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ICYMI: Republican State Senator Hosts “Bullied By Bevin” Picnic

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In case you missed it, a Republican state senator is hosting a picnic for every person who Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has bullied. It’s certainly going to be well-attended.
Teachers, judges, journalists, retirees, union members, schoolchildren, members of his own party, and his hand-picked lieutenant governor are all welcome to the picnic. Insulting all of these groups made Bevin the most unpopular governor in the country.
Read more about the “Bullied by Bevin” picnic below:
Courier Journal: Ever felt ‘bullied by Bevin’? A Republican senator wants you to attend his Kentucky picnic
[sic] Republican state senator is hosting a catered picnic at his 8-acre estate in Fairdale this month and inviting anyone who has been “bullied” by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin — including Bevin’s own lieutenant governor.
Sen. Dan Seum says the picnic is a nonpartisan event in which any group that has felt personally insulted or bullied by the governor — including teachers, judges, journalists, retirees and union members — are welcome.
“Any elected official is welcome, too … except for one,” Seum said. “Because when you insult my family and you insult me personally, then you’re not welcome.”
In the past two years Bevin has blamed teacher sickouts for the sexual assault of children and the shooting of one specific child in Louisville, recently adding that teachers only participated in the sickouts to get a paid day off work.
Of the teachers in his family, Seum told the Courier Journal on Thursday, “I don’t believe they’re thugs, and I don’t believe they’re greedy.”
[…]
Seum made headlines in August when he broke ranks with his party to endorse the campaign of Attorney General Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee for governor who is taking on Bevin this fall.
In a video announcing that endorsement, Seum blasted Bevin for making numerous disparaging comments about public school teachers who protested pension legislation supported by the governor.
“Today, we have a governor who has failed miserably in the pension issue and has spent the last year running around the state insulting everyone, including the four teachers in my family,” Seum said in the video.
Seum said he expects 200 people to attend the picnic, and a Facebook page for the event listed that many either planning to or interested in attending. He added that he hosted the Jefferson County Republican Party’s picnic at his property just three years ago.
A Fairdale restaurant will provide barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers for the picnic, Seum said.
“I don’t know how you govern if you’ve insulted everybody,” Seum said. “Big groups of people make things happen working together as a team, and we’re only going to solve this pension crisis if we can all sit down at the table civilly and talk.”
A strong supporter of marijuana legalization, Seum said that he and other advocates were insulted when the governor called his legalization bill “delusional.”
He also decried Bevin’s treatment of his Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, who is suing the governor over his administration’s dismissal of her two top staff members against her wishes.
Seum said Republican state legislators were also welcome to attend, though some may be too fearful of retaliation from the governor to do so.
[…]