By KPR
Fancy Farm, KY – During this year's Fancy Farm picnic, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear bypassed the heated rhetoric and only discussed his recent visit with troops serving abroad. Republican challenger David Williams repeated familiar put downs. But independent gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith's speech bested the governor's idle remarks and Williams's confrontational style.
Leading Williams by 24 points in the latest poll, Beshear has been jogging through the campaign. But by delivering an anti-Fancy Farm speech, he was open to some stinging attacks by Galbraith, who called the governor out for using the troops as a shield to avoid jeers at the raucous event.
"Governor Beshear that was the worst darn speech I ever heard anybody give. For a person who's supposed to be trying to come up with solutions to Kentucky's problems for you to go over there and try to hide behind the bodies of our young men and women in the military. I've got an honorable discharge from the Marines and I was highly offended by it," he says.
The independent candidate said Beshear's recent trip was meant to make up for his decision to not meet with the Navy SEAL team that killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Galbraith didn't spare Sen. Williams criticisms either, telling the GOP nominee he has no chance of winning this November. The perennial candidate told the crowd he is against mountaintop removal and furloughs for state employees, and supports freezing tuition rates and reforming the tax code.