The Courier-Journal, declaring that "it is time to make a change", endorses Steve Beshear for Governor.
The Louisville Courier-Journal, declaring that "it is time to make a change", has announced its endorsement of Steve Beshear for Governor.
Read the endorsement.
Here are excerpts:
Ernie Fletcher swept to the governor's office four years ago on a pledge to "clean up the mess in Frankfort." After 32 years of Democratic rule, culminating in Gov. Paul Patton's sex scandal, voters understandably gave Dr. Fletcher and the Republicans a chance to do better.
They didn't.
Instead of the ethical administration that was promised, Gov. Fletcher's term foundered on the shoals of a systematic and illegal effort to subvert state government's merit system by awarding civil service jobs to political allies.
The results were distressing: a protracted investigation; blanket pardons from Gov. Fletcher that nullified charges against 13 named and 14 unnamed defendants; refusal by Gov. Fletcher, who invoked Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, to testify before a grand jury; an indictment of the Governor himself; a malodorous deal with Attorney General Greg Stumbo that dropped the case against Gov. Fletcher, and constant claims from the Fletcher camp that he was the victim of a political witch hunt, even though the Governor acknowledged in the settlement that the probe was legitimate.
It is time to make a change.
Fortunately, Kentucky voters have an attractive alternative. Steve Beshear, the Democratic candidate, has a record of accomplishment and integrity as a state representative, attorney general and lieutenant governor. In recent years, he has been a successful attorney in Lexington.
We endorse Mr. Beshear enthusiastically for governor.
Anyone following this campaign through TV ads alone might conclude that it is primarily about casino gambling.
That is not the case. Mr. Beshear offers a comprehensive, creative and energetic platform in areas critical to Kentucky.
In education, for example, rightly an area of special emphasis, Mr. Beshear proposes funding an aggressive expansion of preschool and early childhood education. He advocates attracting and retaining good teachers by making pay competitive with nearby states and offering teachers low-interest home loans. He stresses the need to raise reading and math skills. And he offers an imaginative proposal to offer college tuition loans that can be forgiven if students work in Kentucky after graduation.
And in another vital area, health care, Mr. Beshear promises intensified outreach to families with uninsured children who are eligible for KCHIP or Medicaid, as well as a plan to allow non-qualifying families to buy into KCHIP.
Yes, Mr. Beshear does propose paying for some initiatives through revenue from a limited number of casinos -- an idea Gov. Fletcher opposes. But expanded gambling would require approval of a constitutional amendment by the legislature and the voters, a process that ensures intense scrutiny.
For his part, Gov. Fletcher can point to some solid accomplishments. He put the state's Medicaid program on solid footing, and he launched important medical programs, such as extensive screenings of newborn babies. His tax reform package, though lacking in key areas, did remove 500,000 low-income Kentuckians from the tax roles. And he vigorously promoted tourism and international events for the state.
Moreover, Gov. Fletcher was attentive to the needs and projects of Louisville. The new arena, for instance, would not have happened without his help. It is critical that the next administration recognize the importance of Louisville's success to the prosperity of the state.
At the same time, however, it's fair to ask why Gov. Fletcher even wants the job. In Frankfort, he often removed himself from the action. For example, in the waning days of this year's legislative session, he left town -- an act that would have been unthinkable for most governors. Instead of holing up in the Capitol to try to bring Republicans and Democrats, House members and senators together on big issues, the Governor went out on the campaign trail.
Mr. Beshear, on the other hand, has a record of making tough decisions as attorney general and of leading a sophisticated study as lieutenant governor of Kentucky's challenges and opportunities.
Both in leadership and policy, Mr. Beshear is the better choice. Kentuckians should elect him their next governor.
The Herald-Leader has also endorsed Steve Beshear for Governor. Here are excerpts to the endorsement:
Elect Beshear as governor
Fletcher hasn't earned second term
Steve Beshear
After four years as governor, Ernie Fletcher still fumbles the levers of power.
He hasn't learned how to govern or lead. He can't keep or attract competent people. He is deceived by his own spin and has yet to figure out how to deal with the legislature.
As a result, Kentucky is drifting, making little progress in education, economic development or environmental protection.
Challenger Steve Beshear has the knowledge and experience to be an effective governor, and his priorities are more or less in line with Kentucky's needs.
Voters should elect Beshear Nov. 6 - and not just because of Fletcher's indictments, pardons and taking the Fifth Amendment, though all that should weigh in their decisions.
Fletcher, after all, promised to clean up the mess in Frankfort, then proceeded to create an old-fashioned patronage mess of his own.
Just as telling as the governor's "initiative" to replace Democrats in merit jobs with his political supporters is the way he responded to the investigation.
If the first Republican governor in 30 years had come clean, maybe fired a few people, corrected the abuses and apologized, Attorney General Greg Stumbo could not have prosecuted without genuinely appearing to have waged the political witch hunt of which Fletcher accuses him.
Instead, Fletcher hunkered down, wasted almost $3 million and counting in taxpayer dollars on legal defense, took money from undisclosed donors for his private defense fund and played the victim.
In the process, he rendered himself and his administration ineffective and irrelevant.
Fletcher has had some accomplishments. Most notable are stabilizing Medicaid without throwing people off the rolls and tax reform, including a long overdue cigarette tax increase.
But much of what he claims as accomplishments - increased education spending and teacher pay, and incentives for energy development, for example - really belong to the legislature. They would have happened without Fletcher (and pretty much did happen without him since his office has been curiously disengaged when the General Assembly is in session).
Early on, Fletcher said he has a hard time thinking politically, an odd admission from someone trying to govern Kentucky. But his re-election campaign proves it.
After Beshear won the Democratic nomination by promising a referendum on casino gambling, Fletcher unveiled a long-hidden but deeply-felt conviction against casinos and launched his campaign on that theme. When that fell flat, he attacked Beshear's ethics by dredging up a 14-year-old conflict of interest in which Beshear had a peripheral role.
Now Fletcher is desperately flailing away at illegal immigrants after benignly ignoring their presence for four years.
It's hard to take him seriously.
Beshear, on the other hand, is solid, smart and straightforward, if a bit dry. He understands how government works and how to make government work for people. He is a student of progressive policy from way back. He served well as a legislator, attorney general and lieutenant governor in the 1970s and '80s.
Finishing third in the 1987 Democratic primary for governor interrupted his political ascent. What he's learned in the 20 years since then - in law and banking - will serve him well as governor.
He's run a cautious campaign, which is understandable given his front-runner status. To shine as governor, he'll need to take more risks and show more boldness. He also needs a Plan B in case voters reject casinos and he doesn't get that revenue.
This is the second chance voters have had to re-elect a governor since approving a constitutional amendment in 1992 allowing succession.
Fletcher clearly has not earned a second term. Kentuckians should elect Steve Beshear.
Any thoughts?
Read the endorsement.
Here are excerpts:
Ernie Fletcher swept to the governor's office four years ago on a pledge to "clean up the mess in Frankfort." After 32 years of Democratic rule, culminating in Gov. Paul Patton's sex scandal, voters understandably gave Dr. Fletcher and the Republicans a chance to do better.
They didn't.
Instead of the ethical administration that was promised, Gov. Fletcher's term foundered on the shoals of a systematic and illegal effort to subvert state government's merit system by awarding civil service jobs to political allies.
The results were distressing: a protracted investigation; blanket pardons from Gov. Fletcher that nullified charges against 13 named and 14 unnamed defendants; refusal by Gov. Fletcher, who invoked Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, to testify before a grand jury; an indictment of the Governor himself; a malodorous deal with Attorney General Greg Stumbo that dropped the case against Gov. Fletcher, and constant claims from the Fletcher camp that he was the victim of a political witch hunt, even though the Governor acknowledged in the settlement that the probe was legitimate.
It is time to make a change.
Fortunately, Kentucky voters have an attractive alternative. Steve Beshear, the Democratic candidate, has a record of accomplishment and integrity as a state representative, attorney general and lieutenant governor. In recent years, he has been a successful attorney in Lexington.
We endorse Mr. Beshear enthusiastically for governor.
Anyone following this campaign through TV ads alone might conclude that it is primarily about casino gambling.
That is not the case. Mr. Beshear offers a comprehensive, creative and energetic platform in areas critical to Kentucky.
In education, for example, rightly an area of special emphasis, Mr. Beshear proposes funding an aggressive expansion of preschool and early childhood education. He advocates attracting and retaining good teachers by making pay competitive with nearby states and offering teachers low-interest home loans. He stresses the need to raise reading and math skills. And he offers an imaginative proposal to offer college tuition loans that can be forgiven if students work in Kentucky after graduation.
And in another vital area, health care, Mr. Beshear promises intensified outreach to families with uninsured children who are eligible for KCHIP or Medicaid, as well as a plan to allow non-qualifying families to buy into KCHIP.
