Breaking News: Election, 2019
This is fun. This is a picture of my television a bit earlier tonight, showing footage on WGN, Chicago's Very Own Channel 9, that originated from a TV station in Louisville, KY. The footage shows all-new Governor-Elect of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, waving to the crowd at his victory celebration. I thought this was funny, because people in Chicago were probably wondering why there was text in the upper lefthand corner of the screen describing what Beshear was doing. In reality, WAVE is the name of the Louisville television station where the footage came from.
Here's your trigger warning: Everything below this is a discussion of politics. If you don't want to read about politics, turn back now.
NEWSFLASH
We interrupt my Morton Arboretum narrative for late-breaking news!
My old Kentucky homeland elects its governor out of sequence from most other states, preceding the U.S. Presidential election by one year. This year, the governor's race pitted Republican incumbent Governor Matt Bevin (a horrible man who is a lot like Donald Trump, only without Trump's intelligence ... and yes, I know what I'm saying there) against the Democrat state Attorney General Andy Beshear. It was a close race decided in the end by about half a percent, but Andy Beshear pulled it out. Kentucky has elected a Democratic governor, and the Commonwealth's long nightmare is over.
Seriously. Matt Bevin is a real idiot. A first-class fool. A moron of the 9th order. Matt Bevin wasn't qualified to be governor of a local Chamber of Commerce party planning committee. I am thrilled for Kentucky.
But the thing is, I see a lot of chatter on the national news trying to oversell what Bevin's defeat might mean for Republicans at the national level. I think it's important for people from Outside to take a good look at the Commonwealth and try to understand what's really happened there. Yes, Kentucky is a Very Red State, and yes, they elected a Democratic governor. Andy Beshear will be the first Democrat to serve as the Governor of Kentucky since ... well, um ... 2015. One-term lame duck Matt Bevin was immediately preceded by a very popular, two-term Democratic governor named Steve Beshear. Who is Andy Beshear's father. And everybody loved Steve Beshear.
In fact, even as Kentucky's leaned more and more conservative, it's maintained a history of switching off between Democrats and Republicans for governor. Steve Beshear was preceded by Ernie Fletcher, a Republican who served only one term. Fletcher's predecessor was Paul Patton, a Democrat who served two terms. Even deep red Kentucky isn't against electing Democrats for governor. They like mixing it up every once in a while.
So what does this mean for next year's senate race, when Kentucky Senator and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch "The Turtle" McConnell is up for re-election for the 6,000th time? Is this a sign that Mitch is doomed? I wouldn't be too quick to answer that. While Kentucky likes electing Democrat governors, the last Kentucky Democrat to hold a U.S. Senate seat was Wendell Ford (of Owensboro), who retired in 1999. Since then, Ford's seat has been held first by Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning and then by Crazy Rand Paul. And of course, McConnell's won a million races. Really, looking at the specifics of Kentucky politics at this exact moment, I think the only Kentucky Democrat who might have had a real shot at defeating McConnell next year just got elected Governor.
So be careful how much you read into this, all you national analysts. That's all I'm saying.
Breaking News: Election, 2019
This is fun. This is a picture of my television a bit earlier tonight, showing footage on WGN, Chicago's Very Own Channel 9, that originated from a TV station in Louisville, KY. The footage shows all-new Governor-Elect of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, waving to the crowd at his victory celebration. I thought this was funny, because people in Chicago were probably wondering why there was text in the upper lefthand corner of the screen describing what Beshear was doing. In reality, WAVE is the name of the Louisville television station where the footage came from.
Here's your trigger warning: Everything below this is a discussion of politics. If you don't want to read about politics, turn back now.
NEWSFLASH
We interrupt my Morton Arboretum narrative for late-breaking news!
My old Kentucky homeland elects its governor out of sequence from most other states, preceding the U.S. Presidential election by one year. This year, the governor's race pitted Republican incumbent Governor Matt Bevin (a horrible man who is a lot like Donald Trump, only without Trump's intelligence ... and yes, I know what I'm saying there) against the Democrat state Attorney General Andy Beshear. It was a close race decided in the end by about half a percent, but Andy Beshear pulled it out. Kentucky has elected a Democratic governor, and the Commonwealth's long nightmare is over.
Seriously. Matt Bevin is a real idiot. A first-class fool. A moron of the 9th order. Matt Bevin wasn't qualified to be governor of a local Chamber of Commerce party planning committee. I am thrilled for Kentucky.
But the thing is, I see a lot of chatter on the national news trying to oversell what Bevin's defeat might mean for Republicans at the national level. I think it's important for people from Outside to take a good look at the Commonwealth and try to understand what's really happened there. Yes, Kentucky is a Very Red State, and yes, they elected a Democratic governor. Andy Beshear will be the first Democrat to serve as the Governor of Kentucky since ... well, um ... 2015. One-term lame duck Matt Bevin was immediately preceded by a very popular, two-term Democratic governor named Steve Beshear. Who is Andy Beshear's father. And everybody loved Steve Beshear.
In fact, even as Kentucky's leaned more and more conservative, it's maintained a history of switching off between Democrats and Republicans for governor. Steve Beshear was preceded by Ernie Fletcher, a Republican who served only one term. Fletcher's predecessor was Paul Patton, a Democrat who served two terms. Even deep red Kentucky isn't against electing Democrats for governor. They like mixing it up every once in a while.
So what does this mean for next year's senate race, when Kentucky Senator and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch "The Turtle" McConnell is up for re-election for the 6,000th time? Is this a sign that Mitch is doomed? I wouldn't be too quick to answer that. While Kentucky likes electing Democrat governors, the last Kentucky Democrat to hold a U.S. Senate seat was Wendell Ford (of Owensboro), who retired in 1999. Since then, Ford's seat has been held first by Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning and then by Crazy Rand Paul. And of course, McConnell's won a million races. Really, looking at the specifics of Kentucky politics at this exact moment, I think the only Kentucky Democrat who might have had a real shot at defeating McConnell next year just got elected Governor.
So be careful how much you read into this, all you national analysts. That's all I'm saying.