Premium Sponsor


Featured Sponsor


Our Sponsors


Ad Networks

Advertise Liberally

Buy an ad on all of the top liberal blogs with just one click.

Site Stats

KY-Sen: Mongiardo Allegedly Caught on Tape Bashing Beshear

by: James L.

Mon Sep 28, 2009 at 7:55 PM EDT


Um. Aww-kward:

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo used profanity as he criticized Gov. Steve Beshear and his support of Mongiardo's U.S. Senate candidacy in a recording posted last week on the Internet.

In the recording, which was placed on YouTube by someone using the name "senrace2010," Mongiardo is heard saying he is so frustrated with Beshear that he is "close to saying f- it all. I do not need this job. I do not need the U.S. Senate."

Mongiardo is also heard saying that Beshear, who has endorsed Mongiardo, will be remembered as the state's "worst" governor and that a "blowup" is coming.

Mongiardo spokesman Kim Geveden said the audio tape was "edited" and that Mongiardo "strongly supports" Beshear. [...]

In the recording of Mongiardo, he is heard saying "the only difference between (former Republican Gov. Ernie) Fletcher and Beshear is Beshear has not had a blowup yet. But it is coming."

Mongiardo is also heard saying he has "zero loyalties with Beshear" and criticizes Beshear for raising funds for his 2011 re-election campaign while Mongiardo is trying to raise money for his U.S. Senate campaign next year.

"He (Beshear) is screwing me every way possible ... and what do I get out of it ... We finally begged him to show up for one in Northern Kentucky. He is not going to lift a finger, he is not going to do a damn thing, he is just going to show up and his name is going to be on the ... listen there is no love.

You can listen to the audio here. It's a bit choppy and muffled, and its provenance is something of a mystery, though it did first appear on the KY Revolution blog, a site with a decidedly pro-Rand Paul (and anti-everybody else) message. Beshear's people still say that his endorsement stands, and are refusing to comment on the audio -- but you can bet that the release of this thing has caused a few gaskets to blow over at the Governor's mansion.

One thing's for sure: someone better put a bar of soap into those Kentucky Demmycrats' mouths. Oh, the humanity!

UPDATE: Hat-tip to Johnny Longtorso in the comments for rightly reminding us of the big fat stink that Mongiardo made out of Jack Conway's use of milder profanities at Fancy Farm in August.

RaceTracker Wiki: KY-Sen
James L. :: KY-Sen: Mongiardo Allegedly Caught on Tape Bashing Beshear
Tags: , , , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email
KY-Sen: Mongiardo Allegedly Caught on Tape Bashing Beshear | 69 comments
Unless the audio tape really was edited
Jack Conway will win the right to lose to Trey Greyson.
There clearly is at least one edit
but presumably to take out boring, non-juicey stuff.

Mongiardo is probably racking his brain trying to remember who was in the group of people when he was saying this stuff and who might have been secretly recording it. Not that it matters: he's toast.
"I am this close to saying fuck it all. I do not need this job. I do not need the U.S. Senate."
Ugh.

[ Parent ]
I like Jack Conway more anyway...
Ditto

[ Parent ]
Make that Thrice

[ Parent ]
Quatrice. (is that even a word?)


Check out the 2010 California races (http://2010californiaracetracker.wetpaint.com) and help us take back Red California! (http://www.takebackredcalifornia.org)
[ Parent ]
Let's be honest: the choices aren't wonderful
On the one hand, you've got Dr. Dan, who on his best day will be as good as Heath Shuler (I almost said Zell Miller), and on the other hand you've got Conway, an Evan Bayh type IMO. As between the two I'll take the latter, but. . .
[ Parent ]
Heath Shuler is a decent Dem
And Jack Conway is a bit more liberal than Bayh.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
Shuler is worthless

[ Parent ]
Not entirely worthless
I was happy that he voted for the Cap and Trade bill.

But yes, if you look at the bulk of his votes, he's not helping the Democrats out much.

[ Parent ]
He's getting better with the passage of time?
Is that a reasonable read?  

I remember his being a total tool early on, specifically about Pelosi, but then he voted for Cap and Trade recently.  There's a pretty standard Blue Dog progression from Bobby Bright-type voting when they're freshmen to Pomeroy or Skelton-type voting when they feel secure.  Schuler could become a lot more helpful over time, especially if redistricting helps him any.

Now, even the "reliable" votes like Boucher can make a total hash out of important legislation, especially as they accumulate real seniority.  But keeping the corporate interests in-house, and having all negotiations be within two wings of an enormous Democratic majority, could be for the best.  It keeps the Republicans' bigotry on social issues far removed from power.  It blurs the public image of Democrats among progressive voters -- "are these the good guys or not?" -- but if the wings of the party became slightly more defined (not quite Kansas GOP, but maybe MA Dems or Texas GOP) that could be resolved.

And that kind of semi-three-party-structure might be what is needed to keep the radical rump of Southern and Interior nutbars completely removed from power for the next 20 years or so, while generational turnover does its work.  That's a pretty significant upside for letting the Blue Dogs function as the faction of corporate interests, rather than the Republicans.

[ Parent ]
Also, "corporate interests" aren't always anti-progressive
and those wealthy suburban swing voters aren't always the bastions of conservativism that people sometimes think of them as.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
brilliantly put
We need more voices of sanity like yours.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
I'm not so sure about that
It keeps the Republicans' bigotry on social issues far removed from power.

The threat of this causes many independent/libertarian style voters to vote Democratic.  If the Dems have a big majority and these people have no chance to get to power, many of them will vote against "big government" and vote GOP.

So one could argue that it would be better to have 220 good Dems and 10 Blue Dogs than 220 good Dems and 50 Blue Dogs.

[ Parent ]
Hm.
If these voters don't like the GOP's stance on social issues, and if the Democrats have a Blue Dog wing that is moderate on social issues but fairly corporate/conservative/"pro-market"/pro-business on fiscal issues, why wouldn't these hypothetical voters be happy voting for Blue Dogs?

Again, you'd need the difference between a Blue Dog Democrat and a Progressive Democrat to be fairly clear to the voting public, both for the progressive voters to not get turned off and your moderate voters to identify with Blue Dogs.  That would lead to periodic battles of the kind the Kansas GOP experiences.  But that would be a small and acceptable price to pay for permanently exiling the GOP base voter, the religious/nativist nutbars, from political influence altogether.  Instead of two 50/50 parties, imagine a 66/33 split.  Given how detached from reality the GOP base has become, I don't think it's impossible.  Corporate interests don't need the GOP as long as there's a Blue Dog wing they can work with.  And throwing the GOP base into the wilderness and letting two Democratic wings slug it out in committee would be worth it.

[ Parent ]
Let me clarify
I'm fine with Blue Dogs who are in difficult districts who are with us on some issues and keep their mouths shut.

Many of the Blue Dogs in the South vote against us on all the major issues, and further trash the party and leadership.  See Parker Griffith.  I think we can do without those assholes, and if the district is so bad that we can't elect anyone better, concede it to the GOP.

I would love to drown the GOP base politically.  But not if it comes at the cost of permanently obtaining corporate Dems.

[ Parent ]
Shuler is a reason why
we should negotiate with the Blue Dogs on key legislation.  Yes, Shuler has made many votes that I don't like, but he did vote for the Cap and Trade bill.  Just on that vote alone I'm willing to give him some benefit of the doubt.

If he voted for Obama's stimulus package, he would be endanger of losing his seat in 2010, although the stimulus bill would help his district immensely.  Shuler's district would not tolerate Shuler if he drifted to much away from his conservative roots.

[ Parent ]
Stimulus was fairly popular
And he voted for the second toned down version I am pretty sure, just Taylor, Minnick, Bright, Parker and Marshall voted against that I am pretty sure.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
Shuler voted No
along with 7 other Dems.  

In Western NC, the stimulus package is considered nothing more than wasteful government spending.  Of course, many aren't educated on why the stimulus package is so important.

[ Parent ]
This is especially hilarious
considering his whining about Jack Conway saying a naughty word in public.

It does explain why Mongiardo is not running with Beshear again.

Whoa
The Conway incident was made into a big deal because it was a family crowd he was speaking to and there were small kids in attendance.

This seems like something private.

Major difference there.

[ Parent ]
Umm except the Mongiardo language was much worse and more destructive
Conway never dropped the f-bomb in that meeting and never discussed how he didn't want to even be a senator (why then are you running?) or that he thought the current governor was terrible and a "blow up" was about to happen.  

Check out Georgia's best progressive political blog
[ Parent ]
Woot awsome
Conway is better on the issues; so seeing Mongiardo do something stupid is a plus. Also isn't Beshears approvals pretty high?
According to SurveyUSA
47% approve and 47% disapprove, with a 4.1% margin of error.
http://www.surveyusa.com/clien...
[ Parent ]
For Kentucky, that's not bad
Kentucky for years has been up there almost in "New Jersey Range" in terms of the public disapproving of all politicians, so breaking even isn't terrible.
[ Parent ]
What a doofus.

Conway seemed to have the momentum anyway
Mongiardo is probably frustrated he hasn't put this thing away yet.

btw, I don't know why everyone assumes Grayson is this undefeatable top-tier candidate.  Sure, he won his election as SoS by 14 points.  But Conway won AG by 20 points.  After that businessman guy almost took out McConnell last year, I'm not going to put this as any worse than tossup for us.

One difference:
McConnell was an incumbent. Second difference: He is also Minority Leader, and it does seem like being either Democratic or Republican leader in the Senate, at least in recent history, can be hazardous to one's popularity in the state one supposedly represents.
[ Parent ]
Perhaps
but this is Kentucky, a state that has been very favorable to Republicans in recent times.  I don't believe Daschle's and Reid's troubles are analogous as they represented and represent a red state and a purple state respectively.

I try to think about it like this...had McConnell retired last year, and Grayson been running in 2008 for the open seat, would Lunsford have beaten him?  I think so.  He certainly wouldn't have done any worse than his 6 point loss.

[ Parent ]
I think I agree with you on this
had McConnell retired last year, and Grayson been running in 2008 for the open seat, would Lunsford have beaten him?  I think so.

2010 is a different year, however. I hope Conway wins, but I certainly won't be surprised if he doesn't.

[ Parent ]
Its a long way till Nov 2010..
and I also agree that Conway would probably make a better gen. election candidate than Mongiardo, and after this outburst, is probably the better nominee overall.

Also, why does anyone keep responding to Tekzilla's sky is falling comments? Put the guy on a prolonged dose of Xanax.  

[ Parent ]
KY
I always liked Conway better anyway, but I don't see any way we take this seat.
Really?
You don't see anyway for us to take this seat when Conways fund raising owns Graysons? When Conway has already won state wide office by more then a 20pt spread? When(if) the economy is doing better, and the political winds are the same as in 2006/2008? When Lundsford kept Mcdondald to a 6pt win with Obama losing the state by some ridiculous number?
I'm just going to say, that you are wrong.
[ Parent ]
Let's also not forget
The Rand Paul wrinkle. While it would be very unlikely for him to win the primary (it's important to distinguish between mouthbreather favorites like Marco Rubio and fiat currency goldbug nutfuck Paulists), he sure as hell could make the primary very weird. And at least he'll drain some money from Grayson.
[ Parent ]
Nutty libertarians
are preferable to nutty Bible-thumpers in my book.
[ Parent ]
Rand Paul
Rand Paul is basically a standard ultra-conservative. He's not even as libertarian as his father.
[ Parent ]
KY
I hope I'm wrong, but KY is a state trending away from us.  
[ Parent ]
And
the world is going to end in 2012. KY is still heavily Democratic on the local level. There's just a problem with translating it into winning senate and house seats.  
[ Parent ]
While it is trending away from liberal dems on the national level
would you say that it is quite like West Virginia in the fact that it has very democratic voter registration, but has a very moderate to conservative tinge to it?

Bill Hedrick for Congress
[ Parent ]
Well, not really
West Virginia is absolutely dominated by the Democrats at the state level (with the sole exception of one congressional seat) with the Democrats dominating every statewide office. Kentucky, on the other hand, has a pretty mixed picture, the Democrats have a pretty strong hold on the House but the Senate is controlled by the Republicans (albeit by a fairly small margin).

