As reported by the Courier-Journal, State Senator, and former Senate Republican Caucus Chair, Dan Seum will be hosting a picnic for those who feel they have been bullied by Governor Matt Bevin.

Seum lives on 8 acres in southwestern Jefferson County, so it’s possible he may want to consider relocating this event to the Fair and Exposition Center.

We at ITC are told that Andy Beshear will be in attendance to campaign with the disaffected, but rumor also has it that Seum has invited several prominent Republicans who are not enamored with Bevin.  Those include Congressman James Comer, former Speaker of the House Jeff Hoover, State Representative Robert Goforth, and Stan Cave, former Fletcher chief of staff who now represents the Family Foundation.

We predict Seum’s picnic might outdraw the Bevin-Trump, Jr. rally in Pikeville last week.

With Labor Day now behind us, election activity will really begin to pick up. To put it in Kentucky terms, the jockeying has all led up to this point and it’s time to see who has the talent to come down the stretch.

ITC has been sitting back and watching with interest. For these final 9 weeks, it is time for us to get back to analyzing what is taking place and sharing what we know.

We have sources in both major parties, as well as their many factions, and in every region across Kentucky. An ear to the ground would be terrible to waste, so here we go . . .

You may remember a couple of weeks ago when Governor Matt Bevin stepped into a pile on Twitter.  After congratulating the UK men’s basketball team on making the Elite Eight, UofL women’s coach Jeff Walz replied that his team was also in the Elite Eight and, sarcastically, said he would pass along the Governor’s congratulations to his players as well.

When questioned about the tweet, Coach Walz said the same thing had happened the year before, when the Cardinals made the Final Four.  It was obvious that he did not want his players to be slighted simply because of gender.

Well, we thought this little Twitter beef was over.  We should have known better.  After years of observation, we should have realized Bevin has a hard time letting go.

Today, as he took to the air on the Leland Conway Show (remember what we said about Bevin and his issues with live radio?), the Governor decided it was time to rehash the issue.

Bevin said Coach Walz had focused on “silliness” and not on coaching his players.

“I feel bad saying this, but it’s true. If he’d been a little more focused on game strategy and coaching that weekend, and a little less on this kind of silliness, the better team would have won,” Bevin said. “We got outcoached, straight up.”

A few points to make here:

• Coach Walz is 332-99 in his time at UofL.  That’s a winning percentage of .770, outstanding by any measure in college athletics.
• He has taken the UofL program to the Final Four three times in 11 years and has been the national runner-up twice.
• This year, they were the #1 seed in the tournament and lost to the #2 seed, UConn, who has dominated women’s basketball for years.  We take exception to the fact that Bevin accused Walz of being “outcoached,” but if he was, there is no shame in that when lined up against Geno Auriemma, 11 time national champion and 8 time national coach of the year.

At the end of the day though, the real question is why didn’t Bevin just laugh off the first tweet by Walz, apologize for the omission and wish the women the best of luck?  It’s just not in his DNA.

Sometimes it is nice to have sources on the inside.  Check out what is making its way around the Capitol.  We at ITC have so many questions.

Given the confusion that could arise from bunny costumes, we’re just glad that “Jane Doe” does not work there any longer.

If there’s one thing you can say about Matt Bevin, he has been consistent in his jabbing of the legislature.  Last December, he called a special session, with 4 hours notice, on pensions.  That lasted all of two days, as he had not worked with legislative leaders in advance.

On the heels of that debacle, he has now vetoed House Bill 358, which was designed to provide pension relief for regional universities and other quasi-governmental agencies such as health departments.  The bill was passed on the last day of the legislative session, making it impossible to override a veto.  However, we are told that legislative leaders were specifically told that he would not veto the bill, even though he had some concerns.

The governor made it clear that he preferred the Senate’s version of the bill, which was championed by Senator Chris McDaniel.  In an odd turn of political events, Bevin now finds himself closer to the former running mate of Congressman James Comer, his arch-rival, than he is with his own Lt. Governor, Jenean Hampton.

In the conference committee, it quickly became apparent that not only would the House not agree to that version, many Senators were not enamored with that language either.  So the House version passed, much to the chagrin of Bevin.

Now Bevin has reneged on his promise and vetoed the bill with . . . wait for it . . . the promise of another special session sometime prior to July 1.  Once again, we are told this has come about without him talking to Senate or House majority leadership.

In fact, we are told there is already a movement among some legislators to make it clear they will adjourn the first day of any special session called on this topic.  Battle lines are definitely being drawn.

Representative Steven Rudy, Chairman of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, has taken to parking in the spots reserved for members of House leadership.

We at ITC wonder how his fellow non-leadership members are taking this.  Jockeying for real estate is a real thing.  Premium Annex offices, floor seats and parking spots breed jealousy among the rank and file.

Will others find this humorous?  Or will they think Rudy is, to put it in an Eastern Kentucky term, “gettin’ too big for his britches?”

Today Nucor announced they will be investing $1.35 billion into a steel mill in Brandenburg, KY. The project is estimated to bring in 400 jobs.

This is the latest of the stars in the crown of the Economic Development Cabinet. And, don’t get us wrong, we hope this project comes to fruition and helps the folks in the Meade County area.

However, past announcements make us a little skeptical. The excitement in Pikeville was short-lived when Enerblu announced they were pulling out before getting off the ground. And, despite all the hype, and state investment, we have yet to see any real results of the Braidy Industries announcement in Greenup County. Outside of Toyota and Amazon, two well-establishes companies already on the Fortune 100 list, the much ballyhooed large projects don’t seem to be living up to the dreams yet.

