Commentary
Al Cross handicaps Kentucky’s political field
Welcome, Derby visitors! Here’s our annual handicapping of Kentucky’s political horses amid the pageantry of the 150th iteration of America’s oldest continuously held sporting event. The political star of the Derby TV show, for about 30 seconds during the trophy presentation, is the governor. His name is Andy Beshear. That may sound familiar. He’s in […]
Kentucky General Assembly fumbles opportunities to help kids
It’s Spring 2024 in the Bluegrass State. And if I am writing about sports, I should be focused on new basketball coaches and the Derby and the PGA Championship at Valhalla. But as I reflect on the 2024 General Assembly, my mind drifts to football and the 1938 Chicago Bears. That was the team which […]
Ukraine vote draws lines for Senate race between Massie, Barr
Kentucky’s congressional Republicans were deeply divided on aid to Ukraine, setting the stage for their expected primary to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who led the fight for it and seems likely to retire in 2026. The loudest on each side were U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie of the Fourth District and Andy Barr of the […]
Anti-immigrant politics could spark violence in Kentucky. It has happened before.
Donald J. Trump, meet Charles S. Morehead, the guy who was elected governor of Kentucky in 1855 on the anti-immigrant “Know-Nothing” ticket. “Americans should rule America” was the Know-Nothings’ credo. Translation: white, native-born Protestants like them.? Officially, the American Party, it was dubbed the “Know-Nothing” party because members were supposed to reply — like Sgt. […]
The political life and lessons of George Atkins
George L. Atkins Jr., who died April 14 at age 82, was a politician for barely a decade. But he was a touchstone for modern Kentucky politics and historical currents that go back more than a century: the corrupting force of big business, voters’ desire for reform, the influence of the news media and the […]
Did Kentucky legislators serve our common wealth?
In a republic, the form of government that the U.S. Constitution prescribes for states, the will of the people is supposed to be exercised through elected representatives. In Kentucky, we call our government a commonwealth, a term borrowed from our mother state, Virginia, meaning that it should serve the well-being of the people. The people’s […]
Undercurrent of racism propelled this legislative session
If there is a photo that defines Kentucky’s 2024 regular session, it is a smiling Secretary of State Michael Adams signing House Bill 5 — a sprawling, data-questionable, pro-incarceration bill with an unknown, sky’s-the-limit budget, overriding the governor’s veto — on the House steps, surrounded by more than two dozen applauding supporters and lawmakers. All […]
‘Gay Poems for Red States’ really for everyone
No matter how hard the viewer strains to see the shadowy face obscured by the words, “Gay Poems for Red States,” the silhouette on the front cover of this stunning collection is unknowable until you open the book and read the poems.? Starting with his own backstory, Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. chronicles his fall […]
No, America isn’t great. And, yes, many Biden voters know it
Briefly, ever so briefly, one man had me thinking that Donald Trump could win back the presidency. He wasn’t a political scientist crunching data to unveil a Republican path to victory. It’s too early for election forecasts to be reliable. Nor was he some Trump zealot spouting right-wing talking points while wearing a crimson Make […]
Privacy worries a smokescreen for hiding the public’s business
FRANKFORT — Long before there were text messages, email, cell phones or computers small enough to slip into a purse? — back in the Neolithic when public records were created on IBM Selectric typewriters — the Kentucky Open Records Act protected personal privacy. The Kentucky Open Records Act still protects personal privacy. No one is […]
Veto of mass incarceration bill gives Kentucky supermajority a shot at redemption
FRANKFORT — As I sort through the remains of this session, I keep returning to something I’ve heard said, only half-jokingly, about Kentucky: We waited until after the Civil War to join the Confederacy. It feels like the legislature is doing it again. White grievance and white supremacy animated this session. Republicans were out to […]
Taking stock one year after a bank staff meeting was turned into a bloodbath
April 10 marks one year since a mentally unstable 25-year-old walked into Old National Bank in Louisville and shot five people to death — Thomas Elliott, James Tutt Jr., Juliana Farmer, Joshua Barrick, Deana Eckert — and injured eight, including Nickolas Wilt, a young police officer who was shot in the head and miraculously survived. […]