[Update: 08/11/2009 - As you can see, they've pulled down the very funny video that targeted Jack Conway, but not before it got the attention of Kentucky political writers: WHAS-11: Jack Conway's "SOB" comment gets new life on Comedy Central, YouTube and the Louisville Courier-Journal: Online video pokes fun at Conway speech - TV comedian Colbert also lampoons attorney general]

I took a trip to Kentucky last weekend to watch their preeminent political event of the year: Fancy Farm.  The town of Fancy Farm hosts a church picnic that benefits St. Jerome Parish featuring games, bingo, hundreds of yards of bbq mutton and pork, an RV camp, and plenty of political campaigning and speaking.

Politics at Fancy Farm make the Neshoba County Fair look downright polite. From the moment a speaker gets on stage until exiting, opposition campaigns and audience participants heckle and boo and yell. Meanwhile, the candidate is calling his opponents everything but a child of God.  Signs and costumed operatives surround the speaking shed which reserves a large section for the statewide media which never neglect this opportunity that cane make or break a candidate. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a governor or a dog catcher, when you reach your time limit they turn off your mic and crank up banjo music to drown you off the stage.  So it is wise to watch the clock.

We had a great time watching the candidates for U.S. Senate.  Incumbent Republican Jim Bunning has announced he will not seek reelection. Some speculate he made the announcement days before Fancy Farm because in the end, he didn’t want to have to endure the ordeal of speaking there again. But regardless of timing, his decision has been in the making for a while now.  The front-runner on the Republican side is two-term Secretary of State Trey Grayson.  The Democrats have two front-runners: Attorney General Jack Conway and Lieutenant Governor Dan Mongiardo.

I was surprised that Jack Conway took the occasion to cuss at the church picnic. I’m no prude, but when he referred to himself in his speech as one tough SOB, I was puzzled. To me, it seemed to be one of two things.  Either it was a calculated decision to compensate for some perceived softness - he wanted to knock down a negative perception that he was not tough.  Or it was a hasty and erratic choice of words in response to pressure from hecklers. Either way, it did not seem a wise campaign tactic.

Here is an opposition clip - I imagine generated by Mongiardo campaign - as a result, somewhat entertaining.

And, Jack Conway even made the Colbert Report. His segment began around the 5:57 mark and runs to about 7:19.

To add insult to injury, Jack Conway did not watch his time. He was drownded off the stage by Kentucky banjo music. What a way to go.

Tags: Campaign Tactics, Kentucky

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