Okay, I'm a few days behind on this one but am happy to announce that Billy Harper's candidacy in the Republican primary for governor is now official. Papers were filed on Friday.
If you read the story linked above, you'll find that Harper is already running a very civil race. He refuses to bash Governor Fletcher for the stupid -- sorry, but that's what they were, in my opinion -- political missteps and misdemeanors that have colored his first (and possibly only) term as governor; Billy Harper simply states that he'll let the voters decide on Governor Fletcher's performance. That's civil political discourse. I like that in a candidate.
I've been asked in the comments section of this blog what I think of Billy Harper. (I thought I'd reply to that question here rather than in a very long comment.) I don't know Mr. Harper personally and haven't yet had the pleasure of an interview with him; however, I hope to remedy that very soon. My impression of his candidacy so far though is that this man stands a VERY good chance of winning the Republican primary against Governor Fletcher.
The current political atmosphere among Republicans in Kentucky reminds me of the way many Conservatives felt about George H.W. Bush when he ran for re-election in 1992. I liked Bush 41 -- voted for him the first time around. I didn't care for his whole "kinder, gentler nation" bit too much but it was tolerable. When he broke his promise on taxes, however, I began to look over the field and saw the potential to maintain my fiscal Conservatism via third-party candidate, Ross Perot.
In 1992, Ross Perot had a lot of things right. He knew that Conservatives were tired of broken promises. He had business sense that was easily distilled down in to folksy common sense. He was a good alternative that year to sticking with the unsatisfactory status quo. Unfortunately, by splitting the party line, fiscal Conservatives like me were likely responsible for ousting our own party from the White House. Yikes. That wasn't really what I had in mind at the time!
This time, here in Kentucky, it is Governor Fletcher and a broken promise to "clean up the mess in Frankfort" that causes me to look closely at the field. Not only did Fletcher fail to clean up Frankfort as we had hoped, he created a new mess all his own after gaining so much support from Kentuckians who were fed up with the scandal and nonsense of the Patton administration. Many of us simply thought that Ernie Fletcher was smarter and more honest than that, and was sincere in his promise; we simply expected more than the scandalous status quo from him.
Like Ross Perot's candidacy, Billy Harper's candidacy gives me some hope -- it may be highly possible this time to make an intelligent choice without jeopardizing the Conservative stewardship of Kentucky. Unlike Perot, however, Harper is running within his own party which gives him a broader base of disillusioned Republicans from which to draw support. And, unfortunately, there are quite a few of us when it comes to Governor Fletcher's political performance since his election. Not only can he rebuild the disillusioned base but he can certainly avoid any compromises that may cause another scandal. By financing his own campaign, it's highly unlikely that a Governor Harper would feel compelled to repay donors with jobs and/or favors thus keeping his integrity and the respect of the Commonwealth intact.
I like what I see so far. Billy Harper's campaign has focused on issues that people care about across party lines. I find that very refreshing. Mr. Harper certainly has potential as a "unity candidate" due to his ability to address issues about which we all care, regardless of party affiliation. His campaign has been positive, upbeat, and focused on the future of the state instead of nit-picking the past. It's my impression that he is a hard-working man who believes in building consensus to get things done as shown by his work on education in this state. He seems to be a very community-minded and fair-thinking businessman. I like all of that.
There have been rumors that Senators McConnell and Bunning are holding out on endorsing anyone in the Republican primary because another slate may be announced. The rumor is that the "other slate" may be Congresswoman Anne Northup and Secretary of State, Trey Grayson. The slate sounds nice but I have issues with the way Anne Northup spent taxpayers' money on the bridge projects for the state of Kentucky. Do we need those bridges? Well, possibly. Should we, as Kentuckians, promote the idea that our representatives must "earmark" and provide pork for their districts to get re-elected? Nope. That was a big complaint from me and I made it known to her office. If the state of Kentucky needs bridges, we should acquire the funding for it at the state level. Period. So, I have issues with that slate as well.
Governor Fletcher has also made the same mistake in my book. He has polled the people of Kentucky to decide on what should be done with the projected budget surplus of $279 million. Hey, here's an idea: write us a freakin' check for the amount we taxpayers OVERPAID our government. This should NOT be a novel idea for a Conservative! So, my opinion of the governor at this point is that he's lost his Conservative marbles and is out to buy votes this year with OUR money. It's ridiculous. I am no fan of such antics.
Let me be very clear here: I worked my tail off as a grassroots volunteer for Governor Fletcher in 2004 and won a John Sherman Cooper award for my efforts. I worked for Congresswoman Northup that year as well. I believed very much in them and what they could do for Kentucky. They were the right Conservative choices at the time. This year, however, we all have another more interesting choice in the race. You'd better believe that I'm paying very close attention to all candidates in the Republican primary for governor. My vote will be based on what I believe is in the best interest of the state of Kentucky and our economic future.
Billy Harper is looking pretty good so far. I wish him all the best in his campaign.
If you read the story linked above, you'll find that Harper is already running a very civil race. He refuses to bash Governor Fletcher for the stupid -- sorry, but that's what they were, in my opinion -- political missteps and misdemeanors that have colored his first (and possibly only) term as governor; Billy Harper simply states that he'll let the voters decide on Governor Fletcher's performance. That's civil political discourse. I like that in a candidate.
I've been asked in the comments section of this blog what I think of Billy Harper. (I thought I'd reply to that question here rather than in a very long comment.) I don't know Mr. Harper personally and haven't yet had the pleasure of an interview with him; however, I hope to remedy that very soon. My impression of his candidacy so far though is that this man stands a VERY good chance of winning the Republican primary against Governor Fletcher.
The current political atmosphere among Republicans in Kentucky reminds me of the way many Conservatives felt about George H.W. Bush when he ran for re-election in 1992. I liked Bush 41 -- voted for him the first time around. I didn't care for his whole "kinder, gentler nation" bit too much but it was tolerable. When he broke his promise on taxes, however, I began to look over the field and saw the potential to maintain my fiscal Conservatism via third-party candidate, Ross Perot.
In 1992, Ross Perot had a lot of things right. He knew that Conservatives were tired of broken promises. He had business sense that was easily distilled down in to folksy common sense. He was a good alternative that year to sticking with the unsatisfactory status quo. Unfortunately, by splitting the party line, fiscal Conservatives like me were likely responsible for ousting our own party from the White House. Yikes. That wasn't really what I had in mind at the time!
This time, here in Kentucky, it is Governor Fletcher and a broken promise to "clean up the mess in Frankfort" that causes me to look closely at the field. Not only did Fletcher fail to clean up Frankfort as we had hoped, he created a new mess all his own after gaining so much support from Kentuckians who were fed up with the scandal and nonsense of the Patton administration. Many of us simply thought that Ernie Fletcher was smarter and more honest than that, and was sincere in his promise; we simply expected more than the scandalous status quo from him.
Like Ross Perot's candidacy, Billy Harper's candidacy gives me some hope -- it may be highly possible this time to make an intelligent choice without jeopardizing the Conservative stewardship of Kentucky. Unlike Perot, however, Harper is running within his own party which gives him a broader base of disillusioned Republicans from which to draw support. And, unfortunately, there are quite a few of us when it comes to Governor Fletcher's political performance since his election. Not only can he rebuild the disillusioned base but he can certainly avoid any compromises that may cause another scandal. By financing his own campaign, it's highly unlikely that a Governor Harper would feel compelled to repay donors with jobs and/or favors thus keeping his integrity and the respect of the Commonwealth intact.
