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Political BLOG |
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Joe Arnold
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September 2008 Archives
Sen. Dick Roeding says he's ticked off about Gov. Beshear's visit to Northern Kentucky last week. Roeding believes Beshear is using his official post a... A former federal agent from Whitley City says she's running for U.S. Senate in 2010. Darlene Fitzgerald Price already has a web page with a list of policies she will, and won't, support. Sen. Jim Bunning has repeatedly said he plans to seek reelection in 2010 though many folks in his own party are skeptical that he'll file to run. ...Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo's claim that some rural voters won't vote for Barack Obama because he's black, has prompted a demand from Senate President David Williams that Mongiardo apologize. It's not clear whether Williams doesn't buy the idea that some Kentucky voters likely won't vote for a black man for president or whether he's upset that Mongiardo targeted his remarks at rural voters. Williams represents a largely rural district. The son of Pineville's Mayor may plead guilty and testify against his father in an upcoming vote-buying case. ...Governor Beshear's job approval rating has gone through the roof in the past couple of months, jumping to 60% according to the C-J's Bluegrass State poll. ...John McCain leads Barack Obama by 3 points in Indiana, according to a new Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll. The poll shows McCain leading 48%-45%. It also shows McCain leading Obama in Souihern Indiana by a margin of 53%-41%. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Obama only leads McCain by 4% among llikely Hoosier voters who say the eco... Incumbent Governor Mitch Daniels leads Democrat Jill Long Thompson by 16% in the Indiana governor's race, according to the latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll. The poll shows Daniels leading 53%-37% with Libertarian Andy Horning pulling in 6% of likely voters. ...About half of state government's fleet of vehicles are getting "How's My Driving" bumper stickers. State Finance Cabinet officials say 5300 state cars and trucks will get the bumper stickers in the hope that they'll make their state employee drivers more self conscious and slow down while driving. Here's the original story from the AP: ...The Rothenberg report now considers Kentucky's U.S. Senate race as "narrow advantage" for the incumbent (McConnell). And Stu Rothenberg says he wouldn't argue with anyone who rates the Mitch McConnell vs. Bruce Lunsford race "a toss-up." McConnell did get a break today when the U.S. House voted down the unpopular $700 billion Wall St. bailout package saving the U.S. Senate from making a tough political vote. ...The Kentucky League of Women Voters is drilling Sen. Mitch McConnell for refusing to participate in their debate with Bruce Lunsford. McConnell has agreed to three debates with Lunsford. For the record, Lunsford has agreed to participate in a debate on WHAS-TV but we've not received a formal "no thanks" from the McConnell folks. After watching the debate in Northern Kentucky between the two, I'm trying to figure out why McConnell doesn't wa... Rogers Statement on Economic Stabilization Package WASHINGTON, DC.--U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) released the following statement regarding the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008: "Today, the citizens of Kentucky face an economic crisis. A crisis created by Wall Street fat cats, who were enriching themselves while the rest of us suffered. Their greed has put a lot of Kentuckians at risk. "However, ... "Just over a week ago, the Administration requested that Congress act on a proposal to address a growing and comprehensive financial crisis. The House of Representatives responded with the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. While far from being an ideal bill I believe some modifications made over the weekend improved the Treasury's plan. In the end, I voted for the legislation. Now that the proposal has failed, it is more importa... It took a weekend, but Bruce Lunsford has finally responded to Sen. Mitch McConnell's latest TV ad, accusing a Lunsford company of providing poor care to veterans. Here's the statement from the Lunsford camp: ...Sodrel would have voted against it too, but for different reasons... here's his release: PRESS RELEASE "Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi does not want to lose her position as Speaker of the House. She has allowed vulnerable Democrat members like ... NO