2010 Kentucky Senate Debates: on Principles & Values

Jack Conway: TV ad: Rand Paul made fun of Christianity and Christ

CONWAY AD NARRATOR:
• Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible a hoax, that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ?
• Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up, tell her to bow down before a false idol, and say his god was Aqua Buddha?
• Why does Rand Paul now want to end all federal faith-based initiatives and even end the reduction for religious charities?
• Why are there so many questions about Rand Paul?

CONWAY: I'm not questioning his faith. I'm questioning his actions. Baylor University banned this group because they were "making fun of Christianity and Christ." And we're asking, is it appropriate, whether you're 22 years old or 42 years old, to ever tie up a woman and ask her to kneel before a false idol?

Jack Conway: FactCheck: "Aqua Buddha" TV ad is accurate but over the top

CONWAY: No, I'm not implying criminal. And the woman came out again today, and she said our ad was correct.

Q: Well, she said your ad was over the top.

CONWAY: And FactCheck.org said our ad was correct.

Q: Accurate, but over the top. But does an incident that may or may not have occurred 27 years ago, does it really matter to voters today, given all the things that people are facing, all the things, the problems that people are having in their own lives?

Q: Doesn't everybody do stupid stuff in college or when they're in late teens, early 20s?

CONWAY: Sure, sure, everyone does stupid stuff. But Rand Paul is denying that this happened.

Jack Conway: TV ad: Accuser is anonymous, but a Mr. Green says it's true

CONWAY: Well, the woman who has made the allegations has remained anonymous.

Q: So, you don't know, really, who she is, other than one or two reporters who have talked to her?

CONWAY: Other than the reporters for "The Washington Post" and "GQ" and the other reporters. One gentleman named Mr. Green has gone on record who was a compatriot of Rand Paul's in this secret society and said, yes, they aspired to sacrilege and Rand Paul reveled in it.

Q: But does it concern you to be basing so much of your campaign on a nameless person who won't come forward? You're an attorney. You couldn't put this person on a stand. You couldn't put these statements in court.

CONWAY: Look, she has called it sadistic and she has called it weird. And she's talked about it on multiple occasions. The president of Baylor banned the group.

Jack Conway: Claims Rand Paul worships "Aqua Buddha" & mocks Holy Bible

The latter claim refers to a charge made in a GQ article by an unnamed college swim teammate, who said Paul and another student also tried to force her to smoke marijuana. The episode reportedly occurred in 1983. Paul has called the claim "ridiculous" and said he was "never involved with kidnapping."

During the debate, Conway repeated the allegation--triggering Paul's response: "Jack, you know how we tell when you're lying? It's when your lips are moving, Paul sputtered. "You're going to stand over there and accuse me of a crime for 30 years ago from some anonymous source?"

Paul describes himself as a "pro-life Christian" and says his faith is "something very personal to me, my wife, my kids."

Rand Paul: Accused of belonging to secret society NoZe Brotherhood

Paul's threat to cancel the Oct. 25 debate with Conway follows the re-emergence of embarrassing allegations about Paul while he was a student at Baylor University in the 1980s. According to an article published last summer in GQ magazine, Paul belonged to the NoZe Brotherhood, a secret society that had been banned on the Texas university's campus because it mocked Christianity and the Baptist faith. Baylor is a Baptist school.

"Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible 'a hoax,' that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ?" Conway's campaign asks in a new statewide ad.

Rand Paul: I'm "a pro-life Christian"; denies worshiping "Aqua Buddha"

Paul has called the claim "ridiculous" and said he was "never involved with kidnapping." During a Saturday debate, Conway repeated the allegation against Paul--triggering one of the angriest exchanges of the 2010 campaign season. "You know, Jack, you know how we tell when you're lying? It's when your lips are moving. OK?" Paul sputtered. "You're going to stand over there and accuse me of a crime for 30 years ago from some anonymous source?" He added: "Jack, have you no decency? Have you no shame?"

Paul describes himself as a "pro-life Christian" and says his faith is "something very personal to me, my wife, my kids."

Jack Conway: An honor to run for Wendell Ford's senate seat

Paul replied, "I didn't know it was Wendell Ford's seat. I thought it was the people of Kentucky's seat."

The response mirrored an exchange that occurred in Massachusetts earlier this year, when a debate moderator made a reference to the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat and Scott Brown, the insurgent Republican, shot back: "It's not the Kennedy's seat. It's not the Democrat's seat. It's the people's seat."

"The people's seat" became the rallying cry for Brown, who won the race.

Wendell Ford, a Democrat, holds a Kennedy-like place in the Kentucky political firmament. He represented Kentucky for 24 years in the Senate, also served as the state's governor and was the unofficial head of the state party for three decades until he retired in 1999. Time will tell whether Mr. Conway's reference is perceived as a slip-up.

Rand Paul: This election really is about the president's agenda

• I'm very concerned about the debt that we're piling on--mountains and mountains of debt.
• I'm concerned about Pres. Obama adding trillions of dollars of entitlement programs.
• I'm concerned about the president adding or allowing the largest tax hike in our history.
• And I'm concerned about Pres. Obama foisting cap and trade on Kentucky which will be a disaster for our coal jobs.

Q: You say very little about Attorney General Conway on the campaign trail. Now's your chance.

PAUL: He needs to either defend his president or run away. So far he's running away from Pres. Obama and the agenda. He supports Obamacare. He supported repealing the tax cuts before he was against it. Cap and trade, he's been on both sides of the issue.

Rand Paul: This is not Wendell Ford's seat; it's the people's seat

Paul replied, "I didn't know it was Wendell Ford's seat. I thought it was the people of Kentucky's seat."

The response mirrored an exchange that occurred in MA earlier this year, when a debate moderator made a reference to the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat and Scott Brown, the insurgent Republican, shot back: "It's not the Kennedy's seat. It's not the Democrat's seat. It's the people's seat."

"The people's seat" became the rallying cry for Brown, who won the race. The phrase neatly captured the zeitgeist of a year in which insurgent grass-roots candidates across the country have been a forceful presence.

Wendell Ford, a Democrat, holds a Kennedy-like place in the Kentucky political firmament. He represented Kentucky for 24 years in the Senate, & served as the state's governor.