2014 KY Senate debate: on Environment

Matt Bevin: I don't support cockfighting, but don't criminalize it

"I am genuinely sorry that my attendance at an event which, other than my comments, appears to have primarily involved a discussion of cockfighting, has created concern on the part of many Kentucky voters. I understand that concern," Bevin said. "I am not and have never been, a supporter of cockfighting or any other forms of animal cruelty."

Bevin had initially said he wasn't aware the event was a cockfighting rally, but a video uncovered by Louisville's WAVE-TV showed that Bevin was asked directly about whether cockfighting should be legalized--it is not now legal in Kentucky. He replied: "Criminalizing behavior, if it's part of the heritage of this state, is in my opinion a bad idea. A bad idea. I will not support it."

Alison Grimes: OpEd: Disdain for the EPA, but better choice for greens

Grimes doesn't offer much for the green community to rally behind. She has criticized Pres. Obama for taking "direct aim at Kentucky's coal industry" and faulted proposed EPA carbon dioxide controls of existing power plants. Those positions aren't likely to be controversial in the nation's No. 3 coal producing state, but they don't mix well with the agenda of environmental groups.

McConnell has increasingly taken aim at the Obama administration's climate agenda, including chiding EPA at a public "listening session" at the agency's Washington headquarters. But before groups such as the Sierra Club dole out campaign funds, they first want to make sure that Grimes is close enough to their camp to overlook the differences.