A 120 County-Wide Strategy 4 Democrats to Regain New Voters and Converts

How We Can Get Democrats To Start Winning Again

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Many, many voter registration drives. Most new voters vote Democrat, so just having an ambitious and aggressive generic voter registration (non-partisan), by just increasing new voters, most will be Democrats... and oh, since you signed them up, maybe they'll consider voting how you want folks to vote, since you and them agree on one issue: the people should vote.

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1 – Be a True Progressive

2 – Get Democrats into Local County seats of power, then work up

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Obama ran to the Left of Hillary Clinton. What America saw in 2008 and 2012 with Barack Obama's election, Kentucky failed to see. What Kentucky saw in 2014 in Mitch McConnell, America failed to see.

Obama ran to the left of Hillary Clinton. It's not even unpopular to say that you're a “Clinton Democrat” anymore. 10 year ago, if you liked Bill Clinton, you were a disgusting wretched piece of shit. There were Northern Kentuckians calling for his head over the tobacco tax. Now, the cigarette tax is considered a vital revenue-generating tool for Frankfort. Just because Obama is not popular in Kentucky, mostly because of racism, Hillary Clinton is accepted in Kentucky.

At least for the Democrats, Hillary is okay.

Candidate Obama 2008 was much different than President Obama. Candidate Obama talked about ending the Drug War, and the biggest issues, which makes me sick to my stomach that Democrats do not speak about, economic issues, Barack also talked about. $250,000 is what Barack Obama considered rich, and those who made underneath $250,000 were “Middle Class”, and were not going to be taxed. Economic issues... Why don't Kentucky Democrats care about the poor no more? How about the Christians? Do any Christians care about the poor? Do we have any Christians or Democrats in Kentucky? It's time for Americans to become Americans again, and for Kentucky's Christian Democrats to become Christian Democrats again. Ancient Christians would fight the Romans because they had only one master—God—not some Caesar, or ruler of the Empire. They defended their God—namely, themselves—and showed the world what human dignity looks like.

Democrats are supposed to care about the poor. So are Christians.

If Democrats do not care about the poor, then who does? Republicans? Lol That's a hearty laugh. We already know what the Republicans want. Kill Unions, pro-all corporations, 1%, bankers, foreign investors, etc. More for the have-mores, and less for everybody else.

But if the Democrats are acting like Republicans, and not choosing their own issues to fight for, then the Democratic Party is doomed as a political party in Kentucky. It's not attracting new voters anymore. Republicans are recruiting new voters by the bushel, and Democrats are just trickling in...

Democrats have been the champions of working class people, so fighting a War on Poverty, fighting for the Middle, Working, Poor, and Homeless classes seems like a no-brainer.

Geoff Young picked these 6 main issues: 1) Abortion; 2) Racism; 3) Energy Efficiency and Diversification; 4) Death Penalty; 5) Fighting Corruption, and; 6) Class War.

The Class War issue is what really won me over to Geoff. I disagree with Young on the Death Penalty issue, but all other issues, the other 5 issues, I'm 100% behind him on.

That's how a Kentucky voter should vote. Write down the Top 10 issues you care about, and then write another column to see how the candidates running for office feel about those same issues. The candidate which ideologically aligns with you the most, that's your candidate. That's your man, or woman. That's the one you vote for.

Policy is all that matters in an election. If you vote for somebody just because they're a “nice” guy without knowing what their stances on the policy is, then you're a horrible person. You may just be electing an asshole who is going to fuck us all over, and why? Just because you liked their ads on TV?

Election time is the one time we get a chance to get our politicians to listen to us. We know what politicians want. They want our vote. So, in order to get our vote, you're going to need to hear about what we want out of you. Of course... and that's all the power we get. Once they're in office, the soft nice kitten becomes a cannibalizing lion, and then that's all she wrote. As Kentuckians, as peasant voting citizens, the only power we have, is on election day, the day when we actually give our power away, to others, to dominate over us, and impose their will upon us. George Carlin and Russell Brand are right. Those who vote, especially those who vote for crooks, are the ones to blame for our society. There's a reason why 93% of Kentuckians won't show up on election day on May 19, 2015: there's no choices, and it wouldn't matter anyways, since the system is broken.

