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Political BLOG |
 August 2008
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June 2008 ArchivesBruce Lunsford's senatorial campaign claims Sen. Mitch McConnell's position on the so-called "millionaire's amendment" to federal campaign finance laws has been "all over the map." Last week, McConnell praised the the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the "millionaire's amendment" as unconstitutional. Here's the news release from Lunsford's campaign: ...The first independent poll in the 2nd District Congressional race shows democrat David Boswell and republican Brett Guthrie in a statistical tie if the election were held today. ...Former state representative and Jefferson County School Board member Dottie Priddy has died at age 75. Here's the C-J story. ...Kentucky's public defenders are using their legal skills to sue their employers, the state of Kentucky. They've filed a lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court challenging the budget cuts to the program that provides legal representation to the poor and indigent. ...
PageOneKentucky is reporting that the former U of L dean who's now the focus of a federal investigation, was apparently forced to quit at an Illinois university earlier in his career. The question is whether U of L knew of problems with Robert Felner's past when the school hired him. WHAS 11 News has filed a lengthy open records request looking... Long time state employee Sharon Clark is Kentucky's new Insurance Commissioner. Here's the release: ...Kentucky state government is partnering with some private companies to try and find a way to sequester the carbon dioxide left over from coal liquification. Coal advocates and environmentalists agree that coal won't flourish as a future "clean energy" source until companies can safely deal with the CO2 emissions. ...Remember when Bruce Lunsford criticized his democratic primary opponent, Greg Fischer, for investing in mutual funds that included some investments in Lunsford-related companies whose management was being criticized by Fischer? Well a similarly tenuous (at best) hypocrisy claim is now being thrown back in Lunsford's face by the McConnell campaign: ...It sounds like the battles between Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. John McCain may be over, at least until early November. While acknowledging their past differences, the two republican heavyweights buddied up at a fundraiser in Louisville last night. ...Ryan Alessi's column in today's H-L indicates that Steve Beshear should look to the previous democratic governor for some "how-to" lessons. Paul Patton's political resurrection is nearing completion. I wonder how long it will take for Ernie Fletcher's to begin. ...Back from vacation. Missed the special session terribly. Sense of humor still intact. Will write a reality check piece about ability of legislature to function later this week, after hugs, kisses and high fives die down in the captiol. ...I'll be on vacation until Monday June 30th. Don't burn down the blog page while I'm gone. ...The republican who's running against Congressman Ben Chandler isn't feeling any love from his own party leaders. Paul Glaser has the story in the State Journal. ...State officials couldn't give state lawmakers a timetable on when a state-run home for people with mental retardation and other disabilities might get recertified by the federal government. Without that recertification, there's no medicaid money coming from the feds and Kentucky taxpayers are picking up the entire $5 million/month to keep Oakwood running. Greg Stotelmyer from >> Continue reading: Oakwood Costing Big $$$$ U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be in Louisville on Saturday, tooling around with one her freshmen flock, Rep. John Yarmuth. According to Yarmuth, Pelosi will be the featured guest at a fundraiser at 21C Hotel. She'll also be holding some type of event at one of the Ford plants in Louisville though Yarmuth says those plans "are in a state of flux." ...The state has picked a location for a new veterans' cemetery in eastern Kentucky: ...As expected, here's the news release from Governor Beshear's office regarding the change in his Chief of Staff: ...The C-J has a story today about Metro government failing to claim millions of dollars in federal grant money that it had secured for housing, weatherization and revitalization programs. According to the C-J story, Metro government officials can't explain why they didn't cash in on the federal grants. ...Governor Beshear is expected to announce later this week that his Chief of Staff, Jim Cauley, will be leaving. And speculation is centering on Department of Homeland Security Director Adam Edelen as Cauley's replacement. Edelen is a likable young guy with an eye on running for office someday. The question is, can he help Beshear recover lost brownie points with unions, county officials and others who complain that the man they supported for... Republicans are hoping this is their Iraq War, the one issue that could bring down democrats this fall. It's gas prices. Republicans are blaming democrats and Anne Northup is no exception. ...Conventional wisdom has John McCain winning Kentucky so easily that Barack Obama shouldn't even bother to campaign here. Obama might want to think twice about that strategy after seeing the results of a new Survey USA/WHAS 11 news poll. The poll shows Obama trailing McCain by 12% but that's a 9 point improvement for Obama over last month. ...Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign complained about a Rasmussen poll which showed Bruce Lunsford leading McConnell by 5 points right after the May primary. Well, maybe this race is going to be as close as the Rasmussen poll seemed to indicate because the first Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll of the Senate race shows McConnell leading by just four points. ...The nomination of former Kentucky Health and Family Services Cabinet Secretary James Holsinger appears to be in trouble, according to Sen. Jim Bunning. ...It's been rumored for weeks that Jim Cauley might be leaving the governor's office. Now, Gov. Beshear is saying it could happen soon. ...It was anything but boring. During a meeting of Kentucky's Equine Drug Research Council today, Sen. Damon Thayer went off on congress for its plan to hold hearings this week on safety and drug issues in horse racing. Who's pushed for those hearings? Republican congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky. Who's the chair of the state council that was sitting (and seething) right next to Thayer today? Whitfield's wife, Connie. >> Continue reading: Thayer vs. Whitfield(s) Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet has released its revised 6 Year Road Plan. The new plan offers no changes to the plan that was released in February except that all of the state highway projects which were approved by the House or Senate have been added to the list. There's not enough money to pay for all of them, but they're on the list. Senator David Williams has sued Governor Beshear, claiming the legislature has the sole power to appro...
Governor Steve Beshear is hosting a political fundraiser at the Governor's Mansion and it's not going over well with Kentucky Republican Party chairman Steve Robertson. And Beshear may, arguably, be violating his own executive order dealing with ethics. First, Fox News has been catching heat for using a graphic that referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's Baby Mama." Baby mama is an unflattering term for a single mother. ...The three largest counties in northern Kentucky are studying whether to pass smoking bans in their counties. ...My daughter hopes to be selected for the Governor's Scholars program next year. I hope she's not one of the students left on the cutting room floor because of budget cuts. ...Blogger Ralph Long, who has a better understanding of the state's public employee pension systems than any journalist I know, says the KRS' and KTRS' explanations for underperforming pension plans in other states doesn't hold water. Long has been a frequent critic of the plans. ...Some programs designed to help troubled parents and the children they abuse and neglect will be discontinued because of the lack of state money. The H-L has the story. ...On KET's "Comment on Kentucky" program this week, host Ferrell Wellman asked me why a pension reform plan wasn't passed during the 2008 Legislative Session. I said it was because House democratic leadership was in disarray and backed out of a deal and because David Williams was being "an obstructionist." ...Tom Loftus of the C-J has done another terrific analysis of Kentucky road contracts and found about half of the contracts only have one bidder, resulting in taxpayers shelling out more than they should for road work. ...State lawmakers saw what they described as "disturbing" pictures on Friday. And it's those photos that may prompt them to pass a law to regulate body piercing and body art. Right now, anyone with $120, a place to set up shop and a couple thousand dollars to buy the sterilization equipment can cut, slice, pierce and stick jewelry into the skin of another person without much repercussion if they mess up. Here's >> Continue reading: Body Piercing May Get Regulation Chief Justice Joseph Lambert says his heart was pulling one way, his head the other way, as he was deciding to retire from the Kentucky Supreme Court. Lambert made a "going away" speech after the court heard arguments in a couple of cases on Friday: ...The economy and smoking ordinances are hurting Kentucky's bingo halls and other charitable gaming operations, according to officials from the state agency that regulates those games. ...The Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges Board moved to deal with a huge budget shortfall today, a shortfall created by a lack of funding from Frankfort. ...
A report from the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee has found the investments made by Kentucky's two largest public pension systems are underperforming similar retirement systems in other states. ...
Kentucky's Education Commissioner apologized today for ordering a $30,000 state car with $13,000 in add-ons at the same time school districts are facing budget cuts. And late this afternoon, Jon Draud said he would somehow reimburse the state for the added cost on his Chrysler 300. Draud met with some upset State School Board members before their meeting this morning. He then admitted during the open board meeting that he had used "bad judg... The Kentucky is cutting jobs in an effort to improve the percentage of dollars it returns to the state Treasury. The legislature pressured the Lottery to improve its rate of return percentage though Lottery President Arch Gleason argued earlier this year that the total dollars sent to the Treasury could decline. ...Former governor Ernie Fletcher and his wife Glenna were interviewed by a crew from ABC's 20/20 program on Tuesday. The news magazine program is working on a piece about battered women who are in prison for killing their husbands. Fletcher was interviewed for a segment focusing on the pardons, commutations and restoration of rights he gave 15 women before he left office. ...Starting July 1, Metro Louisville employees who have take home cars will begin paying $30/mo. for the use of those cars. Police officers who use their patrol cars on off-duty jobs will keep paying $60/mo. to help defray the cost of gas. ...Oops. That's the best Bruce Lunsford's campaign folks can come up with for referring to Eastern Kentucky University as UK's East Campus. Pat Crowley has >> Continue reading: Lunsford Rooting for UK East Colonels Sen. Jack Westwood, who's facing a tough reelection fight, is getting plenty of heat for writing to a democratic party activist that there's a strong link between an abortion and breast cancer. ...Key lawmakers have reached a deal on a pension reform plan. So now they're asking Governor Beshear to call a special legislative session to deal with the issue. ...The head of citizen watchdog group Common Cause will be in Louisville Monday night. Former congressman and church leader Bob Edgar will speak about ethics and big money in politics at U of L's University Club. The event is being sponsored by the United Nations Association, Common Cause Kentucky and the League of Women Voters. The $25 dinner begins at 6 and is open ... The wife of Anne Northup's former right hand man, Terry Carmack, died two Sundays ago (hat tip to PageOneKentucky). Mary Gabriel Harpring Carmack was 44. She had been fighting a long battle with a rare form of