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

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

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

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

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

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

Candidate Geoff Davis (R), August 2002:

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

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

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

Shameless hypocritical fraud.

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

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

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

Fletcher 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:

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

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.

Fletcher Becomes Patton

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."

So, aside from helping to force the scary Jon Draud (R) down the throats of Kentuckians as the new state school commissioner, we now see Fletcher's cronies quickly trying to hand out the final racing license before he leaves office -- knowing that such a license probably means a gaming license if expanded gaming is enacted:

The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority could decide before the end of the year whether to grant the state's last racetrack license to Sprint Racing Partners' proposed quarter-horse facility near London.

Authority Executive Director Lisa Underwood said one of its committees is scheduling a hearing for Dec. 10, but she doesn't know whether the application will be on the agenda for the Dec. 17 authority meeting.

...The timing of granting a license also could play a role in whether the track would be eligible for a casino, assuming the legislature places a constitutional amendment allowing gaming on the ballot and voters approve it. Bills to govern the awarding of casinos have limited some of them to tracks licensed by a certain date.

Apparently, it's okay if Fletcher does the very thing he criticized Patton for doing. A shameless hypocrite until the end.

I guess Governor Beshear (D) could always disband the Racing Authority if he so chose -- exactly like Fletcher did -- but that's just my two cents.

Danville Advocate-Messenger's Brock Takes Fletcher to Woodshed

Herb Brock doesn't mince words in his Danville Advocate-Messenger political column when it comes to the phony double-talk and flip-flopping coming from the desperate mouth of the great one-termer, Governor Fletcher (R):

These commercials would be even more effective if we believed our Republican governor is sincere. But that's a difficult conclusion to reach. The reason for the believability problem is the fact that, until just a few months ago when the campaign season started and it was clear his Democratic opponent, Steve Beshear, was going to make casino gambling a big item in his platform, Fletcher said he favored putting the matter on the ballot and letting voters decide if they wanted to legalize casinos.

While Fletcher didn't state whether he would vote for or against casinos if the issue were on the ballot, he certainly never made any statements that would come close to the moral outrage and indignation that mark his current anti-casino campaign.

There's quite a bit of separation from his kind laid-back, laissez-faire original position of letting Kentuckians make the decision whether there is casino gambling to his new hell-fire and brimstone position that has him playing an angry, Ten Commandments-toting Moses atop a mountain and casting verbal stones down on his fellow Jews as they engaged in depravity and debauchery while he was trying to lead them to the promised land.

Is this the same Moses who can't wait to get face time on the first Saturday in May on a national network at the end of the Kentucky Derby so he can promote horse-racing which, oh, by the way, generates millions of dollars in bets on Derby Day alone? Maybe that tablet he's carrying around is a stone version of the Racing Form.

The governor's transition from a mouse to a Moses on the subject of casino gambling clearly is a political conversion - a deathbed conversion given what polls indicate are slim chances his slick advertising campaign will pay off - notwithstanding the fact that Fletcher is an ordained Baptist minister.

Can I get an "amen"?

25 Days To Go And Fletcher Gets More Desperate And Pathetic

I'm not going to spend much time on this because clearly the voters stopped listening to Governor Fletcher (R) long ago, but I wanted to point out just how desperate Fletcher has become -- and how deep in the mud he feels he has to go -- to try to close a 16 to 20 point deficit in barely three weeks.

Here's how Pat Crowley introduced it:

How low can you go

I thought I had seen about everything in a politics, but the Fletcher campaign is hitting a new low in gay bashing...

Check out this release from the Fletcher camp.

Amazingly, even far-right bloggers like David Adams are calling Fletcher's effort "sad."

This from a man who not only took money from disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), but who also had Foley co-host a fundraiser during his 2003 gubernatorial race.

What a sad and shameful way for Fletcher to leave office. Jesus would be proud.

UPDATE (2:29 PM): The Courier-Journal's Joe Gerth adds his incredulous take:

You gotta be kidding me
The Fletcher Campaign sent out a press release last night critical of Steve Beshear for accepting money from a gay activist and allowing him to claim his gay partner as his spouse on the registry of election finance report.

