Scott Jennings | Despite media gushing, is Bevin truly Republican?

The U.S. Senate race experienced a jolt of interesting last week when Jesse Benton, incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, said in a surreptitiously recorded phone call with a belligerent Ron Paul activist that he was “holding his nose” to work for McConnell.

Benton later apologized for the remark, and the campaign handled it about as well as it could by releasing light-hearted photos of McConnell and Benton laughing it off. Matt Bevin, McConnell’s primary opponent, jumped on the remark immediately (along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee). Bevin’s spokesperson issued a statement snidely piling onto Benton’s bad day.

But the more interesting Kentucky Senate revelation in the last few days was not about a staffer’s sensitive snout but rather an admission candidate Bevin made to National Review about the vote he cast in the 2004 presidential campaign.

Was it Republican George W. Bush? Nope. Democrat John Kerry? Guess again. Libertarian Michael Badnarik? Surely that’s it, right? After all, Bevin is trying to latch on to that side of the GOP. Nein. Did he somehow accidentally vote for liberal activist Ralph Nader, running as an independent? Nada.
No, Matt Bevin proudly voted for fifth-place finisher and Constitution Party standard-bearer Michael Peroutka, who can easily be found on YouTube giving a lengthy speech in front of the third national flag of the Confederate States of America. We also learned in the article that not only did Bevin vote for Peroutka, but that his campaign T-shirt is still in Bevin’s drawer nine years later.

Bevin, who frequently says Mitch McConnell is out of touch with Kentuckians, voted with 2,212 other people while 1,793,647 voters chose someone else. If you are keeping score at home, that means Bevin was in touch with 0.001 percent of Kentucky and Mitch McConnell was in touch with 60 percent of it, Bush’s percentage in that election. Further, exit polling showed that 92 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of conservatives voted for Bush in Kentucky, putting Bevin even further outside the mainstream of his own party.

Casting a protest vote for a non-major party candidate happens. Wearing the candidate’s T-shirt for nine years suggests Matt Bevin is perhaps no more interested in being a Republican than is Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, the other major candidate in Kentucky’s upcoming Senate race.

Put the shoe on the other foot. If Grimes were to proudly tout owning a Ralph Nader T-shirt would the Democratic Party be so high on her? I highly doubt it.

Bevin has had other dalliances with non-Republican candidates. He financially backed a candidate for state representative in 2012 who described herself as a “loyal, registered Democrat her entire voting life,” and whose responses to a Kentucky Right to Life PAC questionnaire were judged “mostly anti-life” by the organization. Then, during his speech at Fancy Farm, Bevin proclaimed to Grimes and the assembled Democrats, “We’re on the same team here.”

None of this, of course, disqualifies Bevin from filing to run as a Republican. And to be fair, Bevin has said he that he voted for John McCain in 2008 and records indicate he contributed to Mitt Romney in 2012. But there is ample evidence indicating Bevin seeks to be the nominee of a political party from which he frequently and quixotically strays.

Bevin is, for the moment, enjoying the gushing of a media establishment that loves to make trouble for Mitch McConnell. The political prognosticators are desperate for Republicans to think Bevin credible, and perhaps have been fooled into believing so because of the unfortunate candidacies of other recent tea party-backed candidates for U.S. Senate.

Sure, next to some other tea party Senate candidates, Bevin, at the moment, seems slightly less unhinged. After all, the tea party has helped produce U.S. Senate nominees who: supported a Church of Scientology-backed drug treatment program (Nevada’s Sharron Angle); asked people to vote for him “because he doesn’t wear high heels” (Colorado’s Ken Buck); had to make a television ad proclaiming that she wasn’t a witch (Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell); and couldn’t quite find a way to hone their message on rape (Indiana’s Richard Mourdock and Missouri’s Todd Akin).

So, yes, Bevin seems to have jumped over this unbelievably low bar of credibility in the eyes of the political press. But that is akin to proclaiming a golfer ready for the PGA Tour after acing the windmill hole at the local miniature golf course.
Grimes, the Democrat, also earned media kudos from the press for her Fancy Farm speech. But again, I wonder, would anyone be taking her seriously if she were flying the Ralph Nader banner in the days leading up to that event? The answer is, of course, no. Democrats would be running for the hills, still searching for someone who didn’t seem so far outside the mainstream. Bevin’s admission regarding Peroutka came on the Monday of Fancy Farm week.

So, while Jesse Benton deserves whatever tongue lashing he got from Mitch McConnell for his dumb remark, I find the idle chitchat of mercenary political operatives less interesting than whatever Matt Bevin was thinking when he went as far outside the mainstream as he could possibly go in the 2004 presidential election. I’m sure the thousands of Kentucky Republicans who volunteered and donated to former President Bush in Kentucky would probably wonder the same thing.

Scott Jennings is a partner in RunSwitch Public Relations, and former deputy White House political director under President George W. Bush. He worked in both of the Bush/Dick Cheney campaigns and in Mitt Romney's campaign in 2012; he was a staff member on Mitch McConnell’s ‘02 and ‘08 re-election campaigns.
The author also is a media relations vendor to a pro-McConnell Super PAC that has run advertising in this election critical of Alison Lundergan Grimes. As such, he is prohibited from coordinating with Sen. McConnell’s campaign; the opinions and research expressed in this column are the author’s.
Jennings’ column appears every third Wednesday in Forum. He can be reached at scott@runswitchpr.com.

David Adams And TEA Party Win Legal Standing Challenge To His Suit Over Kentucky's Obamacare Health Benefit Insurance Exchange.

Tea party wins round in health care reform lawsuit

The tea party won the first round Thursday in a lawsuit that questions the legality of the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange that Gov. Steve Beshear set up last year by executive order.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip J. Shepherd refused to dismiss the lawsuit, as had been requested by attorneys for the state.

The state argued unsuccessfully that taxpayers don't have legal standing to challenge the legality of the Kentucky Health Benefits Exchange, which is intended to help uninsured people arrange insurance coverage under the federal health care overhaul.
Tea party activist David Adams said he felt certain that argument would be rejected.
"I found that to be offensive," he said Thursday after learning of Shepherd's decision. "This says the people have the right to question the acts of the governor when the governor is violating the Constitution. It's very simple."
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said she'd issue a statement later Thursday.

Adams filed the lawsuit last month, claiming Beshear created the exchange without necessary legislative approval. Adams wants Shepherd to order work on the exchange to cease.
In court earlier this week, attorneys for Beshear and the tea party argued over whether taxpayers had legal standing to challenge the health benefit exchange, prompting a pointed question from Shepherd that may have foreshadowed his ruling.

"I'm just wondering here," Shepherd said, "if they don't have standing, who does?"
Tea party activists in Kentucky have been sharply critical of Beshear's decision to operate a state health insurance exchange, saying taxpayers are picking up the bill for an unnecessary government entity. Beshear administration attorney Patrick Hughes said the lawsuit is essentially an improper attempt to use the court system to address "a purely political question."

Kentucky is one of 17 states that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved to build their own exchanges to provide one-stop shopping for health insurance. Open enrollment begins Oct. 1, and the exchange starts operation next Jan. 1. Some 21 states have declined to set up exchanges, which means federal authorities will set up and operate the new insurance marketplaces for them.
Startup costs for the Kentucky exchange are being covered by federal grants, but the state will be responsible for all funding beginning in 2015. Kentucky has already received $252 million from the federal government to set up the exchange.

I'M SORRY, BUT I CAN'T QUIT LAUGHING AT THE FEUD BETWEEN THE "TEA PARTY" AND KARL ROVE, WHO THEY DEPICT AS A NAZI! HA, HA, HA!!

