BluegrassReport.org

The Blowhard That Is Damon Thayer (R)

State Sen. Damon Thayer (R) is truly a first-rate blowhard who never lets the facts get in his way when it comes to his painful pontificating on all things political.

Case-in-point: Thayer's latest whining about the lack of reporting by 527 entities like Bluegrass Freedom Fund, which greatly contributed to Governor Fletcher's (R) lopsided ouster last month:

"We need to look at where the money is coming from so the laws governing the 527 accounts mirror those of our political parties as well as individual candidates," said Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown.

Thayer, who represents southern Kenton County including Independence and Taylor Mill, chairs the Senate State Government Committee, the panel that oversees election finance law.

Thayer said this week he will file legislation that will force 527s to more frequently disclose their contributors and expenditures.

"They need to report just like political parties, just like candidates do during normal election cycles," Thayer said, meaning the 527 groups would have to file campaign finance reports in the months and weeks leading up to an election.

So Thayer says he wants 527s to have to disclose like political parties do?

Well, that's pretty funny since the state's political parties haven't been required to disclose any campaign finance information since June 2007 on either a state or federal level -- and won't have to until next year. Seriously. Either Thayer is clueless or he's completely misleading the public into thinking that political parties file any reports "in the months and weeks leading up to an election" as he bloviates.

A quick check of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance will show that the Republican Party of Kentucky has not reported any finance data since its June 21, 2007 report, the only reporting for an entire year:

And it's no better on the federal side, as the RPK's last FEC report covered the first six months of 2007, and it was their only reporting period of the year:

So, what in the world is Thayer talking about? The political parties (including the Kentucky Democratic Party) haven't disclosed anything since one month after the primary election. How about changing that law too?

How fun will it be to oust someone as dishonest (or clueless) as Thayer next year?

It would also be nice if the media called Thayer on his bullshit as well. They didn't.

A Ban On Political Robo-Calls?

Kudos to State Rep. Jimmy Higdon (R) for pushing for a law that would ban political robo-calls. This is a long overdue action and desperately needed, especially after the disgusting use of them by Governor Fletcher's (R) supporters last month.

But if I recall accurately, wasn't it the Kentucky legislature that exempted such calls from the "No Call List" in the first place? And do they have the courage to ban them now and possibly hurt their own re-election chances down the road? Intestinal fortitude has never been their strong suit.

Thoughts?

The Contrast

In contrast to the idiocy offered by State Rep. Jim Gooch (D), see for yourself some of the leadership being offered by governors of other states -- from both parties.

And be mindful that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) leads a state that is second to none when it comes to coal reserves (it has four times Kentucky's reserves) yet he's embracing the need for addressing global warming pollution now.

Who do you believe?

More Gooch

A reader passed along a little tidbit relating to our on-going discussion on the recent anti-science efforts by State Rep. Jim Gooch (D) that seemed worth posting:

Hey Mark,

Last February I was doing some citizen lobbying in Frankfort.  I was a walking down a hall when I saw Rep. Gooch surrounded by a group of reporters.  I listened in as they were confronting Gooch about his business ties to the coal industry and asking him about potential conflicts of interest. Gooch clearly looked taken aback by all the attention and pointed questions.  Of course he denied it but then he made a not so veiled threat against those who would level such accusations (conflict of interest) against him, saying that people needed to watch what they say or there could be serious repercussions.  A few reporters asked him what he meant and he responded "I think you know what I mean."

I didn't really know much about Gooch until that point and after listening in, I found out all I needed to know about who this character is.

I'm not sure if I'm more frightened by the views Gooch embraces or the arrogance which apparently accompanies them.

The Now NATIONAL Embarrassment Of State Rep. Jim Gooch (D)

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth highlights how the shameful ignorance of State Rep. Jim Gooch (D) to chair a Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing to dispute the growing consensus on global warming -- and only invite global warming deniers to testify -- has quickly made its way to the national stage.

Turns out he was invited as a guest on Good Morning America on Sunday to discuss this latest travesty of Kentucky political leadership:

By the way, despite this shameful display, the Herald-Leader notes that:

But, despite the grumbling of some rank-and-file lawmakers, Democrats said, they don't plan to remove Rep. Jim Gooch, D-Providence, as chairman of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, where he has defended the coal industry and stopped environmental reforms for years.

Why the hell not?

To allow this man to continue to have a bully-pulpit and mock science and obstruct efforts to pass mine safety legislation in order to protect his coal company interests is an offense to every Kentuckian, and is a microcosm of what is wrong with our political system. Democrats should be demanding that Speaker Richards (D) remove Gooch from this post, and not settle for anything less.

Hypothetically, imagine if Gooch was chair of the education committee and held a hearing to promote a view that black students were genetically inferior to whites (and refused to allow an opposing view to testify at the hearing). Would we allow him to continue as chair? Of course not.

Imagine if he chaired a health-related committee and held a hearing on a hypothetical view that HIV does not cause AIDS (like a few loons still believe). Would we let him keep his powerful post? Hell no.

So, why is his current mockery of committee work being tolerated? This is a complete farce, another example of the joke of the Kentucky General Assembly, and yet another national chuckle at Kentucky's expense. Simply amazing.  Can we please find a primary challenger in Gooch's district?

Meanwhile, The New York Times recently published a story on the joining of forces by both Republican and Democratic governors across the country to create regional pacts on climate change. The story focused on the efforts of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D).

Beshear Taps Jennifer Moore To Be KDP Chair, Nathan Smith As Vice-Chair

This morning, Gov.-elect Beshear (D) has recommended that Jennifer Moore be elected Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party and that Northern Kentuckian Nathan Smith be elected Vice-Chair:

Governor-elect Steve Beshear today announced his intention to recommend the election of Jennifer Moore, age 33, as Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party and Nathan Smith, age 36, as Vice-Chair.  Moore, who has served since June as the Party's Vice Chair, would replace Jonathan Miller, who is resigning as Chair to assume his duties as Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet in the Beshear Administration.

Governor-elect Beshear will make his recommendation at the next meeting of the Kentucky Democratic Party's State Central Executive Committee which will be scheduled for Saturday, December 1, 2007. Pursuant to the Party's bylaws, Moore will serve as Acting Chair of the party until the State Central Executive Committee votes.

Obviously, I'm thrilled with the move as I've been a broken record over the past few years in highlighting the political rock-star that is Jennifer Moore -- as many of you have.

Also, I really love the move of recommending Nathan Smith to be Vice-Chair. Northern Kentucky Democrats have shown a great deal of muscle and organization of late in a political environment that is not in their favor. Despite the shifting landscape, NKY Dems have been very aggressive in targeting their efforts (recall the unexpectedly narrow losses in the state House last year by Randy Blankenship and Linda Klembara), and arguably the biggest story on Election Night this year was Beshear's double-digit margins in Kenton and Campbell Counties and losing the staunchly conservative Boone County by a stunning 300 votes, and Nathan has played a very large role in those successes.

As Vice Chair, Smith will be crucial in helping to recruit candidates to challenge both State Sen. Damon Thayer (R) and State Sen. Jack Westwood (R) next year, which is crucial to taking back the state Senate, the second biggest target out there next year for Kentucky Democrats after defeating U.S. Senator McConnell (R).

A great move.

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.

When There's No Difference Between Democrats And Republicans...

So freaking sad:

The interim joint Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to dispute the idea that the Earth is warming, at least in part because of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere produced by industrial activity.

Chairman Jim Gooch, D-Providence, a longtime ally of the coal industry, said he purposefully did not invite anyone who believes in global warming to testify.

"You can only hear that the sky is falling so many times," said Gooch, whose post makes him the House Democrats' chief environmental strategist. "We hear it every day from the news media, from the colleges, from Hollywood."

Neither of Gooch's invited panelists was a scientist.

I'm ashamed and disgusted that Gooch has a "D" after his name. What next, embrace teaching creationism in our public school science classes? Recall that Gooch also threw-up roadblocks last year when it came to mine safety legislation.

Gooch represents the type of Democrats that deserve a primary election.

Meanwhile, prominent national Democrats and Republicans are working together on the issue:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and former vice president Al Gore "are planning a bipartisan presidential forum on energy and climate change in New Hampshire in December," USA Today reports.

FYI -- Jim.Gooch@lrc.ky.gov

Same Ole Clueless Republicans

From Tom Loftus' post on the Courier-Journal's political blog:

Sen. Richie Sanders, R-Franklin, said this morning that he is leaning against voting for a constitutional amendment that would legalize casinos in Kentucky.

Sanders said that he would have to review details of a final bill before he could say absolutely how he would vote. But he said he's concerned about problems caused by casino gambling. And he said he did not believe Democrat Steve Beshear's landslide victory last week over incumbent Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher was any sort of mandate to let voters to decide the casino question.

Maybe Sanders is ignorant enough to believe that last week's election wasn't a "mandate to let voters decide the casino question" but how does he explain the remarkably consistent polling throughout the general election where voters -- by nearly a 6 to 1 margin -- want to decide this issue through a vote?

Poll	Allow Vote	No Vote	Margin
AVERAGE	81.8%	14.2%	+67.6
SurveyUSA	82%	13%	+62
Bluegrass Poll	78%	16%	+62
H-L/WTVQ	82%	11%	+71
SurveyUSA	79%	19%	+60
Preston-Osborne	88%	12%	+76

Some are still as clueless as ever...

In Final Days, Not Much Hope Remains For Fletcher (Al Cross)

It's so hard to believe -- given how historic Governor Fletcher's (R) 2003 victory was -- that Al Cross' final column in the Sunday before the 2007 election would be titled:

In final days, not much hope remains for Fletcher

I don't think I've ever been more excited about seeing someone get thrown out of office like the voters appear poised to do with Fletcher. His behavior during this general election has been an eye-opener for many, as he's every bit the out-of-touch, arrogant, hateful, hypocritical, dishonest, holier-than-thou nut that his political beginnings suggested (click here for a quick refresher).

Next up: U.S. Senator McConnell (R), Senate President David Williams (R), and the three Republican state Senate seats needed to take back the majority in 2008. How much fun will it be to maintain a constant focus on these guys for the next year? And how long overdue...

Beshear: State Senate & McConnell Next Up

Steve Beshear (D) offered a peek at what to expect post-November in today's Ronnie Ellis story:

“I call Ernie Fletcher the great uniter,” Beshear told the crowd. “He’s united Democrats and Republicans and Independents. They ALL want to throw him out of Frankfort.”

He went on to say Democrats would take back the state Senate, now in Republican majority control and retire Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning in 2010 – “right after we take care of Mitch McConnell next year.”

Vulnerable State Senate Republicans In The Cross-Hairs For 2008?

One of the worst-kept secrets is that one of soon-to-be-Governor Beshear's (D) top priorities after he's sworn-in this December will be a balls-to-the-wall effort to take back the Kentucky State Senate where Republicans currently have a 21-16-1 majority.

In 2008, half of the 38 seats are up for grabs. Noteworthy is that there are five seats which are held by members of the minority party in their district (looking at voter registration) -- all of them Republicans:

• KY-1 (+56 Dem): State Sen. Ken Winters (R)
• KY-5 (+17 Dem): State Sen. Carroll Gibson (R)
• KY-17 (+16 Dem): State Sen. Damon Thayer (R)
• KY-9 (+9 Dem): State Sen. Richie Sanders (R)
• KY-23 (+3 Dem): State Sen. Jack Westwood (R)

In 2004 -- the clear highwater mark for Republicans in a generation -- only Sanders ran unopposed. The other four saw tight contests.

• Winters, a freshman, won his seat by a narrow 51-49 margin, despite the 76-20 registration advantage that Dems hold in the district. Former U.S. Rep. Carroll Hubbard (D) has already indicated he plans to challenge Winters.
                       
• Westwood won his seat by a very narrow 53-47 margin over Kathy Groob (D) considering the huge victories in the district by President Bush (R), Senator Bunning (R), and the gay marriage amendment.
                    
• Gibson, also a freshman, won his by a 55-45 margin, as did Thayer whose 2004 election was for his first full term (he won a 2003 special election to complete a term).

Given that Democrats need just three seats to take back the Senate, these are the five targets you should be watching for after this November's election.

And while Beshear is not likely to spend a ton of money in heavily Republican Northern Kentucky in the next five weeks, don't be surprised if you see very targeted efforts in both Thayer's and Westwood's districts, in an effort to prime those seats for next year.

Does Senate President David Williams (R) Agree With Governor Fletcher (R) That This Is A Referendum Election On Expanded Gaming?

A reader posed an excellent question to me this morning:

Governor Fletcher has repeatedly stated that the election in November is a referendum on expanded gaming.  Several Fletcher press releases state “Voters will have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want casino gambling in Kentucky on November 6.” 

So the question that nobody has asked is – Do the Republican members of the General Assembly agree that this election is a referendum on gaming?  If they do, and Steve Beshear wins, then many of them will have to change their long held opposition to gaming, and agree to put it on the ballot.  It they do not agree that it is a referendum, Fletcher’s entire campaign message is undercut and rendered meaningless.

Republicans in the General Assembly who have opposed gaming should have to answer whether or not they agree with the Governor that the upcoming election is a referendum on gaming.

That's an excellent question and it's disappointing the media hasn't bothered asking people like Senate President David Williams (R), a top Fletcher supporter. They've happily reprinted Fletcher's assertion that this is a referendum election but they've dropped the ball on asking members of the legislature who are strong backing the governor.

Now's the time to press your favorite reporters on this question.

Sucking Up

While doing some research, I ran across this snippet from Pat Crowley's blog in July. At least one Republican legislator was smart-enough to lay some ground work a few months ago, even if in jest (or not):

Draud steals the show; Mongiardo not bad

Just returned from the NKY Chamber Govt. Forum featuring Dem gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear and his lieutenant governor running mate, Sen. Dan Mongiardo. Rep. Jon Draud, an Edgewood Republican and supporter of GOP Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Draud was seated at the head table with Beshear and delivered the line of the day during the self introductions, when everyone in the room stands up to identify themselves.

Draud said he was working on his "sucking up skills" just in case.

Wasn't Draud a Democrat, once upon a time? You don't suppose...

State Rep. Dedman Switches Party, Joins Democrats, But Local Dems Want Primary Challenger

Today, State Rep. Milward Dedman formally switched parties, joining the Democratic majority in the State House. State Rep. Melvin Henley (R) is expected to immediately follow Dedman and jump the GOP ship as well.

While Democrats in western Kentucky seem generally pleased with Henley's move --since he was with them on a variety of legislative issues and fought with his own party for the past few years -- the same doesn't seem to be the case for Dedman.

I'm told that some local Democratic leaders in the 55th House District are not so enamored with Dedman, who happily switched parties in 2004 in order to get elected to his seat, and who has been cozy with top Republicans since his arrival in Frankfort. The feeling is that Dedman's move was dictated by pure political expedience, as he was concerned that after his razor-close elections in 2004 and 2006 he could not survive a 2008 race with a Democratic governor, and not due to philosophical differences with the Republican Party, as was the case with Henley.

As a result, there is already a growing movement to recruit Kent Stevens (D), Dedman's 2006 opponent who he defeated by just 278 votes -- to challenge him in next year's Democratic primary.

Keep a very close eye on these developments.

WHAS-11 TV: Two Republican State Reps To Switch Parties

The pendulum is definitely swinging back to the Democratic side in Kentucky.

This morning, WHAS-11's Mark Hebert is reporting the following spectacular news:

Sources tell WHAS 11 News that they expect two republican state house members to officially switch parties and register as democrats this week.

Sources tell me Rep. Melvin Henley (R) Murray and Rep. Milward Dedman, Jr. (R) Harrodsburg will change their party registrations this week. That would extend the democrats advantage in the state House of Representatives to 63-37.

Let's welcome them to our team.

Now, if we could only get a few GOP Senators to do the same thing...

UPDATE (10:16 am): Before the Republicans can say this is not a big deal, let's revisit what they said two years ago when then State Rep. James Carr switched parties in a highly publicized event emceed by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R):

"At the risk of being redundant, we're here today to celebrate a really important development in the Kentucky Republican Party," McConnell told reporters, who were gathered inside the building that bears his name.

McConnell, Whitfield and Carr earlier Monday held a similar news conference in Carr's western Kentucky hometown. At the Capitol, Fletcher said he was "thrilled" by Carr's decision to join the GOP.

...Rep. Jeff Hoover, the House minority leader from Jamestown, also did not attend the news conferences but said McConnell called him with the news Monday morning. Hoover said Carr's switch "shows a lot of character."

Carr said he left the Democratic Party because its leadership was "out of step with many rank-and-file Kentucky Democrat voters" who hold issues such as gun control, abortion and the military close to their hearts.

Sheer Insanity

This is insanity:

Proposed legislation to lure alternative energy plants to Kentucky would offer up-front cash payments to companies that won’t actually earn the incentives until years later, a benefit never before offered by the state.

The so-called “Incentives for Energy Independence Act” would offer payments potentially worth tens of millions of dollars to companies that convert coal or biomass into synthetic fuels even before those multibillion-dollar projects produce their first barrel of fuel.

So, Kentucky is going give millions of dollars in upfront cash payments for a technology that has never been developed for full-scale production in the United States? Is this good economic policy?

Unbelievable.

UPDATE (8:51 AM): Even more offensive is this part of the story:

Despite the increased financial risk, the proposed legislation does not mandate that companies receiving cash advances pay back the money if the facility fails to open or closes prematurely.

Democratic House Caucus Dealing With Campaign Finance Problems Concerning Past Disbursements

It's been a busy news day...but there's even more.

I've learned today that the press is currently looking into a number of potentially serious discrepancies in the most recently filed campaign finance report by the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee concerning thousands of dollars of questionable disbursements incurred over the past few years, as well as how those items were reported.

The Democratic House Caucus is scheduled to meet on Monday afternoon and this is likely to be an item they will have to address, including whether or not to have an independent audit done of its finances.

Keep a close eye on this developing major issue.

Fletcher Calls Special Session Beginning 4pm Monday, Concerning Just One Issue

Secretary of State Trey Grayson has just posted Governor Fletcher's (R) call for a special session of the General Assembly to begin 4:00 pm on Monday, August 20. The call deals with only one issue -- energy incentives.

Click here for the actual document.

Will Fletcher's desperation cause him to insanely change the call before Monday and try to open the door to the politically divisive issues in hopes of saving his political career? Stay tuned...

More On The $300 Million Coal Company Giveaway

Maybe someone a lot smarter than me can explain one particularly troubling item being considered as part of the frenetic effort to give away $300 million in handouts/incentives to wealthy coal companies during the special session of a non-budget year.

I'm told that one tax subsidy being offered -- that has never before been offered in an economic development package before -- is a credit of up to 80% of the severance taxes paid on the coal the companies burn. According to the Fletcher administration's analysis of Senate Bill 1, this rebate was worth half of the total amount going to Peabody.

As I'm reminded, severance taxes are paid at the time that coal is extracted from the ground to provide some revenue to the affected communities where mining occurs to repair infrastructure and diversify their economy beyond coal. But in the past few decades, little of the money has gone back to the counties and instead dumped into the state's general fund. And then last year, as I recall, Fletcher added an additional hurdle for the counties by making them apply for specific grants out of the coal severance funds.

Additionally, as one reader asked me, "why would Kentucky pay a company $300 million to buy its own product (coal) from itself?”

Can anyone help with this issue? Is giving away 80% of coal severance taxes in this manner sound public policy, particularly in the rushed manner it's being enacted (i.e., without public input and a full-analysis?). And are we ever going to get an environmental plan for the project, or is that not important any longer?

This deal is smelling worse and worse each day.

Hebert: Coal Company Incentives Worth $800,000 Per Job Created

Mark Hebert has quite a story on yet another reason why we should not be trying to give away $300 million in incentives to wealthy coal companies for an unproven technology with no plan to deal with the environmental issues involved...the hurried legislative plan will provide an astounding $800,000 per job created in incentives. Mind-boggling stuff.

House Dems Showing Backbone On Special Session Fiasco

While I still worry that they're giving in to Governor Fletcher's (R) electoral desperation with the whole special session mess, I'm very pleased to see House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins (D) telling Senate President David Williams (R) to stick-it (and here) for his constant gamesmanship on the special session, especially given that Williams was the sole reason that Adkins' work on the coal-to-liquid issue was killed in the Senate in the final days of this year's regular session.

Let's hope Adkins keeps it up and Speaker Jody Richards (D) continues to demonstrate the backbone he showed last month when called into special session.

Meanwhile, we should all remain very uneasy about this whole special session debacle and the need to rush through a massive taxpayer gift for wealthy coal companies for a technology that has never been built for full-scale production in America, with significant environmental consequences, and one where the federal government isn't contributing, as was expected.

Democrats Ready To Cave To Fletcher?

Pol Watchers is reporting that agreement is near for a special session to give hundreds of millions of dollars to wealthy coal companies.

But what I don't understand, and which no one has ever provided an understandable explanation, is why the General Assembly is 1) rushing to give hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate welfare 2) during a special session 3) in a non-budget year 4) 13 weeks before an election 5) which has been called by the incumbent governor who trails by 21 points 6) for a project that can't get off the ground because the Congress recently refused to pass legislation that would provide the federal portion of the financial incentives 7) which Fletcher never cared about prior to the general election and 8) which Senate President David Williams (R) prevented from passing earlier in the year -- rather than wait until after the election to deal with in the formal budget year legislative session with the new governor and with public hearings on the subject?

I also don't understand why House and Senate Democrats are allowing themselves to be enablers, once again...

Update (2:44 PM): The Rural Democrat reports a breakdown among legislators on incentives.

Kentucky Bridges Much More Dangerous During Fletcher's Term

Before Governor Fletcher (R) can start deceiving voters that he's been some champion of bridge safety during his abysmal term, let's all be sure to know the facts which show a significant deterioration in bridge safety in Kentucky since Fletcher took office in December 2003.

According to the Federal Highway Administration:

• In December 2003, 1,175 (8.7%) of Kentucky's 13,523 bridges were designated "structurally deficient" and other 2,872 (21.2%) were designated "functionally obsolete;"
              
• In December 2006, 1,362 (10.0%) of Kentucky's 13,637 bridges were designated "structurally deficient" and other 2,927 (21.5%) were designated "functionally obsolete."

So, in Fletcher's first three years, Kentucky has seen a significant growth in both structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges. Sadly, this serious infrastructure problem came at the same time that Fletcher solidified himself as one of the most prominent big government governors in the state's history, as we witnessed an explosion in state spending in his four budgets (see link).

Of course, Fletcher wants to the General Assembly to meet in special session -- not to address these dire infrastructure needs -- but to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate welfare to wealthy coal companies and campaign donors.

Priorities, I guess.

(Note: If you remove the 15% of the state's bridges that are designated National Highway System (where the federal government is primarily responsible), and only focus on just state/county bridges, those statistics are even worse for Fletcher.)

It's Time For Others To Step-Up And Take-On Governor Fletcher's (R) Unethical Conduct

I think the time has long come for some wealthy Kentuckians to come together and immediately fund a $250,000 media campaign calling on Governor Fletcher (R) to tell the public which corporations and individuals have given unlimited amounts of money to his private legal defense fund, since he's not willing to let us know who is giving to him until after the November election.

Now that Fletcher has called a special session of the legislature for July 5th to consider handing out $315 million in corporate goodies to coal companies -- yet Fletcher won't state whether he's taken any money for his defense fund from them -- seems like a very good time to ask that question all across the state's airwaves. Shouldn't our governor have to be upfront with the public about who's giving him unlimited amounts of money before voters are forced to decide whether to support him?

It would cost $10,000-$15,000 to get a very professional spot cut and shipped to the stations and if this happened within the next week, the spot could be aired just in time for the beginning of the July 5th special session, while all eyes are on Frankfort.

Remember what current Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) had to say last month about Fletcher's refusal to tell us who's funding his criminal defense fund:

"Without knowing who gave and the amount, it is impossible to rule out any quid pro quo," said Pence, a former federal prosecutor."… What are we going to do if we wake up after the election and find out that someone paid the governor $50,000 and two days later got a contract worth $20 million? Would we just shrug that off?"

E-mail me if you need a referral.

Update (6:29 PM): A couple of readers emailed to ask what, precisely, $250,000 can buy on Kentucky television for a non-candidate, so let me provide some guidance based on my experience.

