KDP on WHAS: SOS!

Kentucky Democratic Party Communications Director Dale Emmons was on Louisville radio this morning complaining about Democrats' inability to get out their "message."

In one particularly funny bit, Emmons blamed the loss of 4th district Dem Nick Clooney on the "Republican attack machine" rather than on Clooney's far-left views and public meltdowns late in the campaign that actually cost him the election.

Emmons also claimed that 2006 would be a better year for Democrats because of the county elections "where Democrats always win big."

Except for 2002, Dale. The trend isn't your friend.

More important than the Republican Attack Machine in 2006 will be the behavior of Frankfort's House Democrats in the 2006 General Assembly. We expect another year of whiny, watered-down Republican Lite to be the real reason for the next round of we-can't-get-our-message-out-ism.

What We Are Up Against: Waste, Fraud, and Abuse In Frankfort

Buried in a very basic "Dog Bites Man" story about how a buy-here pay-here dealer overcharges customers for cars is a little paragraph that says a lot about what is going on in Frankfort. Here it is:

In addition to the lawsuit, the Kentucky State Police are continuing to investigate allegations that the former head of the attorney general's Louisville consumer office, Bob Winlock, went easy on Byrider in exchange for favorable deals on cars he bought and sold at the dealership. Winlock initially denied any wrongdoing in an interview last year and later declined to comment.

Winlock was an "investigator" in Ben Chandler's AG office who was getting incredibly sweet deals on cars from JD Byrider when he was supposed to be investigating the dealer. KSP has the records and Stumbo has known about this at least since he took office. Talk about your "smoking gun." But why should we expect Kentucky's attorney general to put the wraps on a clear cut case of fraud and abuse in Chandler's AG office when he has access to all those Republican emails to fish through?

Clearly, we can't.

MSM Changes Tune On State Hiring Flap?

This looks to me like the Louisville CJ is sending the signal that there is nothing here to get worked up about.

Enemies of the governor will be very upset if they think their supporters in the news media are breaking up the feeding frenzy.

Ben Chandler: "Howard Dean is a ______"

Kentucky's lone Democrat Congressman has been conspicuously absent from the discussion about the outlandish behavior of DNC Chair Howard Dean.

In recent weeks, Dean has endorsed a Socialist for the United States Senate and expressed more than once his disdain for conservatives, Christians, and people who aren't just like him.

Chandler has been fighting his own demons. While calling for massive tax increases to prop up Social Security, Chandler's refusal to discuss realistic entitlement reform is indicative of the problem that Congressional Democrats face when they try to talk to the folks back home: as a whole we aren't far left enough for the coastal liberal elites who host all the parties in Washington D.C.

So which is it Mr. Chandler? Is Howard Dean your kind of guy or not?

Reminder: Saturday June 25 is the day Kentucky Democrats will decide to join a coalition of southern Dem state parties who plan to ask Dean to resign.

You Won't Read About This In The Paper Yet

Charges are on the way "soon" in the 2000 vote buying scandal.

On the receiving end this time: Greg Stumbo.

Stop The Presses! Greg Stumbo Takes A Break From Partisan Witch Hunt To Support John Roach For Supreme Court!

Governor Ernie Fletcher took the highly unusual step today of appointing a conservative to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Oh the shame!

Fletcher could easily have made the liberal editorial boards happy by appointing one of their judges instead. If only Ben Chandler had been elected governor, we could have gotten a nice lefty.

Think about that for a minute.

And the best part is those letters of support for Roach's appointment from Stumbo and Democrat former Secretary of State John Y. Brown III.

I'm almost looking forward to the fits of rage about this...

Friday's Felon: Me?

Amid all this gubmint job hubbub in Kentucky, I remember now that I lobbied for a friend to get a job in the Finance and Administration cabinet.

I didn't write a letter and don't recall emailing anyone's blackberry about it, but I did it.

There. I feel much better now.

I'm ready to pay for my crime.

Thumbs Up For Larry Forgy

If anyone knows about Democrat dirty tricks, it's Larry Forgy. Mr. Forgy had the special experience of practicing law in Kentucky with a Democrat Governor nipping at his posterior for eight years.

So now, Mr. Forgy is suing in federal court to shut down Greg Stumbo's far-reaching merit system investigation.

The AP reports "Forgy went to federal court to challenge the state law because his experience in state courts in Kentucky has been unsatisfactory."

That would be an understatement. Nice job, Larry.

Harry Reid Obstructs Senate, Blames Republicans For Sluggishness

After years of dragging President Bush's judicial nominees through the verbal muck of Democrats' filibustering, Harry Reid stretches beyond all reason for a partisan attack:

"We've spent endless hours, endless days, too many weeks debating radical judges and Republican attempts to abuse power," Reid spun.

Thanks, Senator. But do you have any real ideas? How about entitlement reform? Taxes?

Silence is often considered golden, but Democrat obstinance and obstruction in the face of real problems isn't a very impressive platform from which to ask for a return to power.

Which Way Will They Go?

Kentucky's Democratic Party State Executive Committee is supposed to meet June 25 at Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg. This is the meeting at which the party will decide whether to follow Howard Dean to the far left or to become Republican Lite.

You may recall we started reporting on this developing story three weeks ago.

Democrat Sour Grapes In Montgomery County

Brenda Murphy is one angry Democrat.

Murphy ran for Montgomery County PVA last year and lost. Now she is suing the lady who beat her and Kentucky's Finance and Administration Cabinet for $4 million.

She is also dragging Governor Fletcher into the case. Interestingly, she didn't think to object to her firing until May 24, six months after losing the election and in the middle of AG Greg Stumbo's investigation into state hiring practices.

There is a lot more to the story (some of it is here), and we can probably expect more of these things to pop up. Before this is over, Stumbo will have spent his whole term chasing down disgruntled Dems looking to get even rather than actually doing his job.

That's a shame.

Kentucky Progress Radio

We will be talking about Jonathan Miller's Government Cheese Tour, Harry Moberly's illegal fundraising, Greg Stumbo's waste, a new liberal poll and more this afternoon at 5:15 to 6:15 on WEKY 1340 AM.

KY Sierra Club: Save The Environment By Soaking the "Rich"

Kentucky's tree huggers have more to worry about than predicting (again) the imminent end of the world's oil supply. In a front page article for their June newsletter, the Cumberland Sierra Club wades into the Social Security debate with some carefully measured analysis and suggestions. Their prescription: raise taxes already so we can get back to the important work of complaining about the environment.

They even offer political cover for Democrats using a little Berkeleyspeak: "But courageous lawmakers could frame the debate in the appropriate context and become heroes."

Thanks guys. No, really. Don't ever change.

Hillary Screams Like Dean

It must be Democrat primary 2008 time already.

Hillary smears and attacks Republicans for attempting to "further their own agenda" at a fundraiser in New York. I'm sure she would prefer that we enact her socialist utopia for her. No doubt Hillary would like us if we only nationalized health care and taxed our way to prosperity for all.

Read this. Particularly hilarious was the part where she attacks the media for not being tough on Bush.

WFA: Jonathan Miller's Government Cheese Tour

Kentucky's state Treasurer Jonathan Miller is taking the hugely expensive marketing campaign for his moribund KAPT program on the road this month. Starting in Lexington on June 14, Miller will make a series of "town hall meetings" to dredge up support for more taxpayer spending to rescue what was once considered the crowning achievement of his political life.

Miller's prepaid tuition ponzi scheme (also known as KAPT) came under fire after pulling $13.7 million last December from the Commonwealth's General Fund. Finance and Administration Cabinet officials, already facing runaway Medicaid expenses and other real problems requiring real money, were doubtless relieved when the General Assembly ordered Miller to return the taxpayers' millions by June 30, 2005.

But Miller and AG Greg "Smoking Gun" Stumbo took the money and ran -- to court. Miller has already spent millions of taxpayer dollars marketing (and subsequently propping up) KAPT -- complete with his name and picture on all the materials. Earlier this year, an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the General Assembly agreed to slow his gravy train down by recouping the $13.7 million (House Democrats killed the commonsense effort to stop future losses altogether).

The matter is currently before Franklin Circuit Court Judge Roger Crittenden where, of course, anything can happen. And you know the liberal media is for anything that would cause tax increases, so expect lots of fawning coverage and angry Dean Scream editorials.

Many of us voted for change in Frankfort in 2003 and have seen precious little of it. We must demand that Miller be forced to end this waste, fraud, and abuse immediately. And then we need legislation to discontinue the office of State Treasurer once and for all. We can call it the Jonathan "Government Cheese" Miller Act of 2006 and spend his outlandish salary on things that might more positively affect the Commonwealth.

Dead Democrats Caught Voting In Washington State

Read the story here. I doubt you will see much about this in the MSM, but the story isn't going away and is certainly likely to unearth a few more buried secrets.

UPDATE: Expecting a court decision on the WA Governor's race Monday. If the judge invalidates the very suspicious "victory" of Democrat Christine Gregoire, she will be booted out of office and a new election will be held. Monday's decision won't be final, though. The state Supreme Court has already cleared room on its docket to hear the appeal of this Al Gore repeat that "ended" when they found enough votes for the Dem.

Papers Go Ballistic For Arbitrary Judicial Activism

Slinging mud and calling a lady names like "discredited nag" are nothing new to the Lexington Herald Leader and Louisville Courier Journal, who call on Republicans to end their effort to seat election winner Dana Seum Stephenson to represent the 37th district in the state Senate.

What is new, which went unreported in all the newspaper coverage, is that the as-yet-undecided contest between Stephenson and Virginia Woodward is now only about one thing: the ability of the state Senate to make internal decisions. The Senate's definition of "residency" no longer matters in this case. It's an interesting side issue, but the crux of the matter is now whether the courts have jurisdiction over internal Senate decisions.

They don't, and the Supreme Court is likely to agree. Liberal editorial writers are certainly free to advise Senators to give up this fight, but unless we want legislators going to court over their committee assignments and meeting start times (and no one should want that), we should support the decision to seat Dana Seum Stephenson and move on to more important issues.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woodward?

The Kentucky Senate's 37th district constitutional conundrum appears to have the Lexington Herald Leader and Louisville Courier Journal all twisted up in their hopes to install more liberal Democrats in Frankfort.

Both papers today jump on a Franklin Circuit Court ruling that keeps open the question of who will serve the 37th Senate district -- Dana Seum Stephenson or Virginia Woodward.

The Senate voted to seat Stephenson because she won the election. Now Judge Graham is calling that decision "arbitrary." This is the key issue. Whether the decision of the Senate was arbitrary or whether the Court's calling it that is a violation of separation of powers should get the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Interestingly, Woodward's due process claims could possibly shift the case to federal courts should she lose before the Kentucky Supreme Court.

I doubt that Kentucky's Supreme Court is going to decide against the Senate on this issue. To do so would open up the legislature to excessive judicial control. Judges would only have to claim that a decision they didn't like was "arbitrary." While that would certainly be a liberal dream come true, the Supreme Court should be slow to go there. We expect more angry editorials about mean old David Williams and his iron fist. Funny.

"Smoking Gun" Stumbo To Give Up AG?

A top KDP official said that AG Greg Stumbo looks like a definite go for the Democratic Party's 2007 gubernatorial primary. No word on whether Doug Doerting will be his running mate, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear that he has been promised a good job.

KDP Strategy 2006

Kentucky Democrats will soon be chanting one number: 96,000. That is the number of senior citizens in Kentucky they want to believe will become poverty stricken in the event of Social Security reform. Expect that number to get lots of media coverage.

Also lots of talk about reframing issues. A Berkeley professor has put out a video that talks about how to use language to change perception without actually changing positions. This will, activists hope, allow the party's candidates to support tax increases in the name of "investment," shutting down the active defense against terrorism -- never mentioning the term "national security" by turning the discussion to "economic security" -- and pushing nationalized health care as "health security."

In other words, the Democrats are going hard to the left. Their next step will be to cast Jesus as a Marxist by co-opting the Beattitudes. Good news.