YOU CAN READ MORE HERE.

KENTUCKY TEA PARTY GEARS UP TO JOIN OTHER TEA PARTY GROUPS IN DEVOURING ONE OF THEIR OWN!

Several Kentucky Tea Party groups plotting to defeat McConnell in 2014

United KentuckyTea Party

Groups endorsing Tuesday's news release by the United Tea Party of Kentucky include:

 Boone County Tea Party
 Bowling Green SOKY Tea Party Steering Committee
 Campbell County Tea Party
 Central Kentucky Tea Party Patriots of Hardin County
 Grant County Tea Party
 Heartland Tea Party, which includes members from LaRue, Adair, Green, Taylor, Casey and Nelson counties
 Kenton County Tea Party
 Maysville Tea Party
 Nelson County Tea Party
 Northern Kentucky Tea Party
 Owensboro Tea Party
 Take Back Kentucky, based in Grayson County
 TeaPop (Tea Party of the People), based in Lexington
 T.E.A. Party Patriots of Metcalfe County
 Tea Party Patriots, based in Elizabethtown
 Bullitt County Tea Party

By Jack Brammer

FRANKFORT — Many of Kentucky's Tea Party leaders are plotting a strategy to defeat U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Republican primary, a spokesman for a group calling itself the United Kentucky Tea Party said Tuesday.

Tea Party groups in the state are so dissatisfied with McConnell that "we are working on a battle plan with the ultimate goal to retire him next year," said John T. Kemper III of Lexington, a spokesman for the group.

Kemper's comment came a day after the group, which describes itself as a roundtable of leaders from more than a dozen Tea Party groups in Kentucky, issued a news release warning McConnell that "we will not allow our message or movement to be co-opted for political purposes."

Kemper, a developer who lost a bid for state auditor in 2011 and a bid for Congress in 2010, would not identify any potential opponent for McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, but acknowledged that he is "probably on a short list of folks."

Meanwhile, an out-of-state Super PAC expressed interest in helping "the right candidate" defeat McConnell. Last year, Liberty For All spent almost $700,000 to help elect Republican Thomas Massie to Northern Kentucky's 4th Congressional District seat.

Preston Bates, executive director of Liberty For All, said in an email Tuesday that McConnell is "anything but a tea partier" and is "that special politician who could unite libertarians, independents, anti-war Democrats, everyone" against him.

"Should the right candidate emerge — be they Republican, Democrat, or Independent — Liberty For All will remain committed to electing those dedicated to more civil liberties, more economic freedom, and freeing America from corporate influence," Bates said.

Liberty for All is primarily funded by John Ramsey, a college student from Nacogdoches, Texas, who is armed with an inherited fortune.

McConnell, who has represented Kentucky since 1985, is seeking re-election next year. So far, no one has announced to challenge him. He already has a $7 million campaign war chest and the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Bowling Green, a Tea Party favorite.

In a news release sent by email late Monday, the United Kentucky Tea Party said McConnell and state Republican leaders are being "intellectually dishonest" by calling anyone associated with McConnell's campaign a Tea Party leader.

"The Tea Parties in Kentucky are led by local grassroots individuals, not by any national organization," the statement said. "Any representation otherwise by the Republican Party leadership of Kentucky or Senator McConnell and his surrogates is inconsistent with the truth and will be vigorously and publicly disputed every step of the way."

Kemper said the group was referring to McConnell's campaign manager, Jesse Benton.

Benton led the 2010 general election campaign of Paul, who rode the Tea Party wave to defeat Attorney General Jack Conway in the general election and the McConnell-backed candidacy of then-Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the Republican primary election.

Benton also managed the 2012 presidential bid for Paul's father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Benton is married to one of Ron Paul's granddaughters.

Asked about the news release, Benton said he has received a "wonderful reception" from grassroots groups as he has travelled the state on behalf of McConnell.

"Leader McConnell is a great friend of the Kentucky Tea Parties and is committed to giving them a seat at the table and bringing their voices to Washington," Benton said.

Kemper said he finds it "humorous" that Benton, in his email messages to Republicans across the state about the McConnell campaign, uses the greeting "Dear Patriot."

The latest example of that was last weekend, when Benton sent out an email about President Obama's proposals on gun control.

"Dear Patriot, You and I are literally surrounded," Benton wrote. "The gun grabbers in the Senate are about to launch an all-out assault on the Second Amendment."

Concern about McConnell by several Tea Party members intensified this month after McConnell brokered a fiscal cliff deal that killed planned income tax hikes on most Americans but postponed deep federal spending cuts.

Cathy Flaig, former president of the Northern Kentucky Tea Party, which covers Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Grant counties, said Tuesday her group "willingly signed" the news released issued by the United Kentucky Tea Party.

"Truth be told, most Tea Party members I know in Kentucky are polite to Sen. McConnell but not enthusiastic at all about him," Flaig said. "My question is, what has he done for Kentucky?"

An issue of strong interest in Northern Kentucky, she said, is the building of a new bridge across the Ohio River that will require tolls.

"The federal government can build a bridge in Afghanistan in eight months without tolls. Why not in Northern Kentucky?" she said. "He's Senate minority leader. It seems like he could do something to help Kentucky."

Flaig said she does not know whether the Tea Party will find a candidate next year to run against McConnell.

"I just know he's not as well liked as he thinks he is," she said.

Hans Marsen, state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots in Elizabethtown, said he's aware that several Tea Party groups in Kentucky have formed the United Tea Party of Kentucky and issued Tuesday's news release.

"The bottom line is that, he can believe it or not, there is not great support for the senator among Tea Party members in Kentucky," Marsen said.

"It would be good to see an alternative to him on the 2014 Republican primary ballot," he said.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/22/2486321/several-kentucky-tea-party-groups.html#storylink=omni_popular#wgt=pop#storylink=cpy

Joseph Gerth: [Mitch] McConnell Moves To Avoid TEA Party Challenge.

Joseph Gerth | McConnell moves to avoid tea party challenge

The news last week that U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has hired the grandson-in-law of tea party patriarch and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas, to lead his reelection effort is a sign that Kentucky’s senior senator will do anything he can to avoid a tea party challenge.

His naming of Jesse Benton as manager for his 2014 reelection campaign was being hailed by some as a stroke of political genius by some and criticized as craven politics by others.

It may be a little of both but it certainly gives McConnell an advantage heading into the 2013 when Republicans and Democrats would need to start lining up support if they are going to challenge the most powerful Senate Republican in Washington the following year.

McConnell already has a money advantage, having banked more than $6 million to defend his seat, far ahead of the fundraising pace he was on four years ago when he spent more than $21 million fighting off Democrat Bruce Lunsford.

Now, with Benton, he’s got a top-notch grass roots organizer with some serious tea party chops who can possibly help him scare off a serious tea party challenge.

By some in the tea party movement, McConnell is viewed suspiciously.

He based most of his career on bringing taxpayer money back to Kentucky, supported the stimulus package in late 2008 as the economy looked near collapse and backed an untold number of resolutions raising the debt ceiling.

Tea party, he’s not.

But with Benton on his side, that may not matter.

The problem with a tea party challenge, even if McConnell were to survive it, is that a poor showing in an intramural contest could make him look weak in the general election. Ask David Williams, who received less than 50 percent of the vote against two little-known opponents in the 2011 gubernatorial primary and was never able to gain any general election mojo.

