Pam Platt Leaving C-J

Pam Platt will serve her last day as Editorial Director for the Courier-Journal next Friday.  Pam recruited me last year to write my column that has appeared every third Wednesday this past year.

I was dubious about writing for the C-J when Pam first called.  My politics, after all, are considerably to the right of Pam and the C-J.   I didn't think I'd last beyond the first column.

Pam and I met and she assured me that so long as I (1) disclosed conflicts of interest and (2) understood that I would not be the paper's ombudsmen -- that it was not my job to offer constructive criticism of the paper-- then I could write about whatever I wanted, taking any position I wanted.

She honored her word. Even though some of my columns drew progressive outrage, Pam never tried to tone me down. She never changed more than correct a typo.

She was always gracious and accommodating.  I am sad that she is leaving and wish her all the best.

Hal Heiner's Hard Work Paying Off

Hal Heiner has been driving around the state for more than a year. I thought he was nuts to start his campaign early, but it is paying off.  Not only in terms of the polls:  Heiner is a much-improved candidate compared to when he ran for Mayor of Louisville a few years back.

Heiner's speaking is more charismatic.  He has the proverbial fire in the belly, that was so lacking before.  I also notice a difference in him as a retail politician. He seems much more comfortable making small talk with strangers than before.

 He is the same smart, humble and creative man who almost became Mayor, just a much better politician.

I went to a fundraiser for Heiner recently; it was packed -- so crowded that a woman fainted, a la Obama.  I knew only one person, and he was not someone I usually run into at fundraisers. The rest of the crowd did even look familiar. Heiner's primary is drawing in people beyond the usual party activists.  That's good for him, and certainly good for the party.

Already Bored By Billary

Interesting that Hillary chose to move up her announcement rather than wait until this summer, as previously planned.  I think her botched handling of the Email-gate -- and the fact that she had no team in place to respond to that scandal -- made her feel the need to mobilize.

There is an odd juxtaposition at play.  On the one hand Hillary tries to gin up excitement for how historic it would be to have a woman president. On the other hand, she has been around for several decades now. There is no longer anything shiny or new about her or what she offers.  And this is not a slam on her age or appearance.

Most of us understand that politicians age and get wrinkles, just like the rest of us. Her physical appearance is not what is tiresome about Hillary.

What is tiresome is that Clintonesque secrecy and sense of entitlement.  None of her scandals happen in a vacuum.  The facts may change, but the pattern remains: the Clintons think and act as if the rules do not apply to them.  And having knowingly disregarded the rules, the need for secrecy becomes paramount.  In email-gate, we see the confluence of these two impulses:  they break rules to protect their secrets.

What is undermining Hillary's candidacy from the outset is the feeling, and the reality, that we have seen this show before.  It's like a re-run of I Love Lucy  We know that Lucy is going to get in some hair-brained escapade, and we know that at the end of the episode she will wriggle her way out of it and do something similar next time.    

Ted Cruz's "Captive"Audience

Sen. Ted Cruz chose to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president at Liberty University, Virginia, founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Cruz undoubtedly chose this backdrop to tout his conservative bona fides.

However, those 10,000 students who attended the Cruz announcement were forced to attend:  convocation is mandatory at Liberty University. In fact, students who skip it are fined.

Certainly Liberty University's ties to Falwell were intended to appeal to evangelical voters, an important block in the conservative coalition.

However, the forced attendance of the students infringes upon the freedom of association of the students. At its most basic, conservatism is about expanding liberty. Mandates -- including mandates to listen to a speaker or face a fine -- are the antithesis of liberty.

Those students who wore the Stand With Rand t-shirts to the rally made the point that although they could be forced to attend Cruz's announcement, their vote is still their own.

#StandWithStudents Rally

The following is from Eric Bush, a junior at St. Xavier High School who attended the Prichard Committee's Stand With Students Rally in Frankfort this morning.

If you follow this blog, you are probably aware of the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team's efforts to pass HB-236, which would allow students a seat on superintendent hiring committees. Although I was not involved with the writing and lobbying of this bill, several of my friends were and I have been following it throughout its course in the legislature.

The bill passed the house 88-5, but has not yet been voted on in the Senate. Two controversial amendments were recently added in the Senate which put the bill's passage at risk. Students involved with the bill organized a rally to support passing a clean version of the bill which took place this morning on the Capitol steps. The energy level at the rally was high and students from across the state were excited with the chance of passing their bill.