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Regardless, while Kentucky's media and education may have done a shitty job when it comes to our citizenry's understanding of democracy and civics, we have the Internet, and therefore, we can educate ourselves. We're the Internet generation who is going to die from willful ignorance. It's not cool to be dumb. It's cool to be smart, fair, equitable, moral, good, etc.

Ultimately, a Kentuckian can only be a politician, or they can be a citizen. That's it. You're either a politician or you're a citizen. And if you aren't a politician, then you need to start being a citizen. If you aren't either one, then you're pretending like you don't live in a democracy, and the rules do not apply to you... you need to stop doing that. Look around around you. Pay attention to what's going on. A good citizen at least votes. A great citizen runs for office in order to be heard. Great citizens call up their representatives, and holds the public official's feet to the fire. They make sure they're held accountable.

“You said you were going to get us a “Shop with a Cop” program... where is it?”

The Rule of Law means that everybody must abide by the Rule of Law. Everybody.

So if one isn't a politician, if one didn't do the arduous task of filing their proper paperwork, and paying a small filing fee, to become a politician, then they are, by default, citizens. And yet, what do the 93% do as citizens if they aren't voting? Watch Honey Boo-Boo?

If you aren't a citizen confronting the politicians, or if you aren't a politician, then you're pretending like you don't even belong in our democratic republic... so #gtfo! Just leave! You're not a politician AND you're not a citizen? Then what the fuck are you? A free loader? A scab? A parasite, sucking the life outta some poor working class sap?

And while many Kentuckians do not do any of their civic duty, which is required in a democratic republic that desires to succeed, they'll also be the first one to loudly bellow their ignorance out to the masses...

I'll give Kentuckians some credit... perhaps others just haven't spoken up against them yet. Bellowing out ignorance loudly can be confusing and disconcerting, and then folks will have to decipher if the one bellowing can be taught something, or if they're just doomed to be racist, backwards, ignorant, illiterate, cancer-ridden, toothless, pro-domestic violence, and fascist. I would know. I was that same hillbilly when I went to Xavier University in 2000. I was loud about how George W. Bush was the man, and about how gays were horrible despicable nasty unnatural people... then some kind folks argued with me, and I thought about what they said, and realized that I had been wrong. I had been just been ignorantly speaking loudly what my parents told me, and I accepted blindly, and just repeated it even louder than they had said it... they knew they were being bigots, but I took their arguments to be honest and moral.

Regardless, I've done a 180 degree turn in my political psyche since then. I still think the Hippies have more work to do, and that the Enlightenment period isn't over. In fact, until a society deems themselves unenlightened, I'm not sure why we'd want to move away from an Enlightenment Era. I guess the next step after Enlighenment is Action. I wouldn't mind being part of the Action Era.

Alison Grimes ran on the issue that she loved coal more, that she loved guns more, that she hated Obama more... she played Mitch's game, and lost. Alison should have said those things, but also said progressive issues... most especially, economic issues. Just the minimum wage? That's it? She had a Jobs Plan. But nothing inspired new voters to get to go vote for her. She ran as a Republican-lite

candidate. She played Mitch's game.

How about passing a Kentucky version of the Employee Free Choice Act? That would unionize everybody. The AFL-CIO and the United Mine Workers, of which represents exactly zero Kentucky cal miners, aren't being serious Kentucky players, by endorsing folks 1 year before the election. Even if Jesus Jimmy Hoffa Christ jumped into the ring, the AFL-CIO, and John Yarmuth, and many others, who were scared that Mitch's win would hand Kentucky over to the Republicans, hurried up and got behind Conway... it shows weakness. It shows that they're scared, and that the Republicans have a chance.

