BluegrassReport.org

Shocking -- More Fletcher Fraud Discovered

I think we should get used to this, as we unpeel the Fletcher onion and understand the facts, not the fictions that the Fletcher-Rudolph campaign tried to spin this year as they trailed by 20 points in the polls:

Today:

"Most notably and despite claims last summer that the Medicaid budget was balanced, the truth is otherwise," Beshear said. "We are facing a current year shortfall of $389 million." About a third of that comes from general funds.

June 2007:

Medicaid Is Back In Black, Official Says

The state Medicaid program that was bleeding cash several years ago is now in the black, largely thanks to broad reforms that are beginning to take hold, Health and Family Services Secretary Mark Birdwhistell said today.

After updating a legislative committee on the progress the Medicaid program has made, Birdwhistell told reporters from the Herald-Leader and the Louisville Courier-Journal that the state will make its budget when the 2007 fiscal year ends on Saturday without having to push back some of its costs to the next budget cycle.

“We’re going to pay all the bills,” he said. “I feel very good about where we are.”

What's even more noteworthy about this dishonesty was that Fletcher named his own Chief of Staff, Stan Cave, acting budget director in September and apparently Cave's loyalty to his boss, and desperation to keep his job, trumped providing the public with honest and accurate data about the state's finances.

Crooks.

What Happened To That $700 Million Surplus Fletcher Told Us We Had Earlier This Year?

In case you weren't sure how big of a charlatan former Governor Fletcher (R) and his merry band of crooks really were:

Fletcher during the April 2007 KET Debate:

“Look at what I started off with a projected $1 billion shortfall at least by some accounting, $700 million at least by others. It was said there’d be a $1 billion shortfall, we’ve had over $700 million surplus now.”

And this e-mail from the Fletcher campaign during the Republican gubernatorial primary:

Dear Friend,
You may have recently received an e-mail from Anne Northup attacking Governor Fletcher yet again. It is unfortunate that her entire campaign is based on repeating arguments championed by the Democrats and attempting to use them for her personal ambitions.

As the first Republican Governor in 32 years, Governor Fletcher has begun to turn state government around. After inheriting a $1 billion deficit, we now have an over $700 million surplus.

Today:

Gov. Steve Beshear said today that the state is facing a $434 million budget shortfall this fiscal year and what he called a “budgetary crisis” over the next two years.

Rep. Geoff Davis (R) -- First-Rate Hypocrite

It's so sad that someone in the public trust would so deceive the voters into the type of congressman he would become if elected. What a fraud.

U.S. Rep Geoff Davis (R), December 2007:

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis ranked among the biggest congressional spenders of tax money to send mailings to constituents last year, which coincided with a tough re-election campaign for the Republican.

Davis, who represents the 4th District in northern Kentucky, sent out 716,803 pieces of mass mailings in 2006. His use of the congressional franking privilege carried an overall cost of $165,316 to taxpayers.

In the 435-member House, Davis was outspent on total mailing costs by four congressmen, all fellow Republicans.

Candidate Geoff Davis (R), August 2002:

At a press conference today, Boone County businessman and Republican candidate for Congress Geoff Davis issued a strongly worded challenge to Congressman Ken Lucas. Lucas has come under fire recently for using the Congressional privilege of taxpayer-funded mail, or franking, to send what amounts to full-color campaign literature.

...At the conference, Mr. Davis showed the clear pattern of increased spending during election years. Mr. Lucas spent $80,828 on franked mail in 2000 on postage alone, then only $21,389 in 2001 according to figures available at the Congressional Office of Budget and Management.

"Ken Lucas has violated the trust of Kentucky's hard working families by this obvious abuse of tax payer dollars," said Geoff Davis, Republican candidate for Congress.  "As Congressman, I will not use the hard-earned money of taxpayers to fund my campaign. I believe that the 4th District's next Congressman should help working families, not abuse their trust. In a time when many families are struggling, this shows how out of touch Mr. Lucas is with the District," remarked Mr. Davis.

Shameless hypocritical fraud.

This isn't the first time Davis has flaunted this pledge. Click here and the media's reaction here.

UPDATE (5:59 PM): Pat Crowley asks:

The mailings coincided with his re-election campaign against Dem Ken Lucas. What say you, conservative voters? Is Davis keeping his constituents informed or abusing the privilege in an election year?

Fletcher Named "Biggest Electoral Embarrassment of 2007" By Rothenberg Political Report

Another lump of coal for former Governor Fletcher (R), this courtesy of the widely-respected Rothenberg Political Report:

Biggest Electoral Embarrassment of 2007

Nominees:
• Ernie Fletcher (R-Ky.)
• Robin Weirauch (D-Ohio)
• Vladimir Putin (UR-Russia)
• Bart Peterson (D-Ind.)
• Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Va.)

The winner: Peterson’s defeat for re- election as mayor of Indianapolis was the stunner of the year, but Fletcher’s was the most embarrassing. Fletcher.

A Belated Merry Christmas

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I apologize for my sparse posts of late. New ones to follow...

Crall makes short list for Owensboro city manager, but he's not the only Republican refugee on the list

It looks like Brian Crall is going to find out if the late poet, Robert Frost, was right when he said, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

According to WFIE-TV, Crall, who served as Gov. Fletcher's personnel secretary, has made the short list of candidates for the city manager position in Owensboro that will be vacated by Bob Whitmer in February.

The other candidates for the position are Matt McKillip, the outgoing mayor of Kokomo, Ind., and Bill Parrish, who is presently the city's street and sanitation superintendent.  Parrish has overseen the consolidation of the city's street and sanitation departments and is generally well-respected.

I got a chill when I saw McKillip's name on the list.

McKillip -- who, like Crall, is a Republican -- lost his bid for re-election in this year's primary, and is evidently looking to leave Kokomo far behind him after what could, at best, be considered a contentious term.  He's the mayor who was sued by a 16-year-old over access to a city-compiled list of e-mail addresses.  (He lost to the kid.)  He also ordered the removal of private property (specifically newspaper salesracks belonging to the Kokomo Tribune) from the city's streets, claiming "I had no idea they were yours."  Really?  Newspaper boxes?  Belong to a newspaper?  Surely not!

And now he wants to come to Kentucky and work his "magic" in our third largest city.

I'm hopeful that our city commission will perform the due diligence on McKillip (just Google him ... you'll see what I mean) and send him packing.  Even Crall would be a better choice than this guy, but if I were asked, I'd say Bill Parrish ought to get the nod.  He's done a fine job in his present position and deserves a shot.

Just my two cents.

UPDATE 12-20-07 5:15 PM: As Eddie noted in this entry's comments, Bill Parrish got the nod.  I can breathe again.  The best man got the job.

McConnell takes credit for "success" in Congress

The hubris of Mitch McConnell knows no bounds.  Now he and his GOP buddies are taking credit for "success" this year in Congress.  The C-J's Jim Carroll has the message from our senior Senator, who claims to have "actually enjoyed working with the distinguished Majority Leader (Harry Reid, D-Nev.) all year.

Whatever.

Carroll mentions that Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) rightly criticized Mitch for a year of "obstructionism."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

Hawpe "obsessed with defeating strong Republicans," Northup says

Did you catch Anne Northup's letter in yesterday's Courier-Journal?

The ex-Congresswoman takes on David Hawpe and does her dead level best to whip him from pillar to post. At best, it's an example of sour grapes. At worst, well, it's just patently outrageous.

I don't know David Hawpe personally.  I occasionally disagree with his columns, but he's held a lot of powerful feet to the fire over the years.  It's not an easy job, but he does it well.

Here are some priceless nuggets of "wisdom" from the letter:

The truth is, David Hawpe is obsessed with defeating strong Republicans who have conservative values, especially ones with competitive races. After 10 years of being one of those people, I can attest that he is abusive and dishonest.

He talked about his desire to defeat me in his speeches to public service organizations, in editorial board meetings with candidates for other offices, in his solicitations of leaders in predominantly Democratic areas to do more for my opponents, in statement upon statement to the Forum Fellows that got reported back to me, and in his constant derogatory references to me in totally unrelated columns.

Holy smokes!

Yes, that last one is ONE SENTENCE.  And she blusters on and on like that for quite a while.  It would be funny if I didn't find it so sad.  Keep in mind that all of this comes from a woman who lost not one but two elections within a matter of months.  If she thinks this is going to spark some sort of political comeback, I think she's wrong.

-----

On a lighter note, I'd like to thank Mark for keeping BGR up and running and for inviting me to post.  I probably won't make everyone happy all of the time -- being a reformed Republican, I might occasionally slip back into old habits out of, well, habit -- but please bear with me.

Merry Christmas!

Edwards files in Kentucky

For what it is worth, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has formally filed his papers in Secretary Grayson's office, making him the first candidate of either Party to do so.  His papers were filed yesterday.

JN

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
	John	410 Market St., Ste. 400	Democrat	http://www.johnedwards.com
- - -	- - -	Chapel Hill, NC	12/18/2007
- - -	Edwards	North Carolina	No
- - -	- - -	27516

The GOP Factions (Kos)

I think Kos does an excellent job identifying the four main factions of the modern-day Republican Party:

Corporate Cons

These are Wall Street Republicans, hungry for big federal contracts, less business regulation, increased immigration, happy foreign trading partners, and the protection of the established corporate elite.

Government spending: Pro
Aggressive foreign policy: Against
Immigration: Pro
Traditional values: Irrelevant
Notables: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Wall Street Journal editorial board

Paleocons

This are the old-school anti-communist, anti-immigrant, John Birch Society types. They loathe foreign entanglements, government spending, affirmative action, and multiculturalism.

Government spending: Against
Aggressive foreign policy: Against
Immigration: Against
Traditional values: Pro
Notables: Ron Paul, Robert Novak, Reagan Democrats

Theocons

This is the Christian Coalition/Moral Majority crowd, desperate for the wedding of state and religion, desperate to prevent the wedding of same sex couples. Unafraid to spend tax dollars on "faith-based" initiatives, while seeing immigrants as a replenishing source of new converts and religious foot soldiers.

Government spending: Pro
Aggressive foreign policy: Against
Immigration: Pro
Traditional values: Pro
Notables: Mike Huckabee, Pat Robertson, James Dobson

Neocons

These are the pointy headed "intellectuals" holed up at think tanks like the Project for a New American Century, moving their little armies around a Risk gameboard. Paranoid of the boogeyman under the bed, they feel secure only when dropping bombs on brown people overseas and are obsessed with keeping others as scared as they themselves feel.

Government spending: Pro
Aggressive foreign policy: Pro
Immigration: Against
Traditional values: Irrelevant
Notables: John McCain, Dick Cheney, Joe Lieberman, the Washington Post editorial board

Priorities

From a Republican reader:

I don't know if you've been following the the fellow who was charged  with murder in Lexington, got a medical furlough, then fled the state and was caught in Wisconsin. Wisconsin was ready to send him back, but couldn't because it hadn't received the formal request to return him to Kentucky. Guess who's job it was to send the Governor's Warrant for this murderer to be returned to custody? Guess who couldn't be bothered to actually send a piece of paper to Wisconsin?

Come on, guess.

He must have been too busy trying to find soft landings spots for his cronies on boards and commissions, some of which no longer exist, and just couldn't make time for such trifles...

Did God Lie?

Just ran across this gem from the beginning of last year about the conversation that Rev. Pat Robertson -- who recently endorsed Rudy Giuliani's (R) presidential bid -- had with God:

Robertson said, “Bush is going to strengthen in 2006. The fall elections will be inconclusive, but the outcome of the war and the success of the economy will leave Republicans in charge…. And Alito is gonna get confirmed. I believe another liberal judge is going to retire, step down from the Court; we’ll have another opening there. The war in Iraq is going to come to a successful conclusion, and we’ll begin withdrawing troops before the end of the year.”

With the exception of Alito's 58-42 confirmation a few weeks after Robertson's conversation with the Almighty (which most legal observers fully expected), it appears that God lied to Robertson on all other counts.

Is there really any doubt that Robertson is nothing more than a Charlatan?

Creation Museum Group Makes Plea For $400,000 "To Finish The Year On-Budget"

You'd think God would have taken care of the financial needs of those running the anti-science Creation Museum and not leave them struggling to find $400,000 in the final weeks of the year to meet their budget, given how their mission is to destroy science in his name and glory:

We need to raise $400,000 by December 31 to finish the year on-budget—armed to stand as effective witnesses for Christ against Satan’s attacks while 2007 closes and a new year begins.

Funny how that happens...

UPDATE (6:41 PM): A reader added:

You might add that the esteemed journal MAD Magazine recently honored the opening of the Creation Museum as the 14th stupidest thing to happen in 2007. (I think it should have made the top 5).  Be sure and see the artwork of Darwin running through the "museum".

Will This Be The Year That Conventional Wisdom Doesn't Apply To The Presidential Race?

[Note: While I try to keep my writing on BGR focused on Kentucky politics, I wanted to begin posting some items of broader national interest, given that I'll be doing so for a soon-to-be-announced national project in the coming weeks.]

When it comes to the presidential primary races, Conventional Wisdom holds:

1. Only three tickets "will be punched" for each party coming out of the January 3rd Iowa Caucus, meaning any candidate who fails to finish among the top three is toast;
               
2. The nominations will be wrapped-up by "Super Tuesday" on February 5th when states that hold 55% of each party's delegates will have had elections;
            
3. Rudy Giuliani's (R) decision to shift resources from Iowa and New Hampshire (where he's in third place in recent polls) to Florida (and other big states) is of questionable strategy.

This year, Convention Wisdom may prove to be wrong on all accounts. Here's why.

First -- money. Unlike previous years when candidates actually agreed to strict spending limits in exchange for partial federal funding of their campaigns, this cycle's candidates have raised never-before-seen sums of money. Usually, poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire were guarantees that fundraising resources would dry-up quicker than a sponge in a desert, making it all but impossible to mount effective campaigns in subsequent states. But as of the last reporting date (October 31), the top five candidates (Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Giuliani and Romney) had raised a staggering total of $270 million, insuring that regardless of the outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire, most will still have ample cash reserves in the bank to continue their campaigns.

Second -- allocation of delegates. While it is true that states holding 55% of the overall convention delegates will have held their primary or caucus by February 5th (and each party's presidential nominee must receive a majority of the delegates in order to win their nomination), there are two complicating factors at play which reduce the impact of Super Tuesday and the early states.

All Democratic primaries -- and most Republican primaries -- allocate delegates proportional to each candidate's performance in the state. Democrats abolished the winner-take-all states after its riotous 1968 convention. Hence, if the current polling in early states hold-up, and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards continue to be separated by 15-20 points from top to bottom, the outlook after the February 5th primaries will likely show a leader -- maybe even a clear leader -- but likely not one with a majority of the delegates.

Even more complicating is the fact that more than 20% of each state's delegates aren't awarded by way of an election, but are instead considered "superdelegates" which are typically allocated to elected officials and party leaders to cast as they wish at the convention. Hence, a five point lead by one candidate can be negated if another candidate is able to accumulate the lion's share of the "establishment" superdelegates -- not an unlikely scenario if Obama has a slight lead over Clinton.

Finally -- Republican "winner-take-all" states. While winner-take-all primaries have been abolished by Democrats, Republicans continue to allow 20 states to allocate their delegates in that fashion. Significantly, 13 of those 20 states take place on or before February 5th, including the big states of California, New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey. Those 13 states alone account for about 60% of the Republican delegates awarded through February 5th -- and Rudy Giuliani maintains significant leads in nearly all of the winner-take-all states, especially the six big states listed above.

Unlike the Democratic Party system, if Giuliani can maintain his lead in the big winner-take-all primary states, it is likely he would emerge with a strong majority of delegates on February 5th, even though it looks like he will do very poorly in Iowa and New Hampshire (neither of which are winner-take-all states) -- and that's not taking into account the superdelegates which account for 25% of the GOP overall delegate count, a group which Giuliani is expected to do well. And let's not forget that Giuliani's fundraising has been the second strongest among his party's candidates (Romney continues to lead his pack) and he'll have ample funds to continue his campaigning well past Iowa and New Hampshire, regardless of outcome.

Of course, an especially strong Iowa or New Hampshire by a lesser-known candidate -- like Mike Huckabee -- will no doubt boost his numbers across the board and might very well threaten Giuliani's current double-digit lead in places like Florida and allow another quickly rising candidate with momentum to steal some of these winner-take-all states. But right now, the big states love Giuliani and that's where his campaign is allocating the lion's share of its resources.

So, we should all be careful in simply accepting the Convention Wisdom for this year's presidential primary season. The massive amount of money being raised this year will insure that several candidates will have the funds to overcome a few early disappointing performances and live for another day.

(An excellent resource for the minutiae of the presidential primary process can be found at The Green Papers.)

Young People Flocking to the Democratic Party

As a young person, I wanted to take a moment to discuss a phenomenon that while fairly widely reported, has not been witnessed first-hand by most political junkies.  That phenomenon, of course, is the growing strength of the Democratic Party in bringing young people to the party.  I received an email just the other day from Lilian Press, the tough-as-nails head of the Women's Network of Kentucky that contained an article tipped to Lil by State Rep. Kathy Stein:

Faster than you can say "Facebook," the under-30 set is moving toward the Democratic Party. That is forcing Republicans to redouble their appeals to these voters, who are heading to the polls in bigger numbers, reversing years of declining participation. The shift may have implications for Republicans beyond 2008.

This may seem odd to some, as we are continually told that young people simply don't turn out to vote, and when they do, they tend to vote for the party of Frist, Delay, Bush and McConnell.  Fortunately for the Democratic Party, the tide is not only turning among voters at large, but also among young people; and young people are voting in greater numbers than ever before.

For instance, according to the non-partisan group Young Voter Strategies, young voter participation for 2006 was up significantly from the 2002 midterm elections, from 8.9 million to 10.8 million.

Year	Votes Cast by 18-29	Percent of 18-29 Year Old Citizens Voting	Year	Votes Cast by 18-29	Percent of 18-29 Year Old Citizens Voting
2000	15.9 million	40%	2002	8.9 million	22%
2004	20.1 million	49%	2006	10.8 million	25%

Sources: CIRCLE's tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau's November Current Population Survey (CPS) 2000-2006.

Yet the lion's share of the new young voters, we are now coming to find, have joined the ranks of the Democratic Party.

The ability of the parties and the candidates to reach out to younger voters has manifested itself in several ways, the most dominant of which is obviously the internet.  With the rise of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, pols have seen a hugely successful new way of contacting young voters.  Facebook in particular has come to be the place to be for the politically savvy, with all of the candidates for president on both sides of the aisle as well as all federal candidates being given Facebook profile pages, and with a slew of so-called "applications," for users to add to their profile to express their political leanings or to display the political makeup of their Facebook friends.

The ability to search by way of political views and a plethora of other factors has made this and other social networking websites tremendously useful for political operatives and journalists alike.

One can only hope that reporting on the hopeful trends of young voters will continue.  For far too long, the main-stream media, the political parties and candidates, and the general public have at worst paid no attention to young folks, and at the best, given them lip-service.  Perhaps that will all start to change.

For more on the youthfully-turning-tide here in Kentucky, re-read Mark's post-election post on the future of the KDP (bright!) versus the future of the RPK (dim).

Fletcher Received Only 3 Contributions From Frankfort Residents In Final Weeks

Looks like former Governor Fletcher (R) didn't have many friends in the state's capital in the final weeks. He received a donation from just one person whose last name wasn't Fletcher, compared to the 114 who gave to Governor Beshear (D):

Just 3 Here Gave To Fletcher In Last Weeks Of Campaign
By Paul Glasser (State Journal)

Campaign finance records show local support for Ernie Fletcher dropped sharply during the final weeks in the gubernatorial campaign against Steve Beshear.

Fletcher only raised $1,400 from three individuals, including his brother Harold, between late October and Nov. 6. Candidates are only required to report contributions of more than $100 and individuals can only give $1,000 per candidate in each election cycle.

During the same period, Beshear raised about $43,000 from 116 Franklin County supporters, according to the records with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

...The short list of contributors that supported Fletcher at the end of the campaign include: financial manager Rachel Fletcher, 2267 Cardwell Lane, $500; physical therapist A. Nitz, 132 Farmbrook Circle, $500; and architect Harold Fletcher, 2267 Cardwell Lane, $400.

Potpourri/Blog Round-Up

• Ditch Mitch KY has an interesting story up by way of Bluegrass Roots about the potential of a Republican candidacy for multi-millionaire extraordinaire Bruce Lunsford for the US Senate in 2008 vs. Mitch McConnell.  Maybe Lunsford has finally found his political home.

• State Auditor Crit Luallen's office released a report today throwing doubt on the alleged $120 million in savings from the retooling of Medicaid that (former) Governor Fletcher touted during the '07 campaign.  Luallen's office cited "inconsistent and confusing reporting practices" as the reasons for questioning the "savings." (h/t PolWatchers)

• Keeling ruminates on the potential of the Horne candidacy for US Senate.

• The Courier-Journal reports on Rep. Hal Rogers' (R) pet project, the new I-66 route.  Apparently building new highways may have environmental side effects, though.  Who knew?

• Marty Kaplan asks: is Huckabee the Antichrist?  Good question...

• Bunning continues his suppression of presidential records and his rewriting of history. (h/t Page One)

• Ditch Mitch KY has an interesting story up by way of Bluegrass Roots about the potential of a Republican candidacy for multi-millionaire extraordinaire Bruce Lunsford for the US Senate in 2008 vs. Mitch McConnell.  Maybe Lunsford has finally found his political home.

• State Auditor Crit Luallen's office released a report today throwing doubt on the alleged $120 million in savings from the retooling of Medicaid that (former) Governor Fletcher touted during the '07 campaign.  Luallen's office cited "inconsistent and confusing reporting practices" as the reasons for questioning the "savings." (h/t PolWatchers)

• Keeling ruminates on the potential of the Horne candidacy for US Senate.

• The Courier-Journal reports on Rep. Hal Rogers' (R) pet project, the new I-66 route.  Apparently building new highways may have environmental side effects, though.  Who knew?

• Marty Kaplan asks: is Huckabee the Antichrist?  Good question...

• Bunning continues his suppression of presidential records and his rewriting of history. (h/t Page One)

Is This Endorsement Worth Having?

Is the endorsement by Ernie Fletcher in the 63rd House District special election worth having?

No matter how the special election turns out, Trooper Wedgington already has a Republican primary opponent who has been endorsed by former Fletcher supporters State Senator Dick Roeding and Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders.

UPDATE 2:40PM: "Draft Larry Forgy" weighs in at
Fletcher/Forgy Backed Webb-Edgington Defeats McConnell-Backed White

and

Special Election Pits Conservative Fletcher Aide Alecia Webb-Edgington Against Former McConnell Aide Kelly White

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) Making Major Announcement Regarding His Political Future Today?

A reader e-mailed this to me this morning. Any idea what it's about? I haven't found anything:

WEHT-TV reports Ed Whitfield is making a major announcement regarding his political future today.  They're meeting him at the Henderson airport this morning.

UPDATE (12:53 PM): Turns out Whitfield's big announcement about his political future is that he's running for re-election. Sorry to bother you with such things...

Special Election in the 63rd House District

The Republican candidate in the special election for the 63rd House District  (Jon Draud's old seat) is Trooper Alecia Webb-Edgington (left), a a Fletcher political appointee in the Kentucky Dept of Homeland Security.

Sources tell me that the Trooper was a contentious selection driven by the pro-Fletcher faction in the Kenton County Republican Executive Committee. Republicans in Kenton County are deeply fractured and playing the blame game after Beshear's surprising 10 point win in the deep red county.

No one in the district seems to know the Trooper or where she lives; her name ID is zero; and based on her one press release since being selected behind closed doors, her signature issue seems to be illegal immigration--not exactly a barnburner in Kenton County. If illegal aliens are such a threat, why didn't she do something about it during her three years as Fletcher's Director of Homeland Security?

Based on her one press release, the newly-unemployed Trooper has hired as her spokesperson the newly-unemployed Fletcher spokesperson Jason Keller.

The Trooper's opponent is Dan Wolff, a lifelong Kenton County resident. According to his press statement, "Dan served for four terms on Ft. Mitchell City Council, and was Chairman of Covington's Police and Fire Personnel Board for 5 years. Dan has been city attorney for Lakeside Park since 1990, and has also served as Chairman of the Northern Kentucky Alcohol Abuse Commission (now Talbert House)." Wolff's website is www.DanWolffNKY.com.

Is Trooper Webb-Edgington a Frankfort carpetbagging hack running for the tasty pension benefits?

UPDATE 1:52PM: Looks like Fletcher appointee Trooper Webb-Edgington asked her husband Ted to donate to Steve Beshear--a last ditch effort to keep her job after seeing the disastrous mid-October Fletcher polls?

UPDATE 1:56PM: A sharp-eyed reader just pointed out that the address the Trooper's husband used to make this donation is not in the 63rd district. Where does the Trooper really live?

Governor Beshear appoints Adam Edelen

I've just received a press release from Governor Beshear's office concerning the appointment of Adam Edelen as Director of Kentucky Homeland Security.  Anyone who has followed Mark's blog will know that Edelen has been mentioned here before.  His name was tossed around in several posts over two years ago as people were first pondering who might be on the statewide ballots in 2007.  I've known Adam for over fifteen years, dating back to his college days when he first arrived on the radar screens in the Kentucky Democratic Party.  In a comment I made to a friend of mine at last night's Metro Democratic Club Winter Party, I mentioned Adam as part of the deep bench Kentucky's Democrats have, one which should hold for many years to come.  Adam Edelen is an execellent choice.  The governor's press release follows.

***** ***** *****

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Governor Steve Beshear today appointed Adam H. Edelen
as Kentucky Homeland Security Director.

"Adam is a strong leader who will serve the Commonwealth well in
coordinating our overall homeland security preparedness and response
efforts," said Beshear. "The task of keeping our public safe is an
awesome responsibility and I am confident that Adam will work with our
communities and first responders to ensure the state is ready and
prepared for any emergency it might face."

Active in Kentucky's business and civic arenas, Adam H. Edelen is a
member of the executive team at Thomas & King, Inc, where he directs
strategic planning for America's eighth largest restaurant franchise
company.  Prior to his work for Thomas & King, Adam served as an aide to Governor Paul Patton and later as Vice-President of the Greater Lexington
Chamber of Commerce. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Ace
Magazine-Lexington Young Professionals' Association "Rising Star
Award." He was named a 2007 Young Leader by the American Swiss
Foundation.

Adam has a demonstrated record of community leadership, having served
as Chairman of the 2006 United Way of the Bluegrass Annual Campaign and
Chairman of the Board of Kentucky Educational Television. Currently, he
is Vice-Chairman of the Urban League of Lexington and Chairman of the
Business Council for a Strong Start, an organization which advocates
for universal Pre-K.

From 2000-2002, Adam led New Century Lexington's Report on Community
Livability effort, resulting in a nationally recognized tool for
measuring the community's quality of life.

In 2006 he was appointed to the Prichard Committee for Academic
Excellence, where he serves as the youngest member of the prestigious
statewide public education advocacy organization.

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Adam and his wife Catherine
live in Lexington with their twin sons.

Lt. Col. Andrew Horne Reporting For Duty

While I realize John Y Brown III posted about this already this morning, I wanted to jump in and say how glad I am that we have a formal top-tier candidate -- Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D) -- to take on President Bush's waterboy and the leader of the party that got us in the unimaginable debacle of the Iraq War -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

While there is still another month or so before the filing deadline, I believe this is Horne's primary race to lose. I don't say that with any contempt for the other possible candidates who are considering a run, like Attorney General Stumbo (D) or even businessman Greg Fischer (D) -- but I believe Lt. Col. Horne matches-up well with McConnell, particularly on the most important issue of the day -- the war. While McConnell can lecture us about his bird's eye view of the situation in Iraq and then puts soldiers in his campaign ads, Horne is a real soldier who actually led Marine combat forces during this very war. And with one race under his belt (the 2006 Third Congressional District congressional primary), he will no doubt be a stronger, smarter, savvier opponent, as is usually the case with talented candidates the second time around.

Most here know that I supported current U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D) last year against Horne. I supported John because I knew he would become the very rockstar congressman he now is. But once the primary was over, there were few stronger advocates for him than Andrew Horne, who campaigned his heart out to help John win the general election. My opposition to Horne was nothing more than my passionate support of Yarmuth. It was only after that November election that I got a chance to know Andrew on a personal level. He's a rock-solid person, has a remarkable story to tell -- and has been doing so this past year on behalf of VoteVets.org -- and Kentucky would be well-served with Lt. Col. Horne reporting for duty in the United States Senate on its behalf.

So, I'm very happy Lt. Col. Horne has volunteered to serve us once again and I look forward to a spirited primary campaign and a general election ass-kicking of the highest order of the man who has offered us these incomprehensible bits of wisdom:

• “I’ve never met a finer man than our governor, Ernie Fletcher,” said McConnell. “I’m proud of Ernie Fletcher. I’m proud of Glenna Fletcher. And I’m proud of the image they present for our state.” (link)

• Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called Bush "one of the great presidents in the history of the United States." (link)

• Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the war in Iraq has been an "extremely successful undertaking." (link)

• Senator Mitch McConnell called Rumsfeld “a spectacular secretary of defense, one of the best in American history." (link)

Don't you think Kentucky deserves someone with better judgment to serve them in the U.S. Senate?

Me too.

http://andrewhorne.org/

Special Election Thoughts

During the past two years, I've often used my comments on BluegrassReport.org to defend a number of decisions made by the Kentucky Democratic Party, sometimes - more often than not - to the consternation of Mark Nickolas and others, especially if the topic at hand had anything to do with my friend, the former Chair of the Party, Jerry Lundergan.  And often, one of my arguments was the process, and specifically the process of how one becomes a decision maker in the State Party as well as those who are decision makers in the local County Parties, and more specifically the fact that many who complained about the process had never taken part in the process, usually because they had never taken the time to learn about the process.  And while this post is going to be about a small part of the process, it will serve to put those of you interested in the process to look further into it, and to do so promptly.

The process of reorganizing and rejuvenating the Party will take place in 2008.  It begins at the Precinct level on April 5, 2008, carries over to the following week at the County and/or Legislative District level, where County Executive Committees are elected, and follows "up the ladder" to Congressional, State, and National Party conventions.  Persons elected at the Precinct level are known as Committeemen, Committeewomen, and Committeeyouths - one each for each precinct.  They in turn elect their respective County Executive Committees.  For some of those Precinct Committee Members, that election (on April 12th next year) is considered to be the end of their work for the Party and often once those elections take place, those folks are forgotten as unnecessary.  This is unfortunate.  It is also wrong under the By-Laws.

Adhering to the Kentucky Democratic Party By-Laws, it is possible that during the course of the four years following their election, until the next Reorganization, their services may be needed again.  That need arises should there be a vacancy in certain offices, vacancies for which candidates are chosen in a variety of ways, all controlled by the State Party By-Laws, which are sometimes unclear as to exactly how such Special Election candidates are chosen.  If you were to visit the Elections link on the webpage of Secretary of State Trey Grayson, you will find prominently displayed the names of those persons chosen as candidates for Special Elections to fill vacancies in the 63rd and 72nd districts of the House of Representatives.  The Democrats have chosen Dan Wolff and Sannie Overly respectively as our candidates in these Special Elections, both of which will be held January 8, 2008, both of whom need your help if you live in their districts.  The nominations of these two districts' candidates are handled in two different ways under the Party By-Laws.  Because the 63rd covers only a portion of a single county, one set of rules apply to it.  Because the 72nd covers a portion of one county, and the entirety of several more, a different set of rules apply there.  Later this month, Governor Beshear is expected to call for Special Elections to fill vacancies in the 30th Senate District, formerly held by Lieutenant Governor Dan Mongiardo, and in the 6th House District, vacated by J. R. Gray, who has taken a position in Governor Beshear's administration.  These Special Election processes are different from each other.  And Jefferson and Fayette counties' processes are different entirely, as was exhibited a few years ago by the nomination of Perry Clark to fill the vacancy created when the non-election of Dana Stephenson was so declared by the Courts.

And this brings me to the point of today's entry.  The By-Laws Committee of the Kentucky Democratic Party is working on ways to streamline and make uniform the rules applying to how candidates for vacancies in the State House and Senate are filled.  We met earlier this month to come up with a starting point of ideas.  I had a lengthy discussion last night with Party Chair Jennifer Moore on the matter.  And with the opportunity Mark has given me in this bully pulpit as a Guest Author, and the number of times I have written of these Party intracacies in the past, I thought I would yield myself the opportunity to ask you, the readers, for your input on the matter.

