Politics

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stepped up his calls for Missouri Congressman Todd Akin to end his Senate campaign.

The embattled Congressman and Tea Party favorite made national headlines recently for his use of the phrase “legitimate rape” and his claim that it rarely results in pregnancy.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will deliver a speech a speech at this month’s Republican National Convention.

McConnell’s office confirmed to the congressional newspaper The Hill that McConnell will speak on August 29, the third night of the convention in Tampa.

The Republican National Committee previously announced that Kentucky junior Senator Rand Paul will speak on the convention’s opening night August 27.

A leading advocate of Kentucky's new prescription pill law says he's ready to listen to doctors who want to change it.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has made fighting prescription pill abuse one of his top priorities. Earlier this year, he was a leading supporter of House Bill 1, which mandates that most doctors use the KASPER pill tracking system.

Several doctors have complained that having to put every patient into the KASPER system is burdensome. And Conway says he's willing to loosen some restrictions to help the medical community.

The country's largest Tea Party political action committee is joining a growing chorus of conservatives who are urging Missouri Congressman Todd Akin to drop out of his U.S. Senate race.

From Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer:

"Congressman Akin’s comments this weekend are not just unfortunate and inappropriate, but they are distracting from our main goal of defeating Claire McCaskill and taking the Senate gavel out of the hands of Harry Reid.  At a time when our national debt is approaching $16 trillion, job growth is stagnate, and the Senate has failed to pass a budget in over 3 years, we need a candidate that is ready to help lead the charge for conservative solutions.

One of the lessons we learned in 2010 is that we need candidates who are not only conservative, but are capable of putting together a strong campaign against liberal opponents. 

Kentucky Republicans are getting high-profile positions at next week's national convention in Tampa, Florida while their Democratic counterparts are either skipping their party's convention or have not been offered speaking slots.

The event is set to begin August 27, and RNC organizers announced Monday that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is delivering his keynote speech in prime time on the first day of convention. Paul is scheduled to speak around 7:45 p.m.

Calling the comments "inexcusable" Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is urging Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin to reconsidering his bid.

Over the weekend, Congressman Akin was asked if he would support abortion in the case of women who have been raped. Akin said: "It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare...If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

He apologized Monday for the controversial remarks and rejected calls to drop out of the race, but GOP leaders have said the Missouri lawmaker should think twice.

WFPL requested a comment from McConnell, and received the following statement.

High-profile supporters of industrial hemp will rally for their cause at the Kentucky State Fair this week.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer will hold a news conference on Thursday morning on the fairgrounds. Paul is the co-sponsor of a Senate bill that would make hemp legal again across the U.S. And Comer supports a state-level bill that would allow it in Kentucky. He does not support legalizing hemp's cousin crop, marijuana.

Comer says Kentucky has always been well-suited to growing hemp, and the crop could be helpful at a time like this.

“It’s more resilient to drought conditions than any crop I know," he says. "It’s a green crop, you don’t have to put out nitrogen fertilizer out for it, so it’s a win-win situation.”

Governor Steve Beshear says he's interested in a so-called hybrid approach to pension reform.

Lawmakers are discussing how to fix the flailing public pension plans for state and county employees. They'll make recommendations at the end of the year.

Beshear says he would support a plan, that allows current to employees keep their pensions, but require new employees to pay into a 401k-type plan.

But the governor's support isn't without qualifications.

A Tea Party rally featuring Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul in Frankfort to protest President Obama’s health care law is expected to draw a big crowd this week.

The two are expected to rail against the Affordable Care Act, which has been a punching bag for Republican leaders since its passage. Over the past year, Tea Party candidates running in Senate primaries have had impressive victories in Missouri, Indiana and Texas, and McConnell's appearance is being heralded as another sign of the movement's clout.

Tea Party activist David Adams says the rally will likely receive national attention due to McConnell and Paul’s attendance.

"The real draw on this are two U.S. Senators being there, so you may see people coming from farther away than just the 20 mile circle around the state Capitol," he says.