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Remember This Name: Andrew Horne

By Taters on December 19, 2007 at 7:20 PM in Current Affairs, Soldiers/Veterans

photo of Andrew Horne,via Drinking Liberally ”Mitch McConnell carries George Bush‘s water on Iraq; I carried a rifle in Iraq”

Attorney Andrew Horne (Lt.Col., USMC, Ret.) of Louisville, KY has announced his candidacy as a Democratic nominee to run against Sen. Mitch McConnell.  (Informed readers here know McConnell as a Bush enabler supreme.) A recent poll indicates that McConnell is vulnerable.

While Horne must get past some Dems to get the nod, and then compete with McConnell’s 10 million dollar war chest, he is generating attention and excitement.

The Courier-Journal states:

“Whatever one may think of Mitch McConnell’s long tenure in the U.S. Senate, a real re-election struggle against a serious challenger should be viewed as salutary.

The public owes some thanks to Louisville attorney and retired Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Horne for committing to the race. Mr. Horne is a serious man, and his candidacy should be taken seriously…” cont’d

Andrew Horne states why he is running

I am a husband, father, attorney, U.S. Marine, small business owner and citizen of this great Commonwealth.

America was built on the idea of making and leaving a better place for our children and grandchildren. President Bush and Senator Mitch McConnell have not kept this promise.

A misguided war and record deficits are crippling our future.

Washington is broken and our Senator, Mitch McConnell, is fully complicit in this culture of corruption. He works against Kentucky’s interests and rewards his big money donors with his votes…big business, large insurance companies and lobbyist friends. Our jobs are being outsourced, McConnell shows no leadership on immigration, and instead works for his friends in China.

McConnell has turned his back on students and their families as college tuition skyrockets.

It is time we fight back.

I offer trustworthy, competent and genuine leadership. I am not a Politician.

I’ve served this Country and this Commonwealth with the Marines for 27 years, and I am a Veteran of both Gulf Wars.

Together we can make a difference.

I am Andrew Horne. I am running for Senate.

I respectfully ask for your support.

Semper Fi 

Andrew Horne deserves our support, together we can do this. Like others, I’m excited about this man and toppling McConnell – well that would bring the same joy I felt when – uh, what was that guy’s name? Oh yeah, George Allen bit the dust and was replaced by Jim Webb. Let’s do this!

  • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

    This is SO exciting! Mitch McConnell must go, and it’d be great to have another VETERAN in the U.S. Senate.

  • Taters

    Hi Susan- not to mention McConnell’s wife, Sec of Labor (What a joke) Elaine Chao. KY has a tradition of coal mining – but when it comes to mine safety neither of that evil duo have implemented anything on miners’ behalf.

    • TeakWoodKite

      Help Taters! I keep wanting to hear McConnell (Jabba the hut)and his wife, Sec of Labor Elaine Chao to sing “The Thrill is Gone” ala your girl and BB. Make it stop !!! LOL

  • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

    Nice post Taters. Crossing my fingers for Horne!

    Regarding the presidential election: Weird polls in Iowa. Edwards is ahead now?! While national polls give Clinton a 20% lead over Obama and 30% lead over Edwards. New Hampshire is also all over the map. So if Clinton doesn’t take Iowa, she may be in serious trouble.

    Crazy Huckabee is in the lead in Iowa. Ugh. 9/11 Giuliani is self-immolating. Heh!

    • Taters

      Thanks for the update Leslie and the kind words.
      I’m excited about Horne.

      • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

        Or maybe Obama is leading in Iowa? Not sure. Anyway, I don’t think it’s fair that small states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, get to decide who will be the presidential nominee before the rest of the country gets to vote.

        • Taters

          Could be – that’s been a see saw.
          Wes Clark will be stumping for Hillary in Iowa until the end.
          I agree Leslie.

