Free Republic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear picked up a key endorsement the day before voters head to the polls. NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Beshear on Monday, saying he's "always been there to defend Kentuckians' rights and freedoms." “Now more than ever, as women’s fundamental freedoms are under attack, Kentuckians need their leaders to fight to protect reproductive rights," Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a news release. "Kentucky is one of several states that passed an extreme ban on abortion this year, criminalizing abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant, in large part...

As throngs of Kentucky Derby-goers packed Churchill Downs on Saturday, Kentucky Democrats are enjoying another race that could come down to the wire later this month: the Republican gubernatorial primary. “It’s a lot of fun,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo said of the four-way GOP primary. Gov. Steve Beshear added: “They’re having a good time it looks like among the four of them going back and forth.” This year’s race for the governorship is an oddity, with only Attorney General Jack Conway seeking the Democratic nomination among prominent contenders after a rich history of competitive primaries when that office is open....

Full disclosure: I have done some writing for Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher. If you think politics is hardball at the national level, you ought to take a lesson from what goes on in the states. Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher was defeated for re-election last night by longtime pol Steve Beshear–not that the name matters; pretty much any Democrat was going to win this time around. That’s because Governor Fletcher made the first good, hard pass at dismantling a grim, grimy and rough-as-gravel political culture that determines who gets jobs and what gets done in the state capital of Frankfort. Fletcher...

As Kentucky voters prepare to go to the polls next week, they appear ready to elect a new Governor. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows former Lt. Governor Steven Beshear (D) leading incumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) 54% to 39% in the 2007 Kentucky Governor’s race . Fletcher, elected in 2003 on a promise to "clean up the mess in Frankfort", was indicted a year ago in an alleged scheme to reward political supporters with protected state jobs. Fletcher called the indictment a political witch hunt and the indictment was dismissed in a negotiated settlement with prosecutors. Beshear, a...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorOctober 5, 2007 Frankfort, KY (LifeNews.com) -- Kentucky's gubernatorial candidates, abortion advocate Steve Beshear and pro-life Gov. Ernie Fletcher, debated the issue of abortion on Wednesday in a televised debate. Beshear, a Democrat, tried to play down his pro-abortion views in a state that is strongly pro-life, regardless of political party.Kentucky is one of just handful of states to have significant off-year elections this year."Abortion is a tragedy anytime it happens, under any circumstances, and as governor, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that women have choices other than that," Beshear said in...

KENTUCKY: A new Insider Advantage poll shows the gubernatorial contest is narrowing. The latest numbers: former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear (D) - 41%, Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) - 38%.

Kentucky's Attorney General has been pursuing an investigation of Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) since last year; in May, he finally won an indictment charging political favoritism in Fletcher's administration. Today, he got bad news. From the AP: A judge on Thursday dismissed charges against Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher that had accused him of breaking state law by basing personnel decisions on political considerations. A lawyer for the Republican governor had been negotiating a settlement to the misdemeanor charges for the past two days, Democratic state Attorney General Greg Stumbo said Thursday. The special judge assigned to the case, David E....

. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Ernie Fletcher, under fire for a hiring scandal, is protected by executive immunity and cannot be prosecuted while in office, a judge ruled Friday. Fletcher, Kentucky’s first Republican governor in three decades, was indicted in May on charges alleging his administration rewarded political supporters with protected state jobs. He has accused the Democratic attorney general of conducting a politically motivated investigation in the case. Special Judge David E. Melcher essentially stayed the case until Fletcher’s term expires, or unless he is removed through impeachment by the legislature.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A grand jury indicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher on misdemeanor charges Thursday, accusing him of illegally rewarding political supporters with state jobs since taking office two years ago. Fletcher was charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and violating a prohibition against political discrimination. A conviction on any of the counts could lead to jail time and Fletcher's removal from office, said Vicki Glass, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. Fletcher spokesman Brett Hall said the Republican governor was not surprised by the indictment, given Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo's ongoing investigation into the administration's hiring practices.

If the General Election was tomorrow, would you vote to re-elect Gov. Ernie Fletcher? Yes. No. I'm not sure Gov. Fletcher will survive the GOP primary. It depends on the Democratic candidate selected to run against him. Of course! In politics one bad Republican incumbent beats a pair of Democratic challengers hands down.

FRANKFORT - For the first time in the state hiring inquiry, investigators moved into Lt. Gov. Steve Pence's office as they served a search warrant on his chief of staff. Attorney general's office investigators removed a computer from Stephen Huffman's office this morning. At the same time, Transportation Cabinet personnel employee Missy McCray went before the special grand jury investigating the hiring practices of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration. McCray also testified last summer, just before several transportation officials were indicted for violating state merit laws, which say rank-and-file state workers must be hired based on qualifications, not politics. McCray later...

...Some 20 states... already have anti-price-gouging laws on their books-- and many governors have declared emergencies to invoke them. These de facto price controls typically place ceilings of between 10% and 25% on how much companies can raise prices in the wake of a natural disaster. In almost all cases such laws are wrong-headed, because they exacerbate supply problems by short-circuiting the price system that matches supply with demand. ...If governments will not allow the price system to ration the demand for gas, a new "price" system will emerge called gas lines.... Let's explain why prices have been rising. Katrina...

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Gov. Ernie Fletcher has been subpoenaed to appear before a special grand jury investigating his administration's hiring practices, the attorney general's office confirmed Friday. Nine current or former members of Fletcher's administration have been indicted on misdemeanor charges alleging violations of the state's Merit System personnel law. The indictments allege that they routinely plotted to circumvent the law requiring that state personnel decisions, including who gets hired for state jobs, fired or promoted, be made on the candidates' merits rather than on their political influence or support. Fletcher's name has appeared in e-mails presented to the grand...

FRANKFORT - Attorney general's investigators, armed with search warrants, confiscated boxes of documents from the Capitol offices of two key aides to Gov. Ernie Fletcher yesterday as part of a widening investigation of Transportation Cabinet hiring practices. The team of investigators targeted Richard Murgatroyd, Fletcher's deputy chief of staff who last year served as second in command of the Transportation Cabinet, and Dave Disponett, the governor's unpaid political adviser and treasurer of the state Republican Party.

Republican governors in a few spots across the country are angering state employees by removing one of organized labor's strongest tools — the right to collective bargaining. Governors in three states who've taken the step say it's about making government more efficient or being fair to non-union workers. Critics say it's political payback for labor's traditional support of Democrats and part of a wider shift to undermine workers in favor of big business. Within hours or days of taking office this year, Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Matt Blunt in Missouri eliminated collective bargaining agreements for state employees, affecting about...

Republican governors in a few spots across the country are angering state employees by removing one of organized labor's strongest tools — the right to collective bargaining. Governors in three states who've taken the step say it's about making government more efficient or being fair to non-union workers. Critics say it's political payback for labor's traditional support of Democrats and part of a wider shift to undermine workers in favor of big business. Within hours or days of taking office this year, Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Matt Blunt in Missouri eliminated collective bargaining agreements for state employees, affecting about...

Many current or former Senators and Representatives appear to have taken illegal Congressional salary payments during the current Congress, prior to the October recess. The chronically absent list is well-represented by candidates who ran for higher office, including those who ran for President or Vice President: Senators John Edwards (D-NC), Bob Graham (D-FL), John Kerry (D-MA), and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Congressmen Richard Gephardt (D-MO) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH). Senate candidates Brad Carson (D-OK), Mac Collins (R-GA), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Pete Deutsch (D-FL), Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Chris John (D-LA), Denise Majette (D-GA), George Nethercutt (R-WA), and Patrick...

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Senate Republicans asserted their power in a disputed election Friday and seated Dana Seum Stephenson as a senator, acting quickly to swear her in and attach a large bronze nameplate to her desk.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Senate Republicans asserted their power in a disputed election Friday and seated Dana Seum Stephenson as a senator, acting quickly to swear her in and attach a large bronze nameplate to her desk.