First of all, my heart goes out to the families of the 29 workers who died at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, and the families of Justin Travis and Michael Carter, two miners who died last week in western Kentucky at the Dotiki Mine. These tragedies illustrate why we need to mine responsibly and as safely as possible.

With respect to future energy policy, I support Kentucky coal and oppose cap and trade. As Attorney General, I have opposed EPA efforts to regulate carbon without the consent of Congress. And as Senator, I will oppose any cap and trade system that raises prices on Kentucky consumers or businesses, and I will fight to keep Kentucky coal a central part of our energy future.
 
I do support federal investments in carbon capture and sequestration technology that would continue to utilize cost-efficient coal in an environmentally-responsible way. But the long-run solution to climate change is for every country to reduce carbon emissions, and I think large developing economies like China and India should have to reduce emissions along with industrialized countries.
 
I also believe there is much more we can do to conserve energy and to reduce carbon emissions, such as retrofitting large city buildings with efficiency-improving technology.

 

Thank you for the question. My father grew up on a farm in Union County so I respect and appreciate the strong agricultural traditions and values we have here in Kentucky.
 
As Attorney General, I’ve fought for farmers to ensure that Kentucky receives all of the money it is entitled to under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between the major tobacco manufacturers and 52 states and territories. The MSA provides funding for many invaluable programs – from agriculture to education. As Kentucky’s next Senator, I will steadfastly support Kentucky farmers.
 

I guess Jack missed the bit about the "bizarre sounding ethics charges" buried at the bottom of those questions, but here's the Louisville Courier Journal's take:

Editorial | Mongiardo's attacks are dirty pool

The mud that Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo is throwing at Attorney General Jack Conway is over the top. Chief among these is the allegation that Mr. Conway behaved unethically by accepting campaign contributions from utility company executives and their lobbyists. Dr. Mongiardo declares that Mr. Conway personally approved saddling Kentucky ratepayers with more than $120 million in increases.

The fact is this: The attorney general of Kentucky doesn't approve rate increases. That is the role of the state's Public Service Commission. The attorney general's office can intervene, when it feels that increases are out of line, and Mr. Conway has done precisely that. Indeed, he contends that he has saved ratepayers more than $100 million.

Two former attorneys general — U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler and House Speaker Greg Stumbo — have come to Mr. Conway's defense, calling Dr. Mongiardo's attacks “baseless.” ...

Dr. Mongiardo has strengths, too, but at the moment they are camouflaged by his deceitful campaign attacks.

 

I supported health care reform and my opponent was against it. He said we should stop and start over, which is exactly where Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, the Tea Party and the Republicans are on health care.  I stood up and said no to the Tea Party political stunt when they wanted me to file a lawsuit against health care reform. I went on Fox News and defended health care, Social Security and Medicare against the Republican Tea Party attacks.  My opponent still refuses to support health care. 

I supported health care reform and my opponent was against it. He said we should stop and start over, which is exactly where Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, the Tea Party and the Republicans are on health care.

I stood up and said no to the Tea Party political stunt when they wanted me to file a lawsuit against health care reform. I went on Fox News and defended health care, Social Security and Medicare against the Republican Tea Party attacks.

My opponent still refuses to support health care. 

 

Chuckie - I'm surprised Jack didn't get to this question during the live blog, but here's a bit from last month's interview with him.

Speaking of coal, what about mountaintop removal mining? It’s been said that you oppose it.

“I think coal needs to be mined responsibly, and what we need out of our surface mining is to make certain that we’re not burying streams that are the headwaters of the Kentucky rivers. The other thing is, when you permit land, you need to make certain that land use is at the forefront of the permit.

“Right now, in Appalachia, I think it’s only a tiny fraction of the land, post-reclamation, that’s being used for what was said in the permitting process… We don’t need to affect the water quality in places like Appalachia.”

This November Hotline article further explores the two candidates on the issue: http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2009/11/mountaintop_min.php

I have serious concerns about the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case. I think it starts us on a slippery slope and I worry that it opens up the door to foreign corporations being able to influence our elections. I think that is problematic and we need to clarify the law.  

Nathan,

S/F to your brother.  

Since the primary civilian political leaders to interface with the military are presidents, I would say that presidents Bush 1, Clinton and Obama have shown a recognition of the specialized expertise of the military and while they have given general guidance and leadership they did not and do not replace sound military strategy with their political beliefs.  My experience with Jack is that he knows to select competent, moral experts and then allows them to get the job done without political interference. 

From more of a policy perspective, Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar are great examples of politicians that recognized the need to address the security concerns about decommissioned Soviet nuclear weapons and the need to tackle the problem in a bi partisan manner.  I know that Jack is concerned about that very serious national security issue.