Courier Journal Says Jonathan Miller Should Quit

In the weakest gubernatorial endorsement editorial I have ever seen from a "major" newspaper, the Louisville Courier Journal encouraged Kentucky's Democrats to nominate Steve Beshear for Governor.

As attorney general and lieutenant governor, and in his work as a successful private attorney, Mr. Beshear has demonstrated the kind of toughness needed to break the partisan logjam in Frankfort and to move the state energetically in new directions.

Treasurer Jonathan Miller is expected to pull a Bruce Lunsford and quit the race on Monday. The CJ gives him a nice, swift kick toward the door:

State Treasurer Jonathan Miller offers a progressive voice, but his experience seems too thin for a jump to state government's top job. He is, unfortunately, more likely to harm Mr. Beshear's chances than to elevate his own.

Also, it is interesting to note that the CJ fails to mention that Beshear's house of cards is built on getting casino gambling past the legislature. Despite Beshear's impotent bluster about forcing the General Assembly to act (which the CJ also fails to mention), it will never happen.

The 200 word non-endorsement responses from the other candidates will be fun to read.

Jody Richards Misses Mark On Education Policy

The most basic economic theory states that lowering the price of a good increases demand for it. Education is a good and all consumers of education want to lower the price of it.

Right?

So why in the world do we continue to fall for foolish schemes like Jody Richards' College Opportunity Grants?

Establishing “College Opportunity Grants,” which would double the amount of need-based assistance given to students in the neediest 25th percentile of applicants.

Why don't we just call this "Soak The Middle Class" and quit pretending that putting our focus on expanding access to higher education by throwing more money at people based solely on their low incomes helps "education"?

I know. I am being insensitive and politically incorrect and Republican. But will someone explain to me how increasing demand -- and therefore the price -- of higher education by further subsidizing students who happen to have low incomes really benefits the state? It would be much more honest and correct to say that our goal is to create higher education opportunities for low income students by limiting them for those of mid-range means.

I fail to see how such class warfare benefits education. Seriously, Richards' "Grants" might legitimately claim to give at least a freshman year to some students of very limited means, but those same students have access to ample federal funds already.

If what we want is to improve schools, we should shift our focus to aiding more students who demonstrate a willingness to do the work necessary to complete a college degree. Let's incentivize achievement and not low incomes. It would be far better to tell kids in middle school that the only way they can live better than their parents is to work hard and we will help them get a college education. Instead, we tell them that mediocre effort and broke parents are all they need to get into college. Then we wring our hands because our students aren't prepared to do college work. Their failure succeeds only in raising prices for those who are more prepared, but less indigent. The biggest winner in this system is the politicians writing press releases about how much they care for the poor.

Pelosi Take Note: Mayor Of Mogadishu Bans Guns

War-torn Somalia is now going to try a little gun control. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi has painted herself into a corner by cutting off funding to American troops in Iraq.

How long will it be before Speaker Pelosi suggests insurgents in Iraq turn in their guns to mosques in Baghdad? And what would Ben Chandler say if she did?

GOP Candidates Missing Most Important Issue

While the Democratic candidates for governor are all over the subject of who has the best plan for socialized medicine in Kentucky, the Republican candidates have been silent about how to use market principles to really improve how we pay for health care.

I understand the fear that Kentuckians are ready to go for more government involvement in health insurance, but the stakes are so high that it is a shame to see no one trying to lead in the right direction on this.

Anyone who might be inclined to take on this most important issue might start by reading this.

Chandler, Yarmuth Join Liberal "Hate Crime" Stunt

House Democrats yesterday rammed through a bill to throw federal tax dollars at prosecution of hate crimes.

Hate crime legislation is Nancy Pelosi's idea of getting tough on crime by penalizing violent offenders for having politically incorrect thoughts. She has her boys locked up tight, doesn't she?

Trading Merit Misdemeanors For Big-Time Criminals

Democratic party insiders in Frankfort and in Madison county confirm that a Bruce Lunsford administration would likely include Richmond's Ed Worley as Transportation Cabinet Secretary.

Now there is a fine, upstanding individual we can trust with our tax dollars.

Who is Lunsford going to put in charge of the budget, Jerry Lundergan? Maybe Johnny Ray Turner can help with procurement and Steve Henry can head up Medicaid oversight.

"I'll See Your Bad Policy And Raise You One More"

Wow. Spending hoped-for casino revenues on government subsidies to businesses for health insurance. How about a trifecta? You bet! We can subsidize prescription drug purchases too!

Courtesy of the Steve Beshear/Casino Gambling campaign:

A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course...

While some gubernatorial candidates are sitting on their hands waiting for the Kentucky Derby to pass -- except Jonathan Miller, who announced breathlessly that Kathy Stein wants him to win (and we assume by that she means he will not just hold off Gatewood on May 22) -- they may be helping the environment. Less talking means less earth-baking carbon dioxide, right?

Silence and inaction is not such a blessing in January of legislative election years, though. When our lawmakers sit on their hands waiting for the filing deadline to pass before they do any substantial work in Frankfort, they cheat taxpayers. The next time our gubernatorial candidates grab an open microphone, they should propose that we push forward the election filing deadline until after the end of General Assembly sessions.

Too many of our legislative leaders aren't interested in open government or in being accountable to the public, but we need gubernatorial candidates with the courage to stand up for commonsense action like this.

Why Is This Man Still Employed By Lexington Jail?

The FBI investigation into the cover-up of prisoner abuse in the Fayette County Detention Center is still open. After the former mayor so quickly dismissed the evidence removed from the jail last summer as no big deal, current Mayor Jim Newberry has been strangely silent.

What say you, Mayor Jim Newberry?

Maybe They Should Outlaw Unhappiness First

Strange story from Switzerland has gun control activists prying guns out of the hands of people who want to commit suicide.

Looks like some kind of stupid law is on the way. Apparently 77% of poll respondents said there is no need to store both guns and ammunition in the same Swiss home.

Jody Richards Lurches Leftward On Healthcare

Jody Richards has a plan: expand government programs and everything will be just fine.

Oh, and Richards has gone up with a television ad that looks like it was filmed in a graveyard.

Good place for it.

The Gig Is Up On Northup Campaign

When the Democratic gubernatorial candidates file their next campaign finance reports, some of them may need to report in-kind contributions from Anne Northup after she featured pictures of them in her latest attack ad.

Thanks Anne.

Northup has claimed, implausibly, that she would be a fiscal conservative in Frankfort. After years as a big spender in Washington, she might have difficulty making this one stick.

In fact, her statements have drawn a strong rebuke from the Kentucky Club for Growth:

Like Nancy Pelosi, Northup voted "no" on all the Flake amendments that would have seriously reduced wasteful "earmarks."

Governor Fletcher might do better on fiscal issues in his second term, and he should. But none of his opponents can claim with a straight face to possess better conservative credentials -- which is to say a record of protection of taxpayer interests.

Putting Medicaid And Welfare In Perspective

While everyone is talking about healthcare reform: in the name of promoting freedom and self-sufficiency, can we get a candidate for governor to talk about getting people off Medicaid for a change?

Probably not.

You Have Three Minutes To Look As Silly As You Possibly Can ... Ready? OK, Go!

Top General Assembly Target for '08: Perry Clark

Sen. Perry Clark is a marked man for 2008. Virginia Woodward is likely to come after him in a primary and Doug Hawkins is looking like the early favorite for the GOP nod.

This will be a war, because the GOP needs one more vote to pass medical malpractice reform.

Is Jody Richards Going To Bite Lawyers' Hands?

Gubernatorial candidate Jody Richards will discuss his health care plan tomorrow in Henderson with Dr. David Watkins by his side.

Dr. Watkins is a state representative and a Democrat who won election last year on the strength of his support for medical liability reform.

Liberal trial attorneys will go crazy when they see this. Richards is already in trouble with the left for his statement to the Kentucky Right to Life Association that he would not support a candidate for office who supports legalized abortions (question #9).

KAPT For Everyone: 2008 Wrecking Education Act

Rep. Rick Nelson(D-Middlesboro) has pre-filed a bill for the 2008 General Assembly in an effort to combat rising higher education costs in Kentucky. There is no way his proposal will have the intended result unless Rep. Nelson really wants to make college unaffordable for more Kentuckians.

Rep. Nelson's bill would freeze college tuition rates for two years and then mandate that future increases not exceed the general inflation rate. The bill says nothing about fee increases, which would be the quickest way for state schools to respond to this nonsense. Cost increases have to be paid by someone. After hundreds of failed attempts at price-fixing, you would think we could all agree that this is a poorly conceived attempt to address escalating costs.

Colleges might also respond to this proposal, if enacted, by cutting services. Is that what we want?

By setting their sights directly on lowering college costs in order to increase access to higher education, legislators have increased costs faster than if they had just left them alone. This focus on expanding colleges to receive too many unprepared students has driven up costs without a corresponding benefit.

A recent study showed some benefits of expanding merit-based scholarships and using that as a focus for improving higher education. Kentucky's KEES program is nothing more than HOPE-lite. When we recognize this, we will do better.

Somehow, All Is Not Well In Casino-Land

"There's going to be a lot of depression, a lot of anger. A lot drinking, gambling, and desperate stuff going on."

... and some gubernatorial wannabes still hope to make Kentucky more like Las Vegas.

A Little Financial Literacy Goes A Long Way

A report on consumer spending Monday could cause stock market prices to take a quick hit. If it does, the media will quickly predict economic catastrophe.

Don't fall for it.

Yes, the slump in the housing market is having an impact on the economy. And yes, a recession may be in our future. But the answer is to get out of debt by any means necessary and work to improve your earning power.

The last thing we want to do now is initiate the move to socialized medicine or start another round of "soak the rich" tax increases. Economic slowdowns come and go, but socialism is forever.

Pervertphobia: Good For Kentucky

The Lexington Herald Leader argues against Kentucky's law regulating where sex offenders can live:

Thanks to Kenton District Judge Martin J. Sheehan for putting in writing what other public officials admit privately but are afraid to say: The ban that Kentucky enacted last year on sex offenders living near schools, day cares and playgrounds is bad law and poor policy.

The point of the law limiting where sex offenders live was to respond to other states doing the same thing. If we waited while all our neighboring states made efforts to run off their sex offenders, we risked becoming a magnet for perverts.

I still say we should just make it legal to harass them.