Erwin Roberts

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

The Nelson County Republicans met Saturday night for the annual Lincoln Day Dinner, an opportunity to celebrate the life of the 16th president and consider the state of the party at the local, state and national level.

The dinner was held at My Old Kentucky Home Country Club and organized by the Nelson County Organization of Republican Women. Despite the snow and threats of slickened highways, the event was well-attended.

Personnel Cabinet Secretary Erwin Roberts was guest speaker at the fondue-style dinner.

I'll admit that I've been a skeptic about how a group dinner set up for fondue was going to work. Hot pots of boiling oil with participant's navigating skewered meat and veggies (mixed with the nearby cash bar) sounded to me like a volatile recipe.

Having never seen a large-scale fondue set up, I was thankful for Bobbie Floyd's gracious fondue-for-beginners tips at the beginning of the dinner. My wife and I were fortunate to take seats next to Jason and Sarah Floyd, and Harold and Debbie Sneed, all of whom were well-versed at the finer points of fondue (and tolerant of the fondue-clueless). We also shared the table with Jeff and Beth Lear, and Greg and Paula Burkot's young daughter whose name I missed.

The room was filled with the county's GOP movers and shakers and candidates for local office -- Rep. David Floyd, 3rd district magistrate candidate Jim Beery, and coroner candidate Danielle Chladek.

I had an opportunity to talk Ms. Chladek tonight about her run for coroner four years ago. On election night, I was sitting on camera with PLG news director Tom Isaac, where we both mangled Ms. Chaldek's first and last name as we reported the election returns. Ms. Chladek called in to correct our pronunciation (as well she should have).

For future reference, she explained tonight that her first name is pronounced "Dah-kneel," as in Captain and Tennille Her last name is pronounced "Cla-deck," with the "a" as in "apple."

After our fondue dinner, Secretary Roberts took the podium, noting that its placement -- with his backside quite near the roaring fireplace -- felt familiar given the current political climate in Frankfort and the focus on the merit hiring investigation.

Roberts said he wouldn't delve into comments on the merit investigation, and said he preferred to tell the story that the press wasn't picking up -- the accomplishments of the Fletcher administration.

Roberts reminded the party faithful that despite the headlines, Gov. Fletcher remains the same, competent and dedicated man who was elected to office. Now is a time for party unity, Roberts said. Now is the time to get out the message about the Republican party on the local level to combat the stereotypes often promoted by the opposing party.

Life as a black Republican means explaining frequently why you are a conservative, he said. Roberts told how a seven-year-old girl, having heard he supported President Bush, declared "you must rich" since only rich people are Republicans.

After explaining to the girl his reasons for supporting for the president, "you could see the light bulb go on," he said.

Before closing his talk, Roberts teased that he may consider tossing his hat in the ring as a Republican candidate for Kentucky Attorney General, a comment that brought cheers and applause -- and for good reason. Roberts is a rising star in the state GOP.

Roberts is a 1997 graduate of the UK law school, a former assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Fayette County and a former federal prosecutor in the Western District of Kentucky (where he met current Lt. Gov. Steve Pence). He is in the U.S. Army Reserves where he serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG).

As the dinner was breaking up, I asked Roberts if he was serious about a campaign for the AG's office. After being told I was a journalist, he denied serious intentions on seeking the office, though he didn't rule it out. "I'm thinking about it," he said as a final comment.

Roberts' talk also offered observations on Lincoln, which he concluded by reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address -- an address which is particularly poignant considering today's world situation.

Overall the event was a nice political and social event. Despite the Democratic caricatures of conservatives as mean-spirited, there was precious little energy wasted bashing the opposing party (save for some honest comments about Democratic party chairman Howard Dean).

Despite the fact I'm still a registered Democrat (there a number of us "closet Republicans" in attendance there tonight), I've always wanted to go to a Lincoln Day Dinner. I enjoyed my first one, and won't hesitate to go back.