Friday, April 27, 2007

This item appears in this week's LEO:

Candidates gone wild
The already-entertaining governor's race took a turn for the hilarious last week. Quasi-democrat Bruce Lunsford had to defend charges of plagiarism when BluegrassReport blogger Mark Nicholas discovered that Lunsford's campaign had copied language verbatim from the platform of Florida candidate Jim Davis. After downplaying the pilfering as inevitable in a world where good ideas are finite, Lunsford then outted foe Steve Beshear for swiping platform language from Iowa governor Chet Culver, which resulted in both campaigns cribbing heavily from the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Denying Wrongdoing in an Election."

Meanwhile, fellow dem and orthopedic surgeon Steve Henry made headlines thanks to a previously undisclosed 2005 malpractice lawsuit. A 22-year-old Finchville woman sued Henry and two other surgeons claiming that Henry damaged her hip during surgery and didn't notice the damage on X-rays, forcing a subsequent hip replacement. The lawsuit comes after Henry's 2003 settlement with the feds over Medicare "misbilling," last year's lawsuit against Henry's wife Heather French Henry for not honoring the terms of a book contract, and a complaint filed by a former campaign worker, charging Henry with financial shenanigans in his current campaign. Proving he's got governor-level chutzpah, Henry's team noted his ability to get doctors and lawyers "together at the same table."

Not to be out-headlined, republican Anne Northup made news by offering to sell yard signs ("fade-resistant finish!") instead of giving them away. Northup's supporters must shell out ten bucks if they want to display a yard sign, a sales campaign that is no doubt more successful in St. Matthews than in Monkey's Eyebrow. The strategy begs several questions: Is Northup so self confident that she believes she doesn't need front-yard marketing? Or is her campaign worried about running out of cash? And will wiseguys who wouldn't normally deface a free NORTHUP/HOOVER yard sign feel free to rearrange the letters on one they bought fair and square to read, say, "PROVEN HURT" or "VOTER PORNO?" Only time will tell.

No comments: