News sources around Kentucky are salivating over the looming battle to destroy David Williams' control in the state senate. The efforts are being funded by those who would like to bring gambling to the Commonwealth. But they have picked the wrong battle. Williams is far to smart, far too connected to suffer defeat. One thing he knows for sure is how to fight back.
Any one who has watched Williams carefully over the years will tell you, few Kentuckians have ever played the game of politics as deftly as the Senator from Burkesville. He has not only developed a loyal voting block among his GOP delegation by helping them raise the money necessary to stay in office, he has helped them deliver on promises in their own districts thereby effectively neutralizing any meaningful opposition.
In Frankfort he has found a way to flex just enough muscle that the other party has to either consult with him, or confront him. And without consultation confrontation usually means they lose. That makes Williams an equal partner with any administration in getting things done, and the people who want things done know it.
Williams also has a particularly good sense of what the people of Kentucky want, what they will tolerate and what they will oppose. He is not prone to oppose an action unless he is pretty sure the people of Kentucky are behind him.
Take gambling for example. The folks interested in seeing this parasitic form of entertainment embedded into our communities are actually few in numbers, though they are huge in terms of finances. They know from prior battles in other states that they cannot win their fight unless they camouflage their issues. It has to be about schools, or budget deficits or saving a beloved industry like horse racing in Kentucky. Any direct appeal to the people seeking to bring casinos into a state so heavily populated with social conservatives is likely to fail, and that's where Williams has the edge.
He knows what is really behind the sales pitch being delivered by the racetracks, and he knows that the people of Kentucky know it too. So the fight to destroy Williams now being ballyhooed in the press will turn out to be a fight against the people of Kentucky. By just doing the math, no matter how wealthy his opponents may be, in the end they will be vastly outnumbered.
The racetracks would be much better served to work with Williams rather than trying to defeat him. Otherwise their efforts are doomed to fail
The problem with threatening to dis-elect someone is that then you have to go out and do it. I doubt those fat cat tracksters/slot whores want to work that hard.
Posted by: Bak Trakker | July 10, 2009 at 01:37 PM