Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Mongiardo Caught Saying The Truth

At the beginning of the week, some anonymous YouTube poster uploaded audio of Lt Dan imploding over the perceived lack of support from the Governor.

In the recording, which was placed on YouTube by someone using the name “senrace2010,” Mongiardo is heard saying he is so frustrated with Beshear that he is “close to saying f— it all. I do not need this job. I do not need the U.S. Senate.”

Mongiardo is also heard saying that Beshear, who has endorsed Mongiardo, will be remembered as the state’s “worst” governor and that a “blowup” is coming.....

...Mongiardo is also heard saying he has “zero loyalties with Beshear” and criticizes Beshear for raising funds for his 2011 re-election campaign while Mongiardo is trying to raise money for his U.S. Senate campaign next year.

“He (Beshear) is screwing me every way possible … and what do I get out of it … We finally begged him to show up for one in Northern Kentucky. He is not going to lift a finger, he is not going to do a damn thing, he is just going to show up and his name is going to be on the … listen there is no love.

It is sad that the leading Democrat candidate is an immature two year old, but apparently that is the only way to explain Lt Dan's outburst. The funny thing is that once you get past the uncouthness of the profanity laced tirade you are left with some very hard truths.

Governor Beshear hasn't done anything to help Mongiardo since naming him as his running mate. Beshear has frozen Mongiardo out of his administration. What role does Mongiardo have in the administration? I don't know of any. Not the type of behaviour your would would expect from a close working relationship. While Beshear has "endorsed" Mongiardo, he has done very little else to help Lt Dan's campaign. Beshear has attended one fund raiser? Beshear has probably attended more fund raisers for his own campaign in 2011. I can't call that a ringing endorsement. I can't remember any time that Beshear has lauded his Lt Governor about anything over the last two years. In fact, it seems to me that Beshear was more than happy to dump Mongiardo from his ticket so he could pick up Abramson. All Mongiardo's petulant outburst did was confirm my suspicions.

Now let's finish up by turning our attention back to the tapes themselves. What I want to know is who taped the conversation? Was it done legally? Was it a spy in Mongiardo's campaign? Was it a traitor in the Mongiardo campaign? I would think that Mongiardo's team will do everything they can to uncover the answer to these questions. Especially before more damaging audio surfaces.



Posted by brians at 8:02 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Tuesday, 29 September 2009

The Global Warming Joke

I find it embarrassing that the news media and people in academia still insist that global warming is taking place.

There's little doubt climate is getting warmer across the globe, and all it takes is a look at history to prove it, said a British professor who spoke at the IdeaFestival Thursday.

Advertisement “It's not just an academic question,” said Chris Turney. “It's getting warmer. It's actually happening on the ground.”
Are these people serious? We are looking at the coldest winter in a Decade. That will be the 11th year in a row of cooling temperatures. Not exactly the upward trend that was promised by run-a-way global warming advocates. Heck I know this has been one of the coldest years in Louisville in a long time. The summer was exceptionally mild. But with the mounting evidence against global warming, these hucksters continue to ply their wares.

During Turney's hourlong talk at the IdeaFestival, being held through Saturday at the Kentucky Center, Turney pointed to historic data to show how temperatures have slowly risen over time....

....Climate data only goes back to about 1880, but by looking at other sources, such as journals and artwork, some information about weather and climate can be extrapolated. But beyond that, scientists must tease out information.

Ahh yes, the "hockey stick" graph. Well this evidence that he is pimping may not be very solid after all.


The graph above shows what happens to the “Hockey Stick” after additional tree ring data, recently released (after a long and protracted fight over data access) is added to the analysis of Hadley’s archived tree ring data in Yamal, Russia.

All of the sudden, it isn’t the “hottest period in 2000 years” anymore.

Oops. Turns out that the "hockey stick" very well could be the result of cherry picked data. The more we learn about "global warming" the more we are coming to understand that is a MYTH. And yet, the left clamors for more and more regulation to stop "global warming". When in reality all they want to do is destroy capitalism.  Don't believe me? Check out cap-n-trade. It will cost the average family $1700 a year. It will put the breaks on much of the economy and destroy numerous industries. Lucky for us, the horse they are riding, global warming, isn't very healthy. In fact is is quite sickly. As evidence against it continues to mount, it will  be very easy to ignore their shrill calls for economic suicide.

We are fortunate that we are able to disprove this academic garbage before real damage could have been inflicted on our economy and way of life.

Posted by brians at 7:45 PM in Political Issues
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Monday, 28 September 2009

The Purchase of a Kingdom

Jim King likes to buy things. Not only does he like to buy things, but he likes to buy things that aggrandize himself and his massive ego. First he bought his son a spot on the bench of U of L's basketball team. How else can a young man who couldn't start for St. X end up on the team at U of L? But how glorious that must have been for Mr. King to see his son on the sidelines of all those televised games.

Seeing that he can buy things for himself, he moves on to buy himself an elected position. Unfortunately for him, his reputation proceeded himself and he was defeated numerous times. Rather than give up, he moves to a new part of town and he discovers much to his delight that he can buy an election and thus became a member of the Metro Council. How glorious. Now he was a person of great importance.

Once he saw that he could buy a political office for himself, he decided to illegally buy his daughter a judgeship.
an adverse ruling last week from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. It found he had violated state election law by giving his daughter $135,000, most of which she used for her own campaign last year.
The results brought him two things. First, it gave him another cap in his feather. But it also gave him a trial run at a county wide election. Seeing his success, he has decided to turn his wealth towards the purchasing of the position Abramson is stepping down from. Yes he is trying to buy himself the title Mayor of Louisville. As his first step he has decided to buy up all of the political consultants in town.
King, a Democrat who represents District 10 on the Louisville Metro Council, recently sent out an invitation to a fundraiser scheduled for Wednesday. In the invitation, he lists no fewer than six political consultants as co-hosts of the event.

And he's looking for more.

Democrat Danny Briscoe said King called him recently wanting to hire him.

King already has four Democratic consultants and two Republican ones on his team.

Yes, one is not enough for our majesty, Mr. King. He needs to have a plethora of advisors to call upon at a whim. Of course I doubt the only reason he is trying to snarf up all of the consultants in town is just for his ego. I imagine it is a calculated plan to starve the other campaigns from political leadership. For how will the other campaigns be able to operate without consultants to help with their strategy?

To be honest, I find the strategy more than a little sleazy. I mean come on, how many consultants do you really need? I only hope it backfires. I hope he learns the lesson that too many cooks spoils the broth and is left to choke down the foul soup.

Posted by brians at 3:30 PM in Louisville Politics
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Friday, 25 September 2009

The Tour Championship

Is anyone even aware that the final golf championship is going on right now? Unless you are a golf fanatic, I doubt you care all that much. The start of football season tends to drown out all the other sports. Personally, I think it could be like a 5th major except for the stupid FedEx cup point system.

I understand they got the idea from NASCAR. And it makes sense for the regular season. Award points based upon results of the tournaments. Nothing wrong with that. I even understand using the point system to whittle down the field during the "playoffs". But what I don't understand is why the point system is used in the final tournament. It just makes the whole thing very confusing. Especially with all of the silly scenarios that you wind up with depending on what position players finish the final event.

Take John Senden who is in 30th place in the point standings heading into this weekend. If he wins the final event then he must have the following scenario occur for him to win the big prize.
Tiger Woods must finish 30th; Steve Stricker must finish seventh or worse; Jim Furyk must finish fifth or worse; Zach Johnson must finish fourth or worse; Heath Slocum must finish third or worse; Padraig Harrington must finish third or worse
Ok, that is just silly! Why not convert the point system into strokes for the final tournament. That way the low score on the final day wins it all. The benefits are many:
  • Easy to follow because it is like any other golf tournament - avoids all of the weird scenarios
  • You know exactly where all the players stand by just looking at the scoreboard
  • Since it would now be a winner take all event, the drama on the final day could be much more exciting than having to determine where everyone needs to finish to win the thing.
  • Allows the possibility of a sudden death playoff for all the money.
How would my system work. Depending on where you finish in the FedEx cup standings would determine how many strokes you are given. Here is an example.

FedEx Standing
Starting Position
1-10
2-8
3-6
4-5
5-5
6-4
7-4
8-3
9-3
10-15-2
16-20-1
21-30E

This is just an example off the top of my head, I am sure it could be tweaked to be a fair representation of the point system. Anyway, it is just a thought I had that might add some excitement to the final event and get rid of the confusing point system for the final tournament. In doing so it would make watching the event more enjoyable.

Posted by brians at 4:22 PM in Sports Topics
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Thursday, 24 September 2009

Amanda's Bill Is An Insult To Freedom

I have great sympathy for the Ross family. They had a young member taken from them by an evil act. I understand the desire to make sure it "never happens again". But I also understand freedom. And Stumbo's bill to provide "protection' for domestic violence is a complete insult to the concept of freedom.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo pre-filed a bill Thursday that would allow judges to order electronic monitoring devices for the most dangerous domestic violence offenders.
He wants to give judges the ability force those served a domestic order to wear a ankle based global position system. How can we require someone who HASN'T BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME BY HIS PEERS be treated in the same manner as a  convicted criminal? More importantly WHAT RIGHT DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE TO TRACK THE LOCATION OF ITS FREE CITIZENS. This legislation would set a precedent allowing the government to track any citizen based upon whatever whim they imagine.

Unless you are a convicted criminal, the government has no right to track your location. Amanda's Bill is an affront to freedom and I hope the bill goes down to defeat by large numbers.

Posted by brians at 4:20 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Wednesday, 23 September 2009

The Benefits Of Elected Office

Ever wonder why people run for elected office? I have always thought it was an ego trip. People just like to see their names in the paper or their face on television. While I still believe that is a major motivating factor, I am not sure anymore that it is the primary reason. Apparently, it is easy to take your elected status and make lots of cash.

Exhibit A: State Sen Ed Worley

He was just admonished by the ethics committe for making a sweat heart deal with the Madison County to lease some property he owns.
The Legislative Ethics Commission verbally admonished state Senate Democratic Leader Ed Worley of Richmond on Tuesday for building a state courthouse annex that he plans to rent out for $409,356 a year, despite a general rule against legislators selling or leasing property to the state....

...The courthouse deal was put together by a friend and Democratic political ally of Worley’s, Madison County Judge-Executive Kent Clark. Clark advertised for anyone who could offer 15,000 to 16,000 square feet of office space within two blocks of the main courthouse. Worley was the sole qualified applicant.

The ethics commission noted that Worley’s lease is with the county, not the state, and added that he is entitled to engage in private business. While it’s true that Worley votes on the judicial branch budget — and in fact, he voted for the budget that authorized a leased Madison County family courts building — other people could have bid on the project if they had met the qualifications, “so there was no personal gain as a direct result of his vote,” it ruled.

See, if you are elected to state politics you control where money goes. Then you can exploit loopholes in the system to send some of that money your way. In this case Sen Worley votes to send money to his local county and then magically the county needs space that only he has available. It truly is a miracle with no coincidence whats-so-ever. It's good to be an elected official. The best part of the scheme is that if you can't find loopholes you can work to create them. And who said that politicians were not inventive! At least they are when it comes to increasing their personal wealth.

Exhibit B: US Rep Ben Chandler

The times are tough economically for state government. Each quarter, tax revenues seem to be dipping lower and lower and the state is forced to make deep budget cuts. But does that stop the state from hiring Ben Chandler's wife for a salary of nearly $80,000 a year? Heck no! Beshear needs to keep his cronies happy and fat.

Isn't it great to be involved in politics. You can make lots of money regardless of the state of the actual economy. You can even get your spouse a job making over 50% more than the median household income. Heck maybe I should try to get elected. It would definitely pay better than my current job.

Posted by brians at 2:39 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Economically Illterate Metro Council

Sometimes, I wish we could force people who want to run for political office to pass a basic economics test before they are allowed to enter. Then we wouldn't get the stupid resolutions like the one encouraging the city to buy American.
The Louisville Metro Council will vote on a nonbinding resolution Tuesday night that “encourages” the city to use its federal stimulus money only on purchases of goods and services that are American made.

Councilman Rick Blackwell, D-12th District, said the goal is to ensure, as much as possible, that the stimulus money is being used to benefit American workers......

Jim King, D-10th, a member of the council's Labor and Economic Development Committee, said stimulus money being spent on American-made products has a “multiplier effect,” meaning that it helps the contractor and companies that do business with the contractor.

“It makes sense to me because it's important to keep the money in the U.S.,” King said.

This is ridiculous. While such a resolution may benefit people who are doing work for the city, it totally screws the taxpayer. Instead of getting goods for the lowest possible price, the tax payer is forced to subsidize American companies by accepting fewer services for their tax dollar.  How is that a good deal for the taxpayers?

This is before we even talk about the protectionism being espoused by Jim King. Earth to Mr. King: protectionism doesn't work. All it does is cause other countries to NOT buy our goods. So while you are helping some "American" companies you are hurting other American companies who are trying to sell their goods overseas.

Neither of these imbeciles have any business being in elected office. They don't understand the first thing about basic economic principles. How the heck are they going to decide what's best for the city when what they think is best is actually detrimental? Sigh.

Posted by brians at 3:08 PM in Louisville Politics
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Saturday, 19 September 2009

The Politicization of Ms Ross's Tragic Death

Amanda Ross's death was a tragedy. It is always sad to see a young life extinguished unnecessarily early. My prayers go out to her family.

But what annoys me is when people politicize the poor woman's death to take away more of my constitutional freedoms. First up is House Speaker Stumbo and his horrible idea to make those under a domestic violence orders to wear an ankle bracelet.

Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo pledged Wednesday to propose legislation named for Ross that would allow a judge to require those with a domestic violence order against them to wear an ankle bracelet that tracks their whereabouts.

"No other state has ever done that," Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said in an interview after attending Ross's funeral Wednesday afternoon. Stumbo is a family friend.

During the funeral, Ross family friend Dale Emmons, a Democratic political consultant, implored the audience of several hundred to support Stumbo's legislative effort.

"In the spirit of Amanda's political activism, we are presented with a unique opportunity," Emmons said. "We should work to immediately improve public law providing new and innovative protection of other victims of domestic abuse and violence."

In addition Dem Rep Jenkins and Dem Rep Marzian want to restrict domestic violence offenders who own guns.

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Joni Jenkins and Mary Lou Marzian of Louisville said Wednesday they are preparing a proposal that would make life tougher for domestic violence offenders who own guns.

Although a federal law now prohibits domestic violence offenders from possessing a firearm, only one county in Kentucky routinely makes them turn over their guns. In Jefferson County, those offenders have 24 hours after their court hearing to turn in their guns to the Sheriff's Department....

..."The priority to protect women's lives is greater than the constitutional right to bear arms," said Bowles, a national domestic violence expert who served on a statewide domestic violence task force with Nunn in 1991. "But it has really been a struggle because a lot of judges work to circumvent the laws because of their own personal views."

Am I the only one who thinks both of these ideas are ridiculous. That these politicians took the wrong less from the tragedy. Before Nunn brutally murdered Ms Ross what crime did he commit? He was NEVER convicted of a crime before a jury of his peers. Yet these idiot politicians want to take away people's rights BEFORE they commit a crime. People should not have their 2nd amendment right or any right denied them just because someone filed a restraining order against them. Such a concept is ludicrous! If these offenders have beaten the victim then convict the offender of assault and put then in jail! But don't take away their rights before they have been convicted of a crime.

I know my stance won't be popular with many including domestic violence advocates. I can already hear them.
How could you be so heartless? Shouldn't we protect these poor defenseless people from these violent animals? The answer is yes to an extent. We can provide them with legal protection if the violent offender breaks the restraining order, but otherwise no. It should be incumbent upon the person who filed the order to defend themselves! We shouldn't be misleading people into believing they are safe just because they have a protective order.

I get the fact that these people didn't intentionally date or marry a violent person. But we shouldn't be deluding them and telling them that the "nanny state" will take care of them. Instead we should be encouraging these people to take responsibility for the situation they are in and learn how to defend themselves. Your life is your most precious commodity and if you can't do something to protect yourself from potentially violent people, then why should we care about attempting to provide you any protection?

