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KY-Sen: Bunning to Resign?

by: James L.

Fri Feb 27, 2009 at 4:01 PM EST


Page One Kentucky has picked up a pretty wild piece of chatter:

Rumor has it that Jim Bunning is so spitting mad that he's telling people he'll just resign and let Steve (Beshear) appoint someone. [...]

UPDATE: Spoke with one of Bunning's staffers and they don't deny it. WTF. Granted, it only means he probably said it.  But was it in frustration or was he serious?

This is probably not going to happen, but Bunning is one crazy sumbitch, so I guess we can let our imaginations run wild. If he actually went through with it, expect Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear to give his Number One, Dan Mongiardo, a quick promotion to DC.

UPDATE: Hilarious:

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) told a room full of lobbyists this week that he'd resign his Senate seat early if he doesn't get campaign money from national Republicans, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

But Bunning insists he's going to run for reelection and says that the sources are "lying."

"It's not true," Bunning said in a statement. "I intend to fulfill my obligation to the people of Kentucky. If you are going to write something like this, you'd better make your sources known because they are lying."

It's very likely that Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn have been working overtime to tighten the purse strings of Bunning's major fundraising sources, so this story kind of makes sense -- Bunning is threatening to pull the rug out from underneath the GOP caucus if donors don't start opening up their wallets for him. Looks like a few more people are gonna have to take a chomp out of this shit sandwich.

(H/T: sicembears)
James L. :: KY-Sen: Bunning to Resign?
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KY-Sen: Bunning to Resign? | 62 comments
Can the sixth time be the charm?
After Democrats fucked up five Senate appointments, can we get this hypothetical one right?

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
Two were bad. What were the other three?

[ Parent ]
I think he's going way back
To some guy named Zell from Georgia.
[ Parent ]
All five have been bad
Illinois - 'nuff said.

New York - threatens a House seat.  Threatens a divisive primary.

Colorado - no name appointee with a major threat of primary in a state with less room to fail than New York or Illinois

Delaware - early controversy over who gets to appoint and ramblings over political dynasties.  Obviously the least headache but still had some.

New Hampshire - Democratic governor fucks us over to vows to appoint a Republican

That's this years.  We've gotten screwed by many of the last few appointments.

Georgia 1999ish - Zell Miller appointed.  A Republican seat nominally goes Democratic, but the cost was higher than the reward.

Minnesota 2002 - The independent governor appoints an independent to replace arguably the most liberal Democratic Senator and we end up losing the seat

Wyoming 2007ish and Alaska 2003 - State laws require these vacant seats to be filled by members of the same party as the previous office holder.  Both stay Republican, even Wyoming where we had a Democratic governor and a possible viable Senator (Gary Trauner).

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.

[ Parent ]
.
How was Minnesota our fault?  Ventura appointed him, and the independent was only Senator for the lame duck session.

We didn't actually make the appointment in New Hampshire.  Tough to lay blame for something that didn't actually occur.

In Wyoming and Alaska, we followed state law.  What, we were supposed to break it?

I really liked the pick of Kaufmann in Delaware.  It means that when Beau runs, he'll have to win a primary.  It's solid.

I also like Bennet in Colorado.  He's a good, solid, progressive, and once he establishes himself, he should be a good politician.

That being said, let's get the Feingold amendment passed.  :)

[ Parent ]
Reply
With regard to Minnesota, Wyoming, and Alaska, you missed what I said just before.  We got screwed by those appointments.  That doesn't mean it was our fault, but we still got screwed.

New Hampshire was a disaster averted.

Delaware was the least disasterous among these, but still had controversy.

I didn't support the Feingold amendment until I thought about all this.

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.

