Craft willing to sacrifice children in quest for power. Trans kids are first. | Opinion

Transgender comment

There is simply not enough blood in Kentucky to satisfy the thirst of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft.

Billionaires like Craft only know one trick—what Kentucky’s Muhammed Ali called the “rope-a-dope.” They come up with ways to get working people to fight with one another while they plunder everything they can reach.

When Craft says in prepared remarks that “under a Craft-Wise administration, we will not have transgenders [sic] in our school system,” she is telling Kentuckians that she is willing to attack even children to gain power. She is signaling that there is nobody she is not willing to sacrifice on her own altar.

Trans youth suffer horrifying rates of homelessness, addiction, and suicide. Few are more vulnerable, and few are at higher risk. For Craft, they’re perfect cannon fodder.

Trans Kentuckians are only in the barrel for as long as Craft needs us to be. When she’s done with us, she’ll find somebody else. Her own running mate, who in 2022 sponsored a bill to erase Black history from Kentucky’s public schools, has already proven it.

Craft will target anybody she needs to. She is building a throne out of skulls. Trans teens are only the first.

Rebecca Blankenship, Berea

Editor’s note - Rebecca Blankenship is Kentucky’s first openly transgender elected official

Jason Glass

Thank God there is one state official of conscience, integrity, and common sense. Jason Glass deserves full public support of the State Board of Education and elected officials who might have some common sense for the good of all Kentucky students.

Jack Wilson, Lexington

Robert Sainte

In the May 16th election, we in the 28th Senate District have a clear choice for a change. There are three candidates running. The Republican and the Independent are virtually indistinguishable, offering only the same disorganization and repression we have seen from the legislature for the last several years - the kind of pushing backwards that makes Kentucky a national laughingstock.

The Democratic candidate is Robert Sainte. I have known Robert Sainte for many years. He is an intelligent man, an innovator in his engineering business in Clark County, and a caring person in his personal life. He embodies the principle that those who have benefited from their abilities should “pay it forward” to make life better for everyone. He is thoughtful, and sees the big picture as well as the fine details that make it come together.

Robert believes that a state senator is sent to Frankfort to represent the interests of all in the district and the state, not just one political party. He will bring honesty, intelligence and integrity to the debates over legislation that affects all our lives.

Take your future seriously. Vote for Robert Sainte for Senate in District 28.

John Rice, Winchester

Neither nor

It seems like all I see on television these days are ads with gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft attacking Kentucky Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron and Cameron attacking Craft. Each indicates that the other is awful and would make a terrible governor.

They’re both right.

Greg Kring, Lexington

Classless Craft

The try-outs for the Frankfort Freak Show are well underway, with the Republicans taking center-stage for now. So far, they have proven that a couple of my late grandmother’s adages still hold true.

She always would say, “You can’t buy class.” Kelly Craft has shown she was right with that one. Craft’s claim of woke schools and school teachers hopefully has earned her the enmity of all teachers and their families.

Another of grandma’s favorite sayings was, “Even duct tape can’t fix stupid.” All of the Republican candidates have helped to prove that saying still holds true to this day.

Tanner Smith, Lexington

Debate synopsis

A Cliff Notes version of the Republican gubernatorial debate would be as follows:

Kelly Craft: “My husband is filthy rich and we are going to buy this office and fire that woke Education Commissioner.”

Daniel Cameron: “Trump loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah.” (Apologies to the Beatles.)

Eric Deters: “I’m a McConnell hating, disbarred attorney who packs a .380 at all times.”

Ryan Quarles: “We should promote soybeans, but I can’t tell you if Biden is a legitimate President.”

Alan Keck: “I’m the only candidate willing to discuss the issues, give straightforward answers, and act like an adult.”

Phillip Johnson, Lexington

Changing values

I’m hearing a lot these days about Kentucky values and our way of life. Since coming here 18 years ago, I think I know what these are — the variety and beauty of nature’s blessings and the generosity and friendliness of the people.

Given that, I’m puzzled by politicians who campaign on “Kentucky Values and Way of Life.” Somehow I can’t connect those attributes with a refusal to condemn hate, chaos and death threats upon public servants. One malcontent even called for executing political opponents. I can’t understand the pride of earning a high rating from the NRA in its hunger for ever more guns, including those which tear apart young bodies. I don’t quite get the clamor for endorsement from one whose moral code begins with “beat the crap out of ‘em.”