And it alleges that when Beshear signed the report, he violated the state constitution.

...That's crazy. Not a bit of truth to it.

Fact is the constitutional amendment deals with government action -- the state can't recognize a gay marriage or a substitute thereof -- but it doesn't prohibit you, me, or employers who want to give benefits to partners of gay employees from acknowledging that two people of the same sex are in a committed relationship.

Casinos didn't work. Early polling suggests that Kentucky Central didn't help. Any thoughts if gay-bashing of this nature will catch on?

The Rank Hypocrisy Of Stan Lee, The Republicans' Fanatical Nominee For Attorney General

Hypocrisy doesn't get much worse than this.

We all know how State Rep. Stan Lee (R) -- the Republicans' frighteningly fanatical nominee for attorney general -- is one of the biggest public backers of fetal homicide legislation in the legislature, which passed legislation a few years ago that allows the state to charge an individual with a separate crime for terminating a fetus during the commission of an act that injures or kills a pregnant woman. (In fact, this is one issue where I actually agree with Lee, since I view the abortion debate as being an issue of the woman's choice, not someone else's killing of her fetus).

But what's so shameful is how Lee can't seem to practice what he preaches.

I'm sure most of you remember the tragic accident in a Lexington parking garage in 2006 when a concrete panel fell on top of Stephanie Hufnagel, killing her and her eight-month old fetus, Sydney. Later that year, a lawsuit was filed by Hufnagel's spouse, Brian, for damages. Among them was a claim for damages involving the "loss of his minor unborn child."

Well, it turns out that Lee is the lawyer for the insurance company of one of the defendants, and is now fighting tooth-and-nail that Mr. Hufnagel should not be able to recover damages for the loss of the unborn fetus.

How convenient, isn't that?

So much for Lee's principled rhetoric. Apparently they're disposable principles when they conflict with his ability to earn more income representing insurance companies trying to deny appropriate compensation for injuries.

Shame, shame, shame.

More Mindboggling Fletcher Hypocrisy

Another day, another discovery of more incredible shameless hypocrisy from our desperate Governor Fletcher (R) on his manufactured anti-gaming position.

Fletcher continues to allege that if Steve Beshear (D) is elected Governor we will see endless casino money flowing into the state. But as we learned a few months ago, Fletcher had no problems taking tens of thousands of dollars from those entities for himself and his party since he's been governor.

But it gets better. Much better.

As we also know, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) has spent several hundred thousand dollars in television ads in Kentucky unsuccessfully trying to prop-up Fletcher over the past few months. Well, I just took the time to review their last two campaign finance reports (filed in January and July 2007) and guess which entities contributed a total of $507,225 towards the RGA's efforts in the past year?

See for yourself (click image for larger version):

Funny, but I don't recall Fletcher ever objecting to casino-funded ads backing his re-election bid. Do you? What a pathetic and shameless man.

And don't forget that Fletcher's own media consultant -- Fred Davis -- is doing the RGA's independent ads in the Louisiana governor's race, as legally questionable as that is.

Click here and here to see the full reports.

Part 2 On The Failure Of The Kentucky Media

In follow-up to my post this morning about the abysmal coverage of the governor's race by Kentucky's media, I wanted to add one item about the Republican mouthpiece also known as the Paducah Sun (thanks to a reader's comment that jogged my memory).

While I usually reserve my criticism of the Paducah Sun's to the lunacy of its editorial board, and not reporters like Bill Bartleman who I generally like and respect, I was rather offended by Bartleman's Sunday column where he offered this disturbing nugget:

The investigation appeared politically motivated since it was run by Attorney General Greg Stumbo, a politically ambitious Democrat. Stumbo never turned up a smoking gun of major corruption but found hiring law violations that were the equivalent of indicting someone for doing 10 mph over the speed limit on an interstate.

Aside from the offensive characterization by Bartleman of the three political corruption charges brought by a grand jury against Fletcher, I was even more offended by Bartleman's own hypocritical double-talk concerning gubernatorial corruption.

Here's what Bartleman wrote four years ago when assessing then Governor Patton's (D) legal troubles and the pardoning of his aides:

Now, even hard-nosed Democrats acknowledge that Patton has been an embarrassment to the state because of questions about his ethical and moral integrity, his arrogance and indications he abused the powers of his office.