That being said, the Democrats are not weak in Kentucky, but they aren't dominant like WV Dems are.

Your go-to source for great sarcasm

[ Parent ]
Only if more of the dead get up
out of the cemeteries and show up at the polls to vote.  National Democrats probably bottomed out in Kentucky in '04 or '08 (depending on demographic).

There aren't a whole lot of states trending away from Democrats lately.  The most plausible list of candidates seems to me to be Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.  

[ Parent ]
Not MS
Black population growth is much higher here than is white population growth...it's trending dem I believe but slowly.
[ Parent ]
How about West Virginia, Missouri, and Tennessee?
I thought that Missouri would select Obama, but I was wrong (other state I was wrong on was Indiana, who voted for Obama).  I can't tell how Missouri is progressing.

I also don't know if West Virginia will come back to us in the near future.  I think that the stimulus package would be a big help in WV.  Tennessee is another state that I don't know which direction it will go.

[ Parent ]
Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia
     Missouri elected a Democratic Senator in 2006, all but one constitutional officer (we picked up the State Treasurer's office and the Governor's office is a Democrat after the 2008 election (and the lone Republican barely won). I think it might be moving our way, although I think Democrats in Missouri have figured out how to win there. In the near future, I still see it as a 50/50 state. (Full discloure: I go to school in Missouri and I am from Tennessee)
     Long term I think Tennessee is headed our way. Obama did well among white voters under 30. I believe among Southern states only NC was better, Virginia and Tennessee had similiar totals for whites under 30. Short term we can compete, but it will be a tough fight each time.
     I think West Virginia will come back. Unfortunatly, I think Obama's race was a big factor here.
[ Parent ]
Does this mean Conway wins the primary???

I sure hope so

[ Parent ]
Primary
If dems don't have a primary after this and repubs do that could make things a little better for us at least
[ Parent ]
Conway is a moneybomb in fundraising
and I never really liked Daniel Mongiardo at all. The only reason he came so close to a senate seat in '04 was because it was Jim Bunning. Conway seems like a better candidate and I think our chances of winning this seat are better with him.
[ Parent ]
Whoopsie Daisy
I really wish politicians stop trying to copy Richard Nixon's obsession with taping oneself for posterity. If Nixon couldn't get away with it, what makes anyone think they can get away with it? That said, this could be Mongiardo's "Macaca" moment (h/t to George Allen, the former senator who provided us meaning for that word today!)

I don't really think
that there is any evidence whatsoever that Mongiardo was taping himself. If he was taping himself, he was doing a pretty poor job -- that audio is pretty bad. Sounds to my layperson's ears like the recording device was in someone's jacket pocket.
[ Parent ]
Heh
Maybe Dr. Dan wanted to make it into a campaign commercial. :)
[ Parent ]
Apparently.....
You haven't met this guy.
[ Parent ]
How wide has this incident exploded yet?
And how wide do we expect it to get?

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
Conway has the cash
To repeat "I do not need the U.S. Senate" ad infinitum.
[ Parent ]
What is it with Kentucky and their nutty senators/candidates?
Back in 1993 or 1994, Dave Letterman had a "Top 10 reasons on why your Senator is crazy".  

Among the answers were "He refers to Bob Dole as the Pineapple Boy" and "He wants all 37 voices in his head to get a vote".

The last line was that "you lived in North Carolina".  At the time, Helms and Faircloth represented North Carolina.

I honestly believe that Kentucky has started to steal NC's thunder on insanity.  Bunning probably kept his party awake at night wondering what else would come out of his mouth.  McConnell, while more polished, has been pretty insane with his anti-Democratic rhetoric while at the same time not promoting any of his own ideas (maybe he had none except to say "NO!" to any Democratic agenda).  

Dr. Dan made a major blunder that may or may not play out with his eventual demise.  I listened to the audio and it was pretty hard to follow.  I don't know if Conway can exploit it or not, but IMO he will be able to "fan the flames".  

Conway will hopefully win the nomination.  He's far from perfect, but compared to Bunning and McConnell, he's a hell of a lot better choice for KY.  

How was Oklahoma back then?


Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
A lot less crazy

[ Parent ]
The two Senators...
back then were Republican Don Nickles and Democrat David Boren (whose son we complain about now in the House).
[ Parent ]
Nickles was pretty crazy,
but David Boren (and Dan Boren, for that matter) have nothing on either James Inhofe or Tom Coburn. No one does "crazy" quite like them.
[ Parent ]
Sounds like a moment of honesty
While a "blue dog" is probably the best we can get out of KY, I think the honesty we're hearing from the recording is refreshing -

sort of a salty version of Mr. Smith who wants to go to Washington just for a term or two.

Blue Dogs
I guess I don't have the same problem with Blue Dogs as most SSP readers do.  I understand more and better Democrats, and I agree in most cases, but I would much rather have Bobby Bright than Jay Love, I would much rather have Heath Shuler than UpChuck Taylor, I would much rather have Walt Minnick than Bill Sali, and I would certainly rather have Jack Conway than Trey Grayson.  I also don't mind the Artur Davis and Harold Fords of the world either.  If a guy in a red state, but a blue district votes more conservative than his district in order to build an image for a statewide run, I'm all for it, BUT if we need their vote, it damn sure better be there.
Progressives like Jack Conway
It's Mongiardo they don't care for.

BTW I don't know why, Conway isn't progressive, but whatever, it's Kentucky.

It'll be fun to browse DailyKos in 2011 when they're all bitching about what a sellout Senator Conway is.  

[ Parent ]
For my own part, I think Conway is less bad
Unlike Dr. Dan, he is nominally pro-choice and never sponsored anti-gay bills in a legislature.  
[ Parent ]
And that's why I stopped reading dKos :P

[ Parent ]
Here's how I've finally differentiated Dkos in my head
Dkos is my place to be a liberal, SSP is my place to be a political scientist, as much as one can be without a PhD that is.
[ Parent ]
Well put. eom

[ Parent ]
Disagree on one key point
I also don't mind the Artur Davis and Harold Fords of the world either.  If a guy in a red state, but a blue district votes more conservative than his district in order to build an image for a statewide run, I'm all for it, BUT if we need their vote, it damn sure better be there.

Blue seats should not be used as a springboard for conservative-voting Democrats to run statewide. The votes are just too important. If a guy wants to vote conservatively and build up an image for a statewide run, he should occupy a similarly conservative district -- not only does this prevent a progressive district from being wasted on a conservative, the conservative candidate gets a chance to prove that he can actually win over conservative voters instead of getting an automatic empty-net breakaway every two years.

[ Parent ]
Beautiful point
the conservative candidate gets a chance to prove that he can actually win over conservative voters

Although, black candidates in the South get kind of a raw deal with this, hence Davis having go the route he did.  (I wont say Ford, I dont know if it's widely accepted that he used his House position to run for Senate, I didnt follow electoral politics like this back in 05)

[ Parent ]
Expression of agreement.
No text in comment.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...
[ Parent ]
KY-Sen: Mongiardo Allegedly Caught on Tape Bashing Beshear | 69 comments

Copyright 2003-2010 Swing State Project LLC

Primary Sponsor

Talk to your supporters, not tech support. Campaign Engine is the powerful, affordable Progressive Campaign Software.

Menu

Make a New Account

Username:

Password:



Forget your username or password?

About the Site

Publisher: DavidNYC

Senior Editor: James L.

Contributing Editor: Crisitunity

SSP's Twitter Feed

SSP on Facebook

SSP's Frappr Map

Search the SSP archives:

Sign up to receive a daily e-mail whenever the SSP is updated:

Subscribe to SSP's RSS feed: Subscribe via FeedBurner

SSP Resources

Presidential Vote by CD

Partisan Voting Index

House Open Seat Watch

SSP Document Collection

Race Tracker Wiki

2010 Political Calendar

SSP Race Ratings

Senate Race Ratings

Gubernatorial Race Ratings

House Vulnerability Index

Blogroll

Daily Kos
DemConWatch
DLCC Blog
Five Thirty Eight
From The Roots (DSCC)
Hotline On Call
Kicking Ass (DNC)
Political Wire
Pollster.com
Project 2010 (DGA)
The Next Hurrah
Senate Guru
The Stakeholder (DCCC)
The Thicket (NCSL)
Powered by: SoapBlox