I like what I see so far. Billy Harper's campaign has focused on issues that people care about across party lines. I find that very refreshing. Mr. Harper certainly has potential as a "unity candidate" due to his ability to address issues about which we all care, regardless of party affiliation. His campaign has been positive, upbeat, and focused on the future of the state instead of nit-picking the past. It's my impression that he is a hard-working man who believes in building consensus to get things done as shown by his work on education in this state. He seems to be a very community-minded and fair-thinking businessman. I like all of that.
There have been rumors that Senators McConnell and Bunning are holding out on endorsing anyone in the Republican primary because another slate may be announced. The rumor is that the "other slate" may be Congresswoman Anne Northup and Secretary of State, Trey Grayson. The slate sounds nice but I have issues with the way Anne Northup spent taxpayers' money on the bridge projects for the state of Kentucky. Do we need those bridges? Well, possibly. Should we, as Kentuckians, promote the idea that our representatives must "earmark" and provide pork for their districts to get re-elected? Nope. That was a big complaint from me and I made it known to her office. If the state of Kentucky needs bridges, we should acquire the funding for it at the state level. Period. So, I have issues with that slate as well.
Governor Fletcher has also made the same mistake in my book. He has polled the people of Kentucky to decide on what should be done with the projected budget surplus of $279 million. Hey, here's an idea: write us a freakin' check for the amount we taxpayers OVERPAID our government. This should NOT be a novel idea for a Conservative! So, my opinion of the governor at this point is that he's lost his Conservative marbles and is out to buy votes this year with OUR money. It's ridiculous. I am no fan of such antics.
Let me be very clear here: I worked my tail off as a grassroots volunteer for Governor Fletcher in 2004 and won a John Sherman Cooper award for my efforts. I worked for Congresswoman Northup that year as well. I believed very much in them and what they could do for Kentucky. They were the right Conservative choices at the time. This year, however, we all have another more interesting choice in the race. You'd better believe that I'm paying very close attention to all candidates in the Republican primary for governor. My vote will be based on what I believe is in the best interest of the state of Kentucky and our economic future.
Billy Harper is looking pretty good so far. I wish him all the best in his campaign.
Comments
Good luck to Mr. Harper
I just think that anything less than that is a disservice to the brave men and women whose blood was shed to protect our freedoms.
You have just bolstered my faith in my fellows -- Americans/ Kentuckians who put the best interest of all above the best interest of one party over another.
I think politicians in Frankfort and those on Capitol Hill would do well to take notice...
A Republican governor who does not try to break the Democrat stranglehold on the merit system and the hiring practices in state government will be a one-term governor, self-funding or not, because the base won't support a Republican who lets the Democrats continue to hire Democrats and exclude Republicans.
If Fletcher wanted to break the Democrat stranglehold on the merit system, he could simply have worked to create stricter enforcement of existing laws or eliminated the merit system completely. That would have been the proper thing to do. Abusing the merit system after watching Dems do it for years solves nothing and only puts a GOP foot right in the Democrat trap generating bad publicity and prosecution. No party should be immune from the law.
And Dawn, I think many of us conservatives were appalled at the spending of the Republican Congress, but don't you know it's only Pork if it's not coming "back to the district". If the money is going to be spent anyway, I'd rather have Anne fighting to get it, than having it spent in Florida, New York or Alaska.
With that being said, I hardly considerer a major bridge/road project in the state's largest city pork.
I also hope Anne jumps into the race, she will surly beat Ernie in the primary and will give the Rs a legit shot in the general to hold onto the mansion.
Harper Addresses Education:
Radio Interview:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wkyu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1022878§ionID=1
Press Release:
http://harperforgov.blogspot.com/2007/01/kentucky-schools-must-and-can-do-better.html
Having typed that, you'll realize, I'm sure, that I would expect different behavior from a governor. I would expect the veto of pork barrel spending if/when that's possible. I'm sure Mr. Harper is well aware of Conservative tenets with regard to smaller government and would uphold those were he sworn into office.
Being a businessman, I applaud his ability to get out there and be successful; if he were to become governor, I would applaud his ability to stop out-of-control spending on unnecessary projects.