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).

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...

Fletcher Tries To Weasel His Way Out Of Those Pesky Pro-Amnesty Votes He Cast In 2002

It's one thing for Governor Fletcher (R) to constantly flip-flop on issues, but he should at least have the courage of admitting it when he does so.

Case in point: Recall yesterday's latest shameless Fletcher flip-flop where Fletcher's desperation now has him jumping on the illegal immigration bandwagon, despite his 2002 support of amnesty for some illegal immigrants. Instead of acknowledging that his position has changed, Fletcher instead sends out his mouthpiece to simply lie to the voters on his behalf and claim he didn't vote for amnesty.

Unfortunately for Fletcher, this thingee called the Internet allows us to look at what really happened -- not simply accept his dishonest spin. You see, there are a number of organizations that track immigration-related legislation in Congress and how members of Congress vote on the issue. Here's one of the many that tracked then Congressman Fletcher's immigration positions and votes.

And here's an image from the site on Fletcher and his amnesty votes:

Governor, why must you lie all the time? Don't you know that the voters don't like lying hypocrites?

How Does Fletcher Keep Track Of All His Shameless Flip-Flops?

Ernie Fletcher Version 2007 is such a joke. If he's not blatantly and pathetically flip-flopping on issues like expanded gaming or whether universities should be allowed to provide domestic partner benefits, he takes yet another hard-right flip-flop -- this time on immigration.

Today, our good governor went nuts on some illegal immigration issue that the City of Lexington is dealing with. But the interesting thing is how Fletcher voted on issues of illegal immigration in Congress as recently as 2002.

Thanks to a find by conservative blogger Steve Manning, turns out that Fletcher supported (and voted for) legislation that would have provided real amnesty for some illegal aliens. I'm dead serious. It was legislation that was opposed by both Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) and Rep. Ron Lewis (R).

Here's part of what Manning reported:

Governor Wasn't Tough On Illegals In 2002
Rep. Ernie Fletcher voted on the floor of the House IN FAVOR OF a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1885, a four-month extension of Section 245(i), which is a de facto amnesty in that current federal policy did not deport illegal aliens once they applied for Section 245(i) and allowed them to remain in the U.S. for years until they were allowed to become official immigrants...

In fact, at the time, one of the leading conservative groups -- Eagle Forum -- blasted the legislation:

On Tuesday, March 12, the House of Representatives will vote on the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act (H.R. 1885). While this bill contains important border security measures, it includes an extension of Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which permits illegal aliens to remain in the United States. Because the bill is being brought to the floor under suspension of the rules, there will be no opportunity for amendment. Therefore, the entire bill should be rejected.

After the legislation passed the House, with Fletcher's support, Eagle Forum declared:

MARCH 12, 2002: House passes H.R. 1885 by 275 to 137.
11 million illegal aliens are in the U.S. It is wrong, un-American, and unjust to amnesty them ahead of all the people who are waiting in line for legal admission. In the most important vote of the 107th Congress, only 137 Members were willing to Stand Up for America and the Rule of Law.

Fletcher 2002 is a very different man than Fletcher 2007, now that he's headed for an embarrassing landslide defeat after just one miserable term as governor.

Desperation has quite a hold over him, doesn't it?

UPDATE (5:55 PM): The Beshear camp apparently also has a problem with Fletcher's policy re-invention. Here's a portion of their response to the latest flip-flop:

The need for the Mayor of Lexington to form a commission advising him and city officials of how to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants in his city underscores the importance of why we need a national response to address the issue of illegal immigration.

Those, like Ernie Fletcher, who served in Congress for years and did not provide a solution to the problem have no business preaching reform. In fact, as a Congressman, Ernie Fletcher voted for legislation that would have provided amnesty for some illegal aliens. We need the federal government to address these issues and stop dumping the burden on states or, in this case, our cities. 

Nice work, Steve Manning.

Is McConnell Losing Control of His Caucus?

Is this the beginning of a break in Republican unity under Senator McConnell's (R) leadership?

...a few Republican Senators are considering breaking ranks with their leadership and supporting Jim Webb's troop-readiness bill, which would give troops as much time off as they spend in the war -- a measure that would slow the war down in a big way.

