Please sign the petition below to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis currently in Kentucky’s Capitol Rotunda, and replace it with a tribute to Muhammad Ali, “the Louisville Lip” and “the Greatest of All Time.”
I just heard from the Ali family: It is the Champ’s belief that Islam prohibits three-dimensional representations of living Muslims. Accordingly, I have adjusted the petition to call for a two-dimensional representation of Ali (a portrait, picture or mural) in lieu of a statue.
UPDATE (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)
In this interview with WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold, Governor Steve Beshear endorses the idea of honoring Muhammad Ali in the State Capitol (although he disagrees with removing Davis). Arnold explores the idea further on his weekly show, “The Powers that Be.”
Click here to check out WDRB-TV’s Lawrence Smith’s coverage of the story.
And here’s my op-ed in Ali’s hometown paper, the Louisville Courier-Journal.
UPDATE (Saturday, June 4, 2016)
In the wake of the 2015 Charlestown tragedy, in which a Confederate flag-waving murderer united the nation against racism, all of the most powerful Kentucky policymakers — U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Governor Matt Bevin, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Greg Stumbo — called for the removal of the Davis statue from the Rotunda. Today, as we commemorate last night’s passing of Muhammad Ali, there is no better moment to replace the symbol of Kentucky’s worst era with a tribute to The Greatest of All Time.
UPDATE (Wednesday, June 8, 2016):
Great piece by Lawrence Smith of WDRB-TV in Louisville on the petition drive to replace Jefferson Davis’ statue in the Capitol Rotunda with a tribute to Muhammad Ali.
UPDATE (Thursday, June 9, 2016):
Excellent piece on the petition drive by Jack Brammer that was featured on the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Highlight of the article:
Miller said he has received a few “angry comments” on his call to honor Ali.
“One of them encouraged me to kill myself,” he said. “You can quote me that I have decided not to take their advice.”
UPDATE (Friday, June 10, 2016)
The petition drives continues to show the Big Mo(hammed): check out these stories from WKYU-FM public radio in Bowling Green and WKYT-TV, Channel 27 in Lexington:
UPDATE (Saturday, June 11, 2016):
Still not convinced? Check out this excerpt from today’s New York Times:
The Missouri Senate – not the U.S. Senate – former U.S. Senator Jim Talent once told me, is the greatest deliberative body in the country today. Because any senator has the right to speak for as long as he chooses on any matter, each senator, even a freshman in the minority, can wield power if he plays the game well.
But I didn’t understand how to wield power when I got there. I would soon learn, though, from veterans like Senators Victor Callahan and Jason Crowell, and House Speaker Rod Jetton.
When I came to the Senate, I aspired to be the young, liberal wunderkind that many journalists and activists had anointed me. In taking the unprecedented step of blocking a gubernatorial appointment before being sworn in, I sought to carve out an image for myself as a strong progressive, unafraid to stand up to the state’s most powerful Republican, Governor Matt Blunt. However, as I soon realized, the very image that helped me in my district was crippling me in the Senate.
My colleagues defeated nearly every proposal I offered during my first session, often with undisguised delight. I suffered so many defeats my first year – on amendments to restore funding cut from children’s health care, to enact an earned income tax credit for the working poor, to reveal an abstinence-only sex ed bill – that none really stood out.
All that stood out was a feeling of losing.
I hated losing, because I was very competitive. But I also saw the poverty and violence up close night in, night out, at neighborhood meetings and anti-gang marches, and that increased my sense of urgency.
I’d been in a hurry my whole life. But never did I feel such a sense of urgency as I did near the end of my first legislative session when I realized that as one of 34 senators able to change the state’s direction, I’d accomplished next to nothing. It was time to learn how to win.
******
To win – and to do so consistently – I knew that you needed to be either feared or loved. Respect wasn’t enough.
Term limits meant that no one was around long enough to be truly loved, and only a few were feared. I knew I wasn’t. For starters, I was too nice and I didn’t like pissing people off. Those who were feared didn’t care who they pissed off.
