Thursday, July 02, 2009

On a personal note...

I am suspending publishing of the Kentucky Progress blog immediately to take a position as a consultant with the Rand Paul for U.S. Senate Exploratory Committee.

More about that soon.

This site has been both very hard work and a lot of fun. I expect to return to it at the conclusion of this new project. Meanwhile, the site with its existing posts will remain up as will my contact information at the top of the page.

I've met and worked with a lot of fantastic people during the 4 1/2 years on Kentucky Progress who I probably would not have gotten to know otherwise. I'll always be grateful for that.


Hope to see you soon!

David

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Next episode of Ben Chandler vs. voters

Lost perhaps in the recent frenzy of Congressional pillaging is the fact that President Barack Obama's labor union payoff is not yet complete. That means card check is headed back to the front burner.

U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia), speaking on a national media conference call Wednesday morning, expressed concern about the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," which wipes out secret ballot protections for workers in union elections and forces binding government arbitration on American businesses. It's called "card check" and it means unions will be allowed to vote themselves into workplaces by forcing workers to sign cards out in the open instead of voting a secret ballot. Then, if unions and management can't reach agreement, the federal government will swoop in and dictate terms.

Rep. Ben Chandler is in favor of this.

Price said he is concerned the bill sets the stage for "making employers liable for union pensions." That would represent very large costs that will ultimately be passed along to consumers.

Price also said he expects the card check bill to go through the Senate first, where Sen. Tom Harkin is putting together a "compromise." Price is skeptical that this move will work out well for workers.

"I don't think one can compromise away the right to a secret ballot," he said.

The devastating impact this bill would have on American prosperity combined with the cap and trade fiasco, another Chandler "accomplishment," should greatly concern central Kentucky voters.

Mongiardo splits the baby on health reform

Left-leaning Kentucky web sites Barefoot and Progressive and Page One are jumping all over U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Mongiardo for not cheerleading enough on government healthcare reform in the following video.

In fact, they are calling him a "Republican" because he knows the shortcomings of the Canadian system Democrats now seem to want so badly. Mongiardo worked as a doctor in Canada for four years.

In Canada, Mongiardo said, "There's a thing called rationing of healthcare meaning you just don't give it. I never saw a patient in the clinic that I scheduled for a tonsilectomy, in the operating room. There was a three year waiting list for a tonsilectomy. And there was, you know, months and months waiting list for a lot of different things."

Mongiardo describing this experience is considered heresy among the far left. Interesting to see how his candor affects his primary election bid.



Should Mongiardo survive the primary, his big problem becomes his inability to move past what seems to be his only political solution for any political question: electronic medical records.

Closing the barn door too late alert

State Auditor Crit Luallen sures knows how to work the news cycle on an old story that is sexier than it is substantial:



It's almost as if putting government checkbooks online and doing a full audit of the Kentucky Department of Education would be bad for business.