Beshear is the leader Kentucky needs to get through the pandemic
“Does it feel weird?”
This was the question posed in a Facebook chat amongst my progressive friends after we heard Andy Beshear was voted the top-rated governor in the country by a recent U.S. News and World Report poll.
I reflected for a bit on this question.
The previous governor’s tenure consistently landed at the bottom of national gubernatorial approval rankings. He made national news for all the wrong reasons, plaguing Kentuckians with his childish behavior.
He pardoned child sex offenders who happened to be the children of his political donors.
He called teachers thugs when they defended their pensions. He “guaranteed” that children were being sexually abused and trying drugs for the first time when teachers took a day to exercise their rights to peacefully protest in Frankfort.
He told public schools “we’re going soft,” when they called off school during -20 degree wind chills, provoking Al Roker to call him a “nitwit” on national TV. The list goes on.
So while it’s certainly refreshing not to be embarrassed by the governor, it doesn’t feel weird.
It feels like a return to normalcy, as much as anyone can feel normal in our current world. It feels like a return to common sense and decency. It is relief at watching our Governor reflect the strengths we hope to find in all our political leaders: guidance, comfort, reassurance, and a belief that together, Kentuckians can accomplish anything.
The last governor was an aberration.
Governor Beshear has restored the pride Kentuckians deserve to have in their top elected official. We have zero use for leaders who blame everyone but themselves for Kentucky’s problems.
COVID-19 isn’t Governor Beshear’s fault, but he owns Kentucky’s response to it. He has been proactive with his actions to curb the spread and doesn’t back down from the unpopular decisions he has to make to steer us through it. He has acknowledged some of the steps he’s had to take are going to harm Kentuckians in the short-term. He explains why they are necessary and how they will ensure our health care facilities remain operational and save the lives of Kentuckians.
The governor is ushering the Commonwealth through this pandemic with the goal of seeing us safe and healthy on the other side. The buck stops with him, as it should.
Andy Beshear has spoken to national media outlets including CNN and PBS News Hour about the early, aggressive, and seemingly effective measures Kentucky has taken to flatten the curve. The Wall Street Journal gave a nod to the social media mania that has grown around the Governor’s daily 5:00 p.m. press conference, “The New Cocktail Hour” being the headline.
It’s refreshing to see a Kentucky leader make the national news for his ability to lead and inspire his constituents while tackling a public health threat none of us have seen before.
Full disclosure, I wasn’t Team Andy from the beginning. I thought the same thing so many of us thought: he’s not charismatic enough, we don’t like political dynasties, he’s not as progressive as we’d like, but he has the best chance at beating Matt Bevin.
I’m here to tell you, I was wrong. He is absolutely the leader we need to shepherd us through this pandemic. Strong, reassuring, honest, and comforting, he is there for us every afternoon walking us through the good and the bad, preparing us for the dark days to come, but with hope that we will all get through this together, as Kentuckians.
I hope that whoever wins the next governor’s election, regardless of party, will fight for Kentuckians the way Andy Beshear is. Kentucky deserves it.
Shelley Roberts Bendall is a writer living in Lexington.