A Glimmer Of Something Noble In An Actual Politician... And In Kentucky Of All Places!

Not Blagojevich

The last few days have been pretty ugly in politiciantown. Between Rod Blagojevich in Illinois trying to sell a Senate seat, Jesse Jackson, Jr possibly willing to buy it-- though that is far from fact at this point-- Norm Coleman's bribery scandal finally breaking open, Silvestre Reyes trying to persuade Democrats to perpetuate Bush's torture regime, the GOP kicking Don Young off his committee positions, Nancy Pelosi not kicking Charlie Rangel off his, and Vito Fossella trying to worm his way back into politics already, American democracy has taken some pretty serious body blows.

And then there's Kentucky. No, not what you may think. This isn't about Miss McConnell or Bruce Lunsford or any of the corrupt slimeballs in that state's political establishment. Quite the contrary. Just when everything about politics and politicians is looking particularly sordid and repulsive, we get some first rate news from the Blue Grass State. Maybe it's just symbolic, but at this point, we need more symbols like this and less like Blagojevich's and Coleman's. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Lt Gov Dan Mongiardo-- along with five top members of their administration-- are taking a voluntary 10% pay cut next year. That will save the hard-pressed state $100,000.

The move comes days before the Democratic governor is expected to present his plan to address a $456.1 million, or 5.1 percent, budget shortfall for this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Beshear has said he will implement painful cuts and might call for an increase in the state's cigarette tax.

The GOP-dominated legislature is already belittling his announcement, of course, and trying to make political hay out of Beshear's tough situation, a situation shared by almost every single governor in the country due to the Bush Economic Miracle. Few people expect Beshear to win legislative approval for any tax increases. What they want is a cut back in crucial services, especially those that serve working families and the poor.