Second, I lacked institutional knowledge, both on policy or procedure. Without deep understanding of an issue and a firm grasp of Senate rules, it was hard to be feared on the Senate floor, where the action went down. Also, we (Democrats) were outnumbered 23-11, which didn’t help inspire fear. But after observing how Senator Crowell used the filibuster to great effect, I vowed that I would influence a policy debate in the same way sometime soon – and ironically, I got my first chance on one of Crowell’s own bills.
Crowell was best friends with House Speaker Rod Jetton, and was the Senate handler for the sole bill Jetton filed in 2007 – a bill to eliminate state taxation on all Social Security benefits reached the Senate. There was no coordinated Democratic strategy for dealing with the bill, so I asked the Minority Leader where she was on the bill, which was the centerpiece of the House Republicans’ agenda for the session. “Whose bill is it?” she sniffed.
“It’s Speaker Jetton’s.”
“Then Ah’m aginzit.”
Read the rest of… Jeff Smith: Rod Jetton & Our Unlikely Friendship
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 22, 2011 at 9:30 AM ET
Politics of the Planet
President Obama must deal with fierce lobbying over the future of MPG standards. Naturally, American car companies do not want any standards imposed on them. Isn’t this one of the things that got them into trouble in the first place; ignoring the trends towards more fuel efficient cars? [latimes.com]
Lawmakers appear ready to end the ethanol subsidy. This long overdue measure will free up $6 billion amid a budget crisis. [npr.org]
South African researches are stunned when a shark jumps into their boat. Even more surprising is when it says “candygram”. [cnn.com]
It appears there will be justice for the environmental activists that were murdered in the Amazon. [bbc.co.uk]
Great news from Portland, more cities now need to follow suit and ban plastic bags. [msnbc.com]
As I am new to RP you may be wondering what to expect from my posts. Will they be rightwing rants, or milquetoast musings? Will they be politically correct or in your face opinions? The best way I know how to answer that, is to tell you my story.
I’ll start with me on the flower covered dais in a packed, standing room only Missouri House chamber, my right hand raised, repeating my oath of office. My wife is holding our Bible, and my loving family is sitting in the house well watching their dad, son and brother being sworn in as the second youngest Speaker in Missouri state history.
Many wondered how a country boy from Marble Hill, Missouri could go from the lowest ranking member in the minority party to Speaker of the House in just four years. Some said it was my work ethic; some said it was my political skills; and others said it was my friendly likable style; but no one really seemed to know the real reason.
While I’m sure hard work, skills and smiles helped, being in the right place at the right time and term limits created an opportunity! My House seat opened up only because of term limits, and we had a chance to win the majority only because so many Democrats were term-limited. All of the senior Republicans had left which gave a friendly, hardworking guy who knew how to raise money and help candidates win campaigns, an excellent opportunity to be the Speaker in just two terms.
Life is always throwing opportunities your way, and it’s up to you to take advantage of them. I freely admit the four years it took to win my first House campaign, help spearhead the legislative redistricting process for my party, recruit candidates, win the majority and position myself to be unopposed for Speaker, were four of the busiest years of my life. I have never consistently worked that hard at anything in my life and I thought I understood hard work.
Running track and setting school records required working out twice each day to get in the 100 miles a week it took to win races. When I joined the Marine Corps I learned a new level of hard work. They gave me 90 pounds of gear and ordered me to march through the hills, with no rest or sleep, through all kinds of weather for days on end. Starting a small real estate business and making it profitable, required early mornings and stressful nights day in and day out.
But all those experiences were just preparing me for what it took physically, emotionally and mentally to recruit candidates, win the majority, unify caucus members, advance an agenda, get good press, and stay in touch with donors all while trying to be a good father, loving husband, and solid community leader back home and in the district.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. The crazy thing is, I LOVED IT! I was having a blast, everything was going my way, everyone loved me, respected me, and wanted to know what I thought about matters great and small. The other positive aspect of all my success was the policy changes I was able to implement. Expending political capital and pushing hard for the policies I believed in was never a question for me. I studied the rules, reached across the aisle to make friends and understood how to use my political clout to get things done.
In the House it takes a united team to change things. Developing an agenda, unifying our caucus behind it and leading them in the public debate was a very worthwhile experience that required using the carrot and the stick. I rewarded both Democrat and Republican friends alike. I helped them with their priorities and gained their support on our agenda. I also sometimes punished my opponents.
