For the first time in two years, Democrats took the stage Saturday for the 142nd Fancy Farm Picnic at St. Jerome Parish — garnering a little praise, and a lot of gruff, from a mostly Republican rally cry.
Those three Democrats — U.S. Senate hopeful Charles Booker, Democratic Chair Colmon Elridge and Congressman hopeful Jimmy Ausbrooks — provided the only line of defense against Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, and the policies unrolling from President Joe Biden’s White House.
Looking to unseat current Senator Rand Paul, Booker uncorked against his competitor — who, like Mitch McConnell, wasn’t present Saturday due to the Senate’s call.
Spending considerable time on his “From the Hood to the Holler” campaign trail, Booker noted that Kentuckians have been able to come together — regardless of party affiliation — following December’s west Kentucky tornadoes and last week’s treacherous east Kentucky flooding.
Booker, however, believes Paul has been missing in action.
Elridge, the state’s first-ever Black man to serve as Democratic Chair, touted Beshear’s efforts to restore both east and west Kentucky following a pandemic, two devastating storms and a myriad of inflation concerns formulated at the federal level.
He also, naturally, endorsed Booker.
Paul’s wife, Kelly, stepped in for her husband — and more specifically attacked Booker’s implied notions of “defunding the police” following the murder of Louisville’s Breonna Taylor.
She also attacked Democrats, in general, and targeted the recent discussion and law-making surrounding the LGBQT+ community and the transgender debate roiling in the nationwide sports arena.
And she didn’t stop there.
Paul also noted that “when” her husband wins in November, he’ll be subpoenaing all of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s files for review in regards to the origins of the COVID-19 global outbreak.
Ausbrooks, a mental health practitioner and openly gay man from Louisville, fumed at Paul’s comments regarding the LGBQT+ community.
Despite the consistent punchline, a number of speakers lauded Democrats for making an appearance Saturday, including Congressman James Comer and Secretary of State Michael Adams.
Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman both noted they wouldn’t be at Fancy Farm this week, following this weekend’s trip to east Kentucky.
