Ernie Fletcher, redux?

Yes, says the Uber' Liberal, KYKurmundgeon.

Here is the entire article (Larry Dale Keeling has given me permission to post his writings on my blog):

Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo put their young administration's political capital on the line backing a two-time loser in the 30th District senatorial race.

Now, Scott Alexander is a three-time loser, and the Beshear-Mongiardo team knows what it feels like to wake up the morning after being on the receiving end of an old-fashioned butt-kicking.

Oh, well, that can happen when a governor forgets why he got elected and starts to think he's back in an era when strong governors dominated Kentucky politics.

Beshear forgot what his predecessor forgot. He forgot that he was elected not because of who he is or what he promised voters.

He was elected solely because of the scandals that plagued the previous administration. The only mandate voters gave him was the mandate to be anyone but Ernie Fletcher.

So far, Beshear is failing to fulfill that mandate. One of the constant themes in the hallway discussions around the Capitol and Capitol Annex these days is that we're experiencing Ernie Fletcher II.

Same dumb mistakes. Same inability to learn from them. And if it continues down that path, the same one-term failure as a governor.

Another firing controversy with evolving excuses is the most recent example.

Let's say the latest excuse -- that there was just cause to can Fletcher holdover Eric Landis after his return from Air National Guard training because he failed to keep appointments or submit a rŽsumŽ for the administration's review -- is 100 percent accurate.

It doesn't matter.

Whether or not the Beshear folks are on the side of the angels, this is another no-win situation for them. There is no upside to digging in their heels.

This is one of those times when you fess up to a mistake (even if you didn't make one) and do whatever it takes to put it behind you. Otherwise, you not only evoke comparisons to Fletcher, you also look unpatriotic.

During last week's hallway discussions, I heard one explanation for the 30th District fiasco that went something like this:

You think you've got an election that can be won. You think Mongiardo's popularity in the district and Beshear's kick-butt victory last fall can make all the difference in a tight race.

You take the first step and the second and the third. By the time you realize you were wrong, by the time you realize one person's popularity can't be transferred to another person, you've gone so far that turning back would be meaningless.

So, you keep moving forward until you walk right off the cliff. But that's OK. If you learn from your mistake, you can still recover and have success.

I see some wisdom in turning around and walking away before taking that last step into thin air. But even if you buy this explanation, the key element is learning a lesson from your free fall.

I'm waiting for evidence that the Beshear folks are learning from their mistakes. I didn't find it in the way they handled the Landis affair last week.

But now that the special election is over, Beshear needs to forget politics for a while and focus his full attention on policy Ð specifically, the policy issues being debated in the General Assembly.

Good policy decisions can help make people forget about one bad political decision. Besides, if he gets the policy thing right, the politics may be more likely to break his way in the future.

My opinion? If the Governor keeps this up, it's going to be a very long four years for him.

He needs to start listening to folks who were born sometime in the second half of this century.