Just like we did in 2009, we've collected quotes from various news stories, from speeches at Fancy Farm and presentations elsewhere during the weekend. We offer direct quotes available in the news (and hybrid direct-indirect quotes), without context.
Governor Steve Beshear
"I know the great tradition of Fancy Farm. I know that there should be great, fiery, partisan political rhetoric here ... and quite honestly, I was prepared to give just one of those speeches." (source)
"I will tell you something, my heart and mind are not with partisan politics. My heart and mind are thousands of miles away with our troops." (source)
He asked the crowd to applaud the many men and women in the military, saying they were "some of the best people I've ever met." Beshear said the experience was "the greatest trip of my lifetime." (source)
"That was an honor for me. If other people didn't like it, that's their problem. They can say what they want. I was on the ground on those streets of Afghanistan and Iraq. I know what they're going through. Today is not a time, for me, for partisan politics." (source)
"Politics has never played a role in anybody getting a job in the Beshear administration; it's never played a role in anybody losing their job in this administration. Contributions haven't either. We play by the rules. We always have." (source)
"We're starting to come out of that now. We're by no means out of it. We still have way too many people out of work, but we're starting to turn the corner. We're coming out of this a little faster and better than most other states. I just want now to finish the job. We're going to get out of this." (source)
"Come November, Kentucky will elect its next governor and I have every confidence that Kentuckians will make the right decision. But I know this -- I know that I'm going to sleep better every night from now on knowing that this country's future is in the hands of men and women like I met last week." (source)
Senate President David Williams
"If I was Steve Beshear, I wouldn't want to talk about my record, either." (source)
"Congratulations, you did the right thing. You did the wrong thing when you wouldn't leave the (Kentucky) Oaks to go to Fort Campbell." (source)
"He spent all of your money, he spent all of Obama's money and now he's spending your children and grandchildren's money." (source)
"As governor, I will stand up to Barack Obama." (source)
"My grandfather was a barber but I can't cut hair." (source)
"The only difference between Charlie and Chuck Geveden and Frank and Jesse James is, the James boys rode horses and carried guns." (source)
"That's OK, that's OK, leave the guy alone. I remember when I had my first beer. You'll be OK tomorrow, buddy." (source)
"He just doesn't want to talk his record, and, you know, I think the people of this state will not stand for his continued avoidance of any discussion of his record or any justification of him not having an agenda." (source)
"I think Gatewood Galbraith expressed what everyone else in the crowd felt." (source)
Gatewood Galbraith
Instead of talking about solutions for Kentucky's problems, he said, "You go over there and try to hide behind the bodies of our young men and women in the military. I was highly offended" by the speech. (source)
"And the reason you did that was because you were too damn cowardly to go down there and congratulate the Navy SEALs at Fort Campbell." (source)
"That was the worst darn speech I've ever heard. I'm highly offended by it." (source)
Galbraith said the only reason Beshear went to the Middle East was because he had failed to accompany President Barack Obama to Fort Campbell to congratulate the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden. "It's like trying to buy a room full of flowers for your girl after you've been caught cheating."(source)
"Neither party has presented any solutions." (source)
"If you're going to use your outside voice, go over with the other children on the playground." (source)
"Only I can beat Steve Beshear and that's because we've got solutions to problems." (source)
"If that speech didn't cost Steve Beshear the election then nobody was listening." (source)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
"We need a governor who will stand up to Barack Obama, not endorse him, and the man for that job is David Williams." (source)
"Steve likes his state workers like he likes his martinis - Shaken down and not heard."
(source)
"Beshear and President Obama are singing the same tune; they both claim they've improved the economy. Is there anybody out there who is better off since Beshear and Obama took over?" (source)
He recalled the 1996 Senate race when he turned back Beshear's challenge.
"It was over so early, I was able to give a victory speech and go to an afternoon movie." (source)
