Conservative Party (Kentucky)

The following is a guest submission.

One of the most critical problems in American politics today occurs when money corrupts the democratic process. Here in Kentucky, there are two very different examples of money corrupting our Republican primary Senate race — one from the Rand Paul campaign and another from the Trey Grayson campaign.

I’ve already touched on the corruption from the Rand Paul campaign where his father’s supporters from across the nation have sent in a “money bomb” to elect the man they call “America’s Senator”. I’ve also pointed out a second form of corruption — political nepotism — in Rand Paul’s securing the endorsements and money of people who offer them simply because he is Ron Paul’s son and they trust him to keep his word on promoting his father’s agenda. I have not yet explained, however, the corruption on the Trey Grayson side. I will seek to do that here.

First, let me be clear that when I say “corruption”, I am not referring to illegal activity, per se. Neither Paul nor Grayson have done anything “illegal”, as far as I can tell, but corruption isn’t always defined in terms of what is “legal”. Some people define “political corruption” as the use of legitimate power (or “legislated power” as this entry at Wikipedia notes) for illegitimate gain. Personally, I would define political corruption as any act by any political person or group — legal or not — which suppresses our democratic process or otherwise is not in keeping with true service to the people, whether or not there is intent to do so.

It is not my intention to argue today that the current laws allowing the activity described herein should be changed. Further, my goal is not to paint Paul and Grayson as “evil” people who “hate” Kentucky. Rather, it is to show that, regardless of excuses they may offer in employing these tactics and regardless of whether or not they should be legal, their activities are clear signs that they do not put the interests of Kentuckians first on their list of priorities. I submit further that Bill Johnson does put Kentuckians first and is in this race to serve the people whose votes he seeks to earn, not merely ‘inherit’ from Kentuckians who see no other option.

I have come to recognize what I believe is appropriately described as corruption in the relationship of the NRSC, Mitch McConnell, and the Grayson campaign. These three forces are using legitimate (legal) means that are in opposition to and effectively thwart the democratic process because they are activities which have a strong effect of undermining the grassroots and the interests of Kentuckians as a whole group. I will lay out the information I have based this assessment on and you can decide for yourself if it is fair.

Exhibit A: This article via CQPolitics provides some important background information on McConnell’s influence with the NRSC and his relationship with Trey Grayson.

Grayson was a teenager when he first met McConnell, who has become a political mentor and helped Grayson become a rising star in the Bluegrass State. Grayson’s top campaign advisers are almost exclusively former McConnell operatives, and McConnell has worked behind the scenes as a key fundraiser for Grayson.

And as McConnell goes, so goes the national party.

GOP strategists have said that with the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s focus on so many other races around the country and McConnell’s knowledge and leadership in Kentucky, the committee has generally deferred to him when it comes to the state’s political landscape.

Exhibit B: This article at nky.com includes a quote from the NRSC in which they make the troubling admission that they will support virtually any candidate who can raise a lot of money. Issues don’t matter. Only the ability to raise money matters. In short, no matter what Grayson’s positions are, they would support him.

The NRSC told CQ-Roll Call it is “willing to conduct joint fundraising events with virtually any Republican candidate who asks, provided they have the potential to help the Committee raise money in addition to their own campaigns.”

The quote above was given in the specific context of the NRSC’s joint fundraising committee which benefits NRSC and the campaigns of both Trey Grayson and Kelly Ayotte. See the form here.

In my humble assessment, the fact that Grayson is beholden to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his political success is sufficient proof that Kentuckians cannot trust him to put Kentuckians first.

Here is the process as I see it from the article’s description and the potential for misplaced loyalties to work against the interests of Kentuckians:

Point 1: The NRSC will support virtually any candidate who can raise money, regardless of his/her position on the issues.

Point 2: The NRSC believes that what McConnell wants is the equivalent of what Kentucky wants.

Point 3: McConnell wants Grayson. The NRSC interprets this as “Kentucky wants Grayson” which means, in turn, that Grayson can raise a lot of money, therefore, the NRSC goes forward with a joint fundraising committee with the Grayson campaign, regardless of what issues he champions or fails to champion.

This leads us to….

Point 4, the potential impact: Let’s say Grayson is elected and that at some point in his term he forms opinions on serious issues that are in opposition to the McConnell position. McConnell then no longer “wants” Grayson. Since McConnell no longer “wants” Grayson, the NRSC interprets this as “Kentucky” no longer wanting Grayson and pulls its support.

Mind you, McConnell was among the first, if not the first, whom Grayson went to for support. It’s that important to him. This is, apparently, the way Grayson thinks elections are to be won, not by appealing directly to the people first. His preferred strategy is the “top-down” strategy. Perhaps he thinks no other strategy is feasible because “that’s just politics”. Touche’, Mr. Grayson, but Kentuckians at the grassroots level would beg to differ with you on this. We’re tired of top-down politics, particularly in the Republican party and even more so in the tea party movement.

