NO EXCUSES!

There is NO EXCUSE for the dirty, politics at its worse, mean-spirited legislative redistricting bill the Kentucky House recently sent the Senate.

There is NO EXCUSE for the dirty, politics at its worse, mean-spirited legislative redistricting bill the Kentucky Senate recently sent the House.

Both were "incumbent protection bills", with some incumbents, in both chambers, on the outs with their leadership being screwed; they and of course, the citizens they represent. Among the more egregious mistakes, totally planned by Sen. Pres. David Le Terrible, and acquiesced in by Georgetown Sen. Damon Thayer and the majority of the Senate, was giving Fayette County a senator for the rest of this year from 200 miles away in Henderson, while shifting longtime Fayette Senator Kathy Stein to Northeast Kentucky. Neither of the "shiftees" knows the territory they have willy-nilly inherited.

Do you begin to see the enormity of this contradiction of our theory of representative government?

There is NO EXCUSE for any member of the Fayette House and Senate delegation who voted for this bill--and I hope it comes back to haunt them in future elections.

There is NO EXCUSE for Governor Beshear to have signed this monstrosity. He could have vetoed it and he should have. His "excuse" was the need to have districts set by the filing deadline, Jan 31st. Meadow muffins! That deadline itself is another incumbent protection law, designed to force people to file locally long before they know what stands the incumbent takes on major legislation which comes up late in the session.

In fact, the governor was a member of the House when that deadline was in late March; where it should be. And the Jan. 31st deadline may have to be moved anyhow if the legislature can't agree on Congressional districts still not settled.

Since the current bill divides counties unnecessarily, in what appears to be a violation of Section 31 of the state constitution, there is NO EXCUSE for the Attorney-General not to challenge the redistricting law in court. He's supposed to represent all the people (and took an oath to uphold the Constitution), not just the few incumbent people in Frankfort.

There is, also, NO EXCUSE for you and I not to insist this affront of logic, justice, and our democratic traditions never be done again. We need, as other states do, a nonpartisan commission to draw these lines, subject to a straight up-or-down vote; as Congress does now on other hot potatoes.

Let's have no more excuses!