RoveGate Goes Bust

Despite all the Sturm and Drang going on over at Ben Chandler's new blog, the angry left-wing mob out for Karl Rove's head missed its mark badly on the clumsily manufactured CIA agent scandal.

Even the New York Times got it right. And it just happens to be a pretty good read, actually. Check it out. I particularly liked the Monty Python reference.

Coming to Lexington January 28: Bill Kristol

William Kristol is editor of the influential Washington-based political magazine, The Weekly Standard. Widely recognized as one of the nation's leading political analysts and commentators, Mr. Kristol regularly appears on Fox News Sunday and on the Fox News Channel.

Before starting The Weekly Standard in 1995, Mr. Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, where he helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. Prior to that, Mr. Kristol served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle during the Bush administration and to Secretary of Education William Bennett under President Reagan. Before coming to Washington in 1985, Mr. Kristol taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Kristol recently co-authored The New York Times bestseller The War Over Iraq: America's Mission and Saddam's Tyranny.

Kentucky Columnist Blames 7/7 On Bush

Last week when we noted that a British MP was blaming the terrorist attacks in London on his government's role in the war, we knew that the rest of the world-wide left would be on board that train soon, backpacks loaded.

Flemingsburg Gazette editor Guy M. Townsend shows that the Howard Deanification of the American Left has reached into the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky.

Townsend invokes the name of Sherlock Holmes to lead himself to the conclusion that George Bush was responsible for the 7/7 attacks because he led the charge against al Qaeda in Afghanistan and then "diverted" attention from that base to Iraq.

If we follow your reasoning, Mr. Townsend, that keeping all our forces in Afghanistan would have allowed us to finish off the terrorists, then how do you possibly explain the fact that they got to Spain and England, neither of which is in the mountains of Afghanistan?

Lost on these wackos is the simple fact that this is a worldwide effort that defies their simplistic solutions. We just have to stay on guard against this kind of garbage. Let it serve as a fresh reminder that the American Left will say anything to draw attention to itself. We must periodically point it out to raise awareness of their tactics. They must not be allowed to prevail.

Kentucky's Liberal Troika

Photo contributed by John Holbrook of Corbin. Thanks John!

Manic Thursday: Politically Correct Islam

Today's new word is Islamophobia.

Probably was just a matter of time, but the word popped up this week because a gang of white Londoners beat a Muslim man to death, apparently for his cigarettes. According to witnesses, one of the attackers called the Muslim man "Taliban" while killing him and stealing his cigarettes.

The Muslim Safety Forum (dedicated to ensuring the safety of Muslims) is really upset that police have classified the murder for cigarettes as "racially aggravated" and not as "Islamophobia."

Azad Ali, who chairs the Muslim Safety Forum, said: "You can't class this as racist, there was no racist abuse shouted at him, it was Islamophobic. We are disappointed that they have misclassified it, especially after all the advice to be more alert to Islamophobic hate crime."

What is the world coming to when a raging horde of thugs can't go out and commit murder and mayhem without encountering a committee of Islamofascist politically correct agitators? I wonder if they would calm down if we set up sensitivity training classes for the families of all the innocent people who have died in the War of Terror.

Chandler Fights Workplace Protection Bills, Loses

After using his Kentucky AG office's OSHA oversight powers to punish political opponents during his two terms, Ben Chandler voted four times yesterday against needed reforms to government workplace oversight.

Fortunately, his views are in the minority. All the measures passed over his objections.

Kentucky Democrats Need A Slogan For 2006

Amid the revelry over the merit hiring investigation in Frankfort, Kentucky Democrats are starting to realize that they need more to actually win in next year's elections.

They need to display a cohesive message; descriptive, informative, and memorable. They need something to hang their hats on. Let's see if we can help at least upgrade them from their current slogan -- "We're not as bad as the national Democrats."

Mark Nickolas was a guest on the Jack Pattie Show this morning. When pressed to make a policy suggestion, he suggested emulating California's $3 Billion Stem Cell expenditure here. I know that taxpayer-sponsored junk science is probably not the kind of selling point we are seriously looking for, but some might want to have a little fun with that or Canadian style health reform or the famous Against the War/For the Troops split.

If you can't come up with anything appropriate for them, just start making stuff up like John Kerry is doing to raise money for his 2008 run for the White House.

What's Wrong With This Talking Point?

The Democrats' talking point du jour is "We don't agree with everything the national Democrats do or say. We're more conservative."

Election 2007

A lot of behind the scenes activity for an upcoming Republican primary in the races for Kentucky's Attorney General and Governor. Details ahead...

Terrorists Strike England

We have been at war for almost four years. Today we are reminded of the stakes. The fairly muted response from world financial markets is very interesting. I'm not sure how to read that at this point, but will suggest that it is a sign of progress in the war that we haven't gone into a tailspin.

UPDATE: George Galloway, the British answer to Howard Dean, took the very unfortunate opportunity of the terrorist attack that killed dozens and injured hundreds of innocent people to attack the war effort and Tony Blair, saying "We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the Government ignoring such warnings." Galloway is a former Labour party kook (the party had the good sense to kick him out in 2003) who is a member of Parliament. Leftist kooks throughout the world should immediately rebuke this idiot, but I am not holding my breath.

Stunningly, the anti-war goofballs still don't get it.

Partisanship is Okay, But This Is Ridiculous

The Lexington Herald Leader today politicizes an issue in a manner that is surprising even for them. In an editorial promoting the Safe Infants Act, the paper quotes and credits Democrat Rep. Tom Burch for sponsoring the bill. Only one tiny problem with that: the Safe Infants Act they refer to was SB 55 sponsored by Republican Sen. Tom Buford.

The Corner House

I took my wife out to dinner Friday night and then we did something we should have done a long time ago. We spent the night in a terrific little Bed and Breakfast in Nicholasville. If any of you guys are looking for an inexpensive way to knock your wife's socks off and get away from it all without going too far, this is the ticket. Or if you have family, friends, or business associates visiting from out of town this is not only cheaper than a hotel, it feels like home away from home.

Karen Pedigo is the owner of the house. She didn't ask me to do this, but it is one of those best kept secrets central Kentucky has to offer. I just wanted to share the idea.

Supreme Court Nomination "Rush to War"

Liberal opposition to the appointment of John Roach to Kentucky's Supreme Court was, you have to admit, pretty weak. It was "He's too young and inexperienced" (which he wasn't), then "He's too conservative" which was, after all, the real objection in the first place. And that objection, to the fringe elements making it, just means that Justice Roach is somewhat to the right of Ralph Nader. Not a problem. The upcoming election will be interesting as Roach faces the voters, but the liberal wish that he will be repudiated then is a pretty tall order.

The Nomination Obstruction Left will not go so quietly as President Bush seeks to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. The NOLs will Bork, High Tech Lynch, hog tie, rape and pillage, tar and feather, Abu Ghraib naked photo, and otherwise demean and destroy anyone he puts up. We all know that. A Mushy Middle Coalition of U.S. Senators will meet to put up a liberal jurist. We all know that too. Those of us who voted for President Bush twice in anticipation of conservative appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court are going to have a good time watching this.

Liberal hair-on-fire freakouts have become all too predictable in recent years. This fall will bring us the Mother of All Freakouts. Just as they have sought to destroy the military effort against the terrorists, tax reform, Social Security reform, and Estate Tax reform, the far left can only tear down.

Where do our "conservative" Democrats stand on this?

Anyone?

Happy Partisanship Day

Some take the opportunity of Independence Day to call for a political cease fire and claim that if we could all just get along, America would prosper faster.

Baloney.

Partisan bickering often results in more rigid talking point orthodoxy than it does honest reflection and questioning of deeply held beliefs, but even in the apparent shortage of honest brokers on both sides, our current system has allowed us the freedom to create the greatest nation on the earth.

I know the America haters have the list of GDP statistics to indicate we are not the most productive nation, the national debt numbers to prove that we are fiscally irresponsible, and the mortality rates and disease statistics to show how our standard of living lags. I've seen all that and yet contend that we are the greatest because the freedom for the individual we all cherish and fight side by side to protect.

You may believe in socialized medicine, tax increases, and surrender of our national security interests to a committee of tinhorn dictators at the United Nations. God bless you! Our Constitution protects your ability to scream these inanities and more from a megaphone in the town square and our tradition of individual rights has provided us with sufficient productivity and moral strength to afford many such travesties as the battle to keep personal choice out of Social Security and to fight back efforts to normalize deviant behavior.

So on the day of national celebration for our freedoms, I say to my conservative friends to keep up the good fight. Great struggles are ahead, and while dark days hang ominously over the horizon, the march to victory depends on teaching the harsh truth of our logic and displaying inexorable adherence to our principles. To my liberal friends, I urge an open mind.

The gathering storm of the 2006 elections will be a referendum on the War on Terror, entitlement and tax reform, private property rights, and public standards of morality. The two largest ideologies, conservatism and liberalism, have already staked out their positions. What remains is for Democrat politicians to beat a path away from their party's beliefs. They have the freedom in this great country to hold dear their falsehoods and pandering.

In the tradition of our founding fathers, we have the responsibility to future generations of Americans to fight against the evil that the American Left would inflict us with while standing on guard against the mutiny within our own ranks by those who would wreck the gains for which we have fought.

Economic Illiteracy Leading Killer of Liberal Reporters

The New York Times is at it again. This time, they are trying to make the case for the sky falling because of all the rich folks who don't pay federal income taxes.

Here is the story.

The key to understanding this issue meshes nicely with the need to reform the U.S. Tax Code. How can they say there is anyone who doesn't pay federal income taxes when nearly one-third of the cost of all goods and services can be attributed to federal income taxes?

The New York Times can't understand that but you can, can't you?

Government Cheese Day in Kentucky

Today is the day that Kentucky Treasurer Jonathan Miller is supposed to return $13.7 million dollars in taxpayer funds to the state that he used to prop up his money-losing prepaid tuition KAPT scheme.

Miller and Attorney General Greg Stumbo took the money and ran to court earlier this year.

Though we probably didn't need any more reasons to not trust liberals with our money, we now have 13,700,000 more.

Miller's recent Government Cheese Tour, promoting his taking of your money, didn't get any media scrutiny and we expect this day to pass without MSM notice as well.

Happy Government Cheese Day!!

Buying Votes For Ten Dollars Each

While enemies of Governor Fletcher are speculating wildly and leaking voluminously, federal prosecutors are quietly going after real election fraud.

Could this be a sign of things to come in Kentucky?

Ask the folks at KDP Headquarters about voter fraud and you get a typical liberal response. They say the solution to the problem is more public transportation, which would only allow the vote-buying to take place completely off the books.

Kent Clark Wants To Take Your Property

Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark, possibly still light-headed and confused from his drunken driving arrest, weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on municipal governments' ability to take private property and give it to political contributors:

"It's a good thing because I don't think that one family should be able to hold up something that would benefit the whole county," the Democrat politician said.

Kentucky Dems To Take The Booze Out of Politics?

The latest campaign finance reform craze in Washington a few years ago was mostly a Democratic Party/Big Media initiative. John McCain was the useful idiot Republican in the scheme, but liberal establishment types are the folks with the vested interest in limiting free speech under the banner of "getting the money out of politics." After the most expensive Presidential election in history last year, it is only a matter of time before the Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi cabal start braying about the destructive influence of money again.

Until that happens, Jerry Lundergan and Dale Emmons have a BIG IDEA! After promoting on their website for weeks that a major announcement was on the way, they claim boldly to support ending the practice of vote hauling.

The wording in the press release is laughable. Stating that the system "fosters class warfare" and causes "character assassination of indigent and disabled Kentucky voters," The Brain Trust on Democrat Drive in Frankfort proposes the big fix: just make the traditional practice of vote hauling illegal.

The worst kept secret in the last century of Kentucky politics is that vote-buying politicians can find willing sellers and compensate them as "vote haulers" who are paid with a wink and a nod to drive poor unfortunate souls to the polls. Keeping up this charade is where the concern for the reputations of indigent and disabled Kentucky voters comes from.

What we have here again is the the difference between stated reasons and the real reason for proposing a change in the law. Just as campaign finance reform was simply a dressed-up "Incumbent Protection and Mainstream Media Empowerment Act," this clean up the election process effort is a well-orchestrated effort to deflect blame from the vote buying cases winding their way through the federal legal system right now. Missing in all this bluster from the KDP is the simple fact that vote hauling isn't the problem; vote buying is the problem. And vote buying has been illegal for a long time. The change they are proposing is simple window dressing. If you believe that they really want to eliminate voter fraud, you probably also believe there is no need to reform Social Security.

Nancy Pelosi Goes Howard Dean On Social Security

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi defended raiding the Social Security Trust Fund recently, saying “There is a surplus in Social Security, and under the law Social Security can lend that money to the government for other purposes with the idea and the requirement that that money be paid back to the Social Security Trust Fund with interest.”

She went on to claim that "the ‘with interest’ is part of the income to the Social Security Trust Fund which makes it solvent until 2052.”

Outside of San Francisco, most of the rest of us see the enormous tax increase coming to Rep. Pelosi's status quo approach.

Does Ben Chandler agree with this? Do you?