Republican creativity

Courier-Journal News(Louisville, KY):

Copying a national Republican group's sample answers, Kentucky 4th District congressional candidate Geoff Davis and several others seeking office around the country have submitted identical answers to an AARP survey.

At least five GOP candidates offered the same responses to questions about Social Security, health-care costs and prescription drugs. The others are from California, Florida, Nebraska and Georgia.

Davis admitted yesterday through a spokesman that he copied the answers to all three questions from materials distributed by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"We didn't see anything that we disagreed with," said spokesman Justin Brasell, adding that Davis had received permission to use the material.

Davis' Democratic opponent, former television personality Nick Clooney, said through a spokesman that Davis apparently missed the point of the "honor code" at West Point, Davis' alma mater.

"We knew that the folks in Washington were going to tell Geoff Davis how to vote," said Clooney campaign manager B.J. Neidhardt. "We just had no idea they were going to tell him how to answer questionnaires also."