WooHoo, Goddamit. Ashley Judd to take on the Turtle!

[Jackpine Radical]

The woman is smart (like Phi Beta Kappa & Harvard Masters in Public Administration smart), passionate and committed to liberal causes. I think she can resonate with the Kentucky electorate as one of their own who actually cares about them. She actually understands poor people (of which Kentucky has more than its share), and can communicate with them. She has a track record of on-the-ground humanitarian work in Africa. If the Kentucky Democratic Machine has the guts to nominate her, I don't think the Turtle will know what hit him.

I mean, Jesus fer Chrissake, who would YOU vote for, just based on superficial appearances?

This person


or this one?


Oops--Wrong pic. Here:


http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/16409-focus-report-ashley-judd-to-announce-run-for-senate

Ashley Judd, the 44-year-old actress and social activist, has told key advisers and political figures that she is planning to announce her candidacy for U.S. Senate here this spring.

Judd told one close ally that she plans to announce her run for the Democratic nomination for the 2014 race "around Derby" - meaning in early May when the Kentucky Derby brings national attention to Louisville and the Bluegrass State.

Reached for comment by email Saturday, Judd offered a not-quite-ironclad denial to The Huffington Post. "I am not sure who is saying this stuff, but it is not I! I'd prefer as a fan of your journalism that you stay accurate and credible. We told everyone who called us yesterday these stories are fabrications."

But she declined to specify which "stories," did not say what wasn't "accurate," and did not respond when asked directly whether she had, in fact, decided to run or chosen a time to declare her intentions.

Oh, yeah. She's already in a dead heat with him.

[midnight]

1. K&R She is a thoughtful smart women....

[blueknight]

2. i love ashley,

and will vote for her, but i dont think she can win. she has spoke out so much against coal, it will kill her in a election

[Jackpine Radical]

9. I know about the "coal problem," but so does she,

and I'm betting she wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the ring, let alone throwing her hat in, without having put a lot of thought into exactly how she's going to take that problem on.

If I were her adviser, I'd be putting a lot of people on the ground to dig into attitudes out there & find out just what people are thinking and what sort of messages and Lakoff-style frames of those messages they will respond positively to. Then I would start feeding those messages back to them from various sources before the election. It can be done.

[John2]

24. I think she should stick

to her principles. After looking at her record, I don't think she is just some Hollywood actress that wants to be in politics just for the sake of. She has been very active on issues, especially helping women and against poverty.

I took a look at the coal issue as far as mountain top mining. There are more negatives than positive. She should stick to her arguments against it and educate the people of Kentucky more. she needs to focus on the health problems caused by mountain top coal mining and to my surprise the loss of actual jobs to coal miners with the presence of mountain top coal mining. When they did coal mining the old way, they needed more workers, but machines have made it easier. The problem with that though is blowing off the top of mountains affects the environment and causes more lung cancer and pollution of drinking water. There is an opposition to mountain top coal mining as well as supporters for it. My guess is the main supporters are those companies that can make more profits with less workers. What she needs to do is use her money to get the workers on her side. It is probably one of the reasons they would be against Unions also. The bottom line is Mountain top coal mining has reduced jobs not increased them in Kentucky. The only thing has been increased are probably profits.

[TwilightGardener]

11. That's what I'm thinking, but who knows...

[sheshe2]

3. YES! K&R!

[JaneyVee]

4. Pic 1 has my full support, but I would vote for pic 2 before pic 3 ANYDAY.

[Auntie Bush]

7. +1 lol

[TDale313]

27. Oh, absolutely. Actual turtles are cool. n/t

[Phlem]

5. oh hell yes.

Turtle soup time!

-p

[madokie]

22. I don't think the mitch is the right kind of turtle though

[mtasselin]

6. Run

Run Ashley Run, Please the country needs you, even more Kentucky needs you. I will contribute it won't be much because Michigan just started taxing my retirement benefits. This was done by republican state senate, house and governor what assholes. Run Ashley Run.

[GiveMeFreedom]

8. Oh, how I hope

(Future Senator) Ms. Ashley Judd woops his hide. I would like to have been in the room when the turtle man was told that Ms. Judd was going to run against him. Oh, that would have been delicious, yum, yum. I kick and recommend every (future senator) Ms. Ashley Judd thread I run into on Democratic Underground.

[Coolest Ranger]

10. They are running scared and I'm glad.

I know that state though. His district is EXTREMELY conservative but if she runs on protecting the big 3, standing up to the NRA. she should do okay.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. His DISTRICT isn't at issue. This is a Senate race.

[TheKentuckian]

16. His district is the state and railing for gun control is not a winner even with Democrats not even

particularly in Louisville and Lexington.

The Big Three is sound though. The coal money is the big problem not general politics. The big advantage is McTurtle is not well liked in almost in circles. There are no emotional cult of personality ties, no loyalty to speak of to the person his relationship with even his most consistent base is pretty transactional.

Ashley is far more beloved than Mitch, that is an advantage. Like-ability and image are not throwaways in politics.

[NBachers]

12. Ashley looks like Natalie Wood in that picture. I'll send money

I just watched her with Tommy Lee Jones in Double Jeopardy on Friday



Stolen from: https://twitter.com/HillbillyReport/status/285832898639171584

[nyquil_man]

13. I hope she follows the Franken model and ignores national media.

The race will already have enough national attention because of McConnell.

If she focuses squarely on Kentucky and emphasizes McConnell as a DC fixture who's out of touch, I think she's got a chance.

