KyKurmudgeon

For the past couple of weeks, the H-L editorial staff has been shorthanded again. When you’re down to as few people as we have now, it happens frequently. So, I’ve been filling in, writing editorials, editing copy, etc., while still trying to keep the columns going. But the blogging has suffered. Now, though, everyone is back on the job (for the next couple of weeks, at least). So, the ol’ Kurmudgeon can get back to being kurmudgeonly. We’ll start with a few short takes on recent events.

1. Rand Paul’s performance at the Fancy Farm Picnic left me unimpressed, but I can’t say the same about his Aug. 21 Internet “money bomb” event. Anyone raises more than $425,000 online in one day has proved he will have the money to be a player in the Republicans’ 2010 U.S. Senate primary. So, what if most of the contributions came from out of state? Out-of-state money spends the same as in-state money when it comes to financing campaigns. Secretary of State Trey Grayson remains the favorite, and I suspect he leads Paul by a wider margin than the recent SurveyUSA poll indicated. But even though Paul appeals more to libertarians than to mainstream Republicans, Grayson has to treat him as a serious threat, because the Bowling Green ophthalmologist won’t be going away anytime soon.

2. Some may see Democratic state Rep. Robin Webb’s narrow victory in Tuesday’s special election to fill the state Senate’s 18th District seat as a sign of public support for racetrack slots. I don’t. Even though expanded gambling was an issue in the race, Webb’s winning margin was too small to suggest any kind of mandate on any issue. But there is a gambling-related lesson that came out of this race, one that relates to Webb’s support for racetrack slots during the June special session of the General Assembly. The lesson is that a vote for expanded gambling is not sufficient in and of itself to get a lawmaker defeated the next time he or she faces voters, even in a district that has voted conservatively for the last 20 years. Maybe that will give a few legislators a bit more backbone the next time this issue comes up for a vote.

3. State Rep. Darryl Owens has pre-filed legislation that would take the reference to dueling out of the oath public officials swear to when they take office. I’m agin the bill. I think the provision requiring officials to swear they have not fought a duel, sent or accepted a challege to fight a duel or acted as a second in a duel adds a bit of character to the Kentucky oath of office. The state constitution has many outdated provisions that need to be addressed. But our dueling oath isn’t one of the important ones.

Sunday’s column:

I now have had THAT experience. The experience where dealing honestly with government bureaucracy just gets you screwed — royally.

The experience that makes a person think about packing a few necessities — definitely including multiple firearms and a lifetime supply of ammo — and heading for the hills to live a survivalist life because they can’t screw you if they can’t find you.

OK, that thought didn’t last long in my mind because the modest hunting and fishing skills of my youth long since faded away. These days, I wouldn’t last any longer in the wilderness than it would take me to stumble into the first patch of poison ivy.

But back to THAT experience.

As regular readers are aware, Uncle Herald has tightened his belt a bit lately, and not just by reducing the size of the paper. Multiple rounds of buyouts and layoffs have now led to the F word.

Furloughs. One week of unpaid furloughs for all. I bit the bullet the week of Aug. 3, a decision I now regret.

Uncle Herald’s work week runs from Monday through Sunday, and the Fancy Farm Picnic prompted me to work Wednesday through Sunday the week before I went on furlough.

Since unpaid furlough qualifies a person to collect unemployment insurance, I went online at home Aug. 3 and filed my claim, in the process honestly responding to a question by reporting that the last day I worked was Aug. 2.
Filing the claim went smoothly, and I was informed at the end of the process that I could start requesting my check Aug. 16.

A few days later, I received a letter from the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet telling me the amount of benefits I would be eligible to receive.

Requesting my check proved a bit more difficult.

When I went online to do so Aug. 16, the system kept stopping me at a particular point in the process with a message that was incomprehensible to me. Same result when I tried again the next day. So, off to the unemployment office I went.

After registering, I chatted with an acquaintance for the last half-hour of her three-hour wait to be seen. Then, I settled in for my own long wait.

But an hour or so later, a lady walked in and told a man at the registration counter she was having trouble completing a form online. He directed her to one of the computers in the office, and told her he would come help her when she encountered her problem.

I asked if he would do the same for me, and he agreed. When he showed me what I needed to do, I learned that, for unemployment purposes, the work week runs Sunday through Saturday and that, because I had worked Sunday, Aug. 2, I had to report my earnings for that day. I did, and was able to complete the process.

Then, I asked the guy if reporting those earnings would reduce my benefits. He said it would but it would be a “wash” because I had earnings that week.

