Conway appears on popular radio show

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July 29, 2010

By RONNIE ELLIS CNHI The Glasgow Daily Times Thu Jul 29, 2010, 12:06 PM CDT

FRANKFORT — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway gives the administration of President Barack Obama a grade of B-minus and said he supports “card check” labor legislation and would have voted for the health care reform bill.

Conway, the state attorney general, told Mandy Connell on her WHAS-84 Radio show Wednesday that Obama “inherited tremendous difficulties” with the economy, high unemployment, two wars and diminished international stature but said he disagreed with the administration in several areas.

The Democrat faces Dr. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican, who never misses an opportunity to link Conway with Obama. Last weekend Paul said Obama’s unpopularity is a primary reason Republicans are expecting a banner year in mid-term elections. Paul’s main issue is federal spending and debt but the Bowling Green eye surgeon is fiercely critical of the health care reform, which he calls “Obamacare” and climate legislation popularly known as “cap and trade.” Connell wasted no time questioning Conway on each.

The candidate said he would’ve voted for the health care bill although “obviously it’s not a perfect bill.” He said he wants to introduce legislation allowing the government to negotiate bulk prices for prescription drugs that he contends would save about $200 billion.

Conway listed five other things he’d support to lower the federal deficit: Medicare fraud units in each state would save about $100 billion; closing off-shore tax loopholes for corporations would save another $130 billion, he said. He supports PayGo, the requirement that spending increases be offset by corresponding spending cuts or new revenue and a bi-partisan “debt commission” to recommend other ways to lower spending and the deficit.

“I’m against cap and trade. It’s an issue for Kentucky for two reasons,” Conway said. “One, it’s an issue for coal. We’re the third-largest coal-producing state and cap and trade does not ensure the long-term viability of coal as an energy resource. And secondly, we enjoy the lowest electricity rates east of the Rocky Mountains.” Those rates, he said, are a reason automobile plants and aluminum smelters are located in Kentucky and the legislation would increase utility rates for families.

He said the Obama administration “over reached” on cap and trade and the Environmental Protection Agency has gone too far in re-writing regulations for mining operations near streams. Conway’s primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, hammered Conway on those issues, claiming Conway originally supported cap and trade and Paul often says Conway “was for cap and trade before he was against it.”

Conway said he supports so-called “card check” proposals for union organizing efforts which opponents claim “takes away the secret ballot.” He said he does so because the issue is to ensure a fair determination whether “50 percent of people want the union” and he’s always supported collective bargaining.

In addition to Obama, Paul likes to link Conway to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Conway dodged Connell’s question about voting for Reid, telling her he can’t say for whom he’d vote for as Leader because Reid faces a tough re-election and he hasn’t met and measured some of the other Democratic senators.

“What I will do is I’ll go up there and cast my ballot for someone I respect, someone I think will be a good leader, someone that will always listen to me as I bring the interest of Kentuckians forward,” Conway said.

Conway said the federal government has failed in its responsibility to control immigration but said allowing individual states to pass immigration legislation would create a confusing “patchwork” of enforcement.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ cnhifrankfort.

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