Here is my suggestion for helping the victims of domestic violence. I think the state should provide free self protection training services for those who succesfully gain a restraining order. Secondly, I think the government should provide a tax rebate for any gun purchased by the same individual. In addition the state should provide training and expidite the process for them to obtain their concealed carry permit. This would be a hell of lot more effective than wasting tax payer money on taking away law abiding citizen's rights.

Posted by brians at 12:56 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Friday, 18 September 2009

Stinson Verdict Fallout

Yesterday, the former coach from PRP, Jason Stinson, was found not guilty in the death of player Max Gilpin. I never paid much attention to the case. I considered it more of a circus than anything else and wasn't really something I followed. After the verdict was rendered yesterday, I was surprised at the passion from people on both sides of the issue.

Once again, here is my take on the situation. I thought the indictment of Stinson was silly. I thought it would be difficult to get a conviction once the facts became public. Thus it seemed to me more of a political prosecution than a real one.  It seemed a collosal waste of money and resources. (The speed in which the jury returned a verdict bears this out). Secondly, from a practical standpoint it seems ridiculous to convict a coach for "coaching" his players. A guilty verdict would have put a chill on high school coaching. Who would want to coach if they will be held responsibile for attempting to train young athletes?

While I don't think Mr Stinson is guilty of man slaughter, I do think he is guilty of stupidity. Personally, I blame it on the jock mentality surrounding football. The "toughness" factor. While I think it is important to push students beyond what they believe they are capable, there is a smart way to do it and a stupid way to do it. Running in the heat after practice is the dumb way to do it. The players would have been better served going inside and doing some type of interval training.  Pushing on in the heat serves little purpose for conditioning and doesn't make you "tougher". All it does is cause the body to break down completely and cause the occasionaly acidental death.

Two things need to happen. First, coaches need to have a better understanding of fitness and training athletes to reach peak capacity. Coaches shouldn't just do something because that was the way they were taught, or it is the way they have always done it.  Secondly and more importantly, the KHSAA needs to think about starting the football season earlier to allow the coaches to spend a month not working on football but general fitness. I also believe it would help if the school systems allowed students to work with their coaches year round on conditioning. Such moves would remove the need to force conditioning into a few weeks during the heat of the summer.  Once you do these things, the chance of a player dying during practice due to overheating will subside greatly.

Posted by brians at 3:56 PM in Health
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Thursday, 17 September 2009

Wasting Taxpayer Money

Times are tough in Kentucky. The unemployment rate in August was 11.1 percent.  A rate which matches Kentucky's all time high for unemployment. The poor economic environment will take its toll on government's revenue streams from taxation. With such slim pickings, one would think that local government would tighten its belt and look for ways to save money.

Apparently, Louisville wants to party like its 2007. Mayor Abramson has decided to continue with the construction of a downtown bike hub. A bike hub that will cost taxpayers a hefty $338,400. Do we really need a "bike hub" when the economy is doing poorly and budget's are stretched thin? Can't we wait a few years until times get better before building such a facility?

On top of this, Abramson has decided to cancel the four day work furlough this year as a mechanism for saving money. So where is all of this money to pay for these initiatives going to come from? All I can say is it must be good to be in city government. Apparently it is the only place where economic forces don't exist. And just think! King Jerry might be our next Lt. Governor. While that might be good for the city, it doesn't bode well for the state which is facing its own economic crisis.

Posted by brians at 3:11 PM in Louisville Politics
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Saturday, 5 September 2009

Corrupting Influence Of DC

Ben Chandler made his mark as Attorney General when he took on members of his own party over corruption charges. It allowed him to make his mark as a not only a moderate Democrat but as an ethical one. While he came up short on his run for Governor, he was able to win the 6th Congressional District seat and headed up to DC as a Kentucky Representative.

Enter Rep Charlie Rangel into the story. Charlie Rangel is chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Rep Rangel represents all that is wrong with politicians in DC. He has a long list of scummy ethically challenged behavior. The most recent transgression from Rep Rangel is his inability to properly reporting his yearly income. He has apparently been under reporting income for years. A move that is highly illegal and should get him severly punished by the ethics committee.