I have trouble with “losing our freedoms to government overreach,” while switching a woman’s reproductive healthcare from doctors to politicians; and education from teachers to state legislators. I can’t see a “Way of Life” which listens to TV news that dehumanizes those not white enough or Christian enough.

I don’t get it. Does democracy and truth just not matter as much as the price of eggs?

Ernest Henninger, Lexington

Changing song

The recent opinion published in The Herald Leader, refers to “My Old Kentucky Home” as being “pro slavery.” I found this contention to be completely incorrect. Stephen Collins Foster wrote the song as a sympathetic view of slave life. American abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass remarked it awakens “sympathies for the slave, in which anti-slavery principles take root.”

We Kentuckians are a proud people and the thing that unites us are our roots and association with the state of Kentucky.

Just as the laws of our country have changed to be inclusive of all people, so has our state song. In 1986, the Kentucky General Assembly changed the lyrics, replacing the terms “darky” and “darkies” with the term “people.” Many Kentuckians do not know all the verses of the song. I would invite everyone to take the time to read them. The song is anything but “pro slavery”. Just as we have moved forward, so has the song.

Terry Shelton, East Bend, N.C.

Changing party

I registered Republican in 1972 and I am still registered Republican. It seemed like a reasonable party back then - fiscally conservative, but socially moderate.

Watching the Republican Party now is watching a demolition derby. One wonders what the youth of the U.S. think of the GOP these days? The Wisconsin Supreme Court election of Democrat Janet Protasiewicz should be a harbinger for the GOP.

Let’s look at the youth vote in Wisconsin, a swing state. Youth voting percentages for Protasiewicz ranged from 74 percent to over 90 percent with some precincts having 90 percent youth turn out. She whomped the Republican candidate. The results certainly shocked Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Republican ex-governor. His excuse for the loss was that the youth had been brainwashed.

What the Republican party is about now is banning books, banning abortion and defunding libraries. Why stop there? Why not steal elections or cause the U.S. to default on its debt?

Young voters, like me, probably think my party is Hell Bent to The Dark Ages, not The Enlightenment.

George Weems, Lawrenceburg

Trump endorsements

We have a former president who lost both the electoral and popular vote the last time he ran; ignored laws and traditions while in the White House; and was impeached twice — once, for leading an insurrection to stop the peaceful transition of power. He is currently under indictment, accused of illegal business practices. He recently lost a civil dispute with a woman accused him of defaming her. Why mention all of this? Again? Well, here in Kentucky we have two candidates for the state’s highest office arguing over who he likes best!

Endorsing a run for governor? I wouldn’t let Trump endorse a run-on sentence.

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

Abortion thoughts

There isn’t a woman alive on the planet who is thinking “I will have sex so I can have an abortion.”

We are having the wrong discussion.

Suzanne Zivari, Lexington

Flock cameras

The Herald-Leader has reported on Lexington’s Flock surveillance system at least a half dozen times and parroted the police claims that the cameras have “helped them locate” what seems to me to be an inordinate number of vehicles, missing people, and arrestees. I keep waiting on journalists to do the work of checking out these self-serving claims. Please fact check those who are using authority to take freedom from citizens instead of propping up those who stand to gain from their own propaganda.

J. Evelyn Sill, Nicholasville

Invasive species

I am writing to express my concern regarding the English ivy and Wintercreeper suffocating the trees along Fontaine Road. Often planted as decorative groundcover, homeowners should be aware of the damage these two invasive plants can cause.

The weight burden of the ivy alone can be enormous, leading to weakened branches and even tree collapse. Additionally, English ivy absorbs nutrients from the soil near the tree roots to feed itself, depriving the tree of vital nourishment.

Ivy can host parasitic beetles, retain moisture along the trunk (encouraging rot and decay), and even block sunlight out entirely when left to grow, contributing to the decline and death of trees in the area.

By cutting the vines at the base of the tree and pulling the roots out and away from the trunk, homeowners can clear the infestation and save the tree. This simple and effective solution makes a big difference.

I urge neighbors and homeowners to take action and do their part to clear their ivy. By working together, we can help to preserve the natural beauty of our community and ensure that our native trees and groundcovers continue to thrive for years to come.

Noland Aull, Lexington

Compiled by Liz Carey