Until I See You Again…
Saturday marked the 10th Fancy Farm I have personally attended… a decade of BBQ and political tradition is something to feel good about and a good place to hit pause, again. A likely record attendance of 15,000 people gathered in the village of Fancy Farm on Saturday afternoon to once again water the political speaking...
Op-Ed: I Understand Why Many Kentuckians Have Left the Democratic Party, Because So Have I
OPINION EDITORIAL FROM TJ HENSLEY: When I was younger, and first started to learn and talk of politics and history, the refrain I heard from my parents, grandparents, and many others was the same: ‘the Democrats are the party of working folks’. I suspect that many others who grew up in eastern Kentucky heard just...
Al Cross: Beshear, Cameron feckless with political money
This is mainly about political money, and a little bit about taxpayers’ money getting political. Most of the recent action in the governor’s race has been about campaign contributions, and both Gov. Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron have some ‘splainin’ to do. On June 20, my old friend and colleague Tom Loftus reported...
Al Cross: GOP gubernatorial primary has national themes and players
Welcome, Derby visitors! Kentucky’s annual turn on the national stage is our chance to look at the state’s politics with a national perspective. This year we’re electing a governor and other state constitutional officers, and messages in the May 16 Republican primary are dominated by the national themes of identity politics and the culture war;...
Op-Ed: Faith in the Public Arena; A Response to Al Cross
Op-Ed by Republican Strategist David Harris I am writing a response to Al Cross’s column in part regarding his statement regarding Ambassador Craft’s campaign, “Christian imagery in mailers that make it seem like she’s running for Sunday-school superintendent, not governor. What does evangelist Franklin Graham know about who should be our governor?” Full disclosure: I...
A Response to Commissioner Ryan Quarles: Considerations from a Kentucky Voter on Tax Policy
Op-Ed By T.J. Hensley In a recent opinion article for Kentucky Fried Politics, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles laid out what he termed a “Commonsense Plan” of taxation for Kentucky as he seeks the Republican nomination to take on Governor Andy Beshear in the fall election. Given that Commissioner Quarles is touted among the three or...
Al Cross: Legislature overdoes it in trying to trip up Beshear
For a few minutes on the ides of March, it seemed the legislature was really legislating. Faced with a transgender-youth bill that ignored medical advice, the state Senate did a rare thing in this era of tight partisan control: It voted on a substantive floor amendment, and wonder of wonders, narrowly passed it. The amendment...
Op-Ed: Ryan Quarles Offers “Commonsense” Tax Plan
Op-ed from Republican candidate for Governor and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles. “Kentucky is one of only six states that still has an inheritance tax. Coal severance tax receipts are declining because of the Obama-Biden war on coal. And income tax rates undermine Kentucky’s competitiveness. I’ve got a Kentucky Commonsense Plan to fix all of...
Al Cross: No-compromise culture war has ruined our politics
When the Kentucky House voted to ban gender-affirming medical treatment for Kentucky minors, even if their parents want them to have such care, it illustrated what’s wrong with our politics, and with the Kentucky General Assembly. Medical science and wisdom are ignored, and the legislative process is abused, all for political expediency. The loudest and...