http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com Covering Kentucky politics and government Tue, 22 May 2012 21:44:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/24/campaign-watchdog-beshears-claim-about-restoring-americas-ads-mostly-false/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/24/campaign-watchdog-beshears-claim-about-restoring-americas-ads-mostly-false/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:10:48 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19487 By Jack Brammer jbrammer@herald-leader.com The Herald-Leader will fact-check statements made by candidates and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: "These ads attacking Steve Beshear are not just misleading, they are in clear violation of Kentucky law, and the court ordered them off the air as an illegal attempt to influence the election and help David Williams." — Gov. Steve Beshear's re-election campaign, in a television commercial that started airing Thursday The ruling: Mostly false The facts: Beshear's new TV ad misleadingly implies that an outside political group's commercials were taken off the air because their content was illegal.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/24/campaign-watchdog-beshears-claim-about-restoring-americas-ads-mostly-false/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/23/campaign-watchdog-claim-that-ppool-improperly-billed-state-half-true/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/23/campaign-watchdog-claim-that-ppool-improperly-billed-state-half-true/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:10:15 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19474 By Beth Musgrave bmusgrave@herald-leader.com The Herald-Leader will fact-check statements made by candidates and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: "As a lawyer, Todd P'Pool was twice cited for improperly billing state government." — Bluegrass Committee for Justice and Fairness, a third-party political group supporting Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway, in a television commercial The ruling: Half true The facts: As Hopkins County attorney, Republican candidate for attorney general Todd P'Pool bills the state for hours he works enforcing Kentucky's child-support collection laws.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/23/campaign-watchdog-claim-that-ppool-improperly-billed-state-half-true/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/21/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-beshear%e2%80%99s-record-on-pardons-half-true/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/21/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-beshear%e2%80%99s-record-on-pardons-half-true/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:37:17 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19459 By John Cheves jcheves@herald-leader.com The Herald-Leader will fact-check statements made by candidates and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: “When Steve Beshear became governor, one of his early actions was to grant pardons to convicted felons. Governor Beshear has granted partial pardons to at least eight convicted murderers and 14 rapists, allowing them to vote and even run for office.” — Restoring America, an outside group supporting Republican gubernatorial nominee David Williams, in a television commercial airing this week. The ruling: Half true. The facts: The commercial misleadingly implies that Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has pardoned criminals and set them free from prison.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/10/21/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-beshear%e2%80%99s-record-on-pardons-half-true/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/30/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-williams%e2%80%99-spending-pension-are-half-true/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/30/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-williams%e2%80%99-spending-pension-are-half-true/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:51:47 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19101 By John Cheves jcheves@herald-leader.com The Herald-Leader will fact-check claims made by the candidates and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: “For 26 years in Frankfort, David Williams has spent millions in taxpayer dollars on office renovations and perks for himself ... and repeatedly voted to increase his own taxpayer-funded pension, now worth over $1 million, while trying to cut the pensions of other state workers.” — Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear in a television ad this week attacking David Williams, his Republican challenger. The ruling: Half true. The facts: David Williams, the state Senate president, oversaw an expansion of legislative offices at the Capitol Annex in Frankfort over the past decade. Williams and other legislative leaders approved $1.7 million in 2003 to acquire additional space and $639,000 in 2006 for further improvements to Senate offices, including Williams’, such as new woodwork, furniture and electronics.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/30/campaign-watchdog-claims-about-williams%e2%80%99-spending-pension-are-half-true/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/29/claim-that-beshear-supports-epa%e2%80%99s-coal-regulations-false/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/29/claim-that-beshear-supports-epa%e2%80%99s-coal-regulations-false/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:01:12 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19097 By Jack Brammer jbrammer@herald-leader.com The Herald-Leader will fact-check claims made by the candidates for governor and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: “Beshear supports Obama’s EPA plans that will drive out our coal jobs by driving up our energy costs.” — Restoring America, a group supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams, in a television ad this week attacking Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. The ruling: False The facts: Throughout this fall’s campaign for governor, Republican nominee David Williams has tried to tie Gov. Steve Beshear with Democratic President Obama, who is unpopular in the state.