Andy Beshear: Clueless, Out of Touch on Unemployment Insurance, GOP says

Frankfort, KY—The Republican Party of Kentucky released the following statement on Gov. Andy Beshear’s remarks on unemployment insurance today:

“Andy Beshear’s remarks on unemployment insurance today show how clueless and out of touch he is with the consequences of his corrupt and failing unemployment insurance office. Andy Beshear is still leaving tens of thousands of Kentuckians struggling to get the benefits they earned and need to make ends meet and put food on the table for their families.” – Republican Party of Kentucky spokesman Mike Lonergan

Background:

“If you truly believe unemployed people won’t look for work because that extra $600 in federal benefits is a disincentive, then I worry we’re not paying working folks enough money.” – Gov. Andy Beshear (Bluegrass Politics, Twitter, July 22, 2020)

“The head of the Office of Unemployment Insurance was quietly fired on May 5, amid an unprecedented number of jobless claims, a race to overhaul an archaic computer system and a belatedly-reported data breach.

“McNamara had been on the job only four months. The 38-year-old lawyer from Nelson County had no experience with unemployment systems or state government before taking the job.

“But what he did have was connections.” (Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, Well-Connected Unemployment Director Quietly Fired Amid Crisis, Eleanor Klibanoff & Jared Bennett, 7/20/2020)

“McNamara donated $2,000, the maximum allowed under state law, to the Beshear/Coleman campaign during the primary and another $2,000 during the general election.” (Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, Well-Connected Unemployment Director Quietly Fired Amid Crisis, Eleanor Klibanoff & Jared Bennett, 7/20/2020)