Television network ad units are broken down into gross rating points (GRPs) which equate to how large of the target audience is reached by a particular ad. In an election season, a very heavy media buy by a top-of-the-ticket candidate would be about 1,000 GRPs per week in a particular market. Also, while political candidates get the lowest unit rate for advertising, a non-candidate buying an issue ad will spend an additional 30%, or so, over that rate.

Of course, supply and demand has an enormous impact in rates, so ads in October are likely to be a lot more expensive than in August. Also, Cincinnati is the most expensive market in the state and very inefficient since it reaches more Ohioans than Kentuckians (and heavily Republican), so it makes sense to either skip Cincy entirely or doing a Northern Kentucky cable buy of a specific amount ($25,000-$50,000).

With that primer, and all the caveats, here's an example of what $250,000 would buy you:

Louisville 550 GRP ($96/GRP x 1.30) = $68,240
Lexington 550 GRP ($78/GRP x 1.30) = $55,770
Paducah 500 GRP ($43/GRP x 1.30) = $27,950
Evansville 500 GRP ($46/GRP x 1.30) = $29,900
Charleston 500 GRP ($72/GRP x 1.30) = $46,800
Bowling Green 500 GRP ($27/GRP x 1.3) = $17,550

Driven By Politics -- No need for special session on energy projects (Herald-Leader Editorial)

I couldn't have said it better myself:

Driven By Politics
No need for special session on energy projects
Herald-Leader Editorial

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate made a special session of the Kentucky legislature unnecessary by wisely rejecting a support package for converting coal into other fuels.

Without the massive federal subsidies and guaranteed buyer, Peabody Energy and other companies will be in no hurry to move ahead with plans to build $3 billion coal-conversion plants.

Yet Gov. Ernie Fletcher still plans to call a special session, at a cost to taxpayers of $60,000 a day.

[...]

The only emergency is Fletcher's desperation to look like a leader as he faces an uphill run for re-election.

During the regular session earlier this year, the Republican Senate killed an energy bill that would have done most of what Fletcher and Senate President David Williams now consider so urgent. Fletcher didn't lift a finger to save the energy bill then.

The motive for this special session isn't energy policy; it's about giving a jolt to Fletcher's political prospects.

Update (1:31 PM): Speaker Jody Richards (D) weighs-in:

After the governor's presentation, House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, described Fletcher's comments as vague and said he does not think a special session is needed.

Richards suggested that the federal government should first decide whether it wants to provide incentives for coal-to-liquid plants before Kentucky signs off on its own incentive package. Congress has debated massive incentives for the industry in recent weeks, but the proposals offered so far have failed.

...He said he hopes the governor will reconsider his decision to call the session.

More Special Session Insanity

So, apparently Governor Fletcher (R) has released a letter from Peabody Coal stating that it's interested in building a coal-to-liquid plant, and for some reason Fletcher believes this is worthy of calling special session of the legislature, just four months from his own re-election (where trails by double-digits) and during a non-budget year for the General Assembly:

Peabody Energy Corp. is considering building a coal conversion plant in Kentucky that could cost as much as $3 billion and bring up to 800 full-time jobs, according to a letter released late yesterday.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration released the letter in an effort to underscore the need for calling the General Assembly into special session to deal with possible tax incentives for energy companies, a spokeswoman for the governor said.

Anyone want to bet that Peabody Coal -- and/or its executive -- have contributed to Fletcher's own secret legal defense fund with an implicit promise that he'd try to deal with this in a special session -- knowing full well that he won't be in office past November?

In my opinion, there is absolutely no reason to ram this through in a special session and avoid a full and thoughtful public debate on the matter before spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, but -- at the very least -- Fletcher should have to declare whether Peabody has contributed to his personal legal defense fund (or his campaign). We should not have to wait until next year to find out whether this special session was bought by a contributor to a very desperate governor seeking re-election.

Let's all remember what Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) said last month which is directly on-point with this issue:

"What are we going to do if we wake up after the election and find out that someone paid the governor $50,000 and two days later got a contract worth $20 million? Would we just shrug that off?"

...or maybe $300 million?