Ban deficit spending in Frankfort

Kentucky has added $2.46 billion in bonded debt over the last three years, that we know about. Frankfort politicians have figured out they don't have to go through the political pain of raising taxes or cutting spending, because so few people pay attention to mounting state debt.

And this doesn't even include the debt of unfunded pension liabilities which are piling up even faster. While harder to track, they are no less attributable to political opportunism of elected representatives who have neglected for years to appropriately set money aside.

Kentucky's balanced budget requirement does not preclude politicians from borrowing or refusing to fund future liabilities. That shouldn't be hard to fix.

Please forward this post as widely as possible. If we accomplish one thing in the 2012 General Assembly, this should be it.

With "spending cuts" like these...

Frankfort politicians claim to have cut the state budget eight times over the last three and a half years. Hope you didn't think that meant they were actually spending less money, because it didn't.

Where's Kentucky's ObamaCare waiver?

The Beshear administration is hiding its latest communication with the federal government about the disastrous health insurance regulation in the law known as ObamaCare.

Beshear quietly asked for an exemption from the law back in February. Since then, Obama asked for more information about Kentucky's request and, according to sources with information about the negotiations, Kentucky has sent additional documents.

Funny we aren't hearing anything about this as Beshear attempts to make the case for his re-election in part by touting, falsely, how transparent his administration has been.

David Williams Sugar Tax

Moderate Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams went on the attack against his conservative Tea Party challenger Phil Moffett in a televised debate. In this clip, Moffett merely points out that Williams "floated" the idea of raising taxes on soft drinks:

Williams quickly went into defense attorney mode:

But here is the KET evidence of Williams, right before voting to increase taxes on gasoline, cigarettes and tobacco, saying that other "unhealthy" items should be treated the same way:

What, no David Williams Richie Farmer song?

The lack of enthusiasm for Phil Moffett's opponents doesn't get much clearer than this:

Nice try, David Williams

Kentucky Senate President David Williams continues to watch his gubernatorial dreams of personal government pension excess fade after a horrid last few weeks saw him botch the regular legislative session budget negotiations before wilting in the special session, giving Governor Steve Beshear exactly what he wanted.

Again.

All Williams could do as Democrats ran rings around him was protest weakly and pull together the last remaining handful of House Republicans who can't decide if they should actually follow Williams or just fear him for a poorly conceived attempt to extend the session.

Watching Williams expose his ineptness is fun for those of us who have been aware of it for a while. It's interesting that Williams yesterday in Northern Kentucky shifted from his prior strategy of trying to run the Republican primary by criticizing Beshear to ratcheting up his attacks on insurgent Tea Party candidate Phil Moffett.

In an NKY.com article, Williams touted his "experience" while claiming Moffett lacks "capacity to execute" and has a platform that is "shallow."

I think we have had more than enough of Williams' execution and depth.

It appears David Williams is adrift.

Phil Moffett on Lexington radio

Tune in to WVLK AM 590 on Thursday morning at 9:00 am ET to hear Phil Moffett on the Jack Pattie Show.

Tune in on the internet at www.wvlkam.com. The call-in number is 859-253-5959.

Keep talking, David Williams

Career politician David Williams has a tv ad up.

What do you think?
"Bold, tough, real, cutting taxes and government." Right...

Here is another video to consider. In this one, taken on the Senate floor in 2009, Williams is making his case for a tax increase (HB 144) and promising that if he got the money, spending would be limited and the state's rainy day fund would be replenished first. And he touts the coming Obama Bucks stimulus funds, promising also that those funds would be used first for the rainy day fund.



Well, it's two years later and $1.3 billion in Obama stimulus has already been spent by our bold hero. Since July 1, 2009, the state's appropriation supported debt has increased $1.7 billion. And there is no money in the state's rainy day fund.

David Williams' Steve Beshear moments

Frankfort's Medicaid debacle is just getting warmed up.

That didn't stop Gov. Steve Beshear from writing a post mortem in today's Courier Journal, congratulating himself for postponing part of Medicaid's day of reckoning. Beshear also takes the opportunity to bash Senate President David Williams for proposing what amount to miniscule spending cuts that also don't address any real problems.

This is why our political process so often fails to stop the growth of government. If Democrats can bash Republican "cuts" that don't really address overspending while Republicans can pretend to want spending cuts without changing anything, then the worst elements in both parties can keep getting nominated and taxpayers lose either way.

Kentucky's Tea Party Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett started his campaign last year pushing for real spending cuts, but Beshear/Williams is a ruling class politician's dream come true. They both get to yell talking points at each other while Kentucky goes deeper in debt.

David Williams' campaign tried with some success to paint Williams' last-minute anemic cuts proposal as his Chris Christie moment. But Williams has agreed with Beshear on all of Beshear's smoke-and-mirrors budgets and all the tax increases that have gone through bear Williams' "yes" vote as well. Kentucky Republicans are desperate for a Senate President who will stop having so many Steve Beshear moments.

Another federal government outrage

A federal judge in Washington D.C. quietly ruled on Wednesday that Americans can be forced by the federal government to join Medicare. The ruling relies on the idea that Medicare is a "different" kind of entitlement, so the federal government can force you to take it.

This is bad news not only for those who don't want Medicare and would prefer instead to make their own healthcare decisions. This does not bode well for those opposed to ObamaCare. I suspect U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer probably also believes ObamaCare is a "different" kind of entitlement.

Nowhere in federal law is acceptance of Medicare mandated. Our out-of-control federal government is just making it up to suit their illegitimate power grabs.

Reimburse this!

Governor Steve Beshear got caught flying his state plane to a fundraiser in Louisa, Kentucky. He has promised to reimburse taxpayers.

While we are getting politicians to reimburse for ill-gotten gains, Senate President David Williams should pay taxpayers back for getting his name stuck on the Expo Center in Corbin. And then we should have a long conversation about how he can get right with taxpayers over his pension scandal.

Praise for Phil Moffett's issues-based campaign

University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss got a break from his frustration with typical politicians and their lack of seriousness on policy issues when he started following Phil Moffett's campaign for governor.

Spreading the David Williams on thick

Earlier this month, National Journal ran a hit piece on Phil Moffett in which an anonymous "Kentucky GOP source" wildly overstated David Williams' role in Rand Paul's 2010 campaign. Then yesterday, Politico unbelievably likened Williams to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Such a comparison might make sense if Williams didn't spend the whole General Assembly session pushing for a statewide smoking ban and a snot tax. He had his chance for a Chris Christie moment in January. If he were serious at all about cutting spending, he would have started talking up his alternative to Beshear's borrowing sometime before the very last minute.

Looks like Williams has the support of one anonymous GOP operative locked up. Score one for empty political posturing.

Tea Party call to action

Kentuckians must decide now to stand up to brazen Frankfort politicians and their expensive ways. When a thief breaks into your home and steals your television, at least you know how much you have lost. But when politicians get together and start scheming, whether they are banning legal products or mandating extra costs onto every day activities, getting a handle on how much it will cost you over time can be much more challenging.

Huge multimillion dollar spending projects, usually sold to unsuspecting taxpayers as entertainment or, worse, economic development vehicles have gained favor with big-spending politicians in recent years. The losses for taxpayers stay hidden behind long-term bond deals and rosy projections that it will all work out eventually.

A recent example of this big-government charade can be found in Corbin, Kentucky. You probably won't be surprised to learn that the building in question is named after a certain Frankfort politician who wants to be Kentucky's Governor.

A monument to wasteful and corrupt state government in Corbin could play a role in the state's gubernatorial campaign, Republican Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett said on Monday.

The Arena at the David L. Williams Southeastern Kentucky Agricultural and Exposition Complex has cost state and local taxpayers millions of dollars in taxes, interest and operating losses since the state legislature changed Corbin to a fourth-class city in 2006 to implement a restaurant tax to begin funding for the building.

"Naming rights alone for this building could be worth many thousands of dollars, but Kentucky taxpayers were forced in 2008 to give it to a politician who is running for governor," Moffett said. "My opponent hasn't reported the value of this donation on his campaign finance reports, so apparently he feels entitled to the whole thing. These ruling class politicians just don't get it, do they?"

Phil Moffett is running for Governor so we can put a stop to these ridiculously unbelievable, but true, stories of official misconduct. Phil's campaign is picking up great momentum, but he needs everyone who wants the Republican party to stand for more than nominating by seniority to stand with him now. Please tell your family and friends that the Tea Party has more work to do in Kentucky. Please click here to donate to the campaign; any amount will make a difference. Please click here to listen to Phil's Monday interview with Mandy Connell on Louisville's WHAS.

Phil Moffett on Louisville radio

Kentucky's Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett will be a guest on the Mandy Connell Show on WHAS radio Monday morning, March 14 at 10 am ET. You can tune in on 840 AM in Louisville or listen online at www.whas.com. The show will be archived in case you miss it.

The response to Phil's positive message is growing stronger every day and it isn't hard to see why. Phil supports taking control of Kentucky's fate away from ruling class politicians and restoring it to the people and the principles of smaller government we can afford with a tax code set up to let the private sector create jobs, an education policy that rewards creativity and problem-solving instead of just getting by and a state government unafraid to fight against bad federal policies like ObamaCare and the EPA's war on coal.

With little more than two months before the primary election it is clear Kentucky Republican primary voters see this race increasingly as between the worst of the big-spending, tax-raising Frankfort establishment on one hand and the Tea Party's Phil Moffett on the other.

Phil Moffett takes off like a rocket

Phil Moffett went to coal country last night. His free market message contrasts starkly with that of his big government, tax-increasing primary opponent.

David Williams' pension replacement rate

The New York Times lists ten states with the most generous pensions for public employees. Kentucky comes in at number seven in terms of "pension replacement rate," the portion of a pensioner's salary that he gets in retirement. Kentucky is by far the poorest state on the list.

Kentucky legislators in recent years have failed to properly fund our public employee pension accounts. That's a big part of the problem. Poor investment returns are too. But state employees getting 58.8% of their working salary in retirement are shocked to learn about what Senate President David Williams and House Democrats rigged up for themselves and their fellow career politicians.

Greg Stumbo is already set, thanks to Senate language inserted quietly into a pension bill in 2005, to get 100% of annual salary from his one term as Attorney General every year for the rest of his life after he retires. David Williams pushed vigorously for this legislative pension increase just three years before he started sounding the alarm on our state's government pension crisis.

And now we know why.

If David Williams can get himself elected Governor for one term, Kentucky taxpayers will pay him 100% of his governor's salary every year for the rest of his life. It works the same if he gets appointed or elected to any other six-figure state job.

These ruling class career politicians still don't get it, do they?

Phil Moffett is running to stop these outlandish raids on the public treasury. Phil supports getting the politicians out of our tax code once and for all by repealing all 240 state taxes, fees and surcharges currently on the books and replacing them with a single-rate retail sales tax on goods and services. This will be the greatest shift in power away from politicians and to the people in state history. Phil supports using the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to fight back against federal government excess like ObamaCare and the EPA's war on coal. Phil supports removing wasteful spending from our school systems, instilling discipline back in our classrooms and improving educational options with effective charter school legislation. Phil will work to shrink or remove government operations that don't fit within the necessary functions spelled out in our state Constitution.

The energy of the Tea Party gets its next big test on May 17 with Kentucky's Republican gubernatorial primary. Phil Moffett is the candidate who will take our fight to Frankfort.

Phil Moffett on Leland Conway Show

Kentucky's 2011 legislative session came to a grinding halt yesterday in a dispute over funding for Medicaid, borrowed money and minor spending cuts. The disaster continues on Monday in a special session sure to feature more of the same heated campaign rhetoric.

Tea Party Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Moffett took to the airwaves in defense of taxpayers. Phil appeared yesterday on the Leland Conway Show on WLAP 630 AM in Lexington.

"It really mirrors the federal level fight we're having," Phil said. "It's a relatively small amount of money we're talking about, less than a percentage point of our total budget. How these gentlemen can not come up with a reasonable alternative to cut these costs just goes to show you that they don't have the backbone to balance our budget in the long run. We need to make some changes."

Phil Moffett has been talking for months about a better, permanent solution to this latest spending battle among the Frankfort politicians. The Kentucky Club for Growth took note of this back in January. None of the Senate Republican agenda passed, as expected. Wouldn't it have been better to have spent all this time talking about real fixes rather than having to listen to Williams and Beshear go on and on about statewide smoking bans and keeping cold medicines out of the hands of innocent people?

"There is a failure in Republican leadership and there is a failure in Democrat leadership as well," Phil Moffett said. "These people are not serious about doing cost-cutting and they continue to bury us in debt. I don't see how we as taxpayers can have any confidence that they'll do a better job in this special session or down the road to make the changes necessary."

Indeed, we can't have any confidence in the current leadership in Frankfort. They need to listen to the people and engage us in the conversation rather than pulling these ridiculous political stunts. Overspending and debt are bankrupting the state while they are arguing over who gets to pick out drapes in the Governor's Mansion.

Kentucky needs a leader who will make decisions based on principle, not politics. The ruling class politicians still haven't gotten the message.

Questions David Williams can't answer

Senator Williams, you have claimed that you didn't know anyone would abuse the pension bill you pushed through in 2005 that would triple your pension if you get elected governor. When did it occur to you how much money you would make by abusing it yourself?

Senator Williams, after Gov. Steve Beshear used your own pension grab bill to attempt to take over the state Senate by throwing taxpayer cash at Republican Senators, you tried to repeal the pension grab, but Speaker Greg Stumbo wouldn't let you. Stumbo is already set to get paid an Attorney General's salary every year for the rest of his life because of your actions. Do you consider Stumbo smarter than you or just luckier?

Senator Williams, because of your vote on legislative pensions Kentucky taxpayers would have to pay you a governor's salary for the rest of your life if you were elected to one term as governor. When did you realize that was going to look really bad?

Many more of these to come...

Phil Moffett on Louisville radio

Phil Moffett, Kentucky's Tea Party Republican candidate for Governor, will be a guest on the Mandy Connell Show this morning at 10 am. Tune in on 840 AM or listen online at www.whas.com.

Phil may also make a brief appearance this afternoon on the Leland Conway Show on WLAP 630 AM in Lexington.