Kentucky GOP's slasher budget

Lately, we've seen one far-right power grab after another by the Republican-led Kentucky Senate.

These chortling sore losers have tried expanding the official reach of the legislative branch - which already has disproportionate power in Kentucky. They've pulverized a popular measure that would've restored basic voting rights to people convicted of nonviolent crimes who've served their sentences. They've gutted an effort to let schools more easily make up snow days. They haven't even acted on a bill passed by the Kentucky House months ago that would raise the minimum wage. And they've tried to mandate the teaching of creationism in public schools, and have jeopardized a bill that would settle the Tea Party's frivolous library lawsuits.

Now the Senate GOP has passed a budget that slashes funds for community colleges. At the same time, it retains funds for the state's increasingly right-wing universities - presumably because of the universities' propensity for hiring officials who spend their time hobnobbing with the Tea Party instead of treating the movement as the sick joke it is.

The budget also threatens community colleges' building program. It would even slash inspections of coal mines by two-thirds.

Everybody else is talking about progressive ideas like guaranteed employment, single payer health care, eminent domain reform, green energy, the continuing rise of Occupy, and the community rights movement. But the Kentucky GOP slogs along and embarrasses the whole state. It's not just in the state legislature. It's at the county level too. Take Kenton County, for instance, where county government won't even accept responsibility for maintaining roads in Latonia Lakes. Instead, county officials keep arguing with residents about whose responsibility it is.

If only they were more like the "ZZ Top Republicans" of the late 19th century, people might actually give a shit what they think. Instead, the modern GOP chooses to be a party of unmitigated fucking nonsense.

(Source: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/03/25/3161123/kctcs-president-shocked-that-senate.html)