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Political BLOG |
 July 2008
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May 2008 ArchivesPat Crowley is reporting that democratic state senate candidate is using the news of spending on senate offices to bash the incumbent Jack Westwood. We may see more of this as agencies who had their spending cut look at the increases in the legislative budget and spending on new and expanding office space for senators. ...Her peers on the Kentucky Court of Appeals have reelected Sara Combs as chief judge. The news is actually 23 days old since that's when the vote occurred but the release came out today. So here it is: ...Governor Steve Beshear's job approval rating improved 6 points this month, according to a new Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll. According to the poll, 44% of Kentuckians approve of the job Beshear is doing while 50% disapprove. Beshear's numbers in April were dismal (38%-54%). ...A new Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll shows Sen. Mitch McConnell's job approval rating jumped a whopping 11 points this month. Fifty seven percent (57%) of the Kentuckians who were surveyed approve of the job McConnell is doing while 37% disapprove. ...You'll love this one. A Covington based IRS employee has been busted for snooping through the files of celebrities and others, including his next door neighbor. ...A Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans want to open more areas to oil drilling as a way to increase U.S. oil supply. In other words, the poll shows, Americans favor one of the key Republican platforms this fall. ...I thought we had a primary election to determine how many delegates Obama or Hillary get from Kentucky. Guess not. It's that wacky democratic party caucus thing going on this Saturday across Kentucky. Thom Karmik of KDP says "In our never-ending, crazy devotion to accuracy: the allocation of delegates was determined by the primary. This Saturday the actual delegates will be chosen in proportion to that allocation. So yes, we have already... Louisville state representative Joni Jenkins has made it official, she's running for House Speaker Pro-Tem in January's house leadership races. And West Liberty's Rep. John Will Stacy says he's seeking the Democrats' Whip job that's opening up with the retirement of Rob Wilkey. ...Governor Beshear is ordering state lawmakers to try and reach agreement on a pension reform bill in the next three weeks. If that happens, Beshear says he'll call a special legislative session in June to deal with the issue that he calls "The Growing Storm." ...Remember back in March, when I first about the Kentucky legislature approving a legislative budget that included funding hikes over the next two years? Well, courtesy of the Lexington Herald-Leader, we now know where some of that money is going......new offices for Senate members in the Capitol Annex building. ...Governor Beshear has scheduled a meeting with key lawmakers early Thursday morning and a news conference at 10 a.m., apparently to announce formation of another work group to come up with a pension reform bill. Beshear may also talk about the possibility of calling a special session this summer to deal with the pension issue. ...It's turned into one of Kentucky's fastest growing tourist attractions. And now it's expanding. It's the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky. ...Louisville Arena Authority chairman Jim Host says the authority will issue a new request for proposal (RFP) tomorrow after the state finance cabinet concluded that the LAA illegally awarded a demolition contract to a Cincinnati company. ...Governor Ernie Fletcher's former press secretary is leaving Kentucky to manage the campaign of a republican candidate for governor in Alabama. ...He couldn't get his ethics bill through the state senate, so Gov. Beshear has decided to stuff most of it into an executive order. Sen. David Williams says he can't do that. Tit for tat continues in Frankfort. Herald-Leader has some of story. ...The Secretary of State's Office has received three requests to recanvass votes. Here's the release from Trey Grayson's office: ...A new poll from Rasmussen shows Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford leading Sen. Mitch McConnell. The same poll shows John McCain leading Barack Obama by 25 points in Kentucky. According to Rasmussen, that means one-third of voters who plan to vote for McCain, wouldn't vote for his republ... There's a good piece by Linda Blackford in today's H-L that discusses Barack Obama's chances of connecting with Kentucky's rural, white voters before election day. The consensus seems to be that Obama might be able to overcome the racism, rumors and perceived elitism about himself if he'd spend some time in Appalachia and, in my