[ Parent ]
I read
Ventura appointed an Independent because he was pissed off how the funeral turned into a Democratic rally or something.  I bet he wouldve picked a Democrat if that hadn't happened, he's independent minded and would've recognized a Democrat was elected to that seat and that should be respected.  That's how I read kind of made it sound, with my embellishment.
[ Parent ]
According to Al Franken
who was at the memorial (not funeral) in question, it didn't. Ventura just wanted an excuse to be an asshole.
[ Parent ]
Well, granted, that's Al Franken
However, he's about to get the last laugh on the issue of that very Senate seat.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
The funeral was a Democratic pep-rally
But that's exactly how Wellstone would have wanted it.  The people at the funeral had every right of booing the scumbags (republicans) attending the funeral.  They are the same people who despised the man while he was alive and probably had a role in his assassination.
[ Parent ]
The funeral was by all accounts a traditonal and somber affair
The televised memorial service that caused all the fuss was all shameless Republican faux outrage, trumped up to get Coleman the seat. It was actually the tipping point for me starting to contribute online because I was that pissed about it.
[ Parent ]
No, It Wasn't
It was a long memorial service to all of the victims of the plane crash.  It was hours in length, with many moving tributes.  There were some boos when some Republicans were announced--I've heard the tape and you have to listen for it to even hear it.  And, Weldon's best friend went overtly political at the end of his tribute for a couple of minutes.  Nothing planned and, in the totality of circumstances, extremely minor and understandable stuff.  But, the Republicans, Fox News and the rest of the MSM played it up as a ghoulish Democratic pep rally.  The whole story was complete BS and may have cost us the senate seat.  You do Democrats a disservice by perpetuating this lie.
[ Parent ]
Lies and the Lying Liars
Read the chapter in it about the Wellstone memorial.  The entire book is extremely insightful, as well as entertaining.
[ Parent ]
I agree with Sean.
A lot of this is silly.  Deleware was easily resolved by looking at when Biden resigns vs. when the transfer of power occurs in Deleware.  Boohoo.  No controversy.  To the victor goes the spoils.  If we don't like Independents appointing Independents, we have to win the governor's mansion.  New Hampshire never happened.  Why is a primary a terrible thing in Colorado?  A better, more versatile politician considers the possibility that he may be more capable of the office and wants the voters to decide if that is true?  Dear God!  
[ Parent ]
Wow
If there's an appointment, I hope Beshear will choose Crit Luallen instead of Mongiardo.  
why?
I don't follow KY politics closely and am curious. I did give some money to Dr. Dan in 2004--he seems like a good guy.
[ Parent ]
He's either a homophobic bigot
[ Parent ]
huh,
the measure was overwhelmingly supported by his constituients, he probably couldn't have been elected dog catcher if he hadn't have supported it.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
Ahem, he Co-Sponsored it
Look, he made the political calculation for whatever reason to support it. As a result, he won't be getting my money or support. That simple.
[ Parent ]
Eh
Doesn't bother me at all. lol He's from Kentucky. I've been there. Just got back in fact. lol So long as there is one more Democratic Senator, most of the most vile anti-gay legislation will never come up, and Snowe, Collins, are reliable on gay rights, and Spector is usually pretty decent depending on what it is.  
[ Parent ]
Specter isn't as reliable now
On EFCA, Specter may decide he fears the unions more than Toomey. But on gay rights, it's Pennsylvania. The Republican base is massively conservative and so are a lot of the Democrats he hopes he'll win with AFL-CIO support. The man's pragmatic on the issue rather than a zealot either way. He could easily fold on that.
[ Parent ]
RE: AFL-CIO
I actually would argue that many of those labor Democrats that he does well amongst because of his AFL-CIO support don't give a damn about gay rights.

He's not going to lose support from labor Democrats because of it.

Allan Kukovich was extraordinarily open about his support for gay rights.

In the end, it was not the loss of labor votes that cost him re-election.  

Not only had redistricting had occurred between his 2000 victory and his next election, but the continued shifts of populations had continued.  Both of these dropped the size of that labor base.

No, he lost because of the areas where people's connection with labor unions was weakest, not where it was strongest.

I will also note that Bob Regola made a big deal about the gay issue, and Kukovich campaigning with Rendell in "Philadelphia gay bars".

It was not exactly a race where the issue was absent from campaigns, and Kukovich made no attempt to backtrack from his positions or what he did.

He did better in Latrobe than Jack Murtha did this past election.  His margin of victory was much larger.  None of our congressional or presidential candidates won it.

Looking at other places, Sewickly Township is a place where Kukovich barely lost.  Murtha lost that considerably.  Our presidential and congressional candidates were coming in with losses of 2 to 1 or worse.

In very suburban Penn Township, Kukovich received his biggest losses.  However, that does not compare to our congressional and presidential candidates the last three cycles, who have always managed to lose the same by 2 to 1 margins.

In North Huntington, he lost by 5 points where Republican congressional and presidential candidates have been racking up well over 60%.

He lost Greensburg overall by 54 votes in the same year that Kerry lost in by 680 and our congressional candidate lost it by 1200.

I'll also note that right wingers tried to make a big deal about Casey Jr. getting support from the Human Rights Campaign and the fact that he tried to reach out to the gay community.  That did not hurt him in labor union areas.

There is a reason that Melissa Hart, in that same election cycle, tried to steer the interviews away from gay rights and back to the issue of abortion.

Specter is not going to lose votes amongst his labor Democratic friends from being more friendly to advancing the rights of the gay and lesbian community.

Abandoning the NRA would do the trick, though.

He is not going to fold on the issue.  

The base, and every year it is baser than the year before, does not like him anyway.  I don't see him changing because of them, either.

I would not worry.

[ Parent ]
Maybe Im wrong..
But 'labor Democrats' in SW PA seem, to me, to care much more about social issues than 'labor Dems' elsewhere in the state. Such as metro Philly, Scranton/Wilkes Barre and the Erie area. As said, I could be wrong, but its just from what I gather.
[ Parent ]
RE: SW and "labor Democrats"
In part you are correct.  

Abortion does have a bigger impact in the southwest than in other parts.

Peg Luksik's totals from her 3rd party runs for governor in the 1990's is one clear sign of that.  She put up significant numbers throughout the area even in 1998.

Looking at the Westmoreland numbers, she pulled in 23%.  Comparing Specter's numbers to Ridge's, Ridge way underperformed Specter, but Itkin's numbers were very little behind Lloyd's.

The very voters who were obsessed with the issue enough to go to Luksik ended up going with Specter.

Comparing Specter's numbers in 1998 to 2004, Specter's numbers in the area dropped 9 and Hoffel's increased over Lloyd's by only 3.

The difference was the strength of the 3rd party candidate.

No 3rd party candidate and Specter does not lose those voters.  

I'll also note that his 3rd party opponents never came anywhere close to Luksik's numbers there.

However, the issue that was at stake was abortion.

There are a section of single issue voters down there that cannot get over their hangup on the issue.

However, gay rights issues never had the same type of pull as abortion does.

Why do people like Tim Kaine cling to a pro-life label even though he is in practice pro-choice?

People have successfully branded that issue a Catholic one.

There are plenty of tribal Catholic areas down there.

They got "their" issues, and that was the point about Melissa Hart.  She wanted the campaign to focus on that specific issue of "theirs" that she knew would be a winner for her, in that election.

Jason Altmire's candidacy was the first one against her that neutralized that issue.

Again, Casey was not hurt by reaching out to the gay community.  He was pro-life, though.

Kukovich continued to win as long as his district was sufficiently labor heavy.  I'll also note that he was far more outspoken on the matter than anyone else we had.

That didn't hurt him.  The anti-abortion ones performed better.  The pro-choice did worse, much worse.  Tacking to the right on gay rights or ducking the matter didn't help them there.

I'll also note that Luksik was Catholic, Specter's opponents were not, some sort of evangelical I believe.

It may not just be about being "one of theirs" as much as you somehow have to be connected to them to understand their mental processes.

I'll lastly note that there are some Italian communities that were always Republican.  They were the only Catholic tribe in those parts to have that.

That resulted in some Italian Republicans who suffer from a conservative version of "what's the matter with Kansas".  They insist that these people should vote on certain issues, and insist on campaigning on those issues in those areas, because that is how they should be voting.

Look at the numbers Casey racked up down there.

It is obvious who was correct.

