GOP Sen. Jim Bunning may be headed for defeat By: jannelsen · Section: Election 2004
REDSTATE
In the Kentucky Senate race, incumbent Republican Jim Bunning, the 72-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher, has been behaving oddly, and his Democrat opponent is closing in the polls. A formerly solid GOP seat now faces a serious threat of going to the Democrats.
Play ball. And read on.
Posted On: Oct 15th, 2004: 18:28:25, Not Rated
The fact recent developments have broken into the national media tells you there's something bad happening. Today's Washington Post highlights the problems Bunning now faces:
Just a few weeks ago, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) looked like a lock for reelection, with a huge lead in the polls over his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo. But then Bunning started behaving . . . oddly.
The one-term incumbent (and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher) has stalked out of a news interview, compared his dark-complexioned opponent to one of Saddam Hussein's sons, and accused Mongiardo or a member of his campaign staff of roughing up Bunning's wife at an event over the summer -- an accusation Mongiardo's staff calls "sad and untrue." Bunning has also beefed up his security detail, telling a Paducah TV station, "There may be strangers among us."
On Monday, Bunning declined to show up in Kentucky, as agreed, for a debate with Mongiardo. Instead, he beamed in via satellite from the Republican National Committee's TV studio in Washington and refused to let a neutral observer monitor his participation. Bunning's campaign manager, David Young, later acknowledged that Bunning had read his opening and closing statements off a teleprompter. Mongiardo's campaign said that violated the debate's rules.
All of which has prompted two things: a competitive Senate race in Kentucky and questions about Bunning.
The thrust of the Democratic attack is Bunning is beginning to suffer from senile dementia, or at least deteriorating into irredeemable crankiness. And newspapers are giving the argument credence. The Louisville Courier-Journal intimated darkly in a Thursday editorial that Bunning was simply not fit to serve.
And as his wild statements mount and he increasingly isolates himself, small things take on great significance. For example, Sen. Bunning broke the rules and read from a teleprompter during his so-called "debate" with Dr. Mongiardo. Was that simply because he thought he could get away with it, since he was ensconced in a remote location in Washington? Or did he need to read his opening and closing statements to avoid stumbling into another gaffe?
There is, of course, an easy way for Sen. Bunning to end what has become national speculation about his fitness. He could call press conferences throughout the state, stand before the public and say, "Here I am. Ask me questions. You'll see how fit I am."
Successful, reasonable public interaction would be far more reassuring than statements from doctors that his blood pressure and cholesterol are OK.
That, of course, is important information. This time, however, the concern isn't about physical health.
Bunning is fighting back, most notably in an editorial board interview Thursday with The Kentucky Post, the sister publication of The Cincinnati Post. Bunning rebuted the conspiracy theories that after winning election, he would serve a reasonable time and then retire for health reasons, allowing the Republican governor to appoint his successor. Dems started that rumour earlier before then previous Democrat Gov. Paul Patton blew up, Bunning argues.
Bunning said he believes the rumors can be traced to Mongiardo's campaign, noting that the rumors began during the 1999 re-election campaign of then-Gov. Paul Patton, viewed as a likely 2004 senatorial candidate until his political career was derailed by a sex scandal.
Kim Geveden, Mongiardo's campaign manager, also managed Patton's 1999 campaign.
"They started the rumors when it looked like Patton was going to run," Bunning told The Post's editorial board Thursday.
"They spread rumors that I was senile, that I had a terminal illness. It's the big lie. They hoped that by repeating it often enough, people would start to believe it. But there's absolutely nothing to it." During his meeting with The Post, Bunning released a medical report from his doctor giving him a clean bill of health.
Three things may save Bunning. First, he's always been irascible, an often unpleasant legislator with little respect for the unctious side of politicking. So his recent behavior, while notable, is keeping with character.
Second, his campaign is loaded.
U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning finished the September fund-raising period with more than $6.3 million raised and almost $3.3 million in the bank, his campaign announced Thursday.
The amount raised is the most ever in a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, beating the $5.9 million Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell raised during the 2002 election.
State Sen. Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, the Hazard Democrat running against Bunning, will likely report his fund-raising today, a campaign spokesman said Thursday.
But Mongiardo is not expected to be even close to Bunning, a Southgate Republican, in campaign contributions. Mongiardo had raised less than $1 million in the last reporting period.
And third, HE'S JIM BUNNING. The guy who threw no-hitters in both the American League and the National League.
Republicans should be worried, but in the end, he pulls it out. With no relief pitcher required. |
