Yesterday they had an article on Billy Harper.

 

Today's on Anne Northup, I thought was very good and definitely puts her in the lead for me, although as a registered Democrat I could not vote for her till November.

 

Here are some of the excerpts that caught my eye.

 

http://www.heraldleader.com/454/story/52227.html

LOUISVILLE --As a junior high student in 1960, Anne Clifford Meagher was one of many young baby boomers captivated by the charisma and energy that radiated from Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. But as the election wore on and as the ever-curious Meagher asked more questions about Kennedy’s philosophy and policies, she began to reconsider.

 

“By the time Election Day came, I was not for him any more,” she recalled recently. “I was for Richard Nixon. But it was very painful because Richard Nixon wasn’t easy. He didn’t bring the sort of joy or the emotive” ability of Kennedy.

..........

“I can remember a conversation I had with my Dad and saying, ‘Why is it that it seems so simple on the other side: They’re for the poor, they’re for the sick.’ And I said, ‘I am too,’” Northup recalled. “And Dad said, ‘Because they believe that government can solve all those problems.’”

 

Northup said she came to see that government should lay a foundation with schools and services, but individuals must want to learn and “go to work every day … to have a life of economic independence and opportunity.”

 

“That’s always sort of stuck with me how difficult sometimes it is to be on the Republican side,” she said.

 

 

..............

 

During her tenure, Northup received national attention for pushing legislation that would raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18 and fund research to wean small farmers off tobacco. Some rural legislators, including many Republicans, initially were wary of Northup’s position on tobacco.

 

“She was after the big tobacco companies … but at the time we didn’t think so,” said former Rep. Richard A. Turner of Tompkinsville. “We thought she was getting in us tobacco boys’ business. But she was proven to be correct.”

..............

 

While she routinely took conservative positions, such as favoring making abortion illegal, Northup was not beyond crossing party lines. She was one of five Republican House members to approve a tax increase as part of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. She said the reforms were necessary, even if that meant swallowing unpopular provisions.

 

.............

Sherri Craig, Northup’s field director in Louisville for more than nine years, said Northup refused to pander. “If she disagreed, she would let you know and why,” Craig said. “She’s not one of those people who says she’s with everyone.”

 

Tobacco companies were never high on Northup’s list. She voted against the first draft of the federal tobacco buy-out bill in 2004 because that version required the federal government — not the cigarette makers — to pay $13 billion to growers. She later voted for the bill after the U.S. Senate put the big tobacco firms on the hook.

 

..............

“No question,” said Chris Gorman, a former Democratic attorney general who ran against Northup in 2000. “She didn’t get beat by John. She got beat by George Bush.”

The problem I have with Anne Northup is that she is a win at all cost type of person. In the past several elections Anne crossed a line of unprofessional behavior.

 

I disagree with Chris Gorman. She got beat by John beacuse she played with un true attacks about his character and the people of Louisville where tired of her mud slinging.

I agree with Gorman on this. Her tactics have been this way for years and it never cost her an election. Bush was the deciding factor in this one in my opinion.

Northup is no less dirty than Fletcher and his posse. While Fletcher filled state positions with contributors and backers, I'm sure Northup will do the same and throw in a few family members for good measure.

She's already started with her tactics.

 

http://www.kentucky.com/263/story/54426.html

Saw an advertisement last night.

 

I am not very familiar with her, but she sure comes off as cold and ruthless. It doesn't make sense to me to have such a negative tone this far out.

Northup is no less dirty than Fletcher and his posse. While Fletcher filled state positions with contributors and backers, I'm sure Northup will do the same and throw in a few family members for good measure.

 

Name one candidate who won't. It will just be a matter of who doesn't leave a trail.

What has she done presently that makes her so negative sounding in the governor's race?

Political patronage is a way of life in all political races, not just Governor. I see nothing here that fails to pass the smell test. The Republican Party in Kentucky is in trouble due to the Fletcher scandal, Mitch is working to correct it, and the Fletcher campaign is fighting furiously in its death throes. It will get worse before it gets better.

 

I have followed Northup closely her entire career. I cannot recall anything underhanded or dirty about any of her races, certainly not anything remotely on a scale with what we see on a national level. Chris Gorman's career as an attorney is what did him in, not anything that Anne said, and most of the bar will back me up on that. Anne lost to Yarmuth because of the prevailing winds, nuf said. She is the best chance state Republicans have in the Governor's race. Its not personal, its business.

Northup didn't attend a political forum tonight in northern Kentucky, which is a key Republican area. The Democratic candidates at the rally directed their criticism at Fletcher and never mentioned Northup or Harper. Not good news for Northup backers IMO.

Northup didn't attend a political forum tonight in northern Kentucky, which is a key Republican area. The Democratic candidates at the rally directed their criticism at Fletcher and never mentioned Northup or Harper. Not good news for Northup backers IMO.

 

I'm a Northup backer, but I agree. She should not be simply writing off NKy merely because it is a Fletcher stronghold.

Saw an advertisement last night.

 

I am not very familiar with her, but she sure comes off as cold and ruthless. It doesn't make sense to me to have such a negative tone this far out.

That is what has always bothered me the most about her. Even when she is pictured with her children, she just seems cold to me. Of course when I look at the field, both sides, I wonder to myself which is worse - cold or just plain dumb.

Name one candidate who won't. It will just be a matter of who doesn't leave a trail.

 

If that is true, then you might not want to base your election platform on it like Fletcher did.

Political patronage is a way of life in all political races, not just Governor. I see nothing here that fails to pass the smell test. The Republican Party in Kentucky is in trouble due to the Fletcher scandal, Mitch is working to correct it, and the Fletcher campaign is fighting furiously in its death throes. It will get worse before it gets better.

 

I have followed Northup closely her entire career. I cannot recall anything underhanded or dirty about any of her races, certainly not anything remotely on a scale with what we see on a national level. Chris Gorman's career as an attorney is what did him in, not anything that Anne said, and most of the bar will back me up on that. Anne lost to Yarmuth because of the prevailing winds, nuf said. She is the best chance state Republicans have in the Governor's race. Its not personal, its business.

 

 

As to the bolded part, you may be right. A lot of people feel the same way. I'm still backing Fletcher however. I wish he'd have handled the hiring mess differently and he's alienated some big time Republicans (both elected and unelected) for the way he handled it, which is really hurting him now. Nonetheless I support him because I attribute a lot of his early term mistakes to being "green" when he took office (big difference in being a member of the legislative branch and a member of the executive branch), and to the fact that he initially surrounded himself with Republican hacks that were more interested in seeking revenge against the Democrats than effectively running the state. Some of those same hacks are the ones that ran off the big time Republican supporters and caused the rift between him and Bunning and McConnell. I do agree that Fletcher should have known better and prevented that from happening.

 

I do think however, that as poorly as Fletcher has handled the political aspects of being Governor, he has handled the business side as good. I think he has done a lot of good for the state and some of his biggest critics privately tell me that they think he has done a very good job in running the executive branch.

 

With the Democrat candidates all very weak in my opinion, I'm not sure I agree with the prevailing belief that Fletcher cannot win the general election. I'm betting that by the time we get to the general election the public will tire of hearing about the hiring mess and will focus on how the state has fared during his first term. And from my observations, the state has fared well. We'll see soon enough I guess.

As to the bolded part, you may be right. A lot of people feel the same way. I'm still backing Fletcher however. I wish he'd have handled the hiring mess differently and he's alienated some big time Republicans (both elected and unelected) for the way he handled it, which is really hurting him now. Nonetheless I support him because I attribute a lot of his early term mistakes to being "green" when he took office (big difference in being a member of the legislative branch and a member of the executive branch), and to the fact that he initially surrounded himself with Republican hacks that were more interested in seeking revenge against the Democrats than effectively running the state. Some of those same hacks are the ones that ran off the big time Republican supporters and caused the rift between him and Bunning and McConnell. I do agree that Fletcher should have known better and prevented that from happening.

 

I do think however, that as poorly as Fletcher has handled the political aspects of being Governor, he has handled the business side as good. I think he has done a lot of good for the state and some of his biggest critics privately tell me that they think he has done a very good job in running the executive branch.

 

With the Democrat candidates all very weak in my opinion, I'm not sure I agree with the prevailing belief that Fletcher cannot win the general election. I'm betting that by the time we get to the general election the public will tire of hearing about the hiring mess and will focus on how the state has fared during his first term. And from my observations, the state has fared well. We'll see soon enough I guess.

 

If it were just the political mess, I would still be backing Fletcher as well. However, he has arrogantly and steadfastly refused to admit he made a mistake in many, many provisions of the Tax Reform Act passed a couple of years ago, and the alternative valuation and minimum tax is crushing small business and LLC's. Almost all tax personnel in the state, from attorneys to CPA's, agree on this, but he has stubbornly refused. Therefore, he has not been "good for business," and I can cite to literally dozens of examples locally of businesses that will not locate here because of the impact of the Tax Modernization Act.