[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S113-S115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JACK BRAMMER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, when Jack Brammer interviewed me in 
1984 for one of the first profile pieces of my political career, I 
quickly saw the high quality of his reporting. He was even-handed, 
fair, and honest--and has remained so throughout his 43 year career as 
the Lexington Herald-Leader's statehouse reporter. Jack has always been 
among the best journalists in the Commonwealth. Today, in honor of his 
retirement, I recognize him for standing at the pinnacle of Kentucky 
journalism for over four decades.
  Jack Brammer is a lifelong Kentuckian. A native of Maysville, he 
joined the Lexington Herald-Leader in 1978 and has covered State 
politics ever since. We met in 1984 during my initial race for the U.S. 
Senate. Though many considered me an underdog, facing off against an 
entrenched incumbent, Jack took extensive time to interview me for his 
Herald-Leader profile. He even visited my parents in Shelbyville, 
sitting with them for hours to discuss my background and upbringing.
  In today's era of journalism, when so much reporting takes place via 
text, tweet, and email, Jack's methods might seem startlingly old-
fashioned. But he kept up his same dogged style, always going above and 
beyond to deliver the complete, unabridged truth to Kentuckians. He is 
a journalist in the best mold of the profession: unafraid to report the 
facts, presented without editorializing, and allowing his readers to 
come to their own conclusions. I will miss Jack's steadfast commitment 
to the truth, which can often seem sorely lacking in today's fast-
paced, cutthroat media industry.
  In his 43 years on the statehouse beat, Jack covered nearly every 
major

[[Page S114]]

moment in Kentucky politics. Like me, he has a deep passion for our 
Commonwealth's history and has made critical contributions to the 
historical record through his reporting. He had a front-row seat to 10 
gubernatorial administrations, dozens of legislative sessions, and 
countless significant political events. His deep, hard-won 
understanding of Kentucky politics sets him apart from nearly every 
other journalist in our State. I know everyone in the statehouse, from 
other journalists to legislators, to the general public, will miss him.
  During Jack's retirement, I feel confident he will continue to share 
the wealth of wisdom he acquired over his legendary career. Jack has 
always been an enthusiastic mentor for younger journalists, taking 
generations of reporters under his wing to teach them the ropes of 
Kentucky State politics. As a graduate of the University of Kentucky 
and a member of their Journalism Hall of Fame, he has also spent time 
imparting his knowledge to the Commonwealth's future communications 
professionals. Even in retirement, he will continue to make a mark on 
our State.
  I will miss Jack's reporting dearly. He represents the best of the 
journalistic profession, and Kentuckians have been fortunate to read 
his writing for more than four decades. I wish him well in his upcoming 
endeavors and look forward to learning what his future holds. I would 
like to express my personal gratitude for Jack Brammer's many years of 
service to the Commonwealth and encourage my Senate colleagues to join 
me in congratulating him on his well-earned retirement.
  Madam President, Jack Brammer recently wrote an article in the 
Lexington Herald-Leader reflecting on his career. I ask unanimous 
consent the article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Lexington Herald-Leader, Jan. 2, 2022]

   `They Say He Loved That Place.' Memories of Working 43+ Years in 
                           Kentucky's Capitol

       My mamaw, Bessie Price, often told me as a kid growing up 
     in Mason County about once visiting a relative who had worked 
     in the Kentucky Capitol.
       Mamaw, a tenant farmer's wife who was rarely seen without 
     an apron tied around her except when she was in church, 
     didn't travel far from home in her life but the journey to 
     the Capitol made a lasting impression on her.
       ``Oh, my, it's a grand building,'' she would say with a 
     sparkle in her eyes. ``I'm not sure if he was a janitor or a 
     repair man. I once visited him there and I thought how 
     marvelous it would be to work there. How blessed that would 
     be.''
       How marvelous has it been for me to work more than 43 years 
     in Kentucky's Capitol as a newspaperman for the Lexington 
     Herald-Leader.
       I have enough memories of the place to last--and comfort--
     me the rest of my days.


