Author
Al Cross
Where do Beshear, Cameron go from here?
Kentucky voters gave Andy Beshear another four-year term as governor. What will he do with it? The answers may conflict as he considers them personally, politically and governmentally. The latter two are already intersecting, as the Jan. 5 filing deadline for legislative seats approaches and prospective Democratic candidates look to Beshear for support — or […]
Infant mortality fell in Kentucky in 2022 while increasing nationally
For the first time in 20 years, the rate of infant mortality in the U.S. ?showed a statistically significant increase in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national baby-death rate rose 3% from 2021, but in Kentucky it dropped 6%. The rate measures the percentage of babies […]
Among all the candidates, which will get the most votes?
Perhaps the most telling TV commercial of this year’s campaigns comes from Secretary of State Michael Adams, the only Republican running for re-election. The 30-second ad begins by showing the top of the ballot, with the slates for governor and lieutenant governor unmarked, then goes to the second race, marking Adams as the choice over […]
Can Cameron get voters to pay attention? Will he play the Trump card?
As it nears its final fortnight, the Kentucky governor’s race might seem one of the biggest wastes of money in our state’s history. More than $40 million has been spent, much of it for mostly misleading TV attacks on Gov. Andy Beshear, who seems to have withstood them or gotten stronger. That must vex Republican […]
On abortion, GOP is the dog that caught the car
Two months ago, I began gathering string to write about abortion and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, after he seemed to have a problem dealing with the issue. Now he’s having bigger problems. The day before the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, the Republican nominee for governor spoke to about 25 people at a hilltop park that […]
Brereton Jones leaves lessons for reformist politicians
Kentucky never had a governor quite like Brereton Jones, who died Monday, and it may never again. His legacy is one of reform, with lessons for reformers. Jones wasn’t the first high-minded millionaire to use wealth to gain high office, but he did it with a most unusual pedigree. His political career began in West […]
Tell us more, Mitch and Joe
Mitch McConnell, who has a policy of saying little, is exactly nine months older than Joe Biden, who says too much and will be 81 on Nov. 20. The president’s rambling makes some people worry about his health, but we know a lot more about it than we do about the Senate Republican leader’s, even […]
As concern about Mitch McConnell’s health grows, his legacy remains?strong
Even if Mitch McConnell’s health prevents him from accomplishing his stated goal of serving as Senate Republican leader through 2024, he will still be the longest-serving Senate leader of any party, one who remade the federal judiciary from top to bottom. The impact of that achievement will outlive the 81-year-old Kentuckian, who appeared to freeze […]
Do you know what your members of Congress are doing?
Republicans snubbed Hal Rogers, more than once. They treated Thomas Massie more roughly. Brett Guthrie deferred his dream. James Comer defeated two colleagues in an election to get one of the highest-profile jobs in Congress. But you don’t read about much or most of the news made by these members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation, unless […]
Beshear, Cameron both claim the moral high ground
This article is published with permission from the Northern?Kentucky?Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. FANCY FARM, Kentucky – The first faceoff of the candidates for governor, at last Saturday’s Fancy Farm Picnic, brought the race into clearer focus. Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron is betting that culture will trump […]
Has Joe Wright’s example been forgotten?
HARNED, Ky. – At the funeral for one of Kentucky’s greater public servants in living memory, no speaker said a word about his service to the state. Joe Wright, who was probably the most powerful member of a legislature he helped make independent from the governor, was remembered as a farmer and family man, always […]
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 […]