By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Apr 1, 2013 at 8:45 AM ET
While my following piece from Newsweek/The Daily Beast is not an April Fools’ joke like my earlier post this morning, it is yet another exhibit of our our political system is constantly playing unfunny jokes on the American people:
“We’d like to have you join us this afternoon for a discussion on the Ashley Judd campaign,” the young national talk show producer chirped into my phone. ”We understand that she will be announcing her candidacy within the next 24 hours.”
“I’d love to join you,” I responded. A recovering politiciannever turns down 15 minutes.) “But, uh, I’m pretty sure, uh, she’s not announcing.”
I looked over to the left side of my desk, at the draft exploratory committee papers that Ashley had asked me to prepare, still missing several items that I had requested from her.
“Oh, no,” the producer responded. “Our reporter has it on good authority from Ashley’s people that an announcement is imminent.”
I thought I was one of “Ashley’s people.”
Before I appeared on the show, I asked another of Ashley’s volunteer advisers, whom I knew had spoken to her that morning.
“Not true. Just another fabrication.”
Another fabrication.
The past several weeks had seemed like a dizzying blur of false testimony, as the national media seized any morsel of news or gossip to sate its ravenous appetite for Ashley Judd stories. As the actress contemplated whether to move back to Kentucky and challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, I was alternating with Congressman John Yarmuth as witness for the defense against a steady stream of salacious recriminations.
Click here to read my full piece from Newsweek/The Daily Beast: “How Kentucky Democrats Duped the MSM and Helped Elbow Out Ashley Judd”
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UPDATED NOON
Get me some antibiotics — the piece has gone viral. Check out the following pieces (h/t Jason Delambre):
An adviser to Ashley Judd said that the decision by the actress to pass on a challenge to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) next year was the result of a calculated effort by a small group of Democrats to stifle her electoral prospects.
In a story published Monday in The Daily Beast, Jonathan Miller wrote that the “most egregious disinformation” about Judd and her would-be candidacy “came from entirely anonymous sources” and helped create an unfavorable narrative. Before she announced last week that she will not run in 2014, reports suggested that Judd told a group of supporters at a private dinner, “I have been raped twice, so I think I can handle Mitch McConnell.” Miller, who attended that dinner, said he “never heard her say anything remotely like that.”
He also highlighted the recent suggestions that former President Bill Clinton had lobbied against a Judd candidacy in the hopes of getting Kentucky’s Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to run instead. Follow up reports later confirmed that Clinton had no problem with a Judd bid, but Miller said the damage had already been done — and now McConnell may be the ultimate beneficiary of the conniving efforts by Democrats.
What happened to the Senatorial aspirations of Hollywood celebrity Ashley Judd? Some believed that she got chased out of the race after Republicans in Kentucky and the NRSC began launching attacks on her past statements, making her reluctant to spend the time and money. Others think that Kentucky Democrats changed their minds on a celebrity campaign after determining that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes became interested. Both may be true, but according to Judd adviser Jonathan Miller in today’s Daily Beast, the real proximate cause of Judd’s withdrawal was a dirty tricks campaign not from Republicans, but from Kentucky Democrats — aided by a national media that got easily “duped”:
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UPDATED 1:20 PM
More than 8 hours after its original publication, and the article is still the most popular posting at Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Check out this screen shot:
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Apr 1, 2013 at 8:00 AM ET
LEXINGTON, KY: The Recovering Politician is EXCLUSIVELY reporting this morning that actress/humanitarian Ashley Judd — who just last week announced that she would not be challenging U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in his 2014 re-election bid –has reversed course, and will file her official Senate campaign papers on Tuesday with the office of Kentucky’s Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.
“Watching Mitch in that ridiculous University of Louisville sweater vest, cheering on those loser Cardinals in the Big Dance, made me want to barf,” Judd, the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ #1 fan, told The Recovering Politician in an exclusive interview. “The next thing you’ll tell me is that we’ll have a Dukie as Kentucky Senator. Oh, wait we do — that curly-headed wing-nut. To quote another Duke alum, Richard Nixon: “[Expletive deleted] that [expletive deleted] sheep-[expletive deleted] [expletive deleted].”