Yarmuth YES Here's the statement: Whitfield Statement on Taxpayer Funded Bailout WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) released the following statement today after voting against the Financial Markets Stabilization package. "Today, I reluctantly decided to oppose the Financial Markets Stabilization package proposed by President Bush and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson for the following reasons: ... Here's the release from Congressman Davis' office. ...Just got word that Indiana Congressman Baron Hill is voting against the credit crisis rescue plan. That's a bad harbinger for the bill. Hill is the kind of mainstream Democrat they are counting on for support... more to come Interesting article by Ryan Alessi in the Herald-Leader points out the freaky friday reversal of Kentucky's U.S. Senators in the bailout saga, as Jim Bunning is cast as the voice in the wilderness and McConnell is stuck trying to defend the Bush administration. ...Judging by a statement released to WHAS11 News Sunday night, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth will not be joining Democratic Congressional leaders in voting for the credit crisis bailout plan. ...The C-J's Bluegrass State Poll shows John McCain leading Barack Obama by a dozen percentage points. McCain was leading Obama by 19 in a Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll taken a few days earlier. The new poll numbers may be showing that republicans McCain and Sen. Mitch McConnell may be getting hurt the most by the flailing economy and talk of taxpayer fun... In what looks like an attempt to be different than the Lexington Herald-Leader's editors' position, the editorial writers at the C-J are supporting the LRC's decision to give Director Bobby Sherman a big pay raise. The C-J buys Sen. David Wlliams' argument that taxpayers are actually "saving" money by keeping Sherman and giving him a big raise instead of letting him retire. The editorial seems to miss the mark on why the deal is being heavil... For the second time this week, an independent poll is showing Bruce Lunsford almost tied with Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate race. The C-J's Bluegrass State Poll shows likely voters placing the race in a 41%-41% dead heat. When "leaners" are added in, McConnell leads Lunsford by just one point. Earlier this week... Governor Beshear has finally sent a letter to President Bush, asking that 36 Kentucky counties be declared disaster areas. The letter to the President was signed Friday, September 26th. As noted in an earlier post on this blog, Beshear said he was sending in the disaster request letter on September 19th. ...One of Governor Beshear's Policy Advisors is leaving the capitol building. Former Sen. Joe Meyer is headed to the Workforce Development Cabinet. Here's the release from the gov's office: ...House Speaker Jody Richards will ask for a special called meeting of the Legislative Research Commission to try and repeal the 47% pay hike legislative leaders gave Director Bobby Sherman earlier this week. Meanwhile, Kentucky voters ... Eleven Kentucky Property Valuation Administrators have been hit with ethics violations by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. The C-J's Tom Loftus has the story. ...
A new Survey USA poll shows a few more Americans want their congressman to vote for an "economic rescue" package than those who want their Washington leaders to vote against it. Twenty percent of those polled say they don't know enough about it to give an educated opinion. ...
For this first time since Kentucky's Community and Technical College System was formed, the schools have seen a drop in enrollment. Budget cuts, fewer faculty and rising tuition probably led to the drop in the number of students attending the schools, which are scattered across the Commonwealth. ...State government's old, electronic junk will now be recycled instead of tossed in a landfill. The state has signed a contract with a Florida company to e-cycle.....get it? E-cycle?? Republican Brett Guthrie is now leading David Boswell in the 2nd District Congressional Race, according to a new Survey USA/WHAS11 News poll. Guthrie is leading Boswell 49%-43%. Three months ago, Boswell led 47%-43%. The two state senators are both on TV with ads right now, though Guthrie has raised far more cash than Boswell. In the last poll, Boswell and Guthrie were tied among male voters. Boswell now trails by 12. ...
It appears Kentucky congressman Geoff Davis has been sucking campaign cash out of the pockets of Fannie Mae and other financial and mortgage groups at the same time those entities were headed toward financial disaster. ...
