Democrat Ben Chandler Wins in Kentucky!

[flpoljunkie]

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2004/by_state/KY_Page.html?SITE=KYLOU&SECTION=POLITICS

U.S. House - District 6 - 524 of 594 precincts reporting

FEBRUARY 17, 19:24 ET


A.B. Ben Chandler III
Dem
74,935
55.7%

 
Alice Forgy Kerr
GOP
57,071
42.4%

 
Mark Gailey
Lib
2,620
1.9%

[slinkerwink]

1. good for him!

[tishaLA]

25. Hi Slinkerwink

I've been wondering where you were....

Wishing you good luck and all that.

[slinkerwink]

27. I was momentarily banned...but I'm back now!

[jeter]

50. You were banned?

For what?

[jadesfire]

40. Good for ALL of us!!

The implications of this are awesome!

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. Chalk one up for our side!

:bounce:

[Punkingal]

3. Yikes!

He won Biiiiiiiig! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. WOOHOO!!!!!

Excellent news! :bounce::bounce: Thanks for posting this!

[cally]

5. WONDERFUL!

Does anyone have any insights on how he pulled it out?

:bounce:

[Nazgul35]

10. yes...

the fact that he ran an ad on several lefty web sites and raised 100s of thousands of dollars for the last month of the race...

Someone on another blog reported Kerr not running any ads last night, they felt she had run out of cash...

The point is that when we compete dollar for dollar with repugs, we win every time!!!!!!

[OKNancy]

12. Clark

Didn't hurt that Wes Clark sent out an e-mail asking for supporters to back Chandler and send a small donation.

[MilDem]

13. He was a strong candidate

He had only recently lost the race for KY Governor (to the guy whose Congressional seat he just won) so he had high name recognition. Also, he had a stronger platform (being a Democrat and all.)

[Adelante]

15. We Wes Clark Dems

can some measure of credit, I think.

So proud!! Our first Wes Dem project and we won!!

[kymar57]

34. "Happy " Chandlers grandson

Not to take anything away from his win. His public record as AG in KY very good. In the Bluegrass Region of KY the Chandler name carries a lot of weight.

[jadesfire]

41. Lots of Dems hit the streets

and got out the Vote! People are tired of what happens when Repubs rule!

Time to take back America! EVERYWHERE!!!

[aldian159]

6. YAY!

A GOPer in the South tries to lean on Bush and gets smacked down. I love it.

[w4rma]

7. Awesome! That was a slaughter! (n/t)

[mac2]

8. Democratic winner

Good news.

Better post than talking about that religious movie and same sex marrige. These subjects have been beaten to death. You are talking to the choir.

[maddezmom]

9. Great News!!

thanks for posting :)

[mndemocrat_29]

11. Congrats to Congressman-Elect Chandler

One step further to winning back the House!

[Adelante]

14. Whoo Whoo!!!

:bounce:


Fabuloso!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

16. Yeah!

[Lefta Dissenter]

17. This should be posted in the

'What's a Wes Clark Dem' thread!!! Congratulations one and all! Way to go, Kentucky!!!!!!!!!!

[BootinUp]

18. Nice!

This was the race to watch, looks like bad news for the repugs!

:headbang:

:kick:

[onecitizen]

19. WOOHOOO.........

Go Ky!!! (my neighbor)

[nonconformist]

20. I'm so proud of my state right now!

WHOOHOO! It was a good day for the Democrats in Kentucky! Besides Chandler's win, Dem's trounced the Repub on the 95th District seat as well:

http://www.wymtnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=1649960&nav=4CAKKtND

Democrat Charles "Chuck" Meade has defeated Republican Bobby Stumbo in the race for the 95th District seat vacated by Greg Stumbo.

With all 39 precincts in the county reporting, Meade earned 2,290 votes -- 78 percent. Stumbo earned 635 votes -- 22 percent.

Meade replaces Greg Stumbo, who stepped down in January to become attorney general. Greg Stumbo served 12 terms and was Kentucky's longest-serving House Majority leader.

The 33-year-old Meade immediately joins the General Assembly, but will face Bobby Stumbo again in November.

The 45-year-old Stumbo is the lone Republican candidate for the seat. Floyd County has about 31,000 registered voters and only about 2,700 are registered as Republicans.

------------
Horay for Floyd County! Wouldn't it be amazing if Kentucky went to the Dem's in November?

[Ramsey]

22. What district is that?

Those names sound familiar. I'm a Louisvillian.

[Adelante]

23. Way to go, Kentucky!!

:toast:

[eileen_d]

29. Congratulations to you and your fellow Kentuckians!

I lived there for three months on an internship - wish I could return

:yourock:

[Ramsey]

21. No Coat tails!

That should be *'s new nickname. Kerr had to ask Bush NOT to come campaign for her because his projected visit caused her poll numbers to drop. She campaigned for weeks as a Bushbot, and the voters said no thanks. Her claim to fame was voting with her party leadership 99.9% of the time.

Yes, change is a-coming! The Dems need to spin the hell out of this as a commentary on the discontent with Shrub across the nation. I mean, freaking Kentucky, that's a pretty damn red state.

[kymar57]

32. Happy Hillbilly(I'm allowed}

KY born and bred. For the first time in yrs I feel like the tide is turning and we have an opportunity to take our govt back

[MoonRiver]

24. Great NEWS!!!!

The Rove machine LOSES again! Let's keep up the big MO!

[frogbison]

26. The tide's a turnin'!!!

Republicans better build their boats.

[Donna Zen]

28. Yes!

I sent him $$$ yesterday with through Clark's email address.