Reaction among Kentucky Democrats was fast and furious, just like the name of the only late 90s’s movie in which Ashley Judd did not appear:
“That’s horse-hockey. No way can we let that out-of-touch Hollywood celebrity run,” shouted political consultant Dale Emmons, the most outspoken advocate of an Alison Lundergan Grimes candidacy. “Those DC elites are not going to get in the way of me running yet another campaign against Mitch!”
“Barack and Steve ain’t gonna be happy,” former Obama and Beshear campaign operative Jimmy Cauley charged, “And I’m headed to Vatican City for a pow-wow with Francis. He’s gonna be pissed.”
“We are opposed to Ashley Judd because we think that Alison Lundergan Grimes will be an outstanding U.S. Senator,” said every person who is thinking of running for Kentucky Governor in 2015. “Of course, if Alison runs against us for Governor, we reserve the right to change our minds about her qualifications.”
The Frankfort political press could not be reached: They were tripping over themselves to be the first to quote Danny Briscoe, Larry Forgy, and a handful of other old white men who haven’t been involved in high-level Kentucky politics for decades.
Read the rest of… EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Judd Reverses Course, Announcing Senate Bid on Tuesday
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief: click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!
It’s been an exciting 24 hours at The Recovering Politician and its hot new email venture, the KY Political Brief. We were almost first to break the news of Ashley Judd’s decision not to seek the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell. (Ashley Judd’s Twitter, of course, beat us by a few minutes.) And Bradford Queen has yet again done an extraordinary job of sifting through the digital morass to identify the latest news on the 2014 U.S. Senate race, Rand Paul’s presidential ambitions, and the flurry of new laws passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in its waning minutes.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s KY Political Brief:
JUDD OUT : “I have decided,” she wrote in a tweet around 5 p.m. yesterday. Those were the words that tipped the political world to Ashley Judd’s announcement that she would not seek a McConnell challenge next year.
—Actress Ashley Judd won’t run for US Senate – AP’s Roger Alford – “Actress Ashley Judd announced Wednesday she won’t run for U.S. Senate in Kentucky against Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, saying she had given serious thought to a campaign but decided her responsibilities and energy need to be focused on her family. … The 44-year-old Judd had hinted last week that she was nearing a decision about the race. Now living in suburban Nashville, Tenn., Judd has said little publicly about her intentions. However, she has been meeting with several Democratic leaders, including Gov. Steve Beshear, to discuss a possible run.” [AP]
—ASHLEY WRITES, “Thank you”: “… It would be the greatest honor of my life to be entrusted as a public servant to our beloved Kentucky. Perhaps someday I will be. However, with the help of my pastors and mentors, I have thoughtfully and prayerfully concluded that I won’t run for the United States Senate at this time. I have never been intimidated by the prospect of serving Kentucky – and I remain unafraid of the Washington insider political machine that has controlled this Senate seat for three decades.” [AshleyJudd.com]
—Will Ashley Judd Run in 2016? – ABC News – “Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is up for re-election in 2016 and per Kentucky law (unlike other states) a candidate cannot run for both Senate and president of the United States simultaneously. Paul is widely believed to be considering a 2016 presidential bid, but even if he does not, this same source says Judd has been counseled by both Washington, D.C., and Kentucky advisers that this is the better race for her to enter “in order to give her time to establish residency, secure the grassroots, and that is impossible with the current timetable.”” [ABC News]
—The BACKSTORY: Jonathan Miller gives context to Ashley Judd’s decision on The Terry Meiners Show [WHAS]
AL MAYO, writing for KY Political Brief: “Not to say I told you so, but Judd is OUT. I applaud her action, and her promptness in making the announcement right away. She originally set Derby Day as the deadline. But I -along with many others-urged her not to drag things out that long. … Judd has made a good call in remaining sidelined as a candidate. … If Judd is truly serious about being considered for public office, she needs to get involved in local politics. It matters not where she gets involved, she should just do it! Ashley Judd has a powerful pulpit with her celebrity recognition, to inform, and enforce change no matter if it’s in Kentucky or Tennessee. To sit back and fire potshots randomly is a waste of that power and forum.” [KPB column]