Beyond that, a serious primary challenge would drain critical resources from him that he would need if he were fighting off a well-funded Democratic foe. Four years ago, he went more than $2 million in debt in order to win an election that seemed to be going south in the last month.

With Benton, McConnell gets someone who knows the state and whose presence seems to give him the Paul family’s imprimatur.

Benton, the Paul family fixer came to Kentucky in 2010 and helped straighten out the Senate campaign of his uncle, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who made some serious missteps in the days leading up to the GOP primary and in the days after it.

Now, he’s quit Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, a grassroots political organization he helped found and was the group’s senior vice president, to fix whatever might ail McConnell’s reelection.

McConnell is obviously pleased with the hire.

The day the Associated Press story about Benton’s hire hit the newspapers and websites, McConnell’s staff members were doing their best to spread the news around.

His Senate office spokesman was circulating a Politico story about the relationship between McConnell and Paul that focused on his hiring of Benton and the need for him and other establishment Republican’s to get the tea party on board.

“The last thing we want are tea party folks to feel like they’re not welcome in the Republican Party and then they’d have to form a third party that would hurt both of us,” Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee was quoted as saying.

McConnell’s chief of staff was promoting a column Benton wrote for the conservative web publication, The Daily Caller, in which he explained why he was going to work for McConnell. And his Kentucky state director was pushing a Benton story on a downtown sidewalk at lunchtime Friday.

Later that day, McConnell sent out an email introducing Benton to his backers and praising him for his work. McConnell hasn’t been so effusive since he got weepy on the Senate floor when he sent off former chief of staff Kyle Simmons to become a lobbyist.

If Benton can keep him from a tea party challenge, that emotion could be well deserved.

Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell: Odd-Couple Allies.

Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell: Odd-couple allies

Sensing a tea party uprising back home after Paul defeated McConnell’s hand-picked candidate in the 2010 Senate primary, the calculating Republican leader focused on bringing Paul and his supporters under his wing. Two years later, it’s paying off: The two men barnstorm the state together in both official and political events; throw high-dollar fundraisers for one another; and are trying to merge the GOP’s tea party wing with the party’s establishment, social conservative and business wings — heading off an intraparty war that has uprooted Republican politics in many parts of the country.

The latest example came Thursday, when McConnell announced he had hired Jesse Benton — a top aide to both Paul’s Senate campaign in 2010 and Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign this year — to lead what could be the toughest reelection campaign of the Republican leader’s career in 2014.

The year-long search that ended with Benton’s hiring was a major signal to Republicans that McConnell views support from the younger libertarian and tea party movements as crucial not only to his political future, but also to his party’s prospects nationally.

“The last thing we want are tea party folks to feel like they’re not welcome in the Republican Party and then they’d have to form a third party that would hurt both of us,” Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said when asked about the alliance between Paul and McConnell. “I think it’s been a positive development.”

Still, the move isn’t risk-free. The tea party remains unpopular nationally, and Democrats have a voter registration advantage in Kentucky — meaning any shift to the right could hurt McConnell in what will likely be a furious Democratic challenge in 2014. Paul, meanwhile, risks alienating some supporters who worry the establishment will co-opt the purist movement.

Still, both men clearly believe they have something to gain.

McConnell lends establishment credibility to Paul, who’s seen by some Republicans as the leader of a fringe movement that gave his father Ron Paul the perch to call for a radically smaller government and isolationist policies abroad. Their alliance could help the younger Paul forge a broader coalition of supporters — something he began to do in an address to the GOP convention — as he decides whether to make a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 or 2020, or survive a Senate reelection bid in five years.

For McConnell, the Paul relationship could help him gain clout with the tea party movement, which has a mixed track record defeating entrenched members of Congress. McConnell angered tea party types two years ago when he backed Paul’s GOP primary opponent, Trey Grayson.

“In 2010, the establishment Republicans for the most part supported Paul, despite misgivings. That helped him to win,” Grayson said. “One of the keys for McConnell is to keep the tea party behind him in 2014.”

In interviews Thursday, neither Paul nor McConnell would talk much about their relationship.

Paul called it “very good.”

“We’re excited about it,” Paul said of the Benton hire. “I think Jesse will do a great job for him.”

When asked about his relationship with Paul, McConnell would only say: “Well, we’ve established a very good working relationship.”

It didn’t happen overnight.



After quietly pushing then-Sen. Jim Bunning to retire, McConnell — who rarely publicly endorses in home state primaries — cut a TV ad on Grayson’s behalf, fearing Paul would lose the general election that year. But Paul won resoundingly, leaving McConnell on the losing side of an intraparty civil war.

Immediately after the May 2010 primary, McConnell tried to soothe over tensions. He led a unity rally outside the state Capitol in Frankfort and gave Paul crucial political advice after the rookie candidate gave confusing and controversial comments to the press over his views on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, sending his campaign into a tailspin.
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In an interview Thursday, Benton — who said he got Paul’s blessing before taking the McConnell job — said those moments were crucial to forging the relationship between the Paul and McConnell camps.

“We had a little stumble in the media, the national Democrats were ramping up their attacks and Republicans were not quite sure what to make of Rand,” Benton said. “But Sen. McConnell, true to his word, held the unity rally and helped soothe any hurt feelings.”

McConnell later dispatched several trusted aides, including his now-chief of staff Josh Holmes, to help advise Paul’s campaign against Democratic candidate Jack Conway. McConnell toured the state on a campaign bus with Paul, attending tea party rallies along the way. And some veterans who were dispatched by the National Republican Senatorial Committee to help Paul later stayed on to help advise his father’s 2012 presidential campaign.

All of this has built a deeper level of trust between McConnell and Paul as well as their staffs.

“The relationship between Paul world and McConnell grew throughout 2010 and is growing since he’s been in the Senate,” said Trygve Olson, a top GOP operative and McConnell ally who helped advise both Pauls’s campaigns. “Their relationship is one in which you see both sides benefiting.”

In Benton, McConnell believes he’s hired a savvy strategist who knows how to run a presidential-style campaign, which McConnell is already preparing for with $6 million in the bank. Benton has proven that he can run a winning statewide campaign in Kentucky and can cobble together a coalition of conservative activists.

McConnell himself has tried to do the latter over the last two years — especially with the Paul forces.

Earlier this week, he swung by a reception at the Library of Congress honoring Ron Paul, who is retiring at the end of the Congress. And he appeared in a Republican National Convention tribute video to the elder Paul.

Before the convention, McConnell and Paul spent an entire day together in Kentucky, attending a tea party rally and a state party lunch as well as meeting with a coal industry group and dropping by a Louisville hospital. They even headlined a fundraiser for Thomas Massie, the tea party-backed House candidate from northern Kentucky. Their wives also correspond regularly.

The two also have raised money for each other. In March, Paul was the featured guest for a McConnell fundraiser. And last summer, McConnell headlined Paul’s inaugural fundraiser for his political action committee, known as RAND PAC.

When their policy goals diverge on the Hill, McConnell often gives Paul plenty of room to maneuver. The latest example was this week, as Paul held up the Senate floor in a dispute over cutting foreign aid to Pakistan, Libya and Egypt.

But politically, both men seem to be on the same page — for now.

“It’s been a very interesting evolution,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), No. 3 in leadership. “The one thing you don’t want to have is a lot of intra-family conflict.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81194_Page2.html#ixzz26S5veP7F

MITCH MCCONNELL EMBRACES TEA "PARTY" FOR RE-ELECTION BID, HIRES RON/RAND PAUL'S JESSE BENTON AS CAMPAIGN MANAGER.

