Truth becomes a victim in Kentucky governor's race

It's often said that truth becomes the first casualty in a political contest. That's certainly been the case in this year's gubernatorial race in Kentucky. And unsurprisingly, most of the untruths are coming from one side.

The recent ad put forth by Democrat Andy Beshear claiming that Gov. Matt Bevin's budgeting puts Kentucky schools in danger of closing was an outrageous over-the-top untruth. No serious person can believe that scare tactic, but it panders to much of Beshear's teacher union support.

And it's from them that one of the biggest falsehoods of the political season has generated and spread.

Many Bevin opponents like to say that he called teachers "thugs," and that's just one of many insults he's tossed their way as they protest state pension reform measures that are actually designed to preserve the retirement benefits of Kentucky teachers. It makes for a nice soundbite, but the fact of that matter is that it's not really what happened. The allegation has a hint of the truth in it, but it's the full story that's not being told.

It's time to tell it.

When pension reform was first brought up, prior to a never-called special General Assembly session in 2017, and again during the regular 2018 session, some teachers protested. The Kentucky Education Association steadfastly opposed some of the recommendations.

One of the leading proponents of the reform measure, and one of its strongest backers in the legislature, was now-retired Sen. Joe Bowen from Owensboro. Bowen is the former owner -- emphasis on former -- of the Bowen Tire stores in Daviess County and other locations in that area of the state.

When the pension reform proposal was up for consideration in the legislature, a number of teachers picketed and protested outside Bowen Tire. When that happened, Bevin rightly called it a "thug mentality."

Let that sink in. Teachers -- educated people responsible for educating our children -- were picketing the actions of a legislator at a business he didn't even own.

The KEA has long done a disservice to its members. It promotes positions to preserve its own organizational power at the expense of education improvements in this state. By perpetuating this exaggerated falsehood, they do themselves no favors.

To its credit, the Beshear campaign isn't including that statement Bevin made about the "thug mentality" in its ad that seeks to use some of Bevin's own statements against him. Someone there must be aware of the reality of the situation to know the truth behind the matter.

But the ad does use another statement Bevin made about comparing those protesting efforts to save public pensions to those who are drowning but fight their would-be rescuers.

Long before he made that statement, I made a different but equally fitting analogy. I compared the resistance to pension reform to trying to give a cat a pill. The cat may be sick, and it may need medicine, but it will fight, bite, and scratch you if you try to medicate it. The cat doesn't know that you're trying to help it. It just doesn't want you to give it the pill.

(Full disclosure: As a state employee, I am impacted by decisions on pension reform, and I appreciate the efforts to ensure that the pension I was promised when I started my job will be there should I ever be able to retire.)

There are legitimate reasons for which one can criticize Bevin. I don't agree with the administration on every issue. But a blanket statement that the governor called all teachers "thugs" is not one of them. That didn't happen. His statement was targeted at a specific group of people who couldn't even be bothered to find out if the person they were mad at actually owned the business where they were protesting. And he didn't call them "thugs," he said they were displaying a "thug mentality."

This may be the first time some people have ever heard this truth. It's doubtful they'll change their beliefs or behavior or statements, but at least now they know. If they continue to repeat an untruth, it's on them.