Published: February 08, 2010 08:21 pm      

Paul says he wasn't invited to Pulaski GOP shindig

Somerset — Was a prominent U.S. Senate candidate in Kentucky snubbed by the local Republican Party? As is the case with most things political, it all depends on who you’re talking to at the moment.

The proverbial pot was stirred by a blog posted Monday on the Web site for WHAS 11 News out of Louisville. In it, newsman Joe Arnold suggested that Rand Paul of Bowling Green, a challenger for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jim Bunning — who decided not to seek re-election in 2010 — was effectively shunned by the organizers of the Pulaski County Lincoln Day Dinner.

Paul’s camp says he wasn’t on the guest list. Chris Girdler, chairman over the Lincoln banquet, says that Paul was, in fact, invited.

The Lincoln Day dinner, named for President Abraham Lincoln, is an annual event held for members of the local Republican Party, and took place Friday in the Pulaski County High School cafeteria. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, the Somerset native in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the keynote speaker for the evening, and Kentucky’s Secretary of State Trey Grayson — a regular at Lincoln Club banquets here over the years, and Paul’s rival in the ongoing race for Bunning’s Senate Seat — was also in attendance and spoke to the crowd gathered for this election year’s meal.

Paul did not attend. According to Arnold’s blog on whas11.com, “Paul was not invited to speak by the Pulaski County GOP after a speech at the Pulaski GOP picnic last fall, at which Paul railed against incumbent Congressman, calling them ‘people (who) trade their votes to get pork barrel projects for their district.’”

Arnold states that Rogers — who has drawn criticism from some political corners over alleged “pork barrel” spending in his three decades in office, even being called “Prince of Pork” by the Lexington Herald Leader — was “reportedly upset by Paul’s insinuations.”

Arnold added that Paul’s campaign manager David Adams “confirms the snub by the Pulaski County GOP, and a connection to the speech last fall. Adams appeared at the Pulaski County dinner, while Paul — trailed by CNN cameras — spoke in Spencer County.”

But is that really the case? Does Paul’s camp feel they were snubbed? Did local Republicans freeze out Grayson’s competition (other Republican candidates include Job J. Scribner, Gurley Martin, Bill Johnson, and John Stephenson)?

Adams told the Commonwealth Journal that Paul was indeed invited — but that Arnold may have “been making a connection that wasn’t there,” in regards to Rogers being offended by Paul’s comments last October.

“That’s certainly not a charge that I was making,” said Adams. “It’s true that Rand Paul was not invited to speak at the Pulaski County dinner, and it’s true that Trey Grayson was there and was allowed to speak. As for the exact cause for that, I can’t speculate. I just don’t know.”

Local GOP chairman Cloyd Bumgardner told the Commonwealth Journal on behalf of Girdler — who works in Rogers’ local office and was on the road with the Congressman Monday but spoke to Bumgardner — that “every candidate” was invited to attend the Lincoln Day Dinner, specifically naming Grayson, Paul and Johnson.

So why did Adams say Paul wasn’t told he could come Friday? Bumgardner said the invitation was made to Christi Gillespie, a former campaign manager for Paul who resigned on December 31, 2009. Bumgardner suggested there must have been a miscommunication, and that Gillespie apparently didn’t pass the invitation along.

Bumgardner wasn’t sure exactly when the invitation was made, but said it “had to have been pretty recently.”

Adams called the explanation involving Gillespie “ridiculous,” suggesting that even if she left, Girdler or someone else locally still could have contacted him.

“I’m the easiest person in the world to get a hold of,” he said. “... That doesn’t make sense.”

Bumgardner said that “as far as (he’s) concerned,” Rogers was the keynote speaker, and none of the Senate candidates were “featured speakers.”

“The way I understood the blog, the way it was phrased, Rand Paul was not welcome, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s not the case,” said Bumgardner.

He added that he doesn’t think there’s any ill will between Rogers and Paul. “I don’t know why there would be,” said Bumgardner. “Paul has never even held office, and the Congressman (Rogers) is very highly regarded, so I don’t think (that’s the case).”

Adams isn’t sure whether Rogers was offended by Paul’s statements or not. “I haven’t spoken to Hal directly (about it),” said Adams. “I said hello to Hal once in the last few months and it didn’t come up.”

T.W. Todd, Pulaski’s property valuation administrator, is a Paul supporter. He told the Commonwealth Journal he is unaware about a schism between Paul and Rogers, and figured that Paul attended the Spencer County dinner Friday night just because it was closer to a major media center in Louisville, even though, as Arnold noted, Republicans in Pulaski outnumber those in Spencer 28,137 to 4,427.

“I’d not heard about any bad blood,” he said. “I just thought (Paul) was going to be in Louisville so he wouldn’t stray that far from the CNN cameras.

“I certainly have no bad blood with Congressman Rogers,” he added. “Rand Paul will be in Pulaski County soon, and I expect (Rogers) to support Rand Paul after the primary (election in May).”

Had Paul received the invitation which local officials say was sent, would have attended the Pulaski County event? Absolutely, said Adams.

“We’ve done double duty many times,” said Adams, suggesting that Paul would have tried to make it to both Pulaski and Spencer counties that evening, a two-and-a-half hour drive. “The very next night (Saturday), (Paul) had two different events that started at the same time and he made both of them. He was the first speaker at one of them and the last speaker at the other one.”

Adams said that Paul has “a lot of support” here and is “excited about working with the people of Pulaski County” should he succeed in the 2010 campaign. Adams simply doesn’t feel the same amount of love from Pulaski’s GOP officials.

“If (Paul was) not specially excluded from the (Friday) event, he would have been there,” said Adams. “We’ve campaigned hard (in Pulaski), we just don’t hold much sway among the leadership there.”