Last Call For Dispatches From Bevinstan

It's been a busy week for Kentucky GOP Gov. Matt Bevin, a week after signing his austerity budget into law that cuts nearly five percent from state spending across the board.  First, he's decided to use his power as governor to go after his political enemies by demanding a corruption investigation into previous Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, and Beshear's son and current KY Attorney General Andy Beshear.

Kentucky’s Republican governor on Tuesday ordered an investigation into what he described as wrongdoing under his Democratic predecessor, charging that state employees were coerced into contributing to political campaigns and that a contract was improperly steered to a politically connected company. 

Gov. Matt Bevin’s allegation of “greed and oftentimes corruption” escalates the feud between the new governor, who took office in December, and the Beshear family: former Gov. Steven L. Beshear and his son Andy, the state attorney general. On April 11, Andy Beshear sued Mr. Bevin, saying the governor acted illegally in cutting higher education spending without approval by the Legislature. Steven Beshear is leading a public-relations campaign against his successor’s moves to roll back the state’s expansion of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. 

A former state official close to the Beshears, Timothy M. Longmeyer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal bribery charge, a case Mr. Bevin referred to in calling for a new investigation. As a member of Steve Beshear’s cabinet, Mr. Longmeyer steered contracts related to the health plan for state employees to a company that paid him kickbacks. Mr. Longmeyer briefly served this year as a deputy attorney general, under Andy Beshear, before resigning. 

In a brief statement, Mr. Bevin said that in his months in office, his administration had found evidence that state workers were forced to contribute last year to the campaigns of Andy Beshear and Jack Conway, the previous attorney general, who was Mr. Bevin’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor. And he charged that the state had awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to a company with ties to Steve Beshear’s administration.

Some pretty hefty allegations there.  Bevin of course refuses to go to the existing state Ethics Commission, but is instead hiring his own "independent investigative team" to go after the Beshears.

Meanwhile, Bevin's "pension reforms" start with the firing of the state's top pension board official and replacing him with a Bevin donor who wants to dismantle the entire state pension fund.

Thomas K. Elliott, a senior vice president at Old National Bank in Louisville, was reappointed last year by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear to a four-year term. However, Bevin, a Republican, issued an executive order citing a state law that suggests that a governor can revoke any gubernatorial appointment for any reason at any time, exempting university boards, the Council on Postsecondary Education and the state Board of Education.

Meet Elliott's replacement, William F. Smith, who wrote this gem of an article last year, calling the pension system a "Ponzi scheme" and ranting that promised pension payments to state employees cannot be legally enforced:

Beshear must recognize that a task force, audit or blue ribbon panel will not produce the solution to this pension crisis. This pension crisis will not be resolved by actuaries, attorneys or pension consultants, who will take our money and provide little or nothing in return. 

This crisis is above the legislature, the attorney general, and the state auditor. It is beyond the control of the Chamber of Commerce, the KLC, KACO, and even KFC, with all due respect to Colonel Sanders. This $48 billion pension crisis is prima facie evidence of a crime that will require immediate executive action by a governor willing to cross party lines and oppose political allies to save the state from a financial disaster created entirely by our own public officials. 

It should be clear to the governor that the KRS benefit formula is actuarially unsound and does not match the funding mechanism. It should be clear to the governor that beneficiaries are allowed to manipulate pension benefits beyond the parameters established by KRS actuaries. 

It should be clear to everyone that the system is underfunded because pension benefits were allowed to exceed the capacity of the system to generate revenue, and not because funding from taxpayers has been inadequate. The KRS policies that created these deficits are actuarially unsound by design, invalidating the entire KRS system and potentially making KRS executives and trustees, and state executives and legislators liable for the damages to the state created by the $48 billion deficit.

And this guy is now in charge of the same pension system he wants to obliterate, with payments to tens of thousands of state employees in the balance.

Welcome to Bevinstan.

The Yabba Dabba D'ough

Looks like the Commonwealth lost its lawsuit to the Ark Park, and we Kentuckians get to fork over millions to a place where man rides dinosaurs and the earth is 6,000 years old.

The state of Kentucky must give millions of dollars in tax subsidies to a Noah’s Ark theme park owned by a creationist ministry, even though that ministry refuses to comply with the state’s request not to engage in hiring discrimination, according to an opinion by a George W. Bush appointee to the federal bench. Under Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove’s opinion, the creationist group Answers in Genesis (AiG) stands to gain up to $18 million.

That's roughly $4 a person, so even if you refuse to visit, hey, you bought a ticket. But on appeal this may not hold.

Judge Van Tatenhove’s decision in favor of AiG is on much shakier ground, however, when he claims that AiG is entitled to the subsidy even if it wants to engage in employment discrimination. He roots this decision largely in a non-sequitur about what AiG’s obligations would be if they were sued by an employee alleging discrimination. As the judge notes, federal law exempts “a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society” from the federal ban on employment discrimination “with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities.” Thus, a religious group like AiG typically has the right to hire only members of a particular faith without having to face a federal lawsuit. 

But the fact that federal law provides a particular exemption does not necessarily mean that Kentucky must also offer the same exemption. And it certainly does not mean that Kentucky must also provide tax subsidies to groups that engage in discrimination. In Bob Jones University v. United States, the Supreme Court rejected a school’s claim that it was entitled to federal tax subsidies, despite the fact that the government had denied such subsidies because the school prohibited interracial dating. More recently, in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the Court held that a student group that banned “unrepentant homosexual conduct” could be denied valuable benefits under a public law school’s anti-discrimination policies. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained in her majority opinion, “our decisions have distinguished between policies that require action and those that withhold benefits.”

