Less than two weeks remain until E-day. Do you know where your sanity is?
Congressmen for Gex. The U.S. House campaign of Gex "Jay" Williams has taken lots of heat -- including plenty of jabs from this space -- for stumbling more than once this election year.
The campaign was late getting on the radio with advertising, even later getting on TV, waited months before talking issues and needed some help from Washington before really getting its act together.
Most of the problems have been cleared up, though, and now the campaign seems to be hitting on most cylinders.
Glitches aside, the Williams campaign has been incredibly proficient is getting free media and fund-raising mileage from local appearances by Republican congressmen and leading national conservatives.
Big name Republicans and conservatives Bob Dole, Bill Bennett, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Reps. Steve Largent of Oklahoma and Dick Armey of Texas, Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, Newport native and former Reagan administration official Gary Bauer and others have attracted a couple of hundred thousand dollars for Mr. Williams' campaign and untold dollars in "free media," the politicians' phrase for press coverage of their events.
Just last week, Mr. Williams, Mr. Largent and U.S. Reps. Lindsey Graham and Joe Scarborough spent an hour on WLW-AM (700) with conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham after the three held a fund-raiser for Mr. Williams at Mr. Cunningham's Covington restaurant.
And the tour of Republican congressmen is continuing right up until Election Day. House GOP Whip Tom Delay of Texas attends a fund-raiser for Mr. Williams tonight in Oldham County, which is big Republican territory in the 4th District.
On Friday, two Ohio congressmen will help the Williams campaign raise some last-minute campaign cash. Rep. John Kasich, chairman of the House Budget Committee and a possible presidential contender in 2000, will appear at a luncheon in Ashland. And Rep. Rob Portman of Terrace Park will be in Northern Kentucky that night with Mr. Williams for a dinner fund-raiser.
Finally, Rep. John Linder of Georgia will be in Northern Kentucky on Nov. 3 to attend a mini-rally for Mr. Williams. Mr. Linder heads the National Republican Congressional Committee, which gave Mr. Williams $70,000 earlier in the campaign.
The Williams camp takes all the attention as a sign the GOP can't wait to get Mr. Williams to Washington.
"I think Bill Bennett said it best when asked why all the national conservative and Republican leaders are lining up behind Gex," said Craig Hendricks, Mr. Williams' campaign manager.
"He said "Because Gex is clear and unambiguous and he's undaunted and can't be bought,' " Mr. Hendricks said.
But, of course, Democrat Ken Lucas, Mr. Williams' opponent, and his campaign say the effect of all these visits and fund-raisers will be the exact opposite of Mr. Hendricks' take.
"Gex Williams will be beholden to Newt Gingrich and the Washington crowd," said John Lapp, Mr. Lucas' campaign manager. "Ken Lucas' team is the voters of the 4th District."
His team sure isn't national Democrats, Mr. Hendricks is quick to say, pointing out not a single Democratic congressman with the exception of retiring U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford of Kentucky has bothered to help Mr. Lucas campaign or raise money.
Docs for Gex. Mr. Williams is also getting help from a group of longtime supporters, Northern Kentucky doctors.
Almost 50 doctors have signed a letter asking their colleagues to support and contribute money to Mr. Williams and Republican Ernie Fletcher of Lexington, who is running against Democratic state Sen. Ernesto Scorsone in the 6th District.
The letter mentions Walton lawyer Mark Guilfoyle, who served as cabinet secretary and budget director under former Gov. Brereton Jones. The doctors battled with the Jones administration over a health care reform package many in the medical community labeled "Clinton care."
Mr. Guilfoyle also ran the campaign of former state Sen. Joe Meyer, a Covington Democrat, who helped champion those reforms. The docs took Mr. Meyer's involvement as a rallying cry to help defeat him in 1996, when he was upset by Republican Jack Westwood of Erlanger. Mr. Guilfoyle is now a top member of Mr. Lucas' campaign.
"We are concerned that Mr. Lucas' campaign is run by Mr. Mark Guilfoyle," the letter states. "Sen. Williams has always stayed in touch with the local physician community, seeking out their input while fighting Brereton Jones' reforms."
Cops for Ken. Mr. Lucas is leading in a big way over Mr. Williams when it comes to landing police union endorsements.
Mr. Lucas has Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) endorsements from lodges in Covington, Kenton County, Erlanger-Elsmere, Campbell County, Russell and Ashland.
Mr. Williams has just one, from Taylor Mill.
Pols love, and crave, FOP endorsements because they think it shows voters a strong commitment to law enforcement and a platform of being tough on crime.
"If elected to Congress, I will continue to keep the needs of our law enforcement officials at the forefront of our agenda," Mr. Lucas said in a statement.
Making political hay over hay. Kentucky's U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scotty Baesler of Lexington and Republican Jim Bunning of Southgate has been, to absolutely no one's surprise, a rough-and-tumble, big-dollar fight featuring plenty of harsh ads from both sides and both parties.
Mr. Baesler has accused Mr. Bunning of misrepresenting and misportraying him in some ads, a charge Mr. Bunning's campaign has denied throughout the campaign.
But Mr. Baesler, a tobacco farmer, let loose a pretty good zinger this week over one of ads being run by Mr. Bunning. The spot features Mr. Bunning, who grew up in suburban Southgate, at a farm with his family and grandchildren.
"I think the biggest misportrayal of this campaign," Mr. Baesler said with a snicker, "is Jim sitting on a hay bale."
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or 502-875-7526 in Frankfort.
CROWLEY ARCHIVE