...Patton said the pardons were deserved because they were "honest, honorable men who would not knowingly violate the law" and that they had endured enough suffering. He believes a jury would have found them not guilty.

I'm sure there are hundreds of people charged with crimes in Kentucky who feel they are "honest and honorable," that they did not knowingly violate the law, and that they have endured enough suffering. I hope Patton isn't considering granting them pardons.

...Larry Forgy, who lost to Patton in 1995, offered a suggestion as to why Patton took the unusual step of issuing pardons, especially for Martin, his chief of staff.

"I predicted that he would do this because Skipper knows so much on him that he (Patton) either had to pardon him or drown him," Forgy told The Courier-Journal in Louisville. "You don't pardon innocent men."

Forgy makes a good point. Martin, Patton's chief political sidekick for 10 years, knows more about Patton and his administration than anyone else. Martin has the key to the skeleton closet.

That's quite a change of heart, isn't it?

But maybe even more offensive has been the shameless flip-flops by the Paducah Sun's editorial page.

While they are pom-pom wearing Fletcher cheerleaders today, and heave steady doses of vitriol on Attorney General Stumbo (D) for having the audacity of bringing charges against the governor, here's what they said in 2003 concerning Patton's legal problems:

Then the governor intervened and, exercising the broad pardon powers of his office, short-circuited the judicial process. By issuing pardons before the case even came to trial, Patton prevented a jury — and, in effect, the people of the commonwealth — from judging whether the law was deeply flawed and whether Martin, Ross, Fields and Winstead undermined the integrity of the election.

...But the law still stands, and the governor should respect it, even if he disagrees with it. By pardoning the four men before they were brought to trial, Patton has further undermined public respect for the rule of law.

...As the Democratic nominee in the governor's race, Chandler may have had political motivations for pursuing the case against the scandal-scarred governor's aides. But the law is the law, and Patton, ironically, has been one of its strongest defenders.

...The pardons appear to serve Patton's personal legal interests — not principles of importance to all Kentuckians. Forgy reflected the pervasive cynicism surrounding the Patton administration when he told the Courier-Journal, "I predicted he would do this (pardon Martin and the other indicted officials) because Skipper knows so much on him that he either had to pardon him or drown him."

It doesn't get much more offensive than this.

Can you believe they even argued in 2003 that "the law is the law"?

Delusion Sets In For The Fletcher Criminals

The sense of desperation and delusion coming from the Fletcher peons is getting amusing. Here's what the man who topped the list of unindicted co-conspirators -- Chief of Staff Stan Cave -- had to say in today's State Journal story:

Although several polls show Beshear with a significant lead over Fletcher, Cave said the dark days are over. Cave blamed the adversity the governor has faced on political enemies who are opposed to change and fomented "political shenanigans."

"We feel the excitement building," Cave said. "We need to finish what we started and change the state for the better for the foreseeable future."

And then Cave reveals his true idiocy:

Cave suggested Beshear's role in the collapse of Kentucky Central Life Insurance could provide additional ammunition for the campaign. Beshear's law firm represented both the company during bankruptcy protection hearings in 1993 and a Louisville bank that was involved in the settlement, raising allegations of a conflict of interest.

"If I had that kind of baggage I wouldn't run for governor," Cave said.

"That kind of baggage"? From the man who counseled one of the more corrupt governors in Kentucky history, who pardoned his entire administration, took the 5th Amendment, appointed campaign contributors to the Supreme Court to hear his own case, and then signed a document acknowledging wrongdoing. Astounding.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing the state are now trying to block to release of the Kentucky Central report that Fletcer/Cave tout as evidence of something (we don't really know what they're alleging because their attacks no longer make any sense).

Noteworthy is that Cave said this at a Franklin County Republican Party gathering and this is what he heard in return...from his own peeps:

Campaign volunteer Brenda Rice said polls indicate the message is not connecting with voters. After talking with campaign staffers, she said they promised to attack Beshear on other issues.

[...]

Despite the adversity, Cave said Fletcher is a man of integrity. However, Ida Palmer-Ball said she was offended by a piece of campaign literature that included a digitally altered photo of Beshear. Beshear's head appeared on the body of a Las Vegas gambler holding an alcoholic beverage.

"I was ashamed to be a Republican," Palmer-Ball said.

Cave said the photo was produced by the Republican Party of Kentucky and was intended to be funny.

Even stalwart Republicans aren't buying what Fletcher and Cave are trying to sell.

And how pathetic is it that after four years in office they don't have a record to run on and are asking how to "attack Beshear on other issues" as discussed in the story? They've got nothing left other than smears. Nothing.

What a bunch of delusional fools.

Good riddance to them and their criminality.

P.S. -- For old times' sake, click jump-link below...

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.

Herald-Leader Hit Piece On Beshear

If you haven't noticed, today's Herald-Leader has a story on Steve Beshear's (D) lawfirm's (Stites & Harbison) involvement in the Kentucky Central Life Insurance case that can only be described as a hit piece.

Let me make four quick points about Ryan Alessi's story.

1. The story dealt with actions that at worst would have constituted professional negligence by a lawfirm which could have resulted in a lawsuit. Of course, no lawsuit was filed.

Contrast that with the rampant criminality of the Fletcher administration in the conduct of their official duties which resulted in dozens of criminal indictments (including Governor Fletcher), blanket pardons and the governor refusing to testify before the grand jury and invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

2. Despite the fact that Alessi raises the matter in the context of the governor's race, nowhere is it disclosed that the main defendants at the center of the collapse -- the Webbs -- have given Fletcher-Rudolph thousands of dollars in contributions during this cycle.

3. The story also fails to mention one other important fact. The firm that succeeded Stites in handling the Kentucky Central matter -- Frost & Jacobs (later Frost Brown Todd) -- was ordered by a judge in 2000 "to pay the Webbs $500,000 because of inadequate legal representation and poor case preparation." No such finding was ever made against Stites. The story also doesn't mention that a separate legal investigation of Stites was conducted and that their findings did not result in either a law suit or legal actions against the firm. Odd that was left out.

Also, we know that Fletcher's own attorney is Sheryl Snyder, one of the top partners at Frost Brown Todd. Why is that relevant? Well, if Kentucky Central is going to be raised in the context of this race, let's be sure that all the connections to this case and the two candidates are disclosed, and not cherry-pick aspects of it.

4. The most salient point is the night-and-day difference between how Beshear has reacted to questions about his firm's handling of Kentucky Central and Fletcher's handling of the Merit System scandal.

Beshear wants everything out in the open. Fletcher wants no such thing.

Last week, when asked by the media whether he would agree to would allow records under seal to be released, Beshear said:

Beshear said unsealing some of those records is up to the courts but added that he didn't have a problem with it.

"There's nothing in there that would be a surprise to anybody," he said.

And that was reiterated in today's story:

When asked whether Beshear would favor the report's release, spokeswoman Vicki Glass said Beshear believes "anything in the Kentucky Central Life case can be made public."

"Steve Beshear conducted himself in an ethical manner in the Kentucky Central Life case and in every other case since becoming an attorney," Glass said. "Ernie Fletcher, on the other hand, was indicted by a grand jury, pleaded the Fifth amendment, pardoned his political cronies and entered into a plea bargain so that he would never have to testify about his unethical and illegal violations of state hiring laws."

Compare those responses to pretty much every facet of the Merit System investigation when Fletcher invoked the 5th Amendment, fought to keep law firm billing records from being released, tried to disband the grand jury, then tried to keep the grand jury's report from becoming public, refuses to come clean on the corporations and state vendors which have contributed to his private legal defense fund, packed the courts with cronies and contributors who might hear his criminal case, appointed his own county contacts and contributions to sit on the ethics panel to review the ethics complaint against him, not to mention the countless records and e-mails that Fletcher refused to return over to the grand jury, and of course the whole phony "unvarnished truth" pledge.

Let us all hope and pray that our incompetent governor now tries to make ethics a central issue in this case. Pretty please. If he does, the current 18-20 point deficit in the polls are going to seem like the good ol days for Fletcher & Crooks.

Even More Fletcher Dishonesty In Pushing His Anti-Gaming Theme

It's so sad that Governor Fletcher (R) continues to be so dishonest with Kentucky voters on his hypocritical anti-gaming message -- that appears to be having no impact on this race.

A new example has just popped-up. In his fourth television ad on the subject, Fletcher trots out the sad story of a man named Mark Andrews who is able to talk about the problems casinos have brought Missouri. Fletcher describes Andrews as "a retired business owner from St. Louis."

Sadly -- but unfortunately typical of Fletcher -- what he doesn't tell the voters is what Mark Andrews currently does for a living.

A quick Google search reveals that Andrews is the chairman of a group called Casino Watch which describes itself as:

We are a single-issue, volunteer-driven organization, opposing the expansion of gambling since 1993.

Here's Andrews own bio on his Casino Watch site:

Apparently, Fletcher would rather mislead the voters and call Andrews a retired business owner and not tell the truth that Andrews is the chairman of an anti-gaming organization. But then that would require Fletcher to care about things like the truth, which we've sadly learned isn't something that concerns our ordained-minister-turned-politician.

Fletcher = Fraud.

(Thanks to a reader for this tip).

Update (12:53 pm): Just noticed that according to Andrews own bio he was an "executive of a manufacturing corporation" while Fletcher tries to pass him off in the ad as a "business owner." Was this just another shameless Fletcher lie?

Surprise, Surprise: Main Defendants At Center Of Kentucky Central Life Collapse Are Fletcher-Rudolph Donors...

Allow me to leave this insanity as my weekend piece.

It is amazing just how many significant episodes of shameless hypocrisy by Governor Fletcher (R) become apparent with just some basic research and excellent tips from readers.

So, how about another mind-numbing example?

You sitting down?

Now that the single-minded focus on expanded gaming has shown no benefit to Fletcher in the polls, he's getting ready for another shameful smear attack on Steve Beshear (D): namely the fact that Beshear's law firm, Stites & Harbison, received millions of dollars in legal fees during its decade-long involvement in the collapse of Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company.

Apparently so offended is the Fletcher camp that Beshear's law firm made so much money in legal fees that it recently said:

"The collapse of Kentucky Central had an impact on a lot of folks in Kentucky. And we've heard from people who are still upset about the collapse that cost them their life savings," said Marty Ryall, manager of Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's re-election campaign. "Whatever role he had to play in that is something that voters would be interested in hearing about."

What so shameless about this allegation -- and let's hope the media is reading -- is that at the core of the Kentucky Central's (KCL) collapse were $143 million in bad loans made to three individuals: Donald W. Webb, Julie Webb, and R. Dudley Webb.

These three individuals were eventually sued for a combined $108 million in connection with the loans made to them by Kentucky Central (which constituted a staggering 32% of KCL's entire portfolio), eventually paying a settlement in 2005 of $3.85 million to the estate of KCL (Donald and Julie paid $2.85 million, while Dudley paid $1 million) to end the case against them.

So why are the Webbs relevant to Fletcher or Beshear?

Well, check out their 2006 and 2007 campaign contributions:

• Donald Webb -- $1,000 -- Ernie Fletcher for Governor (6-30-2006)
• R. Webb -- $1,000 -- Ernie Fletcher for Governor (7-3-2006)
• Julie Webb -- $1,000 -- Ernie Fletcher for Governor (3-28-2007)

Question: If Fletcher is going to make the collapse of Kentucky Central Life a prominent part of this race, which do you think is more egregious: that Beshear's law firm was appointed by the state to represent the estate of KLC and was paid for their services...or...that Fletcher took campaign contributions from the main defendants in KLC's collapse and who eventually paid millions to settle the action?

Once again, it sure seems that Fletcher comes out the stooge. Doesn't it?

Let's please pray that media takes note of this insanity before they continue re-printing Fletcher's talking points on the collapse of Kentucky Central.

UPDATE (8:31 PM): I'm getting a lot of e-mail on this topic this evening. Please keep them coming. They're all treated with complete confidence.

One reader noted:

Fletcher appointed Executive Director of the Office of Insurance, R. Glenn Jennings, that was the Ky Central Liquidator who signed off on the final settlement.

More Fletcher hypocrisy. Shameless.

More High Ranking GOP Outings On The Way?

Get ready folks. It looks like it's going to get ugly real soon and Republicans can thank Larry Craig and Mark Foley for making such inquiries fully relevant given the rank hypocrisy of the GOP agenda as the self-titled protectors of family values and their never-ending crusade against gay Americans.

Click here.

The chickens are coming home to roost...

The Man With Nothing Positive To Say

The most remarkable thing about this gubernatorial race has been how the Fletcher-Rudolph campaign has only offered attacks on Steve Beshear (D) and the singular theme of opposition to expanded gaming...and nothing else. Nothing positive. No issues. No discussion of their abysmal record. Nada.

Sadly, this desperate campaign -- and its equally desperate national party -- have launched another smear on Beshear, again doctoring photos to try to convince voters of their lies. (BlueGrassRoots has the scoop).

But what's so audacious about Fletcher's current desperate tactics is the 180 they've done since the primary when they blasted Anne Northup (R) for only attacking and not offering any substance -- just like they are doing now.

Here's a look back at the two-faced lectures from these crooks:

January 19:

Fletcher's campaign manager denied the allegations and said they set a dire mood for an election the campaign hoped would focus on ideas.

They are "unfounded," Marty Ryall said. "It would be nice if we could hear what her plans for the future are, what her vision for the future is."

"She's been in the race only 24 hours and already has the sound of a desperate candidate," he said.

March 5:

"Ann Northup has been on a negative rampage against Gov. Fletcher since entering this race," Ryall said in an e-mail. "She has no ideas or agenda other than to tear down our first Republican governor in 32 years.

March 12:

'The voters deserve better than what they're getting out of the Northup campaign,' Ryall said. 'All we've seen from them is attacks.'

March 23:

In response to questions today, he told reporters he wouldn't get involved in "the politics of destruction" and said "I'm not going to comment on my opponent".

You can almost smell the desperation, can't you?

Bad Boys

A quick look at the numerous Republican sex scandals in just the past few years.

Courtesy of the DCCC:

The GOP's Family Values In Full Display

Markos is so right:

Nice contrast between Larry Craig and David Vitter, huh? One has sex with men, and the GOP goes apoplectic. The other has sex with female prostitutes, and that's fine. Republicans didn't line up to demand his resignation, did they?

Case in point.

UPDATE (12:05 pm): Senate 2008 Guru has a great summary of the Republicans scandals of late, noting that the GOP is averaging about 1 new scandalous incident every week so far in 2007.

Also, CNN is reporting that Craig may resign as soon as today.

UPDATE #2 (12:20 pm): Good Lord, more.

IN MEMORIAM: The 2nd Anniversary Of Governor Fletcher's (R) Desecration Of The Rule Of Law -- His Blanket Pardons (August 29, 2005)

While I've not seen any media stories about this so far, today is a very tragic anniversary. Two years ago this evening, Governor Fletcher (R) broke his solemn promise to the voters of Kentucky and railroaded an investigation into criminality at the highest levels of his administration by pre-emptively issuing a blanket pardon to his entire administration, as well as anyone else who may have been involved in the Merit System conspiracy, for which he was subsequently indicted.

Most agree this act was the beginning of the end of his administration as he went against every principle that he and Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) ran on during the 2003 campaign. Back then, after Governor Paul Patton (D) pardoned members of his own staff who were under indictment for political corruption-related charges, Pence famously boasted, "Things like that are not going to happen in a Fletcher-Pence administration."

Sadly, and shamefully, they did much worse.

This afternoon, I want to focus on this fateful anniversary and shine a little light on Fletcher's hypocritical statements and actions (which are ongoing as he tries to overcome a 20-point deficit with 10 weeks until the election).

Let me beginning by debunking one of the outrageous frauds that Fletcher's remaining backers (i.e., Larry Forgy, Brett Hall and Brian Goettl) try very hard to perpetuate: that the merit investigation and the tanking of public opinion was simply an effort by the liberal editorial boards of the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader (along with help from Democrats like Attorney General Greg Stumbo) to take down Fletcher.

