Sunday, June 06, 1999
GOP hopefuls hurl the hatchet
Party leader asks Congress wannabes to knock it off
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Well, it didn't take long for 4th District Republicans Jim Kidney and Don Bell to start clawing at each other.
At least one party leader is trying to stop the nasty nonsense before it embarrasses the GOP more than it already has.
Mr. Bell, of Oldham County, was Mr. Kidney's campaign manager last year when Mr. Kidney, a Newport attorney, finished third in the 4th District GOP primary.
The two had a falling out that got pretty heated.
Well, now Mr. Bell says he is running for the 4th District GOP nomination. And Mr. Kidney says he is 95 percent sure he'll run.
Instead of burying the hatchet, the two have been swinging it, taking swipes at each other in the paper.
Mr. Kidney did deliver a beautiful line when he said he was going “to ring Don's bell.” That's a classic.
But it was that line that prompted state GOP Vice Chairman Damon Thayer to plead for, if not demand, a truce.
“We don't need that; we don't want that,” Mr. Thayer said last week.
“These guys need to be talking about their platforms, about the issues and about (Democratic 4th Dis trict incumbent) Ken Lucas, not bringing up some old disagreement they have from a year ago,” said Mr. Thayer, a Grant County resident and former 4th District GOP chairman.
“I'm not trying to tell anybody how to run a campaign,” said Mr. Thayer. “But I did feel I had to step in and try and put a stop to negative campaigning.”
Mr. Kidney has pledged to stop, but don't look for a truce to last too long. With Mr. Bell needling him in the press, Mr. Kidney is dying to re-release a letter Mr. Bell wrote on his behalf last year that said, “we desperately need Jim Kidney in the U.S. Congress.”
Mr. Bell can lay it on a little thick. But those words are coming back to haunt the author.
The son also raises ... money: The hottest ticket on the GOP presidential circuit, or maybe that should be circus, is coming to Kentucky.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the son of former President Bush, is scheduled to attend a June 23 fund-raiser and reception in Louisville, state GOP leaders say.
Mr. Bush is leading other GOP contenders, as well as Democratic Vice President Al Gore, in virtually every poll dealing with the 2000 presidential election.
No word on Northern Kentucky attendees, but we'll keep our eye on this one. Mr. Bush has already attracted the support of some local state lawmakers. Lots of other big-name Republicans are likely to follow.
Welcome wagon: Word on the street is that U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell will hold a big-ticket fund-raiser this summer in Northern Kentucky.
And the buzz from a couple of local movers and shakers who have been invited is that it will be held at the new home of Ashland Inc. Chief Executive Officer Paul Chellgren, who moved to the posh Country Squire subdivision after the company moved to Northern Kentucky earlier this year.
The contributions are $1,000, $500 and $250. Northern Kentucky loves Mr. McConnell and vice versa, so the senator should stroll out of the event with a pocketful of stew.
Hey, Hay, you're all over the board: OK, first Boone County Commissioner Robert Hay says it's OK to overrule the county's planning commission and vote for a project that has no infrastructure — namely the Answers in Genesis creationist museum, because AIG will supply and pay for the infrastructure.
Then Mr. Hay again goes against the commission and votes against a project it recommended, namely a residential development proposed by Arlinghaus Builders in Hebron, even after the developer agreed to provide a significant piece of infrastructure — land for a new school.
And, the county and the state will rebuild a road to handle the increased traffic created by the development.
Mr. Hay also went off on Arling-
haus, saying offering the land for the school was a “legalized bribe.”
Under that standard, what was AIG's offer to provide its own infrastructure as long as it could get approval to build its museum?
By the way, in the wake of criticism he received for his AIG vote, Mr. Hay said he was not affiliated with the group in any way, and even resisted offers from AIG to become more involved.
Well, last week it was revealed in a lawsuit filed by opponents of the development against the Boone County Fiscal Court and Mr. Hay individually that Mr. Hay is pretty cozy with AIG.
Cozy enough to have his picture appear in AIG promotional material.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail crowleys@cinci.infi.net