Judge Van Tatenhove’s opinion, in other words, rests on the extraordinary proposition that the state of Kentucky is required to subsidize discrimination. That is not what the Constitution provides.

Question is will Matt Bevin and AG Andy Beshear appeal the ruling?  I can certainly see Beshear doing it, as his father is the one who challenged Answers in Genesis in the first place.  But Bevin can order him not to, and then things get tricky.

We'll see.

Last Call For Beshear Does Right

I will say this about Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear: his last few weeks in office are shaping up to be legendary.

The outgoing Democratic governor of Kentucky signed an executive order Tuesday to restore the right to vote and hold public office to thousands of non-violent felons who've served out their sentences. 

The order from Gov. Steve Beshear — who leaves office next month — does not include those convicted of violent crimes, sex offenses, bribery or treason. Kentucky already restores voting rights to some nonviolent convicted felons, but the felon must apply to the governor's office, which approves them on a case by case basis. 

This new order automatically restores voting rights to convicted felons who meet certain criteria upon their release. Those who have already been released can fill out a form on the state Department of Corrections' website. 

"All of our society will be better off if we actively work to help rehabilitate those who have made a mistake," Beshear said. "And the more we do that, the more the entire society will benefit." 

Kentucky was one of four states that did not automatically restore voting rights to felons once they completed all the terms of their sentences. About 180,000 in Kentucky have served their sentences yet remain banned from casting ballots. 

The Kentucky legislature has tried and failed numerous times to pass a bill to restore voting rights to felons. The Republican-controlled Senate would agree only if there was a five-year waiting period, which Democrats refused.

Governor-elect Matt Bevin has been quick to tout "criminal justice reform" in the past, and all he's really meant has been tort reform so far.  He has an opportunity here to do some real good by not reversing this order.

Democrats control state government until next month, when Republican Gov.-elect Matt Bevin takes office. Bevin could repeal Beshear's order or allow it to stand. Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said Bevin supports restoring voting rights to nonviolent offenders, but added he was not notified of Beshear's order until a few minutes before he announced it. 

"The Executive Order will be evaluated during the transition period," she said.

We'll see.  I wouldn't celebrate yet.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article46208815.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article46208815.html#storylink=cpy

Last Call For Go Home Dinosaur Steve, You're Drunk

Gov. Steve Beshear has done a lot for Kentucky, frankly.  But the one issue where he has absolutely embarrassed himself and the state on repeatedly has been same-sex marriage, and he did it again this week.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says the state's ban on gay marriage should be upheld in part because it is not discriminatory in that both gay and straight people are barred from marrying people of the same gender. 

In an argument labeled absurd by gay marriage advocates, Beshear's lawyer says in a brief filed last week at the U.S. Supreme Court that "men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex" under Kentucky law, making the law non-discriminatory. 

The argument mirrors that offered by the state of Virginia nearly 50 years ago when it defended laws barring interracial marriage there and in 15 other states, including Kentucky, by saying they weren't discriminatory because whites were barred from marrying blacks just as blacks were barred from marrying whites. 

The Supreme Court in 1967 rejected that argument in the historic case of Loving v. Virginia, in which Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, were charged with a crime for marrying.

If this sounds like that this is the most mind-numbingly stupid defense of same-sex marriage bans that you've ever heard, well that's because it is.  The man took this idiocy to the Supreme Court on behalf of his constituents.  You know, like me.

Steve, you're a moron.  Jack Conway cannot replace you quickly enough.

Sit down.

For Whom The Bridge Tolls

As WVXU's Howard Wilkinson points out, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Ohio Gov. John Kasich played Good Cop, Bad Cop with the idea of replacing the crumbling main bridge over the Ohio River, the Brent Spence, with a toll bridge.  Northern Kentucky leaders know that tolls are going to cost us a lot here in NKY, and it's going to cost those leaders their jobs more than likely.

It seems that Ohio’s Republican governor, who is not the shy and retiring type when it comes to speaking his mind, left some noses out of joint Wednesday when he hooked up with Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, at Covington’s RiverCenter.

Kasich and Beshear said the two states would work on trying to reduce the estimated $2.6 billion price tag for replacing the bridge and re-doing the highway corridor. And they said they would have a 50 percent discount on tolls for daily commuters. Kasich said, too, that Ohio will now split the costs with Kentucky, even though it is Kentucky’s bridge.

This was aimed at convincing state legislators in Frankfort to accept the idea of tolls and move forward with funding for the project – something that the anti-toll legislators from Northern Kentucky have been battling for a long time now.

That's putting it mildly.  Kasich has poached a number of NKY businesses across that bridge into Cincinnati with the promise of big tax incentives, and now Kasich is adding insult to injury by making Norther Kentucky foot the bill for the Brent Spence through tolls.
 

NKY United, a group opposed to tolls for construction of a Brent Spence Bridge replacement, put something up on its website taking Kasich to task and asking Northern Kentuckians to sign a petition to Kasich demanding he apologize.

“Governor Kasich has personally lobbied to take businesses and jobs from NKY, and yet he stands in the very building that once housed some of these businesses and makes personal attacks against our elected leaders?,” the website said.

Kasich, NKY United said, “should apologize; and if he cannot control himself he should stay out of Kentucky.”

It’s not clear if this means all of Kentucky; or just the northern part. After all, he may want to take his kids down to see the Kentucky Horse Park someday.

At any rate, as of mid-afternoon Friday, there were 2,162 signatures on the petition.

