Sen. David Williams, despite a brilliant intellect, cannot overcome the perception that he is a big jerk. He is loathed by voters across the political spectrum. Sadly, I therefore agree with Joe Gerth's analysis and that on Joe Arnold's blog: the Kentucky gubernatorial race is over.
It is hard to conceive of a scandal big enough to dethrone Beshear. The vanilla Beshear has not done anything to deserve reelection, but he will win by default because Republicans put up the wrong candidate.
In light of this reality, Republicans need to focus time and money on the down-ticket races. It's triage time.
Todd P'Pool has a real shot against Attorney General Jack Conway. P'Pool has done a great job picking issues --coal, Obamacare -- that showcase the ideological differences between the two candidates.
Moreover, Conway's run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Rand Paul may have boosted Conway's name ID, but in the process of getting trounced, he looked silly, thanks to the Aqua Buddha ad. Conway is vulnerable. P'Pool needs the resources pick up where Rand Paul left off and end Jack Conway's career once and for all.
Showing posts with label Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Williams. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Saturday, June 6, 2009
David Williams Wants MORE Taxes?
Ronnie Ellis is reporting that Sen. Pres. David Williams disagrees with Gov. Steve Beshear on the amount of Kentucky's budget shortfall, and has a different idea about how to raise whatever funds we're short. Instead of agreeing to video gambling terminals at Kentucky racetracks, Williams apparently wants to raise taxes. Again.
Everyone seems to agree on one thing – although there are some competing data – the horse industry is in trouble. But Williams says there’s a better way to boost purses and breeders’ incentives than gambling, offering a plan for a 10 percent tax surcharge on lottery tickets, using some sales taxes on horse products, and taxing out of state betting on Kentucky races to boost purses and incentives. Beshear and spokesmen for Stumbo say allowing the VLTs at tracks is the only workable, available option to help the industry.
Let's unpack that.
Williams tax no. 1 would impose a "10 percent tax surcharge on lottery tickets," according to Ellis. Lottery tickets are sold to the poorest of the poor; it is already the most regressive tax we have. The notion of further taxing these desperate people is very troubling.
Williams tax no. 2 would involve "some sales taxes on horse products." Apparently the idea is to reallocate the revenue from these taxes to increase the race purses. However, if everyone agrees that the horse industry is already in trouble, we should be looking at cutting taxes specific to that industry, not raising or even reallocating them.
Williams tax no. 3, Ellis explains, contemplates "taxing out of state betting on Kentucky races." Although I appreciate the effort to sock it to the out-of-staters, this tax may not even be constitutional.
Williams's proposal does not come in a vacuum. Just last session, Williams agreed to a huge tax hike that hurts Kentucky's other signature industry, the Bourbon distilleries. That provided a long-awaited opening to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is said to be aggressively wooing Brown-Forman to move to New Albany.
If Kentucky persists in making its tax structure hostile to those industries that make our Commonwealth unique, we will lose those industries. Take away the horse industry and Bourbon industry from Kentucky and we don't look much different than, say West Virginia. These industries define us. We must protect them. Raising taxes is not a solution and would hurt the very industries that need our help.
Everyone seems to agree on one thing – although there are some competing data – the horse industry is in trouble. But Williams says there’s a better way to boost purses and breeders’ incentives than gambling, offering a plan for a 10 percent tax surcharge on lottery tickets, using some sales taxes on horse products, and taxing out of state betting on Kentucky races to boost purses and incentives. Beshear and spokesmen for Stumbo say allowing the VLTs at tracks is the only workable, available option to help the industry.
Let's unpack that.
Williams tax no. 1 would impose a "10 percent tax surcharge on lottery tickets," according to Ellis. Lottery tickets are sold to the poorest of the poor; it is already the most regressive tax we have. The notion of further taxing these desperate people is very troubling.
Williams tax no. 2 would involve "some sales taxes on horse products." Apparently the idea is to reallocate the revenue from these taxes to increase the race purses. However, if everyone agrees that the horse industry is already in trouble, we should be looking at cutting taxes specific to that industry, not raising or even reallocating them.
Williams tax no. 3, Ellis explains, contemplates "taxing out of state betting on Kentucky races." Although I appreciate the effort to sock it to the out-of-staters, this tax may not even be constitutional.
Williams's proposal does not come in a vacuum. Just last session, Williams agreed to a huge tax hike that hurts Kentucky's other signature industry, the Bourbon distilleries. That provided a long-awaited opening to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is said to be aggressively wooing Brown-Forman to move to New Albany.
If Kentucky persists in making its tax structure hostile to those industries that make our Commonwealth unique, we will lose those industries. Take away the horse industry and Bourbon industry from Kentucky and we don't look much different than, say West Virginia. These industries define us. We must protect them. Raising taxes is not a solution and would hurt the very industries that need our help.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Beshear Is Special Election's Real Loser
Lost amidst the chaos of Super Tuesday was a Republican victory in a special election for the Kentucky Senate's 30th district, vacated by Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo. Republican Brandon Smith beat Democrat Scott Alexander 52.3 to 47.7 percent.
That increases GOP control of the Senate -- notwithstanding Gov. Steve Beshear's and Mongiardo's continual campaigning for Alexander. Look to this race as bellweather for this November and beyond. The implications of this victory, in both the short and long term, cannot be overstated.
How the Beshear machine ran the race in the 30th reveals that at a critical juncture at the very start of his administration, Beshear took the wrong road. And it wasn't the high road.
The Demo-blogs, to their credit, did not try to spin the results, and were very pointed in their assessment of where the blame lies.
From Page One:
Eastern Kentucky is pissed. Way to go, KDP. Let’s tout the merits of Democrats in a press release now that we’ve had our rears handed to us on a silver gubernatorial airplane platter.
That's an allusion to the scandal that Beshear caused by campaigning for the special election in the state plane.
Blue Grass Roots blamed Beshear and KDP:
Well, the KDP officially choked in the 30th Dist. special election for state senate. What should have been a win instead turned into an embarrassing loss.
And what brought about this loss? Well, it was Steve Beshear and the KDP butting in to install their favored candidate, all the while pissing off Democrats in the 30th to the point that they were divided enough to give the race to Republicans.
Mongiardo's assertion that the loss was not a setback for the Beshear administration is belied by the facts, as Elendil's Journal noted:
Remember this is a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1. Even with party registration and the full power of the sitting governor, Beshear's hand picked candidate lost the race. I would have to think the results of such a race is a big deal. The consequences of which will probably derail his casino plans. The pressure on senators to vote against gaming has been relieved.
And as for Beshear's skill at hand-picking a candidate like an old-time party boss, turns out he's not so good at that either. (Take note, Bruce Lunsford.)
Mark Hebert and Elendil are clearly correct that casinos are a dead-letter, at least for now. But more important are the implications for this November. In a year that's supposed to usher in a tsunami of Democrats, they lost a district where they outregistered Republicans two to one -- notwithstanding high turnout.
Beshear's endorsement meant nothing; all his campaigning bore no fruit, and in fact, may have hurt his candidate, particularly given the controversy about the use of the state plane. Mongiardo stumped his old district every day for two weeks leading up to the election, but to no avail. By making the special election about their new administration, Beshear and Mongiardo are the real losers. The inescapable implication is that Beshear's election last November was solely a repudiation of Ernie Fletcher, and in no way an endorsement of or mandate for Beshear and Mongiardo.
The win also assures that Williams will have a Republican majority in the State Senate for the next three years. That, in turn, gives Williams a platform to raise funds for districts that Republicans would have written off but a week ago before the special election.
This election reveals a major strategic misstep by Beshear. He had a choice to make, and he chose badly. Having ran an upbeat campaign to represent all Kentuckians, he refused to meet with David Williams -- who was more than happy to work with the Governor-elect -- until people started discussing the snub.
Instead of working with Williams to actually get things done, Beshear and his minions ran a negative ad about Williams in the 30th district. As an election strategy, it didn't even make any sense. The 30th district residents don't know Williams from Adam. And as a way to develop good will and bipartisan cooperation, it was meanspirited and unproductive.
The Beshear administration really looks no different than the Fletcher administration. For all his talk about being a candidate of change, Beshear reverted to the old-style way of running Frankfort; botched hirings and firings; threats of cancelled contracts; appointments of recycled pols; freezing out the media; and lots of bravado. Voters repudiated this style of governance when they ousted Fletcher, and by replicating it, Beshear has set himself on the path to replicate Fletcher's defeat, as well.
That increases GOP control of the Senate -- notwithstanding Gov. Steve Beshear's and Mongiardo's continual campaigning for Alexander. Look to this race as bellweather for this November and beyond. The implications of this victory, in both the short and long term, cannot be overstated.
How the Beshear machine ran the race in the 30th reveals that at a critical juncture at the very start of his administration, Beshear took the wrong road. And it wasn't the high road.
The Demo-blogs, to their credit, did not try to spin the results, and were very pointed in their assessment of where the blame lies.
From Page One:
Eastern Kentucky is pissed. Way to go, KDP. Let’s tout the merits of Democrats in a press release now that we’ve had our rears handed to us on a silver gubernatorial airplane platter.
That's an allusion to the scandal that Beshear caused by campaigning for the special election in the state plane.
Blue Grass Roots blamed Beshear and KDP:
Well, the KDP officially choked in the 30th Dist. special election for state senate. What should have been a win instead turned into an embarrassing loss.
And what brought about this loss? Well, it was Steve Beshear and the KDP butting in to install their favored candidate, all the while pissing off Democrats in the 30th to the point that they were divided enough to give the race to Republicans.
Mongiardo's assertion that the loss was not a setback for the Beshear administration is belied by the facts, as Elendil's Journal noted:
Remember this is a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1. Even with party registration and the full power of the sitting governor, Beshear's hand picked candidate lost the race. I would have to think the results of such a race is a big deal. The consequences of which will probably derail his casino plans. The pressure on senators to vote against gaming has been relieved.
And as for Beshear's skill at hand-picking a candidate like an old-time party boss, turns out he's not so good at that either. (Take note, Bruce Lunsford.)
Mark Hebert and Elendil are clearly correct that casinos are a dead-letter, at least for now. But more important are the implications for this November. In a year that's supposed to usher in a tsunami of Democrats, they lost a district where they outregistered Republicans two to one -- notwithstanding high turnout.
Beshear's endorsement meant nothing; all his campaigning bore no fruit, and in fact, may have hurt his candidate, particularly given the controversy about the use of the state plane. Mongiardo stumped his old district every day for two weeks leading up to the election, but to no avail. By making the special election about their new administration, Beshear and Mongiardo are the real losers. The inescapable implication is that Beshear's election last November was solely a repudiation of Ernie Fletcher, and in no way an endorsement of or mandate for Beshear and Mongiardo.
The win also assures that Williams will have a Republican majority in the State Senate for the next three years. That, in turn, gives Williams a platform to raise funds for districts that Republicans would have written off but a week ago before the special election.
This election reveals a major strategic misstep by Beshear. He had a choice to make, and he chose badly. Having ran an upbeat campaign to represent all Kentuckians, he refused to meet with David Williams -- who was more than happy to work with the Governor-elect -- until people started discussing the snub.
Instead of working with Williams to actually get things done, Beshear and his minions ran a negative ad about Williams in the 30th district. As an election strategy, it didn't even make any sense. The 30th district residents don't know Williams from Adam. And as a way to develop good will and bipartisan cooperation, it was meanspirited and unproductive.
The Beshear administration really looks no different than the Fletcher administration. For all his talk about being a candidate of change, Beshear reverted to the old-style way of running Frankfort; botched hirings and firings; threats of cancelled contracts; appointments of recycled pols; freezing out the media; and lots of bravado. Voters repudiated this style of governance when they ousted Fletcher, and by replicating it, Beshear has set himself on the path to replicate Fletcher's defeat, as well.
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