cancer. The Carmacks have two children. Prayers. ...Governor Beshear has appointed some new members to the Kentucky Parole Board: ...Some of you might call them gadflies, troublemakers or media hounds. But they've managed to get coverage from Louisville media folks. How do they do it? That's the topic of the next Louisville SPJ meeting Thursday night at 7 the Main Library branch downtown. ...The next meeting of the Lexington chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will feature two Lexington Herald-Leader reporters who spent time in Iraq. Might be interesting. Stephanie Steitzer of the C-J is reporting that legislative leaders will meet again on Tuesday after agreeing on a tentative pension reform bill. But neither House Speaker Jody Richards nor Senate President David Williams are saying what's in the plan. ...Jefferson County Attorney irv Maze has apparently decided he'd like to quit running a big office of prosecutors and start running a small office as a judge. Sources tell me that Maze has applied for the appointment to the Jefferson Circuit Judge seat that became vacant with the recent death of Kathleen Montano. ...It's the first contract that the Louisville Arena Authority has had to deal with on the 400+ million dollar job and it's been screwed up since the start. But Jim Host insists that giving the demolition contract to a Cincinnati company that wasn't even close to the lowest bid, then changing the bid specs in midstream, was the right and legal thing to do, despite the Kentucky Finance Cabinet's ruling that it wasn't. Now the >> Continue reading: I Smell Lawsuits The Lexington Herald Leader is reporting that outgoing Chief Justice Joseph Lambert is getting a present from the man who's succeeding him. The H-L article doesn't say what Lambert's new salary will be. ...The first head-to-head poll in the 3rd District Congressional race shows incumbent John Yarmuth leading former congresswoman Anne Northup by 17 points. The Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll shows Yarmuth ahead by a 57%-40% margin. ...Kentucky lawmakers met again today, trying to see if they can reach agreement on a pension reform bill. Governor Beshear still wants to call a special session on pensions later this month but says he won't do that unless there's a deal reached beforehand. ...The Kentucky Dems and Repubs met this weekend to formally choose their delegates to their respective national conventions. I had a Little League game and outdoor painting to deal with and didn't attend the meetings. Priorities. But reporters from the C-J and H-L went. ...Pat Crowley is reporting that republican presidential nominee John McCain will be holding a fundraiser in Louisville later this month. ...Third district congressman John Yarmuth is challenging his fellow democrarts to "call out" voters who won't vote for Barack Obama because of the color of his skin. ...The three top democratic party fencesitters are still rubbing their butts after today's announcement regarding the presidential race. Governor Steve Beshear, party chairwoman Jennifer Moore and vice chair Nathan Smith jointly announced that they're supporting their party's nominee, Barack Obama. At the same time, they're urging Obama to choose the candidate who creamed him in Kentucky as his running mate. That would be Hillary Clinton. Bes... It looks like you could see right through this one.......Governor Beshear trying to beat Trey Grayson to the punch for placing government documents on the internet. But Beshear's folks insist the timing was circumstantial. ...The daughter of Governor Fletcher's criminal defense attorney has a new state job according to KyPolitics.org. Caroline Pitt Clark is now an administrative law judge. Clark is the daughter of Louisville attorney Stephen Pitt, who defended Fletcher against allegations that he abused the state merit system. Clark was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Fl... Kentucky Educational Television is firing 10 people and leaving other jobs unfilled as part of a cost cutting move. ...Republican Brett Guthrie claims he's raised more than $600,000 for his 2nd District congressional race against Democrat, and fellow state senator David Boswell this fall. Here's the release from the Guthrie campaign: ...The last time a governor was in Japan on economic development mission, an investigation of merit employee hirings and firings broke out. Governor Beshear is hoping that won't happen to him as he heads to the orient: ...Governor Beshear appointed former governor Paul Patton to the Council on Postsecondary Education. Patton is regarded as the architect of higher education reform in Kentucky. Beshear has also appointed former Lexington Mayor Pam Miller and Paducah attorney Glenn Denton to the higher ed panel: ...He wishes he were the Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate. But Mitch McConnell is still wielding plenty of power as the Minority Leader, showing his political muscle on an environmental bill. ...A new Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows a clear majority of Hillary Clinton supporters would back Barack Obama if he chooses Clinton as his running mate. If he doesn't, just 21% of Hillary's supporters say they'd pledge they'd still vote for Obama with a majority saying they wouldn't vote or couldn't say who they'd vote for at this time. ...Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that he's getting rid of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation as part of a reorganization of his office. The reorganization includes a new Cybercrimes unit that will focus on identity theft, on line scams and sexual predators. But it appears part of the new unit's work overlaps what the Kentucky State Police have been doing for the past five years. Here's >> Continue reading: Conway Forms Cybercrimes Unit. Duplicating KSP? The AP is reporting that Attorney General Jack Conway was taken to the hospital just a few minutes after meeting with reporters at an 11 a.m. news conference. I was the reporter closest to the podium so I apologize for any role I may have played in Conway's illness. ...For those of you who want to see Hillary's e-mail to her supporters, here it is: ...A liberal leaning Louisville-based blog is urging its readers to keep an eye out for state vehicles in places they shouldn't be. And when they see a state car in an odd place, PageOneKentucky.com is asking them to snap a picture including the license place and venue. UPDATE: And yes, readers, I have done a story on state vehicles and I st... Inez, Kentucky banker Mike Duncan, who's now heading the Republican National Committee's fundraising efforts, is splashing republicans with e-mails, hoping Barack Obama's apparent nomination will help Duncan raise money for John McCain. ...A former Mercer County Clerk has been charged with stealing for the office. ...State Senate President David Williams has suspended further work on the expansion and renovation of senators' offices, a controversy that had turned into a public relations nightmare for legislators. ...Well, no film at 11, but I will eat crow regarding a post yesterday. ...Education Commissioner Jon Draud turned aside suggestions that he consider ordering a new state car with fewer extras and a smaller pricetag, according to e-mails obtained by the C-J. ...It appears that no matter who John McCain chooses for his running mate, he'd beat Barack Obama and his V.P. nominee in Kentucky. A new Survey USA/WHAS 11 shows how McCain and Obama would fair with various running mates. ...If the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet ever had an Inspector General rooting out fraud, abuse and corruption, they did a lousy job because Frankfort reporters never heard of them. So we'll assume a lawyer from Danville is the first. Here's the release from the cabinet: ...While the Kentucky Education Association is trying to put the brakes on a possible special legislative session on pension reform, the teachers' bosses are urging the governor and lawmakers to pass some reforms as soon as possible: ...Kentucky's tax on gasoline will be jumping to 22.5 cents/gallon July 1st, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. That's a 1 1/2 cent increase. Governor Beshear told me he doesn't believe he's got the power to freeze the tax rate hike or approve a state gas tax holiday. House Budget Committee Chairman Harry Moberly says Beshear is right, he can't change s... If you watched any of my May 20th interview with Hillary Clinton, or watched the story I had on TV, you'd know that Clinton has been interested in being Barack Obama's running mate. Apparently that notion is now out of the closet and on full display for the national news me... Former governor Paul Patton and former Lexington Mayor Pam Miller are among the nominees to fill three slots on the Council on Postsecondary Education. And while we're talking about Patton......: ...He was a fixture in Frankfort and Lawrenceburg. Anderson County Clerk Harold Ritchie has died while out for a run, according to Anderson County's Judge-Executive. ...Pat Crowley is reporting that Fletcher best bud Don Ball raised $200,000 for state senate republicans durin...
The Lexington Herald-Leader is reporting that Kentucky taxpayers are shelling out more than $400,000/yr. in rent for the state agencies who have been shoved out of the Capitol Annex building by the ever-expanding legislative office space. I bet the folks getting hit with budget cuts will love to... Governor Beshear has reinstated the state's ban on discrimination against gays, lesbians and others in state employment matters. That ban was lifted by Governor Fletcher. Here's the release from Beshear's office: ...Governor Beshear has restored the agency that oversees workplace issues to Paul Patton-esque status, including restoration of a labor union friendly council to advise the governor: ...The State Auditor's office has released a report that found major problems in Kentucky's guardianship cases, affecting more than 2500 Kentuckians: ...The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Kentucky House and Senate met for about three hours behind closed doors today, debating what they might be able to agree on before Governor Beshear calls them into special session. The pension reform working groups appointed by the Governor are scheduled to have their first m... Governor Beshear has hired the law firm of Stites and Harbison to handle the lawsuit filed by Sen. David Williams against the Beshear administration. Beshear told the Lexington Herald Leader that he didn't care about the perception that he was giving a state contract to his former law firm. ...Governor Beshear has named former Jefferson Co. Judge-Executive and Louisville Mayor Dave Armstrong the new head of the state Public Service Commission. Armstrong is a long time friend of Beshear's. ...A report by Kentucky Youth Advocates has found poor families are unable to navigate Kentucky's medicaid system to get services for their children. Here's a synopsis of the report: ... |