Voting Rights Roundup: Kentucky GOP moves to strip Democratic governor of his power after election

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Kentucky: Republicans in Kentucky's state Senate have passed a bill along party lines that would effectively remove Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s control over the state’s Department of Transportation, the latest move in an accelerating trend of Republicans stripping power from Democratic governors before they can take office.

The legislation would limit the governor to nominating a transportation secretary from a list chosen by a new board whose nine members would be selected by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and local government associations, with those members subject to a veto by the Republican-run legislature. Lawmakers would also have veto power over Beshear’s nominee, making this the only cabinet position in the state requiring Senate confirmation.

This bill would therefore hand over control of a key government post to moneyed corporate interests, and with Republicans firmly in charge of the legislature, it can become law even if Beshear were to veto it since it only takes a simple majority to override vetoes in Kentucky. Only intervention by the courts could stop it.

This power grab comes after top Republicans floated the idea of using an obscure constitutional provision to steal the Nov. 5 election for Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who made unsupported claims of "irregularities" in the vote. Republicans backed off that ploy amid a public backlash, but they've now set their sights on weakening the governor’s office instead.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/21/1921045/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-Kentucky-GOP-moves-to-strip-Democratic-governor-of-his-power-after-election?detail=emaildkre

[Sugarcoated]

1. Republicans don't believe in Democracy

rule of law or the Constitution.

[cstanleytech]

12. Oh they believe in it but only when they are the ones in charge.

[CousinIT]

2. Same shit they did to Cooper in NC

Cooper fought back. Beshear should too. We need some FEDERAL laws that prevent stripping newly elected governors from power old governor enjoyed.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. Vote ONLY Democrats in 2020.

[TeamPooka]

4. If we don't take to the streets in a big way all over this country this shit will not stop.

[2naSalit]

5. Pulled the same shit in Wisconsin.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. This is how Republicans roll. Cheat to win and cheat to retain power.

Eventually, Republican's belief that their political philosophy is 100% correct and the only way will destroy them.

I hope to live to see that day......

It's the Prosperity Gospel of politics (anything goes to justify the end).

[FiveGoodMen]

7. Getting to be a familiar story

(See Wisconsin...)

[Farmer-Rick]

8. Watch the GOP try it when Dems take back the white house

If we don't take the Senate back, they are going to try to do the same thing at the federal level.

They turn the president into a king when a GOP is in the white house and they block the president at every turn when Dems are in the white house.

No rule of law for the GOP, no democracy, only goodies for them and tight controls for the rest of us.

[budkin]

9. I'm so tired of their bullshit

It's about winning and power at all costs, and denying the other party power at all costs. ENOUGH.

[jalan48]

10. This bill would therefore hand over control of a key government post to moneyed corporate interests

Pretty much sums up our current political reality IMO.

[rickyhall]

11. The GOP is nothing but an organized criminal syndicate.

[gratuitous]

13. Republicans hate the notion of "majority rules"

When the majority is against them, Republicans always want to change the game, change the rules, and tilt the playing board back in their favor. They can't govern, they can only rule by fiat.

[orleans]

14. the people in kentucky need to pull their heads

out of their asses and stop electing those republican assholes

[djacq]

15. Lie, Cheat, Steal;

The Republican Way.

[Habibi]

16. "backed off that ploy amid a public backlash"

---referring to the attempt to steal the governorship. They backed off because people got pissed and let them know.

A similar thing was tried by my county's Repub legislature, when a Dem County Executive was elected for the first time in decades. The public savaged them, in social media and calls/emails to their offices, and they dropped the idea.

It can be done!

[Augiedog]

17. That's what they did here in Wisconsin