Frank put a link to the petition on his Facebook page.

“I don’t expect Kasich will apologize,’’ Frank said. “I just want to see if some of the legislators downstate might be influenced that tolls are a bad idea.”

So the battle continues, but it's looking more and more like the rest of Ohio and Kentucky have decided that commuters in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties are the ones who are going to have to pay the lion's share of the $2.6 billion, one trip at a time.

Ark-itechcts Of Their Own Disaster

Joe Sonka gives us some good news:  Dinosaur Steve's Ark Park here in Kentucky will not be getting taxpayer money after all.

Kentucky’s Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart informed representatives of the proposed Ark Encounter tourist attraction today that their project will not be eligible for up to $18 million in tax incentives from the state, due to their refusal to pledge not to discriminate in hiring based on religion. 

“As you know, since the filing of the original incentive application in 2010, we have strongly supported this project, believing it to be a tourism attraction based on biblical themes that would create significant jobs for the community,” wrote Stewart in a letter to Ark Encounter’s attorney. “However, based on various postings on the Answers in Genesis (AIG) and Ark Encounter websites, reports from Ark Encounter investor meetings and our correspondence, it is readily apparent that the project has evolved from a tourism attraction to an extension of AIG’s ministry that will no longer permit the Commonwealth to grant the project tourism development incentives.” 

Stewart explains that their application will not go forward because the state will not grant incentives to a company that openly intends to discriminate in hiring based on religion, saying it is a violation of the state constitution for these incentives to be used to advance religion. He detailed how Ark Encounter representatives had previously promised not to discriminate in hiring several times, but recently they have stated they have every right to do so, saying, “The Commonwealth’s position hasn’t changed. The applicant’s position has changed.” 

Stewart cited AiG CEO Ken Ham’s Nov. 19 fundraising letter that accused the Beshear administration of religious persecution and reaffirmed their desire to discriminate in hiring based on religion. He also cited other statements throughout the year from AiG officials claiming the purpose of the park is to evangelize and indoctrinate its visitors. 

“Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry,” wrote Stewart. “However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion. The use of state incentives in this way violates the Separation of Church and State provisions of the Constitution and is therefore impermissible.” 

Stewart went on to wish the Ark Encounter project well, despite the fact that it will receive no money or incentives from the state.

Good.  I've been saying the Yabba Dabba D'oh here should never have gotten a dime, and it looks like finally that Ken Ham will have to fork over his own cash.  I'm not paying for a Christian indoctrination theme park with my tax dollars, especially when "Christian" here has nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and everything to do with being a complete bigoted asshole to everyone.

Good riddance, and I hope the whole thing burns.

Matt Bevin Is Back, Baby

Last time we heard from GOP Tea Party Senate hopeful Matt Bevin, he was getting his ass handed to him by Mitch McConnell and his 32% approval rating.  Bevin was a candidate so bad he couldn't even find a way to run to Mitch McConnell's right without screwing up and losing by 20 points.

So it seems he's shifted gears and appears to be considering running for Governor in 2015 instead.

Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Bevin is looking past his race against Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and says he is considering the encouragement of those around him to run for another office. 

Bevin told Pure Politics at the annual Fancy Farm picnic that he has been encouraged to run for another office. And in a poll about the 2015 governors race, Bevin topped the list of potential Republican candidates with 25 percent. 

On Wednesday, Bevin told Pure Politics he has continued to receive encouragement to run for another office and is thinking about it because he cares about the future of the state. 

“I am absolutely considering not only the gubernatorial but frankly any other way to serve going into the future. What I have no desire to do is make this a new rest of my life kind of venture,” Bevin said (at 1:15). “I am 47 years old, I am not a kid anymore. But I hopefully have a little gas left in the tank too and to that end, I know there are things that need to be done, I know what my abilities are and are not and if I think I can apply those in a way I think will help my children and other people’s children have a better possibility in the future then I’ll consider that.” 

In terms of a timeline, Bevin said he will know if he is going to run or not by the end of September but will not make any kind of announcement any time soon because he does not want to distract from the important issues at play in the 2014 races.

Will Matt Bevin push already declared GOP candidate and current Ag Secretary James Comer further to the right should he enter the race?  Sure hope so.  Bevin's not going to have Mitch McConnell, Dinosaur Steve, or even Barack Obama to run against, and the means he's going to have to make the case for why he should win as opposed to why everyone else should lose.

I hope Bevin does as much damage as possible to Comer so that Jack Conway can sweep in for the win.

State Of Destruction

The real political prize for Republicans in 2014 isn't Harry Reid's Senate majority leader chair, but dozens of state legislatures and several governor's mansions that could flip into the hands of the GOP in November, which could give them total control of a number of purple states in 2015.  If you thought things were bad at the state level before in places like Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina is total GOP control of the state, wait until places like Colorado, Iowa, and Nevada fall.

At a time when Democrats and Republicans in control of statehouses are using their authority to push through ambitious policies that by contrast highlight the paralysis in Washington, the potential for further Republican gains has raised the possibility of deepening the policy divide between red and blue states. Republicans now control 59 of the 99 partisan legislative chambers, and have complete political control — both legislative houses and the governor’s mansion — in 23 states, while Democrats control 13. The total number of states ruled by a single political party, 36, is the highest in six decades.

Officials from both parties say there are two states that the Republicans might be able to add to the list of places where they enjoy complete control — Iowa and Arkansas. (There are no similar opportunities for Democrats.) Given that, Republicans this year are also looking to pick off individual chambers as a way of increasing their negotiating ability with Democratic governors and statehouses, or to block Democrats from passing legislation.

Republicans are looking to take over senates in Colorado, Iowa, Oregon, Maine and Nevada, and houses in Kentucky, New Hampshire and West Virginia. Republicans could emerge with complete control of the legislatures in New Hampshire and Kentucky, though both of those states have Democratic governors.

That would mean that the only thing keeping Obamacare alive through Kynect in Kentucky would be Dinosaur Steve.  And if Democrats are unable to win next year when Beshear steps down, you can kiss Kynect goodbye, as Republicans here have vowed to dismantle the program if they take over.

They hope these victories will help them push through legislation that has been stymied by Democrats until now, such as pressing the kind of restrictions on labor organizing the party passed in Wisconsin, or rolling back gun laws in Colorado. In Iowa, Republicans are looking to eliminate a tax on manufacturing and enact a ban there on telemedicine abortions, where women in rural areas obtain abortion pills after videoconference consultations with faraway doctors.

Matt Walter, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, which is spearheading the statehouse efforts, said, “The pattern is crystal-clear at this point, and Wisconsin is the best example of it: That ability to drive your agenda when you are completely in control of state government will absolutely continue to play out.”

If Republicans end up controlling two-thirds of state legislative chambers, the country is going to suffer greatly.  No matter how you feel about voting for Democrats in the Senate, you'd better get to the polls for your state legislature elections, and push that lever for the D side.

And We're Back To Dinosaur Steve Again

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has made me proud on several occasions with his vocal defense of Obamacare and our state's exchange, Kynect, continues to serve as an example to the rest of the nation.  Kentucky has reduced its uninsured by almost 40% under the program, by any measure an astonishing success.

But don't ask him any questions about same-sex marriage, because then he turns into a bigoted old Southern white guy.

In February, a federal judge ruled that Kentucky must recognize same-sex couples’ marriages from other states, a decision that was stayed pending appeal. Gov. Steve Beshear (D), who hired outside counsel because of Attorney General Jack Conway’s (D) unwillingness to defend the state’s ban, has filed his first brief in the appeal, presenting a novel economic argument against recognizing same-sex marriage.

Beshear’s argument to the Sixth Circuit echoes claims made by many other states defending marriage bans. Notably, because same-sex couples cannot “naturally procreate,” they are “not similarly situated to man-woman couples” and thus do not deserve the same benefits of marriage. Same-sex marriage, the brief argues, is a “new right,” so the state’s ban does not violate same-sex couples’ equal protection when it comes to marriage. But Beshear applies these assumptions in a new way: because same-sex couples do not contribute to the birth rate, it’s not economically beneficial for Kentucky to recognize their marriages.

“Though there is a cost to Kentucky by granting tax and other benefits to man-woman couples, a stable or growing birth rate offsets the cost,” the brief argues. “Only man-woman relationships can naturally procreate, and only those relationships, therefore, are afforded the state sponsored benefit.”

Which may be the most moronic statement I've ever read the man make, given all the time I'm lived here.  How many childless couples are married in Kentucky?  I'd like to know the percentage, because under Beshear's excruciatingly stupid logic, they don't deserve the benefits of marriage either.  What about infertile couples?  Are we now going to take marriage benefits away from them?

Is this clown serious?

I expect this kind of rank idiocy from Republicans, but not from Steve Beshear.  If there's any part of his record that is abysmal, it's his stance on LGBTQ folks in the Bluegrass State. Steve seems to think they don't exist.

Thankfully, Jack Conway has filed to run to succeed Dinosaur Steve as Governor in 2015, and I'm hoping that he can pull it off.

By the way, add Arkansas to the list of states where a federal judge has struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as a violation of the Fifth Amendment.

Last Call For Dinosaur Steve Blowing It Again

Just another reminder that while my Gov. Steve Beshear is 100% right about Obamacare, he still would be a Republican in just about any other state on LGBTQ equality issues.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) announced Tuesday that his state will appeal a federal judge's ruling that the state must recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

Beshear's decision comes after state Attorney General Jack Conway (D) announced earlier in the day that he would not appeal the ruling, calling banning gay marriage "discrimination." Beshear will instead hire outside legal counsel to handle the appeal.

Conway and Beshear last week asked the judge for a delay in order to decide whether to appeal and/or to give themselves time to figure out how to implement the law.

The judge's decision was made official last week but was originally made two weeks prior -- the latest in a string of recent and significant legal rulings in several states on the subject of gay marriage.

And despite Jack Conway for once doing the right thing, Dinosaur Steve comes along to screw it up.  Because Kentucky Democrats are the most dysfunctional state Democratic party in the country.  Kentucky will still have to be dragged kicking and screaming into equality, more so than I think any other state.

The decision of Beshear and Conway garnered national headlines Tuesday but will likely fade when the statewide races begin in 2015, said Paul Whalen, Campbell County Democratic Chairman. Whalen thinks Conway’s decision is the right one, and that gay marriage will become accepted in the future.

“I guess we do have an interesting dichotomy here in the state,” Whalen said. “Once things get settled down in regards to same sex marriage, people won’t be too excited about it. They’ll just shrug. I don’t think it will be that much of a big deal in another 18 months.”

You keep telling yourself same-sex marriage won't be fought tooth and nail (and firearm) in Kentucky.  Meanwhile, Democratic party officials here in Kentucky wonder why Mitch McConnell keeps winning easily.  At least one person is clued in however:

Beshear said he chose to appeal because "legal chaos is real" if a delay is not issued in the case while it is appealed.

Others, such as former Covington City Commissioner Shawn Masters, see Beshear’s decision as designed to not taint the political future of Beshear’s son, Andy Beshear, who will run for attorney general in 2015. Masters is openly gay.

“It’s a case of political posturing as far as I’m concerned,” Masters said. “He wants to get his son elected and thinks this is the avenue to go. If he digs deep in his heart, he knows this is the wrong avenue to be taking. I’m very disappointed in the governor’s decision.”

Now we just need Alison Lundergan Grimes's eventual mealy-mouthed non-statement to complete the Profiles In Courage segment of the show tonight.

Forget it, Zandar.  It's Kentuckytown.

Obamacare Is Working In Kentucky

In the states where Obamacare is allowed to work without GOP sabotage, it's an incredible system.  There's no greater example of this than right here in Kentucky.

Places such as Breathitt County, in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Kentucky, are driving the state’s relatively high enrollment figures, which are helping to drive national enrollment figures as the federal health exchange has floundered. In a state where 15 percent of the population, about 640,000 people, are uninsured, 56,422 have signed up for new health-care coverage, with 45,622 of them enrolled in Medicaid and the rest in private health plans, according to figures released by the governor’s office Friday.

If the health-care law is having a troubled rollout across the country, Kentucky — and Breathitt County in particular — shows what can happen in a place where things are working as the law’s supporters envisioned.

One reason is that the state set up its own health-insurance exchange, sidestepping the troubled federal one. Also, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) is the only Southern governor to sign on to expanded eligibility parameters for Medicaid, the federal health-insurance program for the poor.

The real benefit here is Medicaid expansion. Kentucky has already knocked more than a full percentage point off the number of uninsured, tens of thousands of people.  In just a month, a sizable dent has been made in the state's uninsured population.  This is what Obamacare was supposed to do all along:  give states the tools to control their health costs and to help their people.

It's Republicans who have refused the program and wrecked the ship.  You can complain about the federal website all you want, but the real issue is Republicans are making this fail for millions on purpose and are complaining about why it's not working.  It's not working because they've done everything they possibly can to make it not work in more than half the states.

Where it is working?  Kentucky.  Think about that.

Dinosaur Steve Evolves Into Obamacare Steve

No state has embraced Obamacare quite like Kentucky, a state that has for decades been in the bottom quintile in practically every health metric available.  You can thank Gov. Steve Beshear for that, and he's not running away from the program in any way.  Friday he took to the NY Times to explain to the country that Obamacare cannot come fast enough for those of us here in the Bluegrass State.

Sunday morning news programs identify Kentucky as the red state with two high-profile Republican senators who claim their rhetoric represents an electorate that gave President Obama only about a third of its presidential vote in 2012.

So why then is Kentucky — more quickly than almost any other state — moving to implement the Affordable Care Act?

Because there’s a huge disconnect between the rank partisanship of national politics and the outlook of governors whose job it is to help beleaguered families, strengthen work forces, attract companies and create a balanced budget. 

It’s no coincidence that numerous governors — not just Democrats like me but also Republicans like Jan Brewer of Arizona, John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Snyder of Michigan — see the Affordable Care Act not as a referendum on President Obama but as a tool for historic change.

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul know there's nothing they can do to stop KYnect, the state's health exchange.   Where other red state Republicans have tried everything imaginable to sabotage exchanges and Medicare expansion, in a state that's almost 90% white and where the median income is nearly 20% less than the national average, not to mention where one in six lack insurance, Republicans calling Obamacare a program for those people will not work.  Kentucky state lawmakers fell into line almost immediately when they realized the federal government was tripping over itself to pay for the expansion.   Kentucky jumped at the idea and ran with it since day one.

And the man behind that push has been Steve Beshear.  His message for Mitch and Rand?  You lost.

As for naysayers, I’m offended by their partisan gamesmanship, as they continue to pour time, money and energy into overturning or defunding the Affordable Care Act. It’s shameful that these critics haven’t invested that same level of energy into trying to improve the health of our citizens. 

They insist that the Affordable Care Act will never work — when in fact a similar approach put into effect in Massachusetts by Mitt Romney, then the governor, is working. 

So, to those more worried about political power than Kentucky’s families, I say, “Get over it.” 

The Affordable Care Act was approved by Congress and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. It is the law of the land. 

Get over it ... and get out of the way so I can help my people. Here in Kentucky, we cannot afford to waste another day or another life.

Never been more proud of this state or its governor in my life.

Ham, Turtle, And Rand For Dinosaur's Steve's Breakfast

Every now and again Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear reminds me he's actually a proud Democrat in a state full of bitter Republicans, and he ate Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell's lunch at Thursday's Farm Bureau breakfast at the KY State Fair as he defended Obamacare in front of the both of them.

The governor compared health insurance to "the safety net of crop insurance" and said farmers need both. He said 640,000 Kentuckians—15 percent of the state—don't have health insurance and "trust me, you know many of those 640,000 people. You're friends with them. You're probably related to them. Some may be your sons and daughters. You go to church with them. Shop with them. Help them harvest their fields. Sit in the stands with them as you watch your kids play football or basketball or ride a horse in competition. Heck, you may even be one of them."

Beshear went on to say that "it's no fun" hoping and praying you don't get sick, or choosing whether to pay for food or medicine. He also said Kentucky is at or near the top of the charts on bad-health indicators, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer deaths, and preventable hospitalizations. He said all that affects everything from productivity and school attendance to health costs and the state's image.

"We've ranked that bad for a long, long time," he said. "The Affordable Care Act is our historic opportunity to address this weakness and to change the course of the future of the commonwealth. We're going to make insurance available for the very first time in our history to every single citizen of the commonwealth of Kentucky."

About half the audience burst into applause at that point while the other half sat on their hands. But he wasn't done. He cited a study that showed the law would inject about $15.6 billion into the Kentucky economy over eight years, create 17,000 new jobs, and generate $802 million for the state budget.

"It's amazing to me how people who are pouring time and money and energy into trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act sure haven't put that kind of energy into trying to improve the health of Kentuckians. And think of the decades that they have had to make some kind of difference," Beshear finished pointedly.

Those are frankly two of the best arguments for Obamacare that I've heard, the third being "Expanding Medicare sure is a lot cheaper than taxpayers swallowing the cost of indigent emergency room care."  Jason Cherkis reminds us that if people don't know it's Obamacare, they love it.  Even here in Kentucky.

A middle-aged man in a red golf shirt shuffles up to a small folding table with gold trim, in a booth adorned with a flotilla of helium balloons, where government workers at the Kentucky State Fair are hawking the virtues of Kynect, the state’s health benefit exchange established by Obamacare.

The man is impressed. "This beats Obamacare I hope," he mutters to one of the workers.

“Do I burst his bubble?” wonders Reina Diaz-Dempsey, overseeing the operation. She doesn't. If he signs up, it's a win-win, whether he knows he's been ensnared by Obamacare or not.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- totals 974 pages, and in the popular imagination is several times longer. How the complex law unfolds could very well determine the winner of Kentucky's high-stakes 2014 Senate race pitting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) against Democratic upstart Alison Lundergan Grimes -- and along with it control of the upper chamber.

But Diaz-Dempsey has managed to distill it all down to three sentences.

We are Kynect -- part of the new health care law.

Do you know anyone who doesn’t have health insurance?

You may qualify for Medicaid or a tax credit based on your income.

And people love Kynect.  It's not Obamacare, you see.  Regardless, it's good seeing Beshear stand up for Obamacare.  My question is does Alison Lundergan Grimes have the courage to do the same?

Bluegrass State Priorities

What's more important here in Kentucky to our state politicians, good governance or UK basketball? Here's a hint: if it took you more than half a second to arrive at the obvious answer, you don't live here.  here's Think Progress sportswriter Travis Waldron on the state's two religions: coal and basketball.

Now, with one of those industries in sharp decline and the other enjoying its return, as head coach John Calipari says, to its “rightful position atop the mountain of college basketball,” their paths are crossing in a way that will leave many of Kentucky basketball’s biggest fans holding the short end of the stick. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray (D)announced plans this week to renovate Rupp Arena, the home of UK basketball since 1976. How the state plans to pay for the estimated $300 million cost, which includes renovations to the attached convention center, is unclear. But to cover the multimillion-dollar cost of the planning and design phase, which will begin soon, Kentucky is diverting $2.5 million in revenues raised from the 4.5 percent tax levied on the sale price of all coal produced in Kentucky.

The so-called coal severance tax generates more than $200 million a year in revenues for Kentucky. Half of that revenue goes immediately into the state’s general fund. The other half is split between two separate accounts for reinvestment into coal-producing counties, with those investments aimed at funding economic development projects that aren’t related to coal, and to foster economic development partnerships between eastern Kentucky counties. In the past, it has funded the creation of industrial parks, road, water, and other infrastructure projects, and scholarship programs for students from coal country. It is meant to address a reality that is staring Kentucky in the face: coal won’t be there forever, and the counties whose mountains have produced it for more than a century need something to turn to when the coal either runs out or is no longer worth mining.

What it isn’t meant to do is build arenas in Lexington. “That’s not what this money is for,” Carrie Ray, a research associate at the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, an organziation based in Berea, Kentucky, told me. “It’s not intended to build a basketball arena that’s nowhere close to the coalfields.”

The state doesn't mind sticking Kentuckians with a $2-$5 toll each way on replacing the Brent Spence bridge to Cincy, but replacing Rupp Arena, well the state will bend over backwards to get that done ASAP.  And these are the Democrats here doing this.  Good ol' Dinosaur Steve and friends are happy to get Rupp Arena renovated.  The Brent Spence?  Not so much.

And people wonder why Kentucky is full of red state Dems.

Dinosaur Steve Does The Right Thing

Here in Kentucky, Gov. Steve "I'd be a Republican in any other state!" Beshear announced this afternoon that he will be expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, giving more than 300,000 Kentuckians access to health insurance through Medicaid and another 300,000 plus through the state's insurance exchange.  He laid out the case on his website, including some sobering facts:

Kentucky Ranks at the Bottom in Health Outcomes. Kentucky continues to rank at the bottom in most national health rankings. This includes 50th in smoking, 40th in obesity, 43rd in sedentary lifestyles, 41st in diabetes, 48th in poor mental health days, 49th in poor physical health days, 50th in cancer deaths, 49th in cardiac heart disease, 43rd in high cholesterol, 44th in annual dental visits and 48th in heart attacks. Access to health insurance will improve health outcomes.

