Kentucky

Remember the old adage of "follow the money".  Well, pending legislation in the General Assembly would back that up so we would know who is behind the money behind some political groups claiming to be independent.  Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, has proposed this bill, and a "tip of the hat" goes to him for his courage to requires those who are "passing the hat" for contributions which impact the political process.

Although the Bluegrass Freedom Fund may be the precipitating group sparking this accountability legislation, there are others in the same swift boat of political influence with membership and money that should be seen and not just heard.

For those in the know, the tort reform/deform forces are marching this year to take away the right to have your case heard by a jury and focus more on the ability of the medical types to pay and maintain their standard of living rather than compensating people who have been permanently injured by those mistakes.  Until you or your loved one is the victim of a medical mistake it is easy to focus on the insurance premiums you pay. 

However, the insurance industry and the business interests (eg., Chamber of Commerce) want to distract you with scare tactics of loss of medical care rather than the loss of money from bad insurance investments and the cyclical nature of the insurance financial cycle.  It almost worked in the Social Security scare, and the tactic is being dragged out again.

Senator Thayer's bill simply says when you pay to play, then we get to know who the players are behind the money.

Transparency for election donors sought

Independent political groups that inject themselves into Kentucky elections, such as the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, would have to reveal their donors more often as a result of legislation being written by state Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown.

Thayer, who heads the Senate's state and local government committee, said he's working on the bill now and hopes to introduce it within two weeks.

He said he was inspired to act after watching the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, an organization allowed by Section 527 of the IRS regulations, play a key role in last year's governor's race.

As a 527 group, the Bluegrass Freedom Fund could accept donations of any amount from individuals and corporations, and it didn't have to disclose them until Jan. 31 -- nearly three months after the November election.

The group, set up in March by an operative for the Democratic Governors Association, ran hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ads that slammed Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher while simultaneously calling for ethics reform.