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Thursday, November 03, 2011

Bowling Green Daily News Endorses David Williams For Governor, Finds Him "The Clear Choice [To Vot For On] Tuesday [November 8]"

Williams is the right man for governor
By the Daily News

Tested Trusted Tough

This campaign slogan for Gov. Steve Beshear’s campaign is a bit of a stretch.

During the past four years, Beshear has, more than anything, been a caretaker governor. There is not much in terms of new initiatives that the governor can say or point to that he has accomplished during his time in the governor’s mansion, which is quite sad.

Beshear ran against incumbent Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher in 2007, with one of his main campaign promises being to try to bring gambling to this state.

Beshear beat a scandal-ridden Fletcher that year, but his main campaign focus of bringing gambling to this state never came to fruition. The governor likes to blame his main opponent in this year’s governor’s election, Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, for it not passing. In reality, Beshear faced considerable opposition from those in his own party in the Democrat-controlled House. The governor was derelict in his duties by offering a budget to the legislature that would be balanced by revenue from legalized gambling. He basically told the legislature to come up with their own budget.

That is weak and not the leadership we look for in a governor. That wouldn’t happen on David Williams’ watch.

Since becoming governor, Beshear’s results have been less than stellar. He likes to boast that he has balanced the state budget nine times, but all governors have done this, since it is mandated by our constitution.

Beshear tried to change the name of the annual Christmas tree at the state capital in 2008 to “holiday tree” and later reversed course after public pressure. He also claims to have brought 19,000 jobs to Kentucky, but those numbers have been questioned by the media.

Gov. Beshear is holding this state back.

Beshear, who doesn’t believe Kentucky should be a right-to-work state, visited the Daily News last year and was given statistics on the number of jobs that are going to right-to-work states to the south of Kentucky and his response was essentially “oh well.”

These numbers don’t lie though. Numerous businesses looking to relocate don’t even look at Kentucky each year because we’re not a right-to-work state. Employees in this state should have the choice on union membership.

Mr. Beshear doesn’t see it that way. Williams and running mate Richie Farmer believe that Kentucky should be a right-to-work state and would let each community decide the issue for themselves. If elected, they would push to give workers that freedom of choice.

Williams and Farmer get it and Beshear simply doesn’t. Beshear would rather see jobs go to the south of us to protect his union supporters in this state. He is simply out of touch and is holding the majority of this state back while looking out for a dwindling union work force.

Williams and Farmer are also for repealing the prevailing wage law in this state, something we strongly agree with. Mr. Beshear is a supporter of the prevailing wage law. This outdated and unfair law is a huge burden to taxpayers, especially when it pertains to the construction of schools. The prevailing wage law adds millions of dollars each year to the costs of school projects across the state.

Beshear likes to boast that he has protected education from budget cuts, but has not supported innovations such as charter schools, which have improved the performance of failing schools in other states.

The decision in this race is quite simple. Williams and Farmer are true conservatives who have a vision for our state beyond the status quo. Williams and Farmer have some very good ideas on tax reform, protecting Kentucky’s coal industry and its jobs from President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency, embracing nuclear power, allowing charter schools in this state, joining the fight against Obamacare and addressing our state’s unfunded pension liability instead of kicking the problem down the road.

Is “trusted” a Beshear attribute?

One only has to measure this against the falsehood to his constituents this year when he said not enough notice was provided by the White House to Beshear’s office so he could appear with Obama at Fort Campbell to congratulate the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden.

It turned out the governor wasn’t even invited to the event by Obama. Why didn’t the governor just tell his constituents this? He didn’t tell the truth until it was later discovered by an open records search by The Associated Press.

The truth would have served him better. He should have told the public from the beginning that he was snubbed by Obama. Considering Obama’s unpopularity in this state, that would have been the convergence of truth and smart politics.

Another reason, among many, why Williams and Farmer should be elected is that Mr. Beshear is on record as saying that President Obama is worthy of a second term.

Really? That statement is beyond laughable, especially from a governor who in his state of the commonwealth address last winter lashed out at the federal government’s “reckless spending” and its regulation of mining.

Beshear has been conspicuously absent from several debates with Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith. While not unusual for an incumbent politician, considering the governor has a good lead in the polls, this suggests a political figure who is not comfortable with his record. Tough?

In Sunday’s Daily News, Beshear deferred all questions by www.votekentucky.us to his running mate, Jerry Abramson. Abramson isn’t running for governor - Beshear is.

Gov. Beshear has a duty and an obligation to answer questions for the benefit of his constituents. Williams, to his credit, answered all of the questions.

That is what a leader does.

Beshear is holding this state back and has failed to articulate a vision for moving this state forward in areas where we lag when measured against other states.

David Williams and Richie Farmer are deserving of election because they are not satisfied by the status quo. They will be bolder than the current governor in pushing initiatives to move our state forward.

The choice on Nov. 8 is quite obvious. Stay with the status quo, which has not served us well, or elect a governor who understands state government and has a vision for what Kentucky should be.

We believe Williams is the clear choice Tuesday.

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