The headline on the September 19th news release from Governor Beshear's office reads "Governor Beshear Submits Presidential Disaster Declaration." The governor said the same thing at a news conference that same day. He was asking President Bush to declare Kentucky a disaster area following the September 14th wind storms and damage. But, as of this hour, Beshear has not requested that disaster declaration. ...A new Survey USA poll shows American voters have more confidence in Barack Obama than John McCain in dealing with the country's economic problems. By a two-to-one margin, voters have no confidence in President Bush to handle the economy. The same poll shows most Americans don't think tomorrow's scheduled debate between Obama and McCain should... Leaders in Washington have agreed on a bailout plan for troubled Wall St. financial institutions. Congressman John Yarmuth has some details of the plan, according to the Courier-Journal. I wonder if Senator Mitch McConnell will still be using his line that Bruce Lunsford is from the party that wants "more taxation and more regulation." Bet he dr... House Speaker Jody Richards has pre-filed a bill for the 2009 Legislative session that would reverse the big pay raise his fellow legislative leaders gave to Legislative Research Commission Director Bobby Sherman yesterday. ...Second District Congressional candidate Brett Guthrie has begun running a TV ad to counter a commercial from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Guthrie campaign has been clamoring for TV stations to pull the DCCC ad off the air because they claim it's "demonstrably false" when it claims Guthrie's company has move... Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden took down his Teleprompter and scrapped his planned speech on national security issues as voters' unrest about the economy and taxpayer funded bailouts took center stage in the Presidential race. ...I could have sworn I heard Sen. David Williams say Kentucky's state budget problems could be solved by reigning in government spending, not increasing taxes. He'll have a tough time explaining his successful push to give Legislative Research Commission Director Bobby Sherman a 47% raise, to nearly 200K/yr. Most lawmaker... Owen County Judge-Executive Billy O'Banion has been charged with stealing county funds. Two others were also charged. O'Banion has had some serious health issues in the past year or two. I believe at one time he was the youngest Kentuckian ever elected County Judge-Executive after working in Governor Brereton Jones' administration. On a personal note, O'Banion is a truly nice guy ... A child welfare group says Kentucky's pre-K program is going backward because of funding cuts: ...The U.S. Jaycees has named Governor Beshear's Chief of Staff Adam Edelin, as one of the top ten young leaders in America: ...Pat Crowley is speculating that a Northern Kentucky fundraiser being co-hosted by Sen. David Williams and Secretary of State Trey Grayson might be a pre... A group of poker players is not happy with Gov. Steve Beshear's attempt to grab the domains of internet gambling sites. ...The Louisville Bar Association has surveyed its members about the qualifications of the candidates running in contested judicial races in Jefferson County. The survey shows that, if only lawyers were voting, the Supreme Court race between Jim Shake and Lisabeth Abramson would be a tight one. The results are on the Louisville Bar's web page. ...Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Biden told a young woman in Ohio that he opposes construction of more coal-fired power plants in the U.S. and would like to pressure China to quit building the same kind of plants. Hat tip to Ky.Politics.org. ...This is a strange one. A Louisville father has shot a video that he's entered into a contest to win free gas for a year. The video features his 3-year-old daughter telling congress to "drill now, pay less." Here's the e-mail from the dad to the media, telling folks how they can vote for his video: ...It looks like the fragile economy and government bailouts of Wall St. firms is hurting incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell in his reelection campaign. The new Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows McConnell's lead over Bruce Lunsford has been cut to just three points in the past month. The poll shows McConnell leading 49%-46%. McConnell held a 12 point lead over Lunsford a month ago. ...Congressman John Yarmuth has thrown in his two cents worth on the wind damage to Louisville, asking President Buish to declare Louisville a disaster area. Here's the letter from Yarmuth to the President: ...Mark Mellman and Greg Bolger will be in Louisville for a session on Health Care Policy and presidential politics. Here's the info: ...Former Henry County Magistrate and Steve Henry supporter Wayne Gunnell has been named a "policy advisor" in the Beshear administration. Gunnell is working in the Revenue Cabinet, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. ...Doctors now say Kentucky Education Commissioner Jon Draud suffered a mild stroke and wasn't suffering from a viral infection. Sounds like Draud may need a new doc. Here's the release from the Ed. Dept.: ...Kentucky may be the first state to go after the internet domain names of off shore, internet gambling sites. Here's the release from the Governor's office: ...Two dozen teachers from across Kentucky have been nominated for awards and are in the running for the Teacher of the Year award. Here's the release from the Education Department: ...Governor Beshear has appointed a slew of new members to the committee that's overseeing Kentucky's efforts to clean up its horse racing drug problems. Here's the release from Beshear's office: ...Senator Joe Biden will be at the downtown Marriott on Wednesday night for an "Obama Victory Fund" fundraiser. The Obama campaign will not compete for Kentucky's eight electoral votes, but Kentucky dollars can certainly be used elsewhere, including in Indiana. What's it cost to have dinner with Biden? ...
