What are they really saying?
Political double-speak is always a fun topic the story by Joe Gerth in the Courier Journal has some choice examples.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Miller has raised nearly $600,000 in the two months since he announced his candidacy, his campaign reported yesterday.
If the democratic primary were a game of Texas Holdem, the kid with the long side-burns just shoved a big stack of chips on the table. Glared at the other guys and said “Do you really want to play?”
Looking around the table at the faces of the other players tells us a lot about the hands they have been dealt.
The guy in the $5,000 Armani suit looks back and says “I’ve got more chips than the kid will ever have.”
Tait Sye, a spokesman for businessman Bruce Lunsford, didn't return a call. Lunsford has said he jump-started his campaign by writing a $2 million check.
Of course the last time this empty suit was in a big game he lost his nerve and ran away from the table crying like a baby, so maybe the number of chips he has doesn’t really count.
The balding guy next to him, the one with the cute chick behind him, is thinking to himself, “The SOB actually shoved the chips on the table. I didn’t really think he would do it. He is really serious about this game.”
Former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry said he plans to release the information within a couple of weeks. He suspected that Miller was releasing the totals in an effort to get a political edge.
“Guess I’ll have to get some more chips before I call his hand.”
Then there are the other two big players who just realized that they don’t have enough chips to play in this game, but are trying to fool everyone into thinking they have a chance to win. The thoughts of, "Stick a fork in me, I'm done," must have occurred in two places at he same time.
Jim Cauley, campaign manager for former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear, and Travis Lowe, campaign manager for House Speaker Jody Richards, said they would not disclose until the April 20 deadline.
And finally we have the two guys that didn’t have any chips to start with and are here just for the fun of the game.
Lexington lawyer Gatewood Galbraith said he has raised "several thousand" dollars and just started running radio ads asking for more contributions.
Harlan excavation contractor Otis Hensley said his campaign hasn't raised any money.
You have to love Texas Holdem and political double-speak