If these projects do develop though, we wonder how long they will continue to flourish. Is large-scale manufacturing a dying industry? We keep hearing the 21st century economy will be information based, as manufacturing is exported to countries with cheaper labor costs. Is Kentucky investing in a dying market while falsely selling pipe dreams to our own people?

As Mark Twain reportedly said, “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because it’s always twenty years behind the times”

Has anyone noticed that Matt Bevin’s most shocking statements come when he is on live radio programs?  Whether it’s accusing teachers of enabling child abuse or blaming zombie movies for mass shootings, the foot seems to go into the mouth much easier when he’s on radio.

That proved true again Tuesday when the governor was on WKCT in Bowling Green.  In addition to insulting the intellectual ability of legislators, he went on to admit that he had his 9 children participate in a chicken pox party at a friend’s house.

What, you might ask, is a chicken pox party?  Well, it is a strategy that some parents have employed to deliberately expose their children to the virus.  When one child contracts the disease, their parents would host a “party” for other children come and contract it as well.  The practice has always been questionable, but it completely fell out of favor once a vaccine became readily available.

So, why would anyone deliberately expose their children to the disease now?  Well, Bevin said that he just didn’t believe the federal government (and we can assume the state government as well) should not be requiring vaccines.  His quote was, “If you are worried about your child getting chickenpox or whatever else, vaccinate your child. … But for some people, and for some parents, for some reason they choose otherwise.”

After all, it’s just chicken pox, right?  People used to get it all the time and there were no problems.  Like Bevin said about his kids, “They were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.”

Well, the disease is more serious than most would think.  Prior to the vaccine, the CDC reports that nearly 11,000 people required hospitalization annually, while it proved deadly for 100 each year.  Even for healthy children, the disease can prove to be fatal.  And, if a person has chicken pox in their youth, they are much more susceptible to shingles later in life.

We are baffled as to why a parent, especially one with some intellect, would purposefully choose not to have their child vaccinated from such a disease.  In fact, we wonder if it might be criminal?  KRS 600.020 includes failing to provide a child with medical care necessary for well-being in the definition of child neglect.  Religious exemptions are made, but, as of yet, Bevin has yet to speak of any religious reasons that caused him to endanger his children.  It is altogether possible that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services could remove the children from their home if investigated for neglect.

We at ITC admittedly do not understand the anti-vaxxer movement any more than we do the people who believe the moon landing was staged on a Hollywood set.  Vaccines have saved an untold number of lives through the years.  States have a history of making certain ones mandatory.  Our country, for all practicality, has eradicated such dreaded diseases as smallpox, pertussis and polio.  Ask Senator Mitch McConnell how he feels about the vaccine for polio and what a wonderful thing it is.

What used to spark mortal fear in many parents is now laughingly mocked by Kentucky’s own governor.

Now that the 2019 session of the Kentucky General Assembly has concluded (except for one veto day on March 28th), it is easy for one to recognize and conclude that Matt Bevin controls the legislature.

First, it is clear the Kentucky State Senate was the driver in the 2019 session.   The Senate controlled the agenda from start to finish.   Before the session started, both bodies agreed that school safety was the top issue to be addressed.   Was it HB 1?  Yes.  But it was also SB 1 and the Senate version was the bill that moved thru the process.   The House Bill 1 never moved.   As previously reported, ITC was told that Senate leaders assured House leaders that SB 150, the so-called “constitutional carry” gun bill, more correctly named the “gunslinger bill”, would not be considered or passed.   But low and behold, the Senate did pass SB 150 and the House then wilted and passed the bill.   Although the bill passed overwhelmingly, ITC was informed by several members of the House they did not feel good about the vote and did not appreciate being put in that position.

Then, came the final day.   The Senate, and more specifically Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, was holding more than 50 House bills in consent calendar.   Thayer refused to act on those House bills unless and until the House gave in to him and passed a revised version of SB 34, the anti Secretary of State bill.   This, even after Thayer had acted very immaturely in an outburst in an House committee after the committee voted down his bill.   He was described as the “big bad bully” on the House floor.   But again, House leadership gave in.   Soon after the House passed a revised version of Thayer’s SB 34 around 9:00 p.m. Thursday night, Thayer then moved and the Senate adopted the more than 50 House bills which had been stuck in the Senate.   Thayer 2, House leadership 0.

Which gets us to Bevin.   Thursday night, Bevin apparently went to the Senate and met with Republican Senators.    Reportedly, Bevin was there to lobby the Senate against the House Bill filed by House Floor Leader Bam Carney which would reduce the salary of Bevin’s close friend and Director of Commonwealth Office of Technology.   If you recall, Mr. Grindle received a pay raise of more than $150,000.00, raising his salary to $375,000, the highest paid such position in the nation!   House and Senate leaders agreed (?) early on that action needed to be taken to scale back that salary and bring it in line with surrounding states.   Rep. Carney, by agreement of all leaders ITC has been told, filed the bill.   That bill passed the House unanimously.   But guess what, once again, the Senate did not keep their commitment, and the bill died in the Senate on Thursday.   After Bevin had met with Senate leaders.

Senate controls the House (no reasonable observer could argue otherwise), and Bevin controls the Senate.   Bevin, in picking Sen. Ralph Alvarado as his running mate, may be much smarter politically than all his previous actions would indicate.   When it came to the 2019 session, make no mistake….Bevin and the Senate won!

So Rep. Adam Koenig has officially thrown in the towel on sports betting this year.

Time after time Republicans in Frankfort have made it clear they are not in favor of gambling. Whether it be casinos, sports, or even fantasy sports, the support just does not exist.

Support for gambling typically comes from the urban areas. And, like it or not, rural legislators still hold more sway.

We feel confident this bill will raise its head again next year. We are interested to see what the gambling interests do to try to persuade legislators.

Paging Coleman and Duncan.