Ashley Judd weighing Senate options; may opt to challenge Paul instead

[itshappening]

Ashley Judd vs. Mitch McConnell?

It might not be as far-fetched as you think.

The Hollywood movie star and eighth-generation Kentuckian is seriously exploring a 2014 run for the Senate to take on the powerful Republican leader, four people familiar with the matter tell POLITICO. In recent weeks, Judd has spoken with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about the possibility of a run, has discussed a potential bid with a Democratic pollster and has begun to conduct opposition research on herself to see where she’s most vulnerable in the Bluegrass State, sources say.

Whether Judd jumps into the race remains far from certain. She’s reportedly also weighing whether to wait until 2016 to instead take on freshman Sen. Rand Paul, sources say.

But if Judd does become a candidate, she would be the biggest celebrity to run for the Senate since Al Franken’s successful 2008 bid for the Minnesota seat. And her entrance would add a level of star power to a race that was already poised to be the highest-profile in the country with the Senate Republican leader up for a sixth term in 2014.

“She is doing all the things that a serious candidate exploring a race should do,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) told POLITICO after speaking with her. “I think there are a lot of people, and I was one of them, who wanted to let her know that her candidacy would be an exciting prospect for us. That’s what I wanted her to know. A lot of the labor unions, they were telling me that too.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/ashley-judd-exploring-senate-run-84542.html#ixzz2E5sQVdAn

[jkr]

I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS "CUNTRY"

[Keith and stuff]

She was born in CA. That isn't a big deal but won't help her in KY. However, she lives in TN, not KY. Anyway, it would be awesome to see a bunch of Republican County Music stars touring KY and urging people to not vote for Mitch. Maybe should could even raise some money with all of her Hollywood and Nashville connections.

[AuH20]

For my personal amusement, I would to love to hear Ashley's unfiltered opinion of the junior senator from Kentucky.

[HOLLYWOOD]

She was born in CA. That isn't a big deal but won't help her in KY. However, she lives in TN, not KY. Anyway, it would be awesome to see a bunch of Republican County Music stars touring KY and urging people to not vote for Mitch. Maybe should could even raise some money with all of her Hollywood and Nashville connections.yes... no state income tax in TN. So she wants to take on a small government conservative Senator, in a state she doesn't live in(YET), but doesn't live Kentucky, because it's cheaper in Tennessee. Born in California... she'll make a good hypocrite Liberal Democrat.

[supermario21]

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/ashley-judd-exploring-senate-run-84542.html

Benton is ready to shoot her down, if need be (for McConnell).

[matt0611]

LOL good luck. 2014 will be a republican wave year, no way she is going to be able to take out the Senate minority leader in a red state.

It will probably be even harder for her to take on Rand IMO.

[angelatc]

She doesn't even live in Kentucky. What is her problem?

[Matt Collins]

She'll be well funded, but so was Jack Conway. She is stupid to do this in the South, if she wants to run for office as a Democrat, she should do it in a Democrat state.

[Matt Collins]

She'll be well funded, but so was Jack Conway. She is stupid to do this in the South, if she wants to run for office as a Democrat, she should do it in a Democrat state.

[supermario21]

She is not a threat at all. Kentucky Democrats are those who would support a Manchin type candidate, who I think filmed a commercial with him holding a gun to one of Obama's pieces of legislation (I believe cap-and-trade) while Judd has spoken out harshly against coal. That's a death sentence in Kentucky.

[supermario21]

You guys that want her in the Senate are nuts, especially at either Rand's or McConnell's expense. If McConnell were defeated that would not be good for Rand, either.

[itshappening]

liberal democrats have no chance in Kentucky. Look at the congressional map and look at the beating long time congressman Chandler got from Barr.

[Keith and stuff]

You guys that want her in the Senate are nuts, especially at either Rand's or McConnell's expense. If McConnell were defeated that would not be good for Rand, either.

Who said they want her in the Senate?

[compromise]

McConnell is about as safe as he can get right now, and Rand Paul has higher approval than McConnell among both liberals and conservatives.
She really has no hope of taking out either.

[James Madison]

This is the same woman that pratically worships the ground John Calipari walks on. That's all I need to know.

[AuH20]

There are rumblings that she prefers to contest Rand for his seat. I would to see her run against Rand.

[NIU Students for Liberty]

I'd choose her over the turtle:

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/21000000/Ashley-Judd-ashley-judd-21001526-1280-1024.jpg

[tangent4ronpaul]

There are rumblings that she prefers to contest Rand for his seat. I would (not like?) to see her run against Rand.