Yes, Mr. Beshear does propose paying for some initiatives through revenue from a limited number of casinos -- an idea Gov. Fletcher opposes. But expanded gambling would require approval of a constitutional amendment by the legislature and the voters, a process that ensures intense scrutiny.
For his part, Gov. Fletcher can point to some solid accomplishments. He put the state's Medicaid program on solid footing, and he launched important medical programs, such as extensive screenings of newborn babies. His tax reform package, though lacking in key areas, did remove 500,000 low-income Kentuckians from the tax roles. And he vigorously promoted tourism and international events for the state.
Moreover, Gov. Fletcher was attentive to the needs and projects of Louisville. The new arena, for instance, would not have happened without his help. It is critical that the next administration recognize the importance of Louisville's success to the prosperity of the state.
At the same time, however, it's fair to ask why Gov. Fletcher even wants the job. In Frankfort, he often removed himself from the action. For example, in the waning days of this year's legislative session, he left town -- an act that would have been unthinkable for most governors. Instead of holing up in the Capitol to try to bring Republicans and Democrats, House members and senators together on big issues, the Governor went out on the campaign trail.
Mr. Beshear, on the other hand, has a record of making tough decisions as attorney general and of leading a sophisticated study as lieutenant governor of Kentucky's challenges and opportunities.
Both in leadership and policy, Mr. Beshear is the better choice. Kentuckians should elect him their next governor.
The Herald-Leader has also endorsed Steve Beshear for Governor. Here are excerpts to the endorsement:
Elect Beshear as governor
Fletcher hasn't earned second term
Steve Beshear
After four years as governor, Ernie Fletcher still fumbles the levers of power.
He hasn't learned how to govern or lead. He can't keep or attract competent people. He is deceived by his own spin and has yet to figure out how to deal with the legislature.
As a result, Kentucky is drifting, making little progress in education, economic development or environmental protection.
Challenger Steve Beshear has the knowledge and experience to be an effective governor, and his priorities are more or less in line with Kentucky's needs.
Voters should elect Beshear Nov. 6 - and not just because of Fletcher's indictments, pardons and taking the Fifth Amendment, though all that should weigh in their decisions.
Fletcher, after all, promised to clean up the mess in Frankfort, then proceeded to create an old-fashioned patronage mess of his own.
Just as telling as the governor's "initiative" to replace Democrats in merit jobs with his political supporters is the way he responded to the investigation.
If the first Republican governor in 30 years had come clean, maybe fired a few people, corrected the abuses and apologized, Attorney General Greg Stumbo could not have prosecuted without genuinely appearing to have waged the political witch hunt of which Fletcher accuses him.
Instead, Fletcher hunkered down, wasted almost $3 million and counting in taxpayer dollars on legal defense, took money from undisclosed donors for his private defense fund and played the victim.
In the process, he rendered himself and his administration ineffective and irrelevant.
Fletcher has had some accomplishments. Most notable are stabilizing Medicaid without throwing people off the rolls and tax reform, including a long overdue cigarette tax increase.
But much of what he claims as accomplishments - increased education spending and teacher pay, and incentives for energy development, for example - really belong to the legislature. They would have happened without Fletcher (and pretty much did happen without him since his office has been curiously disengaged when the General Assembly is in session).
Early on, Fletcher said he has a hard time thinking politically, an odd admission from someone trying to govern Kentucky. But his re-election campaign proves it.
After Beshear won the Democratic nomination by promising a referendum on casino gambling, Fletcher unveiled a long-hidden but deeply-felt conviction against casinos and launched his campaign on that theme. When that fell flat, he attacked Beshear's ethics by dredging up a 14-year-old conflict of interest in which Beshear had a peripheral role.
Now Fletcher is desperately flailing away at illegal immigrants after benignly ignoring their presence for four years.
It's hard to take him seriously.
Beshear, on the other hand, is solid, smart and straightforward, if a bit dry. He understands how government works and how to make government work for people. He is a student of progressive policy from way back. He served well as a legislator, attorney general and lieutenant governor in the 1970s and '80s.
Finishing third in the 1987 Democratic primary for governor interrupted his political ascent. What he's learned in the 20 years since then - in law and banking - will serve him well as governor.
He's run a cautious campaign, which is understandable given his front-runner status. To shine as governor, he'll need to take more risks and show more boldness. He also needs a Plan B in case voters reject casinos and he doesn't get that revenue.
This is the second chance voters have had to re-elect a governor since approving a constitutional amendment in 1992 allowing succession.
Fletcher clearly has not earned a second term. Kentuckians should elect Steve Beshear.
Any thoughts?
Labels: Endorsement
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 9:05 AM
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