As someone who, in his earlier life, spent a few years training thoroughbred race horses (at a small 2nd rate track) I have a real affinity for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky itself.  Kentucky is the home of the great horses in the history of racing and is called the “bluegrass state” presumbably because the bluegrass in Kentucky is the best food for young growing horses.  History would seem to validate that as almost every great horse has been bred in Kentucky.  That being said, and me having a profound interest in politics, how in the world did all those fine horse people in Kentucky end up sending Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning to the United States Senate?

I was watching the derby today (and wishing I’d gone to an off-track site to place my bet on Calvin Borel) as the thoughts raced through my mind about the contradictions I see coming from that great state.  I guess, to be frank (and I hate to always come to this conclusion), many people in Kentucky still haven’t gotten over the idea that Blacks are equal members of our society.  I really can’t figure out any other reason why McConnell (he is the leader of the “party of No” in the senate) continues his efforts to BLOCK every intiative proposed by Barack Obama and the democrats.  Is regaining “power” so important to these people that they’re willing to risk the very future of this nation in order to do so?  And, the people of Kentucky – are they really that happy with the results from the previous 30+ years of supply side republican economics which has left the horse breeding industry that is the face of their state on the brink of collapse?  I continue to wonder in amazement as good people keep voting against their own best interest – I mean, even people who don’t pay much attention to politics should recognize that the economic devastation we’re experiencing is the result of the republicans who are led by McConnell!  (who, by the way is CONTINUING to PROPOSE the same kind of tax cutting nonsense which got us into this mess in the first place)

Yes, there was a “full house” of fans at the derby wagering in a mostly futile attempt at identifying the best three year old thoroughbred in the world – it really is an astonishing feat to win that race – but, reports are that many of the traditional farms where the horses are bred either have for sale signs hanging at their entrance or they’re “pocket listings” for the upscale real estate agents in an attempt to keep the reality the farm is for sale from the people who are working there or planning to send their mares to that particular farm for breeding.  Fees for the greatest stud horses in the world are plummeting, and prices received for the top of the line yearlings and two year olds are also plummeting.  No one should be too surprised by all of this because we are still, as a nation, trying to recover from the disaster called the BUSH ADMINISTRATION which did everything it could to be called the HOOVER ADMINISTRATION reincarnated.

It was the Wall Street banks who, through reckless gambling with other people’s money, created a calamity of enormous gravity in an atmosphere of lax oversight which began 30 years ago with the election of Ronald Reagan – still the “god” of today’s republicans looking for anything to “hang their hats” on – and it culminated with George W Bush/Dick Cheney who were so determined to cram their theory of the “unitary executive” down our collective throats – with the TOTAL COMPLICITY of the republicans led by the likes of McConnell and, to a much lessor extent, Bunning – that oversight of any large corporation was looked upon as republican heresy.  The large corporate “masters,” according to these republicans, “know best what to do with our money.”  What their “brilliance” has ended up producing is an economy which is driven by a financial sector that thrives on both making money and losing money.  That’s what they produce – financial wins and losses – AND THAT’S IT!  They don’t make anything that anyone can use.  (in fact, the recent civil suit against Goldman Sachs alleges they were selling “toxic” investments to unsuspecting investors who had no idea the AAA ratings were the result of collusion, while helping other investors harvest BILLIONS betting against the same investment!  Golman harvesting HUGE gains from both sides of the transaction.  And, who’s leading the charge to defend these guys?  Yep, you guessed it, McConnell)

And, despite the accusations from the “right” that the financial collapse was caused by “Fanny and Freddie,” and the claims that those two institutions were in cahoots with democrats (this claim despite John McCain’s campaign manager Ric Davis having received $15,000 per month over a period of more than two years for DOING NOTHING – except giving the banks access to McCain), the more that comes out about the collapse, the worse it looks for the big Wall Street banks, the Bush administration, and the republicans in general.  And, Kentuckians who are arguably experiencing an above the average surge of unemployment and loss of income, are stuck watching the republican senators from their state continually on the tube blocking every initiative the democrats are proposing in an attempt to get Kentuckians back to work (and the rest of America as well) – and, hopefully to reinvigorate the horse industry which is a major landmark of that state.  I have not had the pleasure of visiting some of the historic farms, like Claiborne, Calumet, or Gainseway, but from afar I view them as some of the most pristine landmarks of this great land.

Speaking of the unemployment problem in Kentucky (and across this country) that is where Bunning comes in.  Usually, we get his publicity from footage of him sleeping through committee meetings or being chastised by his own party who finally convinced him not to run for re-election.  But, he evidently didn’t take that too personally, because he was the “sacrificial lamb” of the republican party recently when he “objected” to a “unanimous concent” request in the senate which would have extended unemployment benefits to many of the long term unemployed in his state, Kentucky, and the rest of the nation.  The man who voted for both of the Bush tax cuts which bludgeoned the budget surplus left behind by Bill Clinton leading to the record deficits (tax cuts benefitting mostly the ones who didn’t need them), and supported both military fiascos which were paid for TOTALLY by borrowed funds was evidently all of a sudden worried about the deficit.  Talk about disengenuous on steroids!  Jim Bunning could have been remembered as a great former baseball pitcher, but most Americans will remember him as the senator who allowed himself to be USED by the “party of No” to create more havoc for the unfortunate middle class Americans who are fighting to save their homes through unemployment benefits as they attempt to find their way back into the workforce.  Tonight I was talking to a friend of mine who was a “devout” republican until he lost his job almost two years ago. He can’t even get an interview – and, he’s got almost 30 years experience as a purchasing agent for a major corporation.  He told me he’s so thankful that President Obama won the last election saying, “If the republicans had won I would have lost my home by now and would be homeless.”  (I didn’t tell him that he wouldn’t be homeless – because we have extra room in our home – but, I think you get the idea here)

As I watched the spectacle of the derby I couldn’t help but think about the contradiction between the great history of Churchill Downs and the great farms that have produced the greatest horses the world has known.  The sheiks from the middle east come to Keeneland to buy their racing stock.  People from all over the world know of Kentucky and the derby.  Yet, apparently the mindset of the people there hasn’t kept up with the changing world we live in.  How else can you explain two senators like McConnell and Bunning?  When I try to get my mind around what McConnell is doing as the leader of the “party of No” I have to guess that he feels secure in his “seat” in the senate.  I don’t know how else to explain this.  I know someone from out west who was acting like him wouldn’t last one more election in office – even without the attitude to purge incumbents.  This voting NO on EVERYTHING is new in American history.  Knowing that Rush Limbaugh is the defacto leader of the republicans (there isn’t a republican politician in America who DARES to cross Rush), and that his mission is for President Obama to FAIL, I can only conjecture that McConnell and Bunning (and the rest of the republicans) are just doing what they’re told.   Honestly, as I listened to “My Old Kentucky Home” during the derby’s post parade, knowing Mitch McConnell was the representative of those people took some of the joy out of the song.