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Political BLOG |
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Joe Arnold
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November 2008 ArchivesThe son of State Senator Julie Denton of Louisville (District 36) is dead after a car accident early Sunday morning in Lexington. Taylor Rose was 19 years old. Visitation: Funeral: Tom Loftus has a story in the C-J today about the number of conferences Kentucky state lawmakers have been attending in the past two years, rolling up a tab on the taxpayers. The most curious name on the top ten travelers list - Rep. Dennis Horlander of Louisville. ...Leo Weekly has a pretty good summary of the national and international stories that one liberal leaning think tank believes the mainstream media missed in 2008. ...A federal judge has awarded more than $40,000 to two ACLU-affiliated attornies who successfully sued Grayson County over its posting of the 10 Commandments. Here's the AP story: ...A Kentucky Court of Appeals judge is apparently behind both of the recent complaints filed against democratic state lawmakers Joey Pendleton and Tom Burch. ...It seems like an awful quick turnaround, but Kentucky's public universities must submit their plans for a 4% budget cut to the CPE by Wednesday, December 3rd. And according to what WKU President Gary Ransdell told his faculty and staff, the plan can't be longer than three pages, with Governor Beshear getting a look at their plans by Friday. Here's Ransdell's letter: ...Governor Steve Beshear will be among the governors meeting with President-elect Obama and V.P.-elect Biden on Tuesday in Philly. ...Greg Dearing is not happy with the letter he got from Metro Council President Jim King, asking Dearing and other firefighters to support King's daughter for District Judge. Katie King won, but former mayoral candidate Ed Springston is still hot about it all. Read Springston's take on the King family politicking as well as Dearing's letter to Jim King. ...The Jefferson County Public School system is already bracing for a $30 million dollar budget shortfall, not this year, but next school year. ...Plans for a new coal gasification plant in Indiana have been shelved. The project is the latest coal liquification or gasification plant to be torpedoed due to lack of investors or concerns about new EPA regulations. Here's the AP story: ...Governor Beshear encouraged former Murray State University Constantine Curris to seek the presidency of the Council on Postsecondary Education, according to a story in today's Herald-Leader. According to Curris, Beshear called him on behalf of Kentucky's eight public university presidents who wanted Curris to seek Kentucky's top higher education post. ...Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson has asked Louisville's public employees to give up their 2% pay raises for the rest of the fiscal year as a way to help the city solve its budget crisis. Abramson met with heads of the various unions that represent city workers yesterday, telling them that freezing workers' raises would save the city about $2.6 million through June 30. You can see the reaction from the Teamsters and Firefighters union presiden... Governor Beshear is telling every state agency to come up with plans to cut their budgets 4% to cover the projected $456 million shortfall. ...A group of House Democrats has written its own letter to federal officials, contradicting the stance Gov. Beshear has taken on new mining rules. Here's the release from the dems: ...A new Survey USA/WHAS 11 News poll shows the overwhelming majority of residents in the Louisville TV market like President-elect Obama's cabinet choices. ...The number of Kentucky state employees who are retiring before the end of the year will be far less than legislators and administration officials expected. ...Kentucky's Criminal Justice Council approved more than 60 recommendations today, many of which are designed to save money on prison costs. Governor Beshear ordered the council to come up with recommendations to cut prison sentences to stabilize Kentucky's prison population, which is growing faster than any other state's. Many of the recommendations were opposed by representatives of the Attorney General, County Attornies Association, Commonw... Second District Congressman-elect Brett Guthrie has announced some of his staff: ...Democratic state senators Dorsey Ridley and Jerry Rhoads are proposing legislation that would set up a separate agency to approve bonds or tolls to fund major, big money road construction projects. The idea is similar to what Sen. David Williams and others talked about during the 2008 Legislative Session as a way to oversee and fund the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville and other major construction plans across the state. ...It's a controversial list that many cities say is flawed, but Louisville rooters will gladly embrace the CQ Press "Most Dangerous Cities" list out this morning because the Derby City is nowhere near the top, #135 out of 385 cities ranked. Lexington is #198. Indianapolis is #33 and Nashville is #53, but the region's most dangerous city, according to the rankings, is St. Lo... With the state facing a $456 million budget shortfall, Governor Beshear says he's ready to break the icy relationship with Senate President David Williams. Williams says it's about time for Beshear to "walk the walk" about bipartisanship. Here's the story. ...
A very sobering release from the Governor's office this afternoon. State revenues are several percentage points worse than originally estimated, the road fund is in even worse shape and painful cuts will happen. The release doesn't mention tax increases, but that's the implication. Here's the official word: ...The three defendants in a federal bid rigging case have asked a judge to throw out the charges against them. Former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, road contractor Leonard Lawson and one of Lawson's employees all claim that details of the criminal case against them were improperly leaked and, therefore, the indictments should be droppped. ...Hardin County Clerk Kenny Tabb has filed a complaint in Hardin Circuit Court, asking for a recount of one precinct's votes in the 26th District State Representative race. Democrat Mike Weaver has indicated that he plans to challenge all of the ballots cast in the Pine Valley precinct because, he believes, paper ballots were improperly taken out of a malfunctioning voting machine and handed to an unknown person to count. ...He was involved in some controversies when he was president at Murray State University (what MSU prez hasn't been?), but it appears Constantine Curris may be one of the finalists for the top job at the Council on Postsecondary Education. ...The state job was advertised as having a salary range of $60-80,000. But when Ralph Coldiron, an old friend of Governor Beshear's, got the job, his salary was set at $100,000. Hmmmm. ...The PageOneKentucky blog, which has been brutal in its criticism of the Kentucky Democratic Party leadership, is now saying staffers aren't getting paid. Jacob Payne is also writing that there will soon be changes at the top of KDP. I dunno but read for yourself. ...Governor Beshear has apparently listened to his Finance Secretary, Jonathan Miller, who's been advocating an overhaul of the retirement systems' investment practices. Here's the release from the Gov's office: ...Governor Beshear unveiled Kentucky's new long term energy policy today and it includes a look at nuclear energy. Kentucky currently has a ban on construction of any new nuclear power plants. Sen. Bob Leeper unsuccessfully tried to get the ban lifted during the 2008 session of the Legislature. Governor Ernie Fletcher also released a comprehensive long term energy policy so don't let Beshear take credit for having the "first" comprehen... Federal indictment handed down.. "13 former veterans and 1 other person indicted for scheme involving award of false veterans disability benefits" With Ford Motor Company trying to mimic its success in Europe, here, they are bringing in the VP who has been runnning the European operation to "improve manufacturing flexibility and efficiency in North America as the company retools several truck factories to launch a host of smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles." The news release follows... ...
Here's the link to WHAS11's coverage of the auto bailout discussion. ...As U of L Economist Paul Coomes told me Tuesday, automobile alley has been drifting south for some time. The newest manufacturing plants, primarily owned by foreign companies and non-union, are in the South. Are they more competitive because they are non-union or because they have no retiree obligations? MSNBC.com's Tom Curry has this view of the North/South debate. ...I really am curious. Tell me - if the consequences are really as dire as the automakers are warning - why aren't Ford, G-M and Chrysler jumping all over Mitch McConnell's compromise proposal to use the $25 billion in loans already approved for the automakers to develop fuel efficient vehicles on the bailout for now? If one or more of them is going to go belly-up without the lifeline, they wouldn't be in the best position to use the re... In an interview with WHAS11's Capitol bureau, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) said he supports an auto bailout, with lots of strings attached. He says Ford does not appear to be as endangered as GM and Chrysler. ...The state is planning to fix up the Old Governor's Mansion on High St. in Frankfort. The building is now referred to as the Lt. Governor's Mansion, though the last Lt. Gov to live there was Steve Henry. ...The Kentucky Supreme Court has rejected a couple of last ditch efforts to stop death row inmate Marco Chapman from going to the lethal injection chamber on Friday: ...
State Auditor Crit Luallen says Kentucky should quit giving merit based scholarships. Luallen says Kentucky simply can't afford to keep giving cash to students who can afford to pay for college. Here's the story from the AP: ...Kentucky has approved tax incentives for Jim Beam Distillery near the Bullitt/Nelson Co. line: ...A new Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows a majority of Kentuckians don't think congress should approve any additional low interest loans or other bailout money for U.S. automakers. The poll also shows most Kentuckians think Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning should vote against the $25 billion plan. WHAS 11's Joe Arnold has done a series of ... As we've mentioned, Mitch McConnell is caught squarely in the middle of the auto bailout. He ran for reelection based on what he could deliver for Kentucky, but Republicans are staunchly against more taxpayer funded loans for the auto industry. Here's his compromise... the official release from Mitch McConnell's office this morning: ...The fine folks at WHAS11.com have loaded my entire interview with Local 862 President Rocky Comito on WHAS11.com. In it, Comito makes the UAW's case for the auto industry bailout, defends the union and the wages and benefits earned by local autoworkers, says they will not agree to any more concessions, and acknowledges for the first time publicly that he himself... A University of Louisville economist says the proposed $25 billion bailout of the domestic auto industry will not make a difference, suggesting it would just be pouring more money into an industry collapsing under union wages and benefits. Dr. Paul Coomes has researched regional economics for decades, including Kentucky's auto industry. The city and state have relied on his expertise, as have major local employers like UPS, General El... Alan Mulally was less doom and gloom than other CEO's. While GM and Chrysler talked demise, Mulally said the domestic automotive industry has a sustainable future, and that government assistance would be "more favorable to our nation than the costs of inaction." -- note from Joe -- accidentally posted this in the wrong blog category earlier --- In comments to reporters Tuesday, KY's Mitch McConnell says he supports automakers being able to tap into the $25 Billion already allocated for fuel-efficient retooling for other purposes. Dems wanted $50 billion total: $25 billion out of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package and the $25 billion loan package to retool plants for fuel-efficient c... It looks like the Department of Homeland Security is becoming the new Public Protection Cabinet....the new out-of-the-way place for governors to put their political cronies in good jobs. ...Sen. Mitch McConnell says he favors a Bush administration plan to use the $25 billion that's already been approved for the auto industry as a bailout, instead of approving a new low interest loan for the U.S. automakers. ...Kentucky's Chief Justice told lawmakers today that Kentucky's court system is facing a budget shortfall, just like the executive branch. The most unusual part of John Minton's testimony is that he brought all of the other Supreme Court justices with him to the legislative meeting. ...PageOne has a good overview of the telephone conference former State Rep. Mike Weaver held today to explain his objections to the way votes were counted, or not counted, in one Hardin Co. precinct. Weaver lost the election to republican Rep. Tim Moore by 108 votes but is expected to challenge the votes in one precinct. Read my previous blog posting for more... Despite his strongest argument for reelection what he could deliver for Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is waiting for the Democratic leadership in the Senate to advance an auto bailout bill before he takes a position. With Ford in Louisville, GM in Bowling Green and Toyota in Georgetown (which wants the Big 3 bailout to protect the auto parts suppliers Toyota shares with American auto companies), Kentucky is in the ... First lady Laura Bush will be in Kentucky on Tuesday. But you won't get a chance to see her or meet her. Mrs. Bush will be in Hodgenville for a private visit. ...
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson says the city is facing a projected $20 million budget shortfall this fiscal year, so he's getting ready to hack away. The Mayor is immediately freezing spending and hiring. He'll be talking to his department heads this week to figure out where to come up with the rest of the $20 million. ...Despite pleas from one church group and some Catholic Bishops, Governor Beshear says he's not going to stop Friday's planned execution of convicted murderer Marco Chapman. Beshear met with reps from the Council of Churches today then released this statement: ...Louisville state Rep. Tom Burch has been hit with an allegation that he violated the Legislative Ethics code. Here's the story from AP and the response from Burch: ...Kentucky's Attorney General has filed papers in court to keep his office from becoming a party to the internet gambling lawsuit filed by Governor Beshear. ...