I tried to explain about Uncle Herald’s Monday-Sunday work week and that my furlough would cost me a full week’s wages. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t get him to understand. He just smiled, handed me a pamphlet, suggested I read it and turned his attention to someone else.

I walked away feeling certain I was screwed. Sure enough, when the check arrived a couple of days later, it was for less than half the amount the earlier letter said I was eligible to receive.

Could the outcome have been different if I had dealt with someone else at the unemployment office? I don’t know.

Maybe there are ways to make the system accommodate the fact that not all work weeks run from Sunday through Saturday. Maybe not.

Could I have appealed to someone higher in the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet? Perhaps.

A columnist at one of the state’s larger media outlets ought to be able to get a return call from the cabinet. But Joe Sixpack might not. Therefore, making the call that might prompt the return call would be taking advantage of my position, which is an ethical no-no for a journalist.

So, I just cashed my small check and learned my lesson from getting screwed for answering a bureaucratic question truthfully. If Uncle Herald decides more furloughs are in our future, you can be darn sure I won’t take mine the week after working a Sunday.

Sunday’s column:

This and that, the Pitino Goes Porno at Porcini Edition:

University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino admits having drunken sex in a restaurant (after hours, thankfully for that night’s patrons) with a woman he just met and giving her $3,000 later so she could have an abortion.

After Pitino publicly apologizes, U of L President James Ramsey says, “We hope this closes this chapter; we’re all ready to move on.”

There’s wishful thinking, and then there’s WISHFUL THINKING TO THE NTH DEGREE. Ramsey’s desire to move on falls at the extreme end of the latter category.

With Karen Sypher facing federal extortion charges stemming from her 2003 tabletop tryst with/assault by Pitino (he said/she said), a swift end is unlikely for this soap opera, which my former boss David Holwerk dubbed “Cardinal Sin” in an e-mail last week.

As it plays out in the future, here’s hoping Steve Pence, former lieutenant governor and current Pitino lawyer, comes up with some better explanations than the one about the $3,000 being given to Sypher so she could buy health insurance, not to pay for an abortion.

That’s about as lame as the “noodling out of season” excuse Pence’s ex-running mate, former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, used while trying to spin his way out of the BlackBerry Jam hiring scandal that ultimately resulted in his indictment, which was dismissed after he cut a deal with prosecutors.

Whether Sypher was given the $3,000 to buy health insurance so she could have an abortion or to pay for the abortion itself, the end result remains the same. She got an abortion, courtesy of money Pitino gave her.

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A background that includes being a onetime Democrat who confesses to having voted for Bill Clinton didn’t hinder Republican convert Trey Grayson when he ran for secretary of state in 2003 and again in 2007.

After all, controversial issues rarely wind up on a secretary of state’s plate. So, an ability to manage the agency honestly and efficiently is more important than any political leanings a candidate for the office might have.

However, now that he wants to succeed U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, Grayson has to polish up his conservative street creds sufficiently to assure the Republican base that he is fully rehabilitated from his youthful errant ways.

Thus, a recent fund-raising appeal contained seven glowing “conservative” references and six derogatory “liberal” references. It also noted Grayson’s opposition to the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At first blush, taking a stand on the Sotomayor nomination might seem pointless for a candidate who would have no say in the matter. Besides, by the time Grayson voiced his opposition, her confirmation was a foregone conclusion. So, why risk alienating any voters at all by jumping into that particular melee needlessly?

But the National Rifle Association took a strong interest in the Sotomayor nomination, and it wasn’t in her favor. Thus, by taking a position that coincided with the NRA, Grayson added a bit more polish to those street creds.

Of course, by stressing his conservatism in an appeal to the right, Grayson risks alienating moderate voters who have supported him in the past.

                                                        * * *

Pikeville College scored big when former Gov. Paul Patton agreed to be the institution’s new president, and not just because he will serve two years without pay. Patton’s commitment to the success of the college is reflected by his 30 years of monetary support and service on its board.

But if this new job causes Patton to give up his Council on Postsecondary Education seat, Kentucky will be the loser. Higher education in this state has no better champion than Patton, the architect of reforms that created the CPE more than a decade ago. His presence on its board helps keep everyone’s eye on the ultimate prize.

Wednesday’s column:

Attorney General Jack Conway screwed up, but not because he spiced his Fancy Farm Picnic speech with a few salty words. Conway’s screw-up came when he apologized for the speech.