The Bluegrass State is about as unhealthy as it gets, folks.  A big reason is that staggering poverty along the Appalachians makes health care impossible for a lot of people.  Beshear made the right call.  And hey, let's not forget that Obamacare will create good health care jobs, even here in Kentucky:

Expansion Will Have a $15.6 Billion Statewide Economic Impact Between FY14 and FY21, Creating Almost 17,000 New Jobs. According to an independent analysis conducted by the University of Louisville, expanding Medicaid will lead to a cumulative economic impact of $15.6 billion between FY14 and FY21. This impact will result from new health care spending that will occur, the nearly 17,000 jobs that will be created because of this expansion, and the local and state tax revenue that will be generated from those jobs. UofL projects these jobs will have an annual average salary of more than $43,000.

But here's the best argument I've seen so far to tell your uncle that watches FOX News all day:

Not Expanding Means Kentucky Taxpayers Subsidize the 20 States That Are Expanding. Currently, 20 states have announced their decision to expand Medicaid. If Kentucky does not expand its Medicaid program, Kentucky taxpayer dollars’ will still go to the federal government, which will use them to pay for Medicaid expansion in these 20 states.

And folks, that argument here in Kentucky?  That alone will guarantee that the state will remain signed on to Medicaid expansion for a good, long time.

Good job, DS.

Last Call

Dinosaur Steve comes through in the end with a veto of the unconstitutionally stupid KY House Bill 289, the "Religious Freedom Act" but there are enough Blue Dogs (and in Frankfort, all the Dems are Blue Dogs) to most likely override the veto and make us the laughingstock of the nation again.

Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed a controversial religious-freedom bill Friday afternoon, saying the measure was well intended but would spark costly taxpayer-funded court cases and bring an array of unintended consequences.

"I have significant concerns that this bill will cause serious unintentional consequences that could threaten public safety, health care and individuals' civil rights," Beshear said in a statement. "As written, the bill will undoubtedly lead to costly litigation."

House Bill 279 would allow someone with "sincerely held" religious beliefs to disregard state laws "unless the government proves by clear and convincing evidence that it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing" the person's religious freedom. Gay rights and human rights groups have said the bill could be used to challenge local anti-discrimination laws that protect gays and lesbians in Lexington, Louisville, Covington and Vicco. 

"My religious beliefs are that (non-white people/LGBT people/non-Christians/women) are cursed by God, and I refuse to serve them.  It's now up to the Commonwealth to prove with clear and convincing evidence that they can infringe on my right to be a racist bigot."

Sure, this law won't cause lawsuits or anything.  I wonder how long this lasts if you replace the category up there with "white men".  Odds are we're going to find out really soon.

The sponsor of House Bill 279, Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, said he thinks he'll have the 51 votes required to override the veto if House leaders decide to take a vote. Damron said Beshear, a Democrat, did not ask him or Democratic House leaders to refrain from trying to override the bill during a conversation of more than an hour Friday in the governor's Capitol office.

In a written statement, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said, "The Senate is prepared to override the veto of HB 279 if and when the Speaker moves to do so. As a House bill, that chamber must act on the bill first."

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said in a statement that Democratic leaders "will be discussing what action to take with our caucus."

The House passed the bill earlier this month with only seven dissenting votes. The Republican-led Senate passed it 29-6.

Lawmakers return to Frankfort on Monday for the final two days of the legislative session. Damron said there will be enough time to override the veto by midnight Tuesday.

So yeah, unless House Speaker Stumbo can talk the Blue Dogs down, Kentucky's about to become the land of 4.4 million theocracies.  Still, I'd love to see some atheists start refusing to serve anyone with religious beliefs.

In fact, I think that needs to happen...

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/03/22/2569508/beshear-will-veto-religious-freedom.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/03/22/2569508/beshear-will-veto-religious-freedom.html#storylink=cpy

Ashley, Alison, And The Turtle

It's yet another "Kentucky Democrats are quietly trying to get rid of Ashley Judd for current SecState Alison Lundergan Grimes to take on Mitch" story, this time from Politico, and featuring Big Dog.

Democratic heavy hitters — including Bill Clinton — are quietly trying to woo a new candidate to jump into the race to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, even as actress Ashley Judd is taking steps toward launching a star-studded campaign of her own.

With fears growing in some Democratic quarters over Judd’s potential candidacy, some prominent Democrats in the Bluegrass State are beginning to set their sights on 34-year-old Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky secretary of state. Among Grimes’s attributes: She lacks political baggage since she’s served barely a year in office, and she hails from a well-connected family influential in Kentucky Democratic politics. But it’s not at all certain if she’ll jump into the race.

Grimes does have the Clintons in her corner. Earlier this month, the former president — a longtime friend of Grimes’s father — privately urged the young secretary of state to mount a Senate bid while assuring Grimes that both he and his wife, Hillary, would get behind her should she decide to take on the powerful Senate GOP leader, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Attending an event for former Kentucky Sen. Wendell Ford in Owensboro earlier this month, Clinton privately met with Grimes for about 35 minutes, where they discussed her political future. Sources said Clinton made the case that the Senate bid would offer a bigger platform than the governor’s mansion or the U.S. House race in the 6th Congressional District, covering Frankfort and Lexington, which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had hoped she would pursue.

Grimes has also met with officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to Kentucky Democratic sources. Both the DSCC and Clinton’s office declined to comment.

Now Grimes would have her own set of major problems, mainly the lack of experience and the fact she'd at best be another Joe Manchin/Heidi Heitkamp, a Red State Dem who would certainly not have the best progressive record on things, especially on the environment.  King Coal still rules here in the Bluegrass State, and nobody is getting into office without their blessing.  That includes Ashley Judd, folks, so pay attention.

Grimes might roll things back and go after Ben Chandler's old House seat in KY-6 too.  I don't know.  She could decide to walk away from Washington totally and stake out her claim for Governor, lord knows we need somebody in the D column to follow Dinosaur Steve Beshear.

