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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.)

Governor-Elect Beshear (D) Names Lt. Gov. Pence (R) Transition Team Chair

Just released from Gov.-elect Beshear (D) are the chairs to his transition team.

Note that current Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) is on it which seems like a very smart move by Beshear (and Pence). In fact, the whole team is well-balanced across the political spectrum, diverse in many ways, and just rock-solid.

A great first step, in my opinion.

Governor-Elect Beshear Announces Chief of Staff, General Counsel, Secretary of the Cabinet and Transition Team

FRANKFORT, KY (November 8, 2007) - Governor-elect Steve Beshear today announced that his campaign manager, Jim Cauley, will serve as Chief of Staff in the Beshear/Mongiardo Administration and Ellen Hesen will serve as General Counsel.  Beshear also announced that his Lieutenant Governor-elect, Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, and Larry Hayes will co-chair his Transition Team. Hayes will also serve as Secretary of the Cabinet under the Beshear/Mongiardo Administration. 

Jim Cauley, a Pikeville native and resident of Louisville, ran Barack Obama's successful bid for the U.S. Senate. Cauley also recently played a leading role in helping Democratic candidates regain the majority of governorships for the first time since 1994.  Prior to that, Cauley served as Transition Director and Chief of Staff to Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger in the 2nd Congressional District of Maryland. A veteran of more than 20 campaigns, Cauley ran the Maryland Fund, an independent expenditure campaign that ran issue advertising about Governor Bob Ehrlich's record - the only incumbent governor to be defeated last November. 

Ellen Hesen, of Louisville, has practiced law for 20 years. Most recently, Hesen has served as General Counsel for the State Auditor's Office. She began her career with the Jefferson County Attorney's Office, was an associate at the former firm of Barnett & Alagia, and was a partner at Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, before coming to state government. During the past eight years, Hesen served as General Counsel to the Cabinet for Health Services, Interim Commissioner for the Department for Medicaid Services, and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet for Health Services. 

Lt. Governor-elect, Dr. Mongiardo, graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Medicine and practices as the only ear, nose and throat surgeon for a large area of Southeastern Kentucky. He was elected in 2000 to the State Senate, representing Bell, Harlan, Leslie and Perry Counties. From May - November of 2003 Mongiardo was vice-chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party.   

Larry Hayes currently serves as both deputy mayor and secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet  in the City of Louisville.  Most recently, Hayes owned Midwest Construction, Inc. in Lexington and partial interests in a warehousing and distribution business in Elizabethtown.  Hayes has held several positions in state government and in the private sector.  Hayes served as the first president of what is now Greater Louisville, Inc. from 1987-1988.  In state government, he served as Secretary of the Executive Cabinet and State Budget Director from 1983 through 1987 in the administration of Governor Martha Layne Collins. Prior to that, he was the Executive Assistant to the Kentucky State Senate President for six years.

Beshear also named the Chairs of the Beshear/Mongiardo Transition Team. They include:

• Ed Holmes of Lexington, Chair of the Governor's Office: Holmes created and serves and President and owner of EHI Consultants, a planning and engineering firm created in 1995.  He has more than 30 years experience in the public and private sector.  Prior to creating EHI, Holmes served as Director of Planning for the Bluegrass Area Development District for 16 years.  In 1994, he was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for the Kentucky Cabinet for Public Protection and Regulation, where he was responsible for the oversight of the state's regulated agencies.  In 1997, he was appointed to the Kentucky Public Service Commission to serve as Vice Chairman and was responsible for regulating Kentucky's utilities.  In 2003 he assumed the position of  Vice President of Cincinnati Bell Telephone, managing the company's business development operations.
                  
• JoEtta Wickliffe of Harrodsburg, Chair of the Economic Development Cabinet: Wickliffe has served on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees since 1997. She previously served as Vice Chair of the Board, a member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Finance Committee, Chair of the Audit Subcommittee and a member of the Investment Committee.  She has also been Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of the State Bank & Trust Company in Harrodsburg since 1963.
                 
• Mark D. Guilfoyle of Northern Kentucky, Chair of the Finance Cabinet:  Guilfoyle has been an attorney with Deters, Benzinger & LaVelle, PSC  in Covington, Kentucky from 1995 to present. His emphasis is on labor and employment relations, administrative and zoning law, economic development/governmental affairs and constitutional law. From 1991 to 1995, Mark served in the administration of Kentucky Governor Brereton C. Jones, serving at the highest levels of the administration as General Counsel to the Governor, Budget Director and Secretary of the Governor's Executive Cabinet.
                    
• Carol Palmore of Frankfort, Chair of the Personnel Cabinet: After working for three years with the Kentucky Department of Economic Security, Palmore became an attorney and practiced with Rummage, Kamuf and Yewell in Owensboro until 1982 when she accepted a position as General Counsel in the Kentucky Department of Labor during the Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. Administration.  She later served as Deputy Secretary, then Secretary of Labor under Governor Martha Layne Collins.  She also served as Secretary of Labor during most of the Governor Wallace Wilkinson Administration and, in 1991, was again appointed to the position by Governor Brereton Jones.  In 1995 she made an unsuccessful run to become the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State. In 1996 Governor Paul Patton appointed Palmore as Deputy Secretary of Personnel and subsequently appointed her Secretary of Personnel - a position she maintained until retirement in December, 2003.
                 
• Eleanor Jordan of Louisville, Chair of the Health and Family Services Cabinet: Jordan was elected to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly, representing the 42nd legislative district, after a special election in January, 1996.  Representative Jordan served on the Labor & Industry, Health and Welfare, Licensing and Occupations and the Appropriations and Revenue Committees. She co-chaired the Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Committee, the Welfare Reform Subcommittee and the Foster Care Review Task Force.  In 2001, Jordan was appointed by Governor Paul Patton as Ombudsman for the Cabinet for Families and Children.  Her staff of more than 100 investigated grievances against the Cabinet, monitored personal service contracts, made recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary on improving service delivery and compiled data of the Cabinet's annual reports. In 2004, Jordan began work as a principal assistant to Attorney General Greg Stumbo.  Her duties included chairing the Kentucky Child Support Enforcement Commission, acting as the minority affairs liaison and coordinating consumer affairs outreach for the Shively Field Office.
              
• Donna Moore of Lexington, Chair of the Education Cabinet: From 1975-2004 Moore worked for Kentucky Educational Television, advancing from Associate Producer to Senior Producer for Public Affairs. Assignments included the initial coverage of the Kentucky General Assembly and live televised forums with candidates for statewide office.  She also produced and hosted various documentaries, event coverage and live weekly programs on KET.  Moore was appointed Director of Programming with responsibility for selecting and scheduling all programming on the statewide television network. She was appointed to the position of Deputy Executive Director with the responsibility for all programming, production and promotion activities of KET before retiring in 2004.
              
• Steve Nunn of Glasgow, Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet: Nunn is a former Republican member of the State House of Representatives from Glasgow/Barren County. Serving the 23rd Legislative District, Nunn was an active member on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, State Government Committee and was vice chair of the Health and Welfare Committee. He also served on the Budget Review Subcommittee for Human Resources, Medicaid Taskforce and the Subcommittee on Families and Children. In the private sector, Nunn has served as a physician recruiter for T.J. Samson Hospital in Glasgow, Kentucky. He is the son of the last Republican governor, Louie Nunn.
                 
• Steve Pence of Louisville, as Chair of the Justice Cabinet: On December 9, 2003, Steve Pence became the first Republican lieutenant governor in Kentucky since 1946. He served as Chair of the Justice Cabinet during the Fletcher administration. Pence began his career as a public school teacher in Jefferson County. After law school, Steve worked as an assistant attorney general for Kentucky from 1981-1982. In the early 1990s, he was a lead attorney in BOPTROT, the investigation to uncover and eliminate corruption in state government.  He was formerly a partner with the Pedley, Zielke, Gordinier and Pence law firm (1995-2001). Pence was appointed by President George W. Bush as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky and was confirmed to that position in 2001. Following September 11th, Pence established and led the Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF) in Kentucky.  He served in the U.S. Army and continues to serve as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps.
               
• Helen Mountjoy of Owensboro, as Chair of the Commerce Cabinet: Mountjoy is the Executive Vice President of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, Chair of the Owensboro Advisory Board for BB&T and a member of the Kentucky Chamber's Postsecondary Education Task Force, the High Price of Being Poor Commission. She also serves as a Board member of the Partnership for Successful Schools, is a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, and a Board Member of the Foundation for Health for Owensboro Medical.
              
• Ernesto Scorsone of Lexington, as Chair of Transportation Cabinet: Senator Ernesto Scorsone, an attorney,  has been a member of the Kentucky Legislature since 1984, serving as a State Representative for 12 years and, since 1996, represented Fayette County's 13th District in the State Senate. Senator Scorsone has sponsored or helped pass legislation that include laws mandating violent offenders to serve 85% of their sentences, protected the elderly from financial mismanagement by a trustee or caretaker, strengthened Kentucky's Hate Crime Law, backed a strong ethics code for legislators, developed Kentucky's Living Will and required that insurance companies cover the cost of mammography screenings. His committee assignments include Agriculture and Natural Resources, Health and Welfare, Judiciary, Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations and Government Contract Review. He is also a former Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

The Hunter Bates Problem

More than two years, when the Merit scandal was in its infancy and Governor Fletcher (R) was beginning to trip-and-fall in dealing with the fallout from the initial stories, I posited a theory that Fletcher's loss of Hunter Bates (R) as his 2003 running mate was the "common thread" that ran through his missteps, poor advice, and bad timing that plagued his first year and a half in office.

Well, in the two plus years since, I feel even more strongly that the absence of Bates was one that Fletcher never recovered from. Instead of having an able captain to steer the ship, Fletcher thought that he, Groves, Cave, Glenna, and later Rudolph, were more than capable of crossing the ocean on their own. A fool's journey it was.

Here's a little of what I wrote back in July 2005:

Losing Hunter Bates did not cost Fletcher the election. They had the money and the simple message that things were bad and they needed to be changed and they were ones that would do it because they would bring in fresh faces not contaminated by previous administrations.

But losing Hunter Bates will likely cost Fletcher his office.

If you run on a message of reform you have to expect that all eyes will be on how your actions differ from the past. We all knew that. The press knew that. The Republicans knew that. Apparently, Ernie Fletcher and Steve Pence did not.

As a result, no one had a clue about how to mind the store. Steve Pence was too busy being lieutenant governor, Justice Secretary, Military Judge, and creator of his own secret police (with his own gun, and probably a badge as well).

In contrast, Hunter Bates would have been the lieutenant governor who would have known how to manage the process. I suspect the merit hirings based on political fealty would have still occurred, but I have no doubt that there would be no trail of Blackberry messages, e-mails, no spreadsheets of county contacts for merit job hirings, no over-the-top requests in writing to hire relatives and friends, no written hit list, no revolving door of press secretaries and communications directors, and no environment where the young staff would rather take immunity and testify than stand in the foxhole with the embattled governor.

And when the probe broke, Bates would have had the experience and sense to know how to handle it -- publicly. He would always have had McConnell's ear and guidance, and Fletcher would have had no choice but listen and do as told. Apparently, no one "tells" Steve Pence how to do anything and Fletcher seems incapable or unwilling to do anything about it. Fletcher too has not heeded the advice of McConnell and Rogers. They are not the Republican power centers of Kentucky by chance.

I have no love for Mitch McConnell. I disagree with his political philosophy almost entirely. But having been in this field for a decade, I have tremendous respect for his abilities, tactics, and fearlessness. In fact, I don't think there's a higher compliment in politics than to be despised and respected at the same time.

But McConnell's kids would never have let this mess get so out of hand and out of control. If Ellen Williams were still Republican Party Chair, I have little doubt how quickly she'd have put the Democrats on the defensive from Day 1 and keep them there. Instead we will remember how Fletcher golfed several days a week in the middle of the indictments, how Steve Pence said “no one asked him” to investigate Doerting’s complaint before the Attorney General had to do so himself, and we’ll always remember how they would “clean up the mess” and bring people into government “who have rock solid values” and there would be no more “good-ol boy” style of government.

There is little doubt that Fletcher is a one-termer. His legitimacy for being in office has evaporated, he's allowed public opinion about him to solidify (new poll shows him not getting even a majority of Republican support), and has alienated himself and his administration from too many who are responsible for this man being in office. McConnell has too much on his plate right now with a sinking President, a popular distrust of congressional leadership, and making sure he's the next Senate majority leader.

Besides, from all accounts, McConnell and Rogers tried to help Fletcher and advise him on how to handle this mess. They didn't listen and I'm sure McConnell in his own understated way will let it be known that he tried but the good doctor didn't listen.

Arrogant and incompetent. Are there any other traits so toxic when mixed?

Since that July 2005 post, I think it's clear how badly Fletcher needed smart political advice. He never got it from those he trusted and he never listened to those who weren't one of his early disciples. Turned out that even Lt. Governor Pence (R) bolted after a year and, in hindsight, apparently argued against the path Fletcher eventually took.

It's impossible to point to one thing as the downfall for the massive failure of the Fletcher administration, but most of his problems grew out of bad political judgment and I can't believe for a moment that if Bates were his #2 during these four years that we would have seen such an alienation of McConnell and a large core of the Kentucky Republican establishment, the ever-changing themes and positions Fletcher took, and the utter failure of Fletcher to deal with the Merit scandal.

You don't replace Hunter Bates' political acumen with the unimpressive crew that still worship the man who will go down in Kentucky history as having gone from Republican savior to David Koresh in four short years.

Thoughts?

Republicans Continue To Shun Fletcher

It's pretty remarkable how a growing number of prominent Republicans are shunning Governor Fletcher's (R) re-election campaign by either defecting to Steve Beshear (D) or simply refuse to contribute to Fletcher.

Courier-Journal:

Ex-GOP State Lawmakers Say They'll Vote For Beshear
Lile, Casebier cite negative campaign
By Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal

Saying they are tired of the "phony issues" that Gov. Ernie Fletcher has raised during his re-election campaign, two longtime Republican officeholders from Louisville endorsed Democrat Steve Beshear yesterday.

The two are former state Sen. Lindy Casebier, who quit last week as Fletcher's executive director of the Office of Arts & Cultural Heritage, and former state Rep. Bill Lile, who retired earlier this year as co-director of the Jefferson County Board of Elections.

[...]

