Taped conversations highlight Democrats' schism in Kentucky

Two taped conversations in which a Democratic candidate for Senate expresses frustration with the governor and threatens to quit the race have highlighted intra-party schisms in Kentucky, a state in which the party has a chance to win a GOP-held seat.

The conversations, which popped up on a blog supportive of a Republican candidate for the same seat, feature Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D) criticizing his boss, Gov. Steve Beshear (D), and using coarse language.

Mongiardo, a longtime advocate of using information technology to reduce healthcare costs and expand availability, was frustrated that Beshear gave the issue to the state's secretary of Health and Family Services. Mongiardo said the secretary, Janie Mills, "knows squat" about the issue.

"I've got no leverage over this SOB," Mongiardo says, referring to Beshear. "I'm this close to saying, 'F--k it all, I don't need this job. I don't need the U.S. Senate.' "

In a second recording, Mongiardo compares Beshear to former Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R), whom Beshear ousted in 2007 amid allegations of wrongdoing within Fletcher's administration.

"I've always said that the only difference between Fletcher and Beshear is that Beshear hasn't had a blowup yet. But it's coming," Mongiardo predicts. "It wouldn't hurt me at all to see Steve go down."

Mongiardo also criticizes Beshear for holding a fundraiser for his own reelection campaign, in 2011, at a time when both Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway (D) are trying to raise money for a Senate contest. Beshear's Tuesday fundraiser netted about $300,000 for the governor's campaign, a source told The Hill.

A Mongiardo spokesman did not respond to e-mails or a phone message seeking comment on Wednesday morning.

Though the tapes appear to be amalgamations of several points during the conversation, or separate conversations, they highlight a growing schism between Mongiardo and Beshear that has festered since the two — who ran together as a ticket in 2007 — took office.

Beshear did not give Mongiardo power over several key portfolios he wanted, including healthcare technology, known as e-health. And though Beshear endorsed Mongiardo's candidacy, reportedly as part of a deal the two struck when they agreed to run as a ticket in 2007, the governor's support has been half-hearted, at best.

Beshear announced his endorsement on March 27, a Friday, when the news would have less impact than an announcement on any other weekday. Beshear appeared at several fundraisers for Mongiardo in late September, but he has made few other public appearances with his lieutenant governor.

Sources close to both men say the frustrations expressed in the tapes are real, and that Mongiardo has frequently been critical of Beshear's decision to hand policy portfolios to different Cabinet departments. Both camps have downplayed the tapes, with Mongiardo's campaign calling them doctored and Beshear telling Kentucky Public Radio that they were no more than "political prankstership."

But Beshear's office is livid that the remarks have come to light, though it has decided to play nice. Talk at the Tuesday fundraiser was dominated by Mongiardo's comments, with some Beshear loyalists even saying the lieutenant governor should be asked to resign.

"The governor continues to support Daniel Mongiardo and his campaign for the U.S. Senate," a spokeswoman for Beshear's office said. She refused to elaborate on the "anonymous" tapes.

The remarks could hurt Mongiardo among his base of Beshear loyalists, who backed the lieutenant governor only because the governor had endorsed. As he races to catch up to Conway's early fundraising success, Mongiardo will need Beshear's fundraisers to help him build momentum.

Conway has faced his own troubles with open microphones. At Fancy Farm, an annual picnic that is a Kentucky political ritual, Conway misquoted ex-Sen. Wendell Ford (D) by calling himself a "tough son of a b---h."

Mongiardo's campaign capitalized on the remarks, calling them inappropriate and suggesting they demonstrated that Conway was not ready for prime time. After declining to do so for several days in early August, Conway eventually apologized.

-- This article was updated at 4:16 p.m.