Sadly, these remaining defenders of the most incompetent and corrupt governors in recent Kentucky history are audaciously lying.

To show how dishonest they are, my posts today will not reference one editorial, op-ed, or story written by either the C-J or H-L, nor will I quote even one Democrat.

So, with that understanding, let me begin today's look back at one of the most shameless and cowardly acts that a governor could do to the public: the cover-up of crimes committed by him and his top officials.

This first post highlights the media reaction to Fletcher's pardons from the various newspapers across the state -- except for the top two:

SEE JUMP-PAGE BELOW

Craig: "I am not gay. I have never been gay" -- The Party of Family Values Strikes Again

Good Lord. It only gets worse for U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID). Just like a good Republican, he blames everyone but himself, see today's press conference below.

Sadly, his main venom was directed at the Idaho Statesman newspaper and points out today's story as evidence. It's their fault. However, Craig's public perversion happened two months. He pled guilty three weeks ago, and it was Roll Call which broke the story of the arrest yesterday, not the Statesman. Their story ran after all this came to light.

Of course, being the shameless hypocrite that he is, check out what he said about President Clinton's (D) behavior in 1999. Seems that Craig is every bit the naughty, nasty boy that he accused Clinton of being.

But let us not forget that Craig is a card-carrying member of the Party of Family Values whose membership includes serial deviants, criminals and crooks: Larry Craig. Mark Foley. David Vitter. Ted Stevens. Ted Haggard. Duke Cunningham. Jack Abramoff. Bob Ney. Tom DeLay. Scooter Libby. Ernie Fletcher.

Hypocritical scum. All of them.

I did enjoy the Idaho Stateman's editorial today which demanded that Craig come clean to Idahoans.

Finally, Senator McConnell (R) and his leadership team issued the following statement today:

“Late yesterday we became aware of the incident involving Senator Larry Craig and his subsequent admission of guilt in a Minnesota court. This is a serious matter. Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Senator Craig’s incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review. In the meantime, Leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required.”

More On The Arrest Of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) For Lewd Conduct

The arrest of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) as described earlier is pretty lurid. Roll Call has the entire story (which was passed along to me) but it is subscription-only so I'm unable to link. It's a lengthy story, but here's an excerpt:

According to the incident report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men's public restroom in which Craig was arrested.

Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men's restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see "an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall."

The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

"I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, 'fidget' with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes," the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia's and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

"My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall," Karsnia stated in his report. "From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me."

Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

"At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area," the report states.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that "I could ... see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider."

Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.

Don't see how he survives this one with his Idaho constituents, particularly given his staunchly anti-gay voting record. Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, David Vitter and now Larry Craig. What a sick bunch of hypocrites.

While Craig is trying to deny the allegations right now, he's already pled guilty to the charge.

UPDATE (7:20 PM): For some local Idaho coverage of the latest hypocrite pervert Republican, click here and here.  Apparently, the Idaho Statesman has a big story later this evening following their "extensive investigation" of the incident, as one of their reporters just told CNN.

UPDATE #2 (7:58 PM): Now this video from 1982 is making the rounds (click here). Seems this isn't the first time Craig has denied illegal sexual activity. Nearly 25 years ago to the date, but this time he pled guilty. This guy is toast. Good riddance.

Yes Kentucky, You Were Punk'd (Part 3)

Here's the third installment of the "What were we thinking?" election of Governor Fletcher (R) in 2003.

This time, I bring you a little diddy from the Republican Governors' Association which spent about $2 million on Fletcher's behalf in attack ads. This one tries to scare Kentucky voters into believing that Ben Chandler (D) would disgrace the state with unethical behavior, even worse than that of Governor Patton (D) since apparently he took "money from Patton's own defense lawyer" [he didn't]. Of course, that was Sheryl Snyder, now one of Fletcher's best buddies, and it was Fletcher who disgraced us with his unethical and illegal conduct.

Frankly, if you substitute "Fletcher" for "Chandler" in this ad, you could pretty much run it as is against Fletcher. So shameful.

Again, please distribute this video far and wide so that we can remind the voters how big of a fraud Fletcher turned out to be...