GOP Governor Recruits Pat Boone to Make Homophobic Robo-Calls Smearing Opponent

Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2007.

This post, written by Pam Spaulding, originally appeared on Pam's House Blend

Man, when the GOP gets behind in the polls, out comes the homo strawman. Governor (and ordained minister) Ernie Fletcher, running for re-election in Kentucky, is trailing Dem challenger Steve Beshear by a large margin -- 59% to Fletcher's 39%

Ernie decided to recruit the talents of Pat Boone to record a robo call that screams desperation. (TPM):

The state GOP is now sending a robo-call throughout the state featuring none other than Pat Boone, warning that as a Christian he is concerned that Democratic nominee Steve Beshear, who has been way ahead in the polls, will work for "every homosexual cause." "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?" Boone asks. "Please re-elect Ernie Fletcher."

Not to be topped, look at this:

Then, last night, Fletcher's lieutenant governor candidate Robbie Rudolph echoed that to a crowd of more than 200 GOP faithful in Lexington. "Do you want a couple of San Francisco treats or do you want a governor?" he asked. Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, called it Rudolph's "Rice-a-Roni speech" - referring to its famous jingle.

Beshear's campaign dismissed it as a last minute ploy "to divert voter attention from the issues of honesty and integrity in state government."

Also, a couple of weeks ago I blogged about what has to be one of the lamest attempts to gay-bait ever recorded -- and it was yet again, Ernie Fletcher. He said Beshear -- gasp -- received a campaign donation from two men who identified themselves as a couple on the campaign contribution list. (365gay):

"Beshear signed his name to the document under the penalty of perjury, swearing that he believed the contents of the report were accurate," the Fletcher campaign charged in a press release.

When the Courier-Journal newspaper confronted the campaign with the list showing that a Beshear staffer not the candidate had signed it Fletcher's people refused to back off.

"Stating on his report that one male is the spouse of another runs contrary to the law of Kentucky," Fletcher spokesperson Jason Keller told the paper.

"Without question he violated the constitution. The document is his responsibility."

...Even some state Republicans have winced at Fletcher's suggestions with one saying it would appear the governor is "grasping at straws".

The audio is here, via Good As You. Mike Rogers at PageOneQ got this answer from the Kentucky GOP:

Andi Johnson, Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson, told PageOneQ that the ad was produced and paid for by the Kentucky GOP. When asked if she thought the ad was a way to, as President Bush has made a goal, "unite rather than divide" the country, Johnson explained that she would "need to speak to the party chairman before answering any more questions."

Tagged as: homophobia, boone, kentucky, fletcher

Pam Spaulding blogs at Pam's House Blend.