                       SPECTACLES IN THE CAPITOL

       The Capitol often is the scene of news spectacles with 
     hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people. Remember all the 
     teachers at the Capitol in 2018 and 2019 to advocate for 
     education funding and protest teacher pensions?
       The most spectacular events at the Capitol are the 
     inaugurations of governors. I have covered 10 Kentucky 
     governors--from Julian Carroll to Andy Beshear.
       Inauguration Day is filled with pomp and pageantry. The 
     morning parades with high school bands marching down Capital 
     Avenue. The dignified swearing-in ceremonies in the 
     afternoon, and the elegant inaugural balls in the evening.
       When you see the new governor and first lady (or first 
     husband, as was the case with Dr. Bill Collins when his wife, 
     Martha Layne Collins, became Kentucky's first and only female 
     governor in 1983) swirl in an embrace about the Rotunda floor 
     to the melodies of a fine orchestra on inauguration night, 
     it's like seeing a fairy tale come alive.
       Each Inauguration Day has its own personality.
       Certainly no inauguration was like that of Gov. John Y. 
     Brown Jr. in 1979. Brown and his famous wife, Phyllis George, 
     invited a host of celebrities to their celebration. Who could 
     ever forget the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders in their certainly 
     warm-weather outfits in the middle of December in Kentucky?


                  FAMOUS PERSONALITIES IN THE CAPITOL

       Famous people sometimes visit the Capitol as guests of 
     governors or the legislature.
       Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali came calling. He once 
     held court over a group of reporters outside the governor's 
     office. Soon the conversation turned to former Gov. A.B. 
     ``Happy'' Chandler, who, in a meeting of the University of 
     Kentucky's board of trustees on April 5, 1988 to discuss UK's 
     decision to dispose of its investments in South Africa, said, 
     ``You know Zimbabwe's all n----now. There aren't any 
     whites.''
       Chandler's remark created a national firestorm. Ali 
     questioned the reporters in the Capitol on whether any of 
     them had ever uttered--or even thought--that controversial 
     word.
       Other special guests at the Capitol over the years included 
     singer Billy Ray Cyrus leading the Kentucky House in a 
     rousing rendition of ``Achy Breaky Heart,'' Sally Ride as the 
     first American woman in space, songwriter Tom T. Hall 
     entertaining a group of lawmakers in the Speaker's office 
     with ``(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine,'' Andy 
     Williams launching into ``Moon River,'' and actress Jennifer 
     Garner speaking on the Senate floor about a charity for 
     children.
       And then there was Victoria Principal, an actress on the TV 
     series ``Dallas'' that captivated audiences in 1986 when she 
     saw in a scene dubbed ``In Her Dreams'' her supposedly dead 
     husband in a shower.
       During a news conference at the Capitol, Principal was 
     asked by a Kentucky reporter if she were going to continue 
     acting.
       ``In your dreams,'' she purred as the reporter (with the 
     initials JB) turned as red as a Kentucky cardinal.
       Once, an animal was a guest at the Capitol who became semi-
     famous. The Newport Aquarium brought to the Senate in October 
     2013 a penguin that got excited and used the bathroom on the 
     floor next to the desk of then-Senate President David 
     Williams.
       My first paragraph of the story summed it up: ``A penguin 
     pooped Tuesday on the Senate floor near the desk of Senate 
     President David Williams.''


                    POWERFUL SPEECHES IN THE CAPITOL

       Speeches are plentiful in the Capitol--from State of the 
     Commonwealth addresses by governors to pleas from lawmakers 
     seeking support for their legislation.
       Two powerful speeches over the years come to mind. Both 
     were in the legislature. Both changed votes.
       Bobby Richardson, a Glasgow attorney, was House majority 
     leader from 1976 to 1982 and House Speaker from 1982 to 1985.
       One of his finest moments came when he gave a floor speech 
     on a bill to prohibit in vitro fertilization in Kentucky. It 
     is a complex series of procedures used to help with fertility 
     and the influential Kentucky Right to Life opposed it because 
     of the possibility that some fertilized eggs might be 
     destroyed.
       Richardson took the lead on opposing the bill. He gave a 
     powerful speech, saying the technology was a wonderful way 
     for a childless couple to become parents. He was successful.
       In the late 1980s, many legislators thought AIDS was an 
     affliction of homosexuals.
       Belinda Mason changed minds about the disease when she 
     informed House members that she had contracted it from a 
     January 1987 blood transfusion during the birth of her second 
     child.
       The daughter of Democratic state Rep. Paul Mason of 
     Whitesburg, who was a strong advocate for the poor, died in 
     1991 from AIDS.


