{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"McConnell, Rogers headline Fifth District Lincoln Day Banquet &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"udarJhiqEB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/mcconnell-rogers-headline-fifth-district-lincoln-day-banquet\/\">McConnell, Rogers headline Fifth District Lincoln Day Banquet<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/mcconnell-rogers-headline-fifth-district-lincoln-day-banquet\/embed\/#?secret=udarJhiqEB\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;McConnell, Rogers headline Fifth District Lincoln Day Banquet&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"udarJhiqEB\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4-col-ag-guy-Hal-Stivers-Mitch.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":304,"description":"For the first time since the pandemic area Republicans gathered Saturday at The Corbin Center for the 82nd Annual Fifth-District Lincoln Day Banquet. Nearly 400 people attended the sold-out Republican event with keynote speakers Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Congressman Hal Rogers, Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud of our Republicans in southern and eastern Kentucky for standing firm on their conservative values when we need it the most. We have witnessed one crisis after another as liberal extremists attempt to steer our country in the wrong direction, so we must get out the conservative vote this year,\u201d Rogers said. McConnell echoed similar sentiments. \u201cIt was an honor to join the Fifth District Lincoln Club for their first banquet in two years and speak to the dedicated Republican leaders of Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky. This year&#8217;s elections are incredibly important, so it was heartening to witness so many Kentuckians gathered to defend the Commonwealth&#8217;s conservative principles,\u201d said McConnell. New inductees Each year, the Fifth District Lincoln Club honors men and women from across Kentucky\u2019s Fifth Congressional District who serve as tireless advocates for the conservative principles of the Republican party. Some well-known Hall of Fame inductees include Rogers, McConnell, and former U.S. Senator Jim Bunning. \u201cWe\u2019re honored to welcome four new inductees into the Fifth District Lincoln Club\u2019s Hall of Fame. Thanks to their diligent work, we are continuing to see Republican registrations rise across the state,\u201d Rogers said. On Saturday, the following leaders were inducted into the club\u2019s historic Hall of Fame: Conley Gregory, a Republican Party leader from Wayne County; Allison Ball, 38th Treasurer of Kentucky; Manuel Montgomery, Republican Chairman of Magoffin County; and Bill Deaton, long-time entrepreneur and Republican leader from Laurel County. Nancy Mitchell honored This year, the club posthumously awarded the inaugural \u201cNancy Mitchell Women in Leadership Award\u201d in memory Corbin\u2019s Nancy Mitchell, who lost her battle to cancer last year. Mitchell served as Vice-President of the Kentucky Federation of Republican Women, Vice-Chair of the Republican Party of Knox County, and was the first woman ever elected as a Corbin City Commissioner. In 2012, Nancy Mitchell was inducted into the Fifth District Lincoln Club Hall of Fame alongside her husband, Bob Mitchell. In addition, she also built her own successful business, the Mitchell Tax and Accounting Firm. During the banquet, Rogers told the story of how Nancy Mitchell got a business loan from a bank to start her accounting business only to be told by the banking official that her husband needed to come by and co-sign. She informed the bank official that the loan was for \u201cher\u201d business, and went to a different bank. Suffice it to say, when Bob got home from work that night, he was informed that the couple had switched banks. Rogers noted that in the future, the award will go to other women in leadership positions throughout the Fifth District, but the club felt that it was fitting to present the inaugural award posthumously to Nancy Mitchell. The award was presented to Bob Mitchell and the couple\u2019s youngest daughter, Jenny. \u201cWe are deeply honored to accept this award in Nancy\u2019s memory. She brought so much joy to everyone that she was around, and she adamantly supported women in leadership,\u201d said Bob Mitchell. \u201cThis award will allow her to continue inspiring women across the region.\u201d McConnell said that he was delighted to help honor Mitchell and the others. \u201cI was proud to welcome four new conservative leaders into the Fifth District Lincoln Club&#8217;s Hall of Fame and help pay tribute to the late Nancy Mitchell, whose hard work to promote the Republican Party in the Fifth District was unparalleled,\u201d McConnell said. State issues addressed Keynote speakers addressed a number of state, national and international issues during their addresses. Stivers noted that during the recent session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Republican-led legislature gave 8 percent pay raises to all state employees, and made significant investments in infrastructure, such as water, sewer, broadband and roads. Stivers said that during the recent legislative session Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed 30 bills and made 18 line item vetoes. \u201cIt was a historic session with 48 veto overrides,\u201d Stivers added. \u201cThe governor vetoed the abortion bill and we immediately overrode it.\u201d National issues addressed The need for Republicans to regain control of both branches of Congress in Washington D.C. was a central theme of both Rogers and McConnell\u2019s speeches. Rogers said that 31 Democratic House of Representatives members have announced their retirements, which is the highest number in 30 years. \u201cI think they see the writing on the wall. I agree with Senator Stivers that we are going to make record gains in the house,\u201d Rogers said. McConnell noted that the biggest difference between being senate minority leader and senate majority leader is getting to set the agenda. McConnell said that his most consequential decision as majority leader was blocking President Barack Obama from appointing a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after his death. He then helped President Donald Trump to get three new U.S. Supreme Court justices appointed during his term in office cementing a 6-3 Republican majority on the Supreme Court. With the U.S. Senate tied at 50 Republican senators and 50 Democrat senators McConnell promised that Republicans are working hard in this year\u2019s election to pick up at least one additional senate seat in order to give them the majority. \u201cWe are doing our very best and President (Joe) Biden is certainly helping,\u201d he added. McConnell described the Biden administration as soft on crime and noted that two major items on the minds of Americans are inflation and the wide open southern border. Ukraine war During his address, McConnell also addressed the war in Ukraine calling president Volodymyr Zelenskyy an \u201cabsolute inspiration to the rest of the world.\u201d \u201cVladimir Putin is a good lesson to all of us that there is still evil in the world,\u201d McConnell said. \u201cNATO [&hellip;]"}