Al Cross: Do you know what your members of Congress are doing?
Republicans snubbed Hal Rogers, more than once. They treated Thomas Massie more roughly. Brett Guthrie deferred his dream. James Comer…
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Benjy Hamm: New director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues ponders new role
The media world has changed significantly since Al Cross began serving as the first director of the Institute for Rural…
Al Cross: The race for governor; will culture trump politics again?
The first faceoff of the candidates for governor, at last Saturday’s Fancy Farm Picnic, brought the race into clearer focus….
Al Cross: Has Joe Wright’s example been forgotten?
HARNED, Ky. – At the funeral for one of Kentucky’s greater public servants in living memory, no speaker said a…
Benjamin Hamm to become director of IRJCI Aug. 16 as founding director Al Cross enters semi-retirement
The University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which is dedicated to helping sustain local journalism in…
Al Cross: Beshear, Cameron feckless with political money
This is mainly about political money, and a little bit about taxpayers’ money getting political. Most of the recent action…
Al Cross: Cameron, other pols should shut up about Trump’s case
The indictment of a former president on charges of keeping secret national-security materials, refusing to give them back, and lying…
Al Cross: Can money and misinformation buy a nomination for governor?
Ever since the Republican primary for governor shaped up, the big question has been: Can personal wealth buy a GOP…
Al Cross: Would-be governors, seeking votes, fall in line for Trump
Kentucky’s political system, largely run by Republicans these days, has thankfully avoided copying other red states’ mischief with their election…
Al Cross: Legislature overdoes it in trying to trip up Beshear
For a few minutes on the ides of March, it seemed the legislature was really legislating. Faced with a transgender-youth…
Al Cross: No-compromise culture war has ruined our politics
When the Kentucky House voted to ban gender-affirming medical treatment for Kentucky minors, even if their parents want them to…
Al Cross: McConnell campaigns hard for more military support of Ukraine
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has become one of the most outspoken advocates of stronger support for Ukraine, even as…
Al Cross: Legislative session is a battleground in the governor’s race
The General Assembly is back in the state capital, and we can safely assume the governor’s not happy about it….
Al Cross: As she runs with a big issue, Craft raises questions about her approach
Elections should be about issues, not just candidates. So, Republican Kelly Craft is to be commended for making the first…
Al Cross: Contrast was stark in U.S. Capitol Tuesday; McConnell enjoys milestone, chaos reigns in House
The contrast was stark in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. The east side was chaos, as the new, thin Republican…
Al Cross: Christmas gifts for Kentucky’s political elite
Before we renew this space’s 41-year tradition of imaginary but fitting Christmas gifts for Kentucky political figures, here’s a plea…
Al Cross: Beshear became popular from pandemic work, but it won’t sustain him in bid for reelection
When Gov. Andy Beshear was sworn in three years ago Saturday, he was a fluke, elected by just 5,136 votes…
Al Cross: In politics, John Y. Brown Jr. was a reformer who delivered — may his example be widely followed
The first time I was in a helicopter, and the first time I covered a race for governor, was the…
Al Cross: Gerrymanders warp legislature, damage our political system
The word “representative” is both a noun and an adjective. In the Kentucky General Assembly it has become mainly a…
Al Cross: Voters have their say on abortion; now the courts can, then the legislature
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have…
Al Cross: Political tumult makes us value pols like Ron Mazzoli, whose ‘fine character always won’
As the nation hurtles toward a tumultuous and fraught midterm election, Kentucky is an island of relative calm. Beyond elections…
Al Cross: Partisan politics invades judicial races, which are supposed to be nonpartisan
The government of the United States was the first with a clear separation of powers among executive, legislative and judicial…