Richie Farmer is just cracking me up.
When word of his divorce was made public last week, including details that his wife claims that Richie doesn’t give her any spending money, he released this quote: “For her sake and for the sake of our children, we will have no further comment on this matter. We ask the press to respect our privacy as we deal with this private family matter.”
I’m sure David Williams, Farmer’s running mate in the Republican primary for governor, is cringing at this news as well. Maybe he should throw Rebecca, who says Richie only allows her $1,100 a month in cash, a few bucks.
Memo to Richie: Did you see what happened to your old coach, Rick Pitino, when he asked the media to ignore Karen Sypher? No, the media will not honor your request for privacy, Richie, and you’re going to be asked about it everywhere you go. Get used to it.
The truth is Richie has no business running for office, based on his performance as agriculture commissioner. Just last week, right before the divorce news hit, Farmer made news by refusing to take his mandatory furlough days, as every other state employee is required to do. He had his spokesman give a lame quote, saying that Richie’s comical position was: “He doesn’t agree with it, the whole furlough concept, philosophically.”
So he’s doing what he’s got the power to do, making sure he doesn’t lose any of his salary, which he’s going to need when a judge gets a load of his wife’s claims in the divorce.
The only other times Farmer has really made news as Ag Commissioner has been when he’s taken advantage of his position. He once put a bunch of his staff members up in a Lexington hotel for a conference (they all live in nearby Frankfort) and last year he was expanding his Ag Dept vehicle fleet in the face of statewide budget problems.
His knack for inappropriate public statements, such as the one concerning his divorce, are common. And they’re even better when he delivers news himself in that hick Clay County drawl.
The blogosphere is having plenty of fun with Richie, and all that Republican family values crap he and his running mate (you know, the guy whose gambling debts were made public recently as part of HIS divorce case). The good news is, even the Religious Right will forgive a guy who scored 898 points in a UK uniform, and they’ll all line up and vote for him in the May 17 primary.
Which means we will be treated to all these theatrics through November, unless Williams figures out it’s time to bench Richie.