"I was outraged when the governor signed an agreement admitting his role in the merit system scandal and then proceeded to go out and describe everything as a political witch hunt," Lile said. "But this campaign has been the clincher. … Campaigns should be positive -- accomplishments, if any, should be emphasized. Phony issues should not be used to tear down your opponent.

"As a retired public school teacher, I would have to give the Fletcher administration an 'F' in this category."

AP via Pat Crowley:

Fletcher's (campaign finance) report showed that some key GOP leaders, including state GOP Chairman Steve Robertson, hadn't contributed money to his general election campaign. None of Kentucky's four Republican congressmen - Hal Rogers, Ed Whitfield, Ron Lewis and Geoff Davis - were listed as donors on Fletcher's report, nor state Senate President David Williams.

And let's not forget the shunning Fletcher is getting from Lt. Governor Pence (R) and Anne Northup (R).

This is only going to continue as we get closer to Election Day.

UPDATE (10:54 AM): Even more damning for Fletcher:

Fletcher has received donations from less than 10 percent of backers of his chief GOP opponent from the spring, a Herald-Leader analysis shows.

Steve Beshear (D) & Lt. Governor Pence (R) On Same Page Regarding Fletcher's Criminal Conduct

I found this exchange is last night's debate very revealing:

"That's not true," Fletcher said after Beshear called the agreement with Stumbo a "plea bargain."

Talking over Fletcher, Beshear responded, "People understand that you were indicted. That's true, right? You took the Fifth Amendment. That's true isn't it? You had to enter into an agreement with the attorney general. … That's all true."

If Steve Beshear's (D) words sound familiar that's because Governor Fletcher's (R) own 2003 running mate -- Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) -- made the very same point a few months ago:

"But the facts are what they are. The fact is the pardons happened. The fact is he did take the Fifth (Amendment before a grand jury). The fact is he was indicted. The fact is he does have a legal defense fund. The fact is he said we were going to get to the unvarnished truth, but we didn't."

Yep, those are the facts...

UPDATE (11:23 AM): While Fletcher continues to whine in the C-J story above that he didn't enter into a "plea deal" turns out that UK College Republicans Chairman Thomas Roberts wholly disagrees and said so in an op-ed in today's Kentucky Kernel:

After all of the effort Stumbo put in and after all of the tax dollars he wasted, the best he could get out of it was a plea deal.

Even college Republicans don't buy Fletcher's painful excuses for his criminality.

This Is Too Good To Be True

Just when you think Governor Fletcher (R) can't make any worse tactical mistakes in this campaign, you find out that you're wrong. These guys are going to re-write the manual on how not to run a re-election campaign.

According to the press release his hemorrhaging campaign put out this afternoon, it seems that Fletcher now wants to make this race about ethics. Seriously. I kid you not. Our corrupt governor -- the man with no ethics -- now wants this race to be decided on which candidate is more ethical. Good Lord.

It's simply amazing what being down 18 points with 54 days to go will do to a campaign's ability to make sensible strategic decisions. Ironically, Fletcher now resembles the gambler at the racetrack who's down $5,000 heading into the last race and tries to win it back by betting on the long-shot. In politics, like horse racing, those bets are long-shots for a reason.

Now might be time simply to trot out what Fletcher's fellow Republicans -- like Steve Pence, Anne Northup, Ted Jackson, Jack Richardson, and John David Dyche -- have said about him and ethics and competence-related issues.

I think this is my favorite:

"Ernie Fletcher is the David Koresh of Kentucky Republican politics," Jackson said. "He's boarded the windows and locked the doors and said, 'Take it from us, we'll burn it to the ground.'"

But this one is really good too:

“The joke in the Republican Party is that if you gave him a choice of A, B or C, with C being the worst choice, he’d choose C every time,” Richardson said.

And this one too:

"But the facts are what they are. The fact is the pardons happened. The fact is he did take the Fifth (Amendment before a grand jury). The fact is he was indicted. The fact is he does have a legal defense fund. The fact is he said we were going to get to the unvarnished truth, but we didn't."

I like this one a lot too:

"Getting by is not good enough if the Governor really wants a second term. Fletcher must convince the people that he is not corrupt, has proposals that will improve their lives, and is savvy and powerful enough to get them passed. Yet his team is now reduced to raw rookies and demoralized survivors and will soon face simultaneous combat on two fronts -- court and legislature."

No, wait...this is easily the best of all. Do yourself a favor and spend the 2 minutes, 43 seconds needed to listen to this excellent summation of the catastrophe of the Fletcher Administration.

Pence Warns Us About Fletcher

Lt. Governor Pence (R) reminds us that Governor Fletcher (R) -- his 2003 running mate -- promised to clean-up Frankfort and failed, and then tried to smear Anne Northup (R) on "moral values." Disgustingly, he's trying to do the same to Steve Beshear (D), but something tells me the public is going to reject this charlatan:

It's height of audacity for someone as corrupt, dishonest and deceitful as Fletcher to accuse anyone of lacking moral values. Our ordained-minister-turned-politician lost his moral footing long ago and seems prepared to end his political career with a devastatingly embarrassing loss.

Pence Tells Francene He Won't Endorse Fletcher During Radio Show

A reader tells me that Lt. Governor Pence (R) was on Francene's radio show this morning and said he will not endorse Governor Fletcher (R) -- his 2003 running mate -- and said the voters should decide the issue of expanded gaming.

I'm curious to know what else he said.

SOURCE: Pence Supporters Approached Fletcher About Supreme Court Appointment To McAnulty's Seat?

A very interesting tip I received from a very reliable court source is that supporters of Lt. Governor Pence (R) approached Governor Fletcher (R) about a week ago and encouraged him to appoint Pence to the Kentucky Supreme Court following Justice William McAnulty's vacancy. It's not clear whether Pence encouraged the effort -- or even knew about it -- and I don't know how Fletcher reacted to it, but it's worth filing this away.

I can't help but wonder whether this is the price for Pence's silence for the remainder of the campaign. But that's just my speculation.

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

Republicans On Fletcher (Part 2)

Ready for another installment of "Republicans on Fletcher"?

"But the facts are what they are. The fact is the pardons happened. The fact is he did take the Fifth (Amendment before a grand jury). The fact is he was indicted. The fact is he does have a legal defense fund. The fact is he said we were going to get to the unvarnished truth, but we didn't."

--Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) on the broken promises and sad legacy of his former running mate, Governor Fletcher (R).

Yep, those are the facts.

This Can't Be True...Can It?

I really don't believe this, but I've gotten a few e-mails this week saying that Republicans are concerned that Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) will cross party lines and endorse Steve Beshear (D) in the coming weeks, citing their long history beginning when then Attorney General Beshear hired the young Pence as an assistant attorney general.

While I would love to see this happen, surely this can't be true....can it?

I ordinarily wouldn't even post things as crazy as this, but given how badly Governor Fletcher (R) trashed Pence during the primary, given Pence's own aggressive efforts to push expanded gaming, and given his history with Beshear, I figured it was worth mentioning in case anyone else is hearing this.

Again, I really don't believe this, particularly since Senator McConnell (R) is presently sucking-up to Fletcher to avoid a primary challenge, but crazier things have happened in Kentucky politics of late.

More Omnious Signs For Governor Fletcher's Hopes For Re-Election

I don't think there's any clearer sign of where things stand in a campaign than the themes that the candidates are highlighting in their paid media.

Today we learn that after nearly four years in office, Governor Fletcher's (R) first ad of the general election isn't about his record, or all the great things he's done in office, or the campaign promises he's delivered on. Nope. His first ad is about some tour of casino communities that he claims to have taken (on taxpayer dime, I'm sure) to tell us why Kentucky shouldn't have casino gaming.

Seriously. Fletcher is the first Republican governor in 32 years yet his level of desperation is so palpable that his first ad isn't even about him or his "accomplishments" in office.

Let's hope that the media asks Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) for his comment about the ad since his half of the Fletcher-Pence administration was aggressively pushing for expanded gaming for years -- at the very same time that the administration, Republican Party and state Senate Caucus took tens of thousands of dollars of casino contributions. So shameless.

It's so disappointing that the media has allowed Fletcher a free ride on this issue, downplaying the painful flip-flop on the issue, the hypocrisy of the casino contributions, and the good cop-bad cop game that he and Pence have played on the public over the years on the issue.

I encourage you to a take a moment to re-read this post.

If Governor Fletcher (R) Wants To Rehash The Merit System Scandal...Let's Happily Oblige Him

While our desperate Governor Fletcher (R) tries to spin the actions of his appointed ethics commission as some sort of Pyrrhic victory, here's what John Steffen -- general counsel to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission -- had to say about what the commission did -- and didn't -- do:

The Ethics Commission's general counsel, John Steffan, told Local 12 Wednesday he was surprised the campaign would release the document, and said it only told half the story.

Steffan disagreed that the document "cleared" the governor, noting that the document only states the investigation was terminated. There was no language included in the document as to the reasons behind the end of the investigation.

In the letter to Gov. Fletcher, the commission included an advisory opinion which it said would "ensure your future compliance with the law." The commission asked the governor to "review this document closely to make yourself aware of actions related to personnel hiring procedures which may violate the Executive Branch Code of Ethics."

If Fletcher wants to rehash his criminal conduct and the disaster of the Merit Scandal, I think we should all happily oblige him. After all, this is his record.

You ready, governor? You have opened the door and invited us in...

Let's spend some time over the next week or two rehashing the highlights of the investigation starting with all the things that his Republican brethren publicly accused Fletcher of, beginning with Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) and Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman Jack Richardson (R).

This should be very cathartic for us.

