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 John Y. Brown III, on Thu Jan 5, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
It’s not a medical breakthrough to reverse memory loss.
Consider it more of a coping mechanism. And a darned good one at that.
Maybe memory loss is inevitable with the aging process….but don’t despair. Don’t cede anything to our younger colleagues! Instead, finesse!
You don’t need to know a whole lot in this life to be profoundly effective, successful and fulfilled. We really need only to kno…w “a little.”
The trick is to have some attitude about the little we still retain. And sometimes, if need be, ratchet up a little more attitude to drive the point home.
Afraid you’ll have trouble remembering all this? Don’t. Watch the video–repeatedly–until it becomes second nature. It says it all. And with the attitude.
But due to overwhelming popular demand (OK, mostly because I was sick and bored at the end of the holidays), I offer my latest half-Letterman: The Top Five Medical Afflictions I Learned About Via TV Comedies:
5. Shrinkage
I need to be a little delicate here, being that the RP Nation is a family audience, but until I saw the particular Seinfeld episode I post below, I had never heard of the much-too-common malady that plagues millions of American men (and disturbs many more millions of American women), called “shrinkage.” I just have never been the type of guy who looks down in a communal shower. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!) While I knew and understood that uromysitisis (a Seinfeldian compulsion for public urination) was real, spectacular, troubling… yadda, yadda, yadda; as a Jewish guy, I’ve never had to worry about the shrinkage syndrome. (Hellooooooo!). But for all of you Gentile men (and Jew-ish Gentiles such as George Costanza), to truly become the master of your domain, watch the following public service announcement, and always remember, NO COLD POOLS FOR YOU:
4. Fetal Resorbtion
Like most Americans, I rely on Dwight Schrute of “The Office” for most of my medical and health care advice. (What does Dr. Oz really know anyway?) Whether it is his enlightened views on “female issues” such as the menstrual calendar and yeast infections, his perspicacious insights about infant circumcision, or his well-versed policy analysis on health care reform and the animal kingdom, there is no scientific expert more astute than Schrute. So, it was quite touching when on a special espisode of “The Office,” we learned of a medical affliction that affected Dwight personally; in fact, one that made him that man-and-a-half that he is. Yes, fetal resorbtion. Watch below:
3. Male Puberty-Onset Voice Shrieking
As I approached my Bar Mitzvah — the biggest moment of my pre-adolescent life, the very day that I would become a MAN — I lived in constant fear that my voice would change. My rabbi, Bernard Schwab, a truly holy man who had been blinded by diabetes, who had memorized the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) in HEBREW, had painstakingly worked with me for four years so that I would not only read my assigned portions with perfection but that I’d also hit the prescribed musical notes as mandated by the Torah scribers thousands of years before. I was scared to death that I would dishonor him — while blaspheming my faith and desecrating my people — by shrieking like a wounded frog. Because everyone knew that when a boy hit puberty, he immediately became a laughable, cacophonous clown, a shrill fool who, when singing, disturbed the peace, shattered mirrors, and made young girls cry. At least everyone who had watched the following episode of my very favorite childhood TV comedy, The Brady Bunch. (Turns out, I was the exception — my voice naturally transitioned down an octave. Also, unlike Peter Brady, I didn’t marry and then divorce a much-much younger winner of America’s Top Model, who now is offering to tweet a topless picture of herself if she acquires 300,000 Twitter followers: NSFW link)
Read the rest of… The RP: The Top 5 Medical Afflictions I Learned About Via TV Comedies
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 5, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The story of Kentucky politics lost a legendary character yesterday in the passing of Gatewood Galbraith.
While Gatewood never recovered from the political bug — nor did he ever want to — his candor, aversion to hyper-partisanship and extraordinary sense of humor certainly reflected the values of this Web site.
Accordingly, tomorrow (Friday), we are dedicating this site to his memory, and opening it up to the RP Nation to share their remembrances.
That’s you!
Please share with us your stories, anecdotes and memories of the one-of-a-kind man. Send them to Staff@TheRecoveringPolitician.com by 7 PM EST tonight, and as long as they are family-friendly, we will post them sometime tomorrow.
Thanks, and share with us tomorrow a day of fun remembrances of a Kentucky original.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jan 4, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
Post Election Final Thoughts:
I applaud yesterday’s chaotic, surprising, and uniquely American process leading to the narrowest of narrow victories by the front-runner and a near shocking underdog upset–accompanied by a respectable third place finish from an independent and brainy gadfly.
It reinforces my belief in our democratic system. And however messy and unpredictable, it’s still a thing of beauty to behold. And to be grateful for.
Finally, if I had to pinpoint a regret it is that the race didn’t last one more week and have one more candidate with one more wise admonition. The extra week may have allowed Sen Santorum’s sensational surge to run its course ….and see the final candidate I would like to have seen in the mix peak and prevailed at just the right moment, Chance Gardner. And in his acceptance speech, in my fanciful ending, candidate Gardner would admonish Americans in Iowa and beyond by quoting Voltaire from Candide (discussing Chance’s favorite topic, gardening). “Let us cultivate our own garden.”
But I’m a romantic. And it was a Republican primary. Let’s be real. A French quote (even a self-reliant quote) to summarize the moment’s electoral message, was probably too much to ask.
As the pundits and Wednesday morning quarterbacks assess the winners and losers of last night’s Iowa caucuses, one verdict is clear: Our savvy gang of RPs couldn’t shoot straight.
Reviewing their predictions from yesterday, click here for the infamous post, only RP staffer Zack Adams predicted the correct finish of the top 6 candidates, and former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis was the only recovering politician to predict the correct order of the top 3.