  • http://www.food4humanity.org HoosierHoops

    great post Taters..hope he wins the election..
    He looks like a real leader..Lt. Col in the Marines,
    Vet of both gulf wars..If Mitch was ever in the service, I’m guessing he was a cook with the Air Force.

    • Michael Lafferty

      Seems that there are at least three representations floating around regarding Senator McConnell’s service record:

      According to Robert Steurer, his press secretary in Washington: “I am not aware of him ever serving. Senator McConnell had polio as a child and he never served in armed services.”

      There there is the explanation offered by Kyle Simmons, Senator McConnell’s campaign manager in Louisville: [He reports that Senator] McConnell enlisted for four months of active duty with the Army reserve at Fort Knox, and that McConnell failed [a subsequent] physical examination as a result of a doctor’s diagnosis of McConnell having the medical condition of optic neuritis.

      Was he or wasn’t he?

      And then, there are persistent rumors that Senator McConnell was discharged because it was determined that he was homosexual or displayed homosexual tendencies.

      Is he or isn’t he?

      Does this to some degree explain the horrified reaction on the part of Senator McConnell to the conduct of Senator Craig? Maybe Senator Craig, who insists that he is ‘not and never has been gay’ ought to toss Senator McConnell under the bus and ‘out’ him.

      Wouldn’t that be something?

      • Taters

        Great post, Michael. Interesting…

      • Taters

        Michael,
        That sure would be something. Hey you were with the NYPD, right?

        • Michael Lafferty

          Actually, no. I was an enlisted member of the Army from late 1971 through late 1976, left left active duty to attend college, transfered immediately into the Hawaii Army National Guard, got a commission as a military police officer, then transfered to the US Army Reserve as a tactical intelligence officer.

          I simultaneously spent nearly nine years as a member of the Honolulu Police Department, not the New York City Police Department.

    • Taters

      Thanks Hoosier Hoops, Andrew Horne resonated with me after I read Jon Soltz’s piece announcing his candidacy. We are talking our country back.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbO5JYV1dJc&NR=1

      PS We beat the Celtics tonight by two… ;)

  • Marty

    All…I have been a Larry Johnson slave for the length of time this blog began. He has enabled this great testimony for Andrew Horne.Thanks Larry…and Susan as well. I can vouch for this man Andrew Horne personally. He is bright, dedicated, tough and handsome. He has a handsome photogenic wholesome family. He is a Lt Col. in the marines and has done his time in Iraq in 2004-2005. He is ready to ditch Mitch and we can all help. Go to his website and donate …be generous…please be very generous. Mitch has money, but that is it. He is vulnerable, and Andrew has the bona fides to beat this slug. With Andrew,there is little to target and smear, so Mitch will get very desperate. Andrew is a lawyer…he can speak..he is unafraid. This is the chance to rid our government of one despicable Republican. I urge all on the blog to help us kick this rightwingnut out of office.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      That’s a great endorsement, Marty — especially coming from you.

      I hope Taters will keep posting about his race with any news we should know about.

  • http://proctoringcongress.blogspot.com/ Apollo 13

    Great post, Taters. You might want to hook up with Yellow Dog, a Kentuckian, who’s been covering Andrew Horne… here and here.

    • Taters

      Thanks Apollo 13, really cool sites. I definitely will hook up w/Yellow Dog.

  • Taters

    In case any of you aren’t familiar with McConnell’s recent statement.

    “Nobody is happy about losing lives but remember these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.”

    Sen. Mitch McConnell
    What a disgusting SOB.
    You are going to get your ass handed to you, Mitchie.
    And you will remember Andrew Horne’s name.

    http://www.gcnewsgazette.com/articles/2007/12/06/local_news/news86.txt

    • TeakWoodKite

      My sane half refers to him as “Jaba the Hut” …it wan’t me I swear.

      • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

        TeakWoodKite,
        Just sent you an email.
        Leslie

  • wethornet

    taters help. does ltc horne have to get thru a democratic primary first? if so, when is it? 20 may? who are his one or two main dem. primary opponents? how strong are they?

