Comer: State GOP leaders ‘starting to eat their own’
By Jack Brammer – jbrammer@herald-leader.com
State Rep. James Comer, R-Tompkinsville
FRANKFORT — Over a meal of meat and potatoes, about 400 Republican stalwarts will congregate Saturday night in the Grand Ballroom of The Galt House in Louisville to praise their party’s accomplishments and plan future successes.
However, lurking beneath the expected veneer of unity at the annual state GOP Lincoln Day Dinner will be a bitter divide that has roiled the party faithful.
The Kentucky Republican Party has been battered in recent weeks with heavily-publicized bouts of infighting, especially pertaining to next year’s race for the U.S. Senate.
The friction has caused some Republicans to express concern.
“The big shots in the Kentucky GOP are starting to eat their own,” state Rep. Jamie Comer, R-Tompkinsville, said in a recent comment on his Facebook page. “This is getting like an old-fashioned Monroe County political knife fight.”
Comer, a beef cattle farmer who has been in the state House since 2001, said Friday that he was referring to comments this week by U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning about his colleague, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Though McConnell was instrumental in helping Bunning win re-election in 2004 over then little-known state senator Daniel Mongiardo, Bunning leveled a harsh attack on McConnell in a telephone news conference Tuesday.
Bunning said McConnell’s poor leadership has caused Republican seats in the Senate to dwindle from 55 to 40. McConnell declined to comment on Bunning’s remarks.
Bunning is seeking re-election next year despite pressure to drop out from some Republicans who consider him vulnerable. For instance, McConnell’s political action committee has donated to the re-election campaigns of several GOP incumbents, but not Bunning’s.
Meanwhile, several other Republicans have expressed an interest in the race, especially if Bunning steps aside.
Secretary of State Trey Grayson has formed an exploratory committee and three others — state Senate President David Williams, former U.S. ambassador to Latvia Cathy Bailey of Louisville and Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul — are considering the race.
Comer said his Facebook comment about party infighting was “meant to be fun.”
But, he added, “I was disappointed in Sen. Bunning’s comments. He should have expressed them privately to McConnell instead of going to the press.”
Comer said he probably will not get involved in the GOP primary election for the U.S. Senate but thinks Sen. Williams would be “the strongest candidate.”
“He could raise the money, is the best debater and can articulate his views on issues,” Comer said.
If Williams does decide to run for the U.S. Senate, he would not be able to seek re-election to the state Senate. That would give Comer an opportunity to run for the state Senate.
Although Comer said he plans to run again for the state House next year, he did acknowledge that he would consider running for Congress to replace Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, if Whitfield should get in next year’s U.S. Senate race.
Comer said he doesn’t think squabbling about next year’s race is hurting the party.
“After the primary election next year, everyone will be on the same page,” he said.
Scott Jennings, a veteran of several Kentucky political campaigns and a former adviser to President Bush, said the quarrel over Bunning doesn’t signal that the party is in disarray.
“The party in Kentucky last year did better than the party in many other states,” he said, noting McConnell’s victory over Democrat Bruce Lunsford. “We held our own.”
The GOP’s greatest need, Jennings said, is to show on a national level that it can solve problems.
“I think that’s the way to attract more people to it,” he said. In Kentucky, Democrats outnumber Republicans 1,672,234 to 1,062,337.
Meanwhile, state GOP Chairman Steve Robertson insists that the state party is “doing well, getting stronger every day.”
He believes most Kentuckians are concerned about “the out-of-control spending we’re seeing in government,” not infighting over the U.S. Senate seat.
“I’m not upset about what’s happening in the Senate race,” he said.
“First, of all, Sen. Bunning has an impeccable voting record. If he stays in the race and has a contested primary and wins, it won’t be hard for Republicans to rally around him,” Robertson said. “If he drops out or loses, there are capable Republicans ready to take his place.”
About the Author: John Stamper is the accountability editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
One Republican | May 8, 2009 | Reply
Representative Comer is absolutely right. In fact, we should be encouraging officials like Comer in the GOP. Indeed, it is refreshing to hear an elected official speak the truth whose statements reflect the opinion of many more across the state but who are too cowardly to say them. Although Comer doesn’t say this, it is indeed time that Republicans began to “talk back” and let some of the top GOP leadership whether they are the “Leader” or the “Chairman.” Not all of us (actually many) are tired of the same office holders, hacks and hacks turned lobbyist from exerting total control over the party. Those same folks have led us into the desert for what is becoming dangerously close to a 40 year exodus. Ironically, when comparing the “up and comers”, the future of the Republican Party could be bright…that is bright and not dim bulbs like Richie Farmer and not the black light bulbs of Trey Grayson. The true bright spots are folks like Representative Jaime Comer, Representative Alice Edgington, and a few others who have risen despite the odds against them with poor leadership in their party in the legislature. Embrace these folks or the worn out backroom, shake and stab routine of those leaders, chairs and hacks.
Yep | May 9, 2009 | Reply
agree with comer and agree with previous post. so true!
newferry | May 9, 2009 | Reply
The republicans are funny. They borrowed and spent money like drunken sailors. Reagan, Bush, and Bush drove us to 8 trillion (yes trillion) dollars in debt, and now the republicans want to convince us how fiscal conservative they are. The KY senate is trying to sell bonds to build roads and bridges right now. borrow and spend worked so well in Washington, let\’s try it in Kentucky. The republican party is a funny joke.
Pam Just Us | May 9, 2009 | Reply
Some Republicans are more edible than others. Cathy Bailey and Ellen Williams, for instance.
Ima Roid | May 9, 2009 | Reply
Scott Jennings tastes like bacon which should make him even more popular in the joint.
Two Cents Worth | May 10, 2009 | Reply
If we’re lucky, they’ll swallow them whole.
what loyalty? | May 11, 2009 | Reply
The Kentucky GOP became fractured when Bunning and especially McConnell refused to support Ernie Fletcher when the Democrats started attacking, and when McConnell encouraged Northup to run against Fletcher and Bunning endorsed her.
Those @ssholes are getting exactly what they deserve. We wouldn’t have this fracture if they had shown unity when the Democrats were attacking Fletcher. Bunning is getting from McConnell a taste of what he gave Gov. Fletcher. And I am laughing at him.
Jim Anderson Stivers | May 12, 2009 | Reply
Loyalty,
This is the first time I have seen the real cerebral thoughts about McConnell.
He has lost his stinger, lost it when the GOP relied on too many young Lions to feed the GOP hungry. It’s as old as time itself, the incumbents want to fill the staff with like thinking employees. Young Lions often get too hungry- to quick. And that is what contributed to THE STATE GOP DOWNFALL.
McConnell is a snake. He hides and strikes from beneath the bushes and then slinks away to spread this poison somewhere else.
McConnell no longer has a stinger in Washington and this latest affair with ducking the re-election of Jim Bunning is a new example. As long as the D’s have the majority in the Congress, Mitch McConnell has lost is ability to poison the political environment. But he will keep trying.
All McConnell can do now is be an constructionist. And that is exactly what he is trying to do.
If he feels he can out think and out maneuver the present majority in Washington then he is clinging to a LOST DREAM and ABSENCE OF POWER IN WASHINGTON.
This guy is a real peace of work…..
Jim Anderson Stivers | May 12, 2009 | Reply
constructionist
obstructionist . .. . may bad, sorry.
JAS
Weatherman | May 13, 2009 | Reply
what loyalty: Saint Ernie lost due to self-inflicted wounds, not because of the actions of others. And it is a good thing as Ernie is a pitiful excuse for a human being.