FOCUS TURNS TO GRIMES : Ashley Judd will not run for Senate, Grimes to explore race – WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold – “… Judd’s exit leaves the Democratic field open for Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, who had already spoken with the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Grimes plans to file the paperwork for a exploratory campaign committee as early as next week, the sources said.” [WHAS-TV]
—Grimes hasn’t made decision about Senate yet but needs to be ‘deliberative,’ consultant says – CN|2’s Ryan Alessi – “Grimes hasn’t ruled out running in 2014 for the chance to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. But she has repeatedly deflected questions about the race saying she was focused on working on her priorities in the 2013 state legislative session. The General Assembly ended Tuesday night. Dale Emmons, a political consultant who worked on Grimes’ 2011 campaign and is a close family friend of the Lundergans, said Judd’s announcement isn’t an indication that Grimes has made up her mind. “I don’t think there’s any connection between the two,” Emmons told Pure Politics after Judd’s announcement went public. “The good news is that this allows Alison to make any decision she’s going to make out of the fog” of having to be concerned about Judd’s plans.” [CN|2 Politics]
MORE SENATE DERBY : Mitch McConnell’s scorched-earth strategy – POLITICO – “Kentucky is the Bluegrass State, but by the time Mitch McConnell is done with his reelection campaign, it may be better known for scorched earth. The top Senate Republican is preparing to wage a ruthless campaign to hang on to his job. He’s already on the air with nearly $200,000 in TV and radio ads, is assembling streams of data to target voters with tailor-made messages, and has quietly moved to lock down support from virtually every state GOP legislator. He says he’ll use “every penny” of a war chest certain to exceed the $21 million he spent in 2008. … McConnell’s strategy is similar to recent efforts by Senate stalwarts Majority Leader Harry Reid and John McCain, who each won reelection with big fundraising numbers to discourage possible opponents and constant attack ads to discredit those who do run. … “My view is if you’re going to be a bigger target, you’re going to adopt different tactics,” McConnell told POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview this week before Judd dropped out. “I think we’ve made it pretty clear … that we intend to be very aggressive from Day One. And we are. And that involves not ignoring any potential opponent.”” [POLITICO]
—Rand Paul endorses Mitch McConnell in 2014 Senate race, won’t back tea party challenge – The Daily Caller – “The Daily Caller has learned that Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is endorsing Sen. Mitch McConnell for re-election in 2014, ending speculation that Paul would back a tea party challenge to the Senate minority leader. “Rand Paul has endorsed McConnell,” Jesse Benton, McConnell’s 2014 campaign manager, told The Daily Caller. Benton, who has worked for both Rand Paul and his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, is credited by insiders with brokering Paul’s support for McConnell.” [Daily Caller]
—McConnell campaign launches new radio ad using pieces of his CPAC speech [CN|2 Politics]
‘RAND PAUL 2016’ WATCH : Paul says he won’t make decision on presidential bid this year – C-J’s Mike Wynn – “Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he will not decide on a potential bid for the U.S. presidency until at least 2014 and described his recent high-profile appearances as only an attempt to steer the national debate on important issues. … Paul is also scheduled as the headline speaker at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Day Dinner in May — an appearance that previous GOP candidates have used before launching a campaign. He told reporters he can’t deny that politicians like to speak in Iowa because it garners attention, but argued that “if you want to have an impact on how the Republican Party grows, and what the country does and where we go, going to Iowa is a very important place.” Paul has indicated that he is considering a run for president in 2016.” [C-J]
MEANWHILE, BACK IN FRANKFORT it appears a special session has been avoided.