[ Parent ]
Catholics
Thanks for the detailed info. Was pretty interesting. As for gay rights, i definitely notice that its much more of an issue to evangelicals than it is to catholics. I wasnt around back then, but i have heard that abortion wasnt a big issue for evangelicals until Roe v Wade, whereas it was for Catholics. You know, i am sure there are many, solidly middle class under-50 Catholics in the Philly suburbs who are 'coming home' to the Democrats. Their grandparents being working class Catholics & Democratic, their parents becoming white collar & more middle class and in turn becoming Republican, but themselves, who are also white collar and solidly middle class, 'coming back home' to the Dems because of social issues (and probably because of the GOP's neocon foreign policy). When people think of socially liberal Republicans/ex-Republicans, in the NE, they may automatically think 'WASP', and maybe thats true in most cases, but im sure many are also Catholics (such as Irish, Italian).
[ Parent ]
Just to clarify: Beshear and Mongiardo are Democrats
I had to look it up to verify, as I'm not up on my Kentucky politics.  

If Bunning really did quit, let's just hope Beshear's smart enough not to negotiate with him or anyone else on who he'd name as replacement.  

i'm actually starting to like bunning
he's insane, but in a way that's harmless (if you're not a republican) and very entertaining.

Top ten signs you're an SSPer #1: your favorite song is "Panic At Tedisco" and no one understands what you mean.
By himself he's a harmless old kook
But if there were 100 of him in the Senate we'd all be seeking political asylum in Canada.
[ Parent ]
ROFLMAO
Hahahahahahahah.   Sorry about that.  HAHA!

I really do believe he's crazy and bitter enough to actually pull off such a thing.

as the bunning turns
well, that would teach them!

it would make sense to appoint mongiardo, but my sense is that Conway and Luellan are stronger more popular candidates and mongiardo might have trouble holding it once he got it.

please
Mongiardo would be a great national advocate in the senate for health care refor; its why he got involved in politics in the first place.

Jack Conway or Ben Chandler would also both be solid appointments.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus

Yeah
Luallen kind of pisses me off.  She's been the leading candidate for every major statewide office the last five years and has never pulled the trigger.  

According to her bio (and it may be the job she holds), Luallen's major focus is getting "gotchas" on fraud, particularly Medicare fraud.  She sounds like a leading Blue Dog to be.  I don't think Mongiardo would be as bad and he pulled the trigger against Bunning when the odds were pretty long.

I'd rather have Mongiardo or Yarmuth or Ben Chandler running.

[ Parent ]
She had a freebie
against McConnel last time!  No need to give up her seat whatsoever.  And polling showed her quite competitive.  If someone like Lunsford could get within 6%, Luallen could've won.
[ Parent ]
The guy who should have run
was Greg Stumbo.  He would have bloodied McConnell the way he deserved to be bloodied.
[ Parent ]
Who would Beshear appoint?
I know Mongiardo is his Lt. Governor, but he offered Conway a spot on the ticket first. I am fine with either, not sure who I would prefer, but I am not sure it is a lock he would pick Mongiardo.
So I completely forgot the governor
was a Dem when I first saw the title, so I was very disappointed at the rumor.
Bunning Now Denying the Story
Maybe he "misremembered"

[ Parent ]
Is the DSCC paying Jim Bunning?
I mean, really, could the Democrats ask anyone to inflict more pain to the GOP in the last few weeks than Jim Bunning?  Bunning is a nut that has cracked finally.  He has always hated Democrats and now he hates the Republicans.  This is priceless.  Expect the unexpected.

40, male, Democrat, NC-04
Every cycle they have an incumbent implosion
In 2008 it was Liddy Dole's horrendous campaign
In 2006 it was George Allen's monmumental gaffe
In 2004 is was... well, Jim Bunning.  But he survived that time

[ Parent ]
True, but...
It's a little early for the fun to be beginning as normal.  This is an early gift.  Most everything else was in the context of a real campaign cycle.

30, male, Democratic, CO-01
[ Parent ]
My ranking of 2010 Senate campaigns mostl ikely to implode
1. Bunning (KY) - implosion already in progress
2. Portman (OH) - I'm calling him the Mark Kennedy of 2010 right now.  
3. Sununu (NH) - I'm sure he'll run, and probably win the primary.  Not sure why he thinks Hodes is any weaker of a candidate than Shaheen who beat him soundly last year.
4. Burr (NC) - A consumate back-bencher with zero accomplishments.  Probably in weaker shape than Dole was and she lost by near double-digits.
5. Blunt (MO) - The name Blunt is still very unpopular in most of Missouri.  Heck, my republican uncle and aunt (from Springfield) hates the guy and his son and already says he'll vote for the Democrat regardless of who it is.
[ Parent ]
Yeah
With the right recruits in all of those races, with some we've already got lined up, I'm looking at picking up all 5 of those.  Those should all be VERY doable.
[ Parent ]
Bunning
The odd thing is, for the first few years after Nov. 04, it looked like Bunning was somewhat normal again in his behavior. Then, last year, he started to get all crazy again.  
[ Parent ]
Oh man
I'm gonna be sad if all of this drama leads to a Republican sitting in this seat come 2011.  He may still lose a primary.  Hahahaha, now you know what would be a TRIP is if he lost the primary, he just resigned and allowed the seat to be vacant, thus allowing some seniority to help it out.  Plus, then the Dem would get that incumbent signification which helps.

