribe to the Liberal agenda, when it comes to raising taxes and having a socialist agenda, the Present Republican Party has SHOWN us, for those who have eyes to see, that they are NOT opposed to raising taxes and subscribing to a socialist agenda, AS LONG AS THE TAXES AND THAT SOCIALIST AGENDA BENEFITS RICH PEOPLE AND THEIR BENEFACTORS (LIKE THE WALL STREET AND BANKS) AND NOT POOR PEOPLE!
SO, PLEASE, SPARE ME ANY feigned OUTRAGE!
AS I STATED IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENT, I MAY BE REGISTERED AS A REPUBLICAN, BUT I AM NOT AN IDIOT NOR OF THE SAVANT VARIETY!!
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