Source: Associated Press via Southern Voice
(includes material from The Advocate)
No one claimed responsibility Monday for automated phone calls made to Kentucky households purporting to be an endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear by the "homosexual lobby."

The calls don't identify who paid for the message, a potential violation of state election laws. However, spokesman Corey Bellamy said Monday the attorney general's office had received no complaints about the calls.

The calls direct people to visit the Web site of the Fairness Campaign, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. The call does not mention Beshear's opponent, Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Although the Fairness Campaign's political action committee has endorsed Beshear, the group said in a statement that it had nothing to do with the calls.

"For the first time in 20 years the homosexual lobby proudly endorses a candidate for governor, Steve Beshear," the male voice on the calls says. "Beshear is receiving major support from out-of-state gay activists."

Gov. Ernie Fletcher, during a campaign stop in Louisville on Monday, told reporters he wasn't aware of any such calls but added, "I can't say what all the local folks are doing."

Earlier in the race, Kentucky's Republican Party funded an automated telephone call to voters starring the voice of crooner Pat Boone, who warns that the election of the Democratic nominee for governor will make Kentucky like San Francisco.  

Polling suggests that Democrat Steven Beshear is positioned to win, with polls showing him 25 percentage points ahead of Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher, according to PageOneQ.com. His campaign Web site also shows support and endorsements from several local media outlets.

The audio, acquired by the Web site, GoodAsYou, reveals the antigay message from Boone.

"Ernie Fletcher is a typical Kentuckian, he's worked long and hard for the state, its people, and its traditions," Boone says. "And of course, he has come under attack by political opponents and now he faces a man who wants his job who has consistently supported every homosexual cause: same-sex marriage, gay adoption, special rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual, even transgender individuals."