A Question of Morality;

or, Why I Have Decided Not to Vote for Trey Greyson for Senator, 2010—He's Out of Touch


When I voted for Trey Greyson for Secretary of State I knew very little about him; I met him at a campaign rally for Governor Ernie Fletcher. He seemed very distant—standoffish,I should say—but considering it was towards the end of a tough campaign I didn't think much about it. After the election I was glad to have at least one person I considered Republican in a state office.

That was then. In the meantime I have had some experience with the kind of people the Greysons really are and have concluded they are out-of-touch “yuppies” who don't have much experience with the real world. Trey Greyson may not now be a Clinton Democrat politically, though I cannot help being suspicious for anyone who ever voted for Clinton; but I have concluded he is at least very like Bill Clinton in a more unsatisfactory way: he is a Clinton-style liar—and he follows Clinton's “pragmatic” morality. Trey, like Bill, apparently thinks that if he tells lies about his opponent often enough the rest of us are stupid enough to believe them.

Many voters and editorials have noted that Greyson is not serious, and does not have a platform. He is out of touch with reality; in the current economic climate real people are serious about the issues.

Liars look down on other people—that explains the stand-offishness—and I believe that Trey Greyson is out of touch with real people. But this is only an aspect of a more troubling characteristic of Mr. Greyson: He is out of touch with morality. He has continually lied about his opponent, Dr. Rand Paul. But he seems to regard it as justified to get what he wants, and I regard that as a major character defect.

This lack of moral perspective and taking the easy way out appears to run in the Greyson family. I had an unsatisfactory encounter with his wife, Nancy Greyson, that leads me to believe they are both interested, not in truth, right, or justice, but in taking the easy way out, and doing all they can for themselves, and for Trey's political career.

In September 2009 I lost my job as Local History Researcher for the Boone County Public Library, after seven years of employment. This was due to the collusion of two evil people, also without moral perspective: my former supervisor, Bridget Striker, and the H. R. person, Sherri Slavey, who blindsided me with a pre-termination document presented immediately after the retirement of our longtime Director, when no one was there to stop them. This they did in the week between Directors.

Instead of questioning why there was no documentation to support the disciplinary action, Ms. Southard,the new Director, fired me on her third day, refusing even to listen to what was actually happening. According to library policy and state law, she was supposed to try to resolve any problems, then write a report and submit it to the Board of Trustees for a hearing. I never got that hearing.

Nancy Greyson, Trey's wife, is the Secretary of the Library Board of Trustees. Mrs. Greyson has a law degree, which should indicate some knowledge of policy, procedure, and the evaluation of evidence. I hoped that of all the members, she at least would ask the right questions—and only a few questions would have made obvious what had really happened.

I was finally allowed to speak to the Board for ten minutes—not a hearing, and not because they had wanted to know the truth, but so they could claim they gave me a hearing to preempt legal action. None of the members of the Board cared that they violated their own policy, and the statutes under which public libraries are to be governed. Mrs. Greyson was hostile, and made several smart-aleck remarks. she went along with the administration “switching procedures” on me (a common tactic), and there is good reason to believe that she had attended the pre-meeting that involved at least half of the Trustees before the Board meeting started. Such meetings are illegal by State law.

The Board, including Mrs. Greyson, decided to do nothing rather than undo what the new Director, who has never worked professionally in a public library before, had done in haste. How could anyone think she knew enough about the situation on her third busy day of work to make such a decision. I suppose the Board wanted to back her up because they are paying her close to $120,000 a year in salary, plus a vehicle and other benefits. Such an investment was more important to them than my run-of-the-mill salary, though their letter of determination acknowledged the quality and importance of my work. At any rate, I was deprived of my right to due process, to have a lawyer present, and to be allowed to give my testimony in a public venue. Mrs. Greyson and the Board attorney at least should have been aware of these rights, if they had cared.

I did not change my mind about Trey Greyson because the Board would not reinstate me — in fact I still haven't gotten around to tearing his bumper sticker off my truck. It has been there since he ran for Secretary of State. I assumed, even after this, that I would still be able to vote for him, despite my disappointment in the lack of initiative his wife showed for seeing that justice was done.

As this campaign has proceeded I have gotten a chance to observe Trey Greyson in action, to read obviously false claims he has made about his opponent. To see how insincere and immature his thinking is. Over a period of time is has become clear to me that the evidence I now have concerning Trey and his wife, proves that the real problem is a moral defect in the Greyson family. They aren't going to buck the status quo for anyone, even if it is obvious that person is being wronged. (My wife says this is a carryover from their college days in the fraternity and sorority.) They will always play the game for their own advantage. It doesn't really matter what happens to other people, even when they have specific legal and moral responsibilities, because they look down on other people.

We need Senators in Washington to stem the tide, to choke off the funds poured out for the Money Monster that lives in Tax Payer's Lagoon. We need people to stand up to the crooked tax-swilling Obama administration, not people who play the money game for their own advantage. We need people who will support the ideals of the Tea Party, and fight against invasive government, while furthering the cause of justice and truth.

We need legislators with backbone; not more liars. We should be represented by hardhitting speakers of truth. Our people in public office should fight for what is right, not condone injustice, without even making an inquiry into the facts of a case.

So why do I think the Greysons are out of touch? Nancy apparently doesn't realize how important a job can be to a man with a wife and seven children. (Talk about being out of touch with reality!) She cannot conceive that a hearing is not an effort to burden the Trustees with extra work, but a chance to clear one's name from false charges and innuendo.

I began this election campaign assuming I could not vote for Rand Paul, as I could not vote for his father in the past election. But I found that Rand Paul is not a carbon copy of his father, and that he takes the issues seriously, being both pro-life and a supporter of traditional marriage. I have felt great sympathy for Rand Paul after hearing Mr. Greyson lie about him and run a totally negative campaign, while skirting the issues himself.

When I thought about what had happened to me at the hands of Nancy Greyson and others like her, I saw that this indicates a whole host of moral and character issues, and came to the conclusion that I could not vote for her husband as a U.S. Senator.

I know how Rand Paul must feel hearing Trey Greyson lie about him. I too have felt the frustration of trying to speak truth to the bland, “generic” people like Mrs. Greyson, and the others, who get appointed to our public boards, and who infest modern public life. I could only sit and wonder as the Board easily disposed of my case, and then proceeded to pass around plans for a new library facility at Hebron where the Greysons live. This
building is projected to cost the taxpayers over $10 million, and will surely raise taxes in Boone County to pay the long term cost of the approximately fifty additional employees need to staff such a large facility. Mrs. Greyson said she thinks it should feature both classical and contemporary architectural styles—talk about generic!

Moral disease has reached epidemic proportions, and those who have contracted it should never be rewarded with public office. Trey and Nancy are, in my opinion, in the last stages, and completely out of touch with reality. For that reason, among others, I will be voting for Rand Paul for U.S. Senate in 2010.

James Duvall, M.A.
Big Bone University
Big Bone, Kentucky
Nec ossa solum, sed etiam sanguinem.

Slightly corrected 22 June 2010.