                        SAD TIMES IN THE CAPITOL

       The most solemn events in the Capitol have been the lying 
     in state of famous Kentuckians in the Rotunda.
       In my time, they have included Col. Harland Sanders in 
     1980, Gov. A.B. ``Happy'' Chandler in 1991, Gov. Bert T. 
     Combs in 1991, Gov. Lawrence W. Wetherby in 1994, Legislative 
     Research Commission executive director Vic Hellard in 1996, 
     Chief Justice Robert Stephens in 2002, Gov. Edward T. ``Ned'' 
     Breathitt in 2003, Gov. Louie B. Nunn in 2004, Supreme Court 
     Justice William McAnulty Jr. in 2008, Gov. and U.S. Sen. 
     Wendell Ford in 2015 and state Sen. Georgia Davis Powers in 
     2016.
       One of the saddest was in 2012, when Gov. Steve Beshear's 
     chief of staff, Mike Haydon, unexpectedly died of a heart 
     attack at age 62.
       The saddest death I know of in the Capitol was in October 
     1983. Sy Ramsey, Frankfort correspondent for the Associated 
     Press since 1962, was found dead in his second-floor office.
       Ramsey, 59, was a mentor. We had roomed together in New 
     York City to cover the 1980 Democratic presidential 
     convention.


                         PEOPLE IN THE CAPITOL

       Oh, the people I've met along the way--from governors, 
     other constitutional officers, legislators, judges, state 
     employees from agency heads to janitors, lobbyists and my 
     media colleagues.
       Mike Moloney of Lexington was a tough state senator who had 
     little sympathy for state officials who appeared before his 
     budget committee unable to answer questions about their 
     offices' spending.
       One reporter dubbed him but never told him to his face that 
     his media nickname was ``the Bobby Knight of the Kentucky 
     General Assembly.''
       But that reporter--also with the initials JB--will always 
     be indebted to the senator for being willing to meet with him 
     on Friday mornings in the Annex cafeteria during legislative 
     sessions to talk off the record about politics and 
     government. Those conversations provided good information 
     about the workings of the legislature.
       Another favored legislator was House Speaker William 
     Kenton. He was nicknamed ``Boom Boom'' for his booming voice. 
     He wanted to be governor. He also regularly broke wooden 
     gavels when he pounded them at his desk to get order in the 
     House. Splinters flew everywhere. Maybe our affinity had 
     something to do with both of us hailing from Maysville.
       A source of joy has been witnessing so many of my work 
     colleagues in the Frankfort bureau going on to stellar 
     careers. Diana

[[Page S115]]

     Taylor was chief of staff for Gov. Brereton Jones from 1991 
     to 1993 and later formed her own successful consulting firm. 
     John Winn Miller became an editor, publisher, screenwriter, 
     indie movie producer and author. Cindy Rugeley is a political 
     science professor at University of Minnesota Duluth. Mary Ann 
     Roser runs a communications consulting company in Austin. 
     Jackie Duke became editor of BloodHorse Publications. Chad 
     Carlton is president of C2 Strategic Communications in 
     Louisville. Angie Muhs was an executive editor in Maine and 
     Illinois. Jamie Lucke became a compelling editorial writer. 
     Monica Richardson is now executive editor of the Miami 
     Herald. Ryan Alessi teaches journalism and media classes at 
     James Madison University in Virginia. Daniel Desrochers is in 
     the McClatchy news bureau in Washington.
       Several of my former Frankfort colleagues still are 
     cranking it out as top-notch news reporters at the Herald-
     Leader: John Cheves, Bill Estep, Beth Musgrave and Valarie 
     Honeycutt Spears.
       Two of my partners in the Frankfort bureau became my 
     bosses: Peter Baniak is editor and general manager of the 
     Herald-Leader and John Stamper is deputy editor for 
     accountability. They always let me state my opinions.
       My admiration for my Herald-Leader colleagues extends to 
     news people in other media outlets. They have been most 
     tenacious and competitive and I am proud to call them my 
     friends.
       We all had a most wonderful building for our workplace.


                        LIFE WITHOUT THE CAPITOL

       I will miss the Capitol, even the late nights in the 
     frenetic final hours of a legislative session. I started 
     working there in my 20s. I leave it in my 70s.
       Perhaps a future relative of mine some day will say 
     something nice about his or her next of kin who once 
     reported, pondered, wrote, laughed and cried in the Kentucky 
     Capitol.
       I hope that person says of me and the place I worked, 
     ``They say he called it a grand building, filled with 
     spectacles and news and, most importantly, interesting 
     people.
       ``They say he loved that place.''

                          ____________________