What I do know is this:  I want Mitch McConnell gone, and if the price is I have to be nice to the Clintons long enough for them to use their pull here to actually help somebody other than themselves, I'll take it.

Freedom To Hate, Freedom To Discriminate, In The Bluegrass State

It was only a matter of time before Kentucky's legislation did something catastrophically moronic that will affect me personally.

“The Religious Freedom Act,” a bill created in response to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage mandate, cleared Kentucky’s Senate Thursday night despite activists’ warning that it could topple years of civil rights progress in the state and “make discrimination legal.”

“[The] legislation could be used by an individual or entity under the guise of a ‘sincerely held religious belief’ to violate the constitutional and civil rights of other persons or organizations,” the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights warned on Tuesday. “In other words, it could make discrimination legal if the discrimination perpetrated is claimed to be due to ‘a sincerely held religious belief.’”

Despite the potential for abuse, state senators advanced House Bill 279 Thursday night by a vote of 29-6, leaving its fate in the hands of Gov. Steve Beshear (D).

Here's the fun part:  it's not just birth control you can object to.  It's basically anything.

If it does become law, Kentucky’s “Religious Freedom Act” could enable discrimination against more than just women seeking birth control. Civil rights advocates worry that landlords and employers could also use the law to justify discriminating against LGBT people and minorities as well, all in the name of “religious freedom.”

Or women.  Or other religions.  Or people who are overweight.  Or people who are short.  Or people who have kids.  How can you prove that the fact you hate LGBT people isn't a deeply held religious belief?  For a non-trivial number of Kentuckians, that's what they say they absolutely believe in.  I'm really hoping Dinosaur Steve can send this law packing, but given the massive vote totals in favor of the bill (82-7 in the state House, and 29-6 in the state Senate), a veto override is pretty much assured.

That leaves a court challenge to the bill.  I'm hoping we get it sooner rather than later, because the law is pretty much in direct violation of several Supreme Court rulings on religious freedom.

Then again, considering the Roberts court is siding with churches these days, a broad ruling in the Obamacare contraception coverage cases brought by religious organizations could indeed make Kentucky's law perfectly legal.  All it would take is five votes.  It would get four, easily.

A big clue could be the SCOTUS ruling on DOMA.  If the court decides that states do have the right to make their own decisions on discrimination, all bets are off.

We'll see.

Ashley To Ashley, Dust To Dust

Apparently the DSCC has decided that Ashley Judd is a liability in Kentucky, and Michael Bennet and the powers that be on Capitol Hill are moving to get current KY Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes into the race ASAP to face Mitch The Turtle.  Joe Sonka:

The change of heart came after a recent poll the DSCC conducted, but not because it showed Judd was incapable of competing with McConnell, rather that Grimes performed better than Judd and gave Democrats the best chance at victory.

As late as last week, the wheels were already very much in motion at the DSCC in planning a Judd Senate candidacy. While those plans have not been scrapped, there is definitely a re-evaluation happening. Our sources tell LEO that while the DSCC felt that Judd could compete with McConnell, one of Judd’s strongest assets would be her ability to raise money on par with McConnell and tie up Republican campaign spending (both McConnell’s and the NRSC’s) in that race. However, their recent polling suggests the 2014 race is very much winnable, with McConnell so vulnerable that Democrats need to make their priority finding the candidate with the best chance of winning.

Then again, they are not entirely sure at this point that Grimes would even entertain a run against McConnell, as she has plenty of other races in the next three years that she could choose to run in, most of which would not be nearly as difficult as the 2014 Senate race.

As I've said before, this is an empirical opportunity to test the "Better Dems vs More Dems" theory of taking back over Congress.  If Grimes can beat McConnell, even though Judd is far more liberal, is it worth backing Grimes to get rid of Mitch McConnell?

On the other hand, a Democrat who can win a statewide race and still be a viable candidate for Congress is a rare opportunity.  On the gripping hand, Grimes may simply run for Dinosaur Steve's seat as Governor, something in the long run I would much rather have as a Kentucky voter.

We'll see how this shakes out.  If Grimes turns the DSCC down, getting behind Judd may be the way forward.

My Creation, Is It Real?

It’s my creation, I do not know.

If the dream of a New Jersey group comes to fruition there could be another creationist attraction located in Northern Kentucky. 

Founders of the Creation Science Hall of Fame, which now exists only as a website, would like to develop a brick-and mortar structure along Interstate 75.

“When we have the funds, we would like to locate on the highway, about halfway between the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter,” said Terry Hurlbut, secretary/treasurer of the group. “What better place to locate than between these two attractions? We envision that as people fly or drive in to see them, we will be a stop along the way.”

Oh good, just what I needed within shouting distance of my apartment, first the Scientology Church Of Greater Cincinnati, now the Hall Of Wildly Misappropriated Science Heroes.

The Creation Science Hall of Fame was developed as a website in 2009 and is devoted to sharing the beliefs of creationism. 

It includes a directory of living and deceased inductees and a brief profile of each.

The section dedicated to deceased inductees begins with the Renaissance period.

The list includes Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Samuel F.B. Morse, Louis Pasteur and George Washington Carver.

Living inductees include Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum.

Isaac Newton’s ghost is going to knife him some Kentuckians, dammit.

On the other hand, if the place has an animatronic Nikola Tesla on a velociraptor, I’m stealing it before the place accidentally gets napalmed and covered in bees.  Evolved bees.