, are less willing to endure

By definition, a “listening tour” is not meant to produce concrete action. Elridge and Nicholas Hazelett, the Johnson County Democratic chair who is a college student doubling as a Paintsville City Council member, acknowledged that the small crowd was Democrat-friendly. Despite a few recent converts, no one was there waiting to be convinced.Across the street, antiques shop owner Michelle Hackworth said she did not even know Democrats were holding a meeting. Calling herself a “hard-core Republican,” she smiled when asked if she had consider attending.

“They wouldn’t convince me of anything,” she said.Michelle Hackworth discusses U.S. politics standing in her Paintsville, Ky., antiques store, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)Michelle Hackworth discusses U.S. politics standing in her Paintsville, Ky., antiques store, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

Bill Mike Runyon, a self-described conservative Republican who is Paintsville’s mayor and loves Trump, went immediately to social and cultural commentary when asked in an interview to explain Johnson County politics.Democrats, he said, “have to get away from the far-left radical -– look at the transgender message.” Further, Runyon said, “Everything got kind of racial. It’s not like that here in Paintsville and in Johnson County, but I can see it as a country. … It’s making people more racist against one another.”

Asked specifically who he was talking about, he alluded to progressive U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Latina from New York City, and Jasmine Crockett, a Black woman from Texas.

“It’s the ones you always see on TV,” the mayor said.He had a lifelong association with beer. He had his first taste as an 8-year-old and got drunk at 16, at the World’s Fair in New York.

His beer knowledge was poured into the book ″Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer,” co-written with Jonathan Grotenstein. One line: “Will Rogers once said he never met a man he didn’t like. I feel the same about beer.”Part autobiography, part beer drinker’s guide, the book had Wendt’s conversational tone and lists, such as “Five Good Bar Bets,” ″77 Toasts from Around the World” and ”(More Than) 100 Ways to Say That You’re Drunk,” which alphabetically lists 126 synonyms from “annihilated” through “zozzled.”

He is survived by his wife, Second City alum Bernadette Birkett, who voiced Norm’s never-seen not-so better half, Vera, on “Cheers”; his children, Hilary, Joe and Daniel; and his stepchildren, Joshua and Andrew.“From his early days with The Second City to his iconic role as Norm on ‘Cheers,’ George Wendt’s work showcased how comedy can create indelible characters that feel like family. Over the course of 11 seasons, he brought warmth and humor to one of television’s most beloved roles,” National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said in a statement.