More than 300 students attended the Stand With Students rally

Sen. Max Wise speaking about the importance of student voice

Unfortunately, the chances of HB-236 passing are slim, especially with the legislative session ending tomorrow. The best chance the bill has is through political maneuvering that would attach it to a last minute monster bill that encompasses a wide variety of topics. But if HB-263 doesn't pass tomorrow, you can bet we'll be back next year.

Kentucky High School Students Lobbying in Frankfort on Student Voice Bill

The six-thousand high school students in Kentucky who participate in the Y Club have been closely following the fate of the Student Voice Bill.  That's the bill to include a student on school superintendent search committees (school boards would retain the power to ultimately pick the superintendent).

As I have written previously, the Student Voice Bill enjoyed almost unanimous bi-partisan support.  Then two Republicans tarted it up with extraneous -- and controversial-- amendments.

Many high school students are in Frankfort today to demonstrate support for the bill.  Even students from private schools, who would not be directly affected by the bill, are in Frankfort calling for a vote on a clean bill minus the controversial amendments.

It now looks like Sen. Embry will drop his amendment, the so-called "Bathroom Bill" (requiring transgender students to use the restroom that reflects their biological status, not preference).  Good for Sen. Embry.  Regardless of one's opinion of the Bathroom Bill, it deserves to pass or fail on its own; attaching it to the Student Voice Bill was just tainting the Republican brand for the students who had worked so hard to get the Student Voice Bill as far as it came this session.

Unfortunately, it appears that Sen. Robinson is not prepared to withdraw his amendment regarding religious speech in schools.  Again, the issue is not Robinson's religious speech bill but rather his cynical use of the School Voice Bill to try to get it enacted.  Robinson needs to take the long view:  he is seriously angering students who, if not now eligible to vote, will be eligible shortly.  Robinson is making Republicans look like jerks in front of the next generation of voters.  Someone please talk some sense into him.

Jack Richardson's on the KY Caucus

Jack Richardson, who served for many years as the Jefferson County GOP Chair, agreed to provide a copy of the remarks he delivered the the Kentucky Republican Executive Committee on March 7, 2015, when it voted to hold a caucus in stead of a a primary.

Jack makes some important points that are relevant for the particular circumstances in 2016 due to Sen. Paul's presidential run. But as Jack notes, this is not just a one-time issue.  Unless and until Kentucky moves its primary up, to give us a real say in the presidential primaries, I think we should stick with a caucus in presidential election years.

Jack attended the planning meeting for the caucus this yesterday and reports that those charged with making it a reality are enthusiastic and committed to making this work.

Here are excerpts from Jack's remarks:

We have two issues here today and I want to address the first one and that is Kentucky’s Republican Party’s paralysis by analysis problem.  We desperately need change but we secure our second place status in a state that should have been Red long ago because of a status quo that is protected by either lethargy or over analysis, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two. We need not look far for examples.  Last November Republicans had an historical electoral result across the nation. The Democrats had only two bright spots, Iowa and the Kentucky house. No change there. 

We have talked for decades about Kentucky’s irrelevance in the Presidential primaries. It’s amazing to me that anyone even bothers to turn out and vote because by the time Kentucky’s primary gets here the decision is essentially a fait au complet.  Oh, but we talk, and we talk, and talk and talk. But, God forbid that anyone actually propose to do anything about it. Never fear though, there is always that old faithful security blanket of talk, talk, talk.  If anything threatens to change the status quo, we just talk it or analyze it to death and we keep cozy in our old sameness. 

As usual, for things to change, it takes someone, a catalyst to bring about that change, but unfortunately, in Kentucky, that lone southern state that stubbornly refuses to turn red, they will be faced by that same affliction of paralysis by analysis. 

We need to become relevant and particularly so in the Presidential Primary and the caucus will do that.  We need to become a state worthy of its two world leaders, Sen. McConnell and Sen. Paul.  We as a party need to be a help to these two world leaders, not a hindrance. 

That brings me to my second point. The caucus is right and good for Kentucky, Kentucky Republicans and the Kentucky Republican party. Contrary to one remark I heard about this being just about Sen. Paul, this is not just about Sen. Rand Paul. But, arguendo, if so, so what?

I was Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican party for nearly 10 years. One of the first things I told my membership was:  know your job description.  I said, none of you are a US Senator and not likely to be. We are here to help not hinder.  The same goes for this committee. 99.9 % chance that no one here will ever be a US Senator. We are committee members. We are the Indians, not the chiefs. 

Six years ago there was a man, a little known doctor from Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Today that man, is listed in Time Magazine, is one of the top 100 most influential people in the world. He didn’t get there by committee. He has extra ordinary talents and political instincts. We didn’t give him permission to do what he has done. He didn’t need our permission to be great, he just was.  He didn’t talk and talk and talk about it………………he just did it. He’s in the top 100, we are not. We need to be worthy of our two world leaders.  

Sen. Rand Paul has earned the right to be the captain of the ship, or the chief as it may be. Just as Mitch has earned that right and deserved our cooperation last year, he got it.  Now he’s the leader of the US Senate. What a marvelous honor that is for our state. What great recognition that brings to Kentucky. 

Sen. Rand Paul is known from coast to coast and seen on all the nightly news shows. He has brought great distinction to our state.  Both of our US Senators are world class, and national leaders.  What other states can boast of such.  

This Caucus issue is not about Rand, but if so, so what?  Who cares? For years when Mitch needed or wanted something he got it and deserved it and we are all the better for it.  Now it’s Rand’s turn and he has done this state proud. And, this country desperately needs the kind of leadership he will provide.  I see our job description as a committee of being helpers, not hinderers. Let’s show the rest of the country the faith and confidence we have in our great senator. Let’s begin the needed change for the Republican Party of Kentucky by making Kentucky relevant in the Presidential nominee selection process. 

Sen. Paul has extraordinary political instincts and has parlayed them into being in the top 100 of the world’s most influential people in just six years.  He has earned the right to our help and I for one am not going to supplant my judgment for his proven success and political instincts. 

As I told Mr. Youngman at the Lexington Herald in a recent interview, you can take any idea and pick it to death. It’s easy to snipe. This is not the time or the place to do that. All of our leaders have endorsed this caucus measure.

It’s time to break from the past. It’s time to make a change. It’s time to stop talking and start doing.It’s time to stop saying can’t and start saying let’s do it.It’s time to stop navel gazing and wringing our hands and to start looking forward with courage, faith, boldness and action. It’s time to Nike up and “Just do it.”It’s time to be united lest we fall.It’s time to measure up to the greatness of our two US Senators.It’s time to support our Sen. Paul and to support the caucus initiative.Its time – now let’s just do this! 

GOP Legislators Teach KY Students Cynicism

This is not helpful publicity for Kentucky.  The Washington Post is covering the saga of the Prtichard Committee's Student Voice Project.  That initiative resulted in proposed legislation to allow a high school student representative to serve on superintendent search committees. (School boards would still make the final selection.)

It has strong bipartisan support in both chambers.  At the last minute, however, Republican legislators tacked on controversial and completely unrelated amendments that threaten to doom the bill.

Sen. C.E. Embry (R-Morgantown) added an amendment to ban transgender students from using school bathrooms other than what matches their anatomical gender.

Sen. Albert Robinson (R-London) added a bill to protect religious speech in schools.

The content of the amendments, and what one thinks about them, is beside the point.  They have absolutely nothing to do with the Student Voice bill.

The students who drafted and have been testifying for the Student Voice bill are Kentucky's brightest.  They are among the smartest, most articulate students in the state. These are kids we want to stay in the Commonwealth.

That two Republicans would destroy their hard work reflects very poorly on our party. This will have bad fall-out for the Republican Party's efforts to appeal to young people.  Again, the underlying bill has broad bipartisan support.  Pass it already.

High school students across the state are watching this. These are citizens who will be eligible to vote, in many instances, next year.

Embry and Robinson need to withdraw their amendments and fight those battles separately.

My C-J Column: Pro Medical Review Panels

My column will appear in tomorrow's Courier-Journal but is already up.  Here's the link.

Medical Review Panels, to my mind, make good sense as a ways to quickly compensate injured victims but also expose frivolous claims that would otherwise drag on for years.

The issue intrigued me when I learned that a medical provider I respect located his practice in Indiana, rather than Kentucky, because Indiana has Medical Review Panels.

Kentucky needs to look closely at what states like Indiana are doing.  We are falling behind these states for a reason.; let's cherry-pick those policies that give Indiana a competitive advantage.

The Caucus Was The Right Thing to Do

The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Kentucky made the right decision to switch from a primary to a caucus this year. We need to look after our own, and if this allows Sen. Rand Paul to explore running for president while keeping his Senate seat, then that is a good thing.

I have mixed feelings about the caucus being for this year only.  It is ridiculous that Kentucky's primary is not until May. That makes us completely irrelevant with respect to having any say on who our presidential nominee will be. I would therefore like to see the primary moved to Super Tuesday in March, or switch to a caucus permanently.

Many in the party are concerned about the cost and logistics of a caucus.  I think it could draw in Republicans who regularly vote in primaries but have not taken the step of volunteering.  That could be a very good thing in Jefferson County, in particular.

We'll see how it plays out.  This year, the Paul campaign will pay the cost of the caucus. That gives the party the chance to experiment with this format without spending any resources.

My C-J Column on Local Option Sales Tax

Sorry I forgot to link this earlier.  I am not a fan of the proposed local option sales tax. 

This will be an interesting vote in the Kentucky Senate to smoke out the RINOs, as it has done in the General Assembly.

There is no point in even controlling the Senate if Republicans are going to use their power to raise our taxes.   

Bibi: Why I'm Speaking to Congress

Great read in the New York Post, in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explains why he accepted John Boehner's invitation to speak to Congress.

He puts the lie to Democrats' assertion that this is just a stunt to boost Bibi's prospects for Israel.  Rather, this is about persuading Congress from acquiescing in an Obama - Iran deal that could lead to the destruction of Israel.

Congressman John Yarmuth, instead of boycotting the speech, should go.  Listen and learn.

The Field is Set

After weeks of rumors, we finally know the primary slate for Kentucky's constitutional offices.

I was surprised that Allison Lundergan-Grimes did not run for governor Many had speculated in recent days that her father wanted her to run against Andy Beshear, given the longstanding animosity between the Lundergan and Beshear families.  I had heard the day before Grimes lost by 16 points to Mitch McConnell that her father was already, at that time, lining up support for her to run for governor.

Plainly, she enjoyed the speculation, and therefore not only fueled it but did not extinguish it -- file for reelection -- until the penultimate day.

Jack Conway failed to draw an opponent (other than Geoff Young, more of a gadfly). Nonetheless, Conway is unlikely to win, in my opinion.  Democrats privately said as much and tried with no success to find an alternative to Conway.

Dave Adams gave me a laugh when he pointed out that Young is Buddhist. In a nod to Conway's disastrous Aqua Buddha ad against Rand Paul, Adams points out that "Conway has a pretty bad track record with the Buddha."   

I look forward to seeing what Conway's Aqua Buddha moment will be in this campaign. I view that as an inevitability, stemming from Conway taking himself way too seriously.

There will probably be some hilarity on the Republican side, now that Matt Bevin is running. Reporters will need to check his daily schedule to see if he's attending any cock fights.

Here's My CJ Column

The topic is Louisville's proposed Bike Share program.  Here's the link. Although Darryl Isaacs was not riding a Bike Share bicycle, his accident underscores my concerns about bikes in heavy traffic.  Here's wishing Mr. Isaacs a speedy recovery.

Shaking It Up In The KY House, A Little

CN/2 is reporting that Kentucky House Republicans have created a new position in party leadership: Chair of the House GOP Campaign Committee.

Rep. Jonathan Shell will fill the new role; he was elected unanimously  House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover (who was reelected despite a challenge) created the new position with a view to taking over the House majority in 2016.

I am glad the caucus recognized that it needs to try something new after November's disappointment of  Republicans failing to take the House yet again despite Mitch McConnell's 15 point win.  I'm pleased that House Republicans didn't wait to get started.

Shell, according to Hoover, is hard-working and has taken the initiative on fund-raising in the past.  He will continue to focus on fundraising as well as candidate recruitment. He points out in his interview that House Republicans raised an "unprecedented" $500,000 last election.

Raising money is not enough.  There needs to be an autopsy on what went wrong last cycle. Did the "unprecedented" money raised go to pay political consultants who promise much but deliver little?  What will be done differently this time?

Until Shell can give a sober and detached assessment of the mistakes of 2014, he will have a hard time convincing donors to give once more to "flip the House."  Indeed, we have heard so much in recent years about plans to "flip the House" that the expression has become hackneyed, sort of a code for impending defeat.

So Shell's first task should be to come up with a replacement slogan for "flip the House."

Obama Never Ceases to Amaze

It is no secret that President Barack Obama suffers no insecurity issues.  To the contrary, his sense of self-worth is wide and paved with self love.

So this story should come as no surprise, and yet it shocks me:  Obama booted off of a Hawaiian golf course two Army Captains who had planned to marry there.  They were forced to relocate their wedding to suit the president's tee time.

To be sure, Obama gave them 24 hours.  Anyone who has ever planned a wedding can imagine the inconvenience, outrage and panic the poor bride must have felt.  Well, maybe not panic.  She is, after all, an Army Captain and presumably resilient, courageous and used to overcoming adversity.  This was not, however, a foray by an enemy or a terrorist attack:  it was Obama, playing golf.  Something he gets to do - a lot.

Obama is the Commander-in-Chief to both this bride and groom. His rudeness in displacing any couple in these circumstances is hard to comprehend; to do so to his soldiers is disgraceful.

Obama called the couple and apologized.  Maybe he didn't know that his underlings had told the bride and groom to go elsewhere.  However, that doesn't give a lot of comfort because it simply reconfirms the perception that Obama's staff is arrogant and unchecked.  The tone is set from the top.

The fish rots from the head.  

Grimes Gives Rand a Gift

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes might have thought she was sounding tough recently when she told Sen. Rand Paul that she will go to court, if necessary, from keeping Paul from appearing on the ballot twice.

Grimes told WHAS 11's Joe Arnold:

The law is clear,” Grimes told WHAS-TV in Louisville. “You can’t be on the ballot twice for two offices.”

“We’ll look to the court for any guidance that is needed,” she added. “And at the end of the day, we’re not going to be bullied.”

That removes a legal hurdle for Paul, a doctrine called standing, that might have been problematic for him but for Grimes's statement.  Standing is a doctrine that court's use to avoid ruling on a case.  It requires that the plaintiff have a particularized injury that could be redressed by the relief sought in the case. That allows courts to dismiss cases where the connection between the relief sought and the injury alleged is speculative.  

For Paul, standing might have been an issue if he challenged Kentucky's statute prohibiting one's name from appearing on a ballot twice.  If Paul brought suit before he had actually filed to run for both the U.S. Senate and the presidency, there is a very real possibility that the court would dismiss on either standing or ripeness.

Grimes's comments, however, make clear that Paul's injury is neither speculative nor premature.  She has, in effect, teed up his legal challenge for him by removing several possible procedural hurdles.

My C-J Column On Free Trade

In case you missed my Courier-Journal column on free trade this week, here's the link.

Jeb is Running

Jeb Bush has just announced on FaceBook that he has" decided to actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States."  This is no surprise; one of his good friends told me last March that Jeb would run. 

I wish him well.  I really do.  

But I do not want to see him become the nominee.  It is not his last name.  I think the Bush fatigue that the country experienced at the end of W's term has largely dissipated due the incompetence and mendacity of Obama.  Every day that Obama remains in office makes W look better by comparison.  (Hell, Jimmy Carter looks better by comparison).

 Jeb is by all accounts a smart and decent man.  However, he is not conservative enough on immigration or on Common Core.  

I am sick and tired of the Republican party nominating moderates.  When we nominate moderates we lose.  We saw this with Ford, Dole, Bush 41's bid for reelection, McCain and Romney.  All moderates.

When we nominate bold and unapologetic conservatives -- Reagan and W -- we win.  To my mind, Jeb would govern more like his father than his brother.

To be sure, he'd be a better president than Hillary or Fauxaontas.  If he is the nominee I will therefore support him.  I just hope that isn't the case. 

Mayor Fisher to Veto Minimum Wage Hike

Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher announced last night that he will veto the Metro Council ordinance that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10.

Fisher said that he supports a minimum wage hike on a state-wide and national basis.  The problem with just raising the minimum wage in Jefferson County, he explained, is that it would drive jobs to nearby counties.

That's the same point I made in my Courier-Journal column a few months ago. I have to commend Fisher for his courage in taking this position, for which he took tremendous heat on Twitter immediately upon announcing it.  For a Democrat, Fisher has been relatively pro-business.

Where Fisher gets it wrong is that a state-wide minimum wage hike takes the same problem and just magnifies it; jobs would flow to states surrounding Kentucky that have not raised their minimum wage. A national minimum wage increase, according to the CBO could cost America between 600,000 to one million jobs.

My youngest son, reading the rants against Fisher on Twitter, observed to me that the market is already pricing labor above the current minimum wage.  That's why he earned $9 and hour for flipping burgers.

The minimum wage is a terrible policy that hurts those it is designed to help:  the poor and unskilled, particularly young minorities.  Instead of increasing the minimum wage, it would be better to repeal it altogether.