Monday morning roundup

Wanting it both ways. Yesterday the House and Senate members of the state budget conference committee jointly decided to close the deliberations of the committee. The move to open the conference committee was part of well-played gamesmanship by Senate President David Williams, who baited the House Democrats into asking that the meetings be opened and then calling their bluff. The Frankfort press corps, who had been pushing the legislature to open the conference committee, hailed the move.

When they were shut out of the committee meetings yesterday, some in the media howled that the legislature's newfound transparency was now lost. But let's be honest, it's much more likely that the conference committee can come to a budget agreement if they are allowed to meet out of the glare of the TV lights. In fact, private meetings among conferees on the budget were already occurring during the days that open meetings were being held. It's much more likely because the tough compromises that need to be made on the budget will happen when the players involved don't have to cede ground publicly.

The press corps need to ask themselves whether it serves the public interest more for the legislature to deliver an on-time budget or for conferees to make TV news more interesting with clips of their bickering in the committee meetings. With only four legislative days remaining in this session, they likely can't have it both ways.

Alessi watch. The Herald-Leader's Ryan Alessi has written a good column on the factors weighing in on Governor Steve Beshear's formal presidential endorsement and the scoop that UK mens basketball coach Billy Gillispie will attend GOP candidate Brett Guthrie's fundraiser with Vice President Cheney tonight in Lexington. Guthrie is running for the Kentucky's Second Congressional District seat.

Not gonna happen. Bill Bartleman of The Paducah Sun explains why casinos were a colossal waste of time during this session of the General Assembly and why they will be a waste of time in 2010.

[...]

But the biggest distraction was the time wasted on casino gambling. It never had a chance of being approved, a fact I first discussed in a column in August when it was dominating the race between Gov. Steve Beshear and then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

It prevented more substantive issues from being debated in the campaign the same as it prevented more substantive issues from being debated in the General Assembly.

Last week, Beshear and other casino supporters finally admitted it had no chance of passing this session.

They should have used the time spent on casino gambling to have meaningful discussions to resolve issues related to the state budget, rather than trying to resolve them during the final week of the session.

The distressing point is that casino supporters made it clear it will return as a top issue, most likely in 2010, which will be the legislature's next opportunity to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voters to consider.

Unless there's a major change in the conservative makeup of the House and Senate, it won't pass then, either. It will only be another distraction from resolving meaningful issues.

[...]

One thing Bartleman didn't mention is the fact that there is little chance that many faces in the legislature will change between now and 2010. Most House members who oppose casinos don't have election opponents. Unless he can change some minds in the next two years, in 2010 Beshear will be stuck in the same place he is today.

The veto pen? Owen Covington of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer asks Governor Beshear if he will veto mandatory executive branch staff reductions that will likely be included in the state budget. When he ran for governor, Beshear promised an efficiency study that would reduce the size of state government by up to 2%. Now, Beshear is complaining about the staff reductions, but he isn't saying if he will use his veto pen on the budget language.

[...]

The governor has criticized a plan accepted by the House and Senate that would leave unfilled more than 3,000 state positions vacated through retirement this year. The plan is expected to free up $170 million in state funds over the next two years, but Beshear said the plan would leave state agencies strapped.

"It's really too early to talk about what I might veto," Beshear said.

[...]

Going on the attack. Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Greg Fischer spoke at Saturday night's Ruby Laffoon Democrat dinner, and he continued his tirade against opponent Bruce Lunsford's business practices and contributions to GOP candidates.

While Lundsford's problems with Vencor, his nursing home company, were fodder for Ben Chandler's TV ads in the 2003 Democrat gubernatorial primary, we're not sure why Fischer is complaining about Lunsford's contributions to Republicans. Fischer also has a history of contributing to Republicans. That one is the pot calling the kettle black. Nonetheless, who doesn't enjoy watching a couple of Democrats attacking each other in order to prove who's the bigger Democrat?

Bruce is in Arizona tonight. Proving that he continues to relish his role as frontrunner in the Democrat primary, Lunsford skipped the Ruby Laffoon Dinner. Surrogate Dale Emmons never said exactly where Lunsford was (Arizona?), but proceeded to give a short speech for Lunsford. Emmons, who is advising the Lunsford campaign, didn't miss the opportunity to let Governor Beshear's hometown crowd know which candidate that Beshear favors in the Democrat primary.

A good deal. One Iowa political columnist believes that Governor Beshear got the better end of the deal in his bet on the WKU/Drake NCAA basketball game with Iowa Governor Chet Culver. While Culver stood to win a Corvette windbreaker if Drake had won the game, Mary Rae Bragg of the Dubuque Telegraph Herald believes that the 40 pounds of premium Iowa pork that Beshear won as a result of WKU's victory was closer in value to a real Corvette.

The Clintons are coming back. PolWatchers has the scoop on former first daughter Chelsea Clinton's planned visit to the University of Kentucky and Bill Clinton's next Kentucky rally in Pikeville on Thursday.

Comments

[Mark Konty]

"The press corps need to ask themselves whether it serves the public interest more for the legislature to deliver an on-time budget or for conferees to make TV news more interesting with clips of their bickering in the committee meetings."

Or, maybe we should ask ourselves if politicians who are more interested in performing for the media than in getting a budget passed are worthy or our votes.

I'm for absolute transparency in government operations. If our leaders won't do the right thing in public I certainly don't trust them to do the right thing behind closed doors.