Okay...read carefully:

Lessons learned:

1. No matter whose campaign you supported: we do have power

2. There is a information-lag between what is going on out here,
and what the Democratic party thinks is going on.

3. The internet can be democracy's friend

4. We are not there yet.
_______

1. Thousands of us came to together in various camps with the hope on achieving change within our country while working through the existing system. IMHO, the next set of moves need to include the question: why. What did we hope to achieve? Various candidates had various messages; however, those messages clearly overlapped. Yes, even Joe's message contained a very good healthcare proposal. That said, we have learned that collectively we are far stronger than we are as individuals, and we have agreed upon goals. Now is the time to focus that power. I would suggest that calls for goal setting both philosophically and logistically.

2. The Democratic party has caught on very well to the concept that we are "out." here; the problem is they see us as a cash-cow rather than people-individuals--who have demands, are not satisfied with the status quo, and who feel that the government on both sides of the aisle is no longer working in the American people's best interest. Again, we must define ourselves and our interests, because they are not going to do it for us. If we are unable to do so, then we should expect to be invited to participate in an astro-turf movement where the goals that we wish to achieve remain nebulous and the rewards for collective actions benefit the few. If we want to change the status quo, then organizing as a force outside the system but willing to work on the system's behalf when the party or factions within the party are willing to champion our cause(s), needs to be realized.

One example: It is vital to a democracy to have an informed citizenery and constructive, open dialogue. (I hope that you agree, so I'll assume you do.) Currently, the media with the help of both parties is moving us away from that bedrock ideal through infotainment and mergers. As we all know, sometimes they just "make shit up." A simple move such as demanding that media spend time on the issues rather than the "horse-race" during any campaign does not require much lobbying power but it does demand a "voice." A unified Democratic party voice.

OTOH, stopping and reversing the current course of media mergers, while difficult, is also necessary, and can be achieved if we force the issue and frame it as a "democratic" ideal. On this issue we will find support in surprizing places.

3. The internet, which often publishes pure-crap, can be used as an organizing tool. We can: eblock, form writer's groups, raise money, lobby etc. If we are under an umbrella organized by an individual(s) then we may become driven by an agenda rather than our goals. Therefore, it is apparent to me that we need to take several actions: One, we need to define an agreed upon set of goals (#1). Two, we need to organize outside of the party, although not necessarily in conflict with the party, to create a "grassroots" identity that can be offered up when the powers that be are in agreement with our goals. And finally, as a body of individuals decide what it is we can do, and are willing to do through this mighty tool. Florynce Kennedy once said: "I know we're termites. But if all the termites got together, the house would fall down."

I think we would be wise to both attend to Ms. Kennedy's notion, and to avoid entering the "termite hotel."

4. We have caught the attention of the Democratic party; however, in the end, I would suggest that while attention is a good thing, it was not our goal. We came together orginally because of a stolen election and now we face BBV. How many people in the party are actually listening to us? How many people in the party care what we think? How many people in the party consider us "kooks?" How many people in the party would offer us Trojan Horses vs take action our behalf?

No my friends, we are not there yet. So the question now is "how do we get there?" I would suggest: #1, #2, #3. From observing the comments on various threads, many of us are circling the issue of continuing and creating more effective grassroots cyber politics. I invite anyone to add to, subtract from, and hammer out proposals such as mine. I believe we are on to something; I believe it is critical that we develop into an effective force for change; I believe there are great minds in this and other forums ready with the skills waiting to do this. And most of all, I believe if we fail to do this, we will lose our democracy. I am here to help in an effort to change that course of events.

If we dream individually, our dream remains a dream. If we dream in critical mass, our dream becomes reality.

[TheDonkey]

30. Slam Dunk! Let's fill the congress with Democrats!

Too bad he didn't get the governor spot, but the US Congress isn't shabby at all.

[mandyky]

31. On local news - his victory speech!!

Yahoo, one step closer in the House!!

[Renew Deal]

33. Is this a +1?

Did we gain a seat?

[Hokie]

35. Yes.

This was an election to fill the vacant seat of Ernie Fletcher (R) who, unfortunately, is governor now.

[Renew Deal]

42. Well, that's good.

[nonconformist]

36. Yes

This was the seat that Ernie Flecter (R) left empty after he beat, ironically, Ben Chandler in the KY governor's race last year.

[fujiyama]

37. This is a great victory!

What are the numbers now in the House?

Of course, even the numbers don't matter as much if we can't get a cohesive party on certain issues like the Medicare Bill, where several dems crossed over.

[Bake]

38. As a longtime Kentuckian (now in MS), I AM THRILLED!!

I think this just goes to show that the Pukes are not invincible in the South (even if KY isn't the Deep South!). Good Democratic candidates, backed by enough money to compete dollar for dollar, CAN WIN!! EVEN IN THE SOUTH!!

I hope Unca KKKarl just shit his pants.

Bake

[kayleybeth]

39. WooHoo!!

That makes me so happy! Congrats to Chandler and the people of Kentucky!

[texasmom]

43. Excellent news!

13 percentage point difference. WooHoooooo!

[Leilani]

44. The tide is turning!!

Wonderful news!!

[Kathleen04]

45. YEAH!

House seat! :party:

[Toucano]

46. Rock on, Rep. Chandler!

:yourock:

[chocolateeater]

47. YEEEEAAAAGGGGHHHH!

Here are the final totals:
U.S. House - District 6 - 594 of 594 precincts reporting
Name Party Votes Pct
A.B. Ben Chandler III Dem 84,545 55.2%
Alice Forgy Kerr GOP 65,774 42.9%
Mark Gailey Lib 2,957 1.9%
This is just the beginning.
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[dusty64]

48. Big news that

deserves a :kick:

[dusty64]

49. One more before bed.

This really is big news. :kick:

[Adelante]

51. I'll give you a hoof

:kick:

[chocolateeater]

52. Kick for Kentucky

WOO HOO!