Most humiliated was The RP himself. Not only did he forecast a last-minute Ron Paul surge (30 points — come on?!?), but then, after the entrance polls “confirmed” his predictions, he bragged on Twitter and Facebook about how he was whipping fellow RPs Jeff Smith and John Y. Brown, III. We imagine that the RP has crawled back into his spider hole awaiting redemption in New Hampshire.
At least recovering politicians can laugh at themselves. Here’s John Y.’s thoughts from last night when it looked like the RP and Jeff Smith had bested him:
Post Iowa Primary Prediction: Although it’s still too early to know how things will shake out tonight….it appears Jonathan Miller and Jeff Smith and a passel of others from the RP blog, will do a better job predicting tonight’s outcome than I did.
So, I need to come back in a big way tomorrow—and I will!!
My big prediction? Newt Gingrich will go long and score big –again—with the one Secret… Weapon he has mastered so well—the florid and grandiose press release.
I predict Newt will provide a “shock and awe” release tomorrow morning that taps into something in millions of American voters who know deep down that any candidate who can use words like “literati” and “minions” in a campaign press release is a man who can and probably should be president.
And maybe, just maybe, history and Providence will ensure that “Out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged Gingrich.”
After two years of campaign, hundreds of pundit prognostications, and thousands of cable news sound bites, at long last, what you’ve been waiting for…
Our fearless contributors — Contributing RPs, Friends of RP and RP Staff — offer their predictions for tonight’s Iowa caucuses.
And you can too — please give us your predictions in the Comments section below.
Without further ado…(Click on their name to find out their background)…
The RP: Paul 30%; Romney 25%; Santorum 21%; Gingrich 7%; Perry 6%; Bachmann 4%, Huntsman 1%. I don’t think Rick “Man On Dog” Santorum’s organization is strong enough to take advantage of his surge. I also think Paul’s support is underestimated in the polls because his grassroots support is so fervant, and the tin foil hat crowd among his followers are fearful of pollsters. Remember Pat Robertson?
Jeff Smith: Santorum 27; Romney 23; Paul 23; Perry 11; Gingrich 9; Bachmann 6. I think some Bachmann/Gingrich/Perry folks walk in to their caucus, see how outnumbered they are by Sant-mentum, and get on the bandwagon.
Jason Grill: Romney, Paul, and Santorum will finish first, second, and third. The order though is more “up in the air” than George Clooney was in his recent Oscar nominated movie. Organization and friends twisting other friends arms at the caucuses will decide the order of the top three. If Romney finishes third that WILL be news and change the race somewhat moving forward. He will be seen as an even weaker front runner if this happens. Also, it will be interesting to see where Perry and Gingrich finish tonight. Keep a lookout for their percentages at the end of the night. A fourth place finish for Perry over Gingrich will signal a potential showdown with Romney in South Carolina. Lastly, I am anxious to see how Huntsman finishes in next week’s New Hampshire primary after skipping Iowa.
Mark Nickolas: Paul (25%); Romney (23%); Santorum (22%); Gingrich (11%); Perry (10%); Bachmann (6%). Iowa requires a level of commitment from supporters unlike anywhere else. Those with the best state organization and strongest levels of commitment do especially well (Paul and Paul). Also, since Independents and Dems can participate if they want to cross over — as Indies did for Obama in ’08 — that’s likely to help Paul the most. Nefarious (aka loyal) Dems are going to support anyone but Romney to ensure a protracted GOP race, with Paul and Santorum benefitting most.
Rod Jetton: I think Ron Paul will just nip Romney and Rick Santorum will get third. Newt probably finishes in 4th. The Ron Paul forces are dedicated and with his numbers going up they and their friends have started believing he can win. They will turn out and surprise all the experts.
Greg Harris: Santorum – 26%; Romney – 25%; Paul – 21%; Gingrich – 12%; Bachman – 8%; Perry – 7%; Huntsman – 1%. Santorum’s diligent grassroots work throughout the State this past year will pay off, resulting in more ardent caucus warriors advocating his case, and moving some on-the-fence Bachman and Perry supporters. Ron Paul’s fanatical base will still assure him over an over 20% showing. The minority moderate voters will hold their noses and back Romney.
Read the rest of… Our Contributors Predict the Iowa Caucuses…
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jan 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
U-Turns!
Driving in California is like being in the middle of a really bad video game where you never seem to figure out how to beat the system.
Fortunately, U-turns are all the rage out here and are great at minimizing time lost by inevitable driving mistakes.
And thank goodness for GPS systems. I have been so dependent on mine today that we are actually developing a relationship of sorts.
She–t…he monotone, always cool as a cumber, pleasant yet motherly voice from my GPS– has told me today at least a dozen times, “Take the next legal U-Turn.” A few minutes ago she said, “Take a right and then take the next legal U-Turn.”
I responded emphatically to her, “Lady, I was born ready to take the next legal U-Turn.” And I think I meant it.
And at some level, I think she heard me and smiled in that way that only the GPS voice-overs can smile to themselves.
Oh, and I know she has to always say “the next ‘legal’ U-Turn” but just once I’d like to hear her say, “Take the next U-Turn….Notice I didn’t say ‘legal’ either. I can’t explain it, I just want to be bad today.”
That would be cool. And I’d pay an extra dollar a month for the possibility of that happening. And I could say back, “Don’t worry sister, I already did.”
I want to share a few memories about Gatewood Galbraith, a KY statesmen, who died Tuesday night in his sleep.
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.”