Read the rest of… Rod Jetton: Success, Scandal & Change-The Fight to Be King of the Mountain
Tonight, No Labels is hosting an exclusive national telephone town hall with Gang of Six Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to discuss the Gang of Six’s plan to reduce the federal debt by $3.7 trillion over the next ten years.
You’ll get the chance to hear directly from our leaders about the Gang of Six’s bipartisan budget plan, ask questions and learn what you can do to help get a deal done. With only 12 days left to raise the debt ceiling, it is critical that bipartisan efforts are discussed and supported to avoid fiscal calamity.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 21, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Speed
After taking some heat from American auto makers the Obama administration has trimmed back proposed fuel economy standards for future trucks and SUVs. [autoblog]
Here is a very cool story about a McLaren F1 that raced British RAF helicopters in Hong Kong. [Jalopnik]
I always enjoy it when I can combine my WWG worlds. This week Tech and Speed meet as Chevrolet agreed to be one of the launch advertisers for Spotify, the British music streaming service that just made the move to the U.S. [autoblog]
Here are some of the more amusing in-car radio rants in NASCAR. These cover the spectrum from the volatile Kurt Busch to the lovely Danica Patrick. Oh, and if you can’t guess, the audio is certainly NSFW. [All Left Turns]
Sadly, with Boehner impotent in the face of the tea party-dominated caucus, there are now two camps of leading Washington Republicans. One camp – the cold-eyed power-seekers represented by Cantor in the House and McConnell in the Senate – wants the country to default because it will destabilize the markets, hurt the economy, and thus hurt Obama’s chances of re-election. That’s sad.
The other camp – the Norquist-led “starve the beast” types – wants the country to default because it will prevent the country from borrowing for any purpose, and begin accomplishing their overarching goal of totally discrediting government. That’s nuts.
Where is today’s Bob Dole, the heartland conservative respected by both sides and willing to stand up to his party’s right wing in the name of statesmanship? His name is Rob Portman, and he’s AWOL.
RIGHT NOW — until 3:00 PM EDT, the RP is co-hosting No Labels Radio.
The discussion will be on the ongoing debt crisis, and his guests include some of the nation’s top political and economic experts.
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
Today, at 2PM EDT, the RP has the chance to ask some real political and economic experts about the ongoing debate. Join him for No Labels Radio, with his guests including Jennifer Hoelzer, Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, and Rob Shapiro, a top economic advisor to President Bill Clinton.
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
The 2012 election will be breathtakingly expensive. President Obama has plausibly set his sights on raising a billion dollars, and the eventual Republican nominee will not be impoverished, given the antipathy toward Obama’s policies in some of the richest precincts in America.
The flood of money will disturb advocates of campaign finance reform. But the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Arizona Free Enterprise Club v. Bennett suggests that there is little even a reform-minded Congress or state legislature could do to stem the tide. Bennett involved a First Amendment challenge to Arizona’s system of public financing for state candidates: under the law, candidates are permitted to opt in or out of a pool that provides public funds for candidates who accept spending limits. For publicly funded candidates who find themselves facing certain expenditure levels by their privately financed opponents, or groups who back them, Arizona’s law furnished extra matching funds. Its principle is that speech by deep pocketed candidates should not be limited but that the public has a major stake in leveling the playing field.
Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion reminds that the Court has long considered campaign spending to be protected speech. Roberts reasoned that the Arizona law in effect “burdens” privately financed candidates by putting a de facto penalty on their speech. According to the Chief Justice, this burden does not just level the field, it has the effect of actually “reducing” the speech of the deep pockets.
The newest member of the Court, Elena Kagan, was almost caustic in her dissent. Justice Kagan’s point was that Arizona hardly restricts the speech of big spending candidates; what it does instead is to thwart their ability to dominate the field. Challenging the majority’s viewpoint that Arizona can’t impose its own view of fairness over the speech rights of certain candidates, Kagan recites the familiar rationale that too much private money in politics is corrupting and governments have a compelling interest in countering that influence.
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: The Breathtakingly Expensive 2012 Election
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