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Political BLOG |
 March 2008
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July 2007 ArchivesGovernor Fletcher told me and Greg Stotelmyer from WTVQ-TV that he won't include a ban on domestic partners or other items on the special session agenda for August unless he reaches prior agreement with lawmakers. ...It looks like Greg Stumbo is either really serious about running for U.S. Senate or he's really enjoying the attention and the thought of gigging Mitch McConnell. ...A WHAS11/Survey USA poll shows most Kentuckians want U.S. troops out of Iraq within six months. ...State Sen. Gerald Neal says he apologized to a WDRB-TV reporter the day after his inappropriate reaction to a question she asked. ...The fiasco known as the July 2007 legislative session has mercifully ended, or has it? It appears Barack Obama might be back in the Bluegrass State later in August. ...Joe Gerth's column in the Monday C-J has a couple of interesting tidbits that I probably should have blogged about last week. ...It appears that every member of the Republicans statewide ticket this fall has climbed on board the anti-casino train. ...After its chairman negotiated for a week and a half with Leon Mooneyhan, the Kentucky Board of Education hung him "out to dry," in Mooneyhan's view. ...U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell is sticking with the "we're fighting them over there so we won't have to fight them here" defense of the U.S. military's build up in Iraq. ...Whew!!!! My head is spinning from the all of the lobbying for a couple of candidates for INTERIM, yes INTERIM state school commissioner job. Not the full time job, just the part time one until a governor is elected in November and the Kentucky Board of Education has regained its footing. ...Gov. Fletcher's Budget Director is leaving for a bigger salary and a bigger agency. Both Steve Beshear and Ernie Fletcher have raised money since June 26 and applied to their primary campaigns. ...One D.C. political pundit is speculating that Greg Stumbo or anyone else who wants to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell next year may be hamstrung in their fundraising by this year's governor's race. ...The three Louisville men who opened a movie theatre on Broadway in west Louisville, are now being sued for failing to repay the federal government for loans their company got to open Broadway Cinemas. ...The meeting with Peabody Energy Corporation's C.E.O. has produced a compromise, at least between House and Senate leaders, on what to do with the aborted special session. ...The latest Survey USA polling shows U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's job approval ratings dipping below where they were in February and March of this year. ...Hope all you Hebert fans won't mind me popping in for a political observation. Some shrewd politics behind the proposed Library Tax, (or is it a "fee?") ...Those of you who live in Louisville have probably heard about the allegations of vote trading among democrats on the Metro Council. Well, here's the democratic caucus' response: ...Voters who watched the CNN/YouTube presidential debate last night were convinced going into the debate that Hillary Clinton is the democratic candidate who would make the best president. They came out of the debate even more convinced, according to a Survey USA poll. ...Kentucky's Attorney General has formed an exploratory committee to start raising money for a potential race for U.S. Senate in 2008. ...It appear we have more mixed messages from Peabody Energy Corp. on whether they need incentives legislation passed right now in order to pick Kentucky as the new home for a $2 billion coal-to-natural gas plant. ...The Executive Director of the Kentucky A.C.L.U. office is leaving for a job in the sunshine state. ...I found a couple of odd items in the weekend news that deserve a look from you readers. ...Rick Redding has a column on his blog about the republicans trying to rile up some bile about state treasurer Jonathan Miller serving two masters. The GOP has been taking shots at Miller for serving as Democratic Party Chairman while, theoretically, working full time as treasurer. ...Remember when the Fletcher administration instituted a new policy to block state employees from looking at political sites on state computers? ...Governor Fletcher says giving collective bargaining rights to teachers would be different than giving collective bargaining rights to firefighters. Fletcher signed a bill into law that gave the Lexington firefighters collective bargaining rights. ...Retired Shelby County school superintendent Leon Mooneyhan tells me he is "negotiating with the state school board to be the interim education commissioner." ...As you've probably noticed, a number of democrats want to respond to GOP chairman Steve Robertson's letter to presidential candidate John Edwards. John David Dyche had a column in the C-J about the possible replacements for Al Smith as the host of KET's Comment on Kentucky. Most of you who read this blog watch "Comment" so here's Dyche's view, followed by my personal thoughts: ...I won't normally post propaganda, in its entirety, from politicians or political parties. However, Kentucky GOP Chairman Steve Robertson's letter to John Edwards should be read in its entirety. ...A government watchdog group says Kentucky's required financial disclosures for its governor rank 23rd among all states. Kentucky's financial disclosure gets a grade of "D" from the group Public Integrity. ...The much publicized phone records of the so-called "D.C. Madam" have only produced one phone number in area code "502" and it's a curious one. ...Greg Stumbo's spokesperson is leaving the attorney general's office to become the director of communications for Steve Beshear's gubernatorial campaign. ...The second face off between Steve Beshear and Ernie Fletcher again produced plenty of shots and countershots about casino gambling. ...The special Supreme Court Justice who decided a key merit hiring case in Governor Fletcher's favor, has now been appointed by Fletcher to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. ...The head of the union local that represents close to 1,000 Louisville Metro Government employees wrote checks to herself and a car rental store without proper authorization, then tried to cover up those payments. that's what by AFSCME Council 62 has found. ...The headline the folks at Survey USA wrote for the results of this week's gubernatorial poll says "Fletcher makes no significant inroads agaiinst Beshear: Democrat still poised for KY statehouse takeaway." ...Folks who attend the Fancy Farm Picnic will have to endure one less speech from an elected officeholder who's not up for reelection. Senator Jim Bunning says he ain't goin'. ...There's more information in the return of a search warrant that sparked the raid on Knott County government offices last week. ...It appears media scrutiny, a complaint from Common Cause and the inability to get a big name speaker have torpedoed a political fundraiser for the Kentucky Republican Party and, indirectly, republican state senators. ... |