Conway and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, both performed well at Fancy Farm. They were the stars of the show. Everyone else played supporting roles.

But at the end of the day, my scorecard had Conway ahead on points, precisely because of his salty language.

You see, the knock on Conway from his critics has always been that he’s just a rich guy with good looks but little substance. Such a condescending characterization implies some level of weakness, some lack of steel on Conway’s part. Mongiardo’s frequent references to “silver spoon” issues in his own speech sought to exploit that image.

By calling Mongiardo out with the “you sure as hell can’t speak the truth” line and by responding to hecklers by describing himself — himself, not anyone else — as “one tough son of a bitch,” Conway added a previously unseen “edge” to his image, an edge that would serve him well in a hard-fought primary and perhaps in an even harder-fought general election.

Some considered his salty words inappropriate because of the setting where they were uttered — a church fund-raising event. Well, I’m a big fan of Fancy Farm (and a huge fan of the food they serve). But with all due respect to the good folks of St. Jerome Parish, when the political speaking commences, it ain’t no church picnic anymore.

Not with raucous (dare I say irreverent?) crowds from both parties shouting down the speakers. And members of this particular congregation aren’t yelling “Amen!” and “Praise the Lord!” I can’t point to a specific instance, but I would be extremely surprised if a few salty words haven’t spiced up some of these confrontations at previous picnics.

Although the crowd annually is admonished (semi-jokingly) to mind its manners, no serious attempt is made to control the heckling. Nor should there be. Fancy Farm wouldn’t be Fancy Farm without audience participation. But as long as the rowdies are allowed to run riot verbally, no one should go all holier than thou if a speaker drops a cuss word or two into the conversation.

So, Conway’s words held no shock value for me. On the contrary, I took them as a display of backbone that elevated his stature in my eyes.

I left the picnic thinking Conway remains vulnerable on “cap and trade” in a coal state, at least until he takes a more definitive position than he has voiced so far. And a Duke Blue Devil may have some explaining to do to the Wildcat fans among Kentucky voters.

But I also left thinking it might be wise of Mongiardo to ease up on the “silver spoon” references in the future, because the Jack Conway on the stage at Fancy Farm seemed perfectly capable of taking that figurative spoon and filing it down into a figurative shiv he could use in a political street fight.

Had Conway chosen to weather the overreaction that followed his speech, his campaign probably would be the better for it today.

Since you can’t take back words once they leave your lips, whatever damage he might suffer from having uttered them was already done. Why compound the problem by backpedaling, which could only be seen by voters and by his opponents as a sign of weakness?

But that was the path Conway chose. He apologized, losing the edge the speech added to his image. And the figurative shiv morphed back into a spoon.

KyKurmudgeon spent last week exiled from work, and from getting paid. Such are the lives of journalists in these lousy economic days. They have to learn new things, such as how to file for unemployment.

Since I couldn’t check my office e-mail or voice mail while serving my figurative time on Elba, it has taken some time to catch up today.

It appears I missed a bit of fun, what with the whole flap about Attorney General Jack Conway’s Fancy Farm speech. I’ll have a couple of thoughts on that subject in Wednesday’s column.

Sunday’s column:

After stubbornly hanging in the game for months over the (at least tacit) objections of prominent teammates, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning finally signaled the Republican bullpen last week.

It was an acknowledgement of what had been obvious to many state and national observers for some time: He simply didn’t have the stuff to close out a win in a 2010 bid for re-election.

But as he headed to the political showers, the Hall of Fame pitcher added to his reputation for odd behavior by failing to call for a specific reliever.

Earlier this year, in what turned out to be a sign of things to come, Bunning encouraged his friend and protege, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, to form an exploratory committee for the 2010 Senate race. Grayson acted on that advice and raised about twice the money Bunning did in the latest three-month reporting period.

Logic suggested that, having invited Grayson to prepare for a possible race, Bunning would endorse him once he decided to end his own campaign. But logic and Bunning often travel separate paths.

Nonetheless, his exit clearly established Grayson, a two-time statewide winner, as the Republican frontrunner.
Sure, Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul, son of former presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, may know how to stage an Internet money “bomb.” And Louisville’s Cathy Bailey earned an appointment as ambassador to Latvia due to her ability to raise money for former President George W. Bush.

But neither potential candidate has a statewide profile comparable to Grayson’s. And at the moment, Grayson’s only announced opposition is Bill Johnson, a relatively unknown Todd County businessman.

With Bunning’s departure and Grayson’s ascendency from exploratory to definite candidate, the bar has been raised considerably for Democrats.

Against the man widely described as the most vulnerable incumbent in the Senate, Democrats had reason to feel confident with either of their Tier 1 contenders — Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo or Attorney General Jack Conway —  as the party’s nominee. Now, though, each candidate must be evaluated on the basis of how he might fare head-to-head against Grayson, arguably the best candidate Republicans can field.

So far, Conway has proven to be the better fund-raiser. But Mongiardo may be more in line with the conservative political leanings of Kentucky voters.

So, Democrats face a tough choice.

Do they go with the guy most capable of matching Grayson (who is sure to be well-financed) dollar for dollar and ad for ad? Or do they choose the guy who may be able to neutralize Grayson on issues in conservative regions such as Western Kentucky?

Bunning did not leave the field without assigning a little blame for his departure to his teammates. “Over the past year, some of the leaders of the Republican Party in the Senate have done everything in their power to dry up my fund-raising,” he said.

Although he didn’t name names, the one most likely to have been in his head when he prepared that portion of the statement was that of former friend and fellow Kentuckian, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Over the last several months, McConnell turned his back on Bunning the same way he shunned former Gov. Ernie Fletcher during the depths of his scandal-plagued administration.

McConnell has a well-earned reputation as the savviest and most influential politician in recent Kentucky history. But at some point you have to wonder: How many “friends” can he sacrifice in pursuit of his own political motives before his aura starts to fade?

The 129th Annual Fancy Farm Picnic drew what seemed to me a smaller crowd than normal, possibly because there are no statewide elections this year. Here, in no particular order, are a few observations.

Among the notables in attendance (other than the speakers): Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, Gov. Steve Beshear’s 2011 running mate, worked the crowd accompanied by his son. And the only declared candidate to replace the erstwhile “Mayor for Life,” businessman Greg Fisher, who lost to Bruce Lunsford in the 2008 Democratic U.S. Senate primary, was also there with his son. But I doubt he found many folks who can vote in the Louisville mayoral race at this Western Kentucky event.

Former Gov. Paul Patton was on the grounds, maintaining “contacts,” as was former U.S. Rep. Carroll Hubbard. A number of state legislators who attended interim committee meetings in Mayfield late in the week stuck around for the barbecue and bombast.

Perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith, who says he will run for governor as an Independent in 2011, was there with a following of supporters wearing yellow T-shirts with the slogan “Now is the Time” on the back.

And I had the good fortune of scarfing down the wonderful barbecue and fresh veggies in the company of former state Sen. and former state Supreme Court Justice Walter Baker and a few of his Glasgow pals. Very entertaining company.

Although the food was excellent, as always, the signs and the political theater that usually show some wonderful creativity were rather blah this year. A few of the T-shirts were a bit better.

“This Rand is Your Rand” shirts were worn by backers of Rand Paul, son of former presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s supporters sported a rather blah “Run Trey Run” shirt. And I saw several shirts that featured a variation on the standard “No Smoking” (or whatever) symbol that had the circle and slash covering the single word “JERRY.” I suspect these were representatives of labor.

But the most creative T-shirt I saw featured this statement on the back:

“I’M A DEMOCRAT
YOU’RE A REPUBLICAN
LET’S BE FRIENDS
I’LL HUG YOUR ELEPHANT
YOU KISS MY ASS!!”

Whew! It got hot at Saturday’s 129th Annual Fancy Farm Picnic, but not from the weather. A fairly constant breeze kept the mid-80s temps tolerable.

What got hot was the race between Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway for the 2010 Democratic nomination for U.S. senator. They went after each other with a passion that assures this will not be the polite Democratic primary contest Kentuckians witnessed in the 2007 gubernatorial campaign. And Secretary of State Trey Grayson must be loving it, because the Republican frontrunner stands to benefit from any fracture the D’s suffer as a result of a heated Mongiardo-Conway race.

Mongiardo took the first shot, reminding the crowd, “Jack Conway is a proud Duke Blue Devil, and I’m a proud Kentucky Wildcat.” And that was one of the nicer things he said about Conway.

“I may be a doctor and lieutenant governor,” he said, “but I certainly wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. In the Senate I’m going to stand up for people who eat barbecue with a fork, not caviar with a silver spoon.”

“Silver spoon” was a constant theme of his speech. “Jack is a nice guy, but he chooses to fight for silver spoon issues preferred by the champaign and caviar crowd.”

Mongiard also attacked Conway on the cap-and-trade issue. “Jack’s energy tax is a job killer,” he said.

“I went there before Christian Laettner,” Conway said in response to the Duke reference, “and I’ll take this pledge. Joe B. Hall is running around out here somewhere. If it will help you out and make you feel better, I’ll pledge to lay down in front of these cameras, and we’ll let Joe b. stomp on my chest.”

In regard to Mongiardo’s other attacks, Conway said, “Dan, you may be an ear, nose and throat doctor; but you’ve misdiagnosed me. When it comes to me, you can’t hear the truth, you can’t smell the truth, and you sure as hell can’t speak the truth.”

Both men tried to verbally connect themselves to Wendell Ford, the former governor and U.S. senator from Western Kentucky. Conway even quoted him in a feisty response to the vocal crowd that tried to drown out his speech. “You all can holler all you want at me,” he said, “and I can hear you. But it’s like Wendell used to say … go ahead and chew on my hide. Chew on it. It only grows back tougher. And I’ve been around awhile, and you’re looking at one tough son of a bitch.”

On the cap-and-trade issue, Conway pledge to never cast a vote that hurt coal “and you have my word on that today.”

Those two fired-up speeches make the oratory of other declared and potential Senate candidates seem a bit tame. Grayson’s best line in an OK speech came after he congratulated Mongiardo (whose wife is pregnant with their first child) and Conway, whose wife recently delivered their first child.

“You all will love being parents,” said Grayson, the father of two young daughters. “The good news is that babies eventually sleep regularly. The even better news is that after November 2010, you will have plenty of time to spend with your families.

Among the Tier 2 candidates, Democrat Darlene Fitzgerald Price impressed me a bit by delivering a spirited speech extemporaneously. Her main theme was that government has been bought by “the bigs” - various industries and special interest groups. If members of Congress were in NASCAR, she said, they would have to wear the names of their sponsor on their sleeves and a big “For Sale” on their bumper. She punctuated the latter remark by pointing at her posterior.

Republican businessman Bill Johnson also delivered his remarks off the cuff. The 10-year military veteran said, “My job now it to fight the domestic enemies, and there are a lot of them.” When someone in the crowd shouted out President Barack Obama’s name, Johnson said, “And Obama is one of them.” He also said the entire Democratic Pary is a “wrecking crew.”

Maurice Sweeney, an African-American businessman from Jefferson County with roots in Western Kentucky, descibed himself as a “conservative Democrat.” He said most politicians are predictable. “With me, you can’t guess what you’ll get,” he said, which is an unusual pitch for votes.

Rand Paul, the son of former presidential candidate and U.S. Rep Ron Paul who is expected to officially enter the Republican primary in the near future, failed to impress me. He accused both parties of hypocrisy, and criticized Congress for passing a bank bailout bill no one had read.

He also described Conway as “the epitome of a career politician” because, after a 30-minute discussion of the cap-and-trade issue, Paul claimed he had “no idea” what Conway said. Thing is, though, Conway is in the second year of his first term in elective office. Paul has every right to criticize Conway for obfuscation if Conway hemmed and hawed on the discussion of an issue. But “career politician”? Not! At least, not yet.

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo will lead off the political speechifying at Saturday’s 129th Annual Fancy Farm Picnic. He will be followed by Attorney General Jack Conway and Secretary of State Trey Grayson. All three are announced candidates for the 2010 U.S. Senate race.

They will be followed to the podium by four other announced or potential candidates: Rand Paul, Darlene Fitzgerald Price, Bill Johnson and Maurice Sweeney. Their order of appearance will be determined by coin flip.

After the Senate candidates have made their pitch, state Auditor Crit Luallen, Treasurer Todd Hollenback, state Sen. Ken Winters and state Reps. Fred Nesler and Steven Rudy will appear in that order.

All speakers will be limited to five minutes.

Thanks, as always, to Mark Wilson, chairman of the political portion of the picnic, for providing the info.

Ol’ Kurmudgeon took some time off earlier this week to compensate for spending the weekend on the job at the 129th Annual Fancy Farm Picnic. I’ll be on that long road to Western Kentucky Friday.

But I’ve already written Sunday’s column on the obvious topic of the week, and it should post automatically Sunday morning. And I’ll be blogging about the politicking (and maybe a bit about the yummy food) Saturday afternoon and evening.

If you’re also headed that way and see me at the picnic or on the streets of Paducah in the evenings, come up and say howdy. Hope to see a lot of you there.