Omnibus Post Blasts Democrats And Republicans

If you haven't read Caleb Brown's takedown of omnibus bills, go ahead and read it now. These are the bills that combine many different policy initiatives in one bill. The example cited by Mr. Brown is Governor Fletcher's tax modernization bill. He has a point, of course, and small government Republicans in Frankfort who held their noses and voted for the "revenue neutral tax increase" know all too well. Most galling is that Brown quotes a Democrat lawmaker who complains that he didn't want to vote for the bill because of the tax increase on business, but had to because failure to support the whole thing would have cost his district dearly. He has a point and Democrats have already shown an eagerness to beat GOP candidates over the head with it next year.

And this happens on a day that a Dem Congressman from Pennsylvania urges us to go ahead and surrender in Iraq. Inconsistency among conservatives makes it pretty hard to keep Democrats in their little left-leaning box. In a time that even Hillary Clinton is trying to wear the conservative label, Republicans have to know that they are hurting conservatism itself when they seek to avoid issue-driven debate.

Another Transportation Cabinet Scandal Brewing?

Mark Hebert's story is online regarding an alleged bid-rigging scandal in the Transportation Cabinet. No smoking gun in last night's report, but sources indicate that the rest of the story might be a little more troublesome.

So far, though, I don't see much to this story. The evidence that I am familiar with seems to indicate that it doesn't go any higher than David Jones, though Jones suggests otherwise. But Mark Hebert says he is still working on it and thinks it goes higher up, so stay tuned.

Frankfort Rumors: Trouble in Transport?

Mark Hebert is promoting a "big story" for 5:00 on WHAS in Louisville. He says he has uncovered details related to contracts on Transportation Cabinet work. The KSP is investigating.

This doesn't look good.

Media Helps KY Public Schools Hurt Kids, Waste $

Kentucky's Education Industrial Complex rules most counties (where the public school system system is often the largest employer) and, unfortunately, holds sway over our intrepid media outlets across the Bluegrass as well.

The Bluegrass Institute issued a damning report on Monday about the state's fraudulent use of CATS testing to avoid accountability and waste countless hours and taxpayer dollars. Several advance copies of this report went out on Saturday. So how many of our mainstream talkers, news writers, or news readers have explored these findings in order to protect the taxpayers and the children of this state?

None.

That's pathetic. The Soviet Union was the gold standard of burying inconvenient bad news. Is that what you guys are up to? Apparent media complicity here is sickening.

If Governor Fletcher is looking for an issue to champion, this is it.

Councilman Bill Farmer Splits The Baby On Water?

Supporters for condemnation of Kentucky American Water Company were reduced at the end to appealing to a nebulous fear of outsiders. Mayoral candidate Bill Farmer veered dangerously close to joining them today when he said "I do not believe it is in the best interest of Lexington for anyone other than the community or a community-based group of investors to own the (water) system."

While condemnation for its own sake was never a good idea, bowing to the xenophobiacs by calling for "local ownership" is more likely to make sense politically than it does economically. I don't think it works either way, though. Every other municipality in the world views inflows of capital as a good thing. Farmer is already marked with a big "B" for business because of his anti-condemnation stance. Now is not the time to go wobbly, even if it is just posturing rhetoric.

Democrat Surrender Vote Fails

U.S. Senate Democrats today failed in their bid to force President Bush to set a "timetable" for removing troops from Iraq.

Thirty nine Dems and idiot Lincoln Chafee voted for the "surrender in advance." The people whose fanatical thirst for political power contrasts their meekness before terrorist murderers don't seem to understand the results of recent polls. Republican discontent with President Bush has more to do with his capitulation to the Left on such issues as tax and Social Security reform, education reform, and Medicare.

Louisville-bound Hillary Clinton, by the way, voted French on this one.

Thanks to Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning for standing strong.

Hey, Let's Dumb Down Our Colleges Too!

Rep. Rick Nelson (D-Middlesboro) has pre-filed a bill that would direct Kentucky legislative staff to "study" the cost of college textbooks. Maybe the Democrats are cooking up a plan to "fix" higher education expenses just like they "fixed" health insurance back in 1994.

Nice spin on the current "gouging at the pump" craze, but not any more realistic than that or the utopian health insurance mess Governor Jones (D-of course) gave us.

Those kids don't need no book learnin' !!!

Bad News Travels Fast

Campaign finance reports are in and Governor Fletcher has raised $218,165.00 and spent $86,973.93.

This is not good and the Dems will be crowing as soon as they see it.

KEA's Shame: Waste, Fraud, Abuse on CATS Test

The folks at Bluegrass Institute have done it again.

As a parent of public school students, I have learned that demanding more gets good results. We learned last week that the teachers' union demands for more pay is another false alarm. Now we see that our program for testing accountability is a complete sham.

I don't see any need to send our kids to school on CATS testing days to prop up this garbage.

Such abuse of underpriviledged children should be the kind of thing the media would jump all over. Where are they?

Purge The Mergers: Danville Mayor Goes Wild

Mayor John Bowling will hold a press conference Monday at 5pm at Danville city hall to discuss creating a single government for Boyle County.

Small government advocates may view this as a way to create fewer politicians. The problem is that the remaining office holders have more power and are less accountable to the people they represent.

If Danvillians really want to do something good, they should change their city government from a commissioner form of government to one represented by a city council. Commissioners serve the same purpose as a council, but are all elected citywide and oversee different areas of city government. This makes them accountable primarily to the city workers. A city councilman represents a specific geographic region and is accountable primarily to the people in that district.

Mike (Nancy Pelosi) Weaver Talks Smack

Rep. Mike Weaver is running for Congress against Ron Lewis. His official announcement is coming next week, but the DCCC has been blowing in his ear for months now. It is going to happen.

Interviewed recently, Weaver was bragging about how sticking him with the liberal label wouldn't work. That may be so when he is running for his safe little seat in Frankfort, but this is the big leagues. In a narrowly divided House, a vote for any Democrat is a vote for San Francisco freak Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House.

Exposed: KY Teachers 5th Highest Paid In Nation

State legislators buckled last year under agonizing pleas from the teachers' union that its members could not afford to feed their families if they were forced to absorb higher health care costs. Kentucky's education "reformers" have claimed for years that education nirvana could be found on the other side of higher pay for teachers.

We have been duped.

A study from the Raleigh, North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation has ranked the total compensation for public school teachers by state. Kentucky has long been listed at the bottom of educational achievement surveys and it is ranked 34th in terms of teacher salary. But when total compensation and cost-of-living are considered, Kentucky is ranked number five in the nation.

Here is the report.

The folks at the Bluegrass Institute told me about this one. They work on some very interesting things to improve education in Kentucky and are finding surprisingly little support from "conservative" and "family-friendly" legislators of both parties. Their plan is to take their information directly to parents. God help the politicians who stand in the way of this train when it gets moving.

With Republicans Like This, Who Needs Democrats?

Let me get this straight: the GOP in Washington is killing off tax cuts as unaffordable, spending cuts as unpopular, energy independence as unfriendly to moosekind, and Medicaid reform as unfair.

Meanwhile here at home, the big press conference of the day is another weak (and failed) attempt to redirect the merit hiring debacle. The gathering conservative storm may not play out as some elected Republicans are hoping.

What continues to happen is that elected Republicans leave their right flank exposed for Democrats to out-conservative them. The only saving grace is the national Democrats. I certainly understand the strategy of reduced expectations, but aren't we making it a little easy for the lefties, their utter lack of workable ideas intact, to build support at our expense?

Bluegrass Institute Takes The Lead

It's a good day when the folks at BIPPS speak up. Today is looking like a very good day, indeed.

FALSE ALARM UPDATE: While today is shaping up to be a pretty good day at BIPPS, I'm told their explosive report on education in Kentucky will not be released until Monday. Kentucky Progress will have the first complete synopsis available ASAP.

Another Liberal Senator Coming To Louisville

The Louisville Courier Journal reports that Sen. John McCain is coming to Louisville December 14 to sell his book.

Democrats Cast Blame, Eat Fish in Danville

The Danville (KY) Advocate Messenger reports on a political rally in which Democrat officials attacked Republicans.

The money quote was from House Speaker Jody Richards who said "I'm proud to be a Democrat, proud to live up to the Democrats' message."

Which message is that, exactly, Speaker Richards?

Maybe we can ask him December 2 in Louisville at the Hillary Clinton fundraisers. Clinton will be in town to raise money for her pro-abortion, higher taxes, and nationalized health care Senate campaign in New York and, presumably, to benefit this same "message" for Democrat candidates in Kentucky. No word yet on how they are going to handle the Democrats' surrender-first foreign policy message or their special rights for gay adoptive parents message.

Grassroots Support Only For Good Republicans

Tall tales about a national Democrat resurrection in 2006 notwithstanding, individual donors continue to pour comparatively more money into GOP organization coffers. The notable exception is the National Republican Senatorial Committee, likely because of the "moderate" GOP group in that body.

In other words, a Dem takeover looks very unlikely unless they can figure out a way to be more conservative than the Republicans. Meanwhile, we have some breathing room to demand some more accountability from our Republican elected officials. That is a good thing.

Democrats Still Hiding Policy Positions

Roll Call reports that national Democrats have given up their efforts to express any specific agenda for America for now. This latest failure comes as Kentucky Democrats celebrate the far-out liberal achievements of Sen. Hillary Clinton (like her 8% rating by Citizens Against Government Waste; worse even than John Kerry's 25% failing grade and Ben Chandler's 15%).

What could they be trying to hide?

Typical Politician: On Both Sides Of The Issue

Ben Chandler supports his liberal friends' efforts to condemn Kentucky American Water, but now has a press release urging "strong safeguards to protect private property owners from having their property seized by the government." His distinction is that now he is talking about the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo decision, but the difference in principle is non-existent.

Go Figure: Tax Reform Panel Speaks; We Yawn

For all of President Bush's talk about spending his political capital in his second term, the conservative revolution has misfired badly with him at the helm these last ten months.

Or has it?

Social Security Reform was bludgeoned nearly to death, but the Democrats with their hammers came off looking a little like the Arabs dancing in the streets on 9/11. Sure, they won. But the red ink that Social Security is drowning in will soon have voters wondering what all the celebrating in 2005 was all about.

The end runs around the crazed enviro-fascists will soon have us drilling for oil in the ANWR wilderness. This will clearly open the way to more domestic exploration that will substantially reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

The revolt by the most fiscally conservative House Republicans will likely result in reduced pork spending. A similar mutiny by conservative Senate Republicans will certainly result in the confirmation of a solid Supreme Court justice.

So now the President's own Advisory Panel on Tax Reform has issued its ideas for simplifying our tax system and everyone is waiting to see what the vox populi declares.

When President Reagan left the White House in 1989, the conservative movement suffered from the loss of a great champion. Could it be that President Bush will leave us stronger in his absence because of the way he has drawn out our liberal opponents from their fortifications with their arguments pulled down around their ankles?

I think so, yes.

The question then becomes "Can we do the same thing here in Kentucky?" Can the ground troops of the Bluegrass conservative movement wrest control of the Republican party and the social objectives that drew us to it from those who would use it for self-aggrandizement? Can we force discipline on a state government that raised our taxes last year, and continues to this day to keep us mired in an upward spiral of health insurance costs that could be alleviated with the stroke of a pen, just as the downward spiral of our public education system could be stopped dead in its tracks with a simple reform of higher standards and fewer layers of administration?

I think so, yes.

I don't know how much credit history will give President Bush for advancing conservative principles, but I fear that Kentucky will squander its opportunity for advancement without stronger conservative leadership. A few good men and women are working to change our course. I believe that 2006 will be their year.