The state-run facility in Somerset for persons with mentally retardation has gotten mixed reviews from federal teams that are inspecting the troubled facility. The feds must approve changes at Oakwood before CMS will consider restoring federal Medicaid funding for the facility. ...Hillary Clinton made two stops in Kentucky on Saturday. Ryan Alessi was at the Horse Park for the campaign stop there. ...A former Kentucky court system employee has accused Supreme Court Justice Will Scott of getting her fired so his son could have her job. ...A poll by Daily Kos shows Sen. Mitch McConnell with a 13 point lead over Bruce Lunsford while John McCain is leading Barack Obama by 18 in the Bluegrass State. ...Barack Obama's running mate will be in the Louisville metro area next week. Sen Joe Biden is scheduled to be in Clark and Floyd counties in Southern Indiana. Biden has a brother who lives in the Louisville area. Here's the release from the Obama campaign: ...
A group that's pushed for regulation opposed by Sen. Mitch McConnell says McConnell's acceptance of big campaign donations from banks and Wall St. firms has played a role in the current financial crisis. Here's the release: ...
L, G and E doesn't have insurance and doesn't have a pool of millions of dollars to cover the costs of clean up and repair after the largest power outage in its history. So L, G and E will ask that it recoup its costs as part of its next rate increase request. After the ice storm that left about 140-thousand households without power in Central Kentucky, KU asked for $15.... Anybody else see the similarities between the Alaskan legislature's investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin and former Attorney General Greg Stumbo's investigation of Gov. Ernie Fletcher? Fletcher initially said he wanted the merit hiring probe to reveal "the unvarnished truth" then accused Stumbo of a political witchhunt. Palin initially welcomed the "Troopergate" investigation saying "h... The Associated Press is reporting that the attorney for indicted road contractora Leonard Lawson is asking for a delay in the scheduled trial for Lawson, Lawson employee Brian Billings and former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert. Here's the AP story: ...A former County Judge-Executive is the new executive director of the Kentucky County Attorney's Association. ...John Yarmuth's congressional campaign has suspended its radio and TV ads until the current wind-related emergency is over. A spokesman for Yarmuth says the decision had nothing to do with the fact that TV ads were only reaching about one-third of 3rd District households because of power outages. PageOneKentucky has another take on Yarmuth suspending ads. ... The federal government has given the state of Kentucky a waiver to let gas stations sell non reformulated gasoline until September 30th. RFG, as it's called, is more environmentally friendly. But Governor Beshear asked for a waiver during the weather emergency aftermath to try and boost the supply of gas to Louisville and Northern Kentucky by making more kinds of gasoline available. ...One of the old school journalists has won a big award. The C-J's Tom Loftus has won a First Amendment award for all of his work digging up government records and exposing corruption. It's well deserved. Tom's colleague at the C-J, Stephenie Steitzer, did the legwork on the nomination. ...The Lexington Herald-Leader is cutting more jobs, reducing its workforce by 11%. I'll let you know if any of its political or government reporters are being affected. ...Kentucky's Education Commissioner is recovering from a viral infection that impacted his nervous system, according to a release from the Education Department. Jon Draud is doing OK, resting at home in Northern Kentucky. Here's the release from the department: ...Bruce Lunsford's new TV ad uses John McCain's words and new message against Mitch McConnell. One odd thing though.....the last words on the screen are "Change Is Coming." Viewers who aren't paying alot of attention might think the change is referring to McConnell, not Lunsford. Here's the response from McConnell folks: ...Rep. Jim Gooch wants Kentucky to follow in the footsteps of other states in offering vehicle owners an "In God We Trust" license plate: ...Sorry about the lack of postings. No power at the Hebert household where I usually do most my political blogging. Trying to catch up but still no power. Hang in there. ...
---- Joe Arnold WHAS11 ----
Democrat Bruce Lunsford doesn't even have a "newspaper knowledge" of foreign affars according to Sen. Mitch McConnell. McConnell made that statement after his opponent failed to directly answer several foreign policy questions from McConnell during a debate in Erlanger Saturday morning. ...PageOneKentucky is reporting that Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will be in Louisville next Friday. ...