The source tells us that three Republicans who voted against the measure last time are now considering backing it: Senators George Voinovich, Lisa Murkowski, and Elizabeth Dole. This is significant, cause it could push the number of total "yeas" towards the magic filibuster-proof number of 60. Last time it got 56 yes votes, with seven Republicans backing it. More defections could be key, though the President would still veto the bill.

The story has an update from the New York Times which believes that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) might be joining the group as well, and let's not overlook the fact that Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) is now back in the Senate and voting, allowing Dems to inch closer to those 60 votes...

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.

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.)

Why Did KY Dept of Revenue Illegally Use Prison Labor To Process State Income Tax Returns?

In 1998, the General Assembly amended KRS 131.191, specifically prohibiting the Kentucky Department of Revenue from using prison labor for processing taxpayer information.

So why did that department -- then managed by current Kentucky Republican Party Executive Director Marian Davis -- allow prison labor to process tens of thousands of state income tax returns earlier this year, which apparently resulted in an unmitigated disaster.

This tip came to me in June by way of two Frankfort insiders.

The first tip came by e-mail from an excellent inside source in early June 2007:

Heard a rumor today that the revenue department is using prisoners to process state income tax info. This decision was made supposedly by XXXXXX. And apparently everyone's taxes have been screwed up (triple processing, no processing, notices sent about unpaid taxes for taxes paid, unpaid taxes ignored). And we're also paying a company to store the tax info on servers in California, which goes against consolidating IT functions with COT to cut costs. Apparently XXXXXX made a deal with a vendor to use the prison labor and store the info in another state.

I wonder if the people would be happy to hear that convicts are reading the info on their tax forms.

I got this from a good friend at revenue who was talking about how many problems they've had with the returns. Another friend noticed that the spring rush of temps at perimeter park (where they've always processed forms) was nonexistent.

...I can't image this decision would go over well with tax payers, if they knew.

The second tip came from another excellent source, who also posted it as a comment around the same time:

Here is an interested tidbit from the hallowed halls of the annex. The Department of Revenue is so far behind in processing returns that the company they contracted with to do this is sub-contracting with prisoners to assist with it. That's RIGHT!!!! Sub-contracted prisoners are looking at our income tax information including social security numbers. I wonder if Ernie or Rudy came up with this idea??? The Director in charge of processing was fired last week as well. In what has become standard operating procedure for this administration, someone had to take the fall instead of simply fixing the problem.

Posted by: DisgustedNKY1 | Saturday, June 02, 2007 at 02:08 PM

By way of follow-up, DisgustedNKY tells me that:

I understand there are 40,000+ returns LOST. That number is as high as 200,000 depending on the DOR source.  There is also an Hal Rogers connection to these companies.  Can't think of the names now, but I understood they contracted with a London company to process "refund" returns and that company subcontracted with a Manchester company that used the prisoner labor.  FYI, returns with payments are processed by DOR here in Frankfort simply to get the money in the bank ASAP so the returns in question are refunds.  Obvious confidentiality concerns.

Your source is correct re: no seasonals were hired this year to process returns.  They usually have 100+ seasonals at Perimeter Park to open mail / process.  Also, EVERYBODY in Revenue used to take a 2-day tour of duty to open mail....it was tradition and a necessity.

I heard the state auditor has gotten so many complaints re: not receiving refunds that Luallen sent auditors in last Monday to see what was going on....no word yet on findings.  Any refunds not out by June 30 are due interest as well.

I understand the press is aware of all the above but for some reason has not gone public.

Sources tell me that Marian Davis (a Robbie Rudolph crony, of course), and her six-figure salary, was quickly jettisoned to the state Republican Party after the May primary and named executive director, just as the roof was caving-in on her management of Revenue.

I encourage any state employees who would like to pass along any confidential information about this to me at mark@bluegrassreport.org.

As always, all communications -- particularly with state employees -- are treated with total privacy and confidentiality and nothing published without your express permission. Now is the time to speak-up if you know of wrongdoing so that we can expose can it ASAP.

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?

Special Session Insanity

I think we all fully realize what is motivating Governor Fletcher (R) to call a special session of legislature -- it's the fact the polls have him down by as much as 25 points in his hopes for re-election which is less than five months away. Fletcher realizes that there are few options to try to reverse the tide of the pending Democratic tsunami that is poised to sweep him and his party out of office.

There's no legislative sessions left and Senate President David Williams (R) killed the very legislation (energy-related) in the last session that Fletcher now believes is so important that we must call our legislators back in session to deal with. It's all such a transparent farce and I can't wait to see these political incompetents voted out of office.

To give you a sense of the desperation, check out what Fletcher-supporters believe is so enormous, so crucial, that it can't wait until the regular session begins in six months:

Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, who helped explain the new bill at the meetings Friday and yesterday, said it would provide up to $315 million in incentives over 25 years for a $3 billion investment in a plant that would produce 300 barrels of liquid fuel from coal per day. 

300 barrels a day? Seriously? This is why they want to ramrod a special session?

At the current price of $68 per barrel, we're talking about $20,000 per day in gross revenue. Period. In contrast, the average supermarket of a large chain generates about $40,000 in revenue per day, or double what the proposed $3 billion plant (with $315 million of our tax dollars) will generate when it's up and running.

Investments in new generation energy plants makes sense, but only after some thoughtful debate and analysis. Instead, they want to spend $315 million in a special session without meaningful debate, public input and scant disclosure as to which companies the state is going to subsidize (and whether they too have contributed to Fletcher's legal defense fund). Sounds a lot like Williams' scheme to gut and privatize the state pension system in a matter of days with little warning or debate, costing us hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.

Let's hope House Democrats hold the line on this insanity.

Update (10:56 am): Turns out that the Courier-Journal made an error on the output of the proposed plant -- It's expected to generate 30,000 barrels a day, not 300. The Herald-Leader had a story last week about this project.

While 30,000 barrels is a significant quantity, it doesn't override the need to have a thoughtful debate on this issue, not just whether we want to spend $300+ million of taxpayer money (and who is slated to get it) but whether this is the direction the state wants to go. There is no need for a special session to happen less than four months from an election, especially given that this isn't a budget year in the first place.

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R) Tops All 535 Members of Congess In Payday Industry Contributions

Here's another reason why Republicans are going to have an impossible time using gubernatorial nominee Steve Beshear's (D) lobbying for the payday lending industry in the 1990s against him: U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R) leads all members of the U.S. House and Senate in the last election cycle in taking contributions from the industry.

In a comprehensive report recently done by MAPLight.org, Davis is listed in first-place among 435 House members and 100 Senators when it came to money from payday lenders (see page 9). In return for that support, you'll recall Davis' secret effort last year to fight a cap on payday loans to military personnel, at least until journalist John Cheves exposed Davis' effort in a front-page Herald-Leader story. While we knew then that Davis had received a good deal of payday contributions, little did we realize that he was 1st of 535.

Congrats to Geoff Davis for being the payday loan industry's BFF (best friends forever).

What's McConnell Hiding?

Remember a few months ago the controversy we discussed concerning the secret hold that a Republican senator had placed on legislation that would have mandated electronic campaign finance filings for Senate candidates and incumbents, just as is law for all House members, House candidates, 527 groups and PACs?

Well, opponents have now stepped-up their pressure on Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R) to reveal which member of his caucus is preventing the legislation from proceeding to a vote. They purchased prominent billboard space in Louisville and have just launched the website WhatsMcConnellHiding.com.

Check it out.

State Rep. J.R. Gray (D) Calls Out Governor Fletcher (R) On His Domestic Partner Benefits Whining

We all have seen how rank political expediency has trumped sound governing once again for Governor Fletcher (R) on the issue of universities allowing its faculty and staff to purchase domestic partner benefits. Fletcher continues to threaten to call the General Assembly into special session this summer to micromanage the university boards' decisions, and legislate more discrimination and hate, by barring such benefits.

Well, yesterday State Rep. J.R. Gray (D) called-out Fletcher on his huffing and puffing on this subject and proposed a better way for Fletcher to handle the matter, if he really cares about the issue, rather than simply trying to score political points to bolster his re-election campaign, which is presently on life-support:

As for the proposal to ban universities from offering domestic partnership benefits, Rep. J.R. Gray of Benton — the House labor and industry committee chairman — said he’s drafting a letter urging Fletcher to handle the matter himself.

Trustees of