A Letter to Congressman Andy Barr

Dear Andy:

Congratulations on your victory in the Kentucky Republican Primary for United States Senator. As you celebrate this victory and prepare for your general election campaign, I thought I would share a few observations that I trust you will find helpful for the general election campaign. In the interest of candor and full disclosure, I should let you know that I have recently shared an open letter with my advice to President Trump and Governor Beshear and did not want to slight you in any way by not doing the same for you. So here we go.

I thought your campaign commercial featuring the son of a murdered retired police chief was very touching. I commend you for sponsoring legislation to provide benefits to the families of slain retired law enforcement officers. These families are most deserving. This was appropriate but long overdue legislation. I hope you will continue to promote legislation like this for deserving families who have no lobbyists or trade associations to act on their behalf.

I thought your campaign commercial that DEI is “Dumb Evil Indoctrination” was spot on. I agree that it’s not a sin to be white; not against the law to be male; and should not be disqualifying to be a Christian. Just to be clear, I happen to be first and foremost a committed follower of Jesus Christ and a political conservative. I also happen to be white and a male. None of those characteristics should be regarded as an advantage or disadvantage in a color-blind workplace where competence, character, and skill should be the criteria for hiring and advancement. Back in the day, that was one of the important objectives of Civil Rights Leader, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Somehow, we lost that focus, and countless individuals and businesses are suffering as a result.  But as I shared in my 2025 book, Almost Finished {https://www.ralphwilson1954.com/lead-collection}, during my 45-year career in Corporate America as a Real Estate Manager in the Bell Telephone System and Corporate Attorney for Humana, I had firsthand experience in the rollout and worship of DEI in Corporate America.

For someone who sought to encourage and assist minority colleagues throughout my career, this was an incredibly dark and disappointing experience.

I am sure the motives of many leaders who promoted DEI were well intended, but sadly misguided. Unfortunately, I can think of nothing that has done more damage to employee morale and interpersonal relationships among employees in Corporate America than DEI. Was it ever a good idea to conduct a “cultural competency” workshop where the apparent goal was to embarrass and shame one group of employees and seek to engender their apology for their race and for the actions undertaken by others 6 or more generations ago?  Did anyone benefit from this exercise? While very few employees would dare to express this concern about DEI publicly for fear of losing their job, you can rest assured that this weighed on them heavily.

I believe some companies have recognized the harm caused by DEI and have made meaningful change; others have merely camouflaged the words and nomenclature and continued with the substance of DEI; sadly, others have barreled ahead with DEI on steroids with tone deaf vigor. I trust that you will make opposition to DEI a part of your governing philosophy and not just a political campaign initiative. You can be a voice for countless innocent employees who have no voice.

On the other hand, I thought your continued focus on immigration in your campaign commercials was overdone almost to the point of being overkill. To be sure, I am confident that almost every Kentuckian (is 99.9% too high a percentage?) reject the Biden Administration’s open-door policy on immigration and want our nation’s border to be secure with respect for the rule of law paramount. No one should enter the United States without the legal right to do so. I don’t believe it’s an overstatement to say that a similar percentage supports the prompt deportation of migrant criminals from our country and strongly oppose the sanctuary policies of many blue progressive cities and states which hinder this deportation of migrant criminals. These sanctuary policies are reckless and disgraceful and should be addressed with Congressional legislation. But I am here to tell you that the reckless and chaotic approach to immigration undertaken by former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristy Neom, was also disgraceful and caused great reputational damage to the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. The television scenes from Minneapolis reminded me of scenes from a Banna Republic and not the United States of America. I trust that I will never see the likes of this again! Especially from a Republican President.

We need Congressional legislation which addresses DREAMERS. I think anyone who reads this touching and heartbreaking Wall Street Journal article regarding the DREAMER wife of Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Rickling will surely agree. {https://wallstreetjournal-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=158e4baac_13520c8} There should be a path for law abiding DREAMERS contributing to their communities to get a Green Card or some other form of legal status. To be sure, I am not talking about citizenship. Sadly, this will not be enough for the extreme Progressive left and will be too much for the Fringe right, but this can likely be supported by the remaining 80% of us. In the meantime, does it make sense to raid the parking lots of Home Depot and Lowes to arrest law abiding migrants who have been in this country for 25-30 years who are just looking for gainful employment? Did you know that many Evangelical Churches have lost contributing Christian migrant members who do not now attend worship for fear of arrest? When you are out campaigning this Summer, swing through Crab Orchard in Lincoln County and Lancaster in Garrard County and ask some of the tobacco farmers how easy it is to hire workers to “pull” tobacco plants; ride the tobacco setter and place the plants; “top off” the tobacco plants as they grow to full height; cut and house the tobacco in the hot humid tobacco barns; and then strip and bundle the tobacco leaves in a cold dusty stripping room in late Fall and early Winter. I have done plenty of this work myself back in the day and it’s not easy! I am confident that Kentucky famers need migrant workers in an economy where workers who are willing to undertake difficult and challenging physical work are difficult to find. But don’t take my word for it. Just ask these farmers if migrant workers are important for their tobacco crop and other farm work activities.

Next, let me wish you well on your general election campaign. Presidential endorsements are important but should never be regarded as the “be all end all” for a successful election campaign. Just remember that anything can happen in politics. It will be tempting to not take your opponent seriously, but I hope you will resist that temptation. His Progressive policy agenda will appeal to the Progressive elites but will certainly not serve the best interests of the hard working men and women of the Commonwealth.  I am convinced that Kentuckians desire that their next United States Senator represent the interests of all Kentuckians in a way that promotes their best interests and flourishing. I trust that you will conduct that type of campaign. Let your opponent be the one who picks “winners and losers.”

 Kentucky is blessed with a favorable climate, potable water, and an ideal geographic location at the crossroads of America. I trust you will serve and legislate in a way that leverages these assets and takes our Commonwealth to new heights in Agriculture, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, Transportation, and the hundreds of small businesses which continue to serve as a job creating engine in our state. We have many built in advantages in the Commonwealth, so please make full use of them as a new Unites States Senator and do not allow them to go to waste.

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.