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Editorial: It's not the legislature, but one-party control that is 'crumbling

April 02, 2004

Gosh, democracy is messy. Sometimes people disagree with what state legislators do and even protest at the state Capitol. Sometimes legislators even disagree with other legislators' maneuverings so much that they walk out and join the protesters.

We recently praised Jack Coleman for the job he his done as a state representative, but we beg to differ with the Burgin legislator's swansong as reported in Wednesday's paper. Coleman said legislators weren't working as well together as they did in the old days and lamented "mob rule" in the Capitol.

We'd suggest that the problems to which Coleman refers are really signs of democracy at work. Certainly, back in the days when the Democrats controlled the state Senate, the state House of Representatives and the governor's office things went more smoothly in the legislature. Decisions could be made by a handful of influential Democrats working with the governor. The Republicans, if they wanted to get anything out of the legislature for their home districts, kept quiet and feasted on the scraps the Democrats tossed them.

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That system changed when the Republicans captured the state Senate in the late 1990s, and it changed even more in November when the Republicans took the governor's office. That's what set the stage for the rather rowdy display of democracy in the current session of the legislature.

What Coleman felt "crumbling" was not the Kentucky General Assembly, as he said, but the decades-old system of Democratic control of state government. On the other hand, we're certain the legislature will survive, and that it eventually will change even more to reflect the will of the people of Kentucky, which is increasingly Republican and conservative.

And from time to time things will get rowdy in Frankfort. People will express views that legislators would like to dismiss as "religious beliefs." And legislators will characterize views they agree with as the true business of the state.

In the end, the will of the people will be achieved - albeit with a lot fussing and feuding and protesting along the way.

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