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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...

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/

Fletcher Becomes Patton -- Part 2

In light of Governor Fletcher's (R) latest frenzy in appointing his cronies to boards and commissions in his final day in office (see here and here), I thought it was worth re-posting this item from last week:

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Recall Governor Fletcher's (R) anger in 2003 when -- in the weeks before leaving office -- then Governor Patton (D) appointed new members to the Kentucky Racing Commission. So furious was Fletcher that he immediately disbanded the commission upon taking office and replaced it with the Kentucky Racing Authority with new members which he appointed.

Listen to how they whined:

Republicans and their incoming governor, Ernie Fletcher, are crying foul. Although Patton has the authority to pack seats with anyone he chooses until Dec. 9, that-doesn't mean he should, they said. Fletcher is urging recent Patton appointees to decline to serve.

"Any additional appointments will be disappointing as Kentuckians overwhelmingly gave us a mandate to bring-real change to state government, and that includes boards and commissions," said Daniel Groves, Fletcher's chief of staff.

[...]

Yesterday, several Senate leaders came out fighting and accused the lame-duck governor of unseemly arrogance.

"I actually admired Paul Patton and even considered him a friend until last week, when he decided to push for keno and make all these appointments, all at the last minute," said Sen. Charlie Borders, R-Russell, the Republican caucus chair.

"It's like he's somehow more important than the commonwealth," Borders said. "It's like his ego is more important than allowing the next administration to start finding its voice."

-------------------------------

Any surprise that Fletcher would morph into Patton in his final hours? So pathetic.

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.

Fletcher Pouts?

Mark Hebert has this interesting item on how Governor Fletcher (R) isn't interested in following the leads of governors before him and doing interviews about his time in office before leaving it:

I did hear some disturbing talk at KET last night that I hope isn't true. Governor Fletcher was invited to the Al Smith affair and didn't attend. I don't know the reason for that. But I also heard that the governor had turned down KET's request for an end-of-the-administration interview with Bill Goodman. If that's true, I hope Fletcher will lick his wounds and reconsider. The purpose of the end-of-the-term interview is to preserve a governor's place in history and get their perspective on their four or eight years in office. There's usually not much news value except when governors who have no future political aspirations open up a little and tell about some of the funny and gut wrenching moments during their terms. Every governor has done the "post game interview" with members of the Frankfort press corps. I hope Fletcher can look to the future and realize he'll regret it if he doesn't do the same.

I suspect Fletcher still blames the media for his loss and isn't willing to sit-down with them any longer.

Either that or he's not interested in explaining what happened to the fat and happy state economy he boasted about just a few weeks ago.

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.

Hebert: Governor Fletcher Claims He Didn't Grovel For A Job When With President Bush This Week

Pretty sad that such a question is even asked by the media, but it's one that I'm certain most of us were also thinking so I'm glad Mark Hebert asked it:

Governor Fletcher greeted President Bush when the prez arrived at Louisville's airport on Tuesday, but Fletcher didn't ask for a job.

...There had been some rumblings that Fletcher might be talking with the president about the possibility of a job in Washington. But the governor's spokesperson, Jodi Whitaker, says that didn't happen. Whitaker says Fletcher and Bush had a brief conversation, the governor telling the president that it appears the war in Iraq is going better and chit chattting about the American effort in that country. Whitaker says there was no discussion about Fletcher's job prospects.

Meanwhile, if you figured the public might be a little kinder and gentler towards Governor Fletcher (R) in his final month in office after being embarrassingly ousted in a landslide rebuke, well, think again. The latest SurveyUSA has Fletcher's job approval falling pretty hard to just 32% approval, 64% disapproval.

Check out Fletcher's job performance trend in the past few months:

Nov 2007: 32% approve, 64% disapprove
Oct 2007: 36% approve, 60% disapprove
Sep 2007: 38% approve, 58% disapprove
Aug 2007: 40% approve, 57% disapprove

The Lunacy of State Rep. Jon Draud (R) -- Candidate For State School Superintendent

Only in the past few days have I been able to check out some of the public statements that State Rep. Jon Draud (R) -- one of the four current "finalists" for state superintendent public schools -- has said over the years, and I'm more frightened than ever.

Aside from the clear odor of a sense of entitlement that emanated from today's Kentucky Post story -- when Draud whined about Gov.-elect Beshear's (D) preference in re-opening and broadening the search -- Draud has made a few comments that really deserve a little attention.

In May 2006, during the middle of the Fletcher Merit System scandal, Draud made this remarkable comment about the very wrongdoing that cost Fletcher's re-election:

"I don't want to trivialize any of this, but I've said it all along, to the victor goes the spoils," Draud said at the time. "Fletcher won that office, and he deserves to bring in some of his own people. The Democrats did it for years."

(As an aside -- beyond that scary rationalization for Fletcher breaking the law, one might ask why Draud isn't using that same logic as far as Gov.-elect Beshear (D) having some say over who is hired as the next state school superintendent?)

But there's more bits of wisdom from Draud that should concern us.

Back in 1999, Draud penned an op-ed in the Kentucky Post blaming the First Amendment for the problem of violence in schools, further compounded by the lack of God in our public schools, and went as far as to "demand that our judges stop the media industry from brainwashing our society with violence and indecent conduct said we should demand that judges."

Here are some excerpts (thanks to a reader for pointing this out):

Pendulum swings too far in protecting individual rights
Guest column by Jon Draud

I would like to focus on the First Amendment to our Constitution as one of the major reasons for the increased violence in our society and ultimately our schools.

...The major answer to the question, why did these tragedies occur in Columbine, Jonesboro, Paducah and other cities in our country, is that our culture has been changed by the entertainment industry under the protection of the First Amendment.

...Throughout my 36 years of education, I have observed teachers and school officials attempting to discipline students. The wearing of trench coats, army fatigues and other inappropriate behaviors were not permitted when most of us were students. You may ask, why don't teachers and school administrators stop this behavior? Because today students are protected as parents complain that you are violating their child's First Amendment rights of expression...

Furthermore, we have taken God out of our society and our schools. Our major institutions are afraid to teach values, while many parents have completely abdicated their responsibilities. Parents frequently do not teach their children about God and traditional American values, and schools are forbidden to do so by our court system. Our political leaders are often terrible role models for our children who view their inappropriate behavior in office. Then there are the adults who do weird and unacceptable things, write books about them, and reap huge economic benefits. We glorify the villains and minimize the accomplishments of our heroes. Is it any wonder, we have a lost generation of teens who are turning violent?

Yes, it is important that in a free society that free speech for our citizens is protected. However, it is my position that we cannot allow the entertainment industry to destroy our great country. The entertainment business under the auspices of the First Amendment has created a new culture for us - a culture of violence protected by the First Amendment...

Can we save our great Republic? What can we do to put the brakes on this trip to social chaos? We can pass laws to have police officers for schools, require metal detectors and other security measures. We can require our teachers to teach conflict-resolution skills and to develop skills to identify emotionally disturbed young people. We can demand that our judges stop the media industry from brainwashing our society with violence and indecent conduct. We can do it. However, it will take a strong will of our citizens to relieve the destruction of our culture. The question is, ''Do we have the commitment?''

This is the man that might lead Kentucky's public schools? Frightening...

The Contrast

Sometimes it's the small things that make a difference. Courtesy of Larry Dale Keeling:

After announcing some more additions to his staff today, Beshear was asked about the hidden door Fletcher had installed that allowed him to go from his office to a conference room without walking down a public hallway. Beshear indicated he would use the hall instead of the door and added "I think I'm going to walk" to work as well.

Is Pence's Willingness To Serve On Beshear's Transition Team The Work Of A True Public Servant, Or Another Step Toward A Political Comeback?

Here a  little follow-up on Gov.-elect Beshear's (D) decision to name Lt. Governor Pence (R) as a chair on his transition team:

Pence will serve as the chairman of the Justice Cabinet transition.  Pence was secretary of that cabinet until he was removed by Fletcher after their falling out.

"This is not and should not be a political endeavor," Pence said of his decision to join the transition team.  "I think it's my obligation as Lt. Governor to say yes to that."  Pence says he will not seek a position in Beshear's administration.  Instead, he will go into private law practice with his wife.  Beshear gave Pence his first job as a lawyer when he hired him while Kentucky's Attorney General more than 20 years ago.

Pence is one of 12 transition team leaders.  It's a diverse group, including two Republicans, two African-Americans and five females.  "As you can see from looking at this group, I meant what I said," Beshear noted about his promise for a diverse administration.  In addition to Pence, former State Representative Steve Nunn, the son of the late Louie Nunn, the last GOP Governor before Fletcher, has joined the transition team.  He will head the change over inside the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.

Governor Fletcher's spokeswoman, Jodi Whitaker, said Thursday of the Pence selection, "Mr. Beshear's transition team is up to his discretion and we wish him well." 

Pence has stayed in his elected position, despite being bumped out of his Justice Cabinet role and endorsing one of Fletcher's primary opponents, Anne Northup.  "People are tired of having everything seen through a prism of political affiliation," said Pence.  "If we're really going to make progress we've got to put that aside, at least for that transition, we can do that."

A reader reminded me of something worth filing away. If Jefferson County Irv Maze (D) is selected as Justice Cabinet Secretary, as speculated in media reports, might this create an opening for Pence to seek the vacancy to that post once Maze vacated? Recall that Pence lost to Maze in 1998 for that very job and since the position is considered part-time, Pence would not have to give up his law practice to hold the post.

If Pence was interested in political rehabilitation, two effective moves would be to demonstrate bipartisanship by assisting the incoming Democratic governor as well as re-building good will among Jefferson County voters in a role such as county attorney, which suits his prosecutorial background and further the process of de-linking himself from Governor Fletcher (R) in the mind of the public. One might argue the decision to publicly endorse Anne Northup (R) was step one in that process, which was no doubt a well-received move in Louisville.

Of course, Pence's relationship with Beshear goes way back to when Beshear was attorney general and Pence was (I believe) a young lawyer in his office and this could be nothing more than Pence continuing his public service for someone he knows and presumably respects.

But it's worth keeping an eye on this, nevertheless.

(By the way, does anyone know off-hand how Maze's position would be filled if there was a vacancy? Would the Metro Council make the selection? UPDATE: I just learned that Mayor Jerry Abramson (D) would get to make the appointment to the fill the vacancy until there is a special election, not the Metro Council. Though, I don't know who calls the special election...you answer one question and out pops another...Okay, UPDATE #2: There would be an election for the unexpired term in November 2008 per the state constitution.)

Two Days After Election, DSCC Launches Ad Against McConnell Citing His Praise Of Fletcher

Ouch. This one is going to hurt, courtesy of the DSCC. (Click here for their press release).

No doubt, U.S. Senator McConnell (R) will start tapping his campaign war chest right away to try to stop the bleeding:

By the way, McConnell has a much bigger problem than Fletcher as he moves forward and that is he'll have to defend and promote the Bush Administration all the way through 2008, while Bush doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about how his 2008 agenda will affect the political environment since he doesn't have to help a vice president running for the top spot.

How in the world will McConnell straight face the voters as Bush continues to build towards war in Iran or continues to veto important programs like SCHIP that more than 80% of Americans support -- while McConnell shepards through such idiocy in the Senate?

That will be his Achilles' Heel. Mark my words.

McConnell is not running in a static environment where all he must do is rehabilitate an image based on the past. He'll continue to be under fire for unpopular policies from a president whose job approval rating is down to an unimaginable 24% in at least one poll.

Kentucky Mitch has become Washington Mitch, and based on Bush's own dismal job numbers in Kentucky, McConnell is a very vulnerable man right now, even in his Old Kentucky Home (despite the fact he was born in Alabama). Just remember that Hillary Clinton (D) is currently out-performing McConnell --in Kentucky -- in hypothetical general election match-ups for 2008, and his own job ratings are consistently under 50%.

Not good news for McConnell. Expect him to hit the panic button right away and go on television ASAP.

Another Viewpoint On State School Superintendent Search

I wanted to post a contrarian viewpoint that a reader -- who I personally know is very familiar and experienced with the dynamics of state education (and no fan of Fletcher or the current board) -- just offered concerning yesterday's discussion on the search for a new state school superintendent:

It's not reasonable to expect Beshear to have much influence, given that all 11 Board members were appointed by Fletcher, and they have different concerns than Beshear does. He can talk to them, but they owe him nothing and are not likely to perform as he would want.

Nor can he possibly accomplish much with this Board. Good national searches CAN be done for Kentucky: just look at the superb choice identified by the Jefferson County national search in the last year. But here, no qualified applicant with national stature or ambition would apply to be hired by a completely lame duck Board. So we've got four white guys nearing the end of their careers, none of whom have ever even been superintendent of a district the size of Fayette Co., much less a state with thirty times as many students and major policymaking responsibilities.

Beshear really has only two bad options. Ask this Board to resign so a new process can begin with the obvious political support of a new Administration, or keep his hands away from the exploding bombs.

And while asking the Board to resign is tempting -- and the public at large may expect Beshear to be accountable -- it's completely contrary to the current laws (which are designed to remove the Board from constant and destructive political interference), and it is a dangerous two-edged sword. Fletcher could have asked Patton's Board to resign too. But he resisted that option (which governors in other states have sometimes not done), and he chose not to disturb the legislature's decision to remove the Board from (most) political interference.

Beshear should probably do the same. And just focus on getting the best Board in place that he can, when his appointments are due.

A Victim Of His Own Political Lunacy (Keeling, Herald-Leader)

Larry Dale Keeling has a terrific column in today's Herald-Leader on Governor Fletcher's (R) downfall. I think he's absolutely spot-on and I really encourage you to read the entire piece.

Here's how Keeling sums it up:

All he accomplished with the variety of tactics he employed over the course of the 18-month investigation was to make himself look desperate to keep the truth hidden. And such desperation creates the perception of guilt.

Simply put, the course of actions Fletcher and his advisers came up with in response to the investigation bordered on political lunacy. Through his own ineptitude and that of his staff, he took what should have been a two-week story and turned it into his personal political obituary.

Amen.

This is a textbook tale of what happens when you give Dumb (Fletcher) and Dumber (his advisers) a little bit of political power.

New Radio Asks Fletcher "What Is The Unvarnished Truth About You And The 5th Amendment?"

Working Families for Kentucky has just launched its third radio ad that will be running this week across western Kentucky.

While the first two ads (here and here) focused on ethics and questioned Governor Fletcher's (R) constant implication that he is God's chosen candidate, this ad raising the issue of Fletcher's truthfulness and asks the simply question "Governor, what is the unvarnished truth about you and the 5th Amendment"?

Good stuff.

Download WORKING_FAMILIES_FOR_KENTUCKY_WHAT_IS_THE_TRUTH.mp3

It's Hard To Imagine It Could Get Worse For Kentucky Republicans...But It Has

Okay, I'm even shocked by this one. I honestly, truly believed that things couldn't get worse for Kentucky Republicans. I was wrong, and I'm frankly a little shocked that the Kentucky media hasn't taken notice.

As you know, I've highlighted the dwindling numbers of new Kentucky voters who are registering as Republicans each of the past few months as Secretary of State Trey Grayson's (R) office releases their monthly data. As of last month's figures, new GOP registration had nearly reached an 11-year low. Despite reaching parity with Democrats in mid-2005, new Kentucky voters registering as Republican had fallen to just 36.1% in August 2007.

Well, September's numbers are in and it got worse for Kentucky Republicans. A lot worse.

• Sep 2007 new voter registrations: Democratic 56.2%, Republican 30.7%
• Aug 2007 new voter registrations: Democratic 50.4%, Republican 36.1%
• Jul 2007 new voter registrations: Democratic 49.8%, Republican 36.8%
• Jun 2007 new voter registrations: Democratic 49.3%, Republican 38.5%

That is not a misprint. If these numbers continue, Kentucky Republicans will report the lowest percentage of new voters in all the time that the state has published monthly motor voter data (1995). Never has the disparity between Democrats and Republicans been larger than 17.6% in any year. Last month's disparity was a mind-boggling 25.5% and, for the first nine months of the year, the disparity stands at 14.2% (51.0 to 36.8), and growing, quickly.

It is simply shocking what Governor Fletcher (R), the Kentucky Republican Party, and the national environment has done to frighten new voters away from the Republican Party in what has been considered a "red state." It might be time to re-evaluate that moniker.

Maybe the media ought to pay a little attention to this remarkable development.

McConnell Continues To Write Lit Pieces Against Himself Each Day

Let's add the latest offensive statement to the heap that Senator McConnell (R) has offered us over the past few years:

“It’s obvious he’s not ahead at this point,” McConnell said. “I think the governor can still win this race. He’s done an excellent job.”

Here are other "lit pieces" he's kindly written for us to use against him next year:

“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.”

               

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)

Simply incomprehensible stuff.

State Alcohol Czar Arrested On DUI Charges (AP)

A number of readers have e-mailed me the story (which has now been picked-up nationally), about the arrest of the executive director of Kentucky's Alcoholic Beverage Control, Chris Lilly, on a drunken driving charge this weekend in Jessamine County.

While it's another black mark on the Fletcher Administration, I'm not inclined to bash Lilly. It seems he plans to do the appropriate thing and resign.

According to WLEX-TV (Lexington):

Our cameras caught up with Lilly as he walked out of the Jessamine county jail. When asked by LEX 18 News reporter Chris Lupien if he had any comment, Lilly slammed the passenger door and was driven away in a red Volkswagen Beetle. Later, a spokesperson from the state told LEX 18 News that Lilly had apologized and plans to submit his resignation.

My feeling is that we're human and make mistakes. For me, the larger issue is how we deal with them and whether we own-up to our actions, accept responsibility, and do the right thing in rectifying things -- especially those in the public arena.

Unlike Governor Fletcher (R) who to this date has never accepted any measure of responsibility for his criminality and points the finger at everyone but himself, at least Lilly recognizes staying on as ABC director isn't tenable and he's moving on, not to mention the criminal consequences of his action.

That's enough for me. Thankfully no one was injured and let's hope Lilly learns from his costly mistake. No sense in piling on here.

Bluegrass Freedom Uses Anne Northup (R) In New Ad On Governor Fletcher's (R) Ethics

Bluegrass Freedom Fund has just released a new spot, this time using Anne Northup's (R) own words about Governor Fletcher's (R) ethics.

Thank you, Anne, for speaking the truth this year.

This Will Bite Fletcher In The Ass If He's Lying, Again

Clearly under pressure for suggesting at this week's gubernatorial debate that contributors to his private legal defense fund were doing business with the state, Governor Fletcher (R) made the following statement later in the week:

Fletcher said yesterday after the debate that he never said he had accepted money from anyone with state business and, in fact, had checked a list of donors and found no state contractors on it.

He refused to say, however, if he had accepted contributions from anyone he appointed to a job, board or commission. By law, Fletcher doesn't have to release the names of contributors until after the Nov. 6 election.

While his political career is over, it's hard to imagine that the 54-year-old Fletcher is going to leave the scene and not try some public rehabilitation in the coming years in some capacity short of elective office.

