By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Gatewood had asked me to run as his Lt Gov back in 2007, and for several weeks we had a great relationship and laughed and shared ideas but ultimately I couldn’t make it happen.
I felt terrible when I had to tell him, but Gatewood just smiled and said, “no problem brother”.
Needless to say, I have several great stories about Gatewood that I can share with you. But the one theme they all have is the constant love Gatewood had for people and Kentucky.
The first time I got to meet Gatewood was at Fancy Farm years back around 2006? He had a table set up on the Democrats’ side and had a pile of his autobiography books lying on the table.
I walked up and asked “how much for your book Gatewood?” He quickly spouted off something like “do you believe in the freedom of and that Government shouldn’t and constitution this..,” he spoke so fast that I couldn’t tell you exactly what he said but I liked the words that stood out the most so I simply replied, “Damn Right”! He stopped and looked at me and said “they’re free, take one and let me sign it for you, brother”.
We talked for some time about Wille Nelson, and I shared with him the times I hung out on the movie set with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, during the remake of the classic movie “Stage Coach.” (My father was Waylon’s double.) I could tell he was skeptical at first, until I told him how Willie was very funny and comical, and you don’t see that when he plays music. During one scene where Willie (Doc Holliday’s character) has to deliver the baby that the pregnant Lisa Crosby’s character (Yes, she had recently shot JR on Dallas) is having, he says: “I have to take a look down there now,” and as he reaches between her legs, he suddenly pulls a rabbit out of his sleeve and holds it up and declares, “I believe it’s a boy.” Even the director was rolling on the floor.
We talked about how tough it is win an election without money, and that was why he decided to finally write his autobiography and to give it to anyone in the political arena so they would get to know the real Gatewood, not just some legalize marijuana caricature.
He really had a good idea to promote himself and much better than just some 30 second commercial. About that time a preppy fellow walked over and as he was eyeing the books there was something about his demeanor and when he asked Gatewood “how much for your book”, dryly Gatewood replied, “Fifteen Bucks”! Gatewood sure could call them!
During Governor Beshear’s 1st inauguration, Gatewood and I sat together, and as the Governor was being sworn in, I asked Gatewood what it would feel like to him to be up there instead. Gatewood started beaming with that Gatewood grin and said, “Marksberry, if I ever win the lottery, look out”!
We miss you brother and we promise to keep your spirit alive!
By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 11:30 AM ET I knew Gatewood for many years and always enjoyed running into him, wherever it might be.
He was always upbeat and had something interesting to say. He was the kind of person who could make your day a little brighter just by speaking with him briefly.
His eternal optimism was always refreshing. You have to admire a man who stood up for what he believed was right (not a trait of a lot of politicians) and had no hesitation in expressing to you his opinion.
I remember running into him at Good Foods Co-Op on Southland Drive during the 2007 gubernatorial race, and he gave me an autographed copy of his book. I asked him how his campaign was going, and he said “we’re going to win this thing.”
I remember seeing him during prior campaigns standing on Versailles Road after the races at Keeneland with his campaign sign in hand, waving to everyone, as all of the traffic was going by, and I remember thinking it was a shame he was unable to raise more money so he would have a real shot.
I remember seeing him at Keeneland in October of last year, and I asked him how the campaign was going, and he said it was going well. “We’re going to beat Williams.”
I for one will miss seeing Gatewood, and I am sorry he never won one of his races. I believe he would have done a good job in public office, and he certainly would have “stirred the pot.” I also wish he had lived to run at least one more time.
By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM ET I did not know Gatewood well, but I do have a story about him.
While in private practice, I was with a firm that maintained office space in the same building as Gatewood. I remember I first saw him in the parking lot after his run. A gangling man in his fifties, sweating profusely and wearing nothing more than a very small pair of running shorts and shoes. It was not the kind of sight that goes easily unnoticed, nor was his periodic tai-chi routine.
Always a very likeable man, I once offered to buy him a drink at Lynagh’s. He slowly turned to me with his characteristically big smile shaded by the brim of his trademark fedora and responded boisterously, “Buddy, I haven’t had a drink for over 20 years…it messes with my buzz too much.”
I also watched as he explained to his friend Willie Nelson, why he chose an office across the street from the police department… “so we can keep an eye on each other.”
Gatewood was a very bright and witty man who was very comfortable in his skin and not afraid to stand up for everything he believed in. For this (and for my brief elevator ride with Willie Nelson) I admired him very much. The world will definitely be a little less pleasant without him.
By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 10:30 AM ET When I was a senior at UK in 1977, with my roommate, I attended a Halloween party held at Gatewood’s house which was in the old YWCA located somewhere in downtown Lexington.
My roommate’s father was the sheriff of Casey County, so we borrowed two deputies uniforms and attended the party. I recall that there was a goodly contingent of bikers and others in attendance who were not happy with law enforcement, and we got a number of evil stares.
I recall walking into rooms and hearing toilets flushing, small parcels being thrown under furniture, etc. It was big fun, but we were not the hit of the party.
I last saw Gatewood at the Master Musician’s Festival here in Somerset. I told him that he was like Elvis-he was everywhere. We had a good laugh and talked about his Halloween parties.
I will miss him. He was unique. He always had a good story and I smiled everytime I was around him. He will be missed.
By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The author, C. Josh Givens, in a 2008 Halloween costume. No person can truly dress as a Kentucky punk without a "Gatewood for Governor" t-shirt. As a community newspaper journalist in Kentucky since the mid-90s, I came to understand Gatewood was someone most media types would expect walking into the lobby each campaign cycle. Whether a race was on for governor, Congress, or even the local city council, Gatewood was expected, whether he was running or not.
