Fletcher's Time To Go?

I remember e-mailing Ernie Fletcher while he was occupying a practically permanently safe seat in the U.S. House, asking him not to run for the governorship of Kentucky but to stay where he helped maintain a republican majority in that body. The Kentucky Senate has been republican since 1998, the House will probably not be republican in the foreseeable future, and all of Kentucky’s Washington cadre could have been republican, a tremendous asset to the state. The governor’s job was anything but attractive in 2003, especially with a legislature so incompetent/partisan that more than once it couldn’t produce a budget, and a governor so weak he wouldn’t force the issue, as Fletcher didn’t either, displaying the same degree of weakness.

Whether as part or not of the merit mess, Fletcher is now too flawed to do much more than make appearances. It’s hard to believe he was naïve enough to simply be done in by those around him, but if so, ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law, as any traffic cop will attest. The fact that Fletcher’s gang was not more corrupt/perfidious than the gangs of other governors, or Fletcher than other governors, means nothing, since by his own admission “mistakes” have been made. It is ironic that Fletcher’s republican lieutenant governor was the federal presence in the lawsuit against Patton’s democrat lieutenant governor (Medicare fraud), not least because Patton’s democrat Speaker is now the tormentor of his republican successor…an eye for an eye, etc.

I suggest that Fletcher consider stepping aside, provided Pence is free of any connection with the hiring scandal and after establishing that he (Fletcher) will not be indicted (if possible) or pardoned if he is. Pence may or may not be willing to go that route, remembering the Gerald Ford pardon tragedy concerning Nixon. Both Fletcher and Patton have taken government-by-pardon to a new level. This would allow Pence to get a running start on the top job in 2007, with an added advantage in his being the federal prosecutor of Henry, who seems now to be the strongest contender. Stumbo has said he would not run, of course, but that means nothing. Luallen can probably be linked to plenty of instances in merit misdeeds during her time in Frankfort, if anyone cares to look. Besides, both of the latter have been around Frankfort long enough to have plenty of other kinds of baggage.

Whether as victim or not, Fletcher, as he has indicated, is the ultimate recipient of the buck, now stopped on his desk. The selective firings only added to the confusion, and recent news of the budget director’s little windfall and Nighbert’s latest indictment has not helped, though other directors have probably reaped the same rewards and other bureaucrats have stuck their feet in their mouths. The governor should have told his people that there almost certainly would have been 8 good years to win back some jobs, especially in the 2^nd term, but either they or Fletcher, or all of them, couldn’t work the system logically. Now, there is total gridlock for everyone, including those who voted for Fletcher. The use of e-mails, or any printed or recallable material was simply too naïve for words.

The governor is a man of decency and of many talents, governing not being one of them. Perhaps it is time for him to change directions. In the process, he may restore respect and credibility to the entire party. This mess in Frankfort has hurt.

And so it goes.

Jim Clark