This has been a long time coming for me.  I just don't feel like this is the Kos of the good ol' days post November 2004 when I was a regular.  It's not the same without Armando and DavidNYC posting on the front page.

Although I reserve the right to come back after the party decides on a nominee, I certainly will not be visiting or lurking here for quite some time to come.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

GOODBYE FOR NOW.  SEE YOU WHEN HILLARY BECOMES THE 44TH PRESIDENT BECAUSE IT TAKES A CLINTON TO CLEAN UP THE MESS OF A BUSH!

DS: Thank you for joining the Kentucky Democrat today. Weather aside, how are things going in Louisville?
BL: I would say things are great because we’re getting a tremendous amount of early support, but these are serious times in America and in Kentucky. We need change and we need it now. There are a lot of good things happening in Louisville at the city level and Kentucky has a tough and responsible Governor now, but a lot of people here are suffering because of the bad decisions made by the Bush administration and Republican leaders in congress.

Andrew Horne ended his campaign for Senate today and I'm sure it was a tough decision to do.

The email sent out to supporters is below the jump.

As a Kentucky blogger, I endorsed Andrew Horne when it became clear he would be a candidate.  With him out of the race, I will wait it out before making another endorsement.

Two years ago, I wouldn't have thought this but given the events of the past few years, I am a Democrat who believes that Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is vulnerable.

Last night, at a event to officially kick off the 2007 Governor's race given that the filing deadline has come to an end, Louisville businessman Charlie Owen, a former candidate in three different races, was sure sounding like a candidate for Senate against Mitch McConnell.

Here's a link to my blog with some background on Charlie Owen.

Please find it in your heart to forgive me for bumping a diary off the page but since no one else has been able to confirm it from anyone I have spoken with: is Hotmail currently down?

I've not been able to access Hotmail since late last night.

Update [2007-1-30 14:32:9 by dsolzman]:: It's a campus issue...

Earlier today, Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller announced that he will run for Governor.  He has named Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze as his running mate.

The campaign site is coming soon but it can be found at http://www.millermaze.com

More below the flip....

MSNBC reports the news and I've been told that Chris Matthews mentioned it on Hardball, which I would have been watching if it were not for the cable being out on campus due to the cold front which has swept through much of the midwest and northeastern parts of the United States.

Earlier today, the Associated Press broke the story that Sen. Bayh will be forming an exploratory committee in order to test the waters and raise money for a political campaign.

Sen. Bayh is a former two term governor and has national security experience with his serving in the Armed Forces committee in the Senate.

DS:  Senator Bayh, thank you for joining the Kentucky Democrat today.  How are things in Indiana and Washington?
Evan Bayh: Things in Indiana are going well. I just spent the last month crisscrossing the state with campaigning for our three newly elected Congressmen; Joe Donnelly, Baron Hill, and Brad Ellsworth. Hoosiers everywhere were optimistic that change was on the way and we were going to move past the partisan gridlock and start getting results for middle class Americans.

DS:  A lot of pundits were saying that if you were able to help in turning over the 3 seats in IN that it would help your potential candidacy in 2008.  Any thoughts on the matter?
EB: Our victories in Indiana offer a great example to the Democratic Party of how to win in Red America. Brad, Joe, and Baron were able to convince independents and moderate republicans to put their trust in the Democratic Party. These are the exact same voters that we will need if we want to keep these majorities and win the White House in 2008.

As you know, our governor, Ernie Fletcher, is so scared for his governorship that he has decided that no state employee is allowed to read a Democratic blog on the job.

This is Day #2 of the KY Blog Ban and us bloggers are united!

Below the cut is an updated list of sites that are still accessible on state computers.

http://kydem.blogspot.com

"Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy."

Sen. Lloyd Bentsen used those words almost 20 years ago.  The Senator died at the age of 85 today.

May he rest in peace.  The obit is below the cut.

http://kydem.blogspot.com

KY-3 is going to be a competitive district this year and my friend, John Yarmuth, will need your help.

John just won the primary campaign over Andrew Horne and Jimmy Moore.  I know that most Kossacks were for Horne since he is an Iraq veteran but I'll let you in on a secret: Anne Northup is in for the race of her life and she knows it.

This exclusive interview with Kentucky State Rep. Mike Weaver, a candidate for Congress in KY-2, was originally posted at my blog today.  Rep. Weaver is a retired Army Colonel and a member of the Band of Brothers.

Click the link above or below the flip.

Essentially, that's what yesterday's speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies was.  I recieved a transcript sometime after the speech yesterday.  The BayhPartisan has the full transcript up on that site.  What I am going to do is, hopefully, break down some of the speech with commentary of my own.  What Senator Bayh said is in italics and then my commentary will be all over.

Crossposted at the Kentucky Democrat, Americans for Bayh, and MyDD

We will have a primary between Col. Andrew Horne and John Yarmuth.  It has been in a while since we've had a primary but it will be a spirited campaign, I'm sure.  There is actually a third candidate, Burrel Farnsley, I think, but I don't know if that person has a legitimate chance.

According to the Bluegrass Report, Yarmuth is definitely in.<div class="blockquote">Just got off the phone with LEO founder and former publisher John Yarmuth (D) and he decided that he's in and filing his candidacy papers tomorrow to take on Rep. Anne Northup (R)! Folks, we got ourselves another race.</div>I am in the process of trying to arrange another blog interview, this one with John Yarmuth.

http://kydem.blogspot.com

Senator Kerry,
  This is a sincere thank you for everything that you did today.  It is a continued wake up call to show who Democrats are and what they stand for.

  Thank you for leading the charge in favor of filibustering Judge Alito.  I'm sorry that we don't have the numbers to do it but I have faith that we will take back the Senate and the House come this November.

  Please continue doing what you are doing in the United States Senate.  We only have three more years of this guy.

The AP just reported that musician Wilson Pickett has died at the age of 64.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans.  May he rest in peace.

To my fellow Jews that use DailyKos.com

Have a Happy Chanukah and may you be reminded of the tragedies that have led us to this day.

As the saying goes, they tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat.  That goes for most of the holidays too.

http://kydem.blogspot.com

I've been thinking about this for a week.  While I am active in politics, I'm also a comedian who hosted a show on campus similar to The Daily Show.  So I got to thinking, what phrases would shock the hell out of Bill O'Reilly if he said them on television.

They are below the flip and cross-posted at my own (shameless plug) blog.

Also, if you are looking for SNL's Lazy Sunday sketch, I have that transcript here.