Venerable Kentucky Political Picnic Invites McCain, Obama, But Refuses Barr
July 18th, 2008Fancy Farm is a small town in western Kentucky. For 128 years in a row, community leaders have held an annual Political Picnic, at which candidates for public office are invited to speak. The first presidential candidate who was invited, and accepted, was George Wallace. This year the Fancy Farm Political Picnic has invited Senators Obama and McCain, and holds out hope that they will accept. However, the organizers of the Picnic have told Bob Barr that he is not invited. Organizers said, “We rarely ask third party candidates.” The Picnic is held on the grounds of St. Jerome Catholic Church, not on public property. Therefore, the organizers are free to invite whom they wish. Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for this news. For more about the Picnic, see here.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Political bigotry, pure and simple.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I’d be interested in their definition of “rarely”. Have they ever invited a single third party candidate?
George Wallace…very noble first presidential invitee to speak.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:39 am
People are brain washed in Republican & Democratic Parties. Too bad for America.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:43 am
They may be afraid that inviting Barr would cause the others to decline.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:54 am
I guess [hypothetically] George Washington would be on the ‘D’ list…..
July 18th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Yes, this is a CHURCH picnic. I had thought that religious institutions, if involved in politics at all, could not discriminate. Although this is often violated both by Republican-leaning churches and Democratic-leaning ones (particularly one in south Chicago). Perhaps a threat of removing the tax-exempt status would encourage the church to do the right thing. KY Secretary of State Trey Greyson has helped third parties in the past, making it legal to register as a “Libertarian” instead of just “Other,” for example, but I doubt that he will get involved this time. He has spoken there in the past.
However, As Bob Barr and U.S. Senate Candidate Sonny Landham are not on the ballot yet, I suppose the church would be allowed to discriminate, until one realizes that until the conventions take place, neither Obama nor McCain officially are on the ballot either.
Generally, the Fancy Farm picnic is considered the beginning of the fall election season in Kentucky. Does anyone know if there will be any live streaming of the event this year?
July 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
This is evil.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
A CHURCH PICNIC! THIS IS EVIL!
July 20th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Larry West “had thought that religious institutions … could not discriminate.”
Right… and that law is enforced by — wait for it — a board consisting of Republicans and Democrats. (But they’re BIparitsan!)