This is a long post, but enjoy.... Obviously the outcome on the U.S. Senate race was not the one that I wanted. The voters of this great Commonwealth spoke, and Mitch McConnell was their choice. I will accept that and look forward to seeing how the soon to be Majority Leader McConnell governs. Will it be with the radical right with the likes of Ted Cruz or will he return to his better days and channel the spirit of another great Kentucky Senator in Henry Clay and offer compromise to get the country out of gridlock? I will be holding Senator McConnell and the Republicans to several standards for grading, but here are two for now. 1. On the day after they won the DOW was 17,385, if the DOW is near or above that in two years they gets a check mark. 2. Coal mining as a industry across the nation actually has seen an increase in coal mining jobs from around 77,000 in 2008 to around 85,000 towards the beginning on 2014. When Obama took office roughly 12,500 coal miners were employed in the Eastern Kentucky coal fields, as on January 1 this year that number was just below 7,500. If McConnell and the Republicans can return 1/4 of those jobs to the EKY coal fields, they get a check. I watched a lot of election coverage last night and I have to make a few comments: The first being that I think the media is fueling part of the problem with politics: in that their coverage and speculation of future races causes reasonable and cooperative legislation to not get done. Last night exactly after the Republicans had taken control of the Senate, many panels didn’t focus on what areas Congress and the White House could work on. Instead they quickly and very pointedly declared a start to the 2016 Presidential race. This is unfair to the American people in that it will cause more political grandstanding, than legislative work from some in Congress. Secondly I hope that Republicans have real policies and plans to put before the American people. Simply saying, “well we wouldn’t have done what Obama did” for six years may have won you the Senate but now you are in the drivers seat. Now you have two years to show that you can lead, legislation not ending up on the Presidents desk will be no ones fault but your own. Simply pointing a finger at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is no longer an acceptable answer. In order to keep it you have to now step up, with policies that are in tune with ordinary Americans and not those on the far right. Lastly let me say this, I am hopefully optimistic that things can get done in Washington, in Frankfort, and in Letcher county. As I stated last night on the radio, if we want change we have to start local. That is why today I am starting to look at economic incentives from various areas that have seen growth and will draft a sample plan for local incentives, that I will then discuss with any local or state leaders willing the listen.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 16:31:57 +0000
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