Fletcher's Pathetic Response On His Casino Gaming Contributions

I guess none of us should expect that Governor Fletcher (R) would reverse course and offer the public the unvarnished truth and drop his rank hypocrisy. The man seems incapable of being straight with the voters. But his response to WHAS-11's Mark Hebert on why he hypocritically took thousands of dollars in casino contributions is more Fletcher unintelligible lunacy:

Fletcher On Casinos
Mark Hebert, WHAS-11

...“We take campaign contributions and there’s no strings attached,” Fletcher says...

[Beshear] calls the governor a hypocrite for wanting casino contributions but not their business in Kentucky.

“To me that sort of adds to the whole hypocrisy of the situation,” says Beshear.

I'm not sure if Fletcher is saying is that, unlike other big money contributors where there were strings attached (coal companies, religious right, Chamber of Commerce, pharmaceutical and insurance companies...), the same doesn't apply to casinos. Or is he saying that he happily took their money but didn't do any of their bidding?

The problem here (and I'm disappointed that Hebert didn't follow-up on it) is that the better-half of the Fletcher-Pence administration -- namely current Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R) (remember him?) -- was very much evangelizing the need for casinos in Kentucky.

Let us not forget the shamelessly transparent game that they played (when they still liked each other) when Fletcher said he was personally opposed to expanded, but wouldn't stand in the way of a constitutional amendment, while allowing Pence to travel the state holding meetings and conferences about the need for casinos. While we know Fletcher would prefer to forget the "Pence" part of his administration, there is little doubt that the good cop-bad cop act on their part encouraged casinos to continue to add to their (and the state party's) campaign coffers.

In fact, during the same time that casino contributions were flowing into the Fletcher Administration and the state party (2004-2005), the administration launched a well-publicized series of "fact-finding" meetings where Pence met with supporters of expanded-gaming in the state.

Many have told me that the whole thing was derailed only because of another episode of Fletcher incompetence -- the beginning of the Merit System investigation in May 2005, just as Pence's efforts were bearing fruit.

Suggestion to the media: try talking to Pence and those close to him -- and those who attended these meetings -- to understand why the casinos were pumping money into GOP coffers at the time...

Here are some excerpts from stories at the time:

Courier-Journal:

Pence, Gambling Backers Meet
Tom Loftus, The Courier-Journal (December 10, 2004)

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Lt. Gov. Steve Pence is holding a series of fact-finding meetings with key General Assembly supporters of expanded gambling but said the talks don't signal a change in the Fletcher administration's hands-off position.

Pence said in an interview yesterday that he has had several meetings during the past two months with racetrack officials and others interested in the issue.

Pence had separate meetings in his Capitol office yesterday with the sponsors of unsuccessful gaming legislation offered this year: Sen. David Boswell, D-Owensboro, and House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Okolona.

Pence said he is only researching a potentially important issue at Gov. Ernie Fletcher's request.

"The possibility of gaming in the state is an important topic and one that seems to generate a lot of interest and discussion," Pence said. "It's on the mind of legislators and a lot of other people in this state. So our administration needs to be educated and informed on this topic."

Fletcher, asked about the issue during a brief news conference Tuesday, said his position remains the same as it was last year during his campaign for governor.

"I'm not going promote it, I'm not going to prohibit it or impede that from going forward," Fletcher said.

...Boswell met with Pence for about 40 minutes yesterday and said Pence appeared to be interested in acting as "a facilitator" between parties who want slot machines at racetracks only and those who want casinos legalized.

"I believe the administration is interested in the issue because we're losing a lot of revenue and economic-development opportunities to the surrounding states which have casinos," Boswell said.

He was accompanied at the meeting by John Bays, owner of the Executive Inn Rivermont in Owensboro, who has proposed a $200 million casino, arena and indoor water-park complex in Daviess County .

Herald-Leader:

GOVERNOR'S OFFICE FEELING OUT GAMBLING OPTIONS
NO PLAN IN WORKS FOR NOW, JUST A FACT-FINDING TOUR
Ryan Alessi, Herald-Leader Frankfort Bureau (December 20, 2004)

FRANKFORT -- For the first time since taking office, Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration is conducting an in-depth study of expanded gambling in Kentucky, which some proponents are taking as a sign their day may finally be coming.

Lt. Gov. Steve Pence in recent weeks has personally interviewed -- in his Capitol office and during trips around the state -- dozens of horse racing and gambling officials, lawmakers and gambling industry experts.

Pence describes his work as strictly a fact-finding mission to determine "the status of expanded gaming and what the various interests are, what the various options are." He denies cooking up a plan.

Fletcher straddled the gambling issue in his 2003 campaign, saying he'd neither push for it nor fight "the people's will" if they want to legalize slot machines or even full casinos. Fletcher, his top aides and Pence all insist that hasn't changed.

"We really don't know that much about the issue," Pence said, explaining his recent activities. "We need to get caught up on it."

But some of those consulted by Pence say they left with the impression that the administration may come around to support some form of expanded gambling, largely because the state treasury could get a share of the take.

[...]

In their meeting, Bays said Pence asked about his vision for the Owensboro casino. Bays claims it would bring $30 million a month in revenue and economic activity to the area. He said Pence also asked about permitting slot machines at horse tracks across the state as a first step.

"They just wanted to know how we felt, and would we consider maybe doing something like slots in the racetrack and doing something broader later," Bays said.

He suggested that the discussion is only beginning. "I feel they're going to call another meeting soon -- real soon. They didn't say that, but I'm pretty confident."

[...]

Carroll said he and a nationally-known author of several gaming industry books -- whom he declined to name -- talked to Pence about the types of tourism and business development that gaming could draw to Kentucky.

Carroll, who pushed for casino development several times in the 1990s, called Pence's approach to the issue "most thoughtful."

The Shameless Hypocrisy Of The GOP On Casinos...Isn't It Time For The Kentucky Media To Take A Critical Look?

Okay, let's get down to business and start peeling the rotten onion that Governor Fletcher (R) is trying to pass-off as his campaign platform.

This is pretty pathetic. As I said in my earlier post, an incumbent governor nearly four years into his failed term doesn't get to campaign on platitudes and his latest vision rooted firmly into yet another painful flip-flop. No, an incumbent governor has to run on his record. Fletcher would rather run from it and instead is trying to deceive the public on issues where he had a rather sudden (and shameless) metamorphosis just a few months ago: domestic partner benefits and gambling.

Let's leave the domestic partner flip-flop for another time. Instead, let's talk about gaming for a minute, and hope that the media in Kentucky consider asking Fletcher & Crooks to explain the disturbingly hypocritical facts behind their latest dishonest propaganda.

One of the latest babbling talking points coming from Fletcher, his Mini-Me (Robbie Rudolph) and the man hoping to be the state's first theocratic attorney general (Stan Lee) is that somehow Democrats are in the pockets of gaming industry. According to Fletcher:

Fletcher claimed Beshear, a Lexington attorney and former lieutenant governor, "would buy his way to get casinos in the state."

Asked after his speech what he meant by that, Fletcher said, "He will bring in a bunch of casino money.

"He has said he has to get it passed ... He will have the resources from Vegas to get it done."

Then lunatic Lee blasted Jack Conway (D) for taking a contribution from Harrah's in 2002:

Even though Harrah's Entertainment Inc, a Las Vegas, Nevada based corporation that owns Caesars Indiana, gave $1,000 to Jack Conway's 2002 Congressional campaign, I am now calling on him to do the right thing, and stand with me in opposition to Steve Beshear and his misguided plan to make Kentucky the next Nevada."

Tisk, tisk. So much for the 9th commandment about bearing false witness.

First, let's take a look at who else Harrah's has contributed money to in the past few years:

HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT IMPACTS PUBLIC POLICY

• Republican Party of Kentucky -- $2,500 (2006)
• Kentucky Republican State Senate Caucus -- $2,500 (2006)
• Rogers for Congress -- $1,000 (2006)
• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $1,000 (2004)
• Fletcher/Pence Inaugural Committee -- $5,000 (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $5,000 (2004)
• Bunning for Senate -- $2,000 (2004)
• Whitfield for Congress -- $1,000 (2000)
• Northup for Congress -- $1,000 (2000)
• Whitfield for Congress -- $5,000 (1998)
• Northup for Congress -- $7,500 (1998)
• Bunning for Senate -- $7,000 (1998)

Got that? Harrah's may have given Conway $1,000 in 2002, but they gave Kentucky Republicans -- including Fletcher's own inaugural committee -- more than $40,000, much of it a lot more recently than 2002. (Note -- the Harrah's link above only lists federal contributions. Click here and here for the state contributions to RPK, Fletcher, and the KYGOP Senate Caucus).

Also, maybe someone should ask the RPK about its June 2005 expenditures for a trip Las Vegas (when they stayed at Wynn Las Vegas Resort), right at the same time the RPK and the Republican Senate Caucus scored $5,000 from Harrah's. Isn't that worth asking, seeing that Fletcher and Lee think casino contributions are so important. Who went to Vegas at RPK expense?

And that's just Harrah's. See below for the rest of the big gaming PACs (and I deliberately left-off Churchill Downs, to be generous to the GOP). The gaming PACs just love those Kentucky Republicans...

Also, aside from the tens of thousands in casino cash that Fletcher, Pence, RPK, David Williams Senate Caucus, McConnell, Bunning, Northup, and Whitfield have taken over the years...let's not forget the lobbyists for the interests that want casinos in Kentucky and who are paid to lobby the legislative and executive branches of Kentucky government:

CHURCHILL DOWNS: Among its lobbyists are John McCarthy (former Republican Party chairman), Jeff Speaks (former top Hal Rogers staffer),  Amy Wickliffe (former Chief of Staff to First Lady Glenna Fletcher), and Jason Bentley (former director of Fletcher Energy Policy office);

TURFWAY PARK:  Its sole paid lobbyist is Ellen Williams (former Republican party chair and former director of Fletcher's GOLD office);

ELLIS PARK: Its sole paid lobbyist is Kelley Abell (former executive director of the Republican Party).

In each case, the primary mission of these race track lobbyists was expanded gaming. In fact, check out this old post about a fundraising that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) hosted last year for the Republican State Senate Caucus and all of their names show up on the host committee. How perfect.

Of course, none of this includes the massive amounts of money that Fletcher and his Republican hypocrites have taken from Kentucky's top casino backers such as Jerry Carroll, Bob Elliston, Bill Yung, Bill Butler. Apparently, they don't count.

And beyond the aggressive efforts of current Lt. Governor Steve Pence (R), who traveled the Commonwealth (before he dropped off the ticket) evangelizing how important casinos were to Kentucky, was this little morsel that is the cherry on top of this sundae. It comes from a September 1999 story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal about all the fundraising invites that the American Gaming Association (see their KY GOP contributions below) had received from members of Congress that week:

Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
September 27, 1999   
Edition: FINAL EDITION

Pols reach out and put touch on gaming association
Author: Dave Berns

It was an average wave of solicitation cards and faxes that were received at American Gaming Association headquarters this past week in Washington, D.C.

Everyone from Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., an outspoken conservative who is close with gambling opponent James Dobson, to House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who has ties to Venetian boss Sheldon Adelson, sought political donations from the casino industry's national lobbying arm. There were 25 invites in all.

For example:

-Donors giving $ 500 to $ 2,000 apiece were invited to an afternoon of 'tennis and camaraderie' with Largent, a rising star on the Republican right.

'Proceeds benefit Leadership for America's Future PAC (LEADPAC), a leadership PAC chaired by Congressman Steve Largent,' read a single-page invite. 'Contributions can be federal hard, nonfederal soft or individual.'

-Rep. Floyd Spence, R-S.C., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, invited potential $ 500 donors to his annual South Carolina barbecue at the Capitol Hill Club.

If you're unable to attend just check the box reading, 'I'm sorry. I will be unable to attend but am enclosing my check in the amount of $ '

-Rep. Ernie Fletcher, R-Kent., sent invites for a $ 1,000-a-person golfing fund raiser at the Peninsula Golf Resort in Lancaster, Ky.

Prizes were to be presented for a hole-in-one contest, the longest drive, coming closest to the pin.

No mention was made as to whether any specialized legislation would be a part of the prize package.

According to his federal campaign reports, it seems that Congressman Fletcher never did get any of the gaming money he sought with his fundraising invitation. But bless his little heart for trying.

We can disagree with whether casinos are good or not for the state. That's a legitimate debate. But we don't need a lecture about casino contributions from such a pack of shameless hypocritical Republicans who plainly see that their days in office are numbered. There is so much more to the gaming hypocrisy (including interesting tidbits about the casino preferences of high-rolling blow-hards like Senate President David Williams (R)), but I'll save those for another time.

Meanwhile, enjoy the list of all the Kentucky Republicans who have happily bathed in casino contributions over the years...

AMERICAN GAMING ASSOC

• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $2,500 (2006)
• Bunning for Senate -- $1,000 (2004)
• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $1,000 (indiv contrib, VP Sales) (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $1,000 (2004)

BOYD GAMING

• Bunning for Senate -- $1,000 (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $1,000 (2004)

CAESAR'S ENTERTAINMENT

• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $5,000 (2004)
• Northup for Congress -- $2,000 (2004)

HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT IMPACTS PUBLIC POLICY

• Republican Party of Kentucky -- $2,500 (2006)
• Kentucky Republican State Senate Caucus -- $2,500 (2006)
• Rogers for Congress -- $1,000 (2006)
• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $1,000 (2004)
• Fletcher/Pence Inaugural Committee -- $5,000 (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $5,000 (2004)
• Bunning for Senate -- $2,000 (2004)
• Whitfield for Congress -- $1,000 (2000)
• Northup for Congress -- $1,000 (2000)
• Whitfield for Congress -- $5,000 (1998)
• Northup for Congress -- $7,500 (1998)
• Bunning for Senate -- $7,000 (1998)

MANDALAY RESORT GROUP

• Bunning for Senate -- $2,000 (2006)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $500 (2004)

MGM MIRAGE

• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $2,500 (2006)
• Northup for Congress -- $2,500 (2006)
• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $3,500 (2004)
• Whitfield for Congress -- $1,000 (2004)
• Northup for Congress -- $5,000 (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $5,000 (2004)
• Bunning for Senate -- $3,000 (2004)

STATION CASINOS

• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $1,000 (2004)
• Bunning for Senate -- $1,000 (2004)
• HALPAC (H. Rogers) -- $2,500 (2004)

TROPICANO RESORT & CASINO

• Bluegrass Committee (McConnell) -- $2,000 (2004)
• Bunning for Senate -- $1,000 (2004)

P.S. -- It's good to be back...

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?