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      Did you find out, WetHornet? I’m curious too.

  • wethornet

    it is my belief that the kentucky senate race is one of the 2 or 3 most important races in the upcoming election.

    i would hope y’all treat it accordingly. donate. talk it up with your friends and family, on the internets. etc, etc.

    kentucky is ripe for plucking. their corrupt governor (fletcher) went down in flames in november, a little more than 4 weeks ago. lost by 18-19 points.

    the citizens on the ground are fired up.

    i want y’all to think about the impact of having the rethug gooper senate leader under serious attack. and i want you to think how delicious it will be to knock mitch into the unemployment line.

    *******
    being a rethuglican leader in congress…dangerous for your health.

    *gingrich. gone.
    *livingston. gone.
    *delay. gone.
    *hastert. gone.
    *santorum. gone. (rickie, man on dog sex, was #3 in the senate leadership.)
    *mcconnell. from the classic song: na, na, na, hey, hey, good bye.

  • justsomeone

    Taters, Wow Elaine Chao is married to Mitch McConnell? Maybe I’m the only person here who didn’t know. That does explain alot.

  • Marty

    Wethornet….there are no top tier challengers in the Dem. primary yet. We hope to avoid that by having a groundswell of support for Andrew.. That is why the early fundraising in the next few weeks is so important. It will discourage primary opponents …which would be good for the Ditch-Mitch supporters. The Lt Governor Stumbo is NOT going to be a candidate. There is an unknown MD , Michael Cassaro, who is a complete novice, but whose heart is in the right place. He has launched his own campaign without any notice to the Democratic party establishment.There is a business man, rich and apparently a decent guy, Fischer, who might become a candidate. There are a few more rumors about people, but there is NO direct competent challenge to Andrew Horne. You all here can help a lot by going to his website and donating with your credit card(act Blue)…and talk it up with friends personal and on blogs. Let us do it. We can Ditch Mitch.

    http://andrewhorne.org/main/

  • Mr.Murder

    The times they are a’-changing…

    House District 97 was not drawn to be a Democratic seat. In 2006, Barrett had taken on the recently retired Anna Mowery and claimed only 40.82% of the vote. Tarrant County on the whole only gave Barbara Radnofsky, the U.S. Senate nominee, 34.80%, Chris Bell 31.07% in his bid for Governor, and the bellwhether Texas Supreme Court candidate Bill Moody 42.79% of the vote. The Republican’s should have won this election based on the poor democratic performance index (DPI) of the district alone. During the special election yesterday, Barrett won with 52.2% of the vote.

    Wow, Demcrats get a majority vote in a GOP stronghold…

    In addition, Barrett was dramatically out spent. According to the 8 day out reports, Mark Shelton spent over $100,000 and raised (and presumably spent) another $10,000 from TexPAC before the election. Barrett on the other hand spent a little over $45,000 according to his 8 day report. Again, according to his telegram reports, raised an additional $4,000 in the final week of the election from Texas Parent PAC and two individuals.

    Money can’t buy you the truth, Goopers. YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

    Breaking it down, that means Barrett spent $9.13 per vote compared to about $23.40 per vote for Shelton.

    Remember, 52% is a majority, on your turf. Americans are tired of the GOP.

    The tide *is* changing. We are a mere five seats away from a Democratic majority in the Texas House and removing Tom Craddick from the dais. To the House Democratic Campaign Committee, Rep. Lon Burnam, Rep. Mark Veasey, the staff and many others involved in this race, congratulations. Now it is our job to elect more good Democrats and protect our current elected leaders.

    When Republicans out spend us in Republican drawn districts and lose it solidifies our need to run everywhere. It means our message and our organizing skills are superior. It means supporting Tom Craddick and his style of Republican “leadership” is a losing proposition.

    It means we can win back the Texas House.

    Dr.Howard Dean wanted to run candidates everywhere, he was right after all, it would appear.

    Texans are taking a hands-on approach to solving their leadserhip problems. Let’s encourage the Lone Star state to greater gains.

  • Mr.Murder

    link – “What Dan Barrett’s Victory Means for Texas”
    by: Matt Glazer
    Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 11:40 PM CST
    http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4528

  • Mr.Murder

    Mitch the Bitch, if I’m not mistaken, actually found a way to avoid service through affirmation that he had lifestyle choices that were different.

    Not saying that such choices are wrong, but that they were used with the intention of avoiding service, and most likely were not even legitimate motivations.

    Then again, it would be irresponsible not to report about such speculation…

  • Mr.Murder

    Meanwhile, Dubya holds a surprise presser today.

    Maybe someone can translate what he says into cogent English so everyone can get the message…

    • TeakwoodKite

      I can translate it ’cause it is under investigation.

  • http://www.food4humanity.org hoosierhoops

    Reporter: What is going on in Iraq?
    Bush: We have a stratergy of asset managerial discretions on our part that has left me less than happy.
    Reporter: So is the Surge a success?
    Bush: By delving into the repitorial edge and justifing every means at our disposal we have deluded the evil doers after the fact but before an entreanchment could be coddified.
    Reporter: So..that would be a yes or no?
    Bush: Exactly! As Condi said earlier i have a stratergy and benefactoring substance of which there is in no way a doubt in anyones mind that a precipitice event has occurred..over and over by the way. My policies are polished to a sheen and they are a 2 edged hammer.
    ( Cue: stupid look and giggle from Bush)
    Reporter: Thank you mr. president
    Bush: Glad i could clear that up for you.

    • Taters

      Funny Hoopster!

  • Donovan Fraser

    chickens hawks your time is up!!!!!
    do what you do best, brown nose corporate America in the “private sector”.

  • TeakwoodKite

    hoosierhoops: WTF?? LOL You are kidding right?
    “stratergy of asset managerial discretions”
    I only caught the first few mins. this morning…
    If not I am going to get some duck tape for his mouth since he DID ask me to do that.

    • http://www.food4humanity.org HoosierHoops

      Teakwood..yup just playing..
      The trick is to mispronounce the misspelled words for full effect..
      I thought the line about policy being a 2 edged hammer was especially witty..But it may have been the cold meds talking..I feel like my head has a fluffy brick lodged inside..And my voice is crackling like an old AM radio..

      • TeakWoodKite

        Ya got me…Hope you feel better. LOL Best to you and yours.

  • Centrocitta

    …..Crazy Huckabee is in the lead in Iowa. Ugh…..

    Apparently, a subtle “religious” symbol can be seen in Pastor Huckabee’s TV Christmas greeting. However, it’s a cross — not a crucifix. Without the image of the crucified Lord, I only get one meaning from two sticks, so placed, behind Huckabee’s head. KU KLUX KLAN!

  • Mary

    Day late, but I’ll send my short dollar to Horne. :)

    How did I miss the word that Stumbo won’t run? Last I heard he was sucking oxygen out of rooms and thinking about it.

    Andrew Horne will be a wonderful candidate. I backed him in his primary run against Yarmuth(who I liked very much and who made it a hard call), but what better result could you end up with than Yarmuth with the House seat and Horne taking McConnell down for the count in the Senate?

    Here’s hoping.

    • Taters

      Hi Mary,
      I’m impressed by him. We need leaders like Andrew Horne. Season’s best.

  • TeakWoodKite

    Taters: Perhaps Andrew Horne Lt.Col., USMC, Ret. could reach out to Mudcat for some rural networking. Just a thought.

  • Taters

    Wethornet & Susan,
    I left a comment at YellowDog’s blog (see Apollo 13′s links)asking YD to drop by, say hi and answer a question or two.
    Marty has responded to you upstream, whom I would assume is from the Bluegrass State.

