Shutting Down Treasurer's Office Still Good Idea

If the idea of shutting down the Treasurer's office hadn't been presented as a deathbed conversion three months into a four-way primary and then backed away from late, Melinda Wheeler might have had a chance.

The important thing to realize is we still have a bill.

Still Good For Wrapping Fish

The Louisville Courier Journal went all in for the Louisville Library Tax Increase and got hammered by a two-to-one margin.

What's next, guys?

Best New Rumor On Election Night

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer may file to run against Congressman Ben Chandler next year.

Congrats To Steve Beshear

Steve Beshear ran the race he needed to run to win. And he won big.

Those of us who have seen the great hopes we had four years ago dashed and stomped upon over these last four years by people we gave our trust to can still hope we won't fare too much worse at the hands of those we trust very little.

So the new sheriff has his town. Hope he does things that benefit us all.

Governor Beshear will find bipartisan support in calling for the state school board to abort their hiring plans for a new commissioner and start a real nationwide search for a superstar to come in here and really get our public schools on the right track.

Changing The Subject? You Bet...

Ron Paul is raising enough money get some serious attention and Fred Thompson is on the air someplace. Wonder how much money the candidates will save not actually buying advertising time now that YouTube lets them get their message out for free:

One Overlooked Indicator Of Changing Winds

On his campaign blog, Senator Mitch McConnell has links to several blogs under the heading "Recommended Reading." Included in the list are Kentucky blogs Blue Grass Red State, Cyberhillbilly, KYPolitics.org, and Osi Speaks.

It will be interesting to note what happens to that list of state links after today's election.

Happy New Media Day!

The first time I ever read a political blog was less than four years ago. Then I started this one in the spring of 2005. Now they are everywhere.

The political landscape in Kentucky is in for a big shakeup tonight and the blogs will have a lot to do with what things look like when the dust settles.

Ho-Ho-Ho-Hosed!

Another fine Christmas present for Fayette County taxpayers will be the soaking they get from a wage abuse class action lawsuit stemming from mismanagement at, you guessed it, the Fayette County Detention Center.

Read it and weep.

Tax-For-Hacks Showdown Tomorrow

The Club for Growth has picked up on the Louisville Library Tax increase. The city's big taxers found a loophole in the law against using municipal workers to run an on-the-clock campaign and Sen. Dan Seum has pre-filed a bill to close the loophole, but the cat is already out of the bag. Louisville voters decide on the tax increase tomorrow.

Hillary Clinton Freaks Too Early

Now might be a great time to ask Hillary Clinton how she is going to handle the terrorist threats:

Huckabee For Breakfast

Before Mike Huckabee can be taken seriously as the "God candidate," he should stop lying about the Club for Growth.

Is Kentucky Moving To The Left?

Al Cross said this:

This election is almost entirely about Fletcher and his record, so Beshear should be careful about claiming any sort of mandate.

Courier Journal Exposes Self On Education

... and the Bluegrass Institute is there to shine the light.

Pimping My Ride

We are working on some major improvements to the Kentucky Votes website. Tuesday night, win or lose, the next item of business will be limiting the damage to taxpayer wallets in the 2008 General Assembly starting in January and Kentucky Votes can help.

A great way to keep track of the action is to go to www.kyvotes.org and register for daily updates. You don't have to put any personal information in to register (though it would be nice if you did!). All we really need is an email address to send your updates.

So, if you haven't already, please take a minute to register on Kentucky Votes and leave the driving to us!

Playing Politics With Education Accountability

Steve Beshear's spokeswoman is in full, last days of the campaign "We're ahead in the polls, so we aren't returning calls to anyone who might ask a tough question" mode.

But if she were returning phone calls to people who might challenge her on something, she might provide some needed insight into Beshear's promise to seek a waiver from NCLB testing requirements.

This is probably just politics as usual since such an exemption is not at all likely to be granted, but Beshear's position does need some clarification. Any relief from added No Child Left Behind testing, which would be extremely small, would very certainly not be worth the risk of putting more of the accountability function in the hands of the Kentucky Department of Education.

Friends Don't Give Friends Pass When Wrong

The school voucher debate will certainly return to Kentucky soon as more bills have been promised to address the issue of poor Kentucky children stuck in failing schools.

I'm in favor of bringing competition to the school system and helping our most vulnerable citizens. For that reason, I can't stand by silently when someone on my side of the issue overstates the case for school vouchers.

I'm surprised and disappointed more people didn't jump on this one.

Naked, At The Jail, And Going To Prison?

The crazy scandal at the Fayette County Detention Center took yet another odd turn with an expansion of a sexual harassment investigation turning its focus on one Cpl. T. Roberts.

Cpl. Roberts, a guard at the jail who has passed around at the facility naked pictures of herself and another guard, has been crying on shoulders of co-workers at the jail, telling them she is destined to go to prison in the prisoner abuse scandal. It seems her woes are about to worsen.

Should Have Done Earmark Reform Last Year

Republicans have only themselves to blame for this:

But critics say McConnell is propping up a company that apparently can't compete without him. While it sounds good for a senator to defend jobs, "we should be spending federal money where and as we need to, not to keep the lights on in someone's district," said David Williams, vice president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington watchdog group.

"I want to know when Sen. McConnell became the secretary of defense," Williams said. "The Pentagon has to sit down every year, draw up its priorities and budget its money accordingly. Who is Mitch McConnell to insist that we fund these projects?"

I hate to say I told you so...

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

In the last few weeks, I have made a concerted effort to tone down my use of political name-calling. I've done far more than my share of it in the past, I know, but my arguments are much sharper when I focus on what an opponent is saying or doing that I disagree with and not on what kind of name I can call him.

I'm not saying anyone else should do the same (flaming people can, after all, be fun) but I'm officially out of the name-calling business.

I hadn't really thought about this that much, until I saw my friend Jacob Payne post a comment about Jerry Abramson being called a liberal. Slapping the L-word on Mayor Abramson really isn't as effective as pointing out how funny he will look walking down the street with $16.5 million bulging out of his pockets after his Library Tax goes into effect.

Blue Christmas Coming For Jail Cover-Uppers

Indictments in the prisoner abuse scandal at the Lexington jail are widely expected to start coming down next Thursday.