opinion, western Kentucky. ...The C-J is reporting that former state highway engineer James Rummage has been questioned by the FBI in connection with an investigation of highway contracts. ...A new poll from Newsweek magazine shows Barack Obama is facing an uphill battle in November, in part, because of the color of his skin. ...Kentucky's Democratic party bigshots were in Frankfort today to pass the peace pipe and claim they're ready to take on Mitch McConnell in the fall. ...Sen. Mitch McConnell is catching heat for his attempts to get the senate to vote on a "clean" war funding bill. It's prompted McConnell to make some votes that are unpopular with liberal groups and might tick off some veterans. Here's a McConnell bashing e-mail as well as "the rest of the story" from the AP: ...Mitch McConnell has sent an e-mail to his supporters, begging for campaign cash and implying that Bruce Lunsford might outspend him this fall. See what you think about this e-mail: ...After his losing assault on Bruce Lunsford, U.S. Senate candidate Greg Fischer is keeping his word and supporting Lunsford's upset bid against Mitch McConnell. Here's Fischer's e-mail to supporters: ...Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford is calling Sen. Mitch McConnell a "lap dog" for President Bush. In an interview with WHAS 11 News the day before the primary election, Lunsford also defended his previous campaign donations to McConnell and said he's more than prepared to compare his record against the "tremendous" baggage that McConnell has. Here's about tw... You can now see my entire one-on-one interview with Hillary Clinton. It was recorded Election Day at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville. You'll most likely be interested in her answers to questions about being on a ticket with Barack Obama (sounds like she'd do it, if asked), federal subsidies for ethanol production and whether she believes there's any such thing as...
Fresh off her big win in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton has sent an e-mail to supporters, urging them to send donations and disregard pundits who say she can't win the democratic nomination: ...It sounds like Gov. Steve Beshear won't be throwing his superdelegate vote to anyone before June 3rd. Beshear told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he still hasn't decided who would get his support. Beshear had earlier said he'd wait until after Kentucky's primary election to make the choice between Barack Obama an... The Kentucky Retirement Systems' Board meeting minutes can now be found on the web. There's not much substance to many of them though I did find something interesting in the board minutes from last April. ...Former congresswoman Anne Northup says the democratic congress, not President Bush, will be the key issue in this fall's rematch with John Yarmuth. Northup easily beat Louisville developer Chris Thieneman in yesterday's GOP primary in the 3rd District. Here's the text of her victory speech: ...President Bush has signed a bill that congressional leaders hope will have some impact on rising gas prices. And Louisville congressman John Yarmuth is taking credit for it. Here's the release from Yarmuth's office: ...
Sources tell WHAS 11 News that they expect Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and two other uncommitted democratic party superdelegates to announce their support for Hillary Clinton, now that she's won Kentucky. ...The overall turnout of Kentucky voters was about what was expected, but there was a big surge from Democratic voters, according to Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Here's his statement: ...Being the former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner and having statewide name recognition paid off for Sen. David Boswell Tuesday. Boswell won the democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District over Reid Haire. ...The Council on Postsecondary Education is preparing to hire an educator from Florida to head Kentucky's state university and college system: ...Here's a blog posting from a Hillary Clinton phone bank worker that will make you feel good to be a Kentuckian: ...Bruce Lunsford is set to win the democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to the last Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll before Tuesday's election. The poll shows Lunsford ahead of Greg Fischer by 21 points, 47%-26%. That's a little bit bigger lead than Lunsford had last week. ...Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama by a 2:1 margin on the eve of the Kentucky primary election, according to the latest WHAS 11/Survey USA poll. The only region of the state where Obama is within striking distance is Louisville and 15 surrounding counties where Clinton is leading by 6 points, 51%-45%. ...An independent group that analyzes advertisements and claims made in judicial races has concluded that an ad by a Jefferson Circuit Judge candidate is misleading. Here's the release: ...The latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll of the presidential race shows Barack Obama and John McCain with favorability ratings below 50% for the first time. ...Hillary Clinton and her husband......what's his name....campaigned in Lexington tonight, encouraging voters to forget about pundits' talk that Hillary can't win the democratic nomination for president. According to the H-L, there was a big, enthusiastic turnout for the Clintons at Transy. ...One of Chris Thieneman's opponents in the GOP primary race for 3rd District Congressional seat, has decided to bail out of the race and support Thieneman. ...Barack Obama is outraising Hillary Clinton among Kentuckians, according to the latest Federal Election Commission reports. ...I don't know about you folks, but the Hebert household is already tired of answering the door and the phone. The candidates are calling. ...The tight state budget is apparently forcing the Kentucky Secretary of State's office to chop the size of Kentucky Colonel certificates it's sending out. The AP's Roger Alford has the story. ...Pat Crowley has the lowdown on Bruce Lunsford and Hillary Clinton in Northern Kentucky over the weekend. ...Joseph Lambert thinks the lower paid employees in the Administrative Office of the Courts need raises worse than deputy clerks in the 120 Circuit Court Clerks offices. The problem is that the legislature designated pay raises for the deputy clerks, not the AOC employees and Lambert is ignoring their wishes. So what do you think is going to happen next time lawmakers consider the judicial budget? Good luck Chief Justice Minton!!! The >> Continue reading: Lambert Making It Tough On New Chief Justice Senate President David Williams is suing Governor Beshear over his veto of the road plan passed by state lawmakers. And here's Beshear's response: ...Greg Fischer was the first to throw mud in the U.S. Senate race, but now he's accusing Lunsford of being the "Mudman" in a new TV ad that, frankly, is kinda funny. ...Republican Presidential candidate John McCain is in Louisville today at the National Rifle Association convention. And he's apparently going to tell folks that he hopes to have most troops out of Iraq by 2013 and make the claim that most Americans are optimistic about the economy. Here's an e-mail McCain's campaign sent to supporters this morning: ...
Bruce Lunsford claims Greg Fischer has moved jobs out of Kentucky to Indiana while Fischer is responding to Lunsford's first attack ad. Here's Lunsford's claims in a release to media members as well as some of Fischer's talking points at a news conference: ...A half dozen Louisville-based state employees have resigned or been fired and three others have been disciplined, in connection with an alleged food stamp fraud ring. WHAS 11 News began investigating the allegations last fall and the State Inspector General's Office issued a report last month, detailing how one state worker abused her post to get as many as 8 fraudulent EBT/Food Stamp cards, racking up more than 40-thousand dollars in grocery... The U.S. Secret Service has stepped in to ban all guns from a National Rifle Association event featuring republican presidential candidate John McCain. McCain will be in Louisville on Friday to speak to the national N.R.A convention, which is meeting at the Fairgrounds. I was wondering if one of her opponents in the republican primary would pounce on this or save it for John Yarmuth......apparently Chris Thieneman has decided to try and let voters hear about the contributions Anne Northup received from oil company PACS and their executives when she was in Congress. Here's Thieneman's release: ...It ain't gonna happen until there's an agreement between the House and Senate leadership, signed in blood, but state Rep. Dennis Keene is urging Governor Beshear to call a special session to deal with pensions. Here's his letter: ...A Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV poll has found a majority of Kentuckians favor raising the cigarette tax by 70 cents a pack. This is no surprise since the majority of Kentuckians don't smoke and don't care how much cigarettes cost. But coupled with polls showing 80% of Kentuckians favor a vote on casino gambling, it appears Kentucky state lawmakers, particularly republicans, are o... Governor Beshear has replaced two members of the Kentucky Retirement System Board with two new members: ...Sources tell WHAS 11 News that Hillary Clinton is expected to be back in Kentucky this weekend and stay through the Tuesday election day. Clinton is expected to make her election night speech from Kentucky, probably Louisville, according to my