[Hoot Gibson]

KY had a poverty rate of 50% prior to the war on poverty, and Perkins ruined EKY?

Projects like improving roads and communications are hardly federal handouts.

I agree EKY needs a four year institution, but no way it survives without federal assistance to students.

Whatever you want to call McConnell it’s fair to say his time in Washington has been self-serving and not about helping his constituents.

Yes, Perkins and his ilk were a disaster for eastern Kentucky and all federal aid for students has done is to send the cost of tuition, fees, and housing soaring at a rate far above inflation while creating a nation of under educated college graduates who leave campus with a heavy burden of debt. As federal funding for education increases, so do tuition and professional educators' salaries, as students continue to go deeper in debt.

The pipeline of federal funding for so-called war on poverty programs has continued unabated on McConnell's watch, which should have a liberal like yourself singing his praises.

What liberals do well is to redefine luxuries such as cars, telephones, TVs, and high income jobs as necessities and entitlements. The result is a sizable minority of the population who choose to become wards of the state when times get tough instead of migrating to where jobs await them, as our ancestors had done since migrating to this country.

People like Perkins rob American citizens of their self respect and work ethic. They are a blight on a democratic society and a threat to its long tem existence. This nation is far beyond broke and history will judge powerful politicians like Carl Perkins and Mitch McConnell harshly for the role that they have played to bring about the collapse of our civil society.