However, if Fletcher has lied to the public during this campaign, and state contractors do show-up on his legal defense fund disclosure that he is required to file at the beginning of 2008, he will have an impossible time shaking-off the effects of such a lie. If he has taken the easy road but denying something that only he knows to be true -- and we won't know until next year since Fletcher has shown the lack of courage and character to come clean and disclose them during his re-election campaign -- I can't imagine the public forgiving him for such a deception, after all he has put them through during his four years.

My prediction: once a liar, always a liar.

Fletcher Approval Rating Drops To 38% In New SurveyUSA Poll

Just like a minor league baseball player that gets called up to the majors for a weekend and then sent back down, Governor Fletcher's (R) experience with a 40% job approval rating was just as fleeting.

Today, SurveyUSA released its monthly polling and it showed Fletcher's job approval had fallen to 38% approval, 58% disapproval.

You may recall that last month's SurveyUSA had Fletcher rating hitting 40% for the first time in their 31 monthly surveys, thanks to a surge among Republican voters. It appears the surge was short-lived and has failed to improve Fletcher's condition. This month saw a five point drop among Republicans in Fletcher's approval.

Seems that Mr. 30 Percent is back for good.

Bluegrass Poll: Only 11% Of KY Voters Say Fletcher Has "Cleaned-Up The Mess In Frankfort"

I could write 1,000 words on just the fascinating cross-tabs of today's Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll, but one statistic stood out for me:

Q. In nearly 4 years as governor, has Ernie Fletcher 'cleaned-up the mess in Frankfort'?

Yes -- 11.3%, No -- 70.6%

Even better is the breakdown by congressional district:

CD1: Yes -- 10.5%, No -- 67.9%
CD2: Yes -- 10.0%, No -- 70.9%
CD3: Yes -- 7.6%, No -- 78.3%
CD4: Yes -- 7.0%, No -- 72.7%
CD5: Yes -- 19.5%, No -- 64.7%
CD6: Yes -- 12.8%, No -- 69.4%

There's your ball game, folks. Nothing more needs to be said about this election...

P.S. -- By the way, only 18.8% of fellow Republicans think Fletcher has cleaned-up the mess versus 59.7% who say he hasn't. Now that's an indictment of the Fletcher administration. Barely 1 in 6 Republicans think he's succeeded. Those are scary numbers.

Voters Don't Forgive Hypocrisy (Leonard, News-Graphic)

Bob Leonard, columnist for the Georgetown News-Graphic, does a terrific job in his most recent column about why the voters have rejected Governor Fletcher's (R) bid for re-election: hypocrisy. 

Leonard offers that voters are a forgiving bunch when politicians make mistakes and seek amends, but they hate hypocrites like Fletcher.

Here's an excerpt:

Voters Don't Forgive Hypocrisy
By Bob Leonard, Georgetown News-Graphic

...Throughout my life, I have found that voters are willing to forgive mistakes made by public figures, especially if they will admit to the mistake and endeavor to make amends. However, I have also found that while we will tolerate honest mistakes, the general public has a virtual zero tolerance policy for hypocrisy. And it sure didn't take long Monday to realize that was exactly what we were hearing from Gov. Fletcher.

[...]

How in the world could anyone whose administration's top officials had been the recipient of 28 indictments, only to be prematurely pardoned by the governor himself, sit there with a straight face and talk about values, especially when he was one of those indicted by a grand jury?

Did Fletcher really think his opponent would sit there and be attacked about his values by a man who took the Fifth Amendment rather than testify before the grand jury? Did he expect his opponent to suffer amnesia and not mention that the governor had entered into a plea deal with the attorney general, in which he accepted responsibility for wrongdoing, to avoid going to trial? Even to my wife, who is much less cynical than I, this tactic reeked of hypocrisy.

