Politics

Friday on Byline, we talked about the just-completed Democratic National Convention.  Our panelists were CN2’s Ryan Alessi, who joined us by phone from Charlotte, WFPL political editor Phillip M. Bailey, and Kentucky Public Radio’s Kenny Colston. 

Panelists discuss the reaction to the speeches, the different impressions of the TV audience versus the live audience, votes of Kentucky delegates, the limited participation of Kentucky politicians, the shifting electoral map, and speculation on voter turnout.

Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth endorsed fellow Democrat Shelli Yoder on Friday in Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District race.

Yoder is facing Republican incumbent Todd Young in the fall campaign and has challenged him to a dozen debates across the district. The two campaigns have squabbled over the schedule of those forums in recent weeks.

Yarmuth says he looks forward to having Yoder as a partner in Congress, adding that she is a practical thinker.

"Shelli shares my commitment to making health care more affordable and insurance companies more accountable, protecting Medicare for this generation of seniors and the next, creating an economy that works for everyone, and standing up for our veterans," Yarmuth said in a news release.

Kentucky Tea Party activist David Adams has stepped up his battle with the state Department of Insurance by filing a federal civil rights complaint. 

Adams has spent the last three months fighting with the department over the rights of Christian Care Medishare and other Christians-only health sharing organizations, Christian HealthCare and Samaritan Ministries.

As the Democratic National Convention wraps up, Kentucky Democrats are trying to present a more unified front for President Barack Obama.

In this year’s primary, 42 percent of Democrats who cast ballots voted uncommitted rather than for the president. That created a problem for delegates to the party’s national convention, since uncommitted isn’t a candidate.

But this week, almost every Kentucky delegate supported this president's formal nomination.