Legislature dropped tax reform, killed telephone, scholarship bills – H-L’s Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave – “Legislative leaders on Wednesday praised the work of the General Assembly and said that a special legislative session was not needed this year. … Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, described the session as “fairly successful” in that it “handled several large pieces of legislation.” … Both House and Senate leaders said Wednesday that there was little will to tackle tax reform this year. Beshear established a task force last summer that came up with dozens of recommendations to tweak the tax code that would generate upwards of $700 million. … House Bill 160, a proposal to use coal severance money to finance scholarships for college juniors and seniors from coal-producing counties, had appeared to be on track to pass late Tuesday but time ran out before the bill was acted upon by the House. … Senate Bill 88, a telephone deregulation bill that was pushed by AT&T, died in a House committee after being approved in the Senate.” [H-L]
Hemp lobby waiting on Beshear to sign bill, ready for Washington – H-L’s Janet Patton – “Supporters of growing hemp on Wednesday cheered the General Assembly’s last-hour passage of a bill to license Kentucky farmers. And they made plans to take to Washington their case that industrial hemp should be legal. After a speech in Lexington, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, said he’s “very excited” about the hemp bill and Kentucky’s chances for a waiver to grow it. … Paul said he would ask the governor to join him in requesting the waiver. Beshear “is going to review the bill and talk with law enforcement before making any decision,” Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said Wednesday. Paul will lobby in Washington with U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. … Former Kentucky Treasurer Jonathan Miller will act as liaison to the White House for the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission, of which Comer and Miller are members. Comer is currently the chairman but will step down to vice chairman with the new legislation.” [H-L]
Good stuff? Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief: click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!
And speaking of good stuff, here’s the clip of my appearance today on CBS This Morning:
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 27, 2013 at 5:10 PM ET
In a message to her followers on Twitter and at her Web site, actress and humanitarian Ashley Judd announced today that she will not be running in 2014 for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Here is her statement:
After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family. Regretfully, I am currently unable to consider a campaign for the Senate. I have spoken to so many Kentuckians over these last few months who expressed their desire for a fighter for the people & new leader. While that won’t be me at this time, I will continue to work as hard as I can to ensure the needs of Kentucky families are met by returning this Senate seat to whom it rightfully belongs: the people & their needs, dreams, and great potential. Thanks for even considering me as that person & know how much I love our Commonwealth. Thank you!
As someone who had encouraged Ashley to consider the race, this obviously wasn’t the announcement I was hoping for. Her celebrity platform would have enabled a desperately-needed debate on critical matters of public policy such as poverty remediation, women’s health, environmental protection and economic growth. Her compassionate and incorruptable worldview would have made her an extraordinary U.S. Senator.
But as her friend, and as someone who has joyfully left the political arena — in part because of the brutal way modern politics treats candidates and their families — I can completely understand and commiserate with her decision.
I am also quite confident that we haven’t seen the last of Ashley as a potential candidate, particularly after she has had a chance to throughly put to rest questions about her residency and her commitment to public service in her home state of Kentucky.
I’m also very optimistic that Kentucky Democrats can identify a strong, serious candidate to challenge McConnell. So I encourage all Judd fans to join me in supporting the Democratic nominee, whoever she or he turns out to be.
UPDATED 7:30 PM 3/27
This is going to sound like typical politician horse-hockey, but I’ve been both blown away and amused at the dozens of emails and Facebook messages I have received encouraging me to run against Senator McConnell now that Ashley Judd has withdrawn from the race.
With sincere gratitude to all that have contacted me, I hereby issue the following statement:
STATEMENT OF JONATHAN MILLER ON THE PROSPECTS OF HIS RUNNING FOR THE U.S. SENATE IN KENTUCKY AGAINST MITCH MCCONNELL IN 2014
Hells No!
UPDATED 8:00 PM 3/27
Tune in to CBS This Morning tomorrow at 7:00 AM to catch me talking about Ashley’s decision not to run for the U.S. Senate. Check out the picture of our taping at right.
We will post the full video of the appearance below as soon as it is available.
UPDATED 10:30 AM 3/28
Here’s the clip of my appearance on CBS This Morning:
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Mar 22, 2013 at 8:12 AM ET
Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), for all the news on the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell.
As Ashley Judd considers making an historic bid for the U.S. Senate against Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, GOP forces — abetted by a handful of Democrats — have been spreading piles of disinformation about the race.
In separate stories, ABC News and CBS News have helped clear through the fog of spin.
ABC reveals this morning that the widely reported tale that former President Bill Clinton was actively opposing an Ashley Judd candidacy is, in fact, a fabricated myth:
ABC News has learned that Clinton encouraged Judd to enter the race and promised he would help her, according to several Kentucky political sources. That conversation happened sometime between the November election and President Barack Obama’s second inauguration…
The Clintons are longtime friends and allies of Grimes’s father, Jerry Lundergan, a former state party chairman, and Grimes herself who became secretary of state in 2011 after beating her primary challenger who was backed by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. Allies of hers say she is considering this race, but has not made a decision. Jerry Lundergan was a strong supporter of Bill Clinton, but also of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2008, and they remain close.
