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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.

More On Medco

A reader e-mailed me this morning with different point of view on the Medco issue that we've been discussing for a few days that I wanted to share:

I read your entry re Stan Cave and the Medco deal.  I attended those Board of Pharmacy meetings and I don’t think that Cave could have had anything to do with their delay in action.  There were two primary issues discussed that complicated having the regulations just rubberstamped.  The primary problem was that state statute requires that a Kentucky licensed pharmacist be involved in the dispensing of any prescription to a Kentucky resident.  The Medco regulation would have basically said that it was okay to ignore that statute because they refuse to have their corporate pharmacists licensed in Kentucky.  The other issue was that if Medco could ignore the statute (which they can’t), then other venues, like hospitals, want to do it too for dispensing during the night when it’s difficult to get a pharmacist to work.  I don’t see how Stan Cave could have impacted that discussion.  One other note was that the Medco representatives that were at the meetings never said that it needed to be done immediately or lose the project, although they did stress that they needed action “soon”.

Keep the e-mails coming.

Did COS Stan Cave Kill The Medco Deal?

Following-up yesterday's post on the unimaginable fumble by Kentucky officials on the failure to land a facility for Medco -- and its high-paying jobs -- a reader familiar with the backstory says it was none other than Fletcher Chief of Staff Stan Cave who effectively killed the deal.

Apparently, Cave questioned the idea of pursuing the project and was responsible for having the matter tabled on several occasions at the state Pharmacy Board, which simply needed to pass an amendment to the current regulation that would have allowed the project to proceed (as the company acknowledges).

I'd love to hear from anyone who knows more about what happened. Either leave a comment to this post or e-mail me, confidentially, at mark@bluegrassreport.org.

The Incompetence And/Or Dishonesty Of COS Stan Cave

In light of yesterday's revelations by Governor Fletcher (R) of the "discovery" of significant and serious budget shortfalls facing various parts of state government -- despite his constant assertions of wonderful economic times while campaigning -- is the "coincidence" of this gubernatorial announcement just two months ago:

Governor Fletcher's Chief of Staff to Serve as Acting Budget Director
Press Release Date: Monday, September 17, 2007   

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Governor Ernie Fletcher has asked his Chief of Staff, Stan Cave, to act as budget director until a permanent director is named.

Cave will continue to serve as the Governor’s Chief of Staff. His salary will remain the same.

“As our cabinets and agencies begin to prepare for the 2008 budget session, it is critical that we have a leader in place to ensure that those preparations run smoothly and efficiently,” said Governor Fletcher. “Stan’s experience in the Kentucky Legislature and his knowledge of all aspects of state government make him a great fit to act as budget director until the position is filled on a permanent basis.”

Why is this relevant? Two reasons.

First, while Cave is the inner-most of Fletcher aides, and was so actively involved in his re-election campaign, isn't it noteworthy that Budget Director/Chief of Staff Cave waited until after the election to advise the public of the real economic news -- not the fictional world they spun on the campaign trail?

But maybe more noteworthy is how nearly impossible it is to conclude that Cave isn't just lying to the media. Here's what he told Mark Hebert yesterday:

Cave says he can't speak for the governor but he doesn't believe Fletcher was aware of the financial problem while the campaign was ongoing.

This means either Budget Director/Chief of Staff Cave didn't bother to tell the governor -- with who he spent every waking hour for the past year -- of the true depths of the state's financial problems until last week, or he's every bit the liar we've come to believe.

Based on Cave's dismal performance over the years, five bucks says he's lying...once again.

Crooks until the bitter end...

How Many More Things Will We Learn That Fletcher Lied About?

Now that his landslide ouster is complete, we're finally learning what we suspected -- Governor Fletcher (R) lied through his teeth about the state of Kentucky's economy.

Earlier today Gov.-elect Beshear (D) told reporters that after having a chance to review some budget data, things aren't as rosy as Fletcher said:

Gov.-elect Steve Beshear has started reviewing the state's financial situation and is predicting "tight times" could be ahead, he said Monday.

Beshear, who takes office on Dec. 11, said he's looking both at the state's current financial situation and at what lies ahead. It's among the many areas his administration has to rein in before taking office.

"It is going to be some tight times financially, it looks like right now," Beshear said.

...On top of that bad news was this blockbuster which Mark Hebert just reported :

...the Cabinet for Health and Family Services submitted its budget request which included asking for a whopping $389 million to cover a shortfall in the medicaid budget THIS fiscal year. That request was submitted, as required, on November 15th, nine days after election day. It was an election in which Fletcher repeatedly bragged about his administration bringing the medicaid budget under control.

...And then this:

“I think you would have to ask the governor what he would mean by saying we had Medicaid under control,” said Beshear Cabinet Secretary Larry Haynes.

On top of the hole in the Medicaid budget, WHAS11 News has learned that four state agencies -- Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Veterans Affairs and Parks -- are all currently in the red.

Wasn't it just a few months ago that Fletcher wanted to call a special session to spend his fictitious budget surplus on his pet projects during the general election?

Looks like our ordained-minister-turned-politician was every bit the charlatan that we suspected. Good riddance to these crooks.

P.S. -- And please don't go looking for those 100,000 new jobs that Fletcher claims to have created either. They don't exist. Did even come close. But that's one item we've been on top of for quite a while.

Kentucky's Red Tape Helped Indiana Land Medco (AP)

So, for all the effort that Governor Fletcher (R) and the state legislature made to hold a special session to offer bucket loads of cash and incentives to coal companies to come into the state and experiment with never-before-done technologies in a mass scale in the U.S., it would have been nice if they had made a small change to state law to allow this company -- and its high-paying jobs -- to expand to Kentucky:

Kentucky's Red Tape Helped Indiana Land Medco
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A pharmacy giant likely chose Indiana for its new $150 million mail-order center because of inaction by Kentucky regulators, business and state leaders said.

Medco Health Solutions announced on Monday it had chosen central Indiana over Louisville for the pharmacy center and its 1,300 high-paying jobs.

Kentucky had offered $30 million in tax incentives, while Indiana had promised about $18.5 million for the 300,000-square-foot center, which the company said would be "the world's largest and most advanced automated pharmacy."

But economic-development officials say it was the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy's failure to quickly approve a regulation that would allow Medco pharmacists working in other states to review prescriptions shipped through Louisville.

"It was a deal breaker," said Eileen Pickett, a senior vice president of Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce. "They can do business in Indiana today, and they can't in Kentucky, and that was a big part of the decision."

Jobs at the new center, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, will pay an average of $53,000 a year. Wages are expected to range from $12 to $45 an hour, according to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority.

"Those are the kind of jobs that cities and states salivate over," said Mayor Jerry Abramson. "We certainly put a very aggressive financial package on the table, but came up short in terms of our need for amending our regulatory structure."

Economic officials and Medco representatives appeared at three consecutive meetings of the Kentucky pharmacy board, but at each meeting the board put off action.

A few weeks after the third meeting, New Jersey-based Medco said it had chosen Indiana.

...Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher was regularly briefed on the Medco recruitment and was "engaged," said Hindman, the economic development secretary. But he said that to his knowledge, the governor didn't have personal talks with Medco. Fletcher's office referred questions about Medco to Hindman.

Medco has two similar centers in New Jersey and Nevada, which together dispense 2 million prescriptions a week.

Sheer incompetence.

Sad Or Pathetic?

I'm not sure whether this "accomplishment" parsing on the Fletcher-Rudolph website is mostly sad or pathetic?

Governor Fletcher Has Delivered on His Promises
• More than 100,000 new jobs created between January 2004 and July 2007.

...More jobs - Kentucky has gained over 100,000 jobs between January 2004 and July 2007 (US Census, Current Population Survey, not seasonally adjusted).

Of course, his term began before January 2004 and has spanned (unfortunately) beyond July 2007. So far, only 61,200 new jobs have been created during his full-term.

But what's so shamelessly pathetic about this is that they try to get to 100,000 new jobs by 1) using "not seasonally adjusted" numbers, 2) starting the tally in January 2004, and 3) cutting it off in July 2007.

Why is that important? Well, the point of seasonally-adjusted numbers is to deal with the enormous -- and predictable -- swings in the job market that occurs at standard intervals -- like layoffs of temporary workers right after Christmas. Sure enough, Kentucky employment dropped 45,800 from December 2003 to January 2004. How convenient. (This happens every single year between December and January).

But if you're Three Card Ernie, you try to offer the voters the sleight of hand by making them think you got sworn-in in January 2004 -- not at the beginning of December 2003 -- use unadjusted raw numbers to pick-up a quick gain of 45,800 jobs, and then cut-off your count in July 2007. And then Bam!...100,000 new jobs appear to have been created.

Thankfully, the voters aren't dumb enough to re-elect this guy.

Oh, and by the way, the new job numbers just came out in the past day or so and the number of employed Kentuckians keeps dropping -- down 6,000 since March 2007 alone. Only 60,600 new jobs have really been created during his failed term. But who's counting?

Maybe The Most Dramatic Of All Of Governor Fletcher's (R) Failures

Not sure why the media hasn't taken the time to notice this, but I think it's the best example of the failure of Governor Fletcher's (R) four years in office.

Back in 2003, Fletcher was desperate to change the subject from the very sluggish national economy that President Bush (R) and the Republican Congress (when Fletcher was a member) gave us. During the general election, Fletcher put out a detailed "white paper" showing that the Kentucky's real economic problem was that its seven neighboring states were more successful at job growth than we were and he would change that (I still have the white paper if anyone needs a copy). We've talked at length about the failure of Fletcher to live-up to his campaign promise of more than 100,000 new jobs (he barely exceeded half that much).

But the most stunning example of Fletcher's failure has been when looking at unemployment in Kentucky.

In the past week or so, the U.S. Department of Labor released its most recent economic data and guess which state is now in the top five in unemployment?

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (Most Recent Data)

1. Michigan -- 7.5%
2. Mississippi -- 6.4%
3. Alaska -- 6.3%
4. Kentucky -- 6.1%

But it gets even more depressing.

Check out the change in unemployment by Kentucky and its seven border states since Fletcher was sworn-in as governor in December 2003:

State	Unemployment (Dec 2003)	Unemployment (Sep 2007)	Change	Unemployed (Dec 2003)	Unemployed (Sep 2007)	Change
Kentucky	5.9%	6.1%	+0.2%	117,103	125,629	+8,526
Illinois	6.6%	5.1%	-1.5%	419,892	345,996	-73,896
Virginia	3.9%	2.9%	-1.0%	148,881	116,878	-32,003
Tennessee	5.6%	4.7%	-0.9%	161,050	142,273	-18,777
Indiana	5.3%	4.5%	-0.8%	167,809	145,502	-22,307
West Virginia	5.6%	4.8%	-0.8%	44,362	39,068	-5,294
Ohio	6.1%	5.9%	-0.2%	358,696	354,824	-3,872
Missouri	5.5%	5.3%	-0.2%	163,324	162,118	-1,206

Got that?

Every single border state has seen decreases in unemployment during Fletcher's tenure while Kentucky saw an increase in its unemployment.

Is that not failure personified?

Hello, media?

UPDATE (4:16 PM): And further undermining another bullshit Fletcher talking point is the fact that Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri are not union-busting right-to-work states and they seem to be doing just fine when it comes to job growth. This is simply a matter of incompetence in the Governor's Mansion, though the legislature needs to takes some blame here as well.

An Unmitigated Disaster

Heck of a job, Ernie:

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 5.6 percent in August 2007 to 6.1 percent in September 2007, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education Cabinet. September 2006’s jobless rate was 5.7 percent.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose from 4.6 percent in August 2007 to 4.7 percent in September 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

...The monthly estimate of the number of unemployed Kentuckians for September 2007 was 125,629, up 9,849 from the 115,780 Kentuckians unemployed in August 2007, and up 9,079 from the 116,550 unemployed in September 2006.

Fletcher's Echo Chamber At The Paducah Sun

One of the most discredited of the countless fictions that Governor Fletcher (R) has tried to sell the public was the claim that he inherited a $1 billion deficit when he took office. Earlier this year, the media finally took him to task for his continually dishonesty over the assertion, one that Anne Northup (R) regularly used to demonstrate the depth of Fletcher's dishonesty:

Fletcher's flier again falsely claimed that the governor turned a $1 billion deficit into a surplus.

The campaign points to a 2003 study by former Gov. Paul Patton that said the state would need $700 million in extra revenue in the coming years to achieve certain goals in lowering university tuition and meeting education and health care needs.

But the budget deficit Fletcher faced when he took office was $262 million.

But lo and behold, guess what showed-up in Sunday's Paducah Sun in a piece about Fletcher's campaign and his accomplishments?

Fletcher must find a way to motivate voters about the successes of his administration...The state also was facing a $1 billion budget deficit when Fletcher took office, and Patton said it could only be resolved by increasing taxes.

What a shame.

The News Only Gets Worse For Fletcher

Another day, another acknowledgment of the disaster of the Fletcher Administration:

State officials say unemployment rates rose in 61 Kentucky counties between August 2006 and August 2007, dropped in 45 counties and remained the same in 14 others.

But that's what happens when Kentucky ranks 42nd in job growth during Fletcher's term.

An unmitigated disaster.

'Fletcher The Idiot' Strikes Again

Remember last week when Governor Fletcher (R) lectured Kentucky's auto workers for daring to considering a strike over health benefits, warning they were putting GM jobs at risk by making the state unfriendly to GM and other large employers:

Fletcher Says GM Strike Could Send Wrong Message
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
By ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Striking assembly workers at General Motors’ Corvette plant in south-central Kentucky could be sending the wrong message to businesses looking to open factories in the state, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Tuesday.

“I understand and respect unions’ right to strike when they feel like they’re not getting a fair deal,” Fletcher told The Associated Press. “But I would hope that the union leaders would look and see what message they send for doing business in Kentucky or any place they have a GM plant.”

...Fletcher said “there’s no question that as you see an increase in those activities, that will cause people to question” whether to open new plants in Kentucky.

Well, demonstrating just how clueless Fletcher is about these things -- and how blinded he is by his own hatred of working families -- comes this great news from Saturday:

Bowling Green GM Jobs Expand
Assembly moving from Del. by 2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS

As many as 2,000 new jobs could be created at the General Motors plant in Bowling Green as part of a decision by the automaker to end production of certain vehicles at a Delaware plant.

By 2012, the company plans to move production of the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel roadsters to Bowling Green from Wilmington, Del., a union official at the Kentucky plant said, citing the tentative agreement between GM and the United Auto Workers.

The Bowling Green plant now assembles about 35,000 Corvettes annually. Since 2003, it also has assembled about 4,000 Cadillac XLRs.

"We've been trying to get additional products at the plant," said Eldon Renaud, head of the Bowling Green plant's UAW local. "I'm just excited."

Just when you think Fletcher can't be a bigger idiot...

Why Does Governor Fletcher (R) Have Such Contempt For Kentucky Workers?

It never ceases to amaze me how much contempt Governor Fletcher (R) has for hard-working Kentuckians who aren't afraid to stand-up to employers who fail to deliver on their promises. It almost rivals the bile he has for Kentucky's state merit employees.

Thankfully, there's only 41 days until voters -- many of them those same workers -- eagerly end his political career with a well-deserved exclamation mark. At least we know that hard working Kentuckians will have an ally in the Governor's Mansion in Steve Beshear (D), not someone who wants to strip them of their power and their rights as we've seen from Fletcher & Crooks during the past four years.

I guess it's their fault that Fletcher has so woefully failed to create the 100,000 jobs he promised to Kentucky. That seems to be Fletcher's standard reply for his failures. It's always someone else's fault, never his.

Good riddance.

AP Interview: Fletcher Says GM Strike Could Send Wrong Message
By ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press

...Striking assembly workers at General Motors' Corvette plant in south-central Kentucky could be sending the wrong message to businesses looking to open factories in the state, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Tuesday.

"I understand and respect unions' right to strike when they feel like they're not getting a fair deal," Fletcher told The Associated Press. "But I would hope that the union leaders would look and see what message they send for doing business in Kentucky or any place they have a GM plant."

...Fletcher said "there's no question that as you see an increase in those activities, that will cause people to question" whether to open new plants in Kentucky.

[...]

Fletcher's Democratic challenger, Steve Beshear, said he supports the union's right to strike, and countered that "it's the Fletcher administration that's sending the wrong message about doing business in Kentucky."

Last year, Fletcher pushed unsuccessfully for so-called "right to work" legislation, which would have allowed workers to opt out of unions even in workplaces where union membership is required. The proposal angered union workers, thousands of whom protested at the state Capitol.

[...]

Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, said Fletcher's claim about a no call list is simply a scare tactic and that he has no right to weigh in on the GM strike.

"After Fletcher's attempts to undermine organized labor in Kentucky, he's got no moral authority whatsoever to be speaking about the rights and interests of working families, especially those in an organized facility like General Motors," Londrigan said. "We would hope that he would be more respectful of those workers."

Herald-Leader Points Out Failure Of Fletcher Administration's Economic Policies

Yesterday, John Stamper had an excellent story in the Herald-Leader documenting the failure of Governor Fletcher's (R) economic policies as Kentucky continues to falls in the national rankings on the most basic levels of economic growth during his four years in office -- a topic that we've discussed at length here at BGR (see here, here and here as examples):

Under Fletcher, Kentucky's economy has grown, but at a rate slower than the national average. The number of jobs in Kentucky has grown by 3.41 percent since Fletcher took office in December 2003, an increase of 61,200 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, jobs increased 5.94 percent over that period.

[...]

On the campaign stump, Beshear goes through a litany of national economic rankings that show Kentucky backsliding during Fletcher's tenure. In a new economy index, Kentucky went from 42nd to 45th. In high-tech jobs, Kentucky dropped from 42nd to 44th. In industry research and development, Kentucky slipped from 39th to 43rd.

"When you look at all the various economic indexes that measure states and their efforts to compete in this world economy, almost every one of them shows either a stagnation or a decline when you look at Kentucky," Beshear said. "It's time to turn that around."

And while the Bureau of Labor Statistics has never shown Kentucky getting anywhere close to the 100,000 new jobs Fletcher repeatedly claims to have been created during his tenure (a claim repeated earlier this month), Stamper points out that even Fletcher's own preferred-statistic to back-up that claims shows he has badly failed:

Fletcher also claims to have made good on his 100,000-job promise, since one of two main job-counting indexes used by economists did show in March that Kentucky had created 103,344 new jobs since December 2003. "I think we've been on target with that promise," he said.

However, even that index now shows Kentucky with only 76,394 new jobs as of July, the latest data available.

If that's the case, why does Fletcher continue to lie to the voters, as he did just two weeks ago in Paducah?

Fletcher said in the past four years, state tourism has increased 33 percent, school funding has grown 25 percent and more than 100,000 jobs were created.

Is there anything this desperate man won't lie about?

Governor, Why Do You Lie So Much? Isn't Lying A Sin?

Apparently, Governor Fletcher (R) still has no problem lying to the public, or simply making-up his own statistics.

Here's what he told a small gathering in Paducah earlier this week:

Fletcher said in the past four years, state tourism has increased 33 percent, school funding has grown 25 percent and more than 100,000 jobs were created.

What a truly shameless liar. Wouldn't it be nice if reporters actually called him on some of these things, rather than just serve as stenographers?  As we've discussed over and over and over again, the state has seen barely 60,000 new jobs during his miserable term.

But it gets better.

In just the last two weeks, it seems that tourism in Kentucky during Fletcher's term has skyrocketed from the 24 percent increase he told folks in Richmond two weeks ago (see below) to 33 percent he told Paducah residents this week (see above):

Since then, 100,000 new jobs have been created and tourism has grown by 24 percent, he said, adding that at the same time, the number of state government employees dropped by 2,000.

Yep, Fletcher just makes things up as he goes along. The more desperate things look for him, the more dramatic his self-described accomplishments.

Hello? Media?

Governor, Why Is Kentucky's Economy Getting Worse?

A reader e-mailed me a national story on jobless claims and guess which state had the second-largest number of jobless claims in the last week?

The increase of 4,000 jobless claims on a seasonally adjusted basis followed a decline of 22,000 in claims applications in the previous week. The increase came in the week that included the Labor Day holiday, meaning that unemployment offices had one less day to process claims.

The number of unemployed Americans receiving jobless benefits totaled 2.585 million for the week ending Sept. 1, a drop of 6,000 from the previous week.

For the week of Sept. 1, the two states with the biggest increases in jobless applications were Texas, up 1,529, and Kentucky, up 1,080. The increase in Texas was attributed to higher layoffs in public administration, services, finance and manufacturing while the rise in Kentucky was attributed on higher manufacturing layoffs.

Is there anything that Governor Fletcher (R) has done right?

54 more days until the sun rises again...

Why Does Governor Fletcher Keep Lying About Job Growth?

Once again, Governor Fletcher (R) shows no shame when it comes to telling the truth about his administration's "accomplishments". In a story in today's Richmond Register, Fletcher again lied about job growth during his term:

Since then, 100,000 new jobs have been created and tourism has grown by 24 percent, he said, adding that at the same time, the number of state government employees dropped by 2,000.

However, as pointed out here time and again, this is one of Fletcher's favorite lies. According to the universally-accepted gold standard for measuring employment, just 61,200 new jobs have been created in Kentucky since December 2003, one of the worst states in the nation for job growth.

But it gets even better.

Each quarter, the governor's own budget office issues its "Quarterly Economic & Revenue Report." The last report was issued on July 30, 2007. If you view the report and skip to page 22, you'll find these two charts the governor's budget office prepared: (click images for larger versions)

Realizing that Governor Fletcher was sworn-in on December 9, 2003, take a look at how Kentucky has done since he became governor when measured against the nation as a whole. We're not even treading water under Fletcher.

I highlight these two charts because during the 2003 campaign, Fletcher railed about job growth (he promised 100,000 new jobs) and lambasted the previous administration for anemic growth in personal income.

Coupled with the latest census data showing a further rise in poverty and people without health insurance (see this morning's post), Fletcher has few real accomplishments that he can campaign on...

Kentucky Sees Increase In Poverty and People Without Health Insurance

Another vivid example of the abysmal failure of Governor Fletcher's (R) policies during his term. Four years ago, Fletcher promised that Kentucky would see strong gains in reducing poverty and improved access to health care. In both cases, the state keeps dropping under his disastrous leadership. Another reason why Fletcher refuses to discuss his record on the campaign trail:

From the Associated Press following yesterday's latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau:

In 2006, 17 percent of Kentuckians lived below the poverty level, compared with 16.8 percent in 2005. The state jumped from the ninth poorest state in the nation in 2005 to tying Oklahoma at No. 7 in 2006.

The shift counters the national trend: 12.3 percent - or 36.5 million Americans - were living in poverty last year, down from 12.6 percent in 2005.

...The Census Bureau data found that a slightly larger percentage of Kentucky children and senior citizens lived in poverty in 2006. Ranked 10th (tied with Tennessee) in the country, 22.3 percent of the state's children lived below the poverty level in 2006, compared with 22.1 percent in 2005. Kentucky residents age 65 and older rank fourth nationally, with 13.5 percent living below the poverty level in 2006, compared with 13.3 percent in 2005.

...The problem is compounded by the fact that more than a half-million Kentuckians don't have health insurance. The Census Bureau reported that in 2006, 13.8 percent of the state isn't covered - a slight increase from the 13.5 percent in 2005.

Kentucky fell below the national average of 15.8 percent. The number of uninsured Americans went up from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47 million in 2006.

Note To Media: More Bad Economic Data For Fletcher...

The Kentucky Office of Employment and Training released updated state economic data this morning. According to its press release:

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in July 2007 from 5.4 percent in June 2007, according to OET...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly estimate of the number of employed Kentuckians for July 2007 was 1,934,283 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This figure is down 8,313 from the 1,942,596 employed in June 2007...

The monthly estimate of the number of unemployed Kentuckians for July 2007 was 117,088, up 5,740 from the 111,348 Kentuckians unemployed in June 2007...

Got that? In just the past month, Kentucky saw a net loss of 8,313 jobs and an increase in unemployment by 5,740. But why isn't the media focusing on Fletcher's record instead of allowing him a free pass on his preferred theme of "all casinos, all the time"?

Question: When will Fletcher be forced to defend HIS RECORD?

After all, he's been in office for 44 months now, after getting elected on a clear pledge of specific promises and actions which included repeatedly blasting previous administrations on everything from pardons to the mess in Frankfort to the promise of the creation of "a lot more than 100,000 good new jobs." Last I checked, Fletcher was an incumbent running for re-election. He's not seeking an open seat.

Isn't it time for the media to focus on his record and the facts and not simply act as stenographers?

Fletcher Ad On Job Growth: "We're #42!"

I guess the reason for Governor Fletcher's (R) desire to avoid making his re-election about his record is that it's not very pretty...at least when compared to what other governors across the country have accomplished.

Case in point -- here's how job growth in Kentucky under Fletcher compares to the other 50 states and District of Columbia.

It's hard to get the public excited about being 42nd best during Fletcher's tenure...

State	Net New Jobs (12/03-present)	% Growth
1.  Arizona	414,100	17.9%
2.  Nevada	197,300	17.8%
3.  Utah	181,600	16.8%
4.  Idaho	80,700	14.0%
5.  Wyoming	32,000	12.6%
6.  Montana	46,900	11.7%
7.  Florida	777,700	10.6%
8.  Oregon	157,900	10.1%
9.  Texas	923,900	9.8%
10.  Hawaii	56,400	9.8%
11.  Washington	250,800	9.4%
12.  Oklahoma	130,700	9.1%
13.  North Dakota	27,600	8.3%
14.  New Mexico	64,000	8.2%
15.  Colorado	175,100	8.2%
16.  Virginia	276,800	7.9%
17.  South Dakota	29,400	7.7%
18.  North Carolina	288,500	7.6%
19.  Alabama	139,300	7.4%
20.  Georgia	279,200	7.2%
21.  South Carolina	123,300	6.8%
22. Nebraska	60,000	6.6%
23.  Delaware	24,600	5.9%
24.  Alaska	17,800	5.9%
25.  Kansas	77,600	5.9%
26. California	841,500	5.8%
27.  Maryland	136,400	5.5%
28.  Iowa	76,900	5.3%
29.  Arkansas	60,600	5.3%
30.  District of Columbia	34,600	5.2%
31.  West Virginia	35,300	4.9%
32.  New Hampshire	30,300	4.9%
33.  Minnesota	126,800	4.8%
34.  Tennessee	123,800	4.6%
35.  Missouri	114,200	4.3%
36.  Pennsylvania	211,300	3.8%
37.  Connecticut	60,900	3.7%
38.  Massachusetts	116,000	3.7%
39.  Mississippi	40,100	3.6%
40.  Wisconsin	98,500	3.5%
41.  New York	288,900	3.4%
42.  KENTUCKY	61,200	3.4%
43.  Indiana	91,300	3.2%
44.  Vermont	8,800	2.9%
45.  Rhode Island	13,700	2.8%
46.  Illinois	164,000	2.8%
47.  New Jersey	101,700	2.5%
48.  Ohio	79,600	1.5%
49.  Maine	8,800	1.4%
50.  Louisiana	20,000	1.1%
51. Michigan	-123,200	-2.8%