♪ >> We have at least out of the starting gate Wall says the stronger message or >> the Democrats have their ticket by Kentucky.

Political expert tells us and Tim Walz will make a difference in November.

♪ Electric vehicle owners.

You have 2 new recharging options in Kentucky.

>> State is experienced.

What many of you have?

Which is a complete transformation.

>> U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell talks about how state houses are growing more conservative.

>> People like to see the work afterward as a reminder of what was talked about.

>> And as legislators talk a cartoonist turns their words into art work.

>> Production of Kentucky edition is made possible in part by the KU Team Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Wednesday.

August, the 7th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

Kentucky Edition is on the road this week for the National Conference of State Legislature Summit in Louisville.

Thousands of lawmakers and staff from all over America are in the Derby city this week, learning from each other topics on today's agenda included cybersecurity redistricting, support for family caregivers and nuclear energy.

Also today, state lawmakers split up to hear from national leaders of their respective political parties.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The welcome Republicans to his hometown of Louisville while an adviser to President Joe Biden spoke to Democrats, our dew Leffler has more on both.

>> It's arguable.

If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell represents today's GOP, even he says it's hard to wrangle his colleagues a little bit like being a groundskeeper cemetery.

>> Everybody's done it, but no one is listening.

>> But Kentucky Republicans welcome to McConnell with open arms in Louisville Wednesday, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers applauds McConnell's character four-sided global agenda and his role in thwarting President Obama's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court and ultimately shaping what it is today.

>> That it would be up to the Trump administration to a 0.3 conservative justices to the United States Supreme Court.

>> That doesn't sit right with Tom Perez and adviser to President Joe Biden.

He spoke to Democrats just down the hall.

>> We've got some head winds right now.

And some of those head winds begin with the U.S. Supreme Court.

That's why the president, the vice president, have a proposal for Supreme Court reform because the Supreme Court has lost its legitimacy.

>> Speaking to state legislators who have the ultimate say on abortion rights and other issues in their states.

Perez says Democrats must do what they can locally.

>> Those of you who are playing defense.

Protecting in Ohio.

Fighting the good fight against actions that are designed not to bring people together but to divide us.

Regardless of what you're doing right now, you are doing remarkably important work.

>> Most states are now controlled by Republican State.

House is a welcome change for the longtime or McConnell.

>> Stunning development.

The Strait is experienced.

What many of which is a complete transformation.

From a very schale, a Democratic state.

Today.

Brett State.

>> Heading towards the presidential election, a New Mexico Democrat rallies behind the Harris was ticket.

>> You believe in the dignity of America and our democracy.

>> Everything is on the line and we must get to work.

>> And McConnell warns of what a Democratic administration or Congress could mean a lot.

But the soon.

>> Our worst nightmare.

Democrats window.

What else?

The House, the Senate first thing I do is get rid of the filibuster.

You'll have to do stage.

They should.

Puerto Rico.

That 4 new Democratic senators and purpose to it.

The next thing they'll do.

Mister Pack.

The Supreme Court.

I feel very strongly.

That the way.

You get the policy you want is to win elections.

Not to break the rules.

>> While McConnell attack the Democratic nominee's, he didn't say what, 4 more years of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would mean for the nation for Kentucky edition of John Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

During the three-day and csl summit, elected officials had a chance to talk directly with groups advocating for governmental changes in policies.

We talked with people from a few of those organizations and learn more about their mission and their purpose for attending and csl.

>> We believe that one state can learn from another.

And so by bringing people together across party lines across geography, they have the ability to say what's working in your state.

And as a result, we think we make stronger states across the nation.

So here is an organization that uses data to make a difference on key areas like global conservation, strengthening democracy, as well as improving civic life in the United States were here to provide insights on a range of topics from housing, affordability to improving broadband as well as improving.

How data is used in the public health system so that health outcomes can be enhanced throughout communities across communities throughout the United States.

So we have several unique characteristics that the council, state governments, one, is that we're a regionally focused organization.

So we have the Southern Legislative conference Midwest, East and West.

>> Where legislators are able to focus on issues of regional importance.

We find that that's a great way to connect people around common issues and purpose.

We also serve all 3 branches of government.

The actually believe that when judges, executive branch officials and legislators work together to solve problems, the actually can have a bigger impact, for example, in an issue like foster care, all 3 branches are involved in making that system the success.

But one branch trying to solve that problem.

Is it going to be as effective as all of them coming together?

We also multi-state solutions.

You may have heard of interstate compacts, but it's a way for states to come together and agree among themselves as to how to do something without the federal government need to intervene.

Well, states are where the action is at and from a public policy perspective, a lot of important work is getting done to protect public health, to strengthen economic advancement as well as group the strength of communities.

in 2004, about 100,000 bills were passed in about 10,000 actually became was.

And they're doing everything from improving access to broadband, improving access to health, as well as strengthening our education system.

We also find that there's a civility component that's so important in today's of hyper and very divisive culture in which fear and anger and hate tend to dominate the political discourse.

We believe that if human eyes elected officials and public servants we find is that they actually share much more in common.

Then they they don't often times social media dumbed-down the complexity of the problems we face.

We think by focusing on policy instead of politics, those complexities can be appreciated and we can have civil conflict as opposed to high conflict in which we just hate each other and don't really look for solutions.

>> Attendees of the NCSL summit are taking in lots of great information from the hundreds of panels going on this week and the conference is providing an unique way to recap some of the key points.

>> I'm here at the Kentucky International Convention Center and I am participating is standing in it each and every one of the sessions schedule and I am drawing what I hear so over the course of an hour, I am listening and drawing one of these panels.

So each one of these panel represents the educational component of an hour or so in real time.

I'm watching.

We'll have mostly listening, listening, distilling trying to figure out what would make sense for people to bring home people like to see the work afterward.

As a reminder of what was talked about, this is kind of reinforcing component.

I worked with associations that have receive comments back from their attendees later that said that we went back to the office and my boss asked me so what did you learn at the event?

And they just bring out their phone and flipped Here's the photo of the session, the session in the session.

And then at that point, they have that visual cue.

They can go through a litany of all the things that they learned.

So that's the huge benefit and it's kind of fun to I come with that electrical engineering background, honestly.

So I'm a little bit heavy on occasion.

So that helps in certain spaces.

In the more experience I get in different worlds, different sectors, different industries.

The more I can parlay one to the next lot of the world more connected than you think.

This is an unknown thing.

What you're seeing here, so not a lot of people do this kind of work.

So.

It's special live to describe and show photos sometimes, but people are smile and they say that and I'm lucky that I have >> And I have this job, but I think I am.

>> Orleans advice to aspiring live illustrators is to get experience.

And as many diverse fields as possible.

In other news, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spent their first full day as running mates and Wisconsin and Michigan running mates and Wisconsin and Michigan today as Kentucky ends are learning more about walls.

Some are wondering what made him stand out from the competition.

University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss says Walls could help Harrison some of the parts of the country where Democrats have been struggling.

struggling.

>> The mess is that you pick a running mate, a vice presidential pick to try to swing their home state VP picks don't actually have that much of a direct impact on any one state.

What they do is help the campaign amplify a message or alter its image with the public more general and VP pick can help in multiple states.

Walz has the benefit of appealing to that.

A working class, the middle class, upper Midwest, Northern European descent population that used to be solidly progressive solidly Democratic and the Democrats have been losing to the Republicans lately.

Hillary Clinton lost because she lost the big blue Wall.

Vice President Harris hopes to win by keeping the big blue wall and waltz is a candidate picked to represent that Upper Midwest area in terms of policy positions, the Democratic Party has been moving left just as the Republican Party has been moving, right?

We're in a more polarized circumstance by the standards of Bill Clinton or even Barack Obama.

Harrison was is going to be a more more left-leaning ticket.

Then we had before, of course, Harrison was will be facing Republican ticket.

That's notably conservative compared to anything we've had before.

More and more voters are caught in the middle choosing between 2 tickets to that are kind of far from where they stand ideologically.

I first was has come out of the starting gate roaring.

You know, he's got good common sense language, man of the people language, including a few cuts, words and dirty jokes thrown in.

He talk sports.

The vibes as they call it.

The walls has brought to the campaign so far have been fantastic.

But it's a it's a mistake to think that voters by November we're going to be making their choices based on superficial on shallow things.

Voters may not know a lot about policy, but in their sloppy way, they are trying to vote for the candidate who's going to deliver policies of a sort.

They'd prefer they may not know much about policy, but the voter may take cues from an uncle who follows politics from the woman who runs their labor association.

Whatever they figure out ways to vote.

Russia went to vote for the candidate whose policy positions are closest to theirs.

Has signed legislation and a lot of legislation that Republicans will use to suggest that he's out of touch on the culture war issues that have been hurting Democrats in middle class and working class areas.

By the time people are voting that walls will also be on the ballot.

Not just the one who's being judged based on style.

So far a much more effective public speaker than JD Vance just in terms of delivering a message of connecting an audience walls is a former teacher.

I think it shows that that he knows how to deliver information in a way that people can process his comic.

Timing is good.

Vance is an awkward public speaker and awkward presentation on stage.

Maybe he can improve that over time, at least out of the starting gate Wall says the stronger message or >> so what does the vice president's decision to go with Governor Walz mean for the future of Kentucky's governor?

For more on that, our Laura Rodgers sat down with NPR journalist Rylan Barton.

>> Rylan, good to see you.

You see 2 are we now know that Governor Andy Beshear will not be on the Democratic presidential ticket.

So I want to ask you about it.

His response to Vice President Kamala Harris's decision and also what you think this means for the governor moving forward.

Yeah.

>> And his response has been very congratulatory to Vice President Harris and Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who ultimately got the nod to be her VP nominee.

It seems like this year was in the running for this up until the bitter end of this veepstakes.

It.

It was so interesting how this worked out.

I'm not sure how intentional this was, but there is so much media campaign by each one of these informal candidates where they would go on to all these new shows.

And this year's turn of this was really blasting the Republican vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, accusing him of not being essentially Kentucky enough.

While Vance, it touts his grandmother's Kentucky roots and was really got out of his progressive record as the governor of Minnesota and especially the last couple years where they had Democrats controlling both chambers of the legislature there.

They pass a lot of big progressive priorities.

I think that's the big thing that stands out is the difference between somebody like walls and somebody like this year.

We're sure, you know, whatever progressive things he's been able to get done is only been, you know, through executive order.

Hughes, I'm really been out of step with the legislature's priorities, although, you know, he and the Legislature worked together on some economic development initiatives.

That was what he's really push for.

A lot of how this year's really become famous in the state or at least well known throughout his one and a little bit more term in office is there is handling a disaster.

So free, no tornadoes and floods have taken place or return.

And also he's got a lot of name recognition here because his father was the governor.

So I think that, you know, he was a somebody that the the ticket was strongly considering.

But in the end, I think so something where, you know, governor is able to pass a whole lot of actual progressive legislation was something that the Democratic ticket wanted to lean on.

And also you're trying to bring in some of those votes from some of those northern Midwestern states, although missed Minnesota's not as swinging as some of the other ones is right next door to Wisconsin, which Democrats really trying to perform strongly in.

And then, you know, looking to Michigan and Pennsylvania, they're hoping that he's able to appeal to to some of those areas.

>> So they're speculation now about what could be next for Governor Beshear.

Well, he served and vice President Harris is elected to the presidency.

Will he serve in the cabinet time?

What would be some future political aspirations for him?

Even years down the road after his term as governor in us.

>> Yeah, that would certainly be interesting, You know, there's any number of positions in the in the I'm not sure which one would necessarily be Morrison.

Most appealing are qualified for to see somebody from attorney general.

But also there's no talk of him will be on the governorship if you're ever run for higher office.

Beyond to run for U.S. Senate.

>> Possibly another story that we want to get some perspective from you.

One is an article that Joe Soccer Road for Kentucky Public Radio which talks about the cost of legislation and it brings attention to government transparency.

How a lot of those costs remain hidden.

Can you tell us more about that?

>> Yeah, this is a really great article that that whole lot of people about how things work in the legislature, including people who are elected to the legislature.

So in Kentucky bills that spend money are supposed spills that spend money are supposed to have something called a fiscal note attached to it, which tells you how much that Bill is going to cost.

Now, there are a lot of exceptions for when that fiscal note is actually attached to a bill that say like a budget bill to tell you how much it costs.

But Joe and the Czech Republic Day to discover that there's a process called a confidential fiscal note where lawmakers will analysts to calculate the cost for how much a piece of legislation will cost, but not ever release That true cost publicly as the bills moving through the legislative process.

So even though there's a known cost of how much it's going to be the public doesn't get informed about it.

And even governor lawmakers don't get informed about it.

It's it's kind of a disturbing revelation because that's a major criterion for how people should evaluate legislation is how much it costs.

One big example of this is the bill from a couple years ago this will slowly eliminate the state's of income tax depending on certain if the state meet certain measures, there's a confidential fiscal note attached to that.

That was never publicly revealed.

That showed how much it was going to as lawmakers were discussing this through legislative process.

But we never got to learn about that.

I think that there should be inquiry into this.

And this is something that even you know, Republicans of feel like they they would like to know the Republican leaders feel like they would like to know more about this.

But that's just the way it works in Kentucky right now and other Republican leaders are defending that saying that they need this process because they don't want it's a slow down, especially late in the legislative session when they need to be really nimble when they're passing bills.

But, you know, public information advocates will say that are open.

Government advocates will say it's actually the most important time for the public to know the true cost of of bills like this because otherwise things can move really quickly and we're not going to you know, we're not going to the true facts of some of this legislation.

>> And then another story getting a lot of attention this week in the Kentucky Lantern former governor Matt Bevin's adopted son being removed from a boarding school for troubled teens and Jamaica conditions.

They're said to be abusive.

>> Yeah, this is a really disturbing story is originally reported out by the London Times.

So long investigative into homes for troubled specifically where American parents will feel like that come to a point where they need to send their kid to a place to get treatment, to get to And this one particular place in Jamaica's actually know found to be abusing some of the kids who are sent there it was shut down earlier this year after raid from a Jamaican authorities soon after allegations of abuse.

There.

So a lot of the kids who are residents there you moved often been repatriated return to to their in the United States.

But their 3 