Quick question: what's the most important difference between Ernesto Scorsone and Kathy Stein?
Easy. Senator Scorsone is in the minority of the Kentucky Senate so he can do little to advance the liberal agenda. Rep. Stein, on the other hand, can work with her Democratic Party leaders to frustrate conservatives from all across the Commonwealth.
Both liberals have safe seats, but the Democrat advantage in the House was halved in 2004 to seven seats. And that is where things get interesting.
Central Kentucky saw eight Republican challengers face entrenched Democrat House members in the last election. All eight Republicans lost. There are several reasons why Republicans in and around Lexington should do much better next year, but we will get into that later.
For now, we have a new candidate to tell you about. Remember the name Michael Farmer.
Mr. Farmer will be taking on 79th district Rep. Susan Westrom. She was one of twelve Kentucky candidates endorsed by the nutty Dean for America organization last year.
In contrast, Mr. Farmer is a successful attorney, husband, and father of two. He seeks to bring conservative representation to Lexington's 79th district, particularly with regard to education, health care, and government spending issues. As a member of the new Republican majority in 2007, he will be able to support the principles that have been given short shrift by House Democrats for too many years.
Quality candidates like Mr. Farmer give us lots of reasons to be optimistic about the future of Kentucky. Much, much more about him in the months ahead.