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.

Much can be cut from state budget, if Bevin knows where to look

Every time I go to Frankfort, I pass by the office of an obscure state agency. I’ve never heard of anything this agency has ever done. As far as I know, it’s never been in the news for anything. I’m not exactly sure what its duties are. All I know is that it’s a state agency that consumes dollars from the state budget.

Since the agency has an office that’s separate from any other state facilities, it’s a safe bet that the state pays rent on the building. Since there’s an office, that means there’s a staff that must be paid. It also means there are bills for electricity and telephones and water and other services.

I recently heard that this obscure state agency was looking to hire a public relations person. I have never seen this agency in the news. I have never seen any press releases issued by this agency, or by any other agency touting this office’s work. If this office has labored in obscurity to this point, why does it need publicity now?

What’s the name of this agency? That’s irrelevant to this discussion. The fact is that such an agency exists, and it has several other siblings scattered across state government. It seems to me that this agency is ripe for abolition, with its functions being absorbed into other existing cabinets and departments. There are several agencies that would be perfect fits. The office expenses could be abolished, personnel costs absorbed through attrition and some money saved within the state budget.

Many of us believe that the government has strayed far from the duties for which it was intended. While it’s true that federal overreach is a hot topic, and the 10th Amendment and the concept of “reserved powers” would seem to give much governmental authority to the states, there’s still a widespread belief that government at all levels does too much, and too many things it was never meant to do. Personally, I struggle with the concept that the founders and framers would endorse the idea of government-paid health care.

We keep being reminded that times are lean. Former Gov. Steve Beshear frequently talked of shortfalls in the state budget and the number of cuts he had to make. He seemed to be fond of making overall cuts to the budget instead of targeted cuts to weed out unnecessary and duplicative programs.

New Gov. Matt Bevin has a golden opportunity to rein in the scope and power of Kentucky’s state government. Here’s hoping he will take full advantage of the chance that has been given him.

Bevin won’t be able to do anything immediately, unless he and his budget wizards are really good. He will have to present a budget for the upcoming biennium to the General Assembly barely a month into his term, which began last week. It’s likely he will be able to submit nothing more than a continuation budget until he and his staff get a handle on things in Frankfort. Plus, he’s sure to face opposition from the House of Representatives, currently under control of House Speaker Greg Stumbo and the Democrats, if he attempts wholesale cuts or implementation of new programs.

But in 2018, there’s real potential. By that time, the governor’s staff will have had a chance to review the offices and programs in state government. They should be able to pick out the ones that do very little, are duplicates of other efforts or don’t provide what is truly an essential service to the public. In addition, there’s a good likelihood that the House will be “flipped” from control by the Democrats to the Republicans in next year’s state legislative elections, which will give him two chambers that will be friendlier to his proposals. Bevin and Sen. Mitch McConnell may still be on tenuous terms, according to some, but they’re united in their goal of “flipping” the House next year. And even if Republicans don’t succeed in gaining control of the House, Bevin can omit those wasteful, duplicative and nonvital programs in his budget, then use the line-item veto to strike them if the House includes them.

We all agree that there are things the government must do for the betterment of society. Enforcing the law and building and maintaining roads are just a couple of those essential services. But there are many offices, agencies, commissions, boards, bureaus, departments and divisions tucked away in the recesses of state government, consuming resources but providing questionable benefit. The vast majority of Kentuckians wouldn’t miss them if they disappeared, especially if their important functions could be taken over elsewhere. And the taxpayers would appreciate a break and the opportunity to keep more of what they earn.

Some fear that Gov. Bevin is going to take a “slash and burn” approach to state government. I don’t foresee that happening. I think he will be reasonable and measured with the needed downsizing. He and his advisors will evaluate the cost of each function against the value. When the unneeded and redundant programs are eliminated, there will be more money available to meet the vital needs of the state without increasing taxes. And there are many areas of state government that are desperately underfunded, and not just the pension either, although that situation’s gotten most of the attention. Unneeded offices and programs are sucking money away from areas where it needs to be spent.

It’s been nothing short of amazing to watch Bevin’s opponents melt down on social media, in the press and in online comments on news stories. They don’t realize that the Medicaid expansion they’re championing is unsustainable over the long term. Projections vary, but the consensus is that it may be sustainable for a year or two but will not be sustainable after 2020, especially when federal funding dries up. How can the state pay for it without a devastating tax increase? And no one seems to be asking the bigger question of why it’s the state’s responsibility to provide health insurance anyway.

New Kentucky governors really don’t get a chance to settle into the office and get their programs in place. There’s only a month between the election and the inauguration. Then there’s only about a month before they and their new personnel have to present a budget. So it’s much too early for Bevin’s big-government liberal detractors to jump up and down about how he’s damaging the state.

Matt Bevin’s only been governor for a little over a week now. He’s still making appointments to his staff and trying to figure out the lay of Frankfort, being that he arrived as an outsider businessman instead of a career politician. He has the opportunity to make a real and lasting mark on the commonwealth. He can begin by identifying and eliminating wasteful and duplicative spending, such as for that obscure little agency I pass by on my way into Frankfort.

Eastern Kentucky cannot accommodate an influx of Middle Eastern refugees

Last month’s terrorist attack in France, committed by Islamic extremists, sparked an intense debate across America on whether or not we should accept refugees from the Middle East.

Those opposed raise the very real possibility that some of those radical Muslim terrorists might mix in with the refugees so they can bring their jihad against American values to American soil.

And in a stance so ironic that it would break the sturdiest of irony meters, if such things existed, many of the same people who scream “separation of church and state” declare that it would be un-Christianlike of the United States to turn the refugees away.

A number of governors have opposed the placement of refugees in their states, while others have said the refugees will be welcome. In Kentucky, there’s a divided opinion between the outgoing and incoming administrations. Ex-Gov. Steve Beshear – and I cannot tell you how good it feels to be able to call him “ex-governor” – said, before he left office, that Kentucky should allow the refugees to come here. New Gov. Matt Bevin – and I cannot tell you happy I am to be able to say that – thinks they should be excluded until we get a better vetting system in place to separate the terrorists from those who are seeing refuge.

Two weeks ago, an eastern Kentuckian offered up one of those typical liberal feel-good solutions that sounds appealing on its face, but withers under logical scrutiny.

Dee Davis of Whitesburg, president of the Center for Rural Strategies and publisher of The Daily Yonder website, wrote a column that was later picked up by the Lexington Herald-Leader in which he advocated for bringing as many refugees to rural eastern Kentucky as possible.

(Interestingly, I discovered when researching this column that The Daily Yonder was founded by former Herald-Leader columnist and reporter Bill Bishop, who never saw a rural economic development strategy that he didn’t hate.)

There are a number of problems with Mr. Davis’ recommendations that have nothing to do with terrorism or an influx of Muslim refugees from a different culture (although I’m sure things might get pretty heated pretty quick the first time one of the refugees wandered into a mountain grocery store and saw the meat department chock full of bacon, ham and other pork products.)

Does Davis live in the same eastern Kentucky as I do? It’s doubtful, because this area is not physically or financially able to accommodate or support an influx of refugees. There are

We’ve had refugees come here before. Probably the most prominent was the patriarch of the Dawahare family. He came to New York City from Syria to escape religious persecution, met and married a native of Wise County, Va. (which borders Letcher County), eventually moved across the mountain to Kentucky and started a business that evolved into Dawahares. The legendary clothing store became well-known in the mountains and in Lexington before it finally succumbed to the changing tides of the retail business.

But times are different now than when Dawahare came here around the turn of the last century. He arrived in the mountains in the midst of a coal boom. Coal’s in a bust cycle now. The climate that was hospitable to his entrepreneurial efforts just isn’t there now.

Rural eastern Kentucky simply does not have the housing to accommodate a large number of immigrants. Decent privately-owned rental housing is scarce in many small towns, and since many of the refugees are leaving with only the clothes they’re wearing, it’s not likely that they’re going to be buying homes. There are already worries in one mountain county about a possible housing shortage. One of the alternatives for extending the Mountain Parkway from Salyersville to Prestonsburg involves widening existing KY 114. If this option is chosen, approximately 120 families would be forced to find new homes, and Floyd County does not have enough available housing to accommodate those who would be displaced. Given the economic situation in many rural counties, it’s not likely that there’s going to be a boom of new housing construction simply to accommodate the refugees.

And if they do find housing, what are they going to do? Mountain counties suffer from chronic joblessness. Kentucky just released unemployment data from October, and the top (or bottom) 10 counties are all in eastern Kentucky. A number of layoffs have been announced since that information was compiled. Even an entrepreneur like Serur Frank Dawahare Sr. would have a hard time selling merchandise to a clientele that has trouble keeping their lights on and their families fed.

Can we afford to provide government benefits for those who come here but are unemployed or underemployed? We’re constantly reminded just how dependent the people of this region are on various government aid programs. And that leads us back to the housing question. Pick a small town, and you’ll probably find that most of the rental properties are subsidized government apartment complexes. There are usually long waiting lists for those. And, as many have pointed out, shouldn’t we be taking care of our own before we start accepting those from elsewhere?

Then, there’s the matter of education. Because of declining enrollments, many mountain school districts are closing older schools. If the school systems haven’t sold the old buildings, the state is not likely to let them reopen the facilities. The tax base in most of these counties cannot support additional levies to fund new school construction, and local residents in many communities don’t want their taxes raised. (In Lee County, twice in the last two years, voters by wide margins have rejected a tax increase for school construction). Budget cuts are forcing some school districts to lay off teachers, and those who remain are being stretched thin to cover essential subjects. These school systems cannot afford to hire English-as-a-second-language teachers to work with the children of refugees.

These few items jumped immediately to the top of my mind as soon as I read Davis’ column. While his piece seemingly purports to answer some of the questions, upon closer inspection his reasoning falls apart. I’m sure that with deeper scrutiny, even more compelling reasons could be found as to why the wholesale resettling of refugees in this area simply won’t work.

If the refugees can come here, contribute to society in a meaningful way and not be a drain on it, and assimilate into American culture, then I’d have no problem with them arriving in this area. But there’s no way that we can accommodate them given our current state of affairs. This area simply doesn’t have the facilities or opportunities they need to flourish in the United States.

Some cautionary words for the Bevin administration; or, there’s still a snake in the grass

Twelve years ago, I was writing a column for a now-defunct website called kyrepublicans.com. I had become acquainted with the site’s owner during the Ernie Fletcher gubernatorial campaign, and he invited me to contribute to his site upon learning of my journalism background.

About the time of Fletcher’s inauguration in 2003, I wrote a column for that site entitled “Snakes in the Grass.” In that column, I cautioned the Fletcher administration about partisan foes Crit Luallen, who had been elected auditor; and Greg Stumbo, who had won the attorney general’s race. It was obvious to me that those two would use their offices in any way possible to try to bring down Kentucky’s first Republican governor since the 1960s.

I wish I had as much luck predicting lottery numbers as I did in forecasting the Democrats’ behavior. While Luallen didn’t go after the Fletcher administration (she seemed instead to target local Republican officeholders), Stumbo certainly did.

A brief history of the “scandal” that plagued Fletcher’s term is in order. A Transportation Cabinet personnel official had been a classmate of Fletcher’s at Lafayette High School in Lexington. This employee had hoped to parlay his connection to Fletcher into a cushy appointed state government position. However, he and Fletcher were not friends in school, and Fletcher didn’t remember him from their days at Lafayette. When the employee was publicly embarrassed that Fletcher said he didn’t remember him at a state government event at the Transportation office building, he retaliated. Personnel decisions that he had approved and said were OK suddenly became illegal. Instead of taking his concerns to the state Personnel Board, he went straight to the attorney general’s office. Legitimate questions were raised as to if he had illegally obtained the emails he used to bolser his allegations.

Naturally, he found a receptive audience in Stumbo and his minions. Stumbo was looking for a way to take down the Republican governor and soften him up so the Democrats could reclaim the Governor’s Mansion in 2007, and Stumbo himself was considering running. (He eventually ran as Bruce Lunsford’s running mate). The lead prosecutor had been an outspoken supporter of former Attorney General Ben Chandler, whom Fletcher defeated in 2003. The grand jury was tainted by members who had so many conflicts of interest that it would have been impossible for them to impartially evaluate the evidence and testimony presented during the investigation. (For example, one of the grand jurors was married to a member of Stumbo’s investigative staff).

None of these details were ever reported by the mainstream press, which was also hostile to Fletcher, although they were readily available to anyone who wanted to dig. In fact, a few enterprising bloggers made those inconvenient truths public but the media never picked up on them, to the public’s detriment. Many believe that the Fletcher administration illegally fired lots of merit system employees. That just isn’t true. Only one merit system employee who had openly supported Chandler was fired, and he was still on probation, which meant he could be let go for any reason or for no reason at all. There’s no evidence that any civil service employee was fired for political reasons.

What resulted was a partisan, politically-motivated witch hunt that resulted in the Democrats winning back the Governor’s Office in 2007. Although Stumbo didn’t win, his party did, and he found his way back into power by reclaiming his legislative seat and then leading a coup against House Speaker Jody Richards.

The press and the Democrats were hostile to Fletcher, to be sure, but that looks almost tame compared to the disdain and outright hatred they’re showing Gov.-elect Matt Bevin. Read the editorials written by the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Courier-Journal since the election, check the comments section on post-election news stories or go back and listen to what can only be described as the rambling, incoherent rant by Stumbo on Election Night that many suspect was fueled by one too many attempts to drown his sorrow.

Which brings us back to that snake in the grass.

Just as Fletcher faced a hostile attorney general, so too will Bevin. Andy Beshear squeaked by in his race, and it’s a given that he will be just as motivated to take down Bevin as Stumbo was Fletcher.

An extra bonus is in sight for Beshear. There’s currently a leadership vacuum in the Kentucky Democratic Party. With the losses by the party’s presumed leaders, Jack Conway and Adam Edelen, the KDP appears rudderless. Its top two officials are Beshear and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. Their fathers, Steve Beshear and Jerry Lundergan, are two old-line party stalwarts who, coincidentally, are old personal and political foes who don’t get along at all. At this very early stage, Andy and Alison have to be considered two prime candidates to try to retake the governorship for the Democrats in four years. Alison’s office has no investigatory powers, but Andy’s does. And if he successfully uses them to soften up Bevin, his personal stock within the party goes up.

What the Fletcher administration was trying to do with its Governor’s Personnel Initiative was an attempt to reverse decades of abuse of state hiring practices. During the past eight years, things have regressed back to where they were in the days of Ford, Carroll, Collins, Jones and Patton. Much like Fletcher did upon taking office in 2003, Bevin faces a personnel situation that’s in need of correcting. And if his administration tries to fix what’s been broken again, will Andy Beshear follow in Greg Stumbo’s footsteps?

True, some of Fletcher’s appointees made some mistakes. They paid a price, too. The ones who slipped up were fired. But things were never what Stumbo or the daily papers made them out to be.

So as Matt Bevin takes office and sets up his administration, they would be wise to keep a close eye on Andy Beshear. He has plenty of motivation for going after the Republican governor. It would benefit his party, which is rapidly losing its grip on a Kentucky government and political machine it’s controlled for decades. And it would benefit him personally, as he builds his bona fides to step into a leadership role for a party that seems to be lost at sea.

My advice to the new administration would be to keep the grass trimmed way, way down, so that the Andy Beshear snake is visible at all times. Don’t let that snake slither into tall grass, where it can hide and strike the way the Greg Stumbo snake did.