Remember Chandler? The guy who made a name for himself as a ethical player who was willing to take on his own party. Turns out Rep Chandler's time has changed him and not for the better. Chandler's name shows up on a list of "angels" Rangel has on the ethics committee.
The reigning member of Congress' top tax committee is apparently "wrangling" other politicos to get him out of his own financial and tax troubles.

Here's a look at Charlie's so-called "angels" involved in his ethics investigation.

Congressman Rangel has been arrogant in refusing to discuss how, as the man who writes this country's tax laws, he failed to report over $1 million in outside income and $3 million in business transactions as required by the House, lapses under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

"I recognize that all of you have an obligation to ask questions knowing that there's none of you smart enough to frame it in such a way that I'm going to respond," Rangel said.

There may be a reason for Rangel's arrogance. CBS 2 HD has discovered that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.

Charlie's "angels" on the committee include Congressmen Ben Chandler of Kentucky, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Peter Welch of Vermont. All have received donations from Rangel. (emphasis added)
I would have to say that is a remarkable change for the Kentucky Representative. He went from being an ethical politician to being a political shill for one of the most corrupt politicians in DC. I think it is time that the people from the 6th district retire Chandler so he can come back to live in Kentucky and regain his senses.


Posted by brians at 5:40 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Another KY US Sentate Poll

The DailyKos has a new poll on the KY US Senate race. What has changed since the last public poll? Nothing. The two sets of numbers are very similar to each other. In fact they are so close, they probably represent an accurate representation of the race at this point. So what does that tell us? This far from the election it only provides us with where each candidate is starting the race. Mongiardo has a slight lead over Conway and Grayson is the favored to win the seat next November. Grayson leads in both the Republican primary and the general matchups between either Mongiardo or Conway.

So the stage is set. Can Conway come from behind and overtake Mongiardo? Can Rand close the gap between him and Grayson? Can either Mongiardo or Conway beat Grayson in the fall? Don't expect answers to these questions anytime soon. Until the primary battles start heating up next year, I doubt we will see much movement in the polls.

Posted by brians at 4:19 PM in Kentucky Politics
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Thursday, 3 September 2009

Political Bumper Stickers - Good or Bad?

The question today is are political bumper stickers a good idea? Most people would agree that they are a positive for a campaign. For starters, they help a candidate with name recognition. What better way to reach people than to have a traveling bill board. On top of that, it helps fire up those working on the campaign when they see their candidate's bumper sticker on another car. I know when I see a candidate's bumper sticker of a preferred candidate I perk up a little bit. So bumper stickers are good, right?

Not so fast. Campaigns are all about name recognition. But they want positive name recognition. The problem that bumper stickers present is the fact that they can be put on the car of a bad driver. Instance today. I am driving home and some idiot is in the left lane doing 70 going side by side with another car. No one is in front of him. I am 2 cars back and pissed that we are stopped by this moron who doesn't understand the left lane is for passing. As I turn off the interstate I see he has a Rand Paul for Senate bumper sticker. If I didn't follow politics, I would be left with a negative impression Paul. If I go to the ballot box and don't know much about the candidates who would I not vote for? Paul. (Note: This isn't about Paul. I see tons of political bumper stickers on cars with people who can't drive. Paul just happens to be the latest example)

I have to ask the question again. Are bumper stickers on the back of cars a good thing? In the day of road rage, I am not so sure it is a good idea. Then I thought back to my college days when I attended a class on being a youth coordinator for political campaigns. We were taught to put bumper stickers on the front of cars because more people pass a car in the front than from behind. At the time, I wasn't a believer. People want bumper stickers on the back of their cars. But when faced with the problem of negative feelings from bad drivers, I think it might be the only place where campaigns should put bumper stickers. They get all the benefit of name recognition without the negatives of being placed on cars with bad drivers.

Are bumpers stickers a good idea or bad idea? I think it depends upon where they are placed on the car. In the front of the car, it is a good thing. In the back of the car, I think it actually hurts the campagin.