[Terra Alta]

15. I wish her well, and certainly hope she wins

She's got a tough battle ahead of her, however she is very intelligent and I have faith in her ability to beat the Turtle. Go Ashley go!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

17. The Tortoise and the Fair - this time the tortoise loses

[Little Star]

37. +1

[Andy Stanton]

18. Good for her!!

Contrary to what some are saying, McConnell is not a sure thing. The way to beat an established politician is to be aggressive and have a good, well-funded organization behind you. Also, every time McConnell goes on the attack, Judd has to counterpunch immediately.

It will be tough but she has a chance.

[colsohlibgal]

19. Count On Big Bucks Flowing In The Defeat Her

This won't be easy. Along with all the money spent to beat her, they'll try hard to swift boat her - these people convinced a lot of the public that war evader Dubya was patriotic and that war hero John Kerry was not. Of course that only worked with the help of a lot of pliable not so sharp folks.

She might be tough out for them though, she's very smart, very well spoken, and fiery when it's called for. Plus, and this is big part of the appeal of Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann, she's quite attractive.

I would hope for a formal debate, but I doubt the Turtle and his camp will agree to that, if they do they're dumber than I thought - there would be nothing left of Mitch but his shell after Ashley spit it out.

[Are_grits_groceries]

28. She will have some big bucks too.

And some very big people in Kentucky support her. That's very important, and something she can campaign on.

[DeeDeeNY]

20. That's not a bad picture of McConnell

Oh wait. I was looking at the picture of the actual turtle.

[KoKo]

21. Shame on You...Lord's Name in Vain... K&R

It's really good news...and his wife needs a Lickin' too. So POWERFUL a FAMILY...

Yes...I share your joy...even though I'm razzing you.

GO ASHLEY...Rooting for YOU!

[NewJeffCT]

23. She'll get a lot of attention

but, can she really win as a liberal in a conservative state?

[Left Coast2020]

25. According to Alex Wagner who was on Whiffle-Ball

with Mathews and Howard Fineman, the belief is she can, but only if she can get to debate stage. Yes, it will be a HIGH profile race. Wagner thought it would good for the state to "shake things up a little"--in a state that normally does things traditionally. As for the debates, she apparently would have a good shot on womens issues. Turtle-man would be going backwards if he attacked her on that. Additionally, she has hired polling people and other things you do before running, so the race is on. But Fineman said something about Obama's "people&quot whatever that means) apparently didn't want her to run because she wants to do the ground game like O does. Watch Hardball segment on this and see what you think.

BTW, I should add Turtle-mans poll numbers are not good. Polling at 17% against an unknown candidate has to tell you something. But its in the Hardball/Ed Show segment.

[Warpy]

26. You know the slimy tortoise is going to go nasty from the beginning

I just hope it all backfires on that old fossil and that Kentucky is rid of him except in bars telling folks what a big shot he used to be.

People there deserve better. When they get it from Ms. Judd, maybe they'll see their way clear to get rid of that excrescence Rand Paul next time.

[jpn.best]

29. Campaign Poster suggestion

To turn around GOP strategy for attacking her Hollywood background (a strategy the repugs have already begun)

Show side-by-side pictures of Judd & McConnell on poster with text superimposed "Who (or whom, for the grammatically correct) would you prefer to see in Washington?

[Kath1]

30. Yeah!

Way to go, Ashley! The people of Kentucky and the U.S. deserve better than McConnell.

Ashley is one smart, strong, articulate and progressive woman. Just the kind of person that scares Republicans to death.

This could really be fun.

[Laelth]

31. I wish her well, and I thank her for trying to be a part of the solution. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[dtom67]

32. Mixed feelings....

The above is all true, but I kinda hate the way that becoming a politician seems to weigh on public figures. Like with Al Franken.
It seems like they start out idealistic and then (when elected to national office) they are told how things really work and are just crushed by the idea that it isn't nearly as Democratic as they thought it was. let's face it; we are governed as if we were all idiots-incapable of understanding the "True Nuance" of the issues. Maybe they are right ( present host of erudite bloggers excluded, natch ); it seems that many Americans formulate their political opinions base on TV commercials. I know that sounds insane, but they must work- why else would they spend so much money on them?
Anyways, it just seems that national public office squashes the life outta entertainers.( Christ! look at Reagan; he was dead way before he became President...)

[fadedrose]

33. Wonder if George Clooney will help her

He's also from Kentucky and I think he could handle the female voters, and Ashley shouldn't have any problem with the males. That's settled. It's all set.

Maybe George Clooney could run. He has to be getting bored with just entertaining movie stars.

[Volaris]

34. ahahahahahahahah McConnell is going to have to run sooooooo far to the Right in the Primary...

If she runs, her campaign Mascot should be "a Turtle named Mac." No explaination, no writing or caption, just a picture of the one from the storybook, with THAT LOOK on his poor, downtrodden, stepped-on face...maybe Poor Mac can have a photoshopped Obama button pinned on his shell or something lol...

Yertle the Turtle-King is about to Fall Down.

'Bout time, and good riddence.

[Broken_Hero]

35. I hope she wins.

I just heard her speak for the first time via cspan about two weekends ago, and my impression of her is "amazing" she has such a presence and seems incredibly passionate. I'd vote for her in two shakes of a lambs tail....

[BootinUp]

36. I refuse to get too excited

until she officially announces her run.

[snooper2]

38. MISANDRY!

making fun of the man's looks eh? can't judge him by his actions?

[Jackpine Radical]

39. More like mischelonianism.

[snooper2]

40. um..

Your search - mischelonianism - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
Try different keywords.
Try more general keywords.

[Jackpine Radical]

41. Try Order: Chelonii

Chelonian--relating to Chelonii
mis-chelonian-ism