KyKurmudgeon

A couple for consideration: www.tangledwebbs.ego and www.vanishingpointe.uho. Join in the fun, people.

With the H-L editorial board a bit short-staffed going into a holiday weekend, I won’t be writing a mid-week or Sunday column this week. I may get in a bit of blogging, if anything exciting happens. But otherwise, I’ll be helping out with the routine chores of producing the opinion pages on a daily basis.

Oops! Got my Republican members of Congress mixed up in Sunday’s column. I mistakenly wrote that Patrick Neely, now the executive director of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, was once an aide to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. Although Neely volunteered in a couple of McConnell campaigns, he never served on the senator’s staff. He did serve as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup and ran a couple of her congressional races. My bad. Senior moments are hell.

Sunday’s column:

Lexington’s Convention and Visitors Bureau stirred up a bit of controversy recently by choosing a blue depiction of seminal Thoroughbred stallion Lexington as the image representative of the Horse Capital of the World.
Bluegrass, blue horse. I get it, but it was way cutesy for me.

More important, though, it misses the reality mark by light years because Kentucky’s Thoroughbred industry bleeds as red — as in Republican — as a raw steak.

Sure, there are exceptions. Former Gov. Brereton Jones and Tracy Farmer, a former Democratic Party state chairman, come to mind.

But the exceptions fill the roles of crazy uncles and aunts at Thoroughbred clan reunions. Most of the family are as proud of their R designation as they are of the colors the jockeys of their horses wear.

Until now.

Now, in the aftermath of a special General Assembly session in which racetrack slots legislation died at the hand of the Republican-controlled state Senate, this scarlet red industry feels betrayed by its own party. And it feels particularly betrayed by horse-country Republican senators who played Brutus to the industry’s Caesar during the session.

At a Wednesday evening rally in Keeneland’s sales pavilion, two of those senators got called out by name. A third got called out by district.

“Elections matter,” Patrick Neely, executive director of the Kentucky Equine Education Project told the crowd of about 1,000. “Who we have representing us in Frankfort matters.

“We cannot forget that people like (Sen.) Alice Forgy Kerr, who represents so many horse farms and Keeneland, voted no. My own state senator, Ernie Harris, who represents Jefferson County — home of Churchill Downs — and Oldham County with so many horse farms, also voted no.”

In case you’re unfamiliar with Neely’s political leanings, his resume includes a stint as an aide to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the reigning godfather of Republican politics in Kentucky.

Later in the program, state Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley drew a roar from the crowd when he took a dig at Sen. Damon Thayer by asking, “Would the senator from Scott stand up if he’s here?”

If Thayer, Kerr and Harris had dared to attend the rally, the clear message they would have heard was that they now have targets on the backs of their political careers. In their next election cycle, they can expect the horse industry to come after them and other Republican opponents of letting Kentucky tracks compete on an equal footing with racinos in other states.

And it won’t necessarily involve a red industry backing blue political horses. While it could come to that later, I expect the industry’s first option would be to use well-financed primary challengers as a means of making the Senate more horse-friendly.

Wednesday’s rally also showed that, although the industry feels betrayed by its favored political party, it does not feel beaten. The crowd may have been mad, but it wasn’t in mourning. Nor should it have been.

As a political issue, expanded gambling may not be ripe in the General Assembly. But it’s a lot riper than it just was two weeks ago. Progress was made when it passed the House for the first time.

But getting it through the Senate will require meeting the challenge Gov. Steve Beshear laid down at the rally: “We’ve either got to change some of the senators’ minds, or we’ve got to change some of the senators.”

On Wednesday at least, the horse industry seemed committed to doing just that.

Here are a few of the better comments from speakers at the Kentucky Equine Education Project rally that drew about 1,000 to Keeneland’s sales pavillion Wednesday evening:

“We want to make it real clear, no question about it, do doubt, this fight ain’t over yet.” - Keeneland President Nick Nicholson.

“It really is like a Third World dictatorship. The only way to get rid of a dictatorship is through revolution, and the revolution starts here tonight.” - Former Gov. Brereton Jones, referring to the state Senate under President David Williams. Jones earlier had made a reference to a “third-rate dictator.”

“Elections matter. Who we have representing us in Frankfort matters. We cannot forget that people like (Sen.) Alice Forgy Kerr, who represents so many horse farms and Keeneland, voted no. My own state senator, Ernie Harris, who represents Jefferson County - home of Churchill Downs - and Oldham County with so many horse farms, also voted no.” Patrick Neely, executive director of KEEP.

“Would the senator from Scott stand up if he’s here?” - Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley, after the crowd saw a video of his Senate floor speech chastising Sen. Damon Thayor for criticising Gov. Steve Beshear for not helping the industry. In that floor speech, Worley invited his fellow senators, and Thayer in particular, to attend the KEEP rally. Thayer did not attend.

“(Sen.) Kathy Stein had her two dogs here. That was in case David Williams showed up. She was going to chase his sorry ass all the way home.” - Rep. Carl Rollins, standing in for House Speaker Greg Stumbo, who could not attend.

