Pubdate: Sun, 19 Oct 2003
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2003 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: John Cheves

Q&A WITH ERNIE FLETCHER 'WE'RE VERY PASSIONATE'

Republican Thinks He Can Bring Needed Changes

Ernie Fletcher needles his opponent, Ben Chandler, for being a "career 
politician," but his own political career is doing just fine.

Fletcher, the Republican nominee for governor, graduated from the state 
legislature to Congress in 1998. He is halfway through his third term 
representing Central Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a recent interview, Fletcher acknowledged that Republicans recruited him 
into the race for governor. The GOP is eager to end three decades of 
Democratic control of the Governor's Mansion, and to many, Fletcher had the 
look of a winner. He didn't even draw a serious Democratic opponent in his 
last election.

However, Fletcher added, he's nobody's tool. Once he and his wife agreed he 
should run, he took full command of his campaign, he said.

"This was my decision," he said. "Glenna and I made this decision, and 
we're very passionate and excited about it."

Fletcher also talked about the importance of religion in public life, his 
ability to get along with Democrats, and his running mate Steve Pence, the 
former U.S. attorney in Louisville.

Question: Gov. Paul Patton and Lt. Gov. Steve Henry don't work together and 
don't even seem to like each other. Why did you pick Steve Pence as your 
running mate, and what does he offer us that you don't?

Answer: He brings a good complement. He has a tremendous amount of 
experience and expertise in the criminal justice system. I bring different 
experience, and the combination, I think, gives us a tremendously broad 
breadth of ability. Steve will have a significant role. We work very well 
together, we get along real well, and share the same passion for Kentucky.

Q: If you're elected, are you going to tell us something like, "I had no 
idea our state budget was such a mess, and it turns out I'm going to have 
to raise your taxes after all"? Or do you go in with a pretty clear idea of 
where we stand?

A: There's no question that, when you actually get in there and get down 
into every detail, which is impossible at this time, that there are going 
to be surprises. But we have talked to a number of people, and I do believe 
that we can balance the budget without raising taxes. And we must. States 
that have raised taxes in these types of situations have found that they've 
ended up in even deeper problems.

Q: Much of Kentucky's economy is based on cigarettes, liquor and gambling. 
Is that a good thing?

A: It makes us much more vulnerable to downturns in the economy. And we see 
our poverty rate increasing at twice the national rate during a soft 
economy. It's a reflection that we need more diversity in our economy. 
We've done well in the automobile industry; I think that's a principal area 
where we can do much better. We can do much better with the federal 
research labs, with biotechnology and the new economy. I do support the 
Governor's Office for the New Economy. Clearly, we have depended upon those 
more traditional products, and you want to make sure we keep those 
economies strong as well. But I want to bring in the kind of good jobs we'd 
be proud to give our children.

Q: Do you smoke, drink liquor or gamble?

A: I don't smoke. I do go to the races occasionally. Never bought a lottery 
ticket. And I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, so I'm not a complete 
teetotaler.

Q: Everyone agrees that Kentucky schools could be better. You raised kids 
here. What complaints do you have about the education your children 
received in Kentucky schools?

A: I really believe that we were blessed to be in good schools where we 
lived. We moved into southern Fayette County, into the Palomar subdivision. 
Our daughter was at Lafayette High School, where I graduated from, and had 
a very good education. We were very participatory in that. The role of the 
parents is extremely important. We had an experience with our son where we 
didn't have the quality of teacher one year that we felt we needed. So we 
realized that you need to get very, very involved, early on, so that we 
could help make sure that our son got into a classroom with a really good, 
qualified teacher. Some parents would feel intimidated about making those 
kinds of requests on behalf of their children. But overall, I was very 
pleased. Our son eventually went to the Dunbar High School magnet program, 
and received an outstanding education.

Q: Two convicted killers were executed during the Patton administration. 
You support the death penalty. Would you be comfortable if somebody were 
executed after you signed a death warrant, or would that bother you on some 
level?

A: There's no question it's a grave decision that you make. I do support 
the death penalty. I don't think anyone can anticipate what they would feel 
like when they have that responsibility and authority. But I do support it. 
I think knowing that the deterrent that it provides, and the justice that 
it provides for the victim, justifies capital punishment in capital 
offenses. Now, I would like to make sure we make every effort possible, 
including using new technologies, to ensure that no innocent people are 
executed. DNA evaluation adds, I think, tremendous value to ensuring that 
justice is done.

Q: We've seen a lot of deadlock in Frankfort between a Dem-ocratic 
governor, a Demo-cratic House and a Republican Senate. If you win, you'll 
face a legislative chamber controlled by your opposing party. What are you 
going to do about that?

A: I've got a history of working well with Democrats and Republicans. When 
I first entered the General Assembly, the first piece of major health care 
legislation that I authored was sponsored by leading-Democrats in the 
House. So I understand that you need to allow other people to take credit 
for things, that you need to work in a bipartisan way. People are tired of 
the partisan politics, the logjam that it has created. I can work very 
well, I believe, with House Speaker Jody Richards -- I just spoke to him 
recently -- and Senate President David Williams.

Q: The legislature spends a lot of time fighting over religion, such as 
whether the Ten Commandments should be posted in government buildings. Why 
is religion so divisive in the political world, and would it be a better 
idea for politicians to run the government and let the churches run religion?

