Because LEO was founded by heathen liberal/Louisville Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth, there will always be some modicum of suspicion (perhaps rightfully so) whenever we have an occasion to praise his name in print, online or via artfully tagged underpass graffiti. Despite the fact that Yarmuth sold the paper prior to his ‘06 congressional bid, or that we’ve excoriated him in print whenever we get the chance (see also: his support for drug trafficking expansion and tacit approval of the ORBP), this publication might forever be doomed to charges of some kind of inherent bias whenever discussing anything Yarmmy does or says.

I felt that was necessary to point out before we examine the recent shenanigans undertaken by Yarmuth’s Republican challenger, conservative UPS pilot Todd Lally, lest we be called liberal sympathizers or — worse — anti-American.

Yesterday, Lally pulled what could be perceived as a classic “dick move” when he crashed Yarmuth’s jobs fair, which was presumably held to connect unemployed people with jobs (what an asshole!). From The Courier-Journal:

A job-hunting workshop sponsored by Congressman John Yarmuth, D-3rd, became a stage Monday for Republican challenger Todd Lally to argue that his opponent supports policies that discourage hiring.

Standing in a bowling alley parking lot across from the daylong “Build Your Skills: A Job Hunter’s Guide to Success” event at the Crowne Plaza near the fairgrounds, Lally said Yarmuth’s support of health-care reform and government spending were adding taxes, regulations and uncertainty that have made companies reluctant to hire.

If one were covering this like a horse race — and why not? — then Lally should be awarded points merely for stealing some of Yarmuth’s thunder. At the very least he got his own C-J article out of the stunt, right?

However, since only 15 people showed up to Lally’s guerilla speech-making (perhaps there were more people but they decided to apply for a job because they had the free time to hold signs and whine?), the GOP hopeful wasted the opportunity to instead hump the decaying, zombie Reaganite fantasy of trickle-down economics that have utterly imploded again over the last few years:

Lally believes tax cuts and less regulation will boost spending and jobs in a state with a stubbornly high 10.4 percent jobless rate.

Now, I know that Lally is a Republican and that that carries with it certain curious bullshit theories about Jesus, ‘Merican History and The “Free” Market, all of which are fine in small does, but to actually stand there and tell people who’ve been laid off that the past 30-plus years of starve-the-beast, Objectivist de-regulation nonsense has done anything other than help the rich get richer and the poor get more fucked is, at best, disingenuous.

Also: Did we somehow forget that, in 2010, 95 percent of Americans paid their lowest personal income taxes in over 50 years? Or that government spending is responsible for most recent job creation because CEOs are too busy pocketing their highest salaries in ages instead of trickling that manna down from their Madison Avenue penthouses? Granted, Washington still sucks because it will always suck, but to espouse failed ideas while you’re attempting to be a fresh-face on the political scene? Wowsers.

Whether it’s the perpetual funding of perpetual wars, letting Wall St. run amok with average people’s money or filling an environmental agency with oil industry shills (a la Bush), the wanton de-regulation of private industry gives corporations the keys to the car of the State, which they will drunkenly crash every time. Anybody who says otherwise is either lying, an idiot or asking you for a vote.