Who Is Ben Chandler Representing Now?

Rep. Ben Chandler is about to extend his month-long vacation by a third day, as it is expected he will be a no-show for the House session starting at 10 AM.

Lions, And Tigers, And Bears! Oh My!

Of all the challenges facing ex-convicts in Kentucky, does anyone really think restoring their voting rights is a meaningful priority for them (or us) worthy of legislative action?

Medical Cover Up In Kentucky

The truth about Kentucky's Certificate of Need program is getting harder and harder to hide.

Where In The World Is Ben Chandler?

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson isn't running for governor, Auditor Crit Luallen isn't running for Governor, and Rep. Ben Chandler hasn't shown up for work the last two days.

Chandler's spokeswoman didn't return my call this afternoon so I don't know, but it is a little curious that Ben would need a couple of days off after his month-long vacation. With all this gubernatorial speculation going on, you just have to wonder.

Oh, Goody!

Meet your new House Majority Leader.

Hey John, say something stupid for the cameras about the war!

Taking Another Shot At Eminent Domain

There is a bill before the U.S. Senate that would ban the abuse of eminent domain by municipalities who take property from one private owner and give it to another.

One small problem -- Bill Frist is against it.

Typical.

Rolling Heads In Frankfort

A shake-up is in the works in House Republican leadership in Kentucky's General Assembly.

Any guesses?

Mayor Jim Newberry, Liberal or Conservative?

A rumor circulating around City Hall in Lexington has Mayor Jim Newberry scrapping the old budgeting process and going to a zero-based budget. This would involve justifying every expenditure individually rather than just taking the existing budget, raising everything five percent, and hiking taxes or fees to make it all work.

Take Another Look At Term Limits

Yeah, I know I'll take some abuse for picking the week after this election to champion Congressional term limits, but it could be worth the effort.

Nancy Pelosi has already chosen a wimpy, campaign finance reform approach to rooting out official corruption. She says gifts from lobbyists shouldn't be allowed. Sure, that will end any conflicts of interest.

If we really want to change the way Congress does business, ending the seniority-based spoils system on Capitol Hill deserves a good hard look.

I'm sure it doesn't poll very well and politicians will lie about their support for term limits in order to get elected, but it is a better idea than trying to stop legislative agents from picking up the tab for dinner. And with our finely-tuned b.s. detectors turned on high, it may be more difficult for lawmakers to shout it down.

Don't Pay Any Attention To That Civil War Going On Behind The Curtain

Media types are having a lot of fun with the idea of the Republican party struggling with the idea of going toward the center or toward the right.

But the Democratic ideological power struggle we aren't supposed to notice will be no less entertaining.

In fact, I think it will be objectively much more so because the Democrats have (slim) majorities and are supposed to be in charge.

How long before they start calling Republicans "obstructionists?"

KCFG: Liberal GOP'ers Rejected

The long-awaited launch of the Kentucky Club For Growth comes today with a press release from executive director Brian Richmond:

"The Kentucky Club for Growth will find, support and endorse candidates for elected office who are committed to free-market principles, lowering taxes, reducing spending and decreasing the size of government. Additionally, we will hold Frankfort accountable by monitoring legislation and providing scorecards to our members and the press after each legislative session."

Richmond says too many in the Republican party have "abandoned the principles that guided Ronald Reagan."

Casino Surreality

A big-government politician's dream -- casino gambling -- is playing out in absurd fashion in Indiana.

Despite ample evidence casinos cost governments more than they generate, politicians like cutting ribbons for new projects. Casino revenue generates lots of ribbon cutting. It generates even more in welfare costs, but no one calls a press conference for that.

Anyway, politicians in Indiana counties without casinos suffer a dearth of ribbon-cuttings and they are doing something about it.

Watching legislators fight to keep gambling boats here or there -- or move them, or license new ones -- is not something we want to get involved in here in Kentucky while we still have the choice. Sponsoring Senator Mudwrestling events on Friday nights would be more productive for the Commonwealth.

As Brereton Jones seeks to ride the casino gambling gravy train back to Frankfort, we should be encouraging people to take a closer look. We already rejected campaign "welfare for politicians." Casino gambling is nothing more than ribbon-cutting enhancement for politicians with a hefty price tag for taxpayers. Viewed properly, the casino gambling scam would be swiftly rejected by the people who will be buying the ribbons.

"They Think They Won"

I remember the heady days of November 2000, when a new day of conservative dominance seemed to be dawning.

It didn't mean anything to me at the time, but I remember eavesdropping on a couple of Democrats who were talking about the difficulty the newcomers were going to have advancing any kind of agenda.

"They think they won," one said to the other.

Now I understand this sentiment. It seems liberals will come down from their euphoria and quickly realize their razor-thin majorities will not get them very far on their agenda.

The first test, Iraq, will happen very soon.

Do The Right Thing, Steve Pence

An early indicator for a pretty meaningless Governor's race next year is this limp noodle column from liberal columnist John Nelson who said, basically, "Waaaaah, we don't want divisive Republicans!" Ironically, he is talking about Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to give in to Democrats.

I don't care who runs for Governor next year. It's a terrible, dead-end job. The only way to get along with the legislature is to go along with massive amounts of borrowed spending and stealth tax increases. The biggest challenge facing the next governor may well be pension deficits necessitating impossible-to-hide tax increases.

The race to watch for next year is the one for Attorney General. What we need is a serious, no nonsense prosecutor to protect the taxpayers.

Steve Pence's independence could make him a strong choice for that role.

This Story Probably Makes More Sense If You're Stoned: "We're All One In This World"

The executive director of the Sierra Club came to Louisville and it sounds like everyone had the munchies.

Democrats For Fair Tax?

A rumor is swirling among Fair Tax activists that Congressional Democrats are making plans to push for passage of the Fair Tax Act.

This would be a great move for the nation, for Democrats and would serve Republicans right for dragging their feet on this reform.

Party Re-organization Starts Now

All the talk about the 2008 Presidential horse race overshadows the fact that the Republican and Democratic parties will likely see some important changes to how they operate over the next two years.

Starting in the spring of 2008, both parties will re-organize from the local precincts up to the national level. This involves potentially new faces and also fine-tuning of the parties' platforms.

If you have ideas about how things should be done for either party, you should get involved now. The Republicans must reassert their fiscal conservatism. Democrats need to be clear about where they are on the war on terror.

All to often, the same people run the county, district, and state conventions about like they always have. If you have an interest in changing that, now is the time to start gathering like-minded friends who will show up and vote with you.

The opportunity for new individuals to gain greater influence is enhanced by the shake-ups in both parties. Dem Chair Jerry Lundergan is very likely to face challenges to his leadership and the much-publicized power struggle in the Ky. GOP could create quick opportunities for new blood.

GOP Straw Poll Looks Good For Romney

It's just a straw poll I can't figure out how to link to, but it shows Giuliani and Gingrich running ahead of Gov. Mitt Romney. Seems reasonable to expect their zipper problems to knock out one or both of the front-runners, so that should benefit Romney.

McCain is fourth.

Here is the straw poll.

Constitutional Officer Reform For Kentucky

We don't need any more evidence that the office of Treasurer in Kentucky is completely worthless, do we?

After Jonathan Miller rides out his second term of auditioning for a higher elected position, we should just do away with Kentucky Treasurer as a constitutionally elected office.

No one doubts the Senate would pass such a measure. The fun thing would be to watch the House Democrats go along, as they surely would.

Give Me Benefits Or Give Me Death

Kentucky state social workers are pushing for re-classification as hazardous duty employees. They say this is necessary because they risk life and limb to remove children from dangerous home environments and often face threats themselves.

At issue if whether we are just throwing money at the problem or actually trying to solve it. Adding them to the hazardous duty category only changes eligibility for a full pension from twenty seven years of service to twenty years.

Social workers are unarmed and often walk into dangerous situations without a police escort. They say that when they do have police support on a call, the officer stands behind the social worker.

Making them hazardous duty employees does nothing to alleviate the physical risks. It just pays them more for enduring the risks and pays them from a woefully insufficient pool of funds.

Wouldn't it be better for the safety of the social worker and cheaper for the state to send a police officer with every social worker who requests one and have the armed officer stand in front of the social worker at the door? It seems the officer could stay as long as a threat is perceived. Usually that wouldn't be very long.

Just seems that if I were in a very dangerous job, seven more years of pension would be small compensation for risking my life. Given a choice, I would rather see the job made more safe.

It is curious, then, that the social workers are so fired up for the seven years and won't listen to suggestions for cutting the safety risk instead.