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Political BLOG |
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Joe Arnold
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September 2009 ArchivesA loyal reader of the WHAS11 Political Blog sent me this e-mail Tuesday, positing that the Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo audio tape that bashes Governor Steve Beshear is the result of illegal eavesdropping. Kentucky is a "single party consent" state, meaning that if either Mongiardo or someone else party to the conversation approved of it being taped, the recording is not illegal.
Kentucky law is ... The liberal group, Amer... It is a political firestorm on so many levels. If the tape is legit, who is secretly recording Dan Mongiardo and releasing damaging comments on YouTube? If the tape misrepresents Mongiardo, the question still remains who is behind it? Regardless of the tape's legitimacy, it raises the public question of the working relationship of the Governor and Lt. Governor, whether there is friction and how committed Steve Beshear i... After former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at the "Get Motivated" seminar at Freedom Hall on Tuesday, she made her way to the Glenview home of Irv and Cathy Bailey for a luncheon with local influential supporters of her husband. Cathy Bailey is a prolific Republican fundraiser who served as U.S. Ambassador to Latvia under President George W. Bush. Sources say the list of attendees included: Mac and Eileen Brown It's not the first time the question has been asked of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Though he shrugs off the query from The Wall Street Journal's Kimberly A. Strassel, Daniels is firmly in his element with the financial newspaper's interviewer. "There is nothing inconsistent about having a conservative outlook and being vigorous," Daniels says >> Continue reading: Mitch Daniels for President? "I have zero loyalties for him, zero." The voice sounds like Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo's, and in comments to Here is the totality of the e-mail from a Norton Healthcare representative on the presumed progress in the contract stalemate with Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield: "Norton and Anthem met today (third full day of negotiations). Negotiations are expected to resume later this week." The fact that the companies have stopped pointing fingers is probably the best indication that they are making progress, which is a relief to 300,000 ... "... when these reports come out, they're reviewed by the press, pundits, both political parties and our opponents, who will judge the strength of our campaign based in part on our fundraising success." --- Trey Grayson KY Secretary of State Trey Grayson's U.S. Senate campaign has been very quiet since Fancy Farm in August, with only a bus tour of the Commonwealth and an occassional statement. Meanwhile, upstart GO... In Louisville, the attention on the "Get Motivated" Seminar at Freedom Hall on Tuesday But, another big name in Louisville Tuesday will require Secret Service protection both at the event and when former First Lady Laura Bush lingers in Louisville... With little of the national angst that accompanied the installation of permanent lights at Chicago's Wrigley Field, an even more legendary national sports venue will install permanent lights for the first time in its history, when Louisville's Churchill Downs makes the move in time for the 2010 Spring Meet. In a release from Churchill Downs Incorporated, the company says lights will be installed at the home of the Kentucky Oaks and Ken... The co-founder of the news and commentary website, thevillevoice.com, has now moved to a new web address. In his first post on the LouisvilleMojo.com website, Rick Redding, the former Business First and LEO writer says "3,197 posts later, I have decided to move on to something bigger, and better." Redding co-owned the villevoice.com and pageone...
Looks like both sides have enough motivation to try to reach a deal. Here's the joint release from both Anthem and Norton:
It was agreed Tuesday that the two sides... Just heard that after a marathon eight hours of negotiations, Anthem and Norton will release a joint statement tonight. Stay tuned.. ...
The goodwill of Kentuckiana, through the WHAS Crusade for Children, has funded medical equipment at Kosair Children's Hospital for generations. The dispute between Kosair's parent, Norton Healthcare, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield threatens to disrupt the care Kosair provides to the kids who need it most. The stalemate has prompted the Crusade Board to issue this statement following the board meeting on Tuesday:
Governor Steve Beshear's office is not yet interjecting itself into the stalemate between Norton Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Spokesman Jay Blanton says the state prefers that the two corporations settle the dispute themselves, but Blanton stressed that the Governor expects Norton and Anthem to "act like the important institutions that they are." ...Click here for Anthem President Deborah Moessner's letter to Norton President Stephen Williams: 9-22_letter_to_Steve_Williams[1].pdf
>> Continue reading: Anthem/Norton dispute -- documents A summary of the Norton/Anthem dispute follows. If you have any questions about the dispute, post them here and I will do what I can to get them answered.
On Friday, Norton announced it was...
You can't get more Republican than Kentucky's Farish family, the heirs of the Standard Oil fortune. Will Farish served as ambassador to the United Kingdom during the first term of the George W. Bush presidency. His son, Bill Farish, is a former Bush aide who is now... As reported in Politico last week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee's "handpicking" of electable candidates has riled some grassroots Republicans who would rather each state's primary decide the best candidate, and not the national party. Rand Paul supporter Ryan Sheets of Louisville is organizing another internet driven "moneybomb" on September 23, the same... The candidates for U.S. Senate already know a number of endorsements they have secured, yet maximize the endorsements' effect by rolling them out one at a time. It does not minimize the importance of any endorsement, but offers oppotunities to keep the campaign visible.
Something tells me the Federal Bureau of Investigation would frown upon an ag... Keep those tips and political commentaries coming. My reporting and anchoring assignments this past week have made it difficult to keep the blog updated as frequently as I wish. Have a guest editorial you want to post here? Send it my way. For now, here come a random series of blog posts.... ...One of my favorite podcasts is ESPN's Fantasy Focus with Matthew Berry, who infamously proclaims that he is "anti-cancer." Now, Rand Paul is challenging other Senate candidates to see if they stand up to the "anti-cancer" test. Here is a news release from the campaign: Dr. Rand Paul challenged his Democratic and Republican opponents in Kentucky's As Andrew Wolfson reports in the Courier-Journal, a preliminary report from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance finds that Metro Council member Jim King, "violated campaign-finance laws last year when he gave his daughter (Katie King) $145,000 during her election camp...
By my estimation (purely anecdotal), Rand Paul is se...
Here ... I am up way too late after anchoring the Sunday night news. Late enough to start perusing the Monday papers. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes about Congressman Ron Paul's money machine. While the Texas Congressman's runs for president have been unsuccesful, his fundraising model might have the largest impact in Ke...
Governor Steve Beshear, and First Lady Jane Beshear received flu shots on Thursday from Lt. Governor D...
It's common for Kentucky's Attorney General to join with the Attorneys General of other states, actin...
UPDATED: With better photo. The grainy photo was screen grabbed from a ...
In a long anticipated legal opinion from Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, the AG's office found nothing illegal in how Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson has made downtown development deals (Center City, 4th Street Live) without...
Dear Fellow Republicans, ...It's a pivotal day for President Obama's health care reform agenda. In the hours leading up to the president's speech before a joint session of Congress, U.S. Rep John Yarmuth of Louisville will appear on two national telecasts to argue the merits of the plan: 12:30 PM: Congressman Yarmuth will appear live on the Fox Business Channel program "Market Hours" to discuss health care reform. 1:30 PM >> Continue reading: Yarmuth is Dems point man on FOX Did those rancorous town hall meetings make any difference on the health care reform agenda? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is banking on it, saying if Congress listens to Americans' concerns, it will not try to shove the president's plan down those screaming throats. McConnell's comments on the Senate floor, Tuesday, come before a rare joint session of Congress Wednesday night in which Mr. Obama will make his best case for hi...
It's been a busy week in the suddenly solidifying Louisville Metro Mayor's rac... An exchange between U.S. Rep. Baron Hill and a woman at a Bloomington Indiana health care town hall appears to be taking on a life of its own. The YouTube clip of the altercation has had more than 80,000 views as of Sunday night. The woman said she was a journalism student -- and complained that she wasn't allowed to videotape the town hall. "Why can't I film th... Republican U.S. Senate upstart Rand Paul is hospitalized for what his campaign manager describes as a "bad intestinal infection." David Adams adds it is not life threatening and that Dr. Paul should be out of the hospital on Sunday. The illness kept Paul from the Louisville Tea Party which drew several thousand people on Saturday. ...I did not have developer Chris Thieneman on my radar for the Louisville mayor's race, but the increasingly politically active former U of L football player tells LEO Weekly that he is running for mayor. Thieneman is mulling a lawsuit to force Louisville Metro to reveal how The Cordish Companies spent $950,000 in tax money. Controversy over the forgive...
The Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of the Kentucky U.S. Senate race had every campaign talking today. Because the results of this poll mirrored the results of the August 18th WHAS11/Survey USA poll, the reactions from the campaigns were very similar to the first time around. Though the campaign of Sec. of State Trey Grayson repeated its earlier assertion that the press love... A DailyKos/Research 2000 poll released Friday shows Trey Grayson as the likely winner of the Republican U.S. Senate 2010 primary in Kentucky, while Dan Mongiardo leads by seven percentage points over Jack Conway in the Democratic primary. On the Democratic side, Mongiardo leads Jack Conway (D), 37% to 30%. On the Republican side, Grayson leads Rand Paul (R), 40% to...
The Dan Mongiardo campaign is firing back...
The Jack Conway campaign says the Dan Mongiardo campaign has "reached a new height of hypocrisy and raised potential legal and ethics questions" because the host of a Mongiardo fundraiser is offering big donors special access to Governor Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Mongiardo. The Associated Press' Roger Alford got response from the governor's office and both campaigns. The U.S. Senate campaign of Western Kentucky businessman Bill Johnson may have little chance of winning the election, but the presence of the conservative Christian in the GOP primary provides a platform for the religious right to question the positions of frontrunner Trey Grayson and challenger Rand Paul. In an e-mail blast this week, the Johnson campaign takes Paul to task, here it is:
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth might be the Congressman best prepared to deal with constituents' revolt over the Obama health care reform plan. Yarmuth has plenty of experience answering challenges to the president's agenda, having been dispatched to represent the Democratic side on Fox News, other cable outlets and radio shows. The American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) is releasing a new analysis of government data that shows that "more than 28,000 motor carrier companies, representing more than 200,000 trucks, are currently operating in violation of federal safety laws." The analysis says Kentucky ranks 11th worst in the country and In...
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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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