Some called him a “perennial” candidate, but I have never liked that tag. It always sounded a tad bit back-handed to me, like the big papers and television talkers were saying, with some snarky inside wink-and-nod, “Here comes Gatewood … again and again and again.”
With Gatewood, somehow folks tried to make the very word — “perennial” — some type of curse word.
Perhaps those that used it the most were part of the “petrochemical-pharmaceutical-military-industrial-transnational-corporate-fascist-elite SOBs” crowd, which Gatewood convinced many of us were a threat to our Constitutional freedoms.
Then again, perhaps those who used it the most were part of what is mainstream, conservative Kentucky.
Gatewood always answered questions, which can be a novel ideal when considering Kentucky campaigns and the often too-comfortable relationship between hometown media and candidates.
Genuinely good guy Gatewood, you were comfortable with him, yes, but there always seemed to be an unspoken — “I am here to get my message out. If you don’t ask the right questions, I will still give you the answers. It’s an important message.”
Gatewood made you smile, whether you knew who in the Hell he was or not.
In what would be his final campaign, Gatewood and his running mate Dea Riley, fought a huge uphill battle in the Kentucky Governor race. But despite this uphill battle, Gatewood and Dea were keen to come to smallish Butler County — a heavily Republican county — and talk with me. We ran his story on the front, we ran his picture, we published a 30-minute video interview.
It lit a small fire of sorts. My phone rang, my email inbox filled — “Who is this Gatewood? I like the way he thinks.”
Now, memorializing with a tear in my eye, I enthusiastically agree with them. I sure did like the way that genuinely good guy Gatewood thought … which was for himself.
Rest in peace, Gatewood. You have shown us all, coming back year-after-year creates lasting marks. Your Commonwealth will long remember your impact.
You have made the path smoother for those will continue to come back and back and back.
By RP Nation, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 9:30 AM ET I’m mourning the loss, at age 64, of my friend, author and frequent Kentucky political candidate Gatewood Galbraith.
Anyone who wants to be a best-selling author needed to spend time around Gatewood. He had knack for understanding his audience that few others had.
My first book fair event ever was the 2006 Kentucky Book Fair. When I walked into the arena, I found they had me sharing a table with Gatewood, who was promoting his excellent autobiography, The Last Free Man in America.
I was horrified that I was perched next to a perennial gubernatorial candidate who advocated the legalization of marijuana and was known to take a toke or two on his own.
Read the rest of…
Don McNay: Book Marketing Lessons from “The Last Free Man in America”
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET Reports have come out that the Penn State football team has hired the Patriots offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien, as their head coach to replace the legendary Joe Paterno. It is preliminary report so we don’t know any details of the deal as of yet. A formal announcement is expected to come on Sunday. [ESPN]
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 9:00 AM ET  I want to share a few memories about Gatewood Galbraith, a KY statesmen, who died Tuesday night in his sleep.
I don’t claim to know Gatewood as a good friend, but he was much more to me than a casual acquaintance. I ran in several statewide races alongside Gatewood.
Political candidates are a bit like athletes traveling together across the state appearing to shake hands and give speeches wherever twoor more registered voters are gathered. There is a camaraderie that develops. And a respect and friendship that lasts.
As a young man I knew Gatewood the way everyone else knew him, as the hilarious, unrestrained, whip-smart, loquacious character who added comic relief and trenchant insights to KY’s governor’s races.
 One of the first debates I watched with Gatewood he defended medicinal marijuana by saying something along the lines of “We aren’t talking about people who get drunk, cross state lines and trash hotel rooms. We are talking about people who will mellow out and order a pizza and fall asleep.”
But because he wanted to legalize medicinal marijuana (coupled with the fact he looked like he just dressed himself and shaved from the back seat of his car) he was never taken as seriously as he could have been. And I wondered how seriously he wanted to be taken. Gatewood could have been an able governor had he ever found a way to get elected, but I’m not sure he really ran to win. I think he ran because he couldn’t not run and because he had something to say and people wanted to hear it. And it beat practicing law seven days a week.
And he was at good running for office—extraordinary, in fact. It just made sense for Gatewood to run. And keep running. And because of that, he mattered a lot to a lot of people across our great state.
Read the rest of…
John Y. Brown, III: A Few Memories About a KY Statesman
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET The colorful story of Kentucky politics lost a legendary character this week in the passing of Gatewood Galbraith.
Gatewood would have never considered himself a recovering politician — He enjoyed politics too much to ever fully leave. But his candor, aversion to hyper-partisanship and extraordinary sense of humor certainly reflected the values of The Recovering Politician.
So today, we are dedicating this site to his memory, and we’ve opened it up to the RP Nation to share their remembrances.
For our Kentucky readers, this is a chance to say goodbye, and share a few laughs, with someone who was part of our Comonwealth’s political fabric for more than three decades. For our readers outside the Bluegrass State, it’s a chance to learn about a true Kentucky original.
We hope you enjoy this day of Gatewood memories. And if you missed your chance to submit an article, please feel free to fill up our Comments section with your remembrances.
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 1:30 AM ET
Recent US earthquakes could be linked to human behavior. [npr.org]
Experts agree that 2012 will see a significant increase in gas prices. Make your travel plans accordingly. [latimes.com]
Porous roads lead to less runoff and even more durable roads. [sightline.org]
These cities are looking forward with new projects that are increasing green space in urban areas. [salon.com]
Scientists find a fish that has evolved the markings to disguise itself as an octopus arm. You can’t make this stuff up. [bbc.co.uk]
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