Bruce Lunsford is a front-runner in the KY Democratic primary at this point - all this despite a shoddy and underhanded business record and a history of endorsing - and donating lots of his personal fortune to - Republican candidates.
At tonights public TV debate, The Bluegrass Report reports (forgive the redundancy) that labor was giving Mr. Lunsford a "warm welcome" - aka, they passed out fliers on "The Top Ten Reasons to Vote Against Bruce Lunsford for Governor."
Full text below the fold...
Top 10 Reasons To Vote Against Bruce Lunsford For Governor
- During the 2006 congressional race, Lunsford personally contributed more money to Anne Northup ($4,100) than to John Yarmuth ($2,000).
- Four years ago, during the KET Democratic gubernatorial debate, Lunsford vowed to support the Democratic nominee in the general election, but on October 20, 2003, while standing next to his "friend" Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), Lunsford endorsed Ernie Fletcher for governor.
- Lunsford now promises "I’ll fix our broken health-care system" but as Chairman and CEO of Vencor, he paid $104.5 million to the federal government for Medicare/Medicaid fraud claims.
- A few months before Vencor publicly admitted to investors about declining revenues and staggering debt in 1997, Lunsford had sold 50,000 shares at $47 apiece, for $2.35 million. Within three months, Vencor was trading at $30/share, and eventually the stock became worthless.
- On the Vencor Board of Directors at the time of its crash was none other than current U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, also the wife of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R).
- Following his election as governor in 2003, Fletcher named Lunsford to lead a blue ribbon transition team to re-organize government. Immediately, Lunsford’s team eliminated the Labor Cabinet.
- After Congress cut Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes, Lunsford offered cash bonuses to his employees who successfully evicted seniors who relied upon Medicaid to pay their bills so they could fill those beds with higher paying, private patients. This practice was known as "patient dumping."
- After Congress passed legislation to outlaw Lunsford’s practice of "patient dumping," he paid a Washington, DC lobbyist $60,000 to try amend the Social Security Act to allow patient dumping after courts told him to stop and Vencor had been fined $780,000 for trying to kick out 137 residents.
- Between 1995 and 2000, Lunsford personally donated $52,000 to federal political candidates and parties. Of that amount, $40,250 (77%) went to Republicans, including to both of Kentucky’s Republican senators, four Republican congressmen (Rogers, Whitfield, Lewis, Northup), as well as the Republican Party of Kentucky, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, and George W. Bush for President.
- In May 2003, Lunsford dropped out the Democratic gubernatorial primary after polls showed him falling into third place (behind Ben Chandler and Jody Richards). Rather than finish third, Lunsford pulled-up lame and blamed a mean Chandler television ad for his surrender. Does Kentucky want another wimp as governor?
***On May 22, Kentucky Democrats must refuse to elect Bruce Lunsford as its nominee for Governor***
Amen. Does it offend anyone else that this guy even has the nerve to RUN for the Democratic nomination?
For a real progressive, and the only non has-been in the entire race, check out Jonathan Miller - he's been a bit behind in the polls, but has made some real momentum recently and is the most progressive (other than Gatewood, for whom electability is a major issue) of all of them and needs your help! He ran Al Gore's '88 student campaign nationwide because of his environmental stances, and he's been doing a great job as Treasurer with progressive ideas that would make California proud.
Until then, please remember - if we give Lunsford the nomination, it's no better than having two Republicans running in the general.