Sorry, I Forgot To Post A Video Of The Second Presidential Debate Between Gonald Trump And Hillary Clinton. Well, Here It Is. Enjoy.

New SurveyUSA Poll Finds A Recurrent Statistical Dead Heat, With Jack Conwa Leading By 5%.

Bluegrass Poll: Jack Conway maintains edge over Matt Bevin with just days to go
BY SAM YOUNGMAN

With just days remaining in the race to be Kentucky's next governor, Democrat Jack Conway continues to hold a slight advantage over Republican Matt Bevin, according to the latest Bluegrass poll.

The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington and the Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville, showed Conway leading Bevin 45 percent to 40 percent with independent candidate Drew Curtis pulling 6 percent.

The poll surveyed 798 likely Kentucky voters on their home phone or electronic device from Oct. 23-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, which means the race for governor technically remains a statistical toss-up.

Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, said that "we have seen enough polls favoring Conway, run by different groups using different methods, that it's decreasingly likely the results are a fluke."

"Bevin needs a sudden shift in voter preferences if he hopes to win this contest, and he may be dragging down some of his Republican ticket mates as well," Voss said.

Bevin has never led in his race against Conway, and the latest poll results indicate that an unrelenting barrage of ads attacking Bevin's character have had a significant impact on the campaign.

The survey shows Bevin's favorable rating underwater for the first time, with 38 percent of voters holding an unfavorable view of him compared to 32 percent who hold a favorable view. Twenty-one percent were neutral and 9 percent had no opinion.

When the same question was asked in late September, Bevin was still on the plus side, with 35 percent of respondents holding a favorable view and 33 percent holding an unfavorable view.

By contrast, Conway's numbers have stayed just above water. Thirty-six percent of respondents have a favorable view of the Democrat and 32 percent have an unfavorable view. Thirty-two percent said they were either neutral or had no opinion.

Sally Young, a poll respondent from Mayfield who agreed to a follow-up interview, said she is supporting Conway because of the job he has done as the state's attorney general.

"I thought he did good at the other job, and I think he'll make a good governor, as compared to Bevin," Young said. "I'm not voting for [Bevin]."

Curtis remains little known across the state, with 11 percent holding a favorable impression, 9 percent holding an unfavorable view and 80 percent saying they were either neutral or have no opinion.

"Any hope that Drew Curtis might have helped swing the election to Bevin by drawing off left-leaning voters appears to be dwindling," Voss said. "Because both support and opposition to Curtis appears balanced on the two sides of the ideological spectrum."

Adding weight to the notion that Conway has effectively raised questions about Bevin's character, 37 percent of respondents said Conway was the more honest candidate. Only 26 percent said Bevin was more honest, and 10 percent chose Curtis.

Again, that is a change from the Bluegrass Poll conducted in late September, which showed voters almost evenly divided on which candidate was more honest: 30 percent chose Conway, 27 percent picked Bevin and 13 percent said Curtis.

Doyle Berry, a poll respondent from Campbellsville, said he is leaning toward supporting Bevin because he thinks "the parties need to change around every so often."

"I just think we need a change in the politics of Kentucky," Berry said.

Bevin's opposition to the state's Medicaid expansion also appears to be hurting him with registered voters, a majority of which favor maintaining the eligibility expansion that Gov. Steve Beshear implemented two years ago.

Fifty-four percent of voters said they want the state's next governor to maintain the expansion. Only 24 percent said they would like to see the expansion repealed, which Bevin has promised to do if elected. Twenty-two percent were not sure.

Support for maintaining the expanded health insurance program, which serves mostly low-income residents, reaches across the state's different regions and extends to about a third — 34 percent — of Republicans.

Forty-two percent of Republicans said they would like to see the expansion reversed, compared to only 13 percent of Democrats. More than two-thirds of Democrats — 69 percent — said the Medicaid expansion should be maintained.

Both major-party candidates continue to have trouble within their own parties, which has generally been an issue for Democratic candidates but not Republicans in recent elections.

Seventy-one percent of Democrats surveyed said they are supporting Conway, compared to 17 percent who said they will vote for Bevin. Among Republicans, 72 percent backed Bevin and 12 percent picked Conway.

Those numbers get worse for Bevin, who famously ran against U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last year, upon close inspection.

The poll found that Conway snagged 8 percent of likely voters who identify as "strong Republicans," 10 percent of likely voters who identify as "Republicans" and 15 percent of likely voters who identify as "independents who lean Republican."

Voss noted that "Kentucky still contains more Democratic voters than Republican voters, so the Republican path to victory requires overwhelming support among voters affiliated with the GOP and healthy support among Democrats."

"Instead, Conway seems to enjoy more loyalty from the state's ideologically divided Democratic voters than Bevin has mustered among Republicans," Voss said.

Conway's lead extends to both men and women, with men giving Conway 45 percent support to Bevin's 41 percent and women saying they will back Conway 45 percent to 39 percent.

"Bevin does not have the lead among male voters that a Republican candidate typically needs," Voss said. "And he continues to trail badly among the independents and moderate Democrats who typically determine Kentucky's election outcomes."

Ultimately, less than half of Kentucky's voters are satisfied with their choices for governor this year, but that number is slightly worse for Bevin than it is for Conway.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they are satisfied with their options, while 38 percent said they were unsatisfied and 18 percent said they were unsure.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/28/4109888_bluegrass-poll-jack-conway-maintains.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Editor's note: see poll results in pdf.

for down ticket poll results, click here.

In Case You Missed Matt Bevin Vs. Jack Conway "Debate". Watch It Here.

In Kentucky's Race For Governor, BluegrassPoll Still Has Matt Bevin Trailing Jack Conway By 5 Percentage Points; 15 Percent Are Undecided!

Read more by clicking this link, or this one.

Don't forget to vote, Monday is the last day to register do vote in November.

Matt Jones, Host Of Kentucky Sports Radio, Was The Best Emcee For #RancyFarm, Since I've Been Going! Watch..

Watch below:

So You Missed #FancyFarm? Well, I Was There, But You Can Watch It On KET Here.

Click here.

SurveyUSA Poll: In Other Kentucky "Down Ticket" Races, Republican Candidates In Statistical Dead Heat With Democrats (Other Than Attorney General); 30% Of Voters UNSURE!

Read more here.

SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll Shows Jack Conway Edging Mat Bevin In Kentucky's Gubernatorial Race. Watch Discussion.

You can read more, here.

2015 Kentucky Could Get Real Interesting If Alison Lundergan Grimes (And Matt Bevin) Get In!

2015 governor's race gets more interesting
By JOHN DAVID DYCHE

One thing is certain about the race for Kentucky governor next year. It is wide open.
Former Louisville metro councilman and mayoral candidate Hal Heiner had to be encouraged by two recent polls. One, issued by his campaign in late July, put him in a virtual tie with the other declared candidate, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.

 Another, from early August by Public Policy Polling, had Heiner in front of Comer 28 percent to 22 percent in a head-to-head match-up. Half the respondents were undecided, however.

Perhaps that poll’s most surprising result was that over two-thirds of likely primary voters were “not sure” whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Comer (69 percent) and Heiner (67 percent).

This had to be a bit discouraging to Comer, who got over half million votes for his post in 2011 and has traveled the state often since then promoting the cause of Kentucky farmers and, indirectly, his gubernatorial candidacy.

Comer professes unconcern and says voters will have a more positive reaction when his name is connected to his office and an even more positive reaction when it is linked to his success in cleaning up the mess left by his now imprisoned predecessor, Richie Farmer. Still, Heiner, who has invested $4 million of his personal wealth into his campaign, appears better positioned than many expected at this point.

Despite these numbers, it is hard to imagine Comer is not the leader among local GOP activists and officials critical to a successful primary campaign. But Heiner is working extremely hard to make inroads among those influential members of the nominating electorate, and some doors are opening to him courtesy of powerful others Comer has crossed.

Matt Bevin is the wild card. The rich Louisvillian whom Mitch McConnell easily dispatched in this year’s Republican U.S. Senate campaign fared best of all in the Public Policy Polling results.
Bevin had the highest favorability rating among the GOP (31 percent) and was the leader with 25 percent in a four-way primary against Comer’s 20 percent, Heiner’s 18 percent, and yet another affluent resident of the state’s biggest city, former ambassador to Latvia and fundraiser extraordinaire Cathy Bailey, who clocked in with a surprisingly strong 11 percent, despite a favorability rating of only 5 percent.

In the indispensable insider newsletter Kentucky Roll Call, Lowell Reese, one of Kentucky’s canniest political observers, said Bevin told him that in the Senate bid “he received double the number of votes needed to win the ’15 GOP primary for governor.” Reese left their discussion with the impression that Bevin is “itching to run.”

McConnell made mincemeat out of Bevin by exposing his multiple embarrassing inconsistencies and misstatements, but Bevin also suffered from self-inflicted wounds like the infamous cock-fighting fiasco. He obviously harbors hard feelings, but if he hopes to become governor, he had better undergo a political transfusion to purge that bad blood and make peace with McConnell and the party establishment.

Comer has repeatedly said that the next governor would not be a millionaire from Louisville, which also includes the only declared Democratic candidate, Attorney General Jack Conway. But Comer could confront three of them in the primary, although a Bailey candidacy seems increasingly unlikely.
Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott of Pikeville is also apparently considering the race. He would face formidable challenges in finding a credible running mate, raising enough money and transcending the image of a regional candidate, but cannot be completely discounted.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, it is hard to find a Democrat who is sincerely happy with the prospect of Conway as the party’s 2015 standard bearer, even though the PPP poll put him ahead of each Republican. With better candidates like former auditor Crit Luallen and current auditor Adam Edelen having bowed out, however, the pickings are slim.

The most likely alternative is current U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes. With multiple recent polls putting her 4 or more points behind McConnell and no prospect for reversal on the horizon, it increasingly appears that she could be available come November.

It would be grueling to transition immediately into another statewide campaign, but she would have an organization in place. Democrats also owe her some gratitude because she was the only one with the guts to sign up for the political suicide mission of taking on McConnell.

Grimes is still stiff but has gotten better on the stump. Conway is not exactly a natural on the campaign trail. Grimes would have the advantage against him of not being from Louisville, which has a lousy record when it comes to gubernatorial candidacies, and her having lost a Senate race would not be a liability against Conway since he also has, to Rand Paul by a big 12 percent.

So look for subtle signs of Grimes shifting her sights from her deteriorating Senate bid to a developing gubernatorial one. It would be the smartest tactical move she has made so far.

(The Public Policy Polling data and report are available at: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2014/08/mcconnell-leading-in-re-election-bid.html).

— John David Dyche is a Louisville attorney and a political commentator for WDRB.com. His email is jddyche@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @jddyche.

Editor's comment: might Matt Bevin run again? Well, check this out here.

By A Slim Margin, Poll Results Show Voters Want Republicans To Control Kentucky's House Of Representatives.

