Rachel Maddow on Steele's hat metaphor

This is hilarious... Michael Steele once again trots out his "hat as political party" metaphor, only this time he drags it out to excruciating lengths. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow does a great job pointing out the absurdity of it all.

Gov. Beshear debuts official blog

Governor Beshear made this announcement today:

FRANKFORT, Ky. - In an effort to keep Kentuckians more informed about the latest happenings in Frankfort and across the state, Gov. Steve Beshear today launched his official blog.

With the upcoming special legislative session, it is more important now than ever for Kentuckians to have a complete and clear understanding of what the Governor is doing to increase economic development statewide, save Kentucky’s equine industry and fix the state’s $996 million budgetary shortfall. The blog will provide a medium through which Gov. Beshear can elaborate on policy positions, provide real-time updates and gain feedback from readers across the state.

“Given the importance of the moment, this is the ideal time to unveil my blog,” said Gov. Beshear. “With three big press conferences in three days last week, I hope my blog entries will be able to provide answers and be an engaging, thoughtful resource for readers.”

The kick-off of today’s blog demonstrates how Gov. Beshear is embracing new media technologies to increase communication and facilitate discussions across the Commonwealth. In addition to the blog, Gov. Beshear operates a Twitter account and uses YouTube to deliver weekly messages on pertinent and pressing issues.

To read the first blog entry, visit: http://blog.governor.ky.gov/ or to become a follower of the Governor on Twitter, visit http://twitter.com/govstevebeshear.

More Republican hypocrisy

Today's Courier-Journal points out the glaring hypocrisy of Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning:

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., each has openly criticized President Barack Obama's spending policies, but they have requested $658 million and $730 million, respectively, in earmarks in the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills now under consideration by Congress.

...[Sen. Bunning] called for lawmakers to remove all earmarks from [an earlier appropriations] bill -- including his own projects. At the time, he criticized Congress for asking for 9,000 earmarks. Thirteen were his.

This time, the senator has requested 100 earmarks, according to his Web site.

President Obama's weekly address

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Gaming necessary to help save horse industry

From the office of Governor Beshear:

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Saying Kentucky’s horse industry is threatened with extinction, Gov. Steve Beshear today added a proposal to this month’s special legislative session to allow expanded gaming at the state’s racetracks to increase purses and breeder incentives.

“Kentucky’s horse industry – a living, breathing part of our cultural heritage and one of our strongest, most precious commodities abroad – is in a state of crisis,” Gov. Beshear told reporters today in announcing his proposal. “Some even say it’s dying.”

Gov. Beshear said the proposal – which would limit Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) to approved racetracks – would level the playing field for Kentucky’s horse industry, which has faced increasing competition from states that have increased race purses and breeder incentives from expanded gaming proceeds.

The result, he said, is that Kentucky is losing race dates at Churchill Downs; other tracks are facing closure and owners, breeders and jockeys are going elsewhere to board and race horses. About 100,000 jobs are connected with the horse industry in Kentucky, which translates into a $4 billion economic impact.

“Kentucky is, and remains, the horse capital of the world,” Gov. Beshear said. “But if we do not act, if we refuse to stand up for our signature industry, that title could be changed to Former Horse Capital of the World.

“As Governor, I cannot – and I will not – stand idly by and let that happen. Not without a fight. This proposal would allow thousands of working-class Kentuckians to continue to provide their families with a roof over their heads, food on their tables and the ability to send their kids to school.”

The Governor said his administration is continuing to work on draft legislation, which he hopes will be finalized in the coming days. He said it would contain details of how VLTs, which would be run through the Kentucky Lottery Corporation, would be taxed and generate revenue for both the state and industry.

Gov. Beshear said that while expanded gaming at the tracks would not impact the upcoming year’s budget, it would create recurring net revenues, which could help close the gap created when federal stimulus dollars are no longer available in two years. Such revenues would, undoubtedly, help with funding for schools, health care and public safety. Moreover, Gov. Beshear said, he believes the legislature can move forward with this proposal without a Constitutional amendment.

“The legislature, in our judgment, has the authority,” he said. “Now, we must determine if we have the will.”

Finally, Gov. Beshear said, that while he is willing to consider other ideas for helping one of Kentucky’s signature industries, it is time to make a decision on gaming, which has been the subject of intense debate for many years.

“Time is of the essence, and right now, this idea is the only one on the table,” he said. “It’s time to vote on it – up or down, with full knowledge of what is at stake and what is at risk … Political machinations and calculations are, frankly, not a part of my reasoning today. The unknown cannot be an excuse for timidity or inaction.

“Today, I am calling on legislators and the people of Kentucky to come forward and save the horse industry... before it is too late.”

Governor Beshear unveils budget plan

Earlier today, Governor Beshear issued this press release:

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Faced with the largest shortfall in modern Kentucky history, Gov. Steve Beshear today unveiled a proposed budget for next year that does not raise taxes on working families and businesses while preserving basic funding for classroom instruction, health care programs for the most vulnerable and key areas of public safety.

Gov. Beshear told reporters this afternoon that he is formally calling the legislature into a special session, starting June 15, to address a projected $1 billion shortfall in the legislatively enacted budget for the new year, which begins July 1. The coming budget year is also the third consecutive year that the state has had fewer dollars in revenue than projected and budgeted expenses – an unprecedented occurrence.

“My plan protects our families and businesses in this vulnerable time; preserves investments in critical priorities like education, health care and public safety,” the Governor said, “and recognizes the economy will take years to recover.”

In short, the proposed plan will be paid for by making an additional $200 million in cuts from enacted levels and utilizing more than $740 million in federal stimulus dollars, the bulk of which would go toward education and Medicaid as prescribed by law.

“Given the challenges that we will face in the next biennium, as predicted by the Consensus Forecasting Group, it is prudent that we reserve some of the stimulus money to help us address next year’s budget,” said Gov. Beshear.

“Without this money, the pain we are experiencing would be magnified many times over,” the Governor said. “We must realize, however, that this is one-time money. We cannot and should not use it to create new programs we would be unable to sustain in future years.”

Highlights of the Governor’s proposed budget plan include:

• Preserving the same amount in the coming year as last year in per pupil spending in classrooms across the state – the basic formula known as SEEK -- and funding for higher education at the same levels as the 2009 budget. “I’ll say it again and again – we cannot move forward if we take significant steps backward in spending in our classrooms,” Gov. Beshear said of his proposal.



• Fully funding Kentucky’s Medicaid program, which until recently had operated with a deficit of more than $280 million.



• Preserving funding for mental health services at current levels.



• Preserving funding for state police and support for local jails as well as increasing funding for prosecutors, public defenders and corrections.



• Maintaining current funding for economic development efforts, veteran’s programs and increasing resources in the Department of Revenue to enhance tax collection efforts. Also, increasing funding for state parks to ensure that the system can meet its obligations in the coming year.



• Cutting most other areas of state government by an additional 2.6 percent in the coming year from current year levels. These latest proposed cuts would be in addition to nearly $600 million in cuts to state government since Gov. Beshear took office 18 months ago, including some $150 million in the 2009 budget. “This will not be easy to implement,” he said. “Many of our departments and agencies have had their spending cut in the current and previous budget cycle, so many are already operating in a lean manner. They will have to cut even more. How they do that will be an ongoing process.”



• Eliminating three paid holidays for state employees making under $50,000 annually and five holidays for those making $50,000 or more. This move, Gov. Beshear said, will not disrupt basic services as state government is closed on holidays in any event and will avert mass layoffs.



• Continuing the budget reduction plan in the Transportation Cabinet to deal with a projected $239 million shortfall in the state’s Road Fund.

Despite the pain that additional spending reductions and program cuts will foster, Gov. Beshear said Kentucky is much more fortunate than most states, many of which have implemented lay offs for scores of police officers, teachers, state and university employees, while also eliminating or reducing basic and human services programs.

“Here in Kentucky, we have avoided such devastating actions by carefully and decisively managing the state budget over the last couple of years,” Gov. Beshear said. “We have acted to preserve priorities in education, health care and public safety and I am proposing to do so again.

“This is a tough time for many people in Kentucky... But we cannot lose hope. We must not lose faith. And we will not lose confidence. We will survive this. And if we work together, if we act boldly, yet responsibly, we can emerge stronger than before.”

NPR interviews President Obama

President Obama was recently interviewed by NPR on the subject of Mideast policy:

President Obama, just days before traveling to the Middle East to deliver a key speech on U.S.-Muslim relations, on Monday reasserted U.S. support for Israel. But in an interview with NPR, the president also said he will continue to push for a Palestinian state and for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"I don't think we have to change strong support for Israel," Obama said during an interview with NPR hosts Michele Norris of All Things Considered and Steve Inskeep of Morning Edition.

"We do have to retain a constant belief in the possibilities of negotiations that will lead to peace," Obama said. "And that's going to require, from my view, a two-state solution."

You can listen to the entire interview by clicking here, or read the full transcript here.

New ad from the Coalition for Constitutional Values

Reagan Did It

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman does a great job showing why Ronald Reagan is largely to blame for today's economic turmoil:

Reagan-era legislative changes essentially ended New Deal restrictions on mortgage lending — restrictions that, in particular, limited the ability of families to buy homes without putting a significant amount of money down.

These restrictions were put in place in the 1930s by political leaders who had just experienced a terrible financial crisis, and were trying to prevent another. But by 1980 the memory of the Depression had faded. Government, declared Reagan, is the problem, not the solution; the magic of the marketplace must be set free. And so the precautionary rules were scrapped.

...There’s plenty of blame to go around these days. But the prime villains behind the mess we’re in were Reagan and his circle of advisers — men who forgot the lessons of America’s last great financial crisis, and condemned the rest of us to repeat it.