I would! It would be a huge gift in the hand she could give the liberty movement. She would bring LOTS of national attention to the race and Rand, and that would be perfect for a latter Rand prez run. (assuming she lost)

I wouldn't want to see her win against Rand, but I doubt she would and from what little I know of her politics, she seems more like another Kucinich. Besides, she's really hot! - So I wouldn't mind if she beat McConell. Hell, I might start watching the Senate again, regularly - if she did...

-t

Sen. Ashley Judd? Not if history is any guide.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/04/sen-ashley-judd-not-if-history-is-any-guide/

Actress Ashley Judd is seriously looking at trying to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2014, according to a new report from Politico’s Manu Raju.

But for Judd, the odds against her are massive. Indeed, if she ran and won, it would likely register as the biggest upset ever for a celebrity politician.

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/100111/GAL-10Jan11-3524/media/PHO-10Jan11-197901.jpg

A cursory look at the history of celebrities and athletes who run for political office reveals that most of them either (1) lose or (2) win lower-profile races like mayor or House member.

Even the celebrities who have won statewide office have almost always been involved in politics for years before their campaigns or benefited from some extenuating circumstances.

Case in point: The three biggest such political wins of the last 15 years all featured the celebrity winning with less than half of the vote in an unusual race.

* Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, ran in a very good year for Democrats in 2008 and also had a three-way race, with independent candidate and former senator Dean Barkley pulling 15 percent of the vote. Franken won with just less than 42 percent of the vote.

* Action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) won his first term as governor of California in a 2003 recall election that was essentially a two-month sprint and featured dozens of candidates and an odd format. He took less than 49 percent of the vote.

* Jesse Ventura (I), a professional wrestler and actor, won a three-way race for Minnesota governor in 1998 with just 37 percent of the vote.

Looking back a little further, most other celebrities who won statewide office had years of active political involvement behind them:

* Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California in 1966 and president in 1980. But before his tenure in elective office, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild and active in presidential politics.

*George Murphy (R), a star of Hollywood musicals, was Reagan before Reagan. He served as SAG president before Reagan and then as the California Republican State Central Committee chairman before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1964.

* Actor John Davis Lodge (R) was a congressman before he became Connecticut’s governor in the 1950s. And he had politics in his blood as the grandson and great-grandson of U.S. senators Henry Cabot Lodge and George Cabot.

* Actor and former senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) was a counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee and other Senate committees and active in Tennessee politics before his acting career began in the 1980s. He was elected to the Senate in 1994.

As for the others, the stakes weren’t nearly as high. Singer Sonny Bono and actors Fred Grandy (“The Love Boat”) and Ben Jones (“Dukes of Hazzard”) all won seats in the House, and Clint Eastwood was the mayor of a small California town.

Among athletes, NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann and former NBA player Chris Dudley have recently lost campaigns for governor of Pennsylvania and Oregon, respectively, and former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and NFLer Steve Largent both failed to make the jump from the U.S. House to governor in Nebraska and Oklahoma, respectively.

Jack Kemp, of course, was a pro football player before his political career, but he had long been involved in politics before launching his first campaign for Congress in 1970. And he never advanced beyond the lower chamber, despite running for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988 and being then-Sen. Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996, when he was the GOP nominee.

If Judd were to run, she would be waging a higher-profile first run for political office than any of the names above — an attempt to take out a five-term incumbent and the leader of a party’s Senate caucus.

While she’s been outspoken on certain issues, Judd doesn’t have the kind of hands-on political experience of a Reagan, a Lodge or a Murphy. And it’s hard to see her benefiting from the kind of field that Franken, Schwarzenegger and Ventura had, because third parties don’t often field candidates in Kentucky — much less viable ones.

(One caveat: If McConnell somehow loses his primary, that could register as an “extenuating circumstance,” but that hardly seems likely at this point.)

In addition, Judd would be a liberal Democrat (her grandmother recently described her as a “Hollywood liberal”) running in a very red state — one that gave President Obama 38 percent of the vote. Kentucky may elect Democratic governors, but it hasn’t picked a Democrat for Senate since 1992.

If Democrats pursue a Judd candidacy, it would more likely be because they have no other viable options and it’s worth throwing something (well-funded) at the wall and hoping it sticks.

