By Ronnie Ellis
CNHI News Service
Frankfort —
FRANKFORT— Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway continued Monday to hammer his Republican opponent Dr. Rand Paul over Paul’s statement that the drug problem in eastern Kentucky “is not a real pressing issue.”
Paul made the statement to the Associated Press in July, prompting a firestorm among some eastern Kentucky law enforcement officials who have struggled with the growing problem of prescription pain killers. Paul responded by saying he was talking about the issue of whether drug interdiction and enforcement should be paid for by local governments rather than the federal government.
His campaign released a statement which said Paul “realizes there has been 40 years of increasing federal spending yet the problem is not getting better. Dr. Paul supports current efforts and will explore ways to continue to empower local communities’ ability to gain control over this problem.”
Conway said Monday Paul is “waffling back” on statements he made to the AP reporter “because he knows if Kentuckians were to find out his true position, he couldn’t sell it to them.”
“This notion that he wasn’t really talking about the drug problem in eastern Kentucky — yes he was,” Conway said. “Now he’s trying to claim it’s more about the funding and whether it comes from the local government or the federal government.”
Asked to respond, Gary Howard, spokesman for the Paul campaign, Monday referred to an earlier Paul campaign statement.
“When Dr. Paul said ‘that’s not a pressing issue’ he was answering a question about whether voters would care if federal or local governments take charge of enforcement. Dr. Paul thinks that drug abuse is a serious problem that must be tackled head on.”
Conway tackled Paul on the statement during a teleconference Monday announcing he has received the endorsement of the state Fraternal Order of Police.
Michael “Spike” Jones, the Assistant Chief of Police for the city of Covington and the President of the FOP, said Paul declined to appear at a forum of the FOP Executive Board over the weekend in Louisville and did not return the FOP’s questionnaire sent to both Senate candidates.
The endorsement of Conway was not a foregone conclusion, Jones said. The vote was not unanimous, he said, for Conway.
“We were waiting until Saturday to hear everyone’s comments,” Jones said. “Our vote was going to be based on the questionnaires. That endorsement was available to (Paul) just as it was to (Attorney) General Conway. We just didn’t hear anything from him.”
Jones said the loss of federal funding would result in the layoffs of police officers around the state.
“We would not be able to keep up with the drug traffic if we lost federal funding,” Jones said.
Conway said Paul’s position is a “stark contrast” to his record as attorney general. He touted his office’s participation in a major drug bust of persons involved in a pill pipeline from Florida, known as “Operation Flamingo Road.” He also cited his office’s cooperation with Operation UNITE, a drug enforcement and education program in southeastern Kentucky funded by federal appropriations obtained by Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset.
Howard said Paul will “continue to work to win the votes of law enforcement officers across Kentucky” despite the FOP endorsement of Conway.
“Dr. Paul will work with local, state and federal law enforcement to institute the best policies to fight for our children,” Howard said. “He believes in maximum control by Kentuckians over this process, rather than dictates from Washington, but will work with all concerned for the best outcomes.”
Ronnie Elis writes for
CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/
cnhifrankfort. The Richmond Register is a CNHI newspaper.