The C-J tried to contact all 37 sitting state senators to find out how they'd vote on a cigarette tax hike. A number of the them refused to respond, perhaps unclear about the question "would you support an increase in Kentucky's cigarette tax?" Perhaps they'd support 25 cents but not 70 cents. I dunno. The most intriguing part of the story was the quote from Se... U.A.W. union members worked hard to defeat him. But he promised during his campaign to use his clout to protect jobs and bring home the bacon to Kentucky. And he's already voted for a $700 billion bailout of Wall St. firms. So what does Sen. Mitch McConnell do when when employees at two Ford plants and one GM plant in Kentucky beg him to support the $25 billion low interest loan fo... Former state Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert is facing a complaint from the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. ...
Former state representative Mike Weaver is preparing to ask the state House of Representatives to throw out all of the votes in one Hardin County precinct, claiming they may have been mishandled. ...WKYT-TV is reporting that thieves have been stealing copper out of the light poles on highways around Lexington, but Kentucky Transportation officials failed to report the thefts to police. Transportation Cabinet Spokesman Chuck Wolfe tells WHAS 11 News that "three months seems like an unreasonable time frame" to file a police report. Wolfe believes it was just an oversigh... Congressman John Yarmuth may love the new President-elect, but he's not a big fan of Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. ...WHAS 11 News has learned that Mayor Jerry Abramson will announce some major cuts to metro government because of a big downturn in occupational tax revenues. The payroll tax makes up more than half of the city's budget. Occupational tax revenues were flat from July-September. But October's numbers, which will be released next week, will show a big drop. And it will likely get worse. With 6,000 Ford workers being placed on furlough for seve...
Louisville congressman John Yarmuth says congress must approve some sort of bailout for automakers. But his fellow Kentucky lawmakers may not be willing to jump on board. Here's my story. See Sen. McConnell's statement after the jump. ...
It appears congressman-elect Brett Guthrie won't be officially resigning his state senate seat until the legislature is in session in January. That means fellow republican, Senate President David Williams, not Governor Beshear, will get to decide when the special election will be held to decide Guthrie's replacement. As H-L columnist Larry Dale Keeling points out, Williams surely won't be upset... Plans to build an ethanol plant in Western Kentucky are dead. ...You think Wall St. and the auto industry are out of line for requesting billions of dollars in financial bailouts to prop up their industries? Well, that's pocket change according to a story in Forbes. Hat tip to Pat Crowley! ...Raising the school drop out age to 18. Requiring a half hour of daily physcial activity in elementary school. Cracking down on pay day loan companies' interest rates. Those are some of the priorities of a coalition of groups who plan to lobby the '09 legislature. ...I'll me at the Louisville Metro Democratic Club's meeting tonight at the American Legion Post on Bardstown Road, across from Krispy Kreme. Retired U of L political science professor Phil Laemmle and Gov. Beshear's Chief of Staff Adam Edelen will be joining me on a panel to talk about the recent elections and why the dems didn't gain anything in Kentucky. ...State Sen. Julie Denton has been sued by her own son for allegedly misusing monies from a trust fund. The C-J has the story. ...Louisville attorney John David Dyche is writing a biography about Mitch McConnell. He was hoping to release it when McConnell became Senate Majority Leader. It didn't quite work out that way. But as Dyche says in his C-J column, McConnell is the most powerful republican in Kentucky history and may not have reached the zenith of his power in Washington. ...The indicted mayor of Pineville, Kentucky has resigned. Bob Madon is charged with vote buying. His son, who's also charged, has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against his father. ...Blogger David Adams says he's been pestering the Beshear administration about that government efficiency study that Beshear promised during the gubernatorial campaign. Apparently, Adams hasn't seen any hint that a study is underway. ...Judge Philip Shepherd has ordered lawyers for Attorney General Jack Conway and Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown to try and negotiate a settlement of Conway's lawsuit against Kentucky's early release program for prisoners. ...Fish were mentioned in the indictment of Kentucky's largest road contractor, Leonard Lawson. Huh? Well now I've figured it out. According to the attorney for the prosecution's key witness, former state highway engineer Jim