However, the Clintons are also close to Judd, who publicly backed Hillary Clinton over then Senator Obama in 2008 and even campaigned with Bill Clinton on behalf of Hillary in March 2008. Just days before the Texas primary, Clinton and Judd campaigned together standing in the back of a pickup truck at a private airport hangar in Abilene, Texas. She entertained the crowd, while Clinton was hours late due to a lightning storm…
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) is Judd’s most vocal proponent in the state and in an interview said Grimes would also “be a strong opponent against Mitch McConnell,” but “nobody brings to the table the unique assets that Ashley Judd does.”
“There are a lot of Democrats right now who are expressing some concern about her candidacy and what I would say to them is, We’ve tried five conventional campaigns in a row against Mitch McConnell and been unsuccessful,” Yarmuth said, adding that he called Grimes, but she had not called him back yet.
Meanwhile CBS This Morning ran this following clarifying piece on the race:
Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), for all the news on the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell.
Q: In House of Cards, Congressman Russo is having sex with his aide, while House Majority Whip Underwood is having sex with a journalist. Which happens more often?
—A.S., New York City
Great question—it actually inspired me to write a separate column on the fact and the fiction behind House of Cards.
The answer is, definitely the former. During my time in the Missouri Senate, I never knew of a legislator sleeping with a journalist, but there was a lot of sex with legislative aides—though it generally happened with other people’s aides, not one’s own. Something about working with someone 16 hours a day makes them decidedly less sexy. I even knew of one legislator who slept with a constituent who visited his office to lobby for special needs children (though it happened after several meetings). They are now quite happily married.
Q: Our campaign is preparing to hire a bunch of summer interns to canvass this summer. I saw in the documentary about your race that you had this awesome group of interns who worked their hearts out for you. How did you find them? Did you have to weed a lot out?
—J.L., New York City
Well, I was lucky. As a college prof I was blessed to be in contact with a lot of young people who were into politics. And as I used to joke, it’s amazing how much you can motivate students to engage with passionate teaching…and a little extra credit.
But the key was the weeding out process. During my 2004 campaign for Congress, I implored anyone who expressed a scintilla of interest to become an intern. Most did, and about a quarter of them ended up not working out.
In my 2006 campaign, based on the twin notions that the desperate guy at the bar goes home alone and the girl who plays hard to get usually attracts many suitors, I decided to do things differently. When a student inquired about volunteering, I’d give her my email address and tell her to contact me in the next 48 hours to learn more about the application process. If she did that, I’d ask her to send her résumé to my campaign manager in the next 48 hours. If she did that and her résumé wasn’t terrible, my manager would tell her we still had one to two internships available and ask for a time she could come in to interview in the next 72 hours. If that went smoothly, my manager would ask for three references he could call within the next 48 hours. But by that point, we barely even needed to call them (though we did), because we could tell that the student was responsible, aggressive and committed to the cause. We didn’t lose a single intern that campaign.
Read the rest of… Jeff Smith: Do As I Say — A Political Advice Column
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 5:00 PM ET
Lexington’s alternative newspaper, Ace Weekly, dedicates its issue this week to speculation on an Ashley Judd U.S. Senate candidacy. Here’s an excerpt from The RP’s contribution: “Ashley Judd Makes Joke. Film at 11.”
As Judd has maintained a low profile while she considers challenging Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky in 2014, the media has applied Talmudic scrutiny onto every rumored utterance by the actress. When she finally spoke publicly, many national and local news sources latched onto one phrase she used to explain why she hadn’t participated in a particular anti-poverty trip. Reported CNN:
Some of her not-so-politician-sounding moments didn’t go unnoticed by her would-be competition. Brad Dayspring, a strategist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, jumped on a comment Judd made about how she once told the musician, Bono, that she and her then-husband would travel during the winters.
“We winter in Scotland,” she said. “We’re smart like that.”
Dayspring wasted no time: “A true woman of the people,” he posted on Twitter, referring to her comment.
“I wonder if Ashley Judd will ‘winter in Scotland’ this year,” he also wrote. “Tough to run a #KYSEN campaign from the UK.”