A: Most people understand that this country was founded on the basic faith 
in a benevolent creator. That's in our founding document, the Declaration 
of Independence. And I think some people are concerned not that we're 
pushing religion in schools, but that it's being pushed out. I think that's 
a legitimate concern. You know, a lot of people are taking their children 
out of public schools because they feel like the values are not being 
taught there that they want their children to have. I do support allowing 
the posting of historical documents -- the Mayflower Compact, the 
Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments. I don't think that's 
pushing religion. I think that's part of an honest examination of where we 
came from, where our morality comes from.

Q: You and your opponent both have featured your wives in your television 
commercials. Why did you do that, and do gestures like that make your 
personal life a legitimate public issue?

A: We live in a fishbowl, anyway. I think people want to look and see who 
their first lady will be, and I think Glenna will make Kentucky a great 
first lady. Plus, she's a lot better-looking than I am.

Q: Every session of the legislature brings another batch of abortion bills. 
People feel so passionately about abortion. Are we ever going to see an end 
to this debate?

A: I don't think anytime in the near future we're going to see an end to 
the debate. We can work to make sure we support women in difficult 
situations, to let them know that adoption and other alternatives are 
there. We can also support reducing unwanted pregnancy. But I don't think 
debate on this is unhealthy. I think there are passionate reasons why 
people are pro-life, and why people on the other side take a different view.

Q: We also see a lot of fights in the legislature about legally mandated 
equal rights for gays and lesbians. How do you feel about that, and why is 
it such an emotional flashpoint?

A: I think it does because, clearly, you look at the culture, not just here 
but across the world. There's always strong feelings about that issue. I do 
believe it's important to keep the standard of traditional marriage intact. 
But I also want to make sure that we don't discriminate against people 
based on that issue.

Q: A lot of people want a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment to 
allow slot machines at racetracks, or maybe even full-fledged casinos. 
Forget about being governor for a second. As a voter, how would you vote on 
that?

A: First, we'd have to see exactly what the referendum looked like. But at 
this time, I don't personally support it.

Q: Education and the economy are big issues. What are other important 
issues for Kentucky that nobody seems to be talking about?

A: We've talked a lot about the drug problem in this state. This is a 
problem that's affecting families and communities. We have methamphetamine 
in the west, OxyContin in the east, we have crack cocaine in some of the 
urban regions, particularly Louisville. We haven't had an effective war 
against those drugs here. While we've had drug use going down in the United 
States, our drug use has been going up in Kentucky. And that has a 
tremendous impact on our ability to attract business, it has a tremendous 
impact on jobs and the education of our work force. It's had a very 
deleterious effect.

Q: So far, what has been the best moment of your political career?

A: One of the most rewarding things I've done is work on the Patient's Bill 
of Rights, working alongside the president. [In 2001, President Bush 
endorsed Fletcher's version of U.S. House legislation on managed health 
care.] When we started out that process, I told my legislative director, 
"Our goal here is to get this bill passed. It's not likely we'll have our 
name as lead sponsor on the final bill." When we passed it that night, that 
was an exciting time. The (House) speaker gave me the gavel and wrote a 
personal note on it for me.

Q: So far, what has been the worst moment of your political career?

A: The thing about politics, I don't think there's one moment. I guess the 
lowest politically would be when I lost the congressional race in 1996. But 
I knew going into the last few weeks that it was very unlikely we were 
going to win that, so I already was mentally prepared. That whole campaign, 
we never quite got it off the ground. It was a very frustrating endeavor. 
But if it was the lowest point, it was also educational.

Q: Obviously, you disagree with your opponent, Ben Chandler, on a lot of 
issues. But what do you think of him as a man?

A: He seems to have a good family. He seems to be very concerned and 
interested in his children. From all I can see, Ben is a good man. The 
difference we have is on who is able to bring changes to Frankfort that are 
needed.

Q: What is your opponent's best idea?

A: His idea on cell towers, using state properties whenever they're 
available. I think that can bring in some revenue. Nobody's talked about it 
so much in terms of the revenue. When he said that, it clicked with me.

Q: What have your campaign advisers told you to start doing, or to stop doing?

A: They wanted to make sure we get out and let people know how passionate I 
am to do this job. There was a lot of discussion at first that maybe I was 
recruited into this job. There's no question that some recruiting went on, 
but you know, this was my decision. Glenna and I made this decision, and 
we're very passionate and excited about it.

Q: If you lose this race, what will be the cause?

A: I don't know that I could speculate on that.

Q: What is your favorite part of campaigning?

A: I really enjoy getting out, stopping in the country stores, going in and 
saying "Hello" to people. The best part of the campaign is the fine people 
that you meet across this state.

Q: What part of campaigning do you dread?

A: Getting on the phone and asking somebody for money.

Q: What's the worst trouble you got into as a kid?

A: I don't know if this is self-incrimination. Should I answer this? I was 
quite a rowdy kid in school. In the first grade, I remember -- and this 
still sticks in my memory very vividly -- I remember somebody walking down 
the aisle, and me sticking my foot out and tripping them. Miss Irene took 
me before the whole class and paddled me. That left an impression. I 
haven't tripped anybody since.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart