CN|2 Politics

Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said Sunday on Meet the Press with David Gregory that he was wrong earlier in his career to be suspicious of not-for-profit groups with political operations like those targeted by the IRS. And when asked whether or not there was any fact to back up claims that President Obama was leading a “culture of intimidation” especially in light of the IRS scandal, McConnell acknowleged that Congress and the public don’t have all the facts yet. In a... Read more 

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul announced Friday that he promoted William Henderson to be his new chief of staff, replacing Doug Stafford, who moved to Paul’s political operation. Henderson had served as Paul’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director since Paul joined the U.S. Senate in January 2011. Previously, Henderson worked as legislative director for Paul’s predecessor in the Senate, Jim Bunning, for nearly 12 years. “William is an incredible asset to our team and I am excited that he will... Read more 

Former IRS Commissioner Steven Miller is scheduled to testify at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the IRS scandal Friday morning after his resignation, but some in Kentucky’s delegation say that wont be enough. While there is already talk of a successor after the resignation of Miller, many in Congress have said that would be premature until a full investigation has taken place. Some are even threatening to put a hold on a nomination if the administration does not... Read more 

In his trip to Washington, D.C., last week to push for legalizing industrial hemp, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer found that he had unlikely — and influential — ally who has been lobbying House Speaker John Boehner on that for years. Comer met privately with Boehner for more than 30 minutes. And he said it was a surprise that he didn’t need to explain the differences between hemp and marijuana to Boehner. “He said that his daughter had been a proponent... Read more 

Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr says Congress needs to fully investigate troubling trends in the Obama administration that led to the IRS targeting tea party groups and the U.S. Justice Department collecting phone data of Associated Press reporters. But he said he needs to see more facts before calling for any resignations. “People are tired of politics, frankly, the election is over,” Barr said (at 8:45 in the interview). “The American people deserve a government that treats all people fairly, treats all American... Read more 

Expanding Medicaid “is a big mistake” because the federal government and states won’t have the funds to cover it and taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to pay more, said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. “I think it’s going to lead to serious fiscal crisis in Kentucky. It’s going to lead to the necessity for higher taxes or more borrowing because Medicaid is extraordinarily expensive,” Paul told Pure Politics over the weekend while speaking at Republican events in Iowa. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear... Read more 

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie praised Agriculture Commissioner James Comer for his trip to D.C. last week, which he said may have gone a long way toward getting passed federal legislation to allow the growing of industrial hemp. “Because of his visit I picked up two more cosponsors on my bill that would legalize industrial hemp,” said Massie, who represents Kentucky’s 4th congressional district in Northern Kentucky. “We are trying a two pronged approach to provide jobs for farmers in Kentucky and... Read more 

The ACLU of Kentucky is also now going to court to force the Kentucky General Assembly to approve new maps of House and Senate districts using the 2010 U.S. Census figures. The ACLU’s Voting Rights Project on Friday flied a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Frankfort against the Kentucky Board of Elections and secretary of state aimed at forcing action on redistricting. “The General Assembly’s initial failure to adopt lawful maps in 2012, and their failure to enact any... Read more 

RICHMOND — First lady Michelle Obama’s advice to newly-minted graduates at Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday was simple: know who you are and be true to yourself. Obama’s speech revolved around students asking themselves three questions: Who are you going to be? How will you serve others? Who will you include in your life? The first lady encouraged students to seek out people with different opinions and life experiences because she said that is what has always made America great. “Don’t just spend time... Read more 

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell encouraged Murray State University students to value other people’s opinions as a group of students at the university protested the Senate Republican leader being the keynote speaker at Saturday’s commencement. A group of graduates turned their backs to McConnell when he was introduced. Some students opposed the choice to have McConnell as their speaker because of what they say is lack of support for educational issues by the senator. And a few recorded a song opposing... Read more