David Williams Responds To Steve Beshear On Medicaid Budget Feud, Ratchets Up War Of Words.

Senator David Williams says Governor Steve Beshear stooping to 'schoolyard taunt,' called senators 'fat guys'

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Senate President David Williams said Thursday that Gov. Steve Beshear taunted senators with a “sophomore-ish” insult, calling the senators “fat guys,” but Beshear said later he never made such a remark.

Williams, a Republican, and Beshear, a Democrat, were individually interviewed Thursday by WHAS Radio's Mandy Connell about the deadlock over balancing the state Medicaid budget.

Beshear began his remarks by complaining that the regular legislative session ended in deadlock Wednesday because Williams waited until the last days of the session to propose an alternative to the Medicaid budget plan Beshear unveiled in November.

In a recording of the interview, Beshear appears to be saying: “Sen. Williams and all of those fat guys had plenty of time to talk about it, tell us the problems with it, whatever.” Beshear complained that it was not until three days were left in the legislative session when Senate Republicans offered their plan.

Williams was interviewed later on the same program and said of Connell's interview with Beshear, “He's making sophomore-ish sort of statements.

“I noticed earlier that he referred to the senators as being a bunch of fat men and things like that,” Williams said. “That's a schoolyard taunt. You know, what happens when people are weak, sometimes they become mean.”

Asked later about the comment later during a visit to Hardin County, Beshear denied referring to the senators as “fat guys.”

“I didn't say that ...” Beshear said. “It doesn't even make sense.”

Beshear called a special legislative session to begin Monday to resume consideration of a bill to fill a hole in the current year's Medicaid budget.

Beshear and the Democratic-controlled House propose to transfer $166.5 million from the next year's Medicaid budget to fill the hole. And they say the hole next year will be filled by savings by instituting new “managed care” approaches to delivery of Medicaid services.

But The Republican-controlled Senate says Beshear can not save that money next year and his plan will lead to deeper budget problems next year. The Senate proposes to solve the problem includes funding cuts to all state programs.

Update: Editor's note: Here's the audiotape of a "fat" comment: