Covered at Reason 24/7: Ashley Judd Not Running for Senate in Kentucky

Reason 24/7

Actress Ashley Judd had been considered a possible candidate to run against Republican Mitch Senate Minority Leader McConnell when he's up for re-election in 2014. Not going to happen.

From Politico:

Ashley Judd, the Hollywood movie star and eighth-generation Kentuckian, has decided not to launch a star-studded campaign to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Judd made her announcement via Twitter Wednesday afternoon.

No word yet on whether McConnell will face a primary challenge, though tea party activists seem inclined toward it.

Follow these stories and more at Reason 24/7 and don't forget you can e-mail stories to us at [e-mail] and tweet us at @reason247.

Comments

[AlmightyJB]

Chance to reference the same old movie two days in a row. Ashley Judd was smoking hot in A Time to Kill. Glistening from the water bottle they used to make her look all sweaty from the hot southern night. That blond hair. Damn.

[Hugh Akston]

Dammit! Now we'll never have any legislation introduced as Lefler's Laws.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

and?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Too bad. That would have been an entertaining race. Now, the Turtle will run unopposed.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Are you sure Michael Cera is even old enough to run for office?

[Episiarch]

Don't you...don't you mean Jerry Ferrara?

[widget]

"...eighth-generation Kentuckian..."

So she has Kentucky driver's license and drives around Beverly Hills in a car with a Kentucky license plate. Fkuc if I know, she may very well do that, but I'll call on that. I'll go with first generation Californian.

[John Galt]

Glad but true.

[Episiarch]

She's related to NutraSweet, right? Aren't all Kentuckians blood relatives?

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm pretty sure they're cousin-siblings or something.

[Episiarch]

I suppose the more important question is whether they've had sex or not.

[jesse.in.mb]

Someone should dive into the SF archives. If they've bumped uglies I'm assuming he's mentioned it in his blog.

[Episiarch]

That's the kind of dive you never surface from again.

[widget]

They have all been seedlings of Daniel Boone. He's like Adam is to the rest of us.

[Episiarch]

Asexual reproduction?!? There's no time, man!

[Francisco d Anconia]

Mother AND sister.

[CE]

only by marriage.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

She's a limousine liberal with some especially whacked views on feminism and other counter-cultural issues. My guess is that the KY Dem party talked her out of it.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Actually, the Big Dawg endorsed a different KY female - the current AG iirc -her name is Allison something.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Bill Clinton put his money* on this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.....gan_Grimes

* insert appendage joke here

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Like I said, the Dem party was probably looking for a better candidate.

[A Serious Man]

She has a paper thin record to run on, although she definitely has the right image as a successful, attractive female politician for the Dems 'War on Women' narrative. If she can competently recite the talking points I'd say she might be a formidable opponent for a lackluster incumbent like McConnell.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Maybe in another state, but in KY? I kind of doubt the appeal of some Hollywood feminist harpy outside of maybe Lexington.

[A Serious Man]

No, I meant the Attorney General, Allison Grimes, that the party wants to run.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Ah, gotcha. My bad and I agree.

[Palin's Buttplug]

"State enforced vaginal ultrasound" does not appeal to most women.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Coincidentially enough, "State Enforced Vaginal Ultrasound" is also the name of the alt-indie bluegrass-infused cover band that I will never form.

[jesse.in.mb]

Wow, TIT way to give us hope and take it away.

[CE]

Don't worry, the government database will be automatically deleted after 3 days.

[Xenocles]

Does it seem odd to anyone that there was such outrage over the introduction of that particular requirement considering that it would be a precursor to a far more invasive procedure?

[SIV]

What are you, some kinda unborn baby lover?

[Xenocles]

No, I just hate women. Obviously.

[jesse.in.mb]

Hate them so much you might go to war with them?

[Xenocles]

Well, the moral equivalent of war, anyway.

[Randian]

Does it seem odd to anyone that there was such outrage over the introduction of that particular requirement considering that it would be a precursor to a far more invasive procedure?

It seems like a pretty obvious attempt to dissuade she who would be undergoing the procedure.

[SIV]

It seems like a pretty obvious attempt to dissuade she who would be undergoing the procedure.

It makes for a much cuter baby picture than a post-mortem of the scrape job.

[Xenocles]

I'm not arguing with that point so much as the idea that getting probed is a uniquely outrageous offense. The only reason a woman would encounter that requirement is that she plans to voluntarily lie back and have even bigger instruments put deeper inside her where they will be doing things that carry a much higher potential for harm.

If you want to make the case that all of these laws are unduly burdensome and meant to be nothing more than a deterrent, that seems like solid intellectual ground. But singling out this one particular one as special seems irrational considering the circumstances.

[JW]

But singling out this one particular one as special seems irrational considering the circumstances.

That attitude, and a quarter, will get a you a stern shrieking to at any womens' support group.

[widget]

"A main aspect of the campaign was Grimes' opposition to Johnson's proposal to require photo IDs in order to vote. Grimes argued this would take away voting rights from the homeless among others."

The difference between standing in line to get a photo ID and not voting and standing in line to vote and and not getting a photo ID would be about 0. I don't vote. What I really want is for government apparatchiks to canvas my neighborhood, knock on my door, and deliver me a drivers license with no photo required.

[Ken Shultz]

It's bad enough hearing about what celebrities are doing.

Even worse when we have to hear about what they're NOT doing.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Remember, the GOP demi-god Reagan was a celebrity turned politician.

[Jeff]

Remember how he died almost a decade ago? You are welcome to shut the fuck up about him any time.

[Irish]

Jeff, he can't shut up about Ronald Reagan until the truth comes out. You see, in 1986, Ronald Reagan and Donald Rumsfeld, in an alliance with the lizard people, gave chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein in exchange for a vial of the blood of an Iraqi virgin, which Reagan believed was the secret to eternal life.

If Shrike weren't here, how would I know about such horrible malfeasance?

[Irish]

And? Why not go tell Republicans that?

[CE]

And Al Franken.

[darius404]

And Colbert's sister. Though she hasn't actually won.

[Xenocles]

Also Arnold, Fred Thompson, and Jim Bunning. What's your point?

[Generic Stranger]

Shrike's point is on the top of his head.

[darius404]

And where is that?

[Generic Stranger]

He's called Obama's Buttplug for a reason...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Does leave Franken to continue to reign as the sole celebrity senator? I was really hoping the upper house was going to get more glamorous next term.

[Irish]

OT: Has anyone seen this?

They're making a novelization of the Bible T.V. Show.

Excuse me, I think I'm having a stroke.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Worst idea since Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game

[Apatheist ?_??]

I've played that!

[Generic Stranger]

...doesn't it already exist? I could of sworn its title was something like THE BIBLE or something like that.

[Xenocles]

Sort of like the movie novelization of Starship Troopers, perhaps.

[Randian]

Not only is that a terrible idea, but that is also a terrible review. Why the fuck do people think it's the height of wit to be almost histrionically snarky? It's like Richard Metzger read the Superficial and said MORE COWBELL.

[Irish]

I know exactly what you mean. The internet has bred an entire generation of writers who seem to think that stringing together snide comments is the same thing as wit.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Bards.

[Generic Stranger]

I'd let them play my harp, IYKWIMAITYD...

[Old Man With Candy]

I'm not sure I could make it through a whole song even if they were naked. That is some major dull, pretentious shit.

[SweatingGin]

OT: the BBC was talking about the Cyprus bailout, and that the banks are opening tomorrow. They mentioned that there are shipping containers "said to be full of Euros" in front of the central bank. I haven't been able to find the story on their website.

Banks will open at 12 local time(0600 eastern), until 1800. Then closed for Good Friday and Easter Monday.

What do you think the chances are that the containers have something other than euros in them? Cypriot pound, or drachma, or whatever they had before the euro. Long holiday weekend would be the time to do it. And it keeps you from having the two-tier euro.

[Suthenboy]

I am wondering who the common cypriots think is going to have their bank accounts raided when this money runs out now that they are fresh out of 'the rich'.

When that day comes...and it will come soon...they are going to burn that place to the ground and I am going to laugh myself nearly to death watching it all.

[Francisco d Anconia]

WTF is Easter Monday?

[Heroic Mulatto]

It's an Orthodox thing.

[Generic Stranger]

It's the traditional Easter Hangover holiday.

[jesse.in.mb]

Totally necessary for those orthodox drunks.

[Generic Stranger]

They have to give up wine and probably beer for Lent; that's a lot of catching up to do in one night.

[SIV]

Alcohol, Peeps, Fanny Farmer eggs and hollow chocolate rabbits don't mix well.

[jesse.in.mb]

Way to remind me that Easter is gross.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

I went to an Orthodox Easter once. It involved more vodka than a frat party.

[John C. Randolph]

I'd love to see McConnell replaced, but I want him to lose in the primary. The shit he pulled trying to keep Rand Paul out should be a career-ending mistake.

-jcr

[generic Brand]

Unfortunately I think Rand and he have made up more or less, so I foresee Rand actually endorsing him for future political clout. 🙁

[mad libertarian guy]

I'll just slide this one right here.

The Daily Caller has learned that Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is endorsing Sen. Mitch McConnell for re-election in 2014, ending speculation that Paul would back a tea party challenge to the Senate minority leader.

"Rand Paul has endorsed McConnell," Jesse Benton, McConnell's 2014 campaign manager, told The Daily Caller.

Benton, who has worked for both Rand Paul and his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, is credited by insiders with brokering Paul's support for McConnell.

The move quashes a determined effort by Kentucky Republican Liberty Caucus chairman David Adams, who launched Paul's Senate bid and served as Paul's campaign manager through the 2010 primaries, and other tea party leaders to mount a primary challenge against McConnell.

I like Rand. But backing McConnell shows that either he's made a deal with the devil, or he's trying to make and keep a very powerful figure in the Senate as an ally. McConnell knows how to read the political wind; you can't be in Congress as long as he has without that ability. And he's a statist fucker. But if he can support liberty in any capacity by supporting Paul, Paul might be able to get some things done. His dad never had that support. Perhaps Rand can game the system enough to use a few people to the advantage of liberty.

[A Serious Man]

I don't see why that's a bad thing. Rand has McConnell by the balls. He needs Tea Party support to win and so Rand is in a very powerful position to back him in exchange for favors and support for his goals.

[JW]

I feel that this is as good a place as any to remind everyone that I've been in McConnell's bedroom, several times.

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

Details! Details! Was his wife there? What was she wearing?

[Francisco d Anconia]

Watching the History Channel. Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

FDR. What a fucking pig!

[CE]

In other breaking news of non-candidates not running, Gary Busey is not running for Senate in California. And neither am I.

[Suthenboy]

I would like to formally announce that I am not running for Senate in Louisiana.

I say again, I am NOT running.

More announcements to follow.

[CE]

Reason will monitor the story.

[SIV]

We know to blame when Mary Landrieu gets reelected.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I am NOT, I repeat NOT, running for Senate in Montana. (Although, I'd be a significant improvement.)

[Xenocles]

PB told us that Jon Tester was the most libertarian guy alive or something. Are you saying that's not the case?

[darius404]

No no, his Lord Emperor Obama is the Pluggertarian Supreme.

[Anonymous Coward]

You would likely be an improvement over Max Baucus. I imagine any of the fine cattle of Montana would be an improvement over Max Baucus.

[darius404]

I know you were all deeply anticipating my House run, but I'm afraid I will have to disappoint.

I will not be running for the House, despite finally being of age to render unto the Emperor what he was warned about those many years ago.

[Coeus]

OT: International VAWA.

Congress finally passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in February, despite massive opposition from House Republicans; and President Obama signed it into law in March. But the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) has yet to be passed. It is expected to be re-introduced in Congress in the next couple of weeks. But will it pass? And what does it do? To find out I called into a phone conference with three women working to raise awareness about I-VAWA: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, who is helping spearhead passage of the bill, Ruth Messinger, President of the American Jewish World Service, and Rupsa Mallik, of CREA, a feminist human rights organization in New Delhi, India, which works to advance the rights of women and girls and the sexuality and reproductive rights of all people.

And not a single one of them addressed that question. That's probably not a good sign. I'm thinking massive porkulus combined with mandatory castration.

[Guy Laguy]

Monsanto Teams Up with Congress to Shred the Constitution

[General Butt Naked]

In this hidden backroom deal, Senator Mikulski turned her back on consumer, environmental, and farmer protection in favor of corporate welfare for biotech companies such as Monsanto. This abuse of power is not the kind of leadership the public has come to expect from Senator Mikulski or the Democrat Majority in the Senate.

Oh man, that's a hoot.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Yeah, there was a superfluous "not."

[wakeup]

Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state's gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas.

And he may have legislative support to do it. Freshman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is carrying a bill that would establish the Texas Bullion Depository, a secure state-based bank to house $1 billion worth of gold bars owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Co., or UTIMCO, and stored by the Federal Reserve.

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

Are you tellin' me our Texas gold has been in the hands of Yankee profiteers this whole time?

I'm so angry I could shoot a carpetbagger!

[SumpTump]

OK wow, I like the sound of this, for sure.

http://www.GoneAnon.tk