Big Night For Southern Dems

Steve Beshear took 58% of the vote to take the governor's mansion with ease, the what is supposedly the solid Republican South. Ernie Fletcher is a goner. Remember, this is the guy who tried to save his political career by running ANTIGAY ads. That's how out of touch the GOP is in this day and age.

Now, I remember a TON of stories about Bobby Jindal ushering in a new era in Louisiana, how this presaged hope for Republicans, disregarding the fact that Hurricane Katrina drained the state of Democrats, if you'll pardon the pun. I wonder if we'll hear about this from the national media poohbahs?

In addition, Virginia Democrats captured the state Senate and made major gains in the House of Delegates. How many of these elections have to happen before the DC establishment to realize that there a fundamental shift happening in this country, and not just in the coastal areas, but in the South as well? And that it all has to do with a historically unpopular President, and therefore national Democrats needn't be afraid of Republicans calling them terrorist-lovers or immigrant-coddlers?

UPDATE: In addition, Utah rejected a private school voucher proposal written by the Republican Party. That's right, the GOP couldn't get a win on an issue of wingnut faith in UTAH.

The Gay Card To Teh Rescue!

Ernie Fletcher is going to lose his governor's seat in Kentucky today. He's a hopelessly corrupt Republican, and Steve Beshear is a decent Democrat. The country is changing and they will not stand for a governor who has to pardon most of his top staff to keep them out of jail.

In attempting to save the election, Fletcher is returning to the last refuge of a scoundrel - calling Beshear a queer lover.

Someone in Kentucky has resorted to an almost certainly illegal campaign tactic in today's election for governor. A new robocall has gone out purporting to be from Fairness.org — the Web site of the Fairness Campaign, an actual gay rights organization in Kentucky — speaking with pride about the strong support of "the homosexual lobby" for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Steve Beshear.

"Beshear is receiving major support from out-of-state gay activists and has publicly committed to same-gender relationships," the man on the call says.

The Fairness Campaign has denied any part in the calls, and is urging people who have received the calls to report it to the authorities.

That is all they've got left. Republicans who have proven that they can't govern can only demagogue on hate. It's not going to work today. This is not only illegal, it's craven.

Bright Spot In Kentucky

Despite the doom and gloom yesterday over the Iraq cave, yesterday was a pretty good day for Democrats electorally. Kentucky held their Gubernatorial primary, and there was good news on both ends. On the Republican side, Gov. Ernie Fletcher held off a challenge from former Rep. Anne Northup. This is great news because Fletcher is as corrupt as they come, having personally pardoned scores of members of his own staff after they were all indicted in various scandals. On the Democratic side, former Lt. Governor Steve Beshear bested DLC Lieber-Dem Bruce Lunsford, who endorsed both Ernie Fletcher and Mitch McConnell in the best. Beshear took it by 20 points, getting over the needed 40% threshold to avoid a runoff.

There's much more on this race at the Bluegrass Report. Beshear is a strong challenger, and will come out of the primary as the favorite to pull off yet another Democratic pickup.