KY GOP Chairman Mac Brown: Response to KY Democrat Party Chair’s Recent Column

Frankfort, KY – Please see Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Mac Brown’s response to the Kentucky Democrat Party chair’s recent column:

KY GOP Response to Democrat Party Chair’s Recent Column

By Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Mac Brown

The response to my recent op-ed is truly disappointing in multiple ways. While Kentuckians are getting used to the disrespect and hateful tone of the Democratic Party Chairman, the real concern is the Governor and his political operative do not truly understand why the failure of the unemployment system, and the prolonged impact of virtual learning is so upsetting.

Governor Beshear needs to realize it is not that the unemployment system was overwhelmed when the economy was shut down, but how his administration reacted to the problem. Whether it was giving favoritism to individuals or special interest, or the administration’s inability to address the nearly 60,000 claims still pending, more than a year after the problem arose, it is clear Kentuckians are not being well served. The Governor wants to blame the previous administration for his administration’s inability to take charge of the crisis saying the department was understaffed with an inadequate system. He forgets unemployment in the last administration was less than 3% and thus there was no need for a larger organization. The pandemic certainly created an unemployment crisis and the Governor’s options were and are to build the capabilities of the unemployment system and to open up the economy thus putting people back to work.

And is it actually possible that this administration believes the statement made by the Governor’s surrogate (the Democratic Party Chair): “Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, our schools have been open and our teachers have been teaching.” Not only is this statement disingenuous, this misleading claim ignores the reality of what countless Kentucky students, teachers and families dealt with for more than a year. Virtual learning was no substitute for in-person classroom instruction that Kentucky’s public school students have only recently been able to receive in a limited form. Why couldn’t these students go back to full time classroom instruction when the private school students went back five months ago? This is a lack of leadership at the highest level.

Kentuckians have made remarkable sacrifices over the past year in adapting to the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. Families adapted to working and learning at home, and coped with job loss, fear and uncertainty. So when the governor and his acolytes like the Democrat Party Chair claim that schools have been open the whole time, it flies in the face of reality.

Moving forward, I respectfully urge the governor to make a greater effort in working across the aisle with Speaker Osborne, President Stivers and the rest of the Republican leadership. Further, I would ask Governor Beshear to encourage his surrogates to tone down their rhetoric. While I appreciate the governor cannot control everyone and how they speak, by working towards a more civil tone both parties will better serve the people of Kentucky.