Ronnie Ellis Sorts Out Winners And Losers From Kentucky's Special Session.
Sorting out winners and losers
By Ronnie Ellis
Frankfort — FRANKFORT — Both sides declared victory after a wild day in the General Assembly on Thursday. It’s easy to assess who won and lost on the immediate issue of how to structure a Medicaid bailout but harder to determine who wins in the long run.
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The Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate had different plans. Democrats and Republicans in the House wanted to let Gov. Steve Beshear manage the Medicaid budget shortfall, trusting him to achieve large savings through managed care in its first year and avoid cuts to education. Senate Republicans wanted instead to implement across-the-board cuts to the rest of government — including education — to cover the shortfall. They couldn’t agree in regular session and as Thursday began it sure looked like they wouldn’t agree after two weeks of special session.
After the Senate passed its plan on a straight party line vote, House leaders huddled and then met with members in separate party caucuses. When they emerged, word leaked the House would accept the Senate plan, go home and allow Beshear to veto the cuts. The Senate was cornered, though Senate President David Williams said “our plan passed; it was the best result possible.” But it won’t last because Beshear will veto the cuts and other Senate provisions and the House won’t override the vetoes.
Williams, of course, is running in the Republican primary for the right to challenge Beshear in the fall gubernatorial election. And both Democrats and Republicans in the House have long resented Williams’ high-handed domination of the legislature. Not this time. House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Hoover, sided with Democrats on education. Just as importantly, they insisted on and won status as a relevant voting bloc by challenging Williams. House Speaker Greg Stumbo showed he’s Williams’ equal when it comes to strategy and surprise. Beshear gets the plan he wanted all along.
Earlier when Hoover worked out a deal with Stumbo on the House compromise plan, Williams fumed and proclaimed Hoover didn’t have the backing of the other 41 House Republicans. He said no less than 15 of them told him they didn’t support the compromise. But 37 Republicans voted for it, prompting one House Republican to quip: “It’s obvious we can’t afford to cut education because it’s obvious some people can’t count from four to 15.”
After Thursday night’s events, another said: “David Williams is no longer the smartest person in the room.” But if House Republicans are criticized as insufficiently loyal, they can say, “We voted for his plan.”
The initial reaction seems to be Beshear won and Williams lost. But Stumbo and Hoover were the biggest winners. Williams probably thinks Democrats handed him a ready-made issue for the gubernatorial campaign. He can say he held the line on fiscal accountability and even persuaded the House to pass his plan. He’ll say Beshear can’t manage government, doesn’t get along even with House Democrats, is only interested in winning re-election and subverted legislative will with his vetoes. Beshear will counter that he’s “balanced the budget eight times in three years” and prevented cuts to Medicaid providers without “balancing the Medicaid budget on the backs of our school children.”
The easy prognosis is that the argument will work for Williams in the primary but might be more difficult in the fall. But Stumbo’s gambit subtly undercuts Williams’ best argument to elect him governor: that he’s the most capable, knowledgeable person in Frankfort. It’s probably “inside baseball,” but after Thursday, some may wonder if Williams is still “the smartest person in the room?”
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ cnhifrankfort.
By Ronnie Ellis
Frankfort — FRANKFORT — Both sides declared victory after a wild day in the General Assembly on Thursday. It’s easy to assess who won and lost on the immediate issue of how to structure a Medicaid bailout but harder to determine who wins in the long run.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate had different plans. Democrats and Republicans in the House wanted to let Gov. Steve Beshear manage the Medicaid budget shortfall, trusting him to achieve large savings through managed care in its first year and avoid cuts to education. Senate Republicans wanted instead to implement across-the-board cuts to the rest of government — including education — to cover the shortfall. They couldn’t agree in regular session and as Thursday began it sure looked like they wouldn’t agree after two weeks of special session.
After the Senate passed its plan on a straight party line vote, House leaders huddled and then met with members in separate party caucuses. When they emerged, word leaked the House would accept the Senate plan, go home and allow Beshear to veto the cuts. The Senate was cornered, though Senate President David Williams said “our plan passed; it was the best result possible.” But it won’t last because Beshear will veto the cuts and other Senate provisions and the House won’t override the vetoes.
Williams, of course, is running in the Republican primary for the right to challenge Beshear in the fall gubernatorial election. And both Democrats and Republicans in the House have long resented Williams’ high-handed domination of the legislature. Not this time. House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Hoover, sided with Democrats on education. Just as importantly, they insisted on and won status as a relevant voting bloc by challenging Williams. House Speaker Greg Stumbo showed he’s Williams’ equal when it comes to strategy and surprise. Beshear gets the plan he wanted all along.
Earlier when Hoover worked out a deal with Stumbo on the House compromise plan, Williams fumed and proclaimed Hoover didn’t have the backing of the other 41 House Republicans. He said no less than 15 of them told him they didn’t support the compromise. But 37 Republicans voted for it, prompting one House Republican to quip: “It’s obvious we can’t afford to cut education because it’s obvious some people can’t count from four to 15.”
After Thursday night’s events, another said: “David Williams is no longer the smartest person in the room.” But if House Republicans are criticized as insufficiently loyal, they can say, “We voted for his plan.”
The initial reaction seems to be Beshear won and Williams lost. But Stumbo and Hoover were the biggest winners. Williams probably thinks Democrats handed him a ready-made issue for the gubernatorial campaign. He can say he held the line on fiscal accountability and even persuaded the House to pass his plan. He’ll say Beshear can’t manage government, doesn’t get along even with House Democrats, is only interested in winning re-election and subverted legislative will with his vetoes. Beshear will counter that he’s “balanced the budget eight times in three years” and prevented cuts to Medicaid providers without “balancing the Medicaid budget on the backs of our school children.”
The easy prognosis is that the argument will work for Williams in the primary but might be more difficult in the fall. But Stumbo’s gambit subtly undercuts Williams’ best argument to elect him governor: that he’s the most capable, knowledgeable person in Frankfort. It’s probably “inside baseball,” but after Thursday, some may wonder if Williams is still “the smartest person in the room?”
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ cnhifrankfort.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 8:00 AM
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