Rand Paul on Ky. Gov's Troubles: Pardon Yourself

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul wrote in a newspaper four years ago that he would have pardoned himself if he had been the state's scandal-plagued governor at the time.

Paul's opinion piece in the now-defunct Kentucky Post appeared shortly before a judge dismissed accusations that then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican, had violated state hiring laws. The same judge had previously ruled that Fletcher could not be tried while in office.

Paul, a Bowling Green eye doctor who has charmed the tea party movement by eschewing politics as usual, confided in his Aug. 23, 2006, article that he sometimes daydreamed about ''what I'd do if I were president or governor.''

Weighing in on Fletcher's predicament, Paul wrote, ''What would I do if I were governor? First, I'd have pardoned myself and everyone included nearly a year ago. Without a pardon the case goes on and on.''

Richard Beliles, chairman of the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause of Kentucky, said Wednesday that Paul's pro-pardon stance would have been ''good for an emperor, but it's hardly good for a public servant.''

''If that's what he really thinks, he doesn't understand the concept of a public servant,'' Beliles said.

Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said that dredging up the op-ed piece was an attempt ''to make an issue where there is none,'' at a time the nation faces such critical issues as a mushrooming national debt. He said Paul used ''light-hearted satire'' when joking about daydreams.

Paul's article, written at a time when he was head of Kentucky Taxpayers United, also bemoaned the lack of vision on tax policy and advocated lowering the income tax.

Benton said the op-ed was an example of Paul's ''consistent criticism of bureaucracy, status-quo thinking and do-nothing partisanship.''

Paul's comments reflected a running debate among Fletcher supporters about the governor's appropriate response to the long-running investigation. On the eve of his appearance before a grand jury, Fletcher pardoned current and past members of his administration charged in the investigation but said he would not pardon himself.

Prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charges in a deal in which Fletcher acknowledged evidence ''strongly indicates wrongdoing'' by his administration.

Now, Fletcher rarely makes public appearances. Efforts to reach him Wednesday were unsuccessful.

which is already so common in our government. He shouldn't be elected based because he doesn't have the judgement or honor to hold office.


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