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.

Socialized Medicine: HillaryCare Coming To KY

We have confirmed with Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign that she is making plans to come to Louisville in December. It will be a beautiful thing to watch the "conservative" gaggle of Kentucky Democrats flit about in and out of her majesty's limelight like moths fascinated by a Bug Zapper.

Please, let this happen!

Another Inexplicable Hiring Move In Frankfort

When the Fletcher Administration set up the Office for Merit System Referrals in October, we complained that it seemed a poor use of state resources. That the office was soon scrapped may have had more to do with its director dissing Democrats on his website, but the taxpayers dodged a bullet either way.

Now we have word that the Personnel Cabinet will be expanded by 35 jobs costing $72,000 each. What in the name of fiscal insanity is going on here?

Conservatives who rose up in opposition to the Harriet Miers nomination have to be emboldened by the President's subsequent about-face. Is it time for Kentucky Republicans to take a similar approach?

Like Rush Limbaugh said, not a crack-up but a crack-down. I think the time is right.

Media Hound Strikes Again!!

I will be a guest on The Sue Wylie Show this morning at 11:00 to talk about the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform. Their consensus plan doesn't do nearly enough, but that is the next thing on the table. Tune in to 590 AM and call in to 859-253-5959.

Racist, Homophobic Republican Plot Uncovered!!!

Rep. Brad Montell (R-Shelbyville) must really hate people of color and members of other disadvantaged groups, a Frankfort citizen alleged today.

Rep. Montell filed a bill (BR 272) that would require citizens registering to vote to obtain a signature from a witness on their voter registration card. It is not clear how much of a burden this will place on dead voters on Election Day, but vote merchants complain that involving one extra person in the registration process would unfairly spread the legal liability for generating excess registrations.

"It would have a chilling effect, that's for sure," said a vote merchant named Tony.

Rep. Montell could not immediately be reached to comment on his bill, but liberal groups agreed that his intent was clearly racist and anti-human rights.

Back On Track: Alito Nomination Suggests Revival

Harry Reid is babbling about President Bush's Supreme Court nomination being outside the mainstream. All is well in the universe again.

Tomorrow, the President's Tax Reform Commission is to announce its final recommendations at 10:00 AM. This is Bush's big opportunity to move the ball forward. I think it would be wise to point out that Republicans gave Social Security reform a good try only to be shut down by Democrats, RINO's, and the mainstream media. If we get no action this year, we can campaign on it in 2006. And it would be lots of fun if the Dems try to filibuster Alito. Stay tuned.

Sen. Joey Pendleton Is From Mars -- And Venus

Some Democrats are still upset about Rep. James Carr switching to the Republican Party earlier this month. Senator Joey Pendleton is so hysterical his statements might lead voters to believe that he will be the next elected Dem to come on over to the right.

Pendleton (D-Hopkinsville) shrieks about "Democrats in the state House and Senate who are overwhelmingly anti-abortion and strongly supported the constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage."

Bluegrass liberals must be despondent now that one of their own "leaders" is re-writing history (and his party's platform) to paper over not only Democrats' fascination with abortion-on-demand, but also the shining moments in last year's Kentucky General Assembly session when Democrats sought repeatedly in broad daylight to kill SB 245, succeeding once. Ultimately, the majority house Democrats turned to tapioca in the face of thousands of citizens marching on the Capitol in support of the bill. It was only then, as a last resort, that they started this "strongly support" business.

Someone should send press clippings of last spring's doings to Pendleton as well as a copy of the Democrat Platform. If he is as "conservative" as most elected Democrats now claim to be, he will switch his registration. Failing that, he will look at the hero's welcome given to Jumpin' Jim Jeffords when he jumped right to left in the U.S. Senate. Liberals then praised the "act of conscience" and didn't bother with any of this hand-wringing, bed-wetting sophistry we hear from them now.

Moron State Hiring Investigation

If you read the Lexington Herald Leader online, you know that at the bottom of every story about the merit hiring scandal, they have a link to all the related stories going back to the beginning. The label for this link is "More on the state hiring investigation." We are well past the point that any Republican who publicly demands the immediate end of the grand jury investigation deserves the title "MORON." Even when his other title is "President."

David Williams: assuming that you really said "It will put legislators in a bad mood" in calling for a halt to the festivities, you are a moron.

I've seen all the talking points, speeches, etc. The window of opportunity to salvage anything from this trainwreck is closing quickly. We must stop all the "noodling" BS and the attacks on the Attorney General.

Is Exxon Getting Roved?

While Karl Rove is, for the time being, not under indictment for an action that is not a crime, ExxonMobil Inc. is under attack for doing its job.

What is so hard to understand? Exxon makes money pulling black, sticky stuff out of the ground and selling it. The price of said sticky stuff jumps and you are surprised that profits climbed as well?

Where were all the people now so concerned over the oil business inner workings the last few years when Exxon was providing petroleum products at lower margins?

While Greg Stumbo wouldn't shock anyone if he started suing petro companies, it is sad to see Washington D.C. Republicans getting in on the act. Maybe they didn't understand what conservatives did to Harriet Miers.

Incumbent Protection Act Filed In Frankfort

Rep. Bill Farmer (R-Lexington) has pre-filed a bill that would criminalize the use of a person's name or picture in advertising without consent. I guess this could be defended as an effort to eliminate negative campaign ads. If that is the idea, then it is a stupid one.

If there is a problem with an incumbent, a challenger's ability to point that out is severely hampered under this bill. Saying "Ben Chandler votes like an anti-capitalist tree-hugging enviromaniac" might impress upon voters the need to explore Rep. Chandler's sorry track record. But having to say "The current occupant of the Sixth Congressional district seat votes like an anti-capitalist tree-hugging enviromaniac" shackles the opponent and forces the voter to figure out who is being outed for bad votes in Congress on oil exploration issues that could help lower prices at the gas pump.

UPDATE: I spoke to Rep. Farmer. He said that he didn't mean for the bill to come out so broad in its scope, but I'm not sure I feel much better about the explanation for what he did intend. He said the bill was in response to a local Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps clone who put pictures of a dead Marine on his website. Rep. Farmer says that an Oklahoma bill in a related case caused a similar picture to be removed from a website produced there. Rep. Farmer said the bill will be re-written so that it doesn't affect political candidates. I remain concerned about the apparent abridgement of Free Speech.

By the way, I would have missed this one without the good work of Caleb Brown at www.kentuckyvotes.org. His site is terrific.