There are two trains of thought and each is complicated in its own right, and each has its own faults. 

One line says that those Precinct Committe Members elected in the Reorganization every fourth year should serve as electors to select nominees to fill vacancies, if they are still residents of the Precincts to which they were elected.  There are procedures in place to fill vacancies should someone move from the precinct to which they were elected.  [In 2004, I was elected Precinct Committeeman in Jefferson County Precinct M144.  I now live in L113.  Hopefully, the vacancy created by my leaving M144 has been filled].  Using this process would require Legislative District and County Chairs to keep current the Precinct Committee membership, something which presently does not occur as it should.

Another line of thought leaves up to the County Executive Committees to name nominees should a vacancy occur in a district of which all or part is in their county.  Vacancies on County Executive Committees tend to be filled more quickly than those of Precinct Committees.  The question then becomes should the whole County Committee vote, or just those persons within the area where the vacancies occur.

A third line of thought is a hybrid of the two above, using County Executive Committees to fill vacancies where an entire County is involved, and Precinct Committees, where only a portion of a County is involved, thus guaranteeing that those voting are residents in the districts where candidates are being chosen.

It is the committee's plan to make a presentation of changes at the next meeting of the State Central Executive Committee.  If you have thoughts on this process, please let me know either in the comments section of this entry or by emailing me at jtn960@hotmail.com.  I will pass along to others on the committee, chaired by George Blackburn of Ohio County, some of these ideas.  Input is important from everyone and many who read this blog are the "grassroots" Party leaders so often speak of, but rarely pay attention to.

A final thought - or two.  If you live in Jefferson County and are interested in the Reorganziation process, Jefferson County requires candidates for Legislative District Chair and Vice Chair to file.  The deadline to do so is January 29 by 4:00 pm.

If you are in another County, contact the Party Chair in your county to learn more.  You can also visit the Kentucky Democratic Party website for additional information.

Jeff Noble

Andrew Horne announces for US Senate

Andrew Horne announced his intent to run for U.S. Senate this morning via a video message posted on Page One, which has the scoop.

Andrew Horne has stronger Netroots support than any of the other potential Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate. Announcing his candidacy by video on a blog is, I believe, a Kentucky first, and symbolic of the kind of grassroots support he promises to build his candidacy around.

Congratulations, Andrew, for having the courage of your convictions. And good luck!

What's Next?

As one made their way anywhere in Frankfort yesterday, and there were plenty of both public and private events to make one's way to, the talk of the town among Democrats for yesterday's Inauguration centered on two words.  Wow and Who.

The Wows were in response to the weather.  Anyone familiar with Frankfort on any given day knows that as a town laying low in a valley with hills on all sides, the city is subject to a continual breeze.  In December, that breeze usually is a very cold and brisk one, and the possibility of snowflakes on the Inauguration is usually a pretty easy bet.  Not since John Young Brown's Jr.'s inaugural in 1979 has there been a warm day to greet the new governor to his (or her) new home in Franklin County.  The temperature that year was 69 degrees.  Yesterday, the thermometer rose to 72 during the afternoon procedings.  In his benediction at the Inauguration, the Reverend Kevin Cosby prayed, in asking for Divine guidance over the new administration, that we do not always seek for clear skies knowing that the road may sometimes be cloud-filled.  And while there were times yesterday that the Sun took refuge behind the clouds, for most of the day and into the evening, the weather came as a great and wonderful blessing.  Wow!

The Whos - or specifically Who? was on the tongue of most everyone.  Who?  Who will be our nominee against Senator McConnell.  During the course of Monday night and through the day and evening yesterday, I and others were in constant discussions about who is Michael Cassaro, about Greg Fischer's money, about Colonel Horne's qualifications and desire, and about Crit's decision not to be a candidate.  And while Attorney General Stumbo was there making the rounds, nothing definitive was coming from his camp.  He remains the only person interested in the job who has been successful on a statewide ballot, winning both a Primary and a General, something more than a few folks think is essential for a strong nominee.

But wait.  There is an error in that last line with regard to winning a statewide Primary.  There is also David Williams, the Democratic Party's nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture earlier this year, and the Democratic Party's nominee in 2002 for Kentucky's Second Congressional District.  In a multi-candidate primary, David Williams - our David Williams, not their's - might be our nominee again.  And that poses a problem.  Voters have proven they will vote for this man who amongst the four is the least qualified to serve as United States Senator.  Their David Williams could possibly even be a better choice.  But, our David Williams is the one person currently in the race with the name recognition to win a Primary and the proven ability to do so.  Think about that. 

Some of the other bloggers in Kentucky have called for the might-be and wanna-be candidates to go ahead and, as the Bard wrote four hundred years, "take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them."  More than one