The attorney for Kentucky highway contractor Leonard Lawson refused to say whether his client ever gave former state highway engineer James Rummage "anything of value." But Larry Mackey insisted at Lawson's arraignment on Friday that Lawson will be found not guilty of bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. Former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert and a Lawson company employee Brian Billings also pleaded not guilty in co... The Bowling Green newspaper has the first verbal response from House Speaker Jody Richards to the news that Greg Stumbo is challenging him for the Speaker's job. ...
--- Joe Arnold -- Watch WHAS11's Kelsey Starks' interview tonight with Kansas Governor and Obama surrogate Kathleen Sebelius. Kelsey says that Sebelius did not say much about Sarah Palin, one indication that the Obama campaign's strategy is to get back on message with criticisms of John McCain. Smart move. Palin has been the focus now for two solid weeks. If, however, you want to vote and comment on the Charlie Gibson inte... Bruce Lunsford's campaign has confirmed what WHAS 11's Joe Arnold reported two days ago, that Hillary Clinton will be campaigning in Kentucky for Lunsford. Here's the release from Lunsford's campaign: ...Second District congressional candidate Brett Guthrie has begun running TV ads that look like a cross between Bruce Lunsford and Mitch McConnell. Guthrie's ad is about energy and gas prices. It features Guthrie pumping gas (Lunsford) and talks about his plan to find more oil and develop alternative fuels (McConnell). ...An anti-tax group has put out its rankings of Kentucky lawmakers. Here's their news release: ...It seems Gov. Beshear is doing what his predecessor did, handing out state checks one minute, helping democrats collecting campaign checks the next minute. Here's the story from Ronnie Ellis of CNHI News Service: ...Are you worried that Barack Obama is faltering? Former Courier-Journal reporter (1970's) and U of L graduate (JD) Howard FIneman of Newsweek offers this critique of the Obama campaign. Very interesting. Obama's woes have nothing to do with 'lipstick'
------- Joe Arnold WHAS11 ---------
--- Joe Arnold WHAS11--- Congressman Baron Hill has lengthened his lead over archrival Mike Sodrel in Indiana's 9th District Congressional race. According to the latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll, Hill leads Sodrel 50%-39%. Libertarian Eric Schansberg has 5% of the vote. The poll shows Hill leading by 19% among voters who are 50 and older. This is th... The state of Kentucky has gotten $15 million for upgrades to emergency communications systems, including more than $2 million for Louisville Metro government to continue work on its new integrated dispatch system for fire, EMS and police. Here's the release: ...--- Joe Arnold WHAS11 News --- State Representative Greg Stumbo says he's sending letters to all House members this afternoon, detailing his reasons for challenging current Speaker Jody Richards. I guess I was wrong with my prediction that Stumbo would not run for the Speaker's job this year! ----- Joe Arnold WHAS11 News ----- Clinton must be glad to return to one of her best performing sta...
---- Joe Arnold, WHAS11 News ---- Sen. David Boswell's campaign manager says he expects the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to announce that it will be committing more money and support to Boswell's campaign. He may need the help. Boswell hasn't purchased any time on any Louisville TV stations which cover about two thirds of the 2nd District. Boswell's... Somebody broke in to Rep. John Yarmuth's campaign office Tuesday night, but apparently didn't take anything of much value. ...Kentucky's General Fund tax receipts grew 7.6% in August compared to August 2007. That means in the first two months of this fiscal year, state government revenues are up 4.7% over last fiscal year. The state raked in more than $633 million last month according to State Budget Director Mary Lassiter. ...The state's fleet of 16 airplanes and helicopters is old and poorly managed, that's the conclusion of an audit completed by the State Auditor's office. The report found the state failed to collect more than $13,000 for five flights in 2007. It also found no required documentation of who, what, when and where on more than one-third ... WHAs 11's Adam Walser broke the story Tuesday night about a Maryland school superintendent getting an ultra quick PhD from the University of Louisville after he had helped Robert Felner get a $125,000/yr. contract. A U of L spokesman poo-poo'd Walser's story. But Wednesday, U of L President Jim Ramsey named a group to investigat... A group that claims to be a non-partisan watchdog over conflicts of interest and big money influence in Washington, has named Rep. Hal Rogers and Sen. Mitch McConnell to its list of "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress." ...You read the headline correctly. An energy efficiency team from Walmart is in Frankfort this week, looking for ways the state can save on utility costs. ...Kentucky State University President Mary Sias may get her wish to end her career at the Frankfort school. The KSU Board of Regents has given Sias a contract extension and a raise. ...--- Joe Arnold, WHAS11 News ---- -- Joe Arnold, WHAS11 -- Appearing for UPS is Burt Wallace, the Sr. Vice President of Corporate Transportation. ...