Beshear could just appoint whoever was the winner of the Democratic primary, as I assume both are on the same day.

Would that be a best case scenario or would we still rather just face Bunning?  I think facing Bunning would be better but ya never know.  Incumbency helps.  Gives people time to go, meh they're doing fine, just let em stay.

This could be a bad thing
Mongiardo came close in 2004 because Bunning is terrible.  The Beshear/Mongiardo ticket underperformed the polls against a terrible Republican incumbent.  Mongiardo has high negatives for a reason.  We can do better.  Conway or Luallen have much better favorability ratings.  It'd be the height of irresponsibility to appoint someone to succeed Bunning early just to lose the seat again in 2010.  
Underperformed?
They won with 59% of the vote.  Regardless of how bad Fletcher was, that's an impressive margin of victory in Kentucky.  How much was he supposed to win by?  18 points is just fine by me.
[ Parent ]
Breaking news: Bunning's threats of resignation mis-attributed; actually said by Burris
No, just kidding.  You'd wish.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
what will Bunning's third strike be?
1. threatens to sue NRCS.
2. threatens to quit, thereby allowing the seat to go Dem.
3. ????
This should be good.
Walking naked through the Senate?
Mooning McConnell and Cornyn?

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
[ Parent ]
Possibilities
3. walk naked through the Senate (suggested by TheUnknown285)?
3. steal underpants from gnomes?
3. wear pajamas in the Senate?
3. cause fistfight to occur on the Senate floor?
3. sell collaterized debt obligations in an airport restroom?

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
Or...
3. Takes a baseball to the Senate chamber and beans a Democratis Senator with it.
[ Parent ]
The Resignation Threat
Really seems like a metaphorical brush back pitch with Cornyn being the batter who is crowding the plate.
[ Parent ]
Whatever this is, it certainly isn't senility
A law school professor of mine, with whom I often discuss politics, remembers when Bunning was a baseball player, and according to him, Bunning was always a wild man. However, at least then, it was a fun kind of crazy. This is just pathetic. Funny, but pathetic.
Hmmm
Im not sure if, in the long run, this would be good or bad for the Democrats. Obviously in the short run it would be as theyd have a Dem Senator. But Bunning looked like he was probably gonna be defeated in 2010 had he run. And Mongiardo (or whoever) would only have a little over a year and a half (at most) to establish themselve as a senator.
If it gets Obama's very ambitious budget
passed without Repub obstruction, it is worth the possibility of losing Kentucky in 2010.
[ Parent ]
60
I didnt think about that. I forgot it would be 60. Yeah its definitely worth it in the end for the Dems.
[ Parent ]
I didn't think it was possible to fillibuster the budget
Or have I just imagined that?
[ Parent ]
Thought so
"Congress follows special rules for approving the annual budget that make it hard for the minority party to block it. Senate rules requiring 60 votes to end debate are suspended. That requirement had made three Republican senators' support for the stimulus bill crucial, even though Democrats enjoy large majorities in the House and Senate."

http://online.wsj.com/article/...

[ Parent ]
That's why I like the universal healthcare fund
Slipping it in the budget bypasses the usual filibuster nonsense that republicans always pull and allows an up or down vote.
[ Parent ]
large majorities?
They call these majorities large?

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
[ Parent ]
By recent standards they are large
It's the biggest majority since 1992 in the House and when Franken is seated the largest Senate majority since the late 70's I believe.
[ Parent ]
KY-Sen: Bunning to Resign? | 62 comments

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