Grimes’ dodge of Obama vote question earns her top spot on Drudge Report

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, 2:30 a.m. — The national media have been watching Kentucky’s Senate race closely for the past year — and now it has caught the attention of Matt Drudge and The Drudge Report.

A photo of Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes was posted at the top of The Drudge Report about 10 p.m. Thursday night with the headline “DEM REFUSES TO ADMIT SHE VOTED FOR O.”

The headline linked to a Washington Post column by Philip Bump published Thursday that highlighted Grimes’ refusal to answer the Louisville Courier-Journal’s editorial board when asked if she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

“This election isn’t about President Obama,” she told the editorial board. When asked the question again, Grimes answered with a non-answer, stating that she was a delegate for Hillary Clinton in 2008.

“I think Kentuckians know that I’m a Clinton Democrat through and through,” she said.

“So you’re not going to answer?” Grimes is asked by a voice off-camera.

Grimes dodges the question a third time, stating that the Senate race not about President Obama.

In his column, Bump notes Obama’s unpopularity in Kentucky, and chides Grimes for avoiding the question by offering non-answers. Bump states that dodging the question hurts her credibility at a time when ads supporting Sen. Mitch McConnell work hard to link her to the Obama Administration.

While McConnell supporters were sharing on social media what Bump called a “painful 40 seconds” of video of Grimes refusing to answer the question, her own campaign was offering a different take on her visit with the C-J’s editorial board.

A campaign email Thursday afternoon titled “Grimes Outlines Strong Case for Election” reminded readers of her action plan and her top priorities she has hammered home in her campaign — which includes creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, protecting Medicare and social security.

Bump probably sums up the incident best in the final paragraph of his column:

“This isn’t the sorts of incident that makes or breaks a candidate. It’s one of the little ruts on the long road they’ll be traveling for the next 26 days. But it’s a mistake, and in a race in which Grimes needs everything to go her way, this little bit of bad driving is the sort of thing she should both know to avoid and know how to avoid.”

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