What a waste of a Clinton visit | Lexington Herald Leader

With all of Kentucky available, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway picked Lexington to host a Monday rally with Bill Clinton, former White House occupant and current most popular political figure in all the land.

Lexington?

Seriously?

What good can Clinton do Conway in Lexington?

Lexington is the heart of one of the two Kentucky districts represented by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. President Barack Obama won Fayette County in 2008 while getting blitzed by John McCain throughout much of the rest of Kentucky. Although it's non-partisan in nature, both candidates in Lexington's mayoral race have Democratic backgrounds.

Outside of Louisville, Lexington arguably is the safest haven in the state for Conway in his race with Republican/Libertarian/Tea Partier Rand Paul because the Democratic Party faithful in Lexington tend to remain reasonably faithful.

That's more than you can say for Democrats out on the plowed ground of Western Kentucky or in the hills and hollers of Eastern Kentucky. They're prone to sneaking in a few voting-booth trysts with Republican candidates, particularly in elections with a national flavor.

Exhibits A and B are the Republican House members they keep sending back to Washington even though registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in their districts. Exhibit C is Republican Sen. Jim Bunning's narrow re-election victory in 2004, a victory he snatched from the jaws of defeat with the help of votes from Western Kentucky Democrats.

Lexington Democrats who vote for Conway probably would vote for Conway — with or without a drop-in visit by a moderate former Democratic president. But many Democrats in the eastern and western extremes of the state need a reason to remain true to the party. Clinton, who is popular in both regions, could provide that reason — but not at a Lexington rally.

Move the rally to Owensboro. Add Wendell Ford, the former governor and U.S. senator who's a Western Kentucky Democratic legend, to the program. The rally would get media coverage in Owensboro, Paducah, Bowling Green and the region's other media markets — and several members of the Golden Triangle media would show up as well.

More important, though, an Owensboro rally would tell Western Kentucky Democrats they matter to Conway and that he appreciates what a visit from Clinton would mean to them. Such a message might provide just enough positive reinforcement to cause them to forget their synergy with Paul on other issues and let his opposition to farm subsidies be a sufficient reason for remaining true to their party.

Or move the rally to Pikeville. Bring former Gov. Paul Patton onto the stage with Clinton and Conway. It might not have as much media impact as an Owensboro rally. But it would generate a decent amount of regional coverage, and the Golden Triangle media know the way to Pikeville as well as they know the way to Owensboro.

Plus, it would send the same positive message to the region's Democrats, which might be enough to make them forget their own common ground with Paul and let his "accidents happen" attitude on mine safety be the reason to vote for Conway.

A rally in Lexington gets coverage in the Golden Triangle, but little or none in the eastern and western ends of the state. And any message it sends to Democrats in those regions is a negative one — that they don't matter enough to Conway for him to share a visit by one of their icons with them.

Lest anyone think Clinton's schedule dictated the rally location, it didn't. This call was strictly up to Conway and his people, and they didn't make the wisest of choices.

After the Urban County Council tucked tail and ran from a court case that would have determined whether the council and its committees have subpoena power, I expect recipients of any future subpoenas to immediately challenge them in court. And I expect the council will tuck tail and run again if that happens, because a majority of council members are obviously too scared to find out what the courts might say.