By Alan Lytle
Lexington, KY – Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear says she's very disturbed by comments attributed to Republican Rand Paul regarding federal funding for breast cancer research. The Tea Party favorite has criss-crossed the state campaigning against out of control government spending. At a healthcare town hall meeting last year in Northern Kentucky, Paul said that state research universities, should get the bulk of their funding from the state, not the federal government. Mrs. Beshear says because both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville rely on federal funding to conduct research in many areas, including breast cancer, she finds the senatorial candidate's position troubling.
"For a comment to be made that we shouldn't put every ounce of energy and resources that we can into research greatly concerns me. We have two universities that are working diligently in the research area to try to help find cures for this devastating disease that affects more than three-thousand women in the Commonwealth of Kentucky just in the past year."
Mrs. Beshear and Democratic state Representative Joni Jenkins participated in a conference call arranged by the campaign of Paul's opponent, Democrat Jack Conway. Breast cancer awareness has been one of the First Lady's pet causes with her Horses and Hope, and other initiatives. In a written response, Paul's campaign manager Jesse Benton, says "As a doctor and devoted husband of 20 years, Dr. Paul is deeply concerned about the scourge of breast cancer and will fight to ensure we do all we can to find a cure."