Kelly Craft visits Summer Shade
Gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft answered questions from those attending. Photo by PJ Martin
By PJ Martin
Editor
The Herald-News
On Monday, April 10th Republican candidate for Governor of Kentucky Kelly Craft made a stop in the small town of Summer Shade to speak to voters.
She has been campaigning in rural towns throughout the state and when someone in her campaign called and asked if she could make a stop at the Summer Shade Fire Department, it was decided that was probably the best community gathering spot so it was agreed upon. It was noted that the fire department was equally open to any visiting candidate.
Craft served during President Donald Trump’s four-year term as the first female U.S. Ambassador to Canada, then as the UN Ambassador. She was involved in the negotiations for the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
While at the UN she called out China’s Communist Party, because, “not only are they purchasing Kentucky farmland, they’re trying to purchase properties that are next to our military installments. They’re also stealing our electronic communications…they’re stealing all of our intellectual property…they try to manufacture things so much less, because they’re producing coal-fired power plants…we were able to call them out on what they were doing and especially for the Fentanyl. For the drugs coming over the border.”
She went down to the border to see for herself. “I couldn’t believe how open that border was! People just flowing across…you can get across that border easier than you can get into a UK basketball game.”
Craft spoke of the number one problem in Kentucky which is drugs, specifically Fentanyl. “We have to put an end to the Fentanyl coming into our state!”
“We’re gonna have a hotline and we’re going to make certain that if someone travels into Tennessee, or start in Alabama, Georgia, Texas with Governor Abbott, that we have a hotline and we let one another know that if you are a drug dealer, if you’re a drug trafficker, and you take the life of another person in the state of Kentucky, you are headed for the death penalty.”
“I haven’t met one family in this state, not one family, that doesn’t know someone or has been touched personally by this drug epidemic in this state.” She relayed that her daughter was addicted, and she had her arrested, put in juvenile detention, and into rehab. Today, she is healthy and thriving, but she knows that not every family is that fortunate. “We need to make certain that we give our law enforcement every tool that is necessary, that when they make an arrest that that individual doesn’t just get slapped on the wrist, that they go before a judge and they are sentenced appropriately and when the judge hands down the sentence, that individual is gonna fulfill it.”
She stated that parents around the state are talking to her about the education of their kids. “They’re concerned, because their children are having this woke ideology. They’re being taught critical race theory and not the ABCs. Their children are not being taught skills and knowledge to reach their full potential.”
She said that she gave this a lot of thought and decided that she could dismantle the Kentucky Department of Education. “Dismantle it, take it apart, because there’s some good people there. We just have to tell them that they are no longer silenced, because we have this woke Commissioner of Education. And if he’s going to do the right thing, on the day I’m elected, he’ll resign. If he chooses not to do the right thing, then I’ll do the right thing, and the day I’m inaugurated, I’ll fire him.”
Speaking for her and her husband, “We want to make certain that kids in the state of Kentucky, no matter where you are, every corner, every community, every child has a pathway to reach their full potential.”
The workforce and lack of jobs are other issues that people are concerned about. “We know what regulations is doing to small businesses. Regulations should be there to help you, not to prevent you from being able to hire another person, or train people, or grow your business. Instead, they’re a barrier. So we’re gonna take a long hard look at these regulations.”
Craft also mentioned SB150, a bill that Senator Max Wise, who was in attendance, sponsored, and how it gives rights back to the parents and assures that only girls are in girls’ school bathrooms and locker rooms and boys are in boys’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
Kelly Crafty then introduced Riley Gaines who has, “actually lived the flip side of SB150.”
UK swimmer Riley Gaines spoke about the problems caused by transgender males competing in women’s sports. Photo by PJ Martin
Riley Gaines is a former swimmer with the University of Kentucky. Gaines was an NCAA finalist in the 200 freestyle in 2021 and 2022. Gaines is a 12-time All-American swimmer at UK who set SEC records in the 200-meter butterfly. She was also the SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2022 and won the prestigious Sullivan Award.
She is now a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and speaks against transgender athletes since being forced to share a locker room and then compete in the NCAA Championship against trans athlete Lia Thomas (formerly Will Thomas of PA).
Even worse, the NCAA judges insisted on awarding the trophy to Lia Thomas ignoring the fact that Gaines had tied with Thomas down to the 100th of a second. Gaines asked the judges, “Why?” and they replied “Lia has to have the trophy for photo purposes. You can pose with this one, but you will give it back.”
“I thought surely someone, whether that be a coach or parent, I thought surely someone would stick up for us,” said Gaines, “but they didn’t.”
She and other female swimmers found themselves forced to be in the locker room with a transgender male. Gaines described the scene, “It’s not a place of modesty, these suits are teeny tiny… you’re fully exposed. I can‘t even tell you the feeling, the subconscious need to cover yourself when you turn around, and there’s a 6 foot 4, 22-year-old man dropping his pants, fully equipped with and exposing male genitalia watching other girls undress.”
She compared this to just a year ago saying, “Someone would have come in and arrested him for indecent exposure or sexual harassment…but now it’s being allowed and even encouraged.”
Gaines feels that transgender athletes should not compete against female athletes, but should be competing in their own division against other trans athletes.
She spoke briefly about how she was attacked while at San Francisco State University on the previous Thursday to speak to the local chapter of Turning Point USA about how no biological male athlete should be competing in women’s sports.
After her speech, she was ambushed and hit several times by a man in a dress, called vulgar names, and held hostage for three hours by several pro-transgender protesters until rescued by the police.
Afterward, both graciously thanked everyone for being there, took questions, and talked with those in attendance.