Posted by brians at 8:34 PM in Political Issues
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Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Yarmuth! Exposes Himself As A Die Hard Liberal

Rep John Yarmuth! came out of hiding and held a town hall meeting tonight. What did we learn from the spectacle? That Yarmuth! supports the health care plan that Pelosi and other hard core liberals in the house are trying to pass.

Obama and leading Democrats want a plan that would penalize businesses that don't help provide health insurance for their employees and create a government-run health insurance plan for those who aren't eligible for or choose not to take part in a group plan.

Yarmuth favors such a proposal.

One more tid bit from Yarmuth!
Yarmuth noted that while Congress isn't considering a single-payer health system now, in which private insurance companies help administer a government system, he believes that is where the country eventually is headed.
Am I missing something? Has Louisville turned into San Francisco? I imagine that a majority of people from the 3rd district are opposed to ObamaCare and would be opposed to the idea of government controlled health care. Yet that is what Yarmuth! supports and that is what he is going to vote for when he returns to D.C. Do the majority of Louisvillians really want such a hard core liberal representing them in D.C.? For some reason, I tend to think no.

Next year will be the ideal time to send Yarmuth! packing. All the Republicans need is a solid candidate who can raise money and he or she should be able to ride vote anger all the way to a victory next November. The only question remains is who will that candidate be?

Posted by brians at 8:50 PM in Louisville Politics
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Tuesday, 1 September 2009

The Obama Glow Continues To Faid

I generally don't talk about national politics on this blog because it is covered by so many other great sources, but one thing has struck me in the last couple of weeks and I wanted to comment. When Obama was running for president, he had the strongest asset of any candidate running. He was able to turn himself into a blank canvas. He allowed people to project whatever they desired upon him. He could be a liberal, a moderate, or conservative depending on the person's political leanings. And he ascentuated it with his ability to talk both sides of an issue. He was going to be the new post partisan candidate!

It amazed some of us on the right. We could see through the campaign and the words to the man's deeds. His (limited) history of voting and his associates told us he was going to be a man of the left. The most liberal president this nation has elected. But the average voter couldn't see past the Obama light show.

Fast forward to the 8th month of Obama's presidency. His strongest asset on the campaign trail has become his own personal nightmare. He can no longer hide behind lofty and esoteric words. He has to act as president. It are those actions which have disrobed him. His support for the orgy of spending, cap n tax, and now ObamaCare have unmasked him as the hard core leftists. Everyone now sees that he isn't the post partisan he claimed to be, but a disciple of the left. With the discovery comes something else, disillusionment. And it has found its way into his polling numbers. His numbers have been steadily declining since the early days of his presidency.

The question that remains is can Obama win back those disillusioned voters? I think it will prove much more difficult to regain these voter's trust than when he was a bright shiny blank canvas.

Posted by brians at 8:31 PM in National Politics
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Where Are The Louisville Republicans?

Where are the Louisville Republicans? That is the question Joseph Gerth asks today in the Courier Journal. Unlike the Democratic primary, the Republicans still don't have a candidate for mayor. On top of that they don't have a candidate for Congress. Personally, I think it is still too early to start worrying about quality candidates for either race. Here is why.

The Democratic side is teaming with candidates for mayor because it is the first race in a generation that will actually be an open race on the Democratic side. The Democrats have come out of the wood works for the opportunity. With that many candidates it is important to get in early and start raising the money necessary to compete in such a wide open field. The Republicans on the other hand get to compete every year in Jefferson County. Thus they are likely to only have 1 or 2 candidates in any given year.

Besides, there is still plenty of time to file and begin raising money. Especially without a competitive primary. I imagine those who are interested are taking their time and trying to get everything in order before entering the fray. I imagine once one of the major candidates declare for mayor the Congressional candidate will soon follow. Now if we get to December and top candidates for both offices are not declared, then you will have a major story. Then you can start talking about the dearth of Republican candidates and the incompetence of the Republican party in Jefferson County. Until then, there really isn't a story. It is nothing less than Joseph Gerth doing what he loves. Throwing fireballs against the Republicans,

Posted by brians at 6:01 AM in Louisville Politics
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