McConnell hires tea party strategist for re-election campaign
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reached into the upper echelons of the tea party movement for a campaign manager to head his bid for re-election to a sixth term.

McConnell announced Thursday that he hired Jesse Benton - the tea party political operative who headed Texas Congressman Ron Paul's presidential primary race - to oversee a campaign that's still two years away and still lacking an opponent.

"We're committed to running a presidential-level campaign in Kentucky, and that starts with a presidential campaign manager," McConnell said in a statement. "Jesse is literally the best in the business at building and organizing conservative grassroots movements, and I'm thrilled he's chosen to return to Kentucky to lead my campaign."

Benton also headed the 2010 race of Paul's son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. The Bowling Green eye surgeon rose from relative obscurity to win Kentucky's other Senate seat over major candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

McConnell had said he was looking for a campaign manager with experience running and winning races in Kentucky and who had a reputation for unifying people. His choice of Benton drew immediate accolades.

"This was a brilliant hire by Sen. McConnell," said Mike Duncan, a Kentucky banker and former chairman of the Republican National Committee. "Jesse Benton is a guy who unifies conservatives across the political spectrum to fight for common goals, which is precisely what Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have been working together to do."

A keen political strategist, McConnell sparked a GOP revival in Kentucky nearly three decades ago, helping to defeat Democrats in the state's federal delegation that, at the time, was sparse on Republicans. The GOP now holds both of Kentucky's U.S. Senate seats and four of the six U.S. House seats.

McConnell expects to be targeted by Democrats, though no challenger has stepped forward yet. Neither has a tea party Republican hinted at mounting a primary challenge. The hiring of Benton sends a clear signal to any potential tea party opponents to stand down.

Rand Paul said McConnell has earned tea party support, especially by leading opposition to the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform law that most Republicans have bitterly opposed.

"That's been one of the key planks and one of the things that the tea party has been most riled up about, Obamacare," Rand Paul said. "I think there are a lot of things the tea party, if they don't already know about, will learn that will draw them toward Sen. McConnell."

Benton called it "a real honor" to join the McConnell campaign.

"I look forward to playing my part in re-electing a great leader who can truly unite a broad coalition of Americans and get our country back on track," Benton said.

McConnell had socked away more than $6 million for his re-election campaign by the end of June. That early start in fundraising sends a not-so-subtle message to potential Democratic challengers that taking on McConnell would be expensive. He spent $20 million on his last election and won by 6 percentage points to become the longest-serving U.S. senator in Kentucky history.

Former Democratic state Auditor Crit Luallen, who had been touted as a potential challenger to McConnell, said last month she won't take him on. And Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, a tea party activist who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination last year, ruled himself out as a primary challenger.

Mica Sims, a Lexington tea party activist and field representative for Rand Paul, said McConnell's choice of Benton shows that the conservative political movement is alive and well.

"We haven't gone away," she said. "Mitch McConnell has seen the writing on the wall, and he knows that he wants and is trying to garner that very enthusiastic grassroots base."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/09/13/2334815/apnewsbreak-mcconnell-hires-tea.html#storylink=cpy

QUESTION: Has The TEA Party "Sold Out" To The Mainstream GOP?

Has the tea party 'sold out' to the mainstream GOP?
By Shannon Travis

Some in tea party feel they are being absorbed by more mainstream Republicans
Others believe the movement has been successful in shifting the GOP to the right
Historian Douglas Brinkley: "It happens all the time in politics"

Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- Is the tea party changing the Republican Party from the inside -- or selling out to the GOP?

As Republicans prepare to officially roll out Mitt Romney as their party's presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention this week, major tea party groups and figures have descended on Tampa, Florida, to schmooze with party bigwigs and rally for Romney.

But Romney's conservative credentials have long been viewed with suspicion by the movement. So it came as a surprise when, before at least one event, tea party organizers committed what some activists would consider heresy: seeking approval from establishment Republicans to rally.

How much of a damper will Isaac be to convention?

All of it has opened up a once unthinkable charge: the movement that's rabble-roused and rocked the GOP establishment since 2009 is now too cozy with it.

"The top national groups have already sold out," said Judd Saul, a prominent Iowa activist associated with the Cedar Valley Tea Party. "They don't truly represent the grassroots."

"Even before the caucuses, these guys were all pushing for Romney even when the primaries were going on," Saul added.

"It's a pretty widespread (sentiment). A lot of activists have noticed that."
O'Donnell: RNC debate idea not stolen

But presidential historian Douglas Brinkley doesn't see this phenomenon as anything new.

"I think it happens all the time in politics," said Brinkley, a political analyst and professor at Rice University. "The grassroots people are the people who are hypermotivated. They are people willing to go to rallies and hold bake sales and ... and they're always later kind of seen as auxiliary players once it gets to the main game when the elections come in the fall."

Get the latest political news at CNN's Election Center

"I think selling out is too strong," added Brinkley. "But you can say something to the effect of they've tricked the tea party movement into believing they were going to have a meaningful role in the 2012 election."

Others are taking their groans to social media.

"I think it is time not only to clean up Washington but we as well need to clean up or clean out the top dogs in the RNC that are turn coats," tea party supporter Margaret Robinson posted on the Facebook page for theteaparty.net. "Not only TAKE BACK AMERICA but also need to TAKE BACK OUR REPUBLICAN PARTY. "

Saska Mare, who describes herself as a "tea party Republican" and Newt Gingrich supporter, wrote: "Now is the time for All Good Patriots to come to the aid of their Country and QUIT MITT & RECRUIT NEWT!!"

The president and CEO of one of the largest tea party sponsors knows that not everyone is happy with the commingling between the two groups.

"There's always purists in any movement who think that anything less than perfect is a sellout," said Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks, based in Washington. "But that's not how the American system works. "

The head of another group was more blunt.

"Anyone at this point who is trying to disrupt the convention or protest the nomination of Romney is blinded by irrational enthusiasm," said Dustin Stockton, chief strategist for theteaparty.net.

There is one problem with such rationalities: They contradict the movement's belief that to change the system, it must be blown up.

Since its birth three years ago, tea party activists have railed against compromise, leaned on lawmakers, launched RINO hunts against moderates deemed "Republicans in Name Only" and sought swift action on their ideas of reduced government spending, lower taxes and increased adherence to the constitution.

For them, political patience was not a virtue.

But since then, the tea party has gradually moved from anger and impatience toward acceptance and embrace. Several leaders say they understand the slow pace of change and stress the need to change the political system from the inside.

Stockton's group sponsored a rally on Sunday in Tampa, a few miles away from the GOP convention site, featuring prominent tea partiers Herman Cain and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, both former presidential candidates.

The 30-year-old tea party leader is adamant that the event's goal is to continue advocating for the tea party.

"We wanted to make sure that when (activists) tune in to the convention and the convention starts, they know that the tea party is still here -- still fighting for the values they believe in," Stockton said. "Because that's really uniting more than Republicans, actually the American people in general. And we wanted to do it right before the conventions to try and set the tone for the entire convention."

Yet Stockton also revealed something that will surely cause some activists to fume.

"In order to get the venue and everything, we did get the blessings of the Romney camp and the RNC to hold the event months ago," Stockton said. "And the Romney camp is sending (Utah) Congressman Jason Chaffetz as a surrogate for Romney. So they're on board with it. "

Many tea partiers support efforts to unify the movement with the GOP.

Kibbe's group is also holding GOP-friendly events during the convention week. But he, too, beats back any notion that the tea party is toeing the Republican line.

"I would describe us as having a foot in the door and a seat at the table," the FreedomWorks chief said. "Things are definitely trending in our direction."

Kibbe also noted another achievement: the GOP embrace of core tea party proposals.

FreedomWorks had pushed the RNC's platform committee to adopt 12 items.

"We had a whole delegation of tea partiers at the platform committee," Kibbe said. "And we feel like we made a lot of progress. We feel like we had success on 11-and-a-half of them."

Sal Russo, chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, also claimed that the Republican Party is coming around to the tea party -- not the other way around.

"We have a huge Tea Party Express rally (in Tampa). In fact, we already have 15,000 reporters sign up to be there. We've called it the '2012 Republican National Convention,' " Russo joked.

Though Stockton is promoting unity during convention week, he has a special gripe: one prominent tea partier is not on the speaking list.

"I'm incredibly frustrated at the speaker lineup -- it doesn't include Sarah Palin," Stockton said. "And Palin should have definitely been invited. He also lamented that two former presidential hopefuls in 2012, Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, will not have a prominent presence.

Palin on her lack of a speaking role at convention

Meanwhile, after long viewing Romney as a suspect conservative, how are activists feeling about him now?

"I say there's a solid 50-50 split within the movement" for and against Romney, Saul said.

He added: "I will hold my nose and pull the lever for Romney. Legitimately, I think that President Obama is the worst of the two evils. And Romney has a shot. And with some backing and some pushing, he could do some better things for the economy and the country. "

But the FreedomWorks chief stressed political patience.

"The practical reality of presidential politics: it takes years to build your brand, and your machine, your ability to fundraise," Kibbe said. "And the tea party class was very green; they weren't ready."

In the face of some activist criticism, Russo said the movement should celebrate a milestone.

"I think (the tea party) has successfully yanked the Republican Party back to where it's sort of always been since Reagan yanked it back -- which is an opposition to an increasing size, cost and intrusiveness of the federal government," Russo said.

Calling tea party opposition to Romney and the RNC "silly," Russo said: "I mean, sometimes people don't know when to declare victory."

Herman Cain To Deliver TEA Party State Of The Union Response To POTUS Barack Obama On January 24Th. It's 9-9-9. That's It. Y'all Hear Him Now? 9-9-9!

TEA PARTY STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSE

Sacramento, CA – Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest tea party political action committee, is announcing that Herman Cain will be delivering the Tea Party State of the Union response at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 24th, 2012.

Sal Russo, Chief Strategist of the Tea Party Express, said, “We are excited to have Herman Cain deliver the 2nd Tea Party State of the Union response next week. Americans are fed up with the Washington politics that fail to address America’s fiscal woes. The Tea Party Express has called for reducing the size, cost and intrusiveness of the federal government, and we have stood strongly for pro-growth policies to get the economy growing and job creation increased.

“We are enthusiastic that a successful conservative governor like Mitch Daniels of Indiana will be giving the Republican response. I know that both Governor Daniels and Mr. Cain will contribute important ideas for the future of our country.

“Herman Cain has been a steadfast advocate for the values of the Tea Party and the practical solutions needed to solve the problems that face our nation. By following President Obama, Cain will have an opportunity to square off with the failed policies of the Obama Administration. Whether it is a flat tax, a fair tax or a combination of the two, reforming the tax code must be a priority. Americans want straight talk and honest solutions, and Herman Cain will deliver a pro-growth message strongly and clearly,” Russo concluded.

The Tea Party Express hosted the first ever Tea Party State of the Union Response last year with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

To schedule an interview with Sal Russo or another representative of the Tea Party Express, please contact Shawn Callahan at 916-768-2686 or at Shawn@FrontLineStrat.com

TEA "Party" Forces Kentucky GOP To Consider Dropping New "No Official To Endorse A Democrat" Rule.

GOP may drop automatic disqualification rule
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- GOP leaders are considering dropping a new rule that would automatically disqualify Republicans who endorse Democrats from serving in official capacities within the party.

GOP Chairman Steve Robertson said Wednesday that an amendment will be offered during a meeting of the Republican State Central Committee on Saturday to delete the provision that some tea party activists had objected to.

That provision was part of a new set of rules, adopted a week ago and awaiting ratification by the central committee, that had stirred debate within the GOP, especially among the tea party wing that includes people who have offered support to one of Kentucky's best-known Libertarians, northern Kentucky businessman Ken Moellman, who is running for state treasurer.

Robertson credited discussions between tea party leaders and the Republican establishment with rectifying what could potentially have been a divisive issue within the GOP.

"We've seen the opening of a dialogue that is significant," Roberts said Wednesday. "I think we have taken a great step to create a dialogue that we can build on to move forward."

Robertson said the expectation of party loyalty among those serving in leadership roles remains, despite the proposed amendment that would delete the automatic disqualification of Republican leaders who have endorsed or contributed financially to a Democratic or third party candidate within the past year.

A longstanding provision already allows the Republican Executive Committee, by majority vote, to unseat GOP leaders for supporting a candidate in an opposing party. That provision would remain.

Robertson said the rule changes, adopted unanimously in an earlier private meeting, provide a ground work for expanding the Republican base. He said the rules could potentially get thousands more people involved in local GOP committees and improve communications through automated telephone calls, mass mailings and emails to announce scheduled meetings where officers would be selected.

But the more eye-catching provision was the one automatically barring Republican activists who support Democrats from serving in leadership positions. That change came during an election in which some notable Republicans, including former U.S. Rep. Larry Hopkins, have endorsed Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear for re-election over GOP nominee David Williams.

As a former congressman, Hopkins is automatically a member of the Republican State Central Committee. But without the amendment, Hopkins would be disqualified from serving in that position unless his fellow members grant him an exception.

Hopkins said he doesn't mind. He said he hasn't attended a meeting of the Republican State Central Committee in years anyway.

Robertson said the rule changes are the result of years of discussions, some of which had alarmed tea party activists who feared the Republican establishment may have been trying to solidify their hold on the party. It turned out to be tea party U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's state director who made the motion for approval of the rule changes last week.

Jim Milliman, who has been Paul's top aide in Kentucky since he took office, had made the motion last Thursday in a conference call involving 30 members of the Republican Executive Committee.

Cathy Flaig, president of the Northern Kentucky Tea Party, said she objects to the rule change and welcomes the proposed amendment. She had signed a campaign petition earlier this year on behalf of Moellman, which would have disqualified her from serving in leadership in the GOP.

"The established Republican party has not extended their hands to the tea party members, and should," she said.

In Case You Didn't Know It, Michelle Bachman Is Now A Presidential Contender. What Is Our World Coming To? Watch Video.

David Williams/Richie Farmer Campaign Replaces Campaign Manager Scott Jennings With TEA Partier, Luke Merchant.

Williams looks to tea party for campaign manager
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- A week after a lackluster win in Kentucky's gubernatorial primary, Republican David Williams replaced his campaign manager on Tuesday with a Florida tea party operative.

Luke Marchant, who served as political director in tea party darling Marco Rubio's successful U.S. Senate race last year in Florida, replaces Kentucky GOP insider Scott Jennings. Jennings will continue to serve as general consultant and senior policy adviser to Williams.

Jennings said the Williams campaign needed additional manpower, and Marchant's experience with the tea party made him a natural choice for a campaign against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and independent candidate Gatewood Galbriath.

"There's no doubt that Luke has a tremendous amount of experience organizing people who identify with the tea party," Jennings said. "Luke is a guy who has that very recent and very successful experience harnessing tea party activism and turning that into a very positive force in a campaign."

The Williams campaign termed Marchant's hiring a staff expansion, not a shakeup. Jennings said plans are to hire additional personnel to bolster what was a lean primary campaign staff.

"After meeting with Scott and Sen. Williams, I am more convinced than ever that this is the right ticket to get Kentucky's economy back on track," Marchant said in a statement. "They have the ideas and passion to deliver prosperity to Kentucky families, and I'm coming to help achieve that goal."

All three candidates have been reaching out to Kentucky's tea party groups since their favored candidate, Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, lost to Williams in a three-way race. That loss left some Moffett supporters bitter and threatening to support Beshear or Galbraith or to sit out the November general election.

Marchant previously served as political director for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and as campaign manager for Texas Congressman Pete Olson.

"This will likely not be the last expansion of the campaign," Jennings said in a statement. "There is serious national interest in this race and people across the country have taken an interest in electing a solid, conservative ticket in Kentucky."

The Williams campaign had raised and spent $1.2 million for the primary race, and won with 48 percent of the vote against Moffett who spent only about $120,000 and received 38 percent of the vote and Holsclaw who spent about $30,000 and received 14 percent of the vote. Now Williams faces the well-funded Beshear, who has raised more than $5 million and, as of his last financial disclosure report, still had more than $3 million in the bank.

Jennings said Williams has been working to replenish his campaign bank account. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will be in the Lexington on June 16 to host a fundraiser for him.

During the primary campaign, Jennings, a longtime political consultant, had been involved in every aspect of the race, managing staff, handling press, even shooting photographs on occasion.

"It is a natural thing for successful primary campaigns to expand as they head into statewide general elections," Jennings said. "We are excited to get an operative with Luke's experience, talent and reputation to come here and add to what we have already built."

Gatewood Galbraith Is Courting TEA Party Support For Kentucky Governor's Race.

Galbraith reaching out to tea party activists
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- With the tea party's candidate out of the governor's race, independent Gatewood Galbraith offered himself Monday as an alternative in a general election race against two big names in Kentucky politics.

The Lexington lawyer sees himself as the natural choice for tea party groups because he said he has been advocating their key issues, smaller government and less taxes, for three decades.

The tea party's original candidate, Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, lost in the Republican primary last week to state Senate President David Williams.

Galbraith said his candidacy offers tea party voters the option to choose a political outsider Nov. 8, rather than picking between Williams and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who was unopposed in his party's primary.

"I'm not a party candidate," he said. "I don't want an affiliation with any party. But I'd love tea party support."

Moffett declined to comment on Galbraith's candidacy, saying he will be meeting with tea party groups across the state before he decides whether to throw his support behind a candidate. However, some of his tea party supporters haven't ruled out supporting Galbraith.

"I think he's the most palatable of the three," said tea party activist Dawn Cloyd, a Lexington businesswoman who supported Moffett in the primary. "I have been hearing from a lot of people who will be voting for Gatewood."

Cloyd, who hasn't decided which, if any, of the remaining candidates to support, called the Galbraith campaign "a wildcard" in the three-way contest. "I do think that, for a lot of people, their votes are up for grabs right now," she said.

Galbraith, who is making his fifth run for governor, said he believes Williams and Beshear will be brutal to each other in the race, spending millions on TV attack ads and leaving voters itching for another option.

"My main issue is to return trust and integrity to the process," Galbraith said. "Both parties have been practicing the politics of retribution and the politics of confrontation, and somebody has to return us to the politics of achievement."

Galbraith's longstanding advocacy for legalizing marijuana has been an impediment to support from Republicans and Democrats in Kentucky. Galbraith complained Monday that political opponents throw his position on marijuana at him "like a brick" in every election.

"It's on the list of the things I'd like to see changed," Galbraith acknowledged Monday. "But, by far, it's not the main issue."

Galbraith's marijuana position isn't necessarily an obstacle to tea party support. One of the national architects of the tea party movement, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas, frequently talks about marijuana legalization, saying it is an issue that should be decided at the state level.

To win the race, Galbraith said he needs only 425,000 votes. At a time when social media can turn longshot candidates into contenders, he said he believes he can win by simply reminding voters that an independent governor who isn't concerned with partisan politics could bridge the divide between the Republican and Democratic parties.

"When it comes to the executive branch, we need an independent who doesn't care who gets credit for doing what is right," he said. "We want both parties to be successful."

One Of My Favorite Authors, Rick Robinson, Discovers The TEA (Party) Is Weak In Kentucky.

Weak tea in Kentucky
By Rick Robinson
This week’s gubernatorial primary election in Kentucky produced all of the excitement of a three-hour Joe Biden dissertation on nuclear non-proliferation. And, while there may be some comic value to hearing Biden speak for any length of time, yesterday’s poll results in the Commonwealth should be no laughing matter for Tea Party faithful.

Only one year ago, Rand Paul rolled to victory in the Bluegrass State on a tidal wave of Tea Party-brewed enthusiasm. Paul’s election was marked by streets lined with yard signs and mailboxes filled to capacity with campaign flyers. Voters who would usually be considered outside the universe of regular primary participants flocked to the polls in record numbers.

This past week, it was deadly quiet in Kentucky. Only a few fliers landed in homes. “For Sale” signs outnumbered campaign signs. A casual observer driving through Kentucky would have been hard-pressed to determine that an election was even on the horizon.

The lack of candidate activity was reflected in the final vote tally. The 9% turnout in Kentucky’s Republican gubernatorial primary reflects the apathy that was present in the state prior to last year’s electoral Rand-slide.

If Tuesday had been the Kentucky Derby, the recap of the race for the horse named “Tea Party” would state “failed to rally.”

What happened?

The primary was a three-way affair. The leader of the Kentucky Senate, David Williams, paired up with the Commissioner of Agriculture (and University of Kentucky basketball legend) Richie Farmer. The Tea Party got behind Louisville businessman Phil Moffett. Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, who is a former aid to Senator Bob Dole, rounded out the field.

Williams ran a traditional campaign, bus touring the state while taking full advantage of his running mate’s legendary hoops status. They raised lots of money, sent out direct mail and went up on television. Williams might be the best stump speaker in America and he uses his talents well.

The folks who had started Rand Paul mania got behind Phil Moffett early, but that is where Moffett’s similarities with Kentucky’s junior senator ended. His campaign never really caught fire.

Moffett has a pleasant personality — a fresh face with business experience and new ideas. He would be a great dinner guest.

Unfortunately for the campaign, Phil Moffett did not have the political zip of Rand Paul. You had to search hard to find the name of his running mate on the campaign website.

Money did not flow and the campaign never gathered sufficient grassroots momentum to make a move. The turnout numbers tell the story. Those who identify themselves as Tea Partiers either voted for the establishment Republican, or more likely than not, stayed home.

Holsclaw and Moffett combined to keep the Williams-Farmer ticket under 50%, but there are no moral victories in politics. There are only winners and losers. On Tuesday, the establishment candidate won and the Tea Party candidate lost.

The Tea Party needs a Karl Rove

Those active in the Tea Party will not like hearing this, but they need to better understand the mechanics of politics. An organized party is against everything in the movement’s wheelhouse. The results in Kentucky indicate how quickly the political landscape can change.

Last year, many in the Tea Party chastised Karl Rove over his comments about the electability of candidates like Christine O’Donnell. They let their distaste of politics and those who make a living at it stand in the way of campaign reality. Today they refuse to admit that Rove was right. They are probably appalled to think that they need people like him to win.

Rand Paul “got it” last year. After winning the primary, Paul shed his initial campaign team and put together a group of seasoned political professionals who understood the mechanics of winning a fall election. There was quite a bit of friction between the hired guns and the volunteers. Paul knew he needed both and made it work.

