FANCY FARM, Ky. ― In an afternoon dominated by Republicans, candidates delivered fiery speeches that touched on race, social issues, COVID-19, immigration and the economy in speeches at the annual fall political kick-off in Western Kentucky.
Republican speakers repeatedly referenced hot-button social issues such as COVID-19 policies and transgender children’s rights.
“I believe that it’s wrong to let biological boys compete with girls in women’s sports,” said Ryan Quarles, the state agriculture commissioner running for governor. He also proclaimed “I’m Christian, “I’m pro-life and I’m pro-gun.”
Quarles was among four Republicans vying for governor in 2023 on stage at the event hosted by St. Jerome Catholic parish in Fancy Farm as part of its annual picnic.
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Another, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, had to shout over protesters jeering over his handling of the investigation of the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman fatally shot in 2020 by Louisville Metro Police in a botched drug investigation.
“Say her name, Breonna Taylor!” the protesters shouted throughout Cameron’s speech.
Federal authorities on Thursday announced federal civil rights charges against four Louisville police officers in connection with a search warrant used to burst into Taylor’s home. Cameron’s investigation resulted in only one officer charged for shooting into a neighbor’s apartment, and he was acquitted.
GOP speakers repeatedly mocked the low turnout of Democrats including the absent Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who for the second year in a row, skipped what state Auditor Mike Harmon, a Republican running for governor, called the “Super Bowl of politics.”
“The only people I can’t say ‘hi’ to today are Democrat statewide elected officials,” said state Treasurer Allison Ball. “Where are you guys? Maybe if we’re lucky by next year, by the end of next year there won’t be any Democrat elected officials left.”
Kentucky’s Republican senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul also did not attend, delayed by a Senate vote Saturday in Washington.
Beshear had said he planned to miss Fancy Farm for a trip to Israel but canceled that to stay in Kentucky because of the recent catastrophic floods in eastern Kentucky.
Republicans weren’t having it.
“The governor would literally rather be 6,000 miles away on another continent than at Fancy Farm,” said Secretary of State Michael Adams.
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Republicans also blasted Beshear’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic , which hit Kentucky in 2020 and caused him to order emergency measures such as stopping public gatherings and wearing masks.
“Andy Beshear was the shutdown governor,” Quarles said.
One of only two Democratic candidates on the stage, Charles Booker, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Paul, ripped Paul for staying in Washington.
“Kentuckians show up, so that is why it should be no surprise Rand Paul is nowhere to be found,” Booker said.
Colmon Eldridge, who as Democratic Party chairman was invited to speak in lieu of Beshear, went further in promoting Booker, who is Black.
“Imagine being so scared of a Black guy from the West End of Louisville that you don’t show up for debate,” Eldridge said.
Nor was Eldridge, who also is Black, deterred when his comments drew boos.
“Booing a Black man in Kentucky; you’re booing doesn’t scare me,” he said.
But Kelley Paul, Rand Paul’s wife who was invited to speak in his absence, shot back in his defense, invoking mostly national and social issues against Democratic candidates, describing them as liberals too extreme for Kentucky.
“Maybe it’s time the Democrats went from promising a chicken in every pot to a drag queen in every school,” she said.
And one GOP speaker after another reminded a rowdy crowd that Republicans earlier this year surpassed Democrats as registered voters, starting with emcee David Osborne, Kentucky’s House speaker.
“For the first time in history, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats,” Osborne said to roars of enthusiasm.
As usual, a loud crowd shouted, heckled and jeered throughout the speeches, but it was loudest when Cameron stepped up to speak.
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Cameron had to shout over non-stop chants of “Breonna Taylor, say her name!” throughout his four-minute speech..
Earlier Saturday, Cameron said his office was tasked with investigating possible state charges while the U.S. Justice Department independently investigated for civil rights violations.
“From the very beginning, this has been about our office looking for state violations,” he said.
Taylor’s family has been vocal in criticizing Cameron’s handling of the case.
Savannah Maddox, a Republican/libertarian candidate running for governor, was the only one to turn directly on her GOP opponents, describing herself as the only “mom” on stage who understands Kentuckians.
“These guys?” she said of Cameron, Quarles and Harmon. “They are the least interesting men in politics.”
Saturday’s political speeches marked the 142nd year for the annual parish picnic at St. Jerome in the tiny Western Kentucky town of Fancy Farm.
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Heckling started early and often, even prompting a few catcalls as Owensboro Bishop William Medley opened the event with a prayer.
Medley prayed optimistically that “wisdom direct the discourse.”
“Let charity prevail here today,” he said.
The 2022 event comes as Western Kentucky still struggles to rebuild from last year’s devastating tornadoes and as rescue and recovery continues from record floods in Eastern Kentucky that have taken 37 lives.
Osborne acknowledged that in opening remarks, saying “our hearts are heavy” over the losses. But he said Fancy Farm should go on in the spirit of tradition and support for the event.
Groups supporting various causes ringed the speakers’ pavilion, ranging from those seeking term limits on Congress to both sides on a ballot amendment that would write access to abortion out of the Kentucky constitution.
Members of U.S. Term Limits for Congress were undeterred by the fact they were at an annual political event where most candidates are likely to oppose term limits.
Their best bet is taking their cause to the public rather than trying to persuade politicians, said Aaron Dukette, a regional director.
“It’s like asking for chickens to vote for Colonel Sanders,” Dukette said. “They’re gonna end up on the menu.”
Nearby, supporters and opponents of Constitutional Amendment 2, to ensure Kentucky’s constitution has no right to abortion, were working the crowd from shady spots under the trees.
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Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life, said the Yes for Life political group supporting the measure expects widespread support in Western Kentucky.
During three days in the area, ending at Fancy Farm, Wuchner said people have been “very receptive.”
But at a nearby picnic table, members of Protect Kentucky Access, the group opposing the measure, said they also were picking up support from Democrats and Republicans alike in the heavily red region.
Two Kentucky laws currently under a legal challenge permit abortion only to save the life of the patient or prevent disabling injury with no exceptions for rape, incest or serious fetal anomalies.
“A lot of people from Western Kentucky don’t understand that there are no exceptions,” said Planned Parenthood’s Tamarra Wieder.
Reach reporter Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com or on Twitter @d_yetter.
