From the Stumbo for AG campaign: Debate week shows Daniel Cameron is unqualified and unfit for the office of attorney general
LEXINGTON, KY, October 18, 2019-- With less than three weeks before the November 5th election, Attorney General candidates debated issues affecting Kentuckians. While Greg Stumbo, Democratic candidate for the office, demonstrated his experience and knowledge of the office, his opponent, Republican Daniel Cameron deceived the viewers with untruths and false statements while acknowledging he would be a rubber stamp for unconstitutional legislation like the 'Sewer Bill' rather than honor his oath to uphold the Kentucky Constitution.
Daniel Cameron openly admitted he has no courtroom experience and is totally unprepared to serve as Attorney General. When KET moderator Renee Shaw pressed him, Cameron acknowledged he has never prosecuted a case or defended a client in court.
Cameron stated he would not honor the oath of office and would “defend the laws of the General Assembly” above the Constitution – not once, not twice, but three times this week.
The Attorney General swears an oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth,” and Cameron made it clear that he would not uphold the Constitution, breaking his oath of office.
Currently, Kentucky is one of only 10 states where medical marijuana is illegal. Stumbo made it clear in the debates that he has been and continues to be a strong advocate for legalizing medical marijuana, while Cameron misled the voters of Kentucky as to his position on this issue. Until recently, Cameron had publicly stated his opposition to medical marijuana. Before a statewide TV audience this week, Cameron flip-flopped and said, we need to “discuss” it. Medical marijuana is a moral issue, not a political one, and the fact that Cameron is trying to ride the political coattails of the issue on live TV is appalling.
These are only a few of the ways that Cameron has lied to and misled the public during his debate performances this week. If anything, Cameron’s own words show how little respect he has for Kentucky’s Constitution, the US Constitution, and Kentuckians in general. Kentucky deserves better than a Washington DC insider turned lobbyist who will say anything to score political points -- and these debates have made that more apparent than ever.
Transcripts of key sections are located below.
Transcript #1: Cameron’s lack of experience (KET Debate)
Renee Shaw: Have you prosecuted a case or defended a client in court? Your litigation experience is what?
Cameron: Well, I have worked on a domestic violence order and I’ve taken depositions.
Transcript #2: Cameron’s refusal to defend the Constitution (KET Debate)
Renee Shaw: Mr. Cameron
Cameron: He [Stumbo] is not going to enforce and defend that laws passed by the General Assembly.
Renee Shaw: Even, Mr. Cameron, if the Kentucky General Assembly passes laws that may not pass constitutional muster and could cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend you would still be on board for that action?
Cameron: “Well, we are certainly going to defend the laws that are passed by the General Assembly. You said” [Shaw interrupts]
Shaw: Regardless if they are constitutional?
Cameron: When you send your elected representative to Frankfort to make the policy judgments and the policy prescriptions, you don’t send your Attorney General there to then substitute his preferences.
Transcript #2.1: Cameron’s refusal to defend the Constitution (KET Debate)
Renee Shaw: Mr. Cameron which side would you have been on on that Sewer Bill [Senate Bill 151]? General Andy Beshear did file that suit. What would you have done if you were Attorney General at that time?
Cameron: “We’ll look at anything that comes up in that regard and make an assessment at the time as to how we would respond to that, but, ultimately, our responsibility is to enforce and defend those laws that are passed by the General Assembly.”
Shaw: “So that’s a no.”
Cameron: [whispers] “yes.”
Transcript #2.2: Cameron’s refusal to defend the Constitution (WLKY Debate)
Cameron: Well I think when you take the oath of office to be Attorney General you make the commitment to enforce and defend the laws that are passed by the General Assembly.
Transcript #4: Medical Marijuana (KET Debate)
Cameron: “We need a discussion about medical marijuana.”
Previous statements on medical marijuana from Mr. Cameron
Date: 2/27/19 Elizabethtown News Enterprise
Cameron: “I am not inclined to be in support of medical marijuana.”