FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Battle Continues Between Bevin, Beshear and the Mainstream Media
CONTACT: Brandon Porter, 270-576-1755
DATE: January 26, 2017
NOTE: Audio Clips are available
The war of words between the Governor and Attorney General rose to new levels on Wednesday as Governor Bevin took exception to a story by Deborah Yetter in the Courier Journal saying that Attorney General Andy Beshear is defending the ultrasound bill recently passed in the General Assembly and signed by the Governor.
Governor Bevin said that Beshear’s request to be removed from the case shows he has no real intentions of defending either of the new pro-life laws, “He filed a motion stating he was taking no position and so he does not intend to defend either one of them.” Gov. Bevin asserts the Attorney General is responding to the pressure of his political party rather than defending the laws of Kentucky, “The bottom line is there was a lot of pressure on him to not defend these and it’s from the people that support him and other liberals. I think he buckled to them rather than to the will of the people of Kentucky and that’s unfortunate, it’s irresponsible, and it’s a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Kentucky.”
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon Attorney General Beshear wrote, “My office is actively defending agencies sued over House Bill 2. In doing so, we have taken the most aggressive action possible, moving to have the entire case dismissed as to those agencies.”
In a Facebook Live post on Wednesday Governor Bevin took aim at the mainstream media. In a Wednesday afternoon interview with Richard Nelson of the Commonwealth Policy Center, Bevin said, “If something can be retweeted, reposted, liked, forwarded, or flagged that’s what it’s about. So more and more of the traditional media have become more and more tabloid like. Whether it’s true or whether it’s not true as long as it’s sensational and it gets people talking that’s what leads the charge now.” He says people should do their own investigating and that is the reason he’s using social media, “Don’t assume we or anything any individual says as straight up truth. Make your own interpretation as best as you see fit, but rather than waiting for something to be spun and then to be spun back to the truth we’ve just taken it straight to people through social media.”
Bevin’s video has been viewed more than 60,000 times on Facebook.
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If used please cite the Commonwealth Policy Foundation and please email Brandon@CommonwealthPolicy.org