Tuesday, April 18, 2006

A life-long Republican bids GOP farewell

The following is an opinion piece published on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 by the Courier-Journal. It has been included here in the Democratic News section to offer insight into the current political debate. Views reflected in the article are those of the author only.

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I was raised in a family that consistently voted Republican. Into the voting booth I went, every November without fail, to pull the levers for my mother and father. And, more often than not, I pulled the lever with the little pachyderm on it, but also levers with Democratic names of distinction. Levers that had names on them like John Sherman Cooper, Marlow Cook, Barry Goldwater, Louie Nunn, Richard Nixon, Romano Mazzoli, Gerald Ford and Harvey Sloane were pulled, at the direction of my parents.

They taught me to vote for the best person for the job, the person who, in their estimation, was most likely to reflect their ethics of honest government, low taxes, responsible spending, provision of necessary government services, a strong defense, maintenance of a social safety net, fresh ideas for dealing with current needs, and civil rights for all. With the exception of Nixon, nearly everyone they voted for fit these standards.

When I was old enough to vote on my own, their ethics stuck with me. I worked briefly for George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1980, then voted twice for Reagan. I gladly voted for Mitch McConnell each time he ran for Senate, but also voted for Jerry Abramson and continue to support him to this day.

However, I became uncomfortable with the GOP's move to the right, and began to question its candidates' judgment. Reagan's huge deficits bothered me greatly, as did George H.W. Bush's continuation of them. In 1992, I chose to vote for Perot, ended up very happy with Bill Clinton's performance in office, as well as Brereton Jones' and Paul Patton's gubernatorial terms (with minor exception made for Patton's extramarital problems).

I have lobbied Congress a number of times in the 1990s and 2000s, as an unpaid citizen lobbyist, on the subject of civil rights. To say that I am most displeased with the quality of government we, the people, are receiving from the GOP, is the understatement of the century. The GOP is basically owned lock, stock and barrel by the DonaldWildmons, James Dobsons, Chuck Colsons and Pat Robertsons of the world, people with whom most Americans do not share a worldview, and people who want to impose their morality on the entire nation.

Anne Northup was supported by George W. Bush long before he ever ran for president, while he was still running up huge deficits in Texas as governor, deficits that have crippled that state's ability to deal with the problems of their schools, roads and infrastructure, not to mention the influx of hurricane refugees from Louisiana. Bush has continued that record as president, running huge deficits, starting a costly war on a false pretense and actively depriving people of civil rights to please his fundamentalist Christian friends. I am proud to state that I never voted for him.

Which brings us to the issue of Ernie Fletcher, and his rewriting of Paul Patton's executive order, removing protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in state employee hiring. It is another in a long line of attempts by fundamentalist Christians to use GOP-led government to impose their morality on citizens who do not agree with it. The failure of Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the last decade, the failure of Congress to pass a significant hate-crimes bill, the creation of hysteria surrounding gay marriage that resulted in the GOP victories of 2002 and 2004, and the repeated attempts here in Kentucky to void local Fairness laws with acts of the state legislature, are testament to that. Fletcher's removal of protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Kentuckians in state hiring, along with the support of many in the state legislature for the odious bills that would have erased the Fairness laws, mean that the GOP is bigoted, mean-spirited and tied to an ideology that should have died with the old century.

So, with this, I bid farewell, permanently, to the GOP at all levels. Yes, they once fielded candidates for office who were honorable, who did good jobs. But no longer will they gain my vote. I cannot vote for bigots, for candidates who look to decrease, not increase and broaden, civil rights. I cannot vote for candidates who start wars with lies. The current federal tax code and levels of deficit spending are the very definition of irresponsible government.

We have a state legislature that is more concerned with erasing local laws it doesn't like, than in assembling fair and well-considered state budgets, which should be the first job of each state legislative session, not the last. And, finally, with his cutting of state employees' rights, on Diversity Day of all days, Ernie Fletcher has revealed himself to all to be a tool of the fundamentalists, a sellout to manna, and unfit, in my opinion, to govern.

A. G. CASEBEER
Louisville 40220

For more on the editorial, click here.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Balmer to serve as Floyd coroner

By Harold J. Adams
hjadams@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

A caucus of the Floyd County Democratic Party selected Greg Balmer yesterday to fill the remainder of his late wife's term as Floyd County coroner. The term runs through 2008.

Becky Davis-Balmer, 53, died at the couple's home on March 18 of an unknown cause.

Greg Balmer, 50, had been the chief deputy coroner and was interim coroner until yesterday.

Balmer received 29 votes in the session at the City-County Building in New Albany, easily outpolling Leslie Knable, who received five votes, and Larry Borden, who got three votes.

For more on the story, catch the full C-J article.

Democrat Hill faces 3 foes in primary

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — Four candidates want the Democratic nomination for Congress in Indiana's 9th District.

But only three are actively campaigning, and just one — former U.S. Rep. Baron Hill — has the money now to compete in the November general election.

Hill, of Seymour, faces his most significant challenge from Gretchen Clearwater of Bloomington, an adviser to graduate students at Indiana University who has been traveling the district to spread the word about her campaign. She is making her first run for public office.

"The exciting thing about my campaign is that when I go door to door and introduce myself, people have heard of me now," Clearwater said last week. "I have recognition. I didn't have that two weeks ago."

Read more about the Congressional Race online at the Courier-Journal.com

Friday, April 07, 2006

Bush, GOP Approval Ratings Find New Lows

By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
Friday, April 7, 2006

President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security — grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.

Democratic leaders predicted they will seize control of one or both chambers of Congress in November. Republicans said they feared the worst unless the political landscape quickly changes.

Just 36 percent of the public approves of Bush's job performance, his lowest-ever rating in AP-Ipsos polling. By contrast, the president's job approval rating was 47 percent among likely voters just before Election Day 2004 and a whopping 64 percent among registered voters in October 2002.

As bad as Bush's numbers may be, Congress' are worse.

Just 30 percent of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance, and Republicans seem to be shouldering the blame.

Read more on the web at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060407/ap_on_el_ge/troubled_republicans&printer=1;_ylt=AlzBLbhSj7PI62thRKp.agFh24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Police veterans vie for sheriff's spot in Floyd

By Ben Zion Hershberg
bhershberg@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Both candidates for the Democratic nomination for Floyd County sheriff claim extensive police experience as their most important qualification.

But candidates Darrell Mills and Wayne Kessinger have taken vastly different career paths.

Mills, 51, has been a Floyd County sheriff's deputy for 19 years. His main supervisory experience was five years as chief investigator for the Floyd County prosecutor's office, serving under Stephen Beardsley, Nick Stein and Stan Faith.

Wayne Kessinger, 57, was a member of the Louisville Police Department for 30 years, including 22 years as a commander and, finally, as major and assistant chief.

For the last three years, until his retirement after completion of David Camm's murder trial in March, Kessinger was an investigator for Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson.

For more on the Sheriff Race, read the Courier-Journal Online by clicking here!