As Kentucky Democrats lose power, Stumbo loses grip on reality

After Republican Simeon Willis left office as Kentucky’s governor in December 1947, Democrats began to obtain a stranglehold on political power in the state.

Two decades later, Louie Nunn was elected as a Republican, but he governed as a Democrat, which many think contributed to the GOP’s exile to the desert of Kentucky’s politics for an even longer period of time. Nunn’s backing of an increase in the state sales tax from three to five cents spawned the derisive term “Nunn’s Nickel” and the unflattering nickname “Nickel Louie.” One might say that Nunn was Kentucky’s first RINO (Republican In Name Only).

Between 1971, when Nunn left office, and 2003, when Ernie Fletcher became the state’s first governor in 32 years, Democrats consolidated power in state government. The Frankfort bureaucracy was stocked with fellow travelers and like-minded workers. For most of those 32 years, Democrats had unchecked power. Not until 1999, when Republicans took control of the state Senate, were there any restraints on what the Democrats did.

During those three decades, absolute power corrupted absolutely. Democrats came to see control of the state as their birthright, and they didn’t take kindly to threats to their authority. The hostility they showed Fletcher was a prime example. But now, the challenges to the entrenched power structure are coming faster and more frequently than ever before. And the old-line Democrats don’t know how to respond, except to lash out as they see their power eroding.

Since Republicans took control of the Senate and Fletcher ended the 32-year drought in gubernatorial victories, the GOP has been steadily gaining traction. Voter registration figures, once solidly in the Democrats’ corner by nearly a 2:1 margin, have trended solidly for the GOP. The figure is now about 1.3:1 and is inching closer to 50-50 each year. Republicans are gaining ground in wresting control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats. And last month, the state again elected a Republican governor in Matt Bevin.

Bevin’s upset victory over Attorney General Jack Conway has really threatened the Democrats’ power. And no one is showing the stress of that threat more than House Speaker Greg Stumbo.

Stumbo first showed signs of losing it on Election Night, when he delivered a bizarre rant that mixed religion and politics in a way that I thought was anathema to Democrats. He basically said the Republicans don’t have a monopoly on morality and called on Democrats to challenge them. His comments led many to wonder if perhaps he hadn’t been at the hotel bar drowning his sorrows before he took to the stage.

The rant would have been hilarious if it wasn’t so sad. As long as Democrats continue to support legalized abortion as a voluntary method of birth control, they have no moral authority whatsoever on any subject. And Stumbo’s own personal track record further undermines his credibility.

If Election Night was bad for Stumbo, things have only gotten worse since. State Rep. Denny Butler, a retired police officer, announced he was switching to the Republican Party, and he said it was largely because House leadership – meaning Stumbo – had not been attentive to his concerns about law enforcement issues. Stumbo didn’t say much then, but when Bevin appointed Rep. John Tilley to a cabinet position, the speaker went off. He began questioning the integrity of both Tilley and Butler, both of whom had enjoyed stellar reputations across partisan aisles. He accused them of selling out, hinted at criminal activity, and railed at Bevin and the state GOP for offering improper inducements. Although most Democrats appeared to be pleased with Tilley’s hiring, calling him a good fit for the job, Stumbo couldn’t be gracious enough to congratulate him. And although Stumbo denied any knowledge of the distasteful stunt someone pulled by placing a “For Sale” sign on Tilley’s House chambers desk, his protests rang hollow.

And all of this was before Bevin last week appointed another Democrat lawmaker, Tonya Pullin, to an administrative law judge position.

There was always the possibility that some Democrats, sensing the inevitable, would change their party registrations in advance of next year’s House elections. Besides Butler, there’s talk that possibly a half-dozen more will switch. The possibility of the Bevin administration giving more jobs to House Democrats also looms.

Kentucky Republicans have made no secret that they want to “Flip the House” in next year’s elections. That’s a goal of both Bevin and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. But even with state government trending Republican, it’s not a done deal. Two Republican representatives (Mike Harmon and Ryan Quarles) were elected to statewide office, and Democrats are expected to try very hard to win those seats when the special elections occur. There’s no guarantee that Republicans can win the special elections to replace Tilley and Pullin, since Democrats dominate voter registration figures in their districts. But Republicans sense blood in the water. They think a combination of party changes and electoral victories will give them control of the House to go along with the Senate and the Governor’s Office, giving them a chance to move Kentucky forward after decades of stagnation and regression.

State GOP leaders hope to challenge every incumbent they feel is vulnerable. In my own district, a Republican retired educator is planning to take on a first-term incumbent and is already at work on the campaign trail.

Republicans running against incumbent Democrats need to make Stumbo’s speakership an issue, especially given his classless remarks since the gubernatorial election. They need to publicly challenge sitting Democrats to denounce and condemn Stumbo, and to distance themselves from him. They need to ask those sitting legislators if they are comfortable with Stumbo being the leader of their chamber and their party.

I still can’t believe that Stumbo was ever able to become House speaker. After giving up the attorney general’s office for an ill-fated run for lieutenant governor, Stumbo strong-armed his hand-picked replacement in the General Assembly into stepping down so he could regain his seat. Then he somehow managed to wrest control of the chamber from Jody Richards. While I never thought much of Richards’ politics, I never heard a disparaging word said about him as a person. He certainly doesn’t have the well-known baggage that Stumbo does. That the Democrats would choose someone like Stumbo over a person of Richards’ character doesn’t speak well of their judgment. They should be made to pay a political price, and if Stumbo continues to come unhinged as he sees his power evaporating, they’ll have even more to try to excuse or defend.

Most of Kentucky’s leading Democrats have accepted their political losses with some dignity. Jack Conway and Adam Edelen have been classy in defeat. But Stumbo is part of the old line of Kentucky Democrats who have held power for decades and don’t want to give it up. Expect more meltdowns from him as control continues to slip from his grasp.