No offense to my friends in Spencer County, but I was wondering why Rand Paul decided to speak at the Spencer County Lincoln Day dinner on Friday night, as opposed to the Pulaski County Lincoln Day dinner that same night. Pulaski County has six times as many registered Republicans as Spencer County (28,137 in Pulaski vs. 4,427 in Spencer).
As it turns out, 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 Congressmen, calling them "people (who) trade their votes to get pork barrel projects for their district."
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) was on the dais during the nine minute speech, and was reportedly upset by Paul's insinuations. Rogers has been in Congress since 1981 and has been villified over the years for pork barrel spending in his own district. The Lexington Herald-Leader has called him the "Prince of Pork," and a number of national publications have similarly criticized him.
In the October speech, Paul said long time Congressmen "need to come back to our state and live like we do."
Paul 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.