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/29/claim-that-beshear-supports-epa%e2%80%99s-coal-regulations-false/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/28/claim-that-beshear-took-money-from-utility-companies-false/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/28/claim-that-beshear-took-money-from-utility-companies-false/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:41:46 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19088 The Herald-Leader will fact-check claims made by the candidates for governor and their surrogates leading up to the Nov. 8 election. The statement: Gov. Steve “Beshear has mastered the art of the payoff, pocketing hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions from energy and utility companies. Yet Beshear appoints public service commissioners who set our utility rates.” — Restoring America, a group supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams, in a television ad this week attacking Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. The ruling: False The facts: Restoring America, an independent political expenditure group based in Ohio, is accusing Beshear of breaking the law in its latest ad, but there’s no proof to substantiate the claim.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/09/28/claim-that-beshear-took-money-from-utility-companies-false/feed/ 1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/07/27/claims-about-unemployment-increase-during-beshears-term-true/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/07/27/claims-about-unemployment-increase-during-beshears-term-true/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:50:38 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=18521 Throughout this year’s campaign for governor, the Herald-Leader will fact-check statements made by candidates and their surrogates. The statement: “Kentucky has lost 94,000 jobs” and “Kentucky’s unemployment’s up 75 percent.” — Bluegrass Prosperity, a group associated with the Republican Governors Association, in a television ad this week in support of Senate President David Williams’ bid for governor. The ruling: True The facts: The ad focuses on Kentucky job losses during the administration of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 8. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kentucky’s unemployment rate in December 2007, when Beshear took office, was 5.6 percent. In May 2011, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, an increase of 75 percent. Similarly, in December of 2007, the number of unemployed in Kentucky was 112,470. In May of 2011, the number of unemployed was 207,013. The difference between 207,013 and 112,470 is 94,543. However, higher unemployment has not been unique to Kentucky. In December 2007, the national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. It was 9.1 percent in May 2011, an increase of 82 percent. The unemployment rate last month in Kentucky was 9.6 percent, the lowest since 9.2 percent in January 2009. - Jack Brammer]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/07/27/claims-about-unemployment-increase-during-beshears-term-true/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/06/07/campaign-watchdog-beshear%e2%80%99s-budget-cutting-claims-mostly-true/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/06/07/campaign-watchdog-beshear%e2%80%99s-budget-cutting-claims-mostly-true/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:40:02 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=18157 By Jack Brammer jbrammer@herald-leader.com The statement: “Then, I slashed spending by over a billion dollars, creating the smallest government in 20 years.” — Gov. Steve Beshear in a television ad this week about fiscal responsibility. The ruling: Mostly true The facts: Beshear, who will face Republican Senate President David Williams in the Nov. 8 general election, has been forced to make eight “appropriation reductions” since he took office in December 2007.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/06/07/campaign-watchdog-beshear%e2%80%99s-budget-cutting-claims-mostly-true/feed/ 1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/16/campaign-watchdog-williams-claim-about-medicaid-budget-mostly-false/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/16/campaign-watchdog-williams-claim-about-medicaid-budget-mostly-false/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:53:10 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=17289 By Jack Brammer - jbrammer@herald-leader.com The statement: “Governor Steve Beshear failed to properly manage the budget and now we have a $166 million budget hole to fill this year.” — Senate President David Williams, in a March 14, 2011, e-mail to supporters of his campaign for governor The ruling: Mostly false The facts: There is a shortfall in the state Medicaid budget this year, but Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear isn’t responsible for most of it, as Republican gubernatorial hopeful David Williams claimed. State lawmakers began a special session on Monday to patch the hole in Kentucky’s Medicaid budget — it’s actually $139 million, not $166 million — after House Democrats and Senate Republicans failed to reach a compromise during this year’s regular session, which ended last week. If a compromise can’t be reached by April 1, Beshear has said Medicaid payments to health care providers will be cut by 35 percent for three months. How did Kentucky get into this pickle? As it turns out, Williams and other state lawmakers are to blame for most of the shortfall in Medicaid, the $6.5 billion state-federal program that provides health care for about 800,000 poor and disabled Kentuckians.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/16/campaign-watchdog-williams-claim-about-medicaid-budget-mostly-false/feed/ 14 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/11/political-watchdog-rand-pauls-claim-about-obama-and-coal-mostly-false/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/11/political-watchdog-rand-pauls-claim-about-obama-and-coal-mostly-false/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:27:16 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=17175 By Halimah Abdullah - habdullah@mcclatchydc.com The statement: "President Obama is on record saying he wants to bankrupt the coal industry ... " — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in a March 3, 2011, news release The ruling: Mostly false The facts: There's no evidence President Barack Obama has ever said he wants to bankrupt the coal industry, although Obama has proposed policies that he acknowledged might "bankrupt" anybody who builds a traditional coal-fired power plant. Calls and e-mails to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's office for this story were not returned, but Paul's statement probably refers to a comment Obama, who was then a presidential candidate, made during a Jan. 5, 2008, interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/03/11/political-watchdog-rand-pauls-claim-about-obama-and-coal-mostly-false/feed/ 33