By Joe Arnold: INDIANA KENTUCKY Envinronmental attorney Tom Fitzgerald has won a $250,000 award for his work in helping folks battle big money interests. Congratulations Fitz! ...Sen. Jim Bunning seems to get really engrossed in these government regulation of financial markets issues. So it's no surprise that he's railing on the feds proposed takeover of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs. Frankly, I think I'm with Bunning on this one. Spending billions of tax dollars to prop up a failed ... Rep. John Yarmuth's lead over Anne Northup is down to 8 points, according to the latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll. The poll shows Yarmuth leading Northup 53%-45%. But that's two points less than seven weeks ago. The poll shows Northup is now leading Yarmuth among white Louisville voters, 51%-48%. ...The latest WHAS 11/Survey USA poll shows Anne Northup has gained a couple of points on John Yarmuth in the 3rd District Congressional race. The poll shows Yarmuth with a 53%-45% lead over Northup. But that's two points closer than the last poll which was taken 7 weeks ago. ...Sen. Mitch McConnell told the Kentucky Farm Bureau that he'd like several "open" debates with democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford. Depending on the formats being offered by various organizations, McConnell will get his wish. Lunsford has accepted eight invitations to debate McConnell, including three offers from TV stations, WSAZ-TV in Huntington, WHAS-TV in Louisville and KET. McConnell's campaign has agreed to debate Lunsford at a Northe... John McCain's choice of a running mate was designed, in part, to try and attract disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters to his camp. Ryan Alessi says it doesn't appear to be having large scale results in Kentucky. ...By Joe Arnold The former state highway engineer whose information sparked the current federal investigation and indictment of three people, doesn't have immunity from prosecution or any other deal with federal authorities. That's according to Jim Rummage's attorney Marc Murphy. ...
The ACLU is asking a judge to order counties who illegally posted copies of the 10 Commandments on their courthouse walls to cough up nearly $400,000 to cover the ACLU's legal expenses in the case it brought against those counties. The ACLU may not get the full amount it's requesting, but the counties will likely be forced to pay a big chunk of change. This will be at least the thir... The local school chief who led the charge to make it tougher for private and parochial high school to recruit athletes has been named the new head of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. ...If you're one of those folks who cast a protest vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because you didn't like either one of the major party candidates (Gore and Bush), you'll get another chance to do the same thing this year. ...John Cheves and Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald Leader detail Bill Nighbert's life in politics and some of the controversies he has, and hasn't, left behind. ...Well, they didn't really kiss, that I'm aware of. But Gov. Beshear and former Gov. Brereton Jones did put on a fundraiser together. Remember, it was Jones who publicly bashed Beshear for his failed attempt to get a casino gambling amendment through the legislature. ...A Survey USA/WHAS11 poll of Kentuckians shows John McCain's choice for VP moved independent and undecided voters into the McCain camp with her speech on Wednesday night. The poll also shows most voters think McCain made a good choice with Palin while Barack Obama made a good VP choice with Sen. Joe Biden. ...Some Kentucky sportsmen aren't real excited about Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo's plan to expand ATV trails as part of his "adventure tourism" initiative. They're worried Mongiardo wants to put new trails in protected wildlife areas. Now the Lt. Governor is trying to reassure them he doesn't plan on doing that. ...Sen. Denise Harper Angel's possible opponent says she should drop her lawsuit that's trying to disqualify him from the race. He may not have enough legal signatures to get on the ballot but he's written an entertaining letter: ...Some new polls show a majority of Americans think the news media is unfairly picking on John McCain's choice for Vice-President. In a similar vein, there's some funny stuff on the Daily Show about republican reaction to Sarah Palin. If you're a die hard democrat you'll love it. If you think Karl Rove or Bill O'Reilly is a political g... John McCain is in the midst of his "I'm the bigger changer" speech to the Republican National Convention as I write this. It appears his choice of a running mate may have changed the minds of some voters. A new CBS poll shows McCain erasing his 8 point deficit to Barack Obama in less than a week. ...Senator Mitch McConnell says Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has electrified delegates and he suspects the American people as well. Her dynamic presentation presents a daunting task for John McCain's speech to measure up. Watch the entire interview here McConnell has made gas prices a key issue in his campaign against Bruce Lunsford, and he expects energy... The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is reminding candidates to keep their signs off the public right-of-way or they may begin air polluting bonfires with them (not really they'll just throw them in full landfill). Here's the news release: ...U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell opened today's session of the Republican National Convention with a short speech about former political enemy John McCain. ...Here's what the GOP has released in advance of Sarah Palin's speech. ...A federal grand jury in Lexington has returned a criminal indictment against Gov. Fletcher's Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, eastern Kentucky road builder Leonard Lawson and Lawson company employee Brian Billings in connection with a federal bid rigging probe. ...Sarah Palin has already taken the GOP Convention by storm, even before making a formal appearance. Tonight's 10:30pm speech could make or break her. More than likely, the response will be split along red and blue lines. For a preview, watch GOP strategist Scott Jennings with WHAS11's Joe Arnold. ...The latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll shows Sen. Mitch McConnell's job approval rating has taken a big hit in the past eight weeks. McConnell's job approval rating is 44%, compared to 57% a couple of months ago. ...Lexington Herald Leader columnist Larry Dale Keeling isn't too impressed with John McCain's pick for V.P. ...By Joe Arnold Here's the release from the state folks on the upcoming Labor-Management Conference: ...
I wonder if the same police officers who busted an ABC news crew for videotaping Democrats and lobbyists from a public sidewalk in Denver are the same ones working in Minneapolis at the GOP Convention? ...The U of L Board of Trustees has heard President Jim Ramsey's version of Robert Felner's work at the school, now they're hearing from Felner's former faculty members. ...Kentucky Economic Development Secretary John Hindman quit on Tuesday and got a lovely parting gift.....his $200K+ salary for a year to "consult" for the state. Both Hindman and Governor Beshear say the decision was Hindman's. But was it really? ...By Joe Arnold, Several college students from Kentucky are in St. Paul for the GOP Convention. They attended a Harvard University forum Tuesday where a crew from WHAS11's parent company caught up with them. ...By Joe Arnold FYI -- Mark Hebert covered the Dems last week. I am posting my interview highlights and observations from the Republican National Convention. GOP strategist Scott Jennings, a former Karl Rove deputy in the Bush White House, has been providing analysis from the Republican perspective... Kentucky's Economic Development Secretary is resigning. John Hindman of Louisville says he's quitting to pursue other interests. ...A CBS News poll shows Barack Obama with an eight point lead following the Democratic National Convention. But others, like CNN, show Obama with virtually no bounce from the convention. ...By Joe Arnold By Joe Arnold By Joe Arnold Weekend polls show Barack Obama didn't get much of bump from the Democratic National Convention, probably because John McCain's surprise VP selection swept the democrats out of the headlines. ...John McCain's VP candidate has acknowledged that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and plans to marry the father of the child. A release from Sarah Palin's camp says the Alaska governor's daughter made the decision to keep the child and marry the father on her own. Any thoughts on Palin accepting the VP nomination from McCai... There seem to be some mixed feelings from Kentucky democratic candidates about a possible Barack Obama visit to the Bluegrass State. Some democrats are wondering if Obama's more liberal agenda might hurt democrats in more conservative areas of Kentucky. ... |
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WHAS11.com Political Blog
WHAS11 Reporters blog the latest political news from the campaign trail and beyond. 
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