Tag: kentucky
James Comer

Hapless Oversight Chair Keeps Digging 'Dirt' On Biden

The Biden impeachment resolution the House GOP unanimously approved last December has hilariously collapsed (Russian moles, sawdust “cocaine”), but that’s not stopping the utterly inept Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, from throwing spaghetti at the wall to make something stick. The chair of the House Oversight Committee made it clear that his intention is to amass as much “evidence” of alleged wrongdoing as he can, with an eye toward setting up criminal prosecutions for a hypothetical Trump presidency.

“Since January 2023, we’ve launched investigations into President Biden’s border crisis, energy crisis, federal pandemic spending, federal agency telework policies, abuse of power at the FTC, the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes, the federal government’s efforts to combat CCP influence, and more,” Comer told Politico.

Those investigations, he promised, “will culminate in reports with our findings and recommended solutions to prevent government waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.” Expect that to be as solid as all the previous work from him and his fellow MAGA zealot Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the Judiciary Committee.

The “and more” Comer referred to includes such burning questions as the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic (which occurred under Trump) and the administration’s use of theStrategic Petroleum Reserve. Comer has made it clear that this volley of attacks is designed to generate criminal referrals.

“I want to hold the Biden family accountable. I believe the best way to hold the Biden family accountable is through criminal referrals. We’ve proven many crimes have been committed,” Comer told Fox News’ Trey Gowdy. “If the Merrick Garland Department of Justice will not hold this family accountable, then maybe if Trump is president, a Trey Gowdy Department of Justice can hold this family accountable.”

The Comer oversight overreach extends to a threat to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt if he doesn’t turn over the audio tapes of the interview special counsel Robert Hur conducted with President Biden in his classified documents probe. That’s after the disastrous hearing Jordan and Comer held last month, intended to show that Biden is too old and doddery to be trusted as commander in chief.

That backfired when the Justice Department released the transcript of the Biden interview, which showed that Biden’s memory was not failing, and in fact Hur remarked on Biden’s “photographic understanding and, and recall of the house” in Delaware where documents were found. But Comer and Jordan—who have been given free rein by GOP leadership to continue to embarrass them all—are sure that they can find some nugget of a cover-up on the part of Garland in all of this.

Mostly, though, they want to help Trump in his revenge plots. So they’re just going to keep burrowing into the hole they’ve dug. They could quit while they’re behind, but the need to avenge Trump just won’t let them.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Andy Beshear

Republican Legislators Want To Abolish Lunch Hour -- Seriously

In Kentucky, a bill sponsored by Republican State Rep. Phillip Pratt would, among other things, eliminate workers' rights to lunch breaks and rest breaks. House Bill 500 has been advancing in the Kentucky State Legislature, and Pratt's proposal — according to the Louisville Courier-Journal— is getting a scathing analysis from labor rights activists.

Louisville-based employment law attorney Michele Henry slammed HB 500 as "simply unfair to employees who are spending eight or more hours a day at the workplace."

Henry told the Courier-Journal, "They should be entitled to time off to eat and to engage in other activities. Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout."

Duane Hammons of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet is vehemently critical of HB 500 as well.

Hammons told the Courier-Journal, "Paid breaks and mealtimes are essential workplace standards that contribute to the mental and physical wellbeing of each and every employee we have in this commonwealth…. Employers would have no liability for not paying employees who must travel to several locations for work, such as HVAC, repair work plumbers, electricians, landscapers, construction workers."

During a Kentucky House of Representatives hearing on HB 500, Jerald Adkins of the Kentucky AFL-CIO commented, "Why the sudden urgency to repeal laws that are in place to protect Kentucky's workers?"

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Andy Beshear

Kentucky's Democratic Governor Wins Big Re-Election Victory

Democrat Andy Beshear won re-election as Kentucky's Democratic governor, defeating former Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron Monday, NBC News reports.

Per The Hill, Beshear "has seen strong approval despite being the Democratic governor of a red state," and has also "been noted as one of the most popular governors in the country."

Still, NBC reports, Republican Russell Coleman defeated Democrat Pamela Stevenson in Kentucky's race for attorney general," while "Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams won re-election."

NBC also notes, "In his bid for a second term, Beshear leveraged the popularity he built over the last four years, touting the state's economic progress and his response to natural disasters, including devastating floods."

The news outlet calls Beshear's win "a welcome sign for Democrats ahead of" the 2024 presidential election.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

democratic donkey

Stunning Democratic Win In Kentucky Special Election Offers Hope For Senate Race

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Although Kentucky is a red state that President Donald Trump won by 30 percent in 2016, a political shocker came when, in 2019, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin was voted out of office, and centrist Democrat Andy Beshear (now Kentucky's governor) won the election. And now, another shocker has come in the form of Democrat Karen Berg winning a Kentucky State Senate seat that had been in GOP hands for 25 years.

Berg's win in the special election was decisive. In Kentucky's 26th Senate District —where Republican Sen. Ernie Harris announced his retirement — Berg defeated Republican Bill Ferko by 14 percent. Berg will remain in the seat until 2022, when she will have to seek reelection.

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