Saturday, 8 March 2008
Fall Of Beshear
« Unions Rally to Lunsford? | Main | KEA Holds Kentucky Education Hostage »It didn't take long for Beshear to break his campaign promise not to raise taxes. Last Thursday Beshear came out in support of a 70 cent tax per pack on cigarettes. An amount that was well above what the state house wanted.
Acknowledging that his casino gambling proposal faces long odds, Gov. Steve Beshear switched course Thursday and proposed a cigarette tax increase that would leverage $800 million over two years to bolster his bare-bones budget.
The next day Beshear met with the house Democratic caucus to pimp his new proposal. Almost immediately afterward, the house Democrats decided to ignore him and continue on their own path.
House Democrats yesterday rejected Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed cigarette-tax increase and directed sharp criticism at him.
After hearing Beshear, a Democrat, make his pitch in a closed meeting, the House majority caucus decided to stick with its own revenue plan as it prepares to vote on a budget bill next week. The plan includes a 25-cent increase in the state's 30-cent-per-pack cigarette tax.
Thursday night, in a surprise move, Beshear proposed raising the tax by 70 cents and using some of the revenue to secure a bond issue to help pay continuing state expenses.
He was critical of the revenue proposal fashioned by House Democratic leaders, and yesterday they returned fire.
"Our budget is responsible, and the governor's is irresponsible," said Rep. Harry Moberly, the chairman of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, after the hour-long meeting in which Beshear argued for his plan.
Moberly, D-Richmond, said he was furious with Beshear's unexpected cigarette-tax proposal and his charge that the House had used "funny money" in devising its revenue plan.
Moberly described Thursday evening's meeting, at which House leaders were to give Beshear their revenue plan, as an "ambush" by the governor.
Wow! It is amazing how quick Beshear has fallen from conquering hero to an afterthought. Members of his own party are ignoring him and have pretty much told him to shove it. Three months is all it took. Quite an accomplishment.
I remember back to the Democratic debates when pressed on how he would get his casino bill through the house, Beshear responded that he would force legislation through. Comrade Richards said at the time his attitude would never fly in Frankfort. Moberly brought those prophetic words to life yesterday.
Moberly said of Beshear, "We want him to understand that we're an equal branch of government, and we're not going to be treated the way we were treated yesterday.
Beshear has lost any control he had on legislation for this session. His influence is about zero right now. It will be interesting to see if he learns anything from this debacle and regains any of his stature in the coming years. Otherwise he has quite effectively turned himself into a lame duck Governor.
