Pubdate: Mon, 29 Sep 2003
Source: Daily Independent, (Ashland, KY)
Copyright: 2003 The Daily Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.dailyindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573
Author: Charles Wolfe, Associated Press

GOVERNOR'S RACE STARTING TO GET PERSONAL

FRANKFORT (AP) -- If Ernie Fletcher can be blamed for a bad economy, then 
it seems Ben Chandler can be pinned with the illicit drug trade.

The governor's race, somewhat insidiously, has taken on a more personal and 
negative tone, signaling the attack ads that are sure to come.

Each camp engages almost daily in pointing a finger at the candidate of the 
other camp. Whatever the occasion or issue at hand, one candidate can find 
a way to drag the other into it, sometimes gratuitously.

The underlying message is always the same: My opponent has not been doing 
his job, or he has been doing the wrong thing, or he's a captive of an 
interest group - trial lawyers and pharmaceutical companies being two that 
are frequently mentioned.

Last week, Chandler met in northern Kentucky with a group of higher 
education officials, including presidents of the eight state universities.

Chandler said afterward that the presidents are especially troubled about 
having to raise tuition again and again.

Chandler opined that tuition increases are due to the problematic state 
budget, which in turn is due to the poor economy - the issue he has used at 
every opportunity against Fletcher, a Republican congressman who supported 
President Bush's tax cuts and other economic policies.

Meanwhile, Fletcher running mate Steve Pence outlined the slate's strategy 
for drug enforcement. It included more drug courts and treatment for 
nonviolent drug offenders, especially those abusing methamphetamine and the 
prescription painkiller OxyContin.

"This should have been the job, in my opinion, of the attorney general," 
Pence said. "It has basically been ignored until this campaign."

Chandler planned to roll out his own drug enforcement plan this week. He 
previously said he would create a state drug czar to coordinate the state's 
enforcement efforts.

Pence said Chandler "should have been performing as the drug czar during 
his eight years in office. This is not a problem that snuck up on us in the 
last two years."

In the back-and-forth, both candidates and their spokesmen are using and 
reiterating specifically derogatory terms that they hope will reinforce 
their coming attack ads.

Chandler's people frequently use the word "hypocrite" to describe Fletcher 
and his campaign. There is a longer variation - that Fletcher "says one 
thing in Kentucky and does another thing in Washington."

Chandler plays on that theme when criticizing Fletcher's promises to help 
senior citizens pay for prescription drugs. He notes that Fletcher voted in 
Congress against reimportation of American-made prescription drugs from Canada.

"It's amazing what a wide gulf there is between what Congressman Fletcher 
does and what Congressman Fletcher says," Chandler said last week. "I mean, 
you've got the Grand Canyon in between what he says and what he does."

Fletcher, who if elected would be the first Republican since 1967 to win 
the governorship, has a potent theme - that he's different from the usual 
Frankfort officeholders and that it's "time for a change" after eight 
consecutive Democratic administrations.

Those threads run through many of his campaign's statements, such as 
spokesman Wes Irvin's retort on prescription drugs.

"It's absurd," Irvin said, "for a career politician to attack Dr. Fletcher."

Loaded words from both campaigns, not to mention grist for attack ads.

Charles Wolfe is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom