Sen. Mitch McConnell escorted Sen. Bill Frist through Kentucky when the former Senate Majority Leader from Tennessee was still considered a potential candidate for president.
Now Frist is carrying the torch for former Sen. Fred Thompson, who Frist is encouraging to run for the White House.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Richie Farmer Is On The Net
Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer has just put up his campaign website. Let's face it, Farmer faces very little chance of losing this year.
But he has talked about running for higher office. He should get ready for the increased scrutiny that goes along with such aspirations.
But he has talked about running for higher office. He should get ready for the increased scrutiny that goes along with such aspirations.
Shutting Down Kentucky Treasurer's Office
The Kentucky Treasurer's office is meaningless and only Jonathan Miller would have missed it these last eight years if it didn't exist.
So why are more candidates -- eight -- running for this office than any of the other down-ticket constitutional offices?
And why am I just getting an email last night from one of the candidates telling me that after three months of trying to tell people what she would do if elected, she has now decided that if she is elected she will push for shutting the office down?
From the email:
Melinda Wheeler hasn't put this on her website yet. A skeptic might be forgiven for wondering if this is just a stunt to revive her campaign. And it is pretty hilarious trying to imagine a candidate struggling for three months trying to answer the most basic question in any campaign. Nevertheless, her Republican opponents should be made to answer whether they agree or disagree with disbanding this office that would serve us better as a part of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.
Another fun thought would be to get the Democratic candidates arguing with each other about how important the Treasurer's office is to the future of the Commonwealth.
And where is Jonathan Miller on this? What have you been doing with your time these last eight years, big boy?
So why are more candidates -- eight -- running for this office than any of the other down-ticket constitutional offices?
And why am I just getting an email last night from one of the candidates telling me that after three months of trying to tell people what she would do if elected, she has now decided that if she is elected she will push for shutting the office down?
From the email:
"What will you do if elected?" seems like such a simple question.
If the office of Treasurer is significant why is this such a hard question for me to answer? The reason is that the most meaningful duties have been stripped from the office over the preceding decades.
...
As a result, I believe the time has come to eliminate the constitutional office of Treasurer.
Melinda Wheeler hasn't put this on her website yet. A skeptic might be forgiven for wondering if this is just a stunt to revive her campaign. And it is pretty hilarious trying to imagine a candidate struggling for three months trying to answer the most basic question in any campaign. Nevertheless, her Republican opponents should be made to answer whether they agree or disagree with disbanding this office that would serve us better as a part of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.
Another fun thought would be to get the Democratic candidates arguing with each other about how important the Treasurer's office is to the future of the Commonwealth.
And where is Jonathan Miller on this? What have you been doing with your time these last eight years, big boy?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A Glimpse Into A Universal Health Care Future
If Kentucky elects a governor who pushes mandated health coverage for everyone, it may shake out something like what we are seeing in California.
Jody Richards Press Release: I Won WKU Mock Primary
No, I'm not making it up. Click here to see for yourself.
Georgia Poised To Move Ahead Of Kentucky On Special Needs Education
The state of Georgia moved a big step closer to becoming the fifth state to offer school choice scholarships to special needs students to help them escape under-performing public schools. The bill passed Georgia's Choice Subcommittee of the Georgia House Education Committee, something Kentucky doesn't even have.
Kentucky could have achieved this first, but Rep. Stan Lee's special needs student bill was killed last month in the our state's House Education Committee.
Great quote from the Georgia bill's sponsor:
Kentucky could have achieved this first, but Rep. Stan Lee's special needs student bill was killed last month in the our state's House Education Committee.
Great quote from the Georgia bill's sponsor:
“If parents have no choice, there is zero incentive for public schools to improve their quality or remain accountable to the citizens and the taxpayers of the community. We want to ensure that every disabled child, regardless of wealth or circumstances, has the opportunity to receive the very best education available,” Senator Eric Johnson stated.
Now THIS Is A Nappy Headed Ho
Too bad Don Imus didn't hold his fire against accomplished student-athletes from Rutgers and unleash it instead on Crystal Gail Mangum, the Duke false accuser.
Kudos to Matt Drudge for putting Mangum's mug on his website. If we really want to improve race relations, we should run skanks like Mangum and race-whores like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton off the stage, out the door, and onto a small-island leper colony where they would be forced to live with white racists with whom they have so much in common.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
We Need To Join Barack Obama On This One
Sen. Tom Coburn and Sen. Barack Obama co-sponsored a federal bill last year to open up government spending to public scrutiny. An effort earlier this year to do the same thing on the state level in Kentucky was stuffed by Rep. Harry Moberly.
This is another Moberly screw-up we need to fix. A national effort called "Show me the spending" has been set up to draw attention to the open government initiative on the state level. It will help. A lot.
This is another Moberly screw-up we need to fix. A national effort called "Show me the spending" has been set up to draw attention to the open government initiative on the state level. It will help. A lot.
Fighting Back Against Harry Moberly
In the wake of Rep. Harry Moberly's attempt to hijack the legislative process, freedom-loving Kentuckians really need a legislative initiative to counter his secrecy scheme.
A bill to require the General Assembly and governor to pass and sign a budget bill by January 25 of each budget session would help a lot. That way, legislative leaders could negotiate the budget in secret -- behind closed doors, covered windows, and with armed guards -- to their hearts' content. The public and rank-and-file legislators could still have time to examine their work and respond appropriately. The sixty day session would continue past the budget deadline, but the budget bill would be off-limits beyond January 25. And for this to work we couldn't allow special sessions to address the budget either.
I think this would help reinforce the idea of who is actually in charge of our government.
A bill to require the General Assembly and governor to pass and sign a budget bill by January 25 of each budget session would help a lot. That way, legislative leaders could negotiate the budget in secret -- behind closed doors, covered windows, and with armed guards -- to their hearts' content. The public and rank-and-file legislators could still have time to examine their work and respond appropriately. The sixty day session would continue past the budget deadline, but the budget bill would be off-limits beyond January 25. And for this to work we couldn't allow special sessions to address the budget either.
I think this would help reinforce the idea of who is actually in charge of our government.
Fun Story About Steve Henry
Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Steve Henry doesn't really need Republicans to rip on him. He has fast-growing liberal bloggers Kentucky Women and Rural Democrat breaking the bad news about him at light speed.
Henry's fundraising problems draw attention to the state of political blogging. Reading the political blogs, you might expect the gubernatorial races in both parties to be almost exactly opposite of where they are now. I don't know if that is more symptomatic of a broken political system or an immature medium, but well-written blogs will continue to have an opportunity to grow in influence.
Henry's fundraising problems draw attention to the state of political blogging. Reading the political blogs, you might expect the gubernatorial races in both parties to be almost exactly opposite of where they are now. I don't know if that is more symptomatic of a broken political system or an immature medium, but well-written blogs will continue to have an opportunity to grow in influence.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Kentucky Tax Increase Trivia
When I saw Steve Nunn's endorsement of Anne Northup today, it occurred to me that without Steve's father Louie Nunn's support of raising the state sales tax to five cents and Northup's 1990 vote to raise it to six cents, we might still have a four percent sales tax.
While Louie "Nickel" Nunn took a lot of grief for that tax increase, and Northup might get some herself for hers, I won't really join the hit parade. I would far rather see us have the highest sales tax in the nation if we could repeal all income taxes.
But this Northup quote from the January 23, 1990 Louisville CJ has been making the rounds:
While Louie "Nickel" Nunn took a lot of grief for that tax increase, and Northup might get some herself for hers, I won't really join the hit parade. I would far rather see us have the highest sales tax in the nation if we could repeal all income taxes.
But this Northup quote from the January 23, 1990 Louisville CJ has been making the rounds:
Northup said, "I'm really angry that Wilkinson has spent three years stirring up anti-tax sentiment."
Jonathan Miller: Running For Governor
Jonathan Miller can't get enough attention to get arrested in the crowded Democratic primary. This won't help:
Nappy-Headed McCain Wasting Time Again
John McCain says he forgives dead-man-walking Don Imus for calling young women on the Rutgers college basketball team "nappy headed ho's."
They deserve each other.
Imus will wind up losing his show because of his ridiculous apologies as much for his ill-advised comment. A RINO U.S. Senator isn't going to help him now.
They deserve each other.
Imus will wind up losing his show because of his ridiculous apologies as much for his ill-advised comment. A RINO U.S. Senator isn't going to help him now.
A Meaningful Education Reform For Kentucky
We really need to examine the price we pay in our schools when we elevate "access" or "participation" above all else. Not that many of us couldn't use a helping hand from time to time, but making the helping hand our top priority shouldn't be allowed to cripple our ability to serve those who are more likely to move on with a little help.
This year already, we passed a stupid bill that seeks to keep high school dropouts in the classroom. It won't work, but the time we spent on this could have gone to something productive.
Here's an idea: rather than packing high school classrooms with kids who don't want to be there and college freshman classes with students who aren't prepared for higher education, let's allow the drop-outs to drop out and keep 12th graders who need remediation in their seats for 13th grade in their same high school.
This would benefit us in several ways. Shame is a fabulous motivator for teenagers. An underachieving would-be college freshman will move heaven and earth to avoid sitting in high school for one more year. This will alleviate our college remediation problem in one way or the other. And kids who really need the help and want to graduate can have more time to get that help. If what we really want is to improve educational achievement, let's shift some of our focus from flogging drop-outs and toward better guiding students who are showing some interest.
This year already, we passed a stupid bill that seeks to keep high school dropouts in the classroom. It won't work, but the time we spent on this could have gone to something productive.
Here's an idea: rather than packing high school classrooms with kids who don't want to be there and college freshman classes with students who aren't prepared for higher education, let's allow the drop-outs to drop out and keep 12th graders who need remediation in their seats for 13th grade in their same high school.
This would benefit us in several ways. Shame is a fabulous motivator for teenagers. An underachieving would-be college freshman will move heaven and earth to avoid sitting in high school for one more year. This will alleviate our college remediation problem in one way or the other. And kids who really need the help and want to graduate can have more time to get that help. If what we really want is to improve educational achievement, let's shift some of our focus from flogging drop-outs and toward better guiding students who are showing some interest.
Monday, April 09, 2007
No Knockout Punch Tonight
Governor Fletcher won on style points. I'm a little surprised he brought up the silly I-CARE thing as an achievement, but no one took anything away from him tonight.
It's disheartening that with the possibility of making expensive health mandates optional or reducing any one of several other kinds of regulations that raise premiums more than they protect consumers, we spend an hour talking about less important things. In a year when all the Dems are pushing socialized medicine, a real-world solution to rising healthcare costs should be a great Republican issue.
It's disheartening that with the possibility of making expensive health mandates optional or reducing any one of several other kinds of regulations that raise premiums more than they protect consumers, we spend an hour talking about less important things. In a year when all the Dems are pushing socialized medicine, a real-world solution to rising healthcare costs should be a great Republican issue.
A Tale Of Two State Public Pensions
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson vetoed a bill to raise legislator pensions. Meanwhile, New Jersey's pension mess news gets worse.
Meanwhile, Kentucky's inaction on its retirement system problems and rich legislator pensions are sending us in the direction of New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Kentucky's inaction on its retirement system problems and rich legislator pensions are sending us in the direction of New Jersey.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Kentucky Hurting Access To Higher Education
I was comparing notes with my brother-in-law today about colleges. When he was a student at the University of Kentucky, I was at the University of Georgia. And our tuition payments were almost identical. Fast forward to today, when I am considering sending my son to Georgia Tech. Tuition at UK is nearly double what it is at Tech, a unit of the University of Georgia System.
Part of the difference is Georgia has the HOPE scholarship, the nation's largest state-financed, merit-based aid program. What it has helped create is a market for success in the classroom. The original requirement for the scholarship was a 3.0 GPA. The promise was tuition-free education at state schools. Currently, that is a joke. A 3.0 won't get you admitted.
The merit-based scholarships have served to keep tuition costs down and that is a lesson Kentucky would do well to learn from.
The KEES scholarships may have done a little to increase access to higher education in Kentucky. A nice goal. But that nice goal is undermined by the tuition inflation that results.
Part of the difference is Georgia has the HOPE scholarship, the nation's largest state-financed, merit-based aid program. What it has helped create is a market for success in the classroom. The original requirement for the scholarship was a 3.0 GPA. The promise was tuition-free education at state schools. Currently, that is a joke. A 3.0 won't get you admitted.
The merit-based scholarships have served to keep tuition costs down and that is a lesson Kentucky would do well to learn from.
The KEES scholarships may have done a little to increase access to higher education in Kentucky. A nice goal. But that nice goal is undermined by the tuition inflation that results.
Billy Harper Ad: No Tax Increases
The Associated Press says Billy Harper is using humor to win votes. I think his latest ad is a solid effort to set himself apart, but I didn't think it was funny. That's not a criticism. I think the ad will draw some attention, like it did here.
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