Bluegrass Poll: Kentucky voters split on which political party should lead the state House

File: See the detailed poll results for right-to-work law, miminum wage and control of House
As Republicans try to take over the state House for the first time since 1921, a new poll shows Kentucky voters split on on the question of which political party should run the law-making chamber in Frankfort.

Forty-five percent of registered voters think Republicans would do a better job in controlling the state House, while 44 percent side with Democrats, the latest Bluegrass Poll shows. Eleven percent were not sure.

The Bluegrass Poll, sponsored by the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington and The Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville, was conducted Aug. 25 to 27 by SurveyUSA with 647 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said the poll's results reflected "what we are hearing across the commonwealth, which is if we ever want to move Kentucky forward and bring more jobs and more opportunity to our people, a change in leadership in the House of Representatives is sorely needed and long overdue."

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the poll question lacked credibility.

"It's like asking people what they think of Washington," he said. "They'll tell you they don't like it. But ask them if they like their congressman, and most of them say they do.

"Good gracious, I even like Hal Rogers," hesaid of the Somerset Republican who represents the 5th Congressional District in Eastern and Southern Kentucky.

A more important question, said Stumbo, would be who leads specific House races.

"From the polling I've seen on them, I'm more than confident that we can hold on in the House and maybe even increase our majority," he said.

Scott Lasley, a political science professor at Western Kentucky University who is an active Republican, said he was "a little bit surprised" that the poll did not show even more Kentuckians backing Republicans to control the House.

"I would argue that Kentucky is a red state even though voter registration records show more Democrats than Republicans," he said. (Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 1.67 million to 1.21 million in Kentucky."

"Voter registration is a poor measure of party identification," Lasley said. "Kentucky has been becoming more Republican in politics, and I think that will continue."

Lasley said he thought Republicans would be the majority party in the House now if former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher did not get involved in a hiring scandal, which led to losing his 2007 re-election bid to Democrat Steve Beshear.

Democrats now hold a 54-46 advantage in the state House, but Republicans have been gaining ground. Twenty years ago, Democrats held a 71-29 advantage.

All 100 House seats are on the ballot this fall, but only 53 are contested.

A Republican takeover of the House probably would mean issues the GOP has backed for decades would become law considering Republicans have controlled the Senate since 2000.

Issues of prime interest to Republicans that have been blocked in the House range from right-to-work, in which workers may take jobs without joining unions, to tougher abortion bills.

Al Crabb of Lexington, a poll respondent who agreed to a follow-up interview with the Herald-Leader, said Democrats should remain in control of the state House.

"I'm worried about the direction this state is going in, becoming more red," said the retired University of Kentucky English faculty member.

Garen Reece, an information technologist in Laurel County, said no political party that has President Barack Obama as a member should run the state House. He also said he thought Republicans could do a better job in creating higher-paid jobs.

"I don't agree with Barack Obama, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi, and nearly anyone in their party," Reece said.

The poll shows 49 percent of men and 41 percent of women in the state think Republicans would do a better job leading the House, compared to 42 percent of men and 46 percent of women who back Democrats.

The GOP preference increases with age.

Thirty-six percent of poll respondents ages 18 to 34 go with the Republicans, while 44 percent in that age range back Democrats. For respondents 65 and older, 50 percent endorsed the GOP, while 46 percent chose Democrats.

The difference in preference is more stark among whites and blacks. Forty-seven percent of whites sided with Republicans, while only 13 percent of blacks picked the GOP.

Only 7 percent of Democrats voiced support for a Republican takeover, but 16 percent of Republicans said they would be fine with Democrats in charge.

The poll showed 60 percent of respondents who make $80,000 or more a year favored Republican control, while 51 percent with incomes of $40,000 or less went with the Democrats.

Geographically, Republicans were strongest in the eastern and western ends of the state. Fifty-two percent of respondents from Eastern Kentucky embraced Republicans and 37 percent chose Democrats. In Western Kentucky, 50 percent of the respondents selected Republicans and 42 percent preferred Democrats.

In the Louisville area and north-central Kentucky, which includes Lexington, more people wanted Democrats rather than Republicans to run the House — 48 percent to 39 percent in the Louisville area and 46 percent to 42 percent in north-central Kentucky.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/31/3405807_bluegrass-poll-kentucky-voters.html?sp=/99/322/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

Mitch McConnell Etends Lead Over Alison Lundergan Grimes. As I Have Consistently Forecast: Mitch McConnell Is Poised To Be Senate Majority Leader.

Bluegrass Poll: Gaining momentum, McConnell holds 4-point advantage over Grimes

The re-election campaign of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has gained momentum in the last month, propelled by huge leads over Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Western and Eastern Kentucky and among men, according to a new Bluegrass Poll.

With less than 10 weeks until Election Day, the poll of 569 likely voters shows McConnell with a 4-point lead over Grimes, up from a 2 point margin a month ago. McConnell now leads Grimes 46 percent to 42 percent, with Libertarian candidate David Patterson at 5 percent.

(Read the Full poll results).

McConnell's showing is his best to date in the Bluegrass Poll, but the race remains well within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. In addition, 8 percent of respondents remain undecided, and the number of people with a negative view of the senator remains high.

The poll, sponsored by the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington and the Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville, was conducted by SurveyUSA on landline telephones and cell phones from Aug. 25-27.

The survey was conducted before McConnell's campaign manager, Jesse Benton, resigned abruptly Friday evening as a growing scandal related to Benton's time as political director for former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign threatened to envelop McConnell. Much of the poll also was conducted before a liberal-leaning publication published a secret recording Tuesday night of McConnell vowing to block votes on raising the minimum wage and other issues as he spoke privately with major Republican donors.

McConnell's popularity remains underwater statewide, with 36 percent of respondents holding a favorable view of him, compared to 46 percent unfavorable.

But his popularity spikes in the western and eastern parts of the state, where he has conducted bus tours in recent weeks to blame President Barack Obama for steep job losses in the coal industry.

In Western Kentucky, his favorable rating is 52 percent, compared to 33 percent unfavorable. In Eastern Kentucky, he is viewed favorably by 42 percent of respondents and unfavorably by 39 percent.

As such, McConnell's biggest leads over Grimes come from those regions. McConnell leads 55 percent to 32 percent in the west and 59 percent to 32 percent in the east.

Terrell Skinner of Russellville, a poll respondent who agreed to a follow-up interview with the Herald-Leader, said he is backing McConnell because of the senator's opposition to President Barack Obama's administration.

"He's the number one thorn in the Democrats' side in Washington, and that's a good thing," Skinner said.

Meanwhile, the percentage of voters who have an opinion about Grimes continues to grow, but their views are split: 38 percent favorable and 37 percent unfavorable.

Grimes leads 45 percent to 38 percent in the Louisville area, and she holds a 49 percent to 40 percent lead in north-central Kentucky, which includes Lexington. In the west and east, however, more voters appear to be accepting McConnell's accusations that she will be a rubber stamp for Obama.

In Western Kentucky, her favorable rating dips to 32 percent, compared to 40 percent unfavorable. Voters are split evenly at 37 percent in Eastern Kentucky.

Poll respondent Jerri McClure of Jamestown is among those who see Grimes in a positive light, accepting her argument that McConnell, who is seeking his sixth term, has been in Washington too long.

"I'm tired of the old boys bureaucracy," McClure said. "Communities like Jamestown, it's just stagnated. It needs to have some fresh blood, and we need to get motivated for a new time. It's time for senators to stop lining their pockets."

Despite Grimes' efforts to target female voters, McConnell continues to poll equally well with them — 45 percent chose Grimes, and 44 percent chose McConnell.

Among men, Grimes faces a 10-point deficit: 48 percent to 38 percent.

Grimes also is losing a quarter of support from her own party, with 25 percent of Democrats saying they will vote for McConnell.

The senator, who squared off against Louisville businessman Matt Bevin in a contentious May primary, continues to see Republicans returning to the fold, locking up 79 percent of Republican respondents. That's up from 72 percent in last month's Bluegrass Poll.

By comparison, Grimes was the choice of only 67 percent of Democrats.

Taken on the whole, the poll suggests McConnell has successfully capitalized on Kentucky's disdain for Obama, who has a 29 percent favorable and 57 percent unfavorable rating. Talk of Obama and his administration's coal policies dominated the spring and summer phases of the race.

When asked which candidate would "most effectively fight for Kentucky's coal interests," respondents gave McConnell a 2-to-1 advantage over Grimes, 44 percent to 22 percent. In the coal-producing parts of the state, those margins are even wider, with 51 percent of respondents in the west and east giving the nod to McConnell.

About one in four registered voters said they believe "there is no war on coal." But in Eastern Kentucky, where more than 7,000 coal jobs have been lost in recent years, only 12 percent of respondents said there is no war on coal.

Stephen Voss, a professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said the poll reflects voters returning to the way they have voted in the past, and that "the events of the last month have reminded them of why they're usually on one side or the other, and they're snapping back to their usual preferences."

"Conservative voters are returning to the fold, increasingly expressing an intention to support McConnell, and while Grimes pulls in comparable support among the small number of liberals, she has not convinced moderates to break her way in the lopsided fashion needed to counterbalance a large Republican base," Voss said.

As Grimes attempts to erase McConnell's edge, she has employed the right surrogate. Former President Bill Clinton, who joined Grimes for rallies in Lexington and Hazard this month, is viewed favorably by 53 percent and unfavorably by 23 percent.

But on a host of issues polled, McConnell has the upper hand over Grimes.

On the question of who voters trust more on issues of foreign policy, McConnell leads Grimes 43 percent to 28 percent. On immigration, McConnell leads 40 percent to 32 percent.

And on the economy, which voters in the last Bluegrass Poll said was their top issue by a landslide, McConnell leads Grimes 40 percent to 38 percent, again with massive margins in the eastern and western parts of the state.

Despite watching an 11-point lead among women evaporate since February, Grimes holds an enormous edge over McConnell on the question of who voters trust more to improve the lives of women. Only 31 percent of respondents answered McConnell, compared to 51 percent for Grimes.

Overall, Voss said, the unfolding campaign is largely having the effect of "reminding conservatives why they prefer a Republican and liberals why they prefer a Democrat." That has allowed McConnell to maintain or improve his position despite his popularity ratings getting no better.

"If anything, more people see him in an unfavorable light than they did a month ago," Voss said. "But with the contentious Republican primary fading in the rear-view mirror, the conservatives who used to help drive those bad numbers are now getting on board with McConnell, while liberal voters dislike him even more than before."

Poll respondent Marilyn Miller of Louisville said she is unhappy with Washington and long-serving public officials but still supports McConnell.

"He's the lesser of two evils," Miller said of McConnell.


Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/30/3404367_bluegrass-poll-gaining-momentum.html?sp=/99/322/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

Unlike Me, Did You Miss #FancyFarm? Watch Videos.

Mitch McConnell:



Alison Lundergan Grimes:



James Comer:



Rand Paul:



Jack Conway:

Dog Fight In Race Between Mitch McConnell And Allison Lundergan Grimes. Watch News.

What Awaits Kentucky Lawmakers As They Return This Week For Another Legislative Session.

 Legislative Preview: A guide to the top issues facing Kentucky lawmakers

KEY LAWMAKERS

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg: The boss of the House, Stumbo has sat in the chamber since 1980 except for a four-year stint as the attorney general who got Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher indicted.

House Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook: Stumbo's man on the House floor and fellow Eastern Kentuckian, Adkins helps control the flow of legislation.

House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown: Hoover wants to flip the House to Republican control in November. The GOP now holds 46 of 100 seats.

House budget chairman Rick Rand, D-Bedford: The House gets first crack at rewriting Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed two-year state budget, with Rand's committee in charge.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester: Stivers won credit for making the Senate run more smoothly last year when he replaced the often combative David Williams as president.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown: Stivers' No. 2 is mentioned as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor in 2015.

Senate Minority Leader R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester: Democrats hold only 14 of the Senate's 38 seats, so Palmer's caucus has little influence.

Senate budget chairman Bob Leeper, I-Paducah: Leeper, the legislature's only independent, is stepping down at the end of 2014 after helping to craft his last state budget.

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky General Assembly begins its 2014 session on Tuesday, facing the usual trouble: Not enough money is coming in to pay for the services Kentuckians want, and there's no political appetite to raise taxes, especially not in an election year.

Since taking office in 2007, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has ordered $1.6 billion in spending cuts across state government. Debt repayment, Medicaid and prisons have gobbled bigger wads of what money remains. The losers include K-12 schools, public universities and social services.

Meanwhile, the state employees' pension fund is 23 percent funded, needing $8.7 billion to cover future liabilities. That's one of the reasons Moody's Investors Service in New York warned bond buyers last May that Kentucky's credit outlook is "negative."

"The commonwealth's sizable budget deficits over the past few years led to a depletion of reserve balances and borrowing for budget relief," Moody's said.

Civic leaders say there must be dramatic changes this winter.

"After five years of school budget cuts and other services to kids being reduced, this whole notion of 'doing more with less' that we've been preaching throughout the state, I think that's run its course," said Roger Marcum, chairman of the Kentucky Board of Education. "People accepted it for a time because they knew the national economy was going through a rough stretch. But now we're supposed to be in recovery."

Without more funding, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday has warned, 1,000 to 2,000 teachers and other public school employees could lose their jobs later this year.

"I'm very concerned about what's going to happen to our schools in spring semester if funding is not restored," Marcum said.

Don't expect relief from the two-year budget written this legislative session, lawmakers say. The General Fund is expected to gain only 2.6 percent annually, taking it to $9.7 billion in fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1, and $10 billion in 2016. That extra $500 million is spoken for, and then some.

"The minimal amount of growth that we're going to experience is already spent in terms of pension commitments, health care costs for our state employees and new Medicaid enrollment costs," said House budget committee chairman Rick Rand, D-Benton. "If we want any more money for things like schools or state worker pay raises, we're either going to have to raise taxes or cut something else further."

CASINO GAMBLING

There's a third option, though it wouldn't take effect soon enough to help this year.

The General Assembly could give the state's horse racetracks what they've long clamored for — casinos full of slot machines and table games, with licenses purchased from the state and a portion of annual revenue going to the General Fund through taxes.

Beshear supports casinos, and most states now allow them in some form, including Kentucky's neighbors other than Tennessee and Virginia. But past efforts in Kentucky have failed because of horse industry infighting and reluctance by conservative lawmakers who worry about the impact of expanded gambling on families. If casinos make billions of dollars, critics say, that means Kentuckians are losing billions of dollars.

Longtime casino backer Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville, pre-filed a bill that would put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to let voters decide whether to permit casinos.

Another Louisville lawmaker, Republican Sen. Dan Seum, has his own proposed amendment to allow seven casinos across Kentucky, with 10 percent of the revenue guaranteed "to promote equine interests" and the state's share dedicated to "job creation, education, human services, health care, veterans' bonuses, local governments and public safety."

Kentucky Wins, the newest pro-casino lobbying group, predicts that casinos would generate $464 million in first-year gambling taxes for the state. That projection comes from a 2011 study for the racing industry that made certain assumptions, such as eight successful casinos paying 40.65 percent of their net gambling revenue as taxes.

To rally support, Kentucky Wins is enlisting politically powerful allies like Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, bankers and entrepreneurs, the Kentucky School Boards Association and the Kentucky Association of Counties. This isn't just about the horse industry anymore, said Kentucky Wins co-chairman C. Edward Glasscock, a Louisville lawyer and horse racing enthusiast.

"We're in desperate need of new revenue in this state," Glasscock said. "I think the timing for this is good. I don't think it could be any better."

FELON VOTING

Like casino gambling, felon voting is another perennial loser in Frankfort that might have a better shot this time.

Most states restore voting rights to felons once they complete their sentences. Not Kentucky. Unless the governor issues a partial pardon, a felon in Kentucky is permanently disenfranchised from voting or holding office. The ACLU of Kentucky, which lobbies for felon voting rights, estimates that more than 180,000 Kentuckians are now barred from the polls, including one in four black adults.

Every winter, Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, files a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the restoration of voting rights to felons convicted of nonviolent and nonsexual crimes. Every winter, it dies in the Republican-led Senate.

Now, however, felon voting has a new champion: Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who is influential among Kentucky conservatives, including those in the state Senate. Speaking to largely black audiences, Paul criticizes the War on Drugs for locking up a disproportionate number of black youths and taking away their constitutional rights.

"I think particularly for nonviolent drug crimes, where people made a youthful mistake, I think they ought to get their rights back," Paul said in a Louisville speech last September.

Crenshaw declined to discuss Paul's position but said, "I hope the members of the Senate see fit to pass it and let the voters decide."

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

In 2013, female legislative staffers filed an ethics complaint accusing Rep. John Arnold Jr., D-Sturgis, of sexual harassment. Arnold resigned while protesting his innocence. He is scheduled to face the Legislative Ethics Commission in February to determine whether he broke the law. A lawsuit against him also is pending.

That case mushroomed into a larger controversy about lawmakers' behavior at the Capitol. First came a retaliation suit against Rep. Will Coursey, D-Symsonia, by an aide who said Coursey inappropriately pursued an intern, which he denies.

Then Robert Sherman resigned as director of the Legislative Research Commission amid criticism that he failed to act on hostile workplace complaints.

Finally, Kentucky State Police opened an investigation into documents that Sherman shredded at the Capitol during an after-hours visit following his resignation.

The fallout from the investigations could make House Democratic leaders squirm. They worry that a scandal might cost them control of the chamber in the November elections. They already lost Arnold's seat to a Republican in a Dec. 10 special election. If the GOP claims just five more, it will run the 100-seat House for the first time in nearly a century.

Over Democrats' protests, the legislature agreed to pay $42,410 to the National Conference of State Legislatures to audit the LRC's operations and find Sherman's replacement. Also, two lawmakers have pre-filed a bill requiring members of the General Assembly to undergo sexual harassment awareness training.

"I'm disappointed and embarrassed," said Rep. Robert Benvenuti, R-Lexington.

Benvenuti was a member of a special House committee that was supposed to investigate Arnold's conduct but was instead forced by its Democratic majority to disband without taking any action.

"There are children reading about this and hearing about it on television and the radio. We go to Frankfort after we tell people we're going to serve them and look out for their interests, and I think they're entitled to expect better from us," Benvenuti said.

HEROIN OVERDOSES

The General Assembly passed laws in recent years to limit access to two major sources of drug abuse: prescription painkillers and methamphetamines.

Addicts started turning elsewhere for their fixes — to heroin, a popular street drug of the 1970s. Heroin-related overdose deaths in Kentucky jumped from 22 in 2011 to 143 in 2012, and they were on track to reach 174 by the end of 2013, according to the state Office of Drug Control Policy. Until 2010, Kentucky saw an average of five heroin-related fatalities per year.

Lawmakers softened penalties for some drug crimes in favor of addiction treatment when the General Assembly enacted a 2011 reform package to reduce prison crowding. Because of the rise in heroin overdoses, the 2014 session will see a small push in the other direction, to stiffen penalties for that drug and other opiates.

Sen. Katie Stine, R-Southgate, said she will sponsor a bill that would help state prosecutors pursue criminal homicide charges against heroin traffickers whose customers die from an overdose. It also would help drug addicts get better access to treatment and hit traffickers with longer mandatory prison sentences.

Last year, a previous version of Stine's heroin bill died in the House as criminal defense lawyers lobbied against it. But her reworked bill has bipartisan support from House Judiciary Chairman John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, and Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Without legislative action, 83 percent of Kentucky's 119 public library systems could lose much of their revenue due to lawsuits successfully challenging their right to increase tax rates.

The suits affect library boards established under Chapter 173 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, which requires voters to approve any change in tax rates. For years, as advised by the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, the library boards followed a separate law, House Bill 44, passed in 1979, that allows taxing districts to raise tax rates up to 4 percent annually without voter approval.

In 2012, Northern Kentucky taxpayers noticed the difference between the two laws. They separately sued the Campbell and Kenton county library boards. The suits allege that HB 44 is irrelevant for the libraries, so tax increases enacted since 1979 have been illegal because voters were not asked to approve them. The suits demand a reduction in local library tax rates to their much lower 1978 levels.

Circuit judges sided with the taxpayers last spring. The cases are before the Kentucky Court of Appeals for review. Other challenges are being prepared against libraries around the state. (The Lexington Public Library is exempt from this challenge because it's not a taxing agency. It gets a fixed share of local property taxes raised by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.)

As one example of what might follow, Campbell County's library is looking at a potential 56 percent cut to its $4.6 million budget, library director JC Morgan told the Cincinnati Enquirer in November.

"We would retain some level of services, but the impact would be tremendous," Morgan told the newspaper. "Branches would close, our staff would be cut in half and some key services, such as children's outreach, would have to be cut."

Briefing lawmakers ahead of the 2014 session, legislative aides said the General Assembly could wade into the fight and clarify the taxing authority of library boards. It could make library boards an elected position from this point forward and require future tax increases to be subject to voter approval. Or it could do nothing and defer to the courts.

SALES TAX

Speaking of taxes, some Kentucky cities and counties want the power to levy a local option sales tax on top of the state's 6 percent sales tax.

Unlike most states, Kentucky doesn't let local governments levy sales taxes. To change that, three Democratic senators from the Louisville area sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment in 2013 that, if passed, would have allowed local governments to add a 1 percent sales tax to fund specific projects if local voters approved. When the projects were finished, the local tax would expire.

The bill died without a committee hearing. Lawmakers said they worried that communities could raise taxes so high that they become unattractive places to live and do business.

But Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties, among others, continue to lobby for a local option sales tax, so the debate is expected to resurface this year. (Last fall, Gray said he would not use such funding on the redesign of Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center, but other urban projects might be a good match.)

EMINENT DOMAIN

In May 2013, Williams Co. and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners proposed building a natural gas liquids pipeline through 13 Kentucky counties. The underground line would carry natural gas liquids from the northeastern United States to an existing connection in Kentucky that runs to the Gulf of Mexico.

People who live along the announced route, including many in Central Kentucky, are concerned about the risk of explosions or leaks that could pollute their underground water supply.

They're also upset that the companies behind the pipeline claim the right of eminent domain, the power of a sovereign state to condemn and seize private land for public use in exchange for fair compensation.

In legal opinions, the attorney general and lawyers for the state Energy and Environment Cabinet rejected the companies' claim that they can use eminent domain to acquire land for the pipeline.

But there is pressure on lawmakers by pipeline opponents to rewrite Kentucky's eminent domain law so that no private company could use it, at least not without some state oversight. Several lawmakers have pre-filed just such a bill.

Pipeline opponents also are urging the General Assembly to create oversight for natural gas liquids, either through the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, or a through board established by the legislature in 2002 to review proposals for unregulated power plants and transmission lines.

Neither the state nor federal governments has much regulatory authority over natural gas liquid pipelines, which are becoming more common as natural gas drilling increases nationally. Because the pipelines are not a public utility and they don't carry oil or natural gas — just the byproducts of gas, to be sold elsewhere — they mostly slip between the government bureaucracies meant to protect public safety and monitor potentially explosive infrastructure.

Key lawmakers

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg: The boss of the House, Stumbo has sat in the chamber since 1980 except for a four-year stint as the attorney general who got Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher indicted.

House Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook: Stumbo's man on the House floor and fellow Eastern Kentuckian, Adkins helps control the flow of legislation.

House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown: Hoover wants to flip the House to Republican control in November. The GOP now holds 46 of 100 seats.

House budget chairman Rick Rand, D-Bedford: The House gets first crack at rewriting Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed two-year state budget, with Rand's committee in charge.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester: Stivers won credit for making the Senate run more smoothly last year when he replaced the often combative David Williams as president.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown: Stivers' No. 2 is mentioned as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor in 2015.

Senate Minority Leader R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester: Democrats hold only 14 of the Senate's 38 seats, so Palmer's caucus has little influence.

Senate budget chairman Bob Leeper, I-Paducah: Leeper, the legislature's only independent, is stepping down at the end of 2014 after helping to craft his last state budget.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/04/3018241/legislative-preview-a-guide-to.html#storylink=cpy

The Practical Implications Of #USSenate #Democrat's #Nuclear Strike.

Since #ussenatedemocrats will not forever control that institution but will sooner rather than later lose it to #republicans, should democrats not be wise and start to worry about republicans shitting on them with a new#nuclear option that wipes out any voice they'll have as a minority?!

I fully expect so!!

Let the games commence in earnest!!!

Wink.

#USSenateDemocrats Go Nuclear!

i used to wonder why my #gop party sometimes acted like the #taliban until #democrats dropped the #nuclearbomb on the #ussenate floo, so now i should wonder no more!

My Friend, Rand Paul, Challenges His Critics To A Duel, And Now Allison Lundergan Grimes Challenges My Buddy Mitch McConnell To A Shooting Contest After He Receives NRA Award! Let The Shooting Commence!!

Senate candidates tout gun-rights support

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell bagged an award Friday from the powerful National Rifle Association, while his chief Democratic rival in next year's Senate race defended her support of gun rights and threw down a marksmanship challenge to the Republican senator.

"Whenever he's not busy pandering to Washington lobbyists, I welcome Sen. McConnell to come shoot with me at the range any day," said Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes, an NRA member and skeet shooter.

Grimes' campaign released a photo Friday showing her shooting at her family's farm in northern Kentucky.

McConnell didn't respond to a reporter's question Friday asking if he'd be willing to test his shooting skills against Grimes' at a gun range.

The Grimes campaign pounced, saying McConnell "loves to talk a big game," but "when asked to back it up, he fails badly and walks away."

The senator was at a Bullitt County gun club to pick up the NRA's "Defender of Freedom" award and to recognize a sportsmen's coalition backing him.

McConnell was flanked by shotguns lined up next to flags, and boxes of clay targets were stacked by the podium. Empty shotgun shells littered the ground nearby.

Gun-rights issues are hot-button topics in Kentucky, where about 300,000 hunters are set to trudge through the woods in coming days in pursuit of deer.

Louisville businessman Matt Bevin, who is challenging McConnell in the GOP primary next spring, touted his own credentials. Bevin noted he and his wife have licenses to carry concealed weapons, and said he'd be a strong defender of constitutional rights. Bevin has been endorsed by the group Gun Owners of America.

McConnell, who is seeking his sixth term next year, aimed his criticism at President Barack Obama, who is unpopular in Kentucky, and gun control advocates.

McConnell said efforts to pass stricter gun laws in the wake of mass shootings were an example of the "nanny state" advocated by Democrats.

"After every dreadful, awful occurrence of some person with deep mental disability, their reaction to that is try to restrict your rights given to you under the Second Amendment to the Constitution," he told a group of supporters. "And there's very little talk about how to deal with the problem of mentally incapacitated people."

McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, said he's the prime target for national Democrats in next year's elections. He noted the blistering attacks already unleashed against him, then added: "I assure you, I'm not going to turn the other cheek." McConnell is known for his own bare-knuckled campaign style.

Mark Nethery, president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, said McConnell has an "impeccable record" of protecting Second Amendment rights.

The NRA said McConnell "stood with gun owners and hunters through the toughest of times."

McConnell was recognized by the NRA for a series of Senate votes, including his fight against bans on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. He also won NRA praise for helping block legislation that would have expanded background checks to include sales at commercial venues like gun shows and on the Internet.

Grimes, the state's secretary of state, said in a statement that her support for gun rights is "unquestioned."

"In the Senate, I will protect my fellow Kentuckians' right to keep and bear arms," she said.

NY Man Pleads Guilty To Funneling Illegal Money To Hillary Clinton's 2008 Campaign. I'm Not Surprised!

 NY executive pleads guilty in alleged scheme involving work for Clinton's '08 campaign

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that a New York marketing executive received more than $600,000 in illicit funds from a Washington businessman to do unsolicited campaign work for a 2008 presidential candidate, identified by a campaign lawyer as Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Troy White pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Wednesday for failing to file tax returns reflecting the amount that his company, Wytehouse Marketing Inc., was paid. But court documents outlined an elaborate scheme in which White allegedly worked with Washington businessman Jeffrey Thompson to help a presidential candidate during several Democratic primaries in the winter and spring of 2008.

While the candidate was not identified in court documents, an attorney for Clinton's 2008 presidential bid confirmed that the case involved her campaign.
Thompson and his network of donors were major contributors to Clinton, and White's website highlights the work his company did for Hillary Clinton and the Bill Clinton Foundation.

White had discussions about working for the campaign in an official capacity but was turned down, the documents show.
"Hillary Clinton for President has cooperated fully in the matter involving Troy White," Lyn Utrecht, a lawyer for her 2008 campaign, said in an email Wednesday. "As the court document filed in this matter clearly states, the Committee turned down Mr. White's services. The Committee will not have any further comment in an ongoing investigation."

After White's efforts to join the campaign were unsuccessful, a campaign official introduced White to a businessman matching Thompson's description, who agreed to pay White to do the same work he had offered to do for the campaign, according to prosecutors. The businessman ultimately funneled $608,750 to Wytehouse through a company owned by a close Thompson associate, the documents show.

Although he is not identified by the court documents in the White case, two people familiar with the investigation said the unidentified executive is Thompson, the Jamaican-born former owner of a politically connected Washington accounting firm. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the person's identity.

The money paid for "street teams" that worked to increase Clinton's visibility in urban areas ahead of several primaries, starting with the Texas primary and caucuses in March 2008. Clinton narrowly defeated then-Sen. Barack Obama in the Texas primary, and Obama won the caucuses.

Texas was considered a critical state for Clinton during her lengthy battle with Obama for the Democratic nomination.

According to the court documents, the campaign official "provided White with confidential internal information ... regarding the itinerary and schedule for a high-profile individual who would be campaigning in Texas." White sent workers to those events to show support and distribute campaign materials, the documents show.

Thompson is also the subject of a grand jury investigation, according to court documents. His lawyer has repeatedly declined to comment and did not return a message Wednesday.
Three former Thompson associates have admitted in court to making more than $300,000 in straw contributions on his behalf to federal and District of Columbia candidates. One of those is Eugenia "Jeanne" Clarke Harris, the owner of Belle International Inc., the company named in court documents as having paid White.

According to a database of Thompson-affiliated donors compiled by The Associated Press, Thompson and more than 50 of his associates -- including employees, relatives, business associates and friends -- gave more than $100,000 to Clinton's 2008 campaign.
The scheme to fund White's campaign activities is similar to what Thompson is alleged to have used to help Vincent Gray get elected as District of Columbia mayor in 2010. Harris pleaded guilty to funneling $653,000 through her companies, including Belle International, into Gray's campaign. Prosecutors described the effort as a "shadow campaign" that tainted Gray's Democratic primary victory over then-mayor Adrian Fenty.
White and his attorney, Ross Nabatoff, declined to comment after the hearing Wednesday afternoon.

White, 48, faces a maximum of one year in prison for the misdemeanor conviction but is likely to receive less time under federal guidelines. He agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation, and his sentence could be reduced for substantial cooperation.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/12/ny-executive-pleads-guilty-in-alleged-scheme-involving-clinton-08-campaign/#ixzz2egj8Gy5d

Liberals Chastized George Bush For Iraq War, But Shamelessly Beat The Drugs Of War For Barack Obama!

Democrats seem to justify engaging in #syriandebacle by suggesting that #georgebush went to #iraq under similar circumstances, and even with a lie.

What they CONVENIENTLY FORGET is that the U. S. CONgress authorized the "hostility" and voted to give #GWB authority, just as the CONSTITUTION REQUIRES.

Fast forward to #barackobama, who criticized GWB back then: no such deal.

This liberal attitude is akin to kissing a hedgehog and pretending it is a bouquet of roses with inconvenient thorns!

Geeze. Go figure, the hypocrisy!!

Kentucky Lawmakers To Receive Sexual Harassment Training After John Arnold Is Outed As A Serial Harasser.

Lawmakers to Receive Sexual Harassment Training

 
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- House lawmakers would have to undergo annual sexual harassment sensitivity training under a resolution approved Thursday, after three legislative staffers filed sexual harassment complaints with the Legislative Ethics Commission.

The allegations against Democratic state Rep. John Arnold of Sturgis triggered a public outcry, forcing House Speaker Greg Stumbo to address the matter on the floor Thursday evening. He assured angry colleagues the matter "will be dealt with responsibly" and that Arnold could be expelled from the House if the charges are proven.

Arnold refused to answer questions about the allegations on Wednesday and was absent on Thursday.
In the complaints, first reported by Louisville public radio station WFPL-FM, the staffers alleged that Arnold had touched them inappropriately and had made vulgar comments over a period of years.