Political Wire posted the offending clip, claiming that Republicans argue it is damaging.
And Politico seized on the anecdote — mentioning the quote in the lede of its article about the event — in a piece originally entitled, “Judd Talk Bizarre, Poignant.” (Editors ultimately changed the headline to read “Ashley Judd Gives Poignant Talk at DC Forum,” although the word “bizarre” remains in the URL link.)
Was the reference to “winters in Scotland” a “bizarre” rookie slip-up by a Hollywood icon already being pilloried by the GOP as too elite for Kentucky?
Of course not. It was a joke.
Had Judd referred to winters in St. Bart or the Cayman Islands, perhaps there might have been a political cause of action.
But as anyone who’s looked at a map — or watched the British Open — understands, Scotland’s weather stinks, much worse than even its infamous cuisine of haggis, neeps and tatties. However, since Judd’s soon-to-be-ex husband, IndyCar series driver Dario Franchitti, hails from the Land of Scots — and spends his spring through fall months on oval tracks around the globe — naturally, the couple would take some winter vacation time with his family in the British Isles. ”Wintering” in Scotland is Judd’s absurdist reality, much like “summering” in Phoenix, or de-toxing in Las Vegas.
Admittedly, “winters in Scotland” isn’t LOL funny. But it was a clever, self-deprecating remark from a trained humorist, mocking both the celebrity culture of consumption, as well as the over-the-top scrutiny of an obsessed media.
I’m confident that her political opponents and the media scolds will continue to take jokes like this out of context to further illustrate their narrative that Judd is out-of-touch with the needs of real Kentuckians. And perhaps her political team will give her the same advice that I received to tone down the humor.
But I hope that’s not the case. And knowing Judd a little, I’m pretty sure that this actress could never be scripted like the talking-point-reciting automatons who dominate American politics.
Indeed, I don’t think she needs to be concerned. As I argued recently in The Daily Beast, Judd’s celebrity — and the media circus that will follow her — offer the actress a unique opportunity to transcend the current political construct of 30-second paid commercials and meagerly parceled out, 15-second, free media soundbites. As the cameras chase her — unlike the reverse with typical politicians — Judd will have the opportunity to engage in detailed, nuanced discussions of complex issues and will enjoy more than sufficient opportunity to share her comprehensive vision with voters. Critically as well, the abundance of free media will also provide Judd a wealth of opportunities to explain her past statements or any of her jokes that had been taken out of context.
At a time when Americans are fed up with politics and politicians — when Congress’ approval is at all-time lows, even below that of Brussels sprouts, and only a tad higher than root canals — we all could use a little more intentional humor mixed in with our policy debates. And I for one hope that Judd is never discouraged to keep her humor held high when all the world around her is losing theirs.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
If you haven’t yet subscribed to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), here’s what you missed over the past few days about the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell, as well as the potential 2016 presidential bid of Rand Paul:
MITCH McCONNELL to air reelection ads – POLITICO’s James Hohmann – “Mitch McConnell plans to begin running television commercials in Kentucky on Thursday, 20 months before the election. The Senate Minority Leader, who polls suggest is perhaps the most vulnerable Republican incumbent up in 2014, is targeting women older than 25 in Louisville and Lexington with a six-figure buy. A source that tracks media buys told POLITICO that McConnell will be up for one week. The McConnell campaign confirmed the buy, saying they will run a positive spot and noting that there is an accompanying radio component.” [POLITICO]
—McConnell’s wife leads start to 2014 campaign, blasts offensive tweets – WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold – Mitch McConnell’s first television ad of his 2014 Senate re-election campaign cites racially charged Twitter messages against his wife as an example of political attacks against him. McConnell’s wife, former U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, appears in the 30 second commercial two weeks after Progress Kentucky, a Democratic Super PAC, apologized for the offensive tweets which said Chao’s Taiwanese heritage and link to McConnell “May explain why your job moved to #China!” [WHAS]
ASHLEY JUDD ‘a great candidate’, says Trump – “Donald Trump thinks actress Ashley Judd would make a “great” Senate candidate, the real estate mogul tweeted on Tuesday. … “All reports indicate Ashley Judd will be running for Sen. McConnell’s seat,” Trump wrote. “She’s going to be a great candidate. …Re: Ashley Judd: Keep @KarlRove away. He already made her a viable candidate.”” [POLITICO]
—Ashley Judd Is a 30-Second Ad Waiting to Happen [National Journal]
—Matt Wyatt: Some Advice for Ashley Judd From a Kentucky Political Consultant [HuffPost]
—Can Ashley Judd win? HuffPost Live discussion, featuring Jonathan Miller [Video]
RAND PAULto Millenials: “I believe in a Republican Party that is more tolerant,“ writing in op-ed today published by PolicyMic: “Last week, a Senate colleague of mine said that when I questioned whether or not the President could order a drone strike on American citizens on American soil, that I was just catering to “libertarian kids in their dorm rooms.” Standing up for the Bill of Rights and the Fifth Amendment was not a political stunt designed to appeal to certain audiences. I took an oath to protect the Constitution and it is an oath I intend to keep.
