Thursday, 24 January 2008

Keeping Hope Alive

I now have a reason to hope for a brokered Republican convention.
Posted by brians at 11:08 AM in National Politics
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The Smell of Patronage in the Morning

The Beshear administration is a gift to bloggers that just keeps giving and giving. Every day seems to create a new story that is more surreal than the previous. Today we are taken back to the good old days of political patronage.

The turn lights near the Elizabethtown home of the secretary, Joseph W. Prather, sped through the cabinet's approval process, which got rolling on Dec. 12 -- the first day Prather and Beshear were on the job, according to records obtained through the Kentucky Open Records Act. The directional arrows were up and shining by last week despite an internal review that said traffic data from the intersection didn't show the need for turn signals.

I just can't stop laughing about this story. Here we have the Transportation Cabinet killing needed construction in the Republican Leader's district while installing an unnecessary light in his personal neighborhood. The hypocrisy is delicious and provides an insightful view into the nature of this administration.

I want to give props to the Herald Leader for exposing this administration's chicaneries. They may not follow up on the stories, but at least they are bringing them to life. That is more than can be said for the Courier Journal.

Posted by brians at 10:42 AM in Kentucky Politics
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January 29th - Opening Day for the General Assembly

January 29th is the unofficial start of this year's General Assembly. What? Didn't they already start the session? What makes the 29th so special? The 29th starts the legislative season because January 28th is the deadline to file for political office. Does anyone else find it a bit peculiar that the filing deadline falls right at the beginning of the General Assembly? A point in time where no serious legislation has been put forward.

Ever since I started following politics, I thought the early filing date was a stupid idea. It allows legislators a chance to avoid difficult positions until after an opponent files. How do you recruit a candidate to challenge an incumbent legislator when you don't have any idea how the legislator is going to vote on the important issues of the day? Deciding to challenge an incumbent becomes at best a crap shoot. The uncertainty of the situation leads to weaker candidates.

All you have to do is watch what Beshear's actions to know the truth of this statement.

Three hours later (After the deadline to file), Gov. Steve Beshear will take hold of the bully pulpit to present on statewide TV the details of his two-year state budget proposal -- the first of several road maps to lead Kentucky through what Beshear calls a "budget crisis."

In the meantime, important proposals on such topics as casino gambling, cigarette taxes and the state employee pension system wait in the wings.

All are being held back until Jan. 29 or later. Beshear has even bumped back radio show interviews with WLAP-630 and WVLK-590 in Lexington until after the magic day.

Beshear says his aides are still trying to nail down details of the casino plan and the retirement system reform and that his time is consumed by crafting a budget proposal.

The delay in the unveiling of those policies is practical -- not a political stalling tactic to make it past the candidate filing deadline, Beshear insists.

"It's not geared to the filing deadline, it's simply geared to the fact that right now we're in the middle of putting this budget together," he said. "That's our top priority, obviously, because I've got to do that by the 29th and we're working on these other things at the same time. It's just a product of the time that we've got."

Contrary to what Beshear claims, there is no way all of the political activity scheduled for 29th is coincidental. The maneuvering after the deadline allows legislators a chance to size up their competition and cast votes to maximize their chances of being reelected.

Senate Bill 3 introduced by Sen David Williams and supported by Trey Greyson would alter the process.

On Friday, Williams filed a bill that would move the candidate filing deadline to the last Tuesday in April and the primary election, now held in May, to the first Tuesday after the third Monday in August.

I think the idea is right, but I am not sure I like the dates. Moving the filing date to April is a good idea. It allows prospective challenger a chance to digest what happened during the legislative session before they decide to run against an incumbent legislator.

On the other hand, I don't like the idea of the primary being in late August. The date is too late in the election cycle and doesn't give the candidates enough time to campaign directly against each other. I would prefer to move the primary to either June or July. The mid-summer date would allow candidates 2 - 3 months to campaign for the primary and 4 - 5 months for the general.

SB 3 is a change to our election process that is long overdue. I hope it makes its way through both houses and is signed into law.

Posted by brians at 2:21 AM in Kentucky Politics
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