Beshear's True Interest By John Shindlebower

In 1897, Mark Twain, following a number of reports about his failing health and even rumors of his death circulating in the media, quipped that “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell can probably relate to Twain’s reaction after rumors went wild on-line about his health, with some suggesting he was unconscious, was showing no brain-activity, and some reports saying he was even dead. Unlike Twain, who lived well before the age of instant communication, McConnell and his staff contributed largely to the erroneous reports by their silence and lack of transparency. They deserve criticism for that.

However, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has used the Senator’s June medical episode, which reportedly was a fall at his home and an onset of pneumonia while he was recovering in the hospital, to politicize McConnell’s month-long health-related sabbatical, suggesting Kentucky voters deserve a public official to be on the job and laser-focused on the task of representing his constituents.

It’s a fair criticism. While McConnell’s career spanning over 40 years has produced a stellar record of showing up for votes (before his hospitalization, McConnell had been on the floor to cast votes 98.5 percent of the time. That’s over 14,000 votes he’s cast since taking office in 1985. However, he’s missed a number of crucial votes this month and the question warrants asking – how soon will he be able to return to the floor to cast a vote? I’ve said previously that McConnell should have retired at least one term ago, as should most elected octogenarians.

I’m not sure however, that Beshear should be the one questioning McConnell’s focus on constituents. For more than a year, Beshear has been seeking to make headlines nationally while hoping to emerge as a serious contender to win the Democratic nomination for President in 2028. Much of his recent activity seems to be aimed more towards political ambition than it does serving the people of Kentucky.

Beshear spends much of his time creating shallow, self-serving social media content. Short films featuring his wife, his family and even his dog are uploaded to various platforms regularly. It’s all geared to create an image and market his brand as a political “Mr. Rogers” who exudes compassion, tolerance, kindness and empathy. Some of it is quite cringy, some of it reeks of arrogance and narcissism and some of it is just plain silly. All of it is calculated dishonesty.

In addition, he spends a good amount of time on his weekly “Andy Beshear Podcast” where he pretends to promote civil dialogue and discussion, but usually evolves into vilifying anything related to Trump or conservatives. Of course, many episodes include him learning the latest slang and hip lingo from young people, so I guess he may claim his program is somehow educational.

Beshear is now also hawking a new book, which in recent decades has been a tell-tale sign that someone is about to run for president. Beshear’s book is a pseudo-theological tome in which he misuses Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan to push for expensive social-justice programs while railing against people of faith who read God’s Word and understand the that all human life is sacred, including the unborn, and that God’s design for marriage should never be perverted. Last week, Beshear announced that he was currently in studio recording the audio-version of his new book.

He takes a break from his self-promotion tasks to provide unsolicited commentary on national issues. Just this week, he filmed himself criticizing ICE agents in Maine who dared to defend themselves against violent obstructionists who were using vehicles as weapons. On Thursday, Beshear responded to Trump’s speech regarding election integrity hours before Trump even took to the podium. Beshear, without evidence, claimed Trump was lying. Then Trump announced the declassification of records and information that raises serious questions about the security of our vote. Beshear does not think Americans should ask such questions.

Is Andy Beshear really focused on Kentucky, or is his mind and imagination elsewhere?

While one would think that running a state is a full-time job, Andy finds a considerable amount of time to do national media interviews. He’s become a fixture on many left-leaning news channels. He’s also taken on a new role as the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and has spent a significant amount of time campaigning and fundraising for various Democrat candidates across the country.

Of course, he’s campaigning for local officials as well, including judges, which resulted in a rebuke of sorts by the Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee, who advised Beshear that raising money for judicial candidates might cross some ethical lines.

And let’s not forget one of Beshear’s favorite side-gigs – meteorologist-in-chief. Before Andy, one had to rely on a plethora of television weather gurus, instant access via cell-phone or those radio weather reports that air every 15 minutes to learn about the potential of rain or snow. But now, we can count on Andy donning his favorite blue storm preparedness jacket and putting out videos and social media posts warning Kentuckians of impending atmospheric apocalyptic scenarios as though no such information is available anywhere else.

Every Kentuckian should want to know the truth about Senator McConnell’s ability to continue in his role as U.S. Senator. We deserve to know if the 84-year-old McConnell is healthy enough, aware enough and cogent enough to serve the people of the Commonwealth.

But a Governor who seems much more infatuated with his own political ambition, who seems arrogantly focused on creating his own brand and who is increasingly speaking out more on national and international issues than those impacting us here in the Bluegrass deserves scrutiny as well.

Even in his diminished state, I’m not sure McConnell is any less focused on Kentucky today than Beshear. We deserve better from both.