News politics 2008-06-01 Andanh.com

Clinton looks for fun on final primary days Sat, 31 May 2008 23:46 EDT
The candidate is on an outdoor stage, her shoulders bobbing and weaving as two reggaeton performers dance around her. Welcome to Hillary Rodham Clinton's most excellent adventure.

She had just given a mercifully short 10 minute speech and would soon wade into the rope line, all smiles, signing T-shirts, taking pictures and otherwise mugging with a crowd that had waited more than four hours to see her.

Party leaders are demanding a quick end to the Democratic contest. Yet her legions of loyal backers have no qualms about pressing on. With the end of the primaries able to be counted by the clock - 72 hours away - Clinton appears unflappably amused.

"Campaigning in Puerto Rico is like one long Puerto Rican Day parade," she said cheerfully on Saturday, invoking the annual New York City event that is a staple for politicians.

Clinton and her aides publicly say she remains determined to win the Democratic nomination. But with rival Barack Obama on the verge of becoming the party's nominee, they are clearly prepared for finality next week. Senior aides say they enter these last days believing, in the words of one campaign official, that they have "left it all on the field."

Analysis: Iraq squabbling previews campaign Sat, 31 May 2008 23:26 EDT
John McCain tore into Barack Obama over a two-year Iraq absence. The likely Democrat nominee then said he was considering a war zone trip. Point: McCain.

Obama assailed the GOP nominee-in-waiting over his comment that troops "have drawn down to pre-surge levels." McCain wasn't exactly accurate. Point: Obama.

Score on Iraq: Even - at least for last week.

McCain, a four-term Arizona senator who supports a continued military presence, and Obama, a first-term Illinois senator calling for withdrawal, engaged in a weeklong spat over the war. They're jockeying for the upper hand on a campaign issue each thinks works to his advantage.

Previewing a dispute certain to continue through the general election, each presidential hopeful is claiming that he has exhibited better decision-making on Iraq than his rival, and, thus, would be the stronger commander in chief. The voters will decide in six months.

Timeline of the Mich., Fla. primary scramble Sat, 31 May 2008 23:26 EDT
Key dates related to the Democratic National Committee's handling of the 2008 Michigan and Florida primaries:

2006:

-July 22: The Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee recommends to the DNC that a Nevada caucus be held in 2008 between Iowa's Jan. 14 caucus and New Hampshire's Jan. 22 primary. The committee also suggests that South Carolina have an early primary after New Hampshire's and that other states cannot hold their contests before Feb. 5.

-Aug. 19: The DNC approves the committee's recommendations and penalties against presidential candidates who campaign in states that cut in line. Candidates would be denied delegates from those contests.

2007:

Obama angles for showcase win in Montana Sat, 31 May 2008 12:11 EDT
The Rocky Mountain region represents friendly terrain for Barack Obama, who is angling to add Montana to his string of victories on Tuesday.

Demographically, the state would seem to suit rival Hillary Rodham Clinton almost perfectly - overwhelmingly white and rural. But political observers and a statewide poll suggest Obama has the advantage here.

The Illinois senator has outperformed Clinton in Rocky Mountain states, winning contests in Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Clinton won Arizona and a cliffhanger in New Mexico.

Only 16 delegates are at stake in Montana's primary, but depending on several other factors - what the Democratic National Committee rules panel decides this weekend about seating Florida and Michigan delegations and Puerto Rico's primary Sunday - the state could put Obama over the top for the nomination. He was about 40 delegates shy of victory on Friday.

South Dakota holds its primary the same day, but Montana's polls close an hour later, giving the state bragging rights to the finale in an epic marathon that has stretched from Jan. 3 to June 3, pausing in every state and spanning the globe as Americans living in dozens of countries cast ballots.

Obama says his ears too big for Rushmore Sat, 31 May 2008 12:11 EDT
Democrat Barack Obama paid an unscheduled late-night visit to Mount Rushmore Friday, visiting the national memorial at closing time and joking that his ears were too big to ever be included in such a display.

Two days after rival Hillary Rodham Clinton made a campaign stop here, Obama joined a group of reporters and staff members for an after-dark sightseeing visit to the national memorial, where the faces of four presidents are carved into the mountain. South Dakota and Montana hold their primary elections on Tuesday, the final ones in the nation, and Obama was campaigning in both states.

Asked by a reporter if he ever envisioned himself carved into the mountain, he said, "I don't think my ears would fit. There's only so much rock up there."

On her visit, Clinton also batted away reporters' questions about whether she or her husband, former President Clinton, might one day be immortalized there. "Why don't you learn something about the monument?" Clinton said.

Obama said it was his first visit to the landmark.

Obama, Clinton camps seek end to delegate dispute Sat, 31 May 2008 22:36 EDT
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton bargained and bickered through intermediaries Saturday over the fate of 368 convention delegates from Florida and Michigan, a lingering dispute that threatened Democratic hopes for party unity at this summer's convention and in the fall campaign for the White House.

Committee members met privately and struggled to hammer out a deal after hearing five hours of arguments from representatives of both states and from the campaigns. Although they agreed to seat the Florida delegation based on the outcome of the January primary - with each delegate getting half a vote as a penalty - they tussled over how to distribute delegates in Michigan where Obama's name wasn't on the ballot.

Clinton's camp insisted Obama shouldn't get any pledged delegates in Michigan since he chose not to put his name on the ballot. Obama's team insisted the only fair solution was to split the pledged delegates in half between the two campaigns.

No matter the outcome of the convention Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting, the front-running Obama projected undiminished confidence he would wrap up the nomination shortly after the final primaries of the campaign on Tuesday.

Clinton trails Obama by about 200 delegates in a tally by The Associated Press, and her supporters pressed the convention panel to award her as many delegates as possible from the two disputed states. Aides also cautioned she might not accept the committee's word as final, raising the prospect of a disruptive dispute at the convention in August.

Pension task force members Fri, 30 May 2008 06:17 EDT
Pension task force members

Finance and Administration Secretary Jonathan Miller (chairman)

State budget director Mary Lassiter (vice chairwoman)

Auditor Crit Luallen

Attorney General Jack Conway

Chief public defender takes case to judges Thu, 29 May 2008 06:01 EDT
The state's chief public defender is asking judges to order the state Finance and Administration Cabinet to pay for private lawyers for some poor criminal defendants because his agency can no longer afford to represent them.

In a letter to judges released Wednesday, public advocate Ernie Lewis warned that public defenders will begin refusing certain types of cases starting July 1 as a result of the $2.3 million budget cut approved this spring by the General Assembly.

Lewis said the Department of Public Advocacy cannot afford to fill about 40 vacancies. With caseloads already at unethically high levels, Lewis said, public defenders cannot take on additional cases.

"The dilemma that now exists is that the Commonwealth of Kentucky is obligated to provide counsel to poor people charged with crimes, but the legislature has failed to fund that obligation," Lewis wrote. "DPA will assert that the solution to this is for courts to enter orders requiring the Commonwealth to pay for private counsel."

Cabinet spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said the cabinet received the letter from reporters on Wednesday. She said officials have not had time to review the letter and have no comment at this time.

State Senate offices to be expanded, renovated Thu, 29 May 2008 05:51 EDT
The Kentucky Senate is renovating its offices at the state Capitol Annex in Frankfort, while public health programs, law enforcement, education and other state services face cuts.

On Tuesday, the state requested bids for construction on the Annex's second floor to build new Senate offices, caucus rooms with kitchens, a press conference room and a Senate lounge. The 5,250 square feet of space previously was used by executive-branch agencies, which are slowly being evicted as the General Assembly claims more space in the Annex. New furniture, appliances and electronics will be purchased.

Senate President David Williams said he won't know the project's cost until bids are opened next week. But lawmakers can afford it. While the legislature this winter told Gov. Steve Beshear to cut $230 million from the executive branch's $9.1 billion budget, it awarded itself 13 percent more over two years, taking it up to $55.6 million in 2010. It tucked about $1.4 million for capital projects into this year's budget.

"It's nothing very extravagant," said Williams, R-Burkesville. "Each one of the senators will have an appropriate office now. We have at least one senator who has a rather small office."

But critics said Wednesday that they were stunned to learn that senators are making themselves more comfortable as the rest of Kentucky sacrifices.

Beshear considers special session Thu, 29 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear will meet with House and Senate leaders Thursday morning to discuss a possible special legislative session -- maybe before July 1 -- to overhaul the state's retirement systems.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said he expects Beshear to offer a proposal for the legislature to consider and to create a commission that would study additional retirement-related issues that remain controversial. The commission, which would be created through an executive order, could make recommendations to the 2009 General Assembly.

Beshear spokesman Dick Brown declined to say what the governor's proposals involve, but did say Beshear plans to hold a news conference at 10 a.m.

The pension systems, which serve about 445,000 state and local government workers and teachers, face an unfunded liability of more than $26 billion. Without action, the largest system could go broke in as little as 14 years.

When asked if a special legislative session is needed, Richards said he will meet with the governor at 9 a.m. "to listen to what he has to say. I'm open to his ideas.

Conference promises to be 'spectacular' Thu, 29 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Political aficionados across the country are swarming to Lexington to attend The Council of State Governments' celebration of 75 years of service to 50 state governments and six U.S. territories.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich will be a featured speaker at the national conference, along with presidential historian Michael Beschloss and Larry Sabato, founder and director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

Topics for more than 17 workshops and sessions to discuss the most pressing issues facing state governments include the emergence of public-private partnerships to fund state transportation projects, the growing prison population nationwide and the importance of state investment in higher education.

"This conference promises to be truly spectacular," says Kentucky Senate President David Williams, a Burkesville Republican who is vice chair of the state governments council that has been in Lexington since 1969.

More than 860 state officials and guests are expected to attend the conference that begins Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Marriott Griffin Gate and Embassy Suites. That is more than the 790 who attended the conference last year in Puerto Rico, said council spokesman Jack Penchoff

Florida, Michigan delegates will get half-votes Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:21 EDT
Democratic Party leaders agreed Saturday to seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half-votes at this summer's convention with a compromise that left Barack Obama on the verge of the nomination but riled Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who threatened to fight to the August convention.

"Hijacking four delegates is not a good way to start down the path of party unity," said adviser Harold Ickes.

Clinton's camp maintains she was entitled to four additional Michigan delegates.

The decision by the party's Rules Committee raised slightly the total delegates Obama needs to clinch the nomination. Clinton advisers conceded privately he will likely hit the magic number after the final primaries are held Tuesday night, but said the ruling threatened to dash any hopes of a unified party.

"Mrs. Clinton has told me to reserve her right to take this to the Credentials Committee" at the convention, said Ickes, who is a member of the Rules Committee that voted Saturday.

Battle brewing over House leadership Fri, 30 May 2008 02:05 EDT
After a General Assembly session that revealed fractures among top-ranking House Democrats, Rep. Joni Jenkins of Shively announced she'll challenge one of those leaders -- Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark of Louisville --for his position in January.

Adding to the political intrigue, House Speaker Jody Richards took the rare step of publicly endorsing in an internal party leadership race by picking Jenkins over Clark, who has served in the leadership team with Richards for the last 14 years.

"I plan to support Rep. Jenkins," Richards said in an interview with the Herald-Leader. "I think we need a more cohesive leadership. This is an unusual situation and a situation where we need to be cohesive. That's why I'm taking this unusual step."

The intraparty legislative leadership elections in January come after a particularly turbulent General Assembly session, and at a time when the state legislature is saddled with a historically low approval rating.

A Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll taken earlier this month showed that just 22 percent of voters gave a thumbs-up to lawmakers' job performance.

Pension system session planned Fri, 30 May 2008 06:19 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear plans to call a special legislative session June 23 if lawmakers in the next three weeks can nail down details of a compromise fix to the state's financially strapped pension system.

Beshear said major pension reforms could save taxpayers $500 million a year and produce immediate savings of $50 million for city and county governments and school districts.

Legislative leaders say they are guardedly optimistic about the likelihood of a special session to overhaul the state's retirement systems, which face a $26 billion unfunded liability.

But labor leaders expressed concern about changes to the systems that cover more than 445,000 people, including state and county employees and public school teachers.

"I'm fearful that the state is going to shift its pain to school employees," said Sharron Oxendine, president of the Kentucky Education Association.

Chinese Dir