Over the course of February, the Black Caucus of the House of Representatives make special speeches in honor of Black History Month. Each time they honor a particular African-American who has left their special mark on Kentucky’s history.
Today, that typical honor took a bit of an unexpected turn. Jeff Hoover decided to highlight the accomplishments of Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton. ITC would note that it is painfully obvious that Hoover most likely opted to do this because he and Hampton are unexpectedly joined together now as the two Republicans in the state who probably dislike Matt Bevin more than any others. But there is some irony in the fact that the two would be linked when one is the darling of the Tea Party movement and the other has been in the establishment wing his whole career.
With that being said, though, why wouldn’t Hampton be honored? Even her biggest detractors in 2015 now readily admit that she has conducted herself with complete class and tried to bring real meaning to her office, despite Bevin and his administration often cutting her off at the knees. And, while she has been reluctant to bring her race into the picture, it should go without saying that being elected to the second highest office in the state while a racial minority is no small feat. It’s one that you would think would be celebrated by many, especially the Black Caucus.
So why is it that Reginald Meeks, Attica Scott and Jim Glenn, all members of the Black Caucus, refused to vote in support of Hoover’s resolution honoring Hampton? We at ITC understand their politics may differ, but to ignore the political accomplishments of Kentucky’s highest ranking minority ever for political reasons seems extremely petty.
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