Before Joe Gerth soiled Kentucky's bed, the Republicans were having some great talks about Kentucky's issues... of course, they were issues Republicans thought were issues, but for them, they got to articulate their views on a whole host of issues: Drug testing for children, hating gay marriage, imposing “Reich-to-Scab”, being against Common Core, being against Kynect, Kentucky's expand Medicaid program, and other horrible destructive policies.

The Democrats didn't get that kind of conversation. We talked about the issues very rarely. I have a plan, and 132 Great Ideas for Kentucky Tomorrow. I have a plan, and I'll have a budget proposed before Tuesday. I do not know of any other candidate who has put forth both a proposed budget and a plan.

But to be honest, if being conservative is to keep the system as it is... then I kinda feel sorry for the Republicans... they have to sell themselves as being an agent of “change” AND ironically, of keeping things exactly the same. Lol

But those Conservatives who want to keep the system as it is, they need to vote for Adam Edelen for Auditor and Alison Lundergan Grimes for Secretary of State. That's the only chance we have for continuity in our State government. All other State-wide Executive seats are up for grabs. 5 of 7 chairs are open seats, and therefore, 5 of 7 the executive state leadership chairs will completely change, for at least 4 years... that's an Electoral Revolution, if we're smart, or a fascist totalitarian Counter-Revolution, if we're not.

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To run as Lieutenant Governor, all I needed to do was raise my hand (and fulfill residency and age requirements). It costs $500 for a filing fee, and I needed to be a Kentucky citizen, lived here for 6 years, and be over 30 years old. That's it. Just gumption. Just a raise of one's hand... here I am. You can put my name on the ballot. And then, the biggest part that I worked on the majority of the Ralph Nader campaign for, ballot access, was already achieved. We struggled until the last few days to get Nader on the ballot in 50 states... we got 45 states, but nonetheless...

Compared with Ralph Nader, Geoff Young and I already have 13%, which we've had since from the beginning. There's 19% undecided, so that's a possible 19% sway towards us. That's 32%, and would be a remarkable showing.

But the point is, we're doing better than Nader did. We're already on the ballot, and we're polling much higher numbers. Democrats aren't very happy about Jack Conway. Most of them are. But 1/3 are not.

When we get middle, working, poor, and homeless folks into positions of power, into office, then we the people will be governing our own society. Instead of relying on crooked millionaires, bankers, corporate media to run our society, we can run it ourselves.

How do we do this?

It's easy. Just raise your hand. Get others to raise their hand too. To run for Governor, the filing fee costs $500. To run for Mayor, the filing fee is $50. Running for office is literally the easiest thing I've ever done in my life. For a broke moment during the campaign, I considered just applying for jobs, because I need to make money in order to live, and to tie my applying for jobs as a part of my campaign. I'm a regular working class man, who needs a job, and I'm trying to make a difference when it comes to state politics.

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In Breckinridge County, there's no 2nd District candidate for Constable, and therefore, the 2nd District has a vacant seat.

While there wasn't a Constable elected for Breckinridge County's 2^nd District, I wonder if that position had been filled. Governors get to appoint folks into vacate seats. If the 2^nd District Constable in Breckinridge County hasn't been filled by the Governor, then I believe the Judge-Executive gets to appoint a person.

Has the local Democratic and Republican party chosen somebody to fulfill the obligations for the 2^nd District Constable, or have we all just decided to leave that position blank?

All one would need to have done, in order for a citizen in the 2^nd District of Breckinridge County to have become Constable for the 2^nd District, is to raise their hand. That's it. Just raise your hand, pay a $50 filing fee, and go vote for yourself. You'd have 1 vote, at least, which would be the majority, since there's no opposition, then you win, and now, you're the “Sheriff” in your district, since Constables have the same power as Sheriff's do, in their respective duties.

