State Senator Aaron Reed wants to look like a man of the people, boots, cowboy hat, and all, but his political playbook is pure MAGA cosplay. Beneath the costume lies a calculated career built on culture war posturing, military fetishism, and barely concealed far-right sympathies. With ambitions for higher office and a business that caters to gun culture, Reed isn’t just another right-wing state senator. He’s a walking billboard for Kentucky’s hard-right undercurrent. From Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots: Building a Brand on Macho Mythology Aaron Reed wears his military background like armor. Not just on his campaign materials, but in nearly every public appearance, policy pitch, and photo op. He leans hard into a narrative of discipline, duty, and strength, presenting himself as the hard-nosed patriot Kentucky needs. But scratch beneath the surface of this tactical persona, and what emerges is less a servant-leader and more a man obsessed with performance. Reed’s public image is carefull...

Andy Barr, the representative from Kentucky’s 6th district since 2013, is now muscling in to succeed Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate. In the last few years Barr has gone from moderate business republican to now cozying up to the farthest right-wing elements, acting as a Trump Mini-Me , groveling for MAGA endorsements and corporate PAC cash. Don’t let the mild-mannered suit fool you. Underneath, it’s the same stale MAGA playbook and empty promises. Career Counselor to Wall Street When Andy Barr talks about “serving Kentucky,” he means the part of Kentucky that runs hedge funds and holds real estate portfolios. Not the folks in Eastern Kentucky struggling with hospital closures or the teachers paying for classroom supplies out of pocket. Barr didn’t build his career on Main Street; he built it lobbying for, and then legislating in favor of, America’s most powerful financial institutions . Before running for Congress, Barr cut his teeth as a staffer for Mitch McConnell and later worked...

Josh Calloway doesn’t just want to legislate his beliefs. He wants to embed them into the very foundations of Kentucky’s public education system. Through a calculated mix of religious fundamentalism, state-sponsored surveillance, and a fetish for authoritarian control, Calloway is helping to lead the charge in transforming schools from places of learning into instruments of ideological enforcement. Faith-Based Counseling Without Accountability It begins with the deceptively soft pitch of “pastoral counselors” in schools. On the surface, this might seem like a compassionate gesture toward addressing student trauma and mental health. But these counselors aren’t licensed professionals. They’re faith-based actors, selected not for their credentials in psychology or therapy, but for their alignment with a narrow, sectarian worldview. And under current proposals, they would be embedded directly into public institutions, paid with public funds, and granted access to vulnerable students, witho...

 In Kentucky and across the country, public education is under attack. But the threat isn’t just budget cuts or teacher shortages. It’s a coordinated effort to gut public schools by funneling public dollars into private, often religious, institutions. At the center of this push in Kentucky is Rep. Josh Calloway , a lawmaker who blends far-right ideology with evangelical zeal, all while cloaking his agenda in the language of “parental rights” and “school choice.” Calloway’s legislative record reads like a blueprint from national dark-money think tanks. He backed House Bill 208 , a bill that opens the door for Kentucky tax dollars to subsidize private religious schools. Though marketed as a way to give families more “freedom,” the real agenda is clear: defund and destabilize public education while using the state to prop up a narrow, sectarian vision of schooling. The Hope Academy Connection: Religious Rehab as Public Policy One of the clearest windows into Representative Josh Callow...

While most Kentuckians are working hard just to make ends meet, Senate President Robert Stivers is hard at work consolidating power, cutting deals, and rewriting the rules to benefit his political allies. Behind the polished podium speeches and empty talk of “good governance” lies a record of insider favoritism, partisan purges, and backroom influence that’s left everyday Kentuckians behind. It’s time to shine a light on the man running the Senate like it’s his personal fiefdom.  Weaponizing Power Over Commissions In early 2025, Stivers pushed Senate Bill 8 to stack the Public Service Commission —adding partisan seats and forcing out members appointed by a Democratic governor . He claims it's about "expertise," but this is a blatant attempt to install his cronies and sideline independent regulators. Later, he quietly stalled the bill. J ust enough to avoid blowback . Strategy, not principle. Fundraising for Judges: Deep Conflicts Stivers publicly shrugged off conce...

James Comer wants you to think he’s a crusader for truth. A no-nonsense, God-fearing Kentuckian holding corrupt elites accountable from his seat atop the House Oversight Committee. But here’s the reality: James Comer isn’t investigating corruption. He’s part of it. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A Committee Chair Who Can't Chair a Meeting Since taking over the House Oversight Committee, Comer’s performance has been less "watchdog" and more wannabe Fox News host with a gavel . His so-called investigations have turned into embarrassments, filled with half-baked accusations, missing evidence, and made-for-TV soundbites that fizzle under real scrutiny. Instead of focusing on things that actually matter to Kentuckians, like healthcare access, rural infrastructure, or economic survival, Comer has wasted taxpayer time and money chasing political boogeymen . And when the heat’s on him? He d...