Another way that the “top-down” political strategy is corrupting the democratic process is in the impact it has in regard to name recognition, a vital part of any political campaign. The very fact that Grayson is clearly McConnell’s choice for the race and has any backing at all from the NRSC is enough to guarantee that Grayson’s name is mentioned in virtually every news report about this race. Grayson has had free advertisement from the media since “day one”.

While the Paul campaign is engaging in “outside-in” politics, securing donations from “average individuals” around the country who cannot even vote in this race, the Grayson campaign is characterized by “top-down” politics in which the Republican Party gave early promotion — albeit, unofficially — to the candidate selected by the Senate Minority Leader. No matter that neither the NRSC nor McConnell issued an official endorsement or spent a dime, the mere fact that Grayson is so closely connected to McConnell and the fact that it’s fairly common knowledge that the NRSC will support whomever McConnell supports has been enough to guarantee free news coverage for Grayson for months before anyone has even heard of Bill Johnson.

Across the state, for many months, it has been difficult to have a conversation about the Senate race without bringing up Grayson’s name because his is the one in the news all the time. Average citizen and Navy vet Bill Johnson, on the other hand, has been forced to pay for advertising with his own money or with the meager donations he has been able to scrape up from Kentuckians who already know who he is in order to get the word out about him. Johnson has been getting up at 4am many mornings to drive across the state to meet voters face to face in order to earn their votes and sometimes isn’t able to shut his eyes until 11pm and get a few hours sleep before heading out again to do the same thing the next day. Grayson and Paul, meanwhile, can get their names in the papers by barely lifting a finger. Unfortunately for Paul and Grayson, Kentuckians who do get the opportunity to meet Johnson are coming over to the Johnson camp with gusto, thankful that a real Ronald Reagan Republican is running in this primary against the libertarian-minded Paul and the former Democrat and Clinton supporter, Trey Grayson.

I submit that it is reasonable to refer to the relationship between Grayson and McConnell as “croneyism”, another form of political corruption. As the article in CQPolitics notes, McConnell has been Grayson’s political mentor since he was a teenager and McConnell has recommended him to the NRSC which, in turn, has thrown in with Grayson, not because of his positions but because of McConnell’s support. This “top-down” arrangement, like the “outside-in” arrangement of the Paul campaign, is the direct opposite of a Kentuckian-driven, grassroots movement such as we find clearly in the Johnson campaign.

Don’t know Mitch McConnell that well? Forget about the NRSC raising money with/for your campaign because they are of the opinion that if McConnell doesn’t want you, Kentucky doesn’t want you. You’re virtually stopped in your tracks before you can even file to run. Is that the goal? I don’t know, but the impact is certainly to promote the election of a McConnell-selected candidate instead of a grassroots-selected candidate. If Bill Johnson wins this race, it will go a long way toward stopping this sort of corruption in its tracks.

I submit that if it is truly the role of the NRSC to support candidates no matter their stand on the issues and only based on whether or not they can raise money, then the NRSC should not receive a dime of our money. I submit that if McConnell is using his power to promote a croney, he should lose not only his position as Senate Minority Leader, but also his Senate seat. Kentuckians deserve to have a Senator who will adamantly refuse to use his power as a means to thwart their will in our elections. The fact that Trey Grayson is in the proverbial bed with the NRSC and with Mitch McConnell is, in my humble assessment, proof that Kentuckians cannot trust Grayson to effectively serve our interests.

Who gives to the NRSC anyway? Employees of Kentucky’s nursing homes, fire departments, factories or coal mines? Nope. Granted, anyone can give to the NRSC, but here’s a list of their top contributors. I’m unable to find out if there have been any expenditures from the NRSC to the Grayson campaign, but even if the NRSC has given no money at all to the Grayson campaign, the point is that Grayson went to them in the first place. I believe this shows that his heart is not first with the people of Kentucky. It is first with the party establishment and their big donors.

Our intellects inform us that big money tends to win elections. I’m not stupid. I know that. Bill Johnson is not stupid, either. He knows that, too. But this reality stands in opposition to where the hearts of public servants are, particularly conservatives, and Johnson’s heart did not lead him to the party coffers which are opened for all-comers (provided they are supported by McConnell). It led him instead to serve the people based on their conservative values. It is to Kentuckians, not DC operatives and the Texas “grassroots”, whom Johnson turns to. In this, we know that he trusts Kentuckians and that we, in turn, can trust him.

Join Kentuckians for Johnson, a free Ning site where you can get to know some of the people who make up Kentucky’s conservative grassroots.