Constables also have the added benefit of being elected by the people, which is a great democratic tool for us. I'd rather the Sheriff and Constables all form a coalition, and from that coalition, new Sheriff's Deputies are hired. It also forces the Constables and Sheriff's to work together, when sometimes, Constables aren't given the same respect that Sheriff's departments are given.

Other folks who can arrest a Sheriff besides a Constable: Coroner, Jailer, State Police, Judge-Executive, Mayors, Governor, ATF, FBI, any Kentucky citizen who witnesses them committing a felony, etc.

So, for the Democratic Party in Breckinridge County, they should propose their own candidate for the 2^nd District... or, at the very least, if we're going to keep it vacant, get some candidate from the 2^nd District to run for it in 2018, and that will be one seat of power that will have a regular working class person occupying it.

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Many of the local county positions are won without any opposition whatsoever. None. No opposition. That needs to change. If local officials aren't being forced to talk to the people, to win their votes, then they have all the power, and very few checks on them. With such a unanimous verdict, in spite of the 7% turnout rate, Judges and other public officials may get it confused, and think they have a mandate to impose their will unto the people. If you aren't at the Dinner table making the decisions, then you're probably on the menu.

For Kentucky's 2015 Governor's race, all of these politicians loves us so much, and wants us all to have better lives, and it all sounds so peachy and wonderful. But for those positions who did not have opposition, they didn't even have to pretend to like us. They just kept the gauntlet, and still have the power.

Here's a list of local Breckinridge County officials who weren't opposed in the General or Primary Election:

1,2- District Judge, 1 and 2 (both ran unopposed in both primary and General Election)

3- Breckinridge County Clerk. (GOP) (unopposed in General Election)

4- Breckinridge County Attorney. (GOP) (unopposed in General Election)

5- Breckinridge County Coroner. Tim Bandy of Hardinsburg (Dem) (unopposed)

6- Mayor of Hardinsburg. Wayne Macy of Hwy 261N (unopposed)

7,8,9,10,11- Entire City Council (6) of Hardinsburg ran unopposed

12- Breckinridge County is in 2nd Supreme Court District:

Supreme Court Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. of Bowling Green ran unopposed.

13- Breckinridge County Surveyor. Adam Critchelon. (unopposed)

14- Breckinridge County is in 2nd Appeals Court District: Appeals Court Judge (1st Judge in 2nd Appeals District). Jeff S. Taylor of Owensboro. Unopposed. 8 year term. $1+`million seat.

No Family Court Judge in Breckinridge County. Only Domestic Relations Commissioner.

15- 1st District Constable. Raleigh H. Shelton IV of Hardinsburg. (Dem) (unopposed in Primary and General, 2014)

16- 3rd District Constable. Frank Adkins of Garfield. (Dem) (unopposed in Primary and General Election, 2014)

17- 6th District Constable. Richie Smiley (GOP) (unopposed in General Election, 2014)

17 local positions in Breckinridge County ran unopposed in November 2014. Perhaps these candidates were just SO great that the people ushered them right back into their elected positions. Or maybe, most folks didn't vote, and didn't run, since there's no options to vote for anyways, and because the media and Kentucky's education epic fails at Civics.

By getting more young Democrats involved in the process, or even older Democrats, if they've never been a part of the process, Breckinridge County Democrats need to keep the Democrats who already have positions of power, and replace the Republicans with new Democrats into local seats of power. Also, those positions which do not have a candidate running for... get some Democrat, any Democrat, and put them into that seat of power. I'm sure there was somebody in District 2 who wanted to be a Constable, and who would have made a remarkable law enforcer.

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By getting regular working class locals into positions of power, we're have a society run by, of, and for us, we the people. Once we when Tier positions, then we've have a better chance for the Tier 2 and 3 level campaigns.

Tier 1 Positions

Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor (7 at-large, staggered 4 year terms, 3 one year, 4 another)

City Councilman

Surveyor (Section 99 position)

Assessor;(Section 99 position) Section 104 of Kentucky's Constitution gives Frankfort power to abolish County Assessors;

Magistrate (Justice of the Peace/County Commissioner)(Section 99 position)

Coroner (Section 99 position)

Jailer (Section 99 position)

Constable (Section 99 position)

County Court Clerk (Section 99 position)

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Tier 2 Positions

District Judge, 1 or 2

Circuit Court Judge, 1 or 2

Family Court Judge (yet to be established in most districts)

Circuit Court Clerk (6 year terms) (Section 97 position)

State's Attorney (Commonwealth's Attorney; 6 year terms); (Section 97 position); Section 108 says Frankfort can abolish office of State Attorney if need be.

County Attorney(Section 99 position)

Sheriff (Section 99 position)

Judge-Executive (Section 99 position)

Mayor

State Representative

State Senate

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Breckinridge County City Governments

Cities:

1- Cloverport

2- Irvington

3- Hardingsburg

Mayor

City Council

Secretaries

Police Force

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Breckinridge County School Board elections: ?

Cloverport District: ?

Hardin County County Clerk said that Hardin County has election commissioners

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Tier 3 Positions, aka the Big Time:

Supreme Court Justice

Appeals Court Judge

State Representative

US Representative

US Senate

Supreme Court Justice

President

Electors to Electoral College

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The Greatest Opportunity for 18 Year Olds Kentuckians Who Want to be involved in Government:

There's only one position they're allowed to run for.

Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor candidates (at large vote, 7; 6? total wins; 18 year olds can only run for this office): Executive Branch, under Energy and Environment Cabinet, votes in 7 Soil & Water District Supervisors for each county (yet somehow, there's 121 districts, for some unknown reason):

“Each county in Kentucky is represented by a local conservation district, consisting of seven elected supervisors. These conservation districts assist the landowners in each county with creating and implementing practices to protect the soil and water quality. The conservation districts help conserve Kentucky's resources by helping local people match their needs with technical and financial resources.”

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So get out a poster board, and write down all the level 1 tier 1 positions, and see which ones aren't Democratic, and work on getting new blood into the party. We need to expand. The Republicans have registered way more than Democrats have in recent years, and that's pathetic. Also, write down Tier 2 and Tier 3 positions, and then write an action plan in order to get the Democratic Party rejuvenated again. I would have thought Emerge would have brought forth more leaders. I'm disheartened to see that it has not.

For Judges, we need an honest crop of lawyer material folks moving up in the ranks. So far, they all sell out. There's only 5 Progressives in Kentucky, if not less. They all sell out to the corporations since they're all conservative. Conway voted for Obama, then he sued him over the EPA ruling. Winston Churchill said that those who are under 30, who aren't liberal, have no heart. Those who are over 30, and aren't conservative, have no brain. If the Democrats are also conservative, then we don't really have an opposition party. We have a 2 party dictatorship. We just choose which powerful bankers, corporations, and 1% we'd rather have ruling over us. The conservative Democrats will be the Democrats Jack Conway will appeal to, also to the conservative Republican base, which wouldn't vote for him in a million years... there's 1.7 million Democrats and 1.2 million Republicans in Kentucky. Jack doesn't need any of the Republican voters in order to win. But he's not a Hillary Clinton Democrat. He won't take on the Republican Party head on. I hope he does. I hope he represents Kentucky Democrats well. But if he tries to bullshit Kentucky voters, panders to the right, if tries to out-Republican the Republicans, then he will lose, and rightfully so. The people vote for authentic over inauthentic every time. I'd be embarrassed to admit publicly that I don't believe in global warming, but at least the Republicans stand up for their issues, and take their licks. Democrats should do the same.

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“I have no mercy or compassion in me 4 a society that will crush people, & then penalize them 4 not being able 2 stand up under the weight” ~Malcolm X