Judd would raise plenty of money and perhaps bring some attention to the race, but the odds stacked against her are momentous. And confronted with those odds, it’s hard to see her even making the leap.

[Jackie Moon]

Rand's post on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RandPaul2010):


Ashley Judd, who was born in California, works in Hollywood and lives in Tennessee and Scotland, wants to run for office. I presume with her liberal views she means parliament?

[Chester Copperpot]

I dont even know who ashley judd is.. I thought it was reba mcentire.

[Cowlesy]

Rand's post on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RandPaul2010):

Don't punch down, Rand. Even if for fun. Ignore her lol

[Confederate]

Don't punch down, Rand. Even if for fun. Ignore her lol

That wasn't posted on his official congressional page.

[Mr.NoSmile]

Wouldn't be so quick to discount her. Sure, I don't know her realistic chances, but the fact is she's already got two Facebook pages drafting her to run against Mitch McConnell and a decent, I suppose, sized following on Facebook. She's a Hollywood actress and Hollywood itself is a powerful machine.

http://www.facebook.com/AshleyJuddOfficial?fref=ts

[ronpaulfollower999]

Rand's post on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RandPaul2010):

Rand's FB page always cracks me up. The guy is a total BA.

[Keith and stuff]

That wasn't posted on his official congressional page.

Politician

The official Facebook page of Rand Paul for U.S. Senate -

[July]

I think this one is his official congressional page.

http://www.facebook.com/SenatorRandPaul

He's got two pages, the other has more likes and more activity on it.

[supermario21]

And how many of those 48,000 likes are from Kentuckians? lol

[sailingaway]

She's an entertainer, and she is getting publicity, so it is all good, as far as she is concerned.

[XTreat]

I have seen this chick naked.

[trey4sports]

There aren't many things that would make me want to send a 5 spot to Mitch McConnell but this would be one.

[GunnyFreedom]

You guys that want her in the Senate are nuts, especially at either Rand's or McConnell's expense. If McConnell were defeated that would not be good for Rand, either.


Who said they want her in the Senate?

Yeah, that was kinda weird. :/

[messana]

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/ashley-judd-exploring-senate-run-84542.html

Benton is ready to shoot her down, if need be (for McConnell).




McConnell’s campaign is already talking about how it’s prepared to tear apart any Democrat who joins the fray.

“It’s going to sting,” Jesse Benton, McConnell’s campaign manager, warned to any candidates considering a run. “We’re going to make sure that you don’t come out with your nose clean. We’re going to drive your negatives up and very aggressively and publicly litigate your record before the citizens of Kentucky.”

Stay classy Benton.

[John F Kennedy III]

There are rumblings that she prefers to contest Rand for his seat. I would to see her run against Rand.

:D We should encourage her to wait until 2016.

[John F Kennedy III]

I have seen this chick naked.

She's ugly.

[idiom]

What would it take to get her to run for Gop House?

[twomp]

You guys that want her in the Senate are nuts, especially at either Rand's or McConnell's expense. If McConnell were defeated that would not be good for Rand, either.

McConnell voted FOR NDAA and the Patriot Act. He is a traitor. ANYONE who voted for NDAA needs to lose their seat in office. NO EXCEPTIONS! Even if they have (R) behind their names.

[Tinnuhana]

That article left out former Rhodes scholar and New York Knick Bill Bradley.

[Tod]

I dont even know who ashley judd is.. I thought it was reba mcentire.

actress who is the daughter of Naomi Judd and sister of Wynnona Judd. The mother and sister were a country music duo, the Judd's.

Wynnona got the voice and Ashley got the looks (in spades).

http://www.patrickdempsey.co/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ashley-judd2.jpg

From what I hear the mom is pretty nutty too.

[S.Shorland]

Ashley Judd and Anne Heche are two of those sexy but not pretty marvels.I treasure them all.

[osan]

She doesn't even live in Kentucky. What is her problem?

Is that a serious question?

[Origanalist]

Is that a serious question?

Better to ask what isn't her problem?

[Tod]

I have seen this chick naked.

I think I have too, years ago. IIRC, someone brought a Playboy to work that featured her, or something.

[angelatc]

Rand's post on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RandPaul2010):

I loved that. He was openly taunting her.

[osan]

I have seen this chick naked.

You poor bastard! What do you do for retinas these days?

Mine are atingle just at the thought of seeing that... Jesus...

[braane]

You poor bastard! What do you do for retinas these days?

