Rand Paul
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:01 pm
Is he too nuts for Kentucky? Or is there such a thing?
Well, if you believe Rasmussen, he's got a 25-point lead here. I'm waiting to see how that settles down in the aftermath of his media implosion, though his wacko civil rights views will probably be popular. His comments dismissing the WV mine disaster as "just an accident" may hurt him, though -- this is a big coal state and miners and their families aren't likely to appreciate that sentiment.
One thing that's important is that Grayson was a terrible candidate. Even the Lexington paper endorsed Paul (which was probably intended more as a slap to McConnell than as approval of Paul). He had no chance in the primary. Paul crushed him on name recognition and Tea Party anti-incumbent insurgent fervor.
Less reported nationally is the fact that he's been cozying up to some really rank hard-right social conservatives during the primary process -- guys like Jeff Fugate, a Lexington Baptist preacher who would probably put illegal immigrants' and homosexuals' severed heads on pikes outside his church if he thought he could get away with it. The Kentucky GOP base loves that sort of stuff, but I'm not sure how it will play in the general. (I assume he won't appear with them going forward, but who knows.)
I've seen a lot of Paul signs around here in one of the "big cities" (and almost none for Grayson), but I have to think Paul won't fare well in Lexington and Louisville come November. Whether he can do well enough in the rest of the state to make up for that is the big question.