In my opinion, this hypocrisy is what will eventually cost him the election. Had he stuck with his original response when illegal actions were discovered, that his administration had made mistakes and they would be corrected, he might very well be leading in the polls today. Instead, primarily based on his actions to hide the truth through pardons and his Fifth Amendment pleading, he finds himself being deserted by some of the Republican Party's most stalwart supporters, such as Steve Nunn and former U.S. Rep. Larry Hopkins. Not to mention literally thousands of democrats who voted for him last election.

Whether he likes it or not, to find the culprit for his fall from grace, all the governor need do is look in the mirror.

Well said.

Fletcher & Crooks Still Argue They Followed Merit System

It's remarkable that after all these years Governor Fletcher (R) and his top officials continue to deny that they ever did anything wrong or, if they did, so did previous administrations. Nevermind that Fletcher ran on the singular theme of doing things differently.

Governor's Job Actions Defended
By PAUL GLASSER, State Journal

Personnel Secretary Brian Crall presented information to the Personnel Board Friday that he says shows the administration of Gov. Ernie Fletcher has complied with the Merit System.

Crall distributed a fact sheet that compared personnel actions under the Fletcher administration to those under four recent Democratic governors, including Wallace Wilkinson, Brereton Jones, Martha Layne Collins and Paul Patton.

The report tabulated all personnel actions, including but not limited to hiring, firing, transfers and promotions, between 2004 and Aug. 1, 2007. Of the 38,500 personnel decisions, Crall said fewer than 30 were considered questionable. That amounted to less than one-tenth of one percent of all personnel actions since Fletcher was elected, Crall said.

"The Fletcher administration compares more favorably in almost every category for any administration of the previous 24 years," he said.

They still don't get it. Maybe the ass-kicking the voters are going to give them in just 50 days will overcome their present pathological denial.

Why Did Alessi Bury The Lede And Then Not Reveal That A Fletcher-Appointee Provided Him Records?

The more I re-read Ryan Alessi's hit piece on Steve Beshear (D), the more questions it raises.

While the entire piece is anchored to an alleged investigation that took place about legal advice Beshear's law firm gave to the Bank of Louisville, it's not until sixth paragraph before you learn that the advice in question wasn't Beshear's:

Beshear, who stepped down as the managing partner of the firm's Lexington office to run for governor, was one of the lead Stites & Harbison attorneys on the Kentucky Central case. But he wasn't the attorney who offered that advice to the Bank of Louisville.

Anyone else troubled by that?

Secondly, focus on the next passage, contained in the seventh and eighth paragraphs:

The investigation into Stites & Harbison, ordered by state regulators and approved by a judge, has never been publicly disclosed. A report containing the investigation's findings or recommendations remains under wraps if it still exists at all.

The investigation's existence was revealed in documents made available by current Kentucky Central liquidator Julie McPeak in response to a request by the Herald-Leader.

Not only is there no evidence of a report, but it is noteworthy that Alessi omits Julie McPeak's formal title -- Executive Director of Governor Fletcher's Office of Insurance -- a position she was appointed to by Fletcher barely a year ago. Click here for the press release of her appointment last year. Got that? She's a post-scandal/post-pardon/post-Steve-Pence-bails-on-Fletcher appointee. In essence, she's a loyal Fletcher soldier and has hitched her wagon to his re-election.

Also, isn't it interesting that the documents Fletcher-appointed-McPeak turns over to Alessi contain reference to an investigation that no one recalls, for which there is no known report, for an issue Beshear wasn't involved in, for which no lawsuit or complaint was ever brought, and for which Alessi can't get anyone on-the-record to corroborate? Though, that didn't stop the Herald-Leader from attaching the sensationalized headline -- "Beshear's law firm was focus of secret scrutiny" -- to the story.

And why didn't Alessi identify McPeak in her formal capacity as a Fletcher-appointee?  Seems like a significant oversight to me, especially considering that Alessi's second sentence raises the issue of how this matter may impact the governor's race.

This might be a perfect example of the old axiom "garbage in, garbage out."

I'll have more to say about this, and other media-related issues, later this evening or tomorrow morning. But I find this very troubling...