Mine are atingle just at the thought of seeing that... Jesus...

No need for eyes when you turn to stone.

[Brian Coulter]

You poor bastard! What do you do for retinas these days?

Mine are atingle just at the thought of seeing that... Jesus...

She makes something tingle alright.


http://www.vibe.com/sites/vibe.com/files/styles/main_image/public/article_images/ashley_judd2.jpg

Your retinas could do a lot worse.

[WilliamShrugged]

She makes something tingle alright.


http://www.vibe.com/sites/vibe.com/files/styles/main_image/public/article_images/ashley_judd2.jpg

Your retinas could do a lot worse.

exactly. funny how some here think she is ugly.

[compromise]

She makes something tingle alright.


http://www.vibe.com/sites/vibe.com/files/styles/main_image/public/article_images/ashley_judd2.jpg

Your retinas could do a lot worse.

How long ago was that taken? 20 years?

[osan]

exactly. funny how some here think she is ugly.

Stoopidity is always ugly.

Oh, and for the record, I don't follow so-called "celebrities". I consider myself lucky to know the difference between Robin Williams and Lindsey Lohan... whoever the hell she is. My point is that I had Ashley Judd confused with the edemically bloated sister or mother of hers. That said, I stand by the "stoopid is ugly" opinion. The older I become the less tolerant I am of stoopidity.

[Southerner]

[QUOTE=Jackie Moon;4761044]Rand's post on fb "Ashley Judd, who was born in California, works in Hollywood and lives in Tennessee and Scotland, wants to run for office. I presume with her liberal views she means parliament?"
ROFLMAO, PMP!

[NoOneButPaul]

If Judd beat Rand... that would officially be it for us right?

As unlikely as it is the thought terrifies me.

[osan]

If Judd beat Rand... that would officially be it for us right?

As unlikely as it is the thought terrifies me.

Unlikely?

Are you serious?

The great bulk of the people in this nation put men like Clinton, Bush, and Obama in the White House.

They put people like Pelosi, Reed, Frank, Boxer, Feinstein, McCain, and so forth into office over and over again no matter what outrageous act they commit.

They have now tolerated at least four vicious wars that can in NO WAY be justified (Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan) and wherein we have murdered (that's right MURDERED) millions of people. By this virtue have we plumbed the same depths of depravity as our beloved kin that include Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pot, Amin, and a few others of particular note. It is something of bitter irony to think that we railed against the likes of Uncle Adolph and sacrificed nearly a million of our own to defeat his brand of evil only to take up his bloodied mantle upon our own shoulders in equal butchery, all the while shrieking our platitudes of moral superiority proclaiming ourselves the saviors of the world as we butchered our way across the face of the planet. All the while, the great majority of "ours" were at the very least tolerant, if not comfortable and in many cases openly cheering of the bloodshed. Even today there is a great multitude for whom the thought of our juggernaut of technologically-enabled mass destruction and murder is the most powerful source of an erection imaginable.

They sat back and said, "OK, whatever" when the very soul of their economy, of their lives was being shipped to foreign shores.

They tolerated and inevitably welcomed and even demanded the dogma of political correctness such that they no longer dared or cared to think what they otherwise would. I do believe the relief from that responsibility was welcomed by most.

They stood idly by and mostly silent and even agreeing as the guarantees of their inalienable rights were shredded piecemeal.

And you think the unseating of a nominally clued-in senator in Kentucky by some invading imbecile-cow whom I would not screw with Obama's dick is unlikely?

You need some alone time to think on this far more carefully than you have to date. I issue my usual prescription: a quiet, otherwise empty room; warm and comfortable; you perhaps in a robe, no shoes; a glass of good wine, single malt, or whatever floats your boat; soft lighting - a fireplace at work being the best source of meditative illumination; and take as many hours or weeks as needed to disabuse yourself of this terrible delusion under which you so apparently labor. I'm serious, d00d. Anyone who places the fundamental realities of the black history of humanity of the past century alone and who is nominally intelligent, sane, rational, and honest can in no way hold to beliefs such as that which you have expressed here. If I have learned nothing else about humanity over the course of my lifetime, it is that ANYTHING is possible, bad or good. Human beings have the capacity for greatness in the good and evil alike, and perhaps more significantly, the stupid. There are no limits to that character in humans. Voltaire had it right when he admonished men to consider only the limits of human stupidity if they wish to understand the concept of infinity.

You go and be better now. I mean it.