Indictments threatening GOP's new hold on Kentucky
By Ian Urbina, New York Times
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A year ago, after being accused of illegally forcing Democrats out of state Civil Service jobs and giving the jobs to political loyalists, Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, a Republican, dismissed the charges as insignificant.
But 15 indictments later, Fletcher's administration, including his so-called Disciples, who are accused of being the main ringleaders of the patronage scheme, is still feeling the sting as the governor's approval ratings drop below 30 percent. Fletcher himself was indicted on three misdemeanor charges; his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty this month.
The scandal has threatened to reverse a tide that Republicans in the state have worked for more than a decade to turn in their favor. With the GOP controlling the state Senate and just shy of a majority in the House, many Republicans viewed Fletcher's sizable victory in 2003 as the dawning of a new political era for the Bluegrass State.
"The state is still potentially a swing state, and this will certainly slow its drift toward Republicanism," said Al Cross, a political writer and professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. "This is definitely being amplified by what is going on in Washington. We can expect a lot more wind to be in the face of Republicans at a time when the state was trending their way."
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A year ago, after being accused of illegally forcing Democrats out of state Civil Service jobs and giving the jobs to political loyalists, Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, a Republican, dismissed the charges as insignificant.
But 15 indictments later, Fletcher's administration, including his so-called Disciples, who are accused of being the main ringleaders of the patronage scheme, is still feeling the sting as the governor's approval ratings drop below 30 percent. Fletcher himself was indicted on three misdemeanor charges; his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty this month.
The scandal has threatened to reverse a tide that Republicans in the state have worked for more than a decade to turn in their favor. With the GOP controlling the state Senate and just shy of a majority in the House, many Republicans viewed Fletcher's sizable victory in 2003 as the dawning of a new political era for the Bluegrass State.
"The state is still potentially a swing state, and this will certainly slow its drift toward Republicanism," said Al Cross, a political writer and professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. "This is definitely being amplified by what is going on in Washington. We can expect a lot more wind to be in the face of Republicans at a time when the state was trending their way."
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