I'm taking my Senate floor and going home and you can't play with it

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky lawmaker who was the subject of critical newspaper editorials and cartoons last year is striking back.

State Rep. Jim Gooch of Providence is pushing legislation that would essentially bar editorial writers and cartoonists from the House and Senate floors.

The western Kentucky Democrat was ridiculed last year in newspapers for attempting to quash a coal mine safety and for claiming global warming is a hoax. One editorial cartoon showed Gooch in a hot tub with King Coal.

Gooch’s bill would list editorial writers and cartoonists as lobbyists. In Kentucky, lobbyists aren’t allowed in the House or Senate while lawmakers are in session.

Maybe they could call this the “I Am Above Criticism Bill.”