Team Paul raised money and pushed voters to the poll on a strong message and grassroots organization. He ran a real campaign.

Good ideas are fine for think tank panel debates and crafting white papers. But good ideas don’t win campaigns. Guys like Karl Rove do.

Rick Robinson is the author of political thrillers which can be purchased on Amazon and at book stores everywhere. His latest novel, Manifest Destiny has won seven writing awards, including Best Fiction at the Paris Book Festival.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/18/weak-tea-in-kentucky/#ixzz1Muld3njW

TEA Party Ponders Loss Of Kentucky Governor's Primary Race That Pitt Their Man, Phil Moffett Against David Williams.

Tea party ponders loss in KY gubernatorial primary

By ROGER ALFORD
Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- State-level tea party leaders who helped launch U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's meteoric rise from obscure small-town eye doctor to nationally known conservative leader thought they had a sure winner again in Kentucky's Republican gubernatorial primary.

Now, some are miffed that national tea party bigwigs didn't step up to help Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, an articulate political outsider with telegenic good looks and conservative philosophies. He lost Kentucky's GOP primary on Tuesday to state Senate President David Williams, a career politician with more than two decades in the legislature.

"You've got to question how committed they really are to the tea party movement if they're unwilling to come in and help," said Michael Maggard, a factory worker from Boonesborough who took time off to hand-paint signs for Moffett. "If they had focused on this race, we would have pulled it off."

A simple endorsement from the likes of Paul or former Alaska Gov. Sara Palin or any one of several other national tea party figures, Maggard believes, would have generated needed campaign cash for Moffett to pay for TV spots, political consultants, and many other necessities that the campaign went without.

Moffett, outspent 10 to 1, lost by 10 percentage points, a gap that campaign manager David Adams believes could have been bridged with assistance from the national tea party, especially in an election that drew only 10 percent voter turnout.

"I think that hesitation on the part of some national leaders had a devastating impact on the campaign," Adams said Wednesday.

At least two national tea party leaders did show up, winning the allegiance of Kentucky groups. Former Alaska tea party Senate candidate Joe Miller and former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack campaigned for Moffett in the state during brief visits.

Williams, who spent $1.2 million compared to Moffett's $120,000, navigated around potentially troublesome personal issues to win the primary and the right to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear in November. Williams was helped by a third candidate, Louisville political powerhouse Bobbie Holsclaw, who drew 14 percent of the vote, enough to turn the election for Williams.

Williams, the state's best known anti-gambling advocate, was dealt a particularly troubling setback late in the campaign when a judge unsealed financial documents in a decade-old divorce case that showed he had a history of casino gambling. In a Bible-belt state like Kentucky, the juxtaposition can turn off a key voting bloc, conservative Christians.

The GOP candidates differed little on key Republican issues, from cutting state spending to opposing abortion. In campaign appearances, Williams was able to avoid arguing with his Republican opponents and focus instead on attacking Beshear as ineffective. Moffett and Holsclaw didn't attack Williams on the gambling issue, nor on another touchy personal issue involving his running mate, former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer.

Farmer's wife, Rebecca, filed for divorce last month without giving a reason, triggering a whisper campaign of speculation about the cause of the split. Farmer, who was twice elected state agriculture commissioner, asked in a motion last month that the divorce petition be dismissed, but, if not, that he receive joint custody of their three children.

Lexington political blogger Mica Sims said tea party activists consider Tuesday's election a major win for the movement in Kentucky. Moffett came much closer than polls predicted, and three other tea party candidates won Republican nominations - John Kemper for auditor, James Comer for agriculture commissioner and Bill Johnson for secretary of state. None of those races required the kind of campaign spending needed for a competitive gubernatorial bid. Comer, a state lawmaker, was the leading fundraiser at about $200,000.

"I am proud of the Kentucky tea party," Sims said. "We came within 10 points of knocking of the Republican Party of Kentucky's golden boy. That is something to be totally proud of, and we did it on our own. We didn't have help from the national folks."

Adams called Moffett's finish a moral victory for the tea party in Kentucky.

"We're going to have fits and starts like this," he said. "I remain greatly encouraged for the movement, and I think that establishment politicians overlook or try to ignore the tea party at their own peril."

University of Kentucky political scientist Stephen Voss agreed.

"Moffett's success, despite a lack of resources, should be a real warning message," Voss said. "That he didn't have the national fundraising to mount the kind of campaign Paul did, that should be a real message to the Kentucky Republican Party."

Tea Party Has Been AWOL For Phil Moffett's Campaign Coffers.

Tea party ties don't help Moffett financially
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett has been unable to tap the national tea party for financial support, leaving his campaign bank account nearly empty at a time when he needs to be running television advertising.

The Louisville businessman filed a mandatory report with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on Wednesday showing he had banked just more than $100,000 since entering the race last year, a tiny sum compared to his chief opponent, state Senate President David Williams, who reported $1.2 million in contributions.

Moffett, a first-time candidate, had hoped for the same kind of financial support from outside Kentucky that fueled tea party darling Rand Paul's U.S. Senate campaign last year. But even the Internet fundraisers that had filled the coffers of Paul and other tea party candidates fell flat for Moffett.

"I think it's harder for the national groups to get emotionally invested in state races," he said Thursday. "I think that's the biggest obstacle to overcome."

In the financial report, Moffett said he had raised some $58,000 over the past three months. But, after expenses, he had little more than $11,000 in the bank and nearly $28,000 in debts with just weeks remaining before the May 17 primary.

Williams has raised more than $1.2 million for his GOP primary race, including $446,000 in the past three months, according to his campaign finance report.

The report showed the Williams campaign still has $670,000 in the bank after expenses. He expanded what had been a limited advertising campaign on radio and cable on Thursday to include local network television stations in Bowling Green, Lexington and Louisville. The ad buy was estimated at about $100,000.

Williams appears in the ad with running mate Richie Farmer, a former University of Kentucky basketball star who was heavily recruited to run with Williams. Farmer, whose wife filed for divorce in the midst of the campaign, has otherwise kept a low profile, skipping many of the political events that the other candidates attend.

Williams, Moffett and Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw are seeking the GOP nomination and the right to run against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear in the fall general election. Holsclaw reported having raised $22,000 for her campaign.

Although Williams is the leading GOP fundraiser, his total is dwarfed by the $4.8 million Beshear has banked since kicking off his re-election campaign.

Beshear raised $1.27 million in the past three months alone, according to his campaign finance report. That report showed he still has about $3.3 million in the bank.

Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Phil Moffett Raises $10,000.00 In 2 Day Money "Bomb"!

Moffett's online fundraiser takes in $10,000
By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Tea party gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett raised about $10,000 in a two-day online fundraiser set to end Tuesday, not nearly enough to ease the campaign's financial woes.

The Louisville businessman has struggled to raise campaign cash for a three-way Republican primary race, taking in less than $100,000 since entering last year. A better-known opponent, state Senate President David Williams, has received most of the contributions from the state's Republican establishment, banking more than $1 million so far.

"We never said this was going to be easy or quick," Moffett campaign manager David Adams said Tuesday.

Moffett, who has received endorsements from several tea party groups, had hoped to tap into the national movement that had played a vital role last year in funding U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's come-from-behind campaign. But so far, the national tea party has largely steered clear of the Kentucky gubernatorial race, one of only three in the country.

Trying to overcome his financial struggles, Moffett turned to Trevor Lyman, a musician-turned-fundraiser who helped Paul's father, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, raise millions on the Internet for an unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid.

Moffett faces Williams and Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw in the May 17 Republican primary. Holsclaw hasn't yet released fundraising figures.

All three campaigns will file financial documents with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance later this month that will show their contributions from January through the end of March.

Adams said he believes Moffett's fiscally conservative philosophy will be appealing to the same Kentucky voters who overwhelmingly elected Rand Paul last year.

"There is time to communicate that," Adams said.

Moffett has been largely unable to tap Kentucky's Republican establishment for money and had hoped Lyman could help his campaign generate tea party cash needed for advertising and TV time.

Lyman's fundraising approach, which he calls "moneybombs," involves using the Internet - primarily through blogs, e-mail and social-networking sites - to spread the word that on a set day people will "bomb" the candidate with contributions. Lyman raised more than $400,000 in a single day for Rand Paul's race last year.

Holsclaw's political adviser, Mike Karem, said Moffett's campaign in floundering.

"Undoubtedly, it was a bomb," Karem said Tuesday. "It shows he can't get money here, and he can't get money anywhere else. The tea party has forsaken him."

Williams campaign manager Scott Jennings declined to comment on the Moffett fundraiser.

Moffett's fundraising initiative came late in the primary race. Already, incumbent Gov. Steve Beshear, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, has begun purchasing ads on political Web sites bashing Williams as if he already has the GOP nomination in hand.

At last report, Beshear had raised more than $3 million.

Senate TEA Party Cacaus Consits ONLY Of Rand Paul, Mike Lee And Jim DeMint.

(From left: Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Jim DeMint are pictured).

Senate tea party: Members wanted
So far the caucus consists of Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Jim DeMint.
By MANU RAJU & SCOTT WONG

Tea party activists may have dramatically reshaped the national political landscape last year, but the Senate’s tea party movement could fit in the backseat of a cab.

The Tea Party Caucus is scheduled to hold its first official meeting Thursday, but so far, the entire group consists of just three outspoken conservative senators: Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Several senators have declined invitations to join, some are holding out because they are unsure about what the new group will do and others seem to think the caucus is an all-around bad idea that could send mixed messages on what Republicans stand for.

“I would hope what they would do is just think about the fact that they are brand-new to the Senate and we got a Republican Conference and they need to see how the conference works before you jump out and start saying, ‘Well the tea party position says this,’” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) told POLITICO. “The Republican Conference has historically been pretty conservative and will be going forward. I would hope they would try to exert their influence here and not through some independent group.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48266.html#ixzz1CLaxivKd

Update: Jerry Moran, Kansas' freshman Senator, is now the fourth Tea Party Senate Caucus member.

Dana Milbank: Pork Politics Returns, And TEA Party Has Been Duped.

Pork politics returns
By Dana Milbank

Dear tea party voter: You've been had.

When the good people of South Dakota voted last month to send Republican Kristi Noem to Congress, they probably believed that she would give no quarter to the lobbyists and special interest groups who enjoyed, as she put it, “throwing money at the feet of a member of Congress.”

But since she defeated Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (in part by making an issue of Herseth Sandlin's marriage to a lobbyist), Noem has hired her new chief of staff from . . . a lobbying firm! And on Tuesday afternoon, she was the guest of honor at a “Meet & Greet” with Washington high-rollers at the powerhouse lobbying firm Barbour Griffiths Rogers. Once these boys start throwing money at Noem's feet, she'll soon be chin deep in lobbyist greenbacks.

It was probably inevitable that the tea party activists would be betrayed, but the speed with which congressional Republicans have reverted to business-as-usual has been impressive.

House Republican leaders rejected a Tea Party-backed candidate as the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, instead installing Hal Rogers of Kentucky, who is known as the “Prince of Pork” and who once said pork is a “bad word for making good things happen.”

Many tea party favorites, meanwhile, have discovered the appeal of Washington lobbyists' cash and advice. South Dakota's Noem is one of at least 13 incoming Republican lawmakers who have hired lobbyists to run their offices. As The Washington Post's Dan Eggen reported last week, dozens of freshman lawmakers have already had fundraisers to collect millions of dollars from lobbyists and other deep-pocketed interests. In the month since Election Day, new Republican members had more than a dozen such “debt retirement” events.

And the parties continue. Rep.-elect Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., for example, told supporters on his campaign website: “I intend to take our voice and shout it loudly to the Washington, D.C., bureaucrats and politicians to make sure they know that we want legislation reflective of true conservatism. I will make you proud.”

And how, exactly, is he making his constituents proud so far? On Tuesday night, he was scheduled to be the beneficiary of a dinner fundraiser at the Republican National Committee's Capitol Hill Club. Checks — $500 for individuals and $1,000 for political action committees — are to be made payable to Steven Palazzo for Congress — and mailed to an address not in Mississippi but in Alexandria, Va.

Of more consequence is the Republicans' tax compromise, which, as the Tea Party Patriots group pointed out, violates no fewer than five provisions of the Republicans' campaign “Pledge to America.” Among the broken promises in the pledge, which was designed to show that Republicans were faithful to tea party principles, are vows to “act immediately to reduce spending” (page 21) and to “advance legislative issues one at a time” (page 33).

Citing these violations, the Tea Party Patriots said the tax compromise makes the pledge “a joke,” and the group launched a petition drive to fight passage of the measure. Jenny Beth Martin, a national coordinator of the group, said “it is an insult to those who voted them into power to procrastinate on their pledge to honor conservative principles.”

So what did Republican lawmakers think of this tea party protest? Well, on Monday evening, the Senate held the crucial cloture vote on the compromise. The vote, which essentially guaranteed passage, was 83 to 15, and only five Republicans voted no.

Tea party pull is stronger in the House, but even there, the powerful interests remain unchecked. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said last week that “Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks.” And those naive tea partyers thought Washington was supposed to serve the taxpayers!

But is there nobody who will keep faith with the tea party voter? Even Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., a darling of the movement, is going wobbly. First, she dropped her bid for a leadership position in the House when it became clear she wouldn't win. Then she raised questions about the House GOP's plan to ban “earmark” spending on pet projects. The woman who once maintained that “all this pork is bad” told Politico recently that there must be a way to funnel infrastructure money to her district. “This isn't trying to be too cute by half of what is an earmark and what isn't,” she said, “but we have to address the issue of how are we going to fund transportation projects across the country?”

Simple, congresswoman: The way you did before. In Washington, it's business as usual.

Dana Milbank is a Washington Post columnist. His e-mail address is danamilbank@washpost.com.

Talk About A HUGE Poke In The Eye For Mama Grizzly, As Lisa Murkowski Now Leads Joe Miller by 10,000 Votes In Alaska!

Murkowski now leads Miller by 10,000 votes in Alaska
By Sean Cockerham

Tuesday's review of write-in ballots ended with Sen. Lisa Murkowski enjoying an apparently insurmountable 10,420-vote lead over Joe Miller.

Murkowski also now has collected more votes that went unchallenged by Miller ballot observers than Miller's total vote count. That makes it appear as though Miller's lawsuit to seeking to toss out misspelled votes is irrelevant, since there aren't enough of those for him to win.

The Division of Elections has now counted a total of 100,868 votes for Murkowski. Miller has 90,448.

Miller ballot observers challenged 8,153 of the votes the Division of Elections counted for Murkowski.

So she's ended up with 92,715 unchallenged votes, which is still more than Miller's total of 90,448.

Miller could call for a recount.


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/16/103849/murkowski-now-leads-miller-by.html#ixzz15VRLquJR