sources. ...Well, Bruce Lunsford has launched a counterattack, bashing Greg Fischer's management of his businesses and donations to republican candidates by Fischer's family members. The Lexington Herald-Leader has the new ad. ...The big Lincoln Bicentennial celebration was washed out by bad weather. And First Lady Laura Bush isn't coming, but the folks in Hodgenville are going to put on a scaled-down celebration, according to a release from the Kentucky Historical Society: ...This is the oddest news release of the day. Four former Kentucky governors are supporting Hillary Clinton for President. It's one of the ones who isn't on the list that's newsworthy......Martha Layne Collins, the first female governor of Kentucky and second female governor in the country. The release from the Clinton campaign: ...The company that wanted to build a new hotel at the Kentucky Horse Park is now suing the state of Kentucky, claiming the state breached its contract with the firm. Here's the release from the company, written by former Wallace Wilkinson press secretary Doug Alexander and the response from the Beshear administration: ...Former President Bill Clinton will be campaigning for his wife in Louisville, Bardstown and Elizabethtown on Thursday. Hillary Clinton is expected to spend more time in Kentucky before Tuesday's primary election, as well. And sources tell me they expect Mrs. Clinton to be in Kentucky election night. ...While Kentuckians think Gov. Steve Beshear is doing a lousy job as governor, their opinion of the Kentucky legislature is much worse, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV poll. One expert says the job approval rating for the dysfunctional Kentucky legislature may be the lowest ever recorded in the United States. ...Wow. Has the honeymoon ended quickly for Steve Beshear. He needed the family vacation this week. Beshear's job approval rating is 40%, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV poll. That number backs up the 38% job approval rating Beshear received in last month's Survey USA/WHAS11 poll. ...Former Congresswoman Anne Northup is pushing clean coal, nuclear power and drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge as ways to help solve the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Here's Northup's e-mail to her supporters: ...
Louisville Metro Council candidates Jon Ackerson and Ellen Reitmeyer have filed criminal complaints against each other, Ackerson accusing Reitmeyer of stealing his yard signs, Reitmeyer accusing Ackerson of peaking in her window. ...Barack Obama followed up his huge rally in Louisville with an e-mail to his Kentucky supporters, urging them to get out the vote on Tuesday. Here's the e-mail: ...Bruce Lunsford is still making hay out of possible violations in Greg Fischer's TV ads. ...Greg Fischer says Bruce Lunsford misrepresented the amount of money he's given to republican candidates during the democratic senatorial debate on KET last night. ...Mitch McConnell has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on feel good TV ads over the past two months, but it appears a sizable chunk of Kentucky voters may be ready to vote him out of office. A Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV poll shows McConnell with a 12 point lead over either Bruce Lunsford or Greg Fischer if the election were held today. ...It's the biggest crowd I've seen at a political event in Kentucky since 1996, when Bill Clinton held a huge rally on Main St. in Louisville. Nearly 10,000 people jammed into the Louisville International Convention Center tonight to see the man who will likely be the democratic nominee for president. ...Greg Fischer hasn't cut into Bruce Lunsford's lead in the past week, still trailing Lunsford by 18 points headed into the final week of the campaign. That's what the latest WHAS 11/Survey USA poll shows. ...Kentucky Republican leaders are demanding an apology from Kentucky's democratic governor for a remark he made, insinuating that President Bush getting shot would be a good thing. ...Barack Obama has cancelled his planned visit to Lexington Tuesday morning. ...John Minton of Bowling Green is Kentucky's new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Joseph Lambert, who is retiring. Minton was selected by his colleagues, apparently outpointing Justices Mary Noble, Wil Schroeder and Will Scott who were also interested in the post at one time or another. ...Did Gov. Steve Beshear really say what Joe Gerth is reporting he said at the democratic party fundraiser Friday night? According to Gerth's column in the C-J, Beshear joked "I can think of only one Republican who can be a problem-solver," Beshear told the crowd. "And that would be Vice President (Dick) Cheney, if he will just take George on a hunting trip." ...Barack Obama will be in Lexington on Tuesday, according to Congressman John Yarmuth. Yarmuth told WHAS 11 News Sunday night that he hoped to catch up with the Illinois Senator's presidential campaign at that time. No official word from the Obama campaign but PageOneKentucky is reporting that Obama may be making a stop at U.K. ...Two financial rating agencies have downgraded their view of Kentucky's financial picture but the commonwealth's bond rating is still OK, according to a news release from the Governor's office. The news release appears to be aimed at gathering support for a special legislative session to raise taxes and come up with a pension reform bill. ...The top two democratic candidates for U.S. Senate have split the major newspaper endorsements in their race. Greg Fischer has landed the endorsement of the Lexington Herald-Leader while Bruce Lunsford was the Courier-Journal's choice. ...Kentucky Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo has endorsed Barack Obama for President. Mongiardo is not a superdelegate but his endorsement may be a signal that Gov. Beshear is ready to endorse Obama. ...A new poll by the Lexington Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV shows 43% of Kentucky democrats think the divisive statements by Barack Obama's preacher are an important factor in their decision to vote for/against Obama. Another 21% of Kentucky democrats think Obama's race makes it tougher for him to get elected. ...Barack Obama will be in Louisville Monday night. He's apparently spending the night in Kentucky then campaigning elsewhere in the Bluegrass State on Tuesday. Here's the release from the Obama campaign: ...Governor Steve Beshear has decided not to reappoint one of Sen. David Williams' cousins to a state government post and Williams says it's all politics. The Lexington Herald-Leader has the story. ...The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has settled the first of five ethics cases against Fletcher administration officials, according to the Courier-Journal. ...Greg Fischer has a new TV ad on the air which may be his best ad yet. It shows video of Bruce Lunsford standing next to Ernie Fletcher and Mitch McConnell in 2003, at the news conference where Lunsford endorsed Fletcher's campaign for governor. Lunsford has apologized for that move, admitting he made a mistake in supporting the republican candidate for governor. ...Republican congressional candidate Chris Thieneman began running TV ads on Louisville stations this morning. Thieneman says he's bought about five ads per day on all of the Louisville network stations as well as several cable channels. Here's the link to the VilleVoice for a look at Thieneman's ad. ...Senate President David Williams has sent a letter to the governor, threatening legal action if Steve Beshear doesn't come up with a satisfactory legal explanation for vetoing the road construction spending bill approved by lawmakers. ...Governor Beshear won't be around next week. Here's the release from his office:
... Rep. Derrick Graham was one of the angriest (of many) legislators on the last day of the 2008 Legislative session. Graham is a teacher at Frankfort High School and was angry about the cuts to education included in the 2008-10 budget. He's still ticked off, sending this e-mail to some of his constituents and fellow teachers: ...Governor Beshear has appointed the group that will coordinate efforts to make the multi-billion dollar realignment at Fort Knox a smooth one. ...Barack Obama will be back in Kentucky next week, according to his campaign. But the Obama folks aren't saying when Obama will be in the Bluegrass State, or where. Hlllary Clinton is attending a party fundraiser in Louisville tonight. Here's the release from the Obama campaign: ...The Council on Postsecondary Education is expected to vote this morning to slash the tuition hike requests from several public universities and the KCTCS system. ...You read Rep. Susan Westrom's e-mail to democratic House leaders here first. You read the full text of Rep. Rob Wilkey's response to Westrom and other house members here first. But you'll have to go to >> Continue reading: House Speaker Responds To Wilkey E-Mail One of the unknown democratic candidates for U.S. Senate has apparently bought a an e-mail mailing list and is hoping someone will send him some cash. Here's Mr. Stepp's e-mail blast: ...ABC's George Stephanopoulos is speculating that Hillary Clinton is staying in the race for president to try and wiggle her way onto Barack Obama's ticket. ...Ben Chandler and several uncommitted delegates met with Barack Obama in Washington. Here's the link to the video of Chandler and Obama together. ...WHAS 11 News has obtained a copy of the e-mail that Rep. Susan Westrom sent to all five House Democratic Leaders, angrily criticizing them for the collapse of the 2008 session. You'll want to read it. |