‘I believe a Republican Party that is more tolerant and dedicated to keeping the government out of people’s lives as much as possible would be more appealing to the rising generation … Most young people I encounter simply have no desire to tell other people what to do or how to live.
‘Young Americans — conservative, libertarian, independent — are as fed up with big government as their parents and grandparents. A Republican Party willing to address their unique concerns could build a new majority that might finally turn this country around.” [PolicyMic]
ASHLEY JUDD : Eastern Kentucky Coal Clouds Potential Judd Senate Bid – Roll Call – “Ground zero for Judd will be places such as Pike County, a rural area with a population of about 65,000. Voters in the largest county in the Bluegrass State by area are mostly registered Democrats who are socially conservative and pro-coal. Democratic Gov. Steven L. Beshear and a handful of other statewide Democrats easily won Pike County in 2011. But President Barack Obama lost it in 2012 by more than 50 points. And the county’s top elected official said he has deep doubts about Judd. … “Ms. Judd would have to change her stance on coal to win any of the eastern Kentucky coal-producing counties in a statewide election. She needs these counties to win,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford, a Democrat, said in statement to CQ Roll Call.” [Roll Call]
AL MAYO: Judd is in – Time for Democrats to get it together, writing for KY Political Brief: “All signs are now pointing to a certain Ashley Judd candidacy for the U.S. Senate, and if that is truly the case, Kentucky Democrats must figure out a way to avoid an extended primary battle. How they go about it, is the key to whether Judd–or any Democrat–actually has a chance to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell in 2014.” [KPB column]
McCONNELL Stands With (and Raises Money Off) Rand Paul – NYTimes – “After opposing his bid for Kentucky’s Republican Senate nomination in 2010, Senator Mitch McConnell is ready to Stand with Rand, Paul that is. Oh, and he’d like you to join Team Mitch while you’re at it. In a fund-raising e-mail from Team Mitch, Mr. McConnell’s 2014 re-election campaign, the Republican leader showered praise on Mr. Paul, the junior senator from Kentucky, for his 13-hour filibuster last week of President Obama’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, John O. Brennan. Mr. McConnell, of course, had to slip in his own role in helping Mr. Paul through the ordeal, a brief appearance in the guise of an extended question that gave his fellow Kentuckian a break.” [NYTimes]
‘RAND PAUL 2016’WATCH — Cathy Bailey hosts “meet and greet” for Rand Paul in Florida that brings in $25k – CN|2’s Nick Storm – “Cathy Bailey, the former U.S. ambassador to Latvia under President George W. Bush, held a “meet and greet” for Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul at her Palm Beach, Fla., home over the weekend. Those attending made some “spontaneous donations” to Paul’s political fund, according to an advisor within the Paul camp. Many of the donations were inspired by Paul’s 13-hour filibuster last week on the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA until Paul got more information on the administration’s drone policy. The adviser, who declined to be named, said the gathering brought out three or four times the number of people staff was expecting. Paul collected about $25,000, although the advisor couldn’t say whether the donations went toward Paul’s 2016 campaign or RANDPAC, which is Paul’s leadership PAC that he used to spread to political allies as well as to the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission.” [CN|2 Politics]
Ashley Judd might be taking on Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat. Everyone will ask if she’s ready for the Senate. But is the Senate ready for her?
Originally aired on Huffington Post Live March 12, 2013
