Paper screws up Beshear Impeachment story

 For whatever reason, the Lexington Herald Leader's story about the unconstitutionality of KRS 63.070 isn't stuck behind a paywall so you can read it here. It is a special mess of bad journalism, of course.

First, the headline editorializes that impeachment petitioners are suing "to avoid paying." While impeachment costs are part of the lawsuit, the real news is that the Commonwealth of Kentucky is violating Free Speech rights of its citizens. That fact contains barely any controversy at all. In fact, we know this fact isn't controversial mostly because it isn't mentioned at all in the lede of the story, the Herald Leader didn't even mention the statute (KRS 63.070) specifically so readers could look at it and consider it and the Herald Leader didn't bother to ask Governor Andy Beshear to weigh in on the claim, which it would surely have done if it weren't sure to make him look bad.

Impeachment Committee Chairman Jason Nemes -- who is going to look really bad before this sorry episode is over -- said only that the law forced him to trample the rights of the impeachment petitioners. Should make a great bumpersticker for his next election campaign. 

A state law which penalizes citizens for fighting corruption mostly because corrupt actors decide to double down on their corruption and charge legal fees violates the United States Constitution any way you look at it. KRS 63.070 is such a law and the federal judiciary will not miss this fact just because Frankfort politicians want them to.

Beshear botches Face the Nation

 Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's appearance on national television Sunday was embarrassing, as he turned his fifteen minutes of coronavirus fame into a ridiculously unfounded sales pitch for Johnson & Johnson's new vaccine. 

"Johnson & Johnson is going to be a game-changer," he said. "The fact that we can fully vaccinate everyone in just one shot; that it basically eliminates death and serious illness and that we're going to get tens of thousands of vaccines per week per state, it's just gonna get us to the finish line that much faster."

Stating that not enough study has been done, the FDA Briefing Document casts doubt on each of Beshear's claims, except for the greater supply of vaccines and the nonsense about a finish line.

Meanwhile, The New England Journal of Medicine suggests in an article titled "Beyond Politics -- Promoting Covid-19 Vaccination in the United States" policymakers might offer tax breaks to spur people to take a vaccine.

Yeah, go fish.

Beshear refuses again to provide evidence

 Gov. Andy Beshear's latest response to Impeachment Committee members posted today again failed to provide the requested information. If House members felt Beshear's arrogant disrespect directed at all Kentuckians but specifically addressed to them last time, they should feel it at least double now.

Kentucky's House Impeachment Committee already has the information they need to recommend the full House take up this matter. 

Tick tock, Frankfort. 

Really now -- at the very least -- call some witnesses to get this thing going.

Earth to LRC staff: Post evidence NOW

 At the last House Impeachment Committee meeting Thursday, February 11, Chairman Jason Nemes asked staff to post the latest evidence from Governor Andy Beshear as soon as possible. Four days later, it is still hidden from public view.

What is wrong with these people? The House Impeachment Committee's "investigation" is over. We know Beshear has broken the law and flaunted incompetence worthy of permanent removal from high office. Time for these employees of ours to sack up and do their jobs so the rest of us can proceed unimpeded to get Kentucky back on track.

Earth to Committee: call Mike Harmon

 Yesterday's House Impeachment Committee meeting was inexplicably delayed hours past its 4pm scheduled start, no action was taken on the impeachment -- including failing to post Gov. Beshear's latest answer to their demand for evidence -- and then all we got was two witnesses reading the same constitutional sections about why legislators can't be impeached. 

Meanwhile, Auditor Mike Harmon has reported on more than enough incompetence. Seriously, have the Auditor in for testimony if you must for purposes of the dog-and-pony-show nature of Frankfort. But this thing is over. Dragging it out so Beshear gets one more paycheck while pleasuring himself with television updates on the weather and more nanny state nincompoopery is a disservice to all hardworking Kentuckians.

Send the motion for removal to the House. Yesterday.

Andy Beshear's Unemployment fiasco deepens

 Gov. Andy Beshear's disturbing string of screw ups with federal and state unemployment insurance funds is starting to get more attention. The curious may want to recall his March 25, 2020 press release in which he told people who walked away from work for fear of covid to go ahead and grab their benefits.

Why Jacqueline Coleman will make a better Kentucky Governor than Andy Beshear

Governor Andy Beshear's mindless government shutdowns and the Kentucky Supreme Court's rubber stamping leave citizens with only one way out: impeachment.

Well-meaning critics have asked how removing Beshear and replacing him with LG Jacqueline Coleman (click here and listen to 12:24 - 12:37) will make life better for regular people when her policy positions are at least as destructive as his. That's a good question, but the answer is simple: the precedent set by leaving Beshear in office now would be far more problematic in the long run than cutting him cleanly out of office and letting the gaping, bloody, oozing wound scab over in a matter of months instead of sending the message that destroying small businesses and the people who depend on them to score political points is acceptable. 

Make no mistake: if we let his arbitrary rupturing of Kentuckians' livelihoods stand just to get to the next governor in 2023, the next four-year occupant of that office will be worse than Beshear, not better. The precedent we set here will either be that wrecking our economy is okay or it isn't. Let's take our lumps now by removing Beshear and start picking up the pieces while we still can, with a clear message to the world that we don't stand for politicians trying to micromanage an airborne virus.

Russ Meyer gives million dollars to cronies, taxpayers get a small hole in the ground

State Rep. Russ Meyer's ten year old scheme to hand massive Democrat donor Clay Corman more than a million dollars for a vacant hole in the ground in Nicholasville deserves a closer look.

"Everyone knows about government waste and corruption but too many people don't do anything to stop it," Kentucky Progress publisher David Adams said. "Russ Meyer has had ten years to set this right and he's still hiding in that little hole."

Russ Meyer wasted taxpayer money buying a hole in the ground and overpaying friends to fill it in

Embattled incumbent Democrat State Representative Russ Meyer of Nicholasville already faces a stiff challenge by Republican Rob Gullette thanks to Meyer's bad votes this year against Gov. Matt Bevin's repair of the ObamaCare disaster, but then there is a little matter of a hole in the ground on Main Street.

Meyer was the Mayor of Nicholasville from 2007 to 2014. In early 2007, Meyer conspired with some friends for the city to purchase lots 717 and 719 North Main Street at a quick $177,000 profit for one of the conspirators, supposedly to construct a new city hall. Meyer then broke state law KRS 424.260 by contracting for construction services in the amount of $37,025.66 and circumventing the competitive bidding process by splitting the work up into two invoices sent on the same day from the same address.

Nine years later, the lots still sit empty.

"ObamaCare fans like Russ Meyer have generally demonstrated little to no respect for taxpayers' hard-earned money," Kentucky Progress publisher David Adams said. "The Meyer's Mugging on Main Street episode here should at the very least result in him being run out of office."

Bevin stops ObamaCare insurer's bait-and-switch

At first glance, Kentucky ObamaCare insurer CareSource's approved rate increase looks odd. Better known as a Medicaid managed care coverage provider but also selling on the exchange, CareSource requested a large 20.55% rate increase request for individual ObamaCare customers but their rate is going up a staggering 29.3%.

This is a great move by Gov. Matt Bevin in the aftermath of the Kentucky Health Cooperative disaster.

Bevin spokesman Doug Hogan explained that an administration actuarial review showed CareSource's rate request "would be insufficient" to pay claims and "would ultimately lead to a harmful scenario for consumers."

Former Governor Steve Beshear could have saved customers, medical providers and taxpayers money and a lot of trouble if he had taken such care at any point before Kentucky Health Cooperative's managers took the money from their bloated salaries and bonuses and ran, leaving the rest of us holding the bag when their shell game failed.

"I guess there aren't any decent Obamacrat actuaries out there or maybe Gov. Beshear was more interested in seeing his friends at the cooperative load up on market share they couldn't maintain so they all got paid bonuses before the music stopped," Kentucky Progress publisher David Adams said. "Gov. Bevin deserves credit for stopping CareSource from playing the same game.