“We ended a special session today, but tonight is not an ending. It’s the beginning. It’s the beginning of a campaign that is not going to quit until we have done our job and we have saved this horse industry that is so beloved in our state. Yes, it’s a beginning tonight; and it’s time to make some changes. … We’ve got to do one of two things, and I’ll take either one of them. We’ve either got to change some of the senators’ minds, or we’ve got to change some of the senators.” - Gov. Beshear.

Around Frankfort Wednesday, there was talk that expanded gambling and Beshear were both on the ropes. No one who witnessed the revival-like atmosphere at the Wednesday night rally would agree.

After six months of dealing with legislative sessions and/or the run-up to legislative sessions, the ol’ Kurmudgeon feels the need for some fun time. Thanks to Jerry Richardson for suggesting a way to have that fun, assuming you all help me out a bit.

What we’re looking for is an appropriate, albeit fictional, Web site name for the Webb site, that block of downtown Lexington where historic buildings got razed to make way for something or other that, as yet, shows no signs of materializing.

I’ve been spending most of my time in Frankfort lately, so I’m not current with the Lexington street chatter on this issue. But I understand some folks in town now refer to the block as Centrepit. So, we’ll start the conversation by suggesting www.centrepit.ugh as an appropriate name for our non-existent Web site.

Get the idea? Well, ramp up your creativity and send your suggestions to lkeeling@herald-leader.com today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Or whenever that oh, so perfect idea pegs the needle on your giggle meter. I’ll be sharing the best of them with readers in days to come.

There is no deadline for this little contest. No prizes either, except for the laughs.

Thursday’s column:

FRANKFORT — Slots Bill pulled up lame in mid-stretch of the special edition 2009 Legislative Derby. To that point, though, he ran a good race.

Good enough to keep Senate President David Williams playing defense throughout the trip — in the process causing some members of his caucus to cast votes that could come back to haunt a few of them.

Seven Republicans who voted to kneecap Ol’ Slots during Monday’s Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee face re-election next year, assuming they choose to seek it. Sen. Bob Leeper, the Paducah Independent who caucuses with the Republicans and voted with them on this issue, also faces a 2010 race.

By voting against Slots Bill, six of the seven Republicans and Leeper deprived their districts of K-12 and post-secondary education projects approved by the House and scheduled to be funded with revenue generated by allowing Kentucky racetracks to compete slot machine for slot machine with “racinos” in other states.

The loss in Majority Floor Leader Dan Kelly’s district was minimal — a $1.87 million project in Mercer County. But other districts saw far more significant amounts of proposed spending disappear as a result of their senators’ no votes.

Leeper’s district, for instance, lost projects worth $9.7 million in Marshall County and $17 million in McCracken County.

Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr’s no vote helped deprive Fayette County of $7.4 million in school construction, the University of Kentucky of $136.6 million and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College of $1 million.

A&R Chairman Charlie Borders’ district took a big hit as a result of his vote: school construction worth $3.1 million in Bracken County, $18 million in Carter County, $19 million in Lewis County and $15.7 million in Robertson County. Maysville Community and Technical College lost a $5 million project as well.

Bullitt County, in Sen. Gary Tapp’s district, lost an $18.4 million project as a result of Slots Bill’s defeat. However, Tapp is not seeking re-election next year.

In the district of Sen. Ernie Harris, another no vote, Carroll County lost $2.2 million, Henry County lost $20 and Trimble County lost $10.5 million.

Sen. Brandon Smith also cast a no vote that helped keep his district from receiving school projects worth $4.1 million in Leslie County and $13.4 million in Perry County, plus a $15 million project for Hazard Community and Technical College.

Yes, all of these projects were “earmarks,” and I’m not fond of earmarks. In an ideal world, there would be no earmarks. All of Kentucky’s General Fund revenue would go into one big pool, and thoughtful decision-making would determine what the adequate funding levels of various needs and services should be.

But, pardon a couple of grammatical errors, the Kentucky General Assembly ain’t no ideal world — far from it. The political reality is that earmarks are the way things get done.

Even Williams, who ranted and railed about votes being bought for Slots Bill, has participated in decorating Christmas trees with project ornaments on multiple occasions in an attempt to entice lawmakers into passing legislation promoting his policy agenda.

A second part of that political reality is that lawmakers who vote down projects for their own districts sometimes have to answer for it, a truism proponents of expanded gambling must not forget.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo said this week this issue will not be resolved until the leadership of the Senate changes and the only way to change the Senate leadership is to change its membership.

But votes cast in June 2009 may be forgotten come November 2010.

So, proponents of expanded gambling need to help recruit credible candidates who can change the Senate membership. Then, they need to run Slots Bill right back at the Senate in early January and let the pressure from the horse industry and the education community back home in the Senate districts have plenty of time to build.

House members who supported Slots Bill have nothing to lose by doing so again. They’ve already got a pro-gambling vote on their record, a vote they can explain easily by saying they acted to save Kentucky’s signature industry and to improve school conditions for the state’s children.

But senators facing credible opposition in an election year who help kill projects in their own districts by voting against Slots Bill, either in committee or on the floor of the Senate, may have a tougher time convincing their constituents to send them back to Frankfort.

Who knows? Some of the senators facing the prospect of having to make that argument back home may even decide to help prove Stumbo wrong by rooting Slots Bill on to victory without a change in Senate leadership.

Conference committees trying to figure out if anything can be salvaged from the General Assembly’s special session haven’t made much progress yet. So, I’m pushing my midweek column, which usually appears on Wednesday, back a day this week to let things sort themselves out.

My best guess? A budget agreement could come without a lot of huffing and puffing. An economic incentives package may be doable. An agreement on mega-projects probably won’t happen. And Senate President David Williams’ bailout approach to helping the horse industry has no traction whatsoever with House Democrats, Gov. Steve Beshear or the industry itself.

A lack of agreement on mega-projects could be the end for the proposed Louisville bridges. Indiana has plenty of uses for the more than $1 billion it has set aside. And the offer of federal help for the Kentucky share of the project could lapse due to the General Assembly’s inability to get its act together on this issue.

UPDATE 4:55 P.M.: Agreement apparently reached on the budget, although the final document still needs to be prepared.

Sunday’s column:

FRANKFORT — Slots Bill completed the first half of the Legislative Derby Friday, albeit at a very slow 3:28:36 pace.

That’s 3 hours, 28 minutes and 36 seconds from the time debate began until the voting machine locked in the final 52-45 tally. It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed (endured?) a debate of that length — if ever.

Now, Ol’ Slots trots down to the west end of the Capitol’s third floor, where Senate President David Williams awaits with a rival pony — a tax-and-spend bailout for a racing industry that hasn’t asked for one and, indeed, doesn’t want one.

All this state’s signature industry has asked for or wants is the ability to compete on a level playing field with racino tracks in other states that use revenue from expanded gambling to enhance purses and breeding incentives and lure owners and trainers away from Kentucky. House Bill 2 would give them that ability. Williams’ plan would not.

At one point Friday, Williams proposed supplementing his bailout by adding a 10 percent tax on charitable gaming to the 10 percent tax on lottery sales and the tax on out-of-state wagering he previously suggested. That had me wondering if he was cracking a bit under pressure of knowing that his usual intimidation tactics were not paralyzing the House into inaction this time and that Slots Bill was headed his way.

One thing even his enemies credit Williams with is smarts. But proposing a tax that would bring members of booster clubs, certain church denominations, service organizations and charitable operations out in opposition by the tens of thousands has to be the dumbest political idea I’ve heard around the state Capitol in many years.

Surely, Williams knows some of his caucus members could not survive such a vote. The fact that he even raised the issue is an indication that he was desperately searching for a way to avoid dealing with Slots Bill.

Ultimately, the tax on charitable gaming was removed from Williams’ plan.

But another sign of Williams’ desperation in trying to find money for his bailout is the $7 million his plan would take from a health insurance fund for state workers. The bulk of that money, $6.5 million, would be loaned to Ellis Park in Henderson. Smaller loans would go to Thunder Ridge in Prestonsburg and the Red Mile in Lexington.

Oddly enough, Williams did not mention this particular detail in committee or on the floor of the Senate.

Slots Bill does not tax lottery sales, which almost certainly would reduce sales and, consequently, reduce funding for scholarships. Nor does Slots Bill rob state workers’ health insurance fund to loan money to racetracks. Its sole goal is to put Kentucky tracks in a competitive position with their counterparts in racino states.

Although its passage by the House Friday only gets it through the first half of the Legislative Derby, it was still a win of sorts for Gov. Steve Beshear, who campaigned on expanding gambling (admittedly, via constitutional amendment) but couldn’t get it to a House vote on his first try in 2008.

It also represented a win of sorts for House Speaker Greg Stumbo, who rose to that position in no small part because of the inability of a Democratic governor to have his top priority receive a floor vote in a Democratic-controlled House last year. Not only did Stumbo show Friday that he can deliver the vote for his party’s governor, he also proved once again that he is equal to the task of matching Williams’ legislative guile.

Word in the halls had it that, if the House passed the measure Friday, Williams would have the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee vote to kill it Friday afternoon. That would end the issue before his caucus members went home for the weekend, where they might be expected to feel pressure from school superintendents and higher education officials interested in the $1.3 billion in construction that could be funded by Slots Bill.

Stumbo’s solution: Pass Slots Bill on Friday, but don’t send him to the Senate until Monday.

Williams still vows to euthanize the poor fellow then, but Slots Bill at least gets to live through the weekend.

In the Kentucky General Assembly, no predictions of vote counts on controversial issues are safe until, well, the actual votes are counted. But the word I’ve been hearing on multiple occasions the last couple of days is that there are 52 “hard” House votes for Slots Bill. And if the vote comes Friday, as is expected, 56 yes votes are possible.