Rummage, Lawson gave Rmmage a big salt water fish out of his freezer when Rummage went to Lawson's house to deliver secret bid documents and pick up his first $5,000 bribe. Now, the F.B.I. apparently has the fish and cou... Kentucky's Republican Party Chairman is bashing Attorney General Jack Conway for the way Conway's office has handled a request for an investigation of democratic Sen. Joey Pendleton. Conway's spokesperson talked to the Lexington Herald-Leader: "Allison Martin, a spokeswoman for Conway, said the attorney general's office will neither confirm nor deny any investigation of Pendleton. She also said Conway has handled open records reques... Is Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels eyeing a run for the White House when he completes his second term??? ...Senator Jim Bunning told republicans today that he'll be knocking on their doors to raise close to ten million dollars for his race in two years. ...Kentucky's junior U.S. Senator Jim Bunning told the Republican state central committee Saturday that he will run for re-election in 2010. By then, he will have served as long in the Senate as he did in the House, (12 years) and will be 79 years old at the beginning of his third term. Bunning won narrow victories in both of his Senate runs in 1998 and 2004, but his past criticism of Former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan and U.S. m... Louisville businessman Matthew Barzun may be in line for an ambassadorship from the Barack Obama admnistration, according to sources familiar with Barzun. Barzun and his immediate family members gave more than $280,000 to Obama's campaign and other democrats' campaigns and committees according to the web site OpenSecrets.<... The son of Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will Scott has quit the state job his father may have helped him get. Scott's son has a pending drug charge against him, something that wasn't revealed when he was hired by the Administrative Office of the Courts. ...Ryan Alessi has a story in the Lexington H-L this morning about the strained relationship between Gov. Beshear and Sen. David Williams and how it will likely kill any chance for an increase in the cigarette tax or other revenue producing measures. ...The finger pointing has begun. Unnamed sources in the McCain campaign are basically blaming Sarah Palin for the loss. ...They haven't started openly bickering yet, but there are a number of prominent democrats already eyeing Sen. Jim Bunning's seat in 2010. Bunning says he's going to run for reelection. But Daniel Mongiardo's narrow loss to Bunning four years ago and Bruce Lunsford close encounter with Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat have given the dems reason for optimism. Here's the rundown on who's looking at the race: ...CNHI's Ronnie Ellis has a dead on column about the election and how David Williams has picked up power because of it: ...Here are texts of Bruce Lunsford and Mitch McConnell's Election Night speeches: ...They stuck out on Kentucky's vote tally map, four blue counties in a sea of red. But officials in four eastern Kentucky counties say they're proud their constituents voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday. ...Voters in Maryland have become the latest to approve slot machines at race tracks. ...Now entering an historic fifth term as U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell is the most powerful Republican in the country. But, the Senate Minority Leader now faces stronger Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Democrats have gained at least five seats in the Senate, but fell short of the supermajority of 60 seats that would have been enough to overcome procedural moves by Republicans which can block legislation.<... The Republican leader of the U.S. Senate is trying to get hold of President-elect Obama to congratulate him and tell him republicans in the Senate are ready to work with the incoming president. Sen. Mitch McConnell says if Barack Obama governs from the political center, he shouldn't have any problems. Here's the official statement from McConnell's office: ...The Attorney General's election fraud hotline got a slew of calls yesterday, but very few allegations of vote buying or other possible fraud. Here's the release from the AG's office: ...Governor Beshear is handing some one time money to Kentucky counties. Here's the release: ...It looks like Kentucky Democrats will pick up one seat in the Kentucky House. The dems did appear to suffer a tough, 108 vote loss in Hardin County where republican Tim Moore appears to have held on to the seat former Rep. Mike Weaver wanted back. ...He had a grassroots ground game unlike any other in American history. And before he headed to Grant Park for his victory speech at midnight, Barack Obama used the medium he used so effectively in his campaign to send an e-mail to supporters: ...For all the talk of 2008 being a "change" election, there was very little of it in Kentucky. It appears all of the incumbent state senators won their races and republicans held on to the 9th district senate seat held by the retiring Richie Sanders. Mitch McConnell is headed back to the U.S. Senate and all 6 congressman are returning to their seats. There weren't even any surprises in Jefferson County races where the best funded (Katie King)... County clerks across Kentucky were anticipating a record voter turnout for this election. It didn't materialize. At the time of this writing, voter turnout across Kentucky had settled at about 63%. That's less than 4 years ago. And in Jefferson County, the voter turnout was almost exactly the same as 2004 - 70.8%. However, the total number of Kentuckians casting ballots was, unofficially, a record. According to the Secretary of State's O... The Republican Party is warning voters to double check their ballots if they voted straight ticket in Kenton County. The spokesman for Secretary of State Trey Grayson acknowledges the problem and says the "straight ticket" ballots are going to be hand counted to make sure they're correct. Here's the release from the GOP: ...The final day before their election finds a revved up Bruce Lunsford and a calmly confident Mitch McConnell flying across the state for rallies or news conferences. ...It sounds like the Mayor and City Council in Lagrange are struggling to get along, leaving residents at a city council meeting holding the bag. Here's the C-J story. ...Katie King's campaign for district judge is apparently a well funded machine. Several folks tell me they've received robocalls from the campaign. They've also done some polling on the race with David Holton. And today, Katie King's father, Metro Council President Jim King sent another e-mail blast from his company e-mail. Here it is: ...If I were trying to guess where the biggest upset of election night might occur, I'd guess the race between Sen. Perry Clark and republican challenger Doug Hawkins in the 37th district State Senate race. Hawkins is the Metro Councilman who can be a blowhard. He's never met a camera he didn't like. But he's also framed himself as a fighter for the South End's conservative voters. And his name is everywhere. In legislative races, at least 5... A mailer by the Kentucky Democratic Party is telling recipients to go to the wrong polling place on election day. The State Board of Elections became aware of the problem involving voters in three precincts. Those precincts are 90% democrat and lie in the senate districts of Denise Harper Angel and Gerald Neal. Here's the release from the Kentucky Secretary of State: ...The big election night parties are both being held in Louisville. The republicans will be at the Galt House. The democrats will be at the Marriott downtown. If you're just looking for a cool place to hang out and watch election coverage with other political junkies, the Muhammad Ali Center is opening its doors. It's free. There will be TVs in the lobby. haWHAS-TV will be carrying ABC's... An audio recording of Barack Obama talking about his "cap and trade" plan for CO2 emissions surfaced over the weekend, potentially hurting Obama's status in coal producing states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In the January 2008 interview with a San Francisco newspaper, Obama says he'd like to make it too expensive for electric companies to build coal fired power plants. ...Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be in Indianapolis for an airport rally on Monday. WHAS 11 News will be there. Meanwhile, Barack Obama will be making his 49th visit to the Hoosier State on Election Day. ...I have to admit, it is kind of funny that, while attempting to chastise John McCain, actress Ashley Judd inadvertantly pointed the same finger at Bruce Lunsford. Meanwhile, Lunsford was campaigning with another high profile person on Sunday, Hil... Sen. Mitch McConnell now has an 8 point lead over Bruce Lunsford. The latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows McConnell leading Lunsford 53%-45% with 3% undecided. Those numbers add up to more than 100% because the undecided vote was rounded up. There's a big "HOWEVER" after the jump: ...
You've probably heard it a hundred times, "we oughta vote 'em all out of office." In Kentucky that phrase should probably end with "except for my guy." John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader has a story today about the likelihood that Kentucky will likely send every one of its incumbents back to Washington despite an overwhelming call for "change." ...On the eve of the election, Senator Mitch McConnell announced yesterday that he'd received a letter from the Veterans Administration committing $75 million for a new VA hospital in Louisville. McConnell claims the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with election coming up on Tuesday. ... |
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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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