Excellent news today out of Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, currently held by Republican and Murtha-basher extraordinaire Geoff Davis. Ex-Congressman Ken Lucas, a conservative Democrat who retired in 2004 is making a comeback:
http://news.cincinnati.com/...
"Lucas Eyes Davis' Seat: Democrat to confirm run for Congress today"
For article excerpts, my analysis and a moment of thanks for a blog that never gave up, look on the flip.
"BY PATRICK CROWLEY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
RICHWOOD - Ending weeks of speculation, Boone County Democrat Ken Lucas will announce today that he will run for the congressional seat he left in 2005, sources close to the former congressman confirmed Sunday.
Lucas, who represented Northern Kentucky's 4th Congressional District for three terms from 1999 to 2005, was not available to comment Sunday. He will run against U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a first-term Boone County Democrat who lost to Lucas in the 2002 race...
...Lucas will announce his candidacy this morning through a statement issued to the press and then make a series of public appearances across the 24-county 4th District - which stretches from the West Virginia border through Northern Kentucky and into the Louisville suburbs - Tuesday and Wednesday, the sources said..."
The article goes on to explain that Davis has been an enthusiastic Bush rubber-stamp, although it doesn't mention the extent to which Davis has "jumped the shark". In a November 27, 2005 article in the Louisville Courier-Journal, veteran political reporter Al Cross called Davis a "yahoo" for attacking Congressman John Murtha as "despicable, dishonorable, uninformed, unhistorical, anti-intellectual and, frankly, un-American." http://www.courier-journal.com/...
Davis has also been one of Tom DeLay's top puppets, voting with him 97.2% of the time in 2005 and refusing to hand back $30,000 in tainted money from DeLay. In short, replacing him with Ken Lucas would be an excellent idea.
As for those concerned about having a conservative Democrat from Kentucky getting massive DCCC support (as appears likely), it should be noted that Lucas - who voted for the Iraq War in 2002 - has made several statements in recent months criticizing the Iraq situation. This was from 2003: http://www.enquirer.com/...
"No longer restrained by political calculations of a re-election campaign, U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas is speaking out against the administration of President Bush.
In his first interview since announcing last week he would not seek a fourth term in Congress, Lucas was critical of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq...
""I thought that the administration needed bipartisan support, and I was for our commander-in-chief," Lucas said. "Because I felt at that time it was the right thing do. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never voted for the war.
"There was no imminent danger about weapons of mass destruction," he said. "And the tune of the administration changed from that to ridding a country of a ruthless dictator."
The Bush administration also was not straightforward about the intelligence it had, releasing tenuous information that fit its goal of attacking Iraq, Lucas said.
"I feel deceived," he said..."
Lucas is a former military veteran himself; he served in the Air Force from 1955-57 and the Air National Guard from 1957-67. As a Congressman who regrets his vote in 2002, and who has the courage to say why he was wrong, Lucas would be an excellent addition to the House once more. Lucas is a social conservative, to be true; however, he has been a reliable Democrat in the voting for Speaker - and that's all that matters with a conservative district like the one he represented.
Lucas still has a somewhat uphill battle. Davis lost to Lucas in 2002, but is the incumbent now - which makes him harder to beat. In addition, the district is the most Republican in Kentucky, giving Bush 61% in 2004. But if we want to take back Congress in 2006, a race like KY-04 could be critical to our hopes.
Finally, I want to salute Mark Nickolas of http://www.bluegrassreport.org . Nickolas began a Draft Lucas movement last summer, and has tirelessly pushed for the retired Congressman to get back in the game. At http://www.draftkenlucas.com he has extensively promoted Lucas' record, exposed Geoff Davis for the GOP puppet that he is and chronicled the efforts to get Lucas in the race. And now that he has succeeded, I want to congratulate Mark on his efforts. I agree with him that this race is worth fighting for, and I hope to do what I can to make victory happen. Good work!