212. Rally in Okolona

The Kentucky Democratic Party brought its team and message close to The Left Bank of the Ohio river near Milepost 606 last night in the form of a huge rally [the Courier said "several hundred"], sponsored by the Metro Democratic Club, and held at the United Auto Workers union hall on Fern Valley Road, on the northside of Okolona in precinct Q124, the only one of State Representative Larry Clark's precincts which crosses over to the west side of Preston Highway. Representative Clark was among the many elected officials present last night, others including the Dean of the Legislature Representative Tom Burch, my representative Tom Riner and his wife former Representative Claudia Riner, Senator Perry Clark (the only Jefferson County senator present), former Republican Senator Lindy Casebier, former Representative Al Bennett and many others. The event was emceed [a non-word long in use] by Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze, Jefferson County Democratic Party Chair Tim Longmeyer, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Miller, and Kentucky Democratic Party Vice Chair Jennifer Moore, one of Louisville and Kentucky's rising stars, both in her professional work as an attorney and is her political role which continues to grow each day. Not only is the immediate present looking good for Kentucky Democrats, but also for the first time in a long time, we seem to be developing a bench for the years down the road.

After an invocation to God and the playing of the National Anthem, the leadoff speaker was Treasurer candidate Todd Hollenbach, who as I looked around the room of many people I've known for many years, is one of the people I known since I was a young teenager, maybe even longer. Todd is two months older than me. We had a discussion at the end of the night on issues of concern to me as they regard his race and each of us are aware that it will be his home county where his father served many years as both County Judge and Commonwealth's Attorney which will prove most helpful in his victory next week. Next up was Auditor Crit Luallen, a Frankfort native and the only person who is seeking re-election. She spoke of her outstanding work in that office, work which is following decades of exemplary work in various parts of state government on behalf of the citizens of Kentucky. Crit is widely believed to be a candidate for the United States Senate next year, and her staff was working the crowd perhaps doing double duty, some for 2007 and more for 2008. She was followed by Bruce Hendrickson as I recall, who was there with his son, and still has a good chance of being Kentucky's next Secretary of State. Then came Louisville's favorite son on the ballot Jack Conway, candidate for Attorney General, arguably the second most important position in the Commonwealth, and for proof of that Jack suggested we "just ask Ernie." I've known Jack since the early 1990s and am proud to have been a part of his previous races and look forward to his presence (for a second round) on the first floor of the New Capitol Building in Frankfort. Later on, at a small gathering for Jack downtown on E. Main Street, I did express to him my opposition to the Death Penatly, offering instead the option of Life Without Parole. Jack's speeches have tended toward the right a little more than I am comfortable with knowing he will be the Commonwealth's Chief Law Enforcement Officer in a little over two months. He listened attentively to an argument made on this subject by my friend Jessie Phelps, attempting to disarm her argument with a winning smile, as he does with many folks and it usually works. It didn't work on her or me, but we are each strongly behind Conway. He is one of the rising stars building the bench for the future of Kentucky and the Kentucky Democratic Party.

Kentucky's candidate for Lieutenant Governor is Daniel Mongiardo, who was Dan Mongiardo in all his previous races, but the candidate for governor always refers to him by his proper name, so we shall as well. His speech began the frenzy which led to a speech given by His Honor the Mayor of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro, who was sped into the rally from downtown where he had just overseen the beginnings of the Museum Plaza project at 7th and Main, helping with others to shovel out the first dirt, which I assumed came from the Fort Nelson Park, a park dedicated to and commemorating the first landing at the Falls of the Ohio, a park which is to be destroyed in the Museum Plaza project. But, I digress. The mayor gave a rousing speech about Kentucky's new direction for the next few years and closed by introducing the person we all came to see, Steve Beshear, our candidate for governor, and if the polls are any indication, he will easily be elected as our next governor.

Now Beshear is an attorney from Lexington, but when he opens his mouth and you hear his voice, you know he isn't native to the Limestone and Bluegrass of central Kentucky. Steve is from Dawson Springs, in Kentucky's First Congressional District, a place where Democrats tend to elect Republicans with keen regularity. You'd have to go back to the 1990s and Thomas Jefferson "Tom" Barlow's 1992 win for congress or Paul Patton's victories for governor to find the last time the region elected a Democrat to a state or federal office. With Steve being a native to the area, and all the candidates reaching out in a variety of ways to the more conservative First District, some reaching a little more diligently than my comfort level, we should do better there than in years past. And those of us who count the votes three and four times over for any analytical value after the polls are closed, will be closely watching Hopkins, Christian, Todd, and the other counties along Kentucky's southern border to see how well they served the Party in the way of votes.

As the rally came to an end, a closing Benediction offering thanks and blessings for the Party and its candidates was offered by a Prayer asking all the Democrats in room to close the evening in Jesus' name, and a hearty "Amen" followed, although more thana few of us were more comfortable with the opening Invocation to an omniscient and overseeing God than the closing Benediction to Jesus Christ which would have and did exclude the several Jews and non-Christians (including the State Party Chair) in the room. But then inclusion is more important for me than it was to some others present, including, apparently, the Atlanta, Georgia reverend offering the prayer.

Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching As To War, With The Cross of Jesus, Going On Before.

Election Day is November 6th.