    TeakWoodKite,
    Good idea, I get the impression LTC responds to folks at his site.

    • TeakWoodKite

      I we can’t afford to win by 2 but we take it. Mudcat was with Webb camp.

      • Taters

        That’s right and he did a helluva job, too. They were a good team.

  • Al in Austex

    There is another credible ex-military candidate taking on another ChickenhAWK .Rick Noriega is running & gunning for Sen John Cornyn ‘s seat here in Texas .
    “Send lawyers guns & MONEY .. “Warren Zevon
    http://www.ricknoriega.com
    We are turning Texas purple if not Blue .
    My wife & I just sent in 100.00 bucks to Noeriga ‘s campaign.

    • Taters

      Good on you and you and your wife Al.
      Man, I sure could use some bbq from Ruby’s.

      • Al in Austex

        Taters ,
        Ruby’s BBQ is where we send the tourist . You need either the Salt Lick or Ben’s Long Branch .
        Can you all connect with Noriega’s campaign -I hope to help some -but I just opened my own ground transport business-and am working fifty to sixty hour per week …

    • wethornet

      send lawyers, guns and money is a song. here’s part of it. sounds like a hoot.

      ARTIST: Warren Zevon
      TITLE: Lawyers, Guns and Money
      Lyrics and Chords

      I went home with the waitress
      The way I always do
      How was I to know
      She was with the Russians, too

      / D A E – / D A D A / D A E – / D A /
      / D AD DA D AE – / /

      I was gambling in Havana
      I took a little risk
      Send lawyers, guns and money
      Dad, get me out of this, ha

      • wethornet

        ps. meant to add. i grew up in new england. while in the army i got stationed for a while in texas. it truly is a state of mind.

      • Taters

        Warren Zevon was terrific, we really lost an incredible artist. Man, could he write and funny as hell, too. Dave Barry’s pal.

  • TeakWoodKite

    It would be great to have a internet Tea Party ala Ron Paul to raise funds for these qualified people.

    The DNC was fickle last cycle when it came to DNC $ and the RNC was a collection of smoke filled rooms.
    Quailified people where turned away in more ways than one. I don’t have the skills for something like that but sure would be sweet to help get it rolling.

  • PrchrLady

    Thanks Taters for this post. It is so important for us to stand up and work to get qualified and men and women into public office. Those who have served with honor in the Military understand what service and leadership is all about. I just came from VoteVets home page and will make sure I send Home a contribution directly. Taters, we gotta do something about Conyers. I have known him for years, when he was first starting out, but have no more influence that anyone else… He is the one to put Impeachment back on the table. Why is he not acting???

  • http://blueinthebluegrass.blogspot.com Yellow Dog

    Hey, tater: Thanks for getting the word out about Andrew Horne.

    For all those interested, more news is coming out this weekend about endorsements, so keep an eye out.

    The filing deadline to run against Mitch is January 29. That’s when we’ll know for sure who Andrew Horne has to beat in the May 20 Democratic primary.

    So far, no one has actually filed, although Michael Cassaro, a Louisville pain doctor, and David L. Williams, a perpetual candidate and fake Democrat, have announced their intention to do so.

    Cassaro is a political novice and under extreme pressure to drop out. Williams is an uncontrollable nutcase with a criminal record – BUT the same name as the state senate president, republican David Williams. That name recognition got the first Williams the Democratic nomination for Ag Commissioner this year over a superbly qualified candidate who would have beaten the repug incumbent. Williams lost, in part because the state party refused to acknowledge his existence.

    Williams is definitely Horne’s biggest primary obstacle. The challenge will be to raise Horne’s name recognition higher than Williams’.

    The big-name dems have all declined to run, although there are persistents rumors that Chuck Schumer at the DSCC is desperately trying to recruit someone.

    I can’t tell you how excited progressive dems in Kentucky are about Horne, which is reflected exactly in the terror Schumer and other Bush-dog dems have about him. With Horne, we get somebody who can not only beat Mitch, but who will be a truly Democratic voice in the Senate, independent of the war-mongering, corporation-obeying, Smirky-worshipping DINOs there now.

    • Taters

      Thanks Yellow Dog, we really appreciate the inside baseball.

      Thank you for the update Marty.

      Prchr Lady – I don’t have an answer to your question. Ray McGovern posted some stuff on Rep. Conyers a while back here that didn’t show the congressman in a particularly good light.

      • TeakwoodKite

        Prchr Lady: Saw Ray McGovern and Rep.Conyers on Democracy Now last night and Rep.Conyers looked real uncomfortable after what Ray McGovern said about impeachment…

    • wethornet

      yellow dog,

      1. i find it odd why the big name ky. dems would pass on going against mitch. if he is as vulnerable as i think, i would think they’d be salivating to take him on. and yeah, schumer. guess we’ll find out on 29 jan. filing day.

      any polls out there about a head to head with horne and mcconnell? and mitch vs. ky. dem bigcheeses?

      2. pls. see my post below about a front page story in the nytimes re dental care in ky. simply staggering. and if you’re plugged in to campaign get it to them pls. intention: give it max visability in the cmpgn. and bludgeon the snot out of mitch.

  • Marty

    I don’t know Yellow dog, but we are both from Ky. This AM a huge endoresement came over for Andrew Horne from “Change for Kentucky”..if interested you can go to

    CHANGE FOR KENTUCKY
    PRESS RELEASE FOR:
    FRIDAY, December 21, 2007
    CONTACT: Mike Bailey
    502-558-4026 (cell)

    Democracy for America’s Kentucky Organization Endorses Andrew Horne For U.S.
    Senate

    pleasr help Andrew with a donation.

  • wethornet

    i cross posted this upblog at the earth to obama – unions made the dem. party. 12/23

    Comment by wethornet | 2007-12-24 15:41:20

    everybody, if you’re busy with the holidays, please file this article away to read later. it is poignant and a very sad commentary on the state of america.

    short version: some dentist in kentucky — remember we have lt. col. mike horne running against mitch mcconnell — has an 18 wheel truck he converted into a dental lab and he goes around the hollers of the hills of the bluegrass state providing dentistry.

    1 in 10 kentuckians under 65 has no teeth. worst in the nation. next door west virginia is worst in the nation for over 65 years old and teeth. this is just staggering!

    downblog i mentioned joe bageant’s “deer hunting w jesus” book. he is talking about sh*t like this; it is one of the 2 or 3 most important books out there.

    simply unf*ckingbelievable. and mitt romney doesn’t think there are 2 americas. jesus wept.

    In Kentucky’s Teeth, Toll of Poverty and Neglect
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24kentucky.html?ref=us
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

    also, on sun. or mon. i posted a nytimes profile of john edwards and mitt romney. 2 attitudes towards wealth. excellent. sums up the prevailing attitudes. america helped me, i should pay something back; public policy reflects this. versus. i got mine. screw you. we don’t need no stinking policy.

  • Marty

    Wethornet…..it is the prevailing Repub belief system…that the poor deserve their fate…that they should just pull up on their bootstraps, even if they don’t have boots….or teeth. It is the Ayn Rand syndrome that these morons never rejected after they were in college.Compassionate conservative is an oxymoron. This is counteracted by the true evangelicals who really believe in the Sermon on the Mount. Romney is in the corporatist moneyed segment. The battle with Huckabee internally in the Repub. camp is going to be horrendous. I can hardly wait. Because…as painfully useless the Dems have been in congress, even the least among their crop of Presedential candidates will blow away the disgusting repub winner.

    Please help out at AndrewHorne.org. He is a true liberal.

  • Taters

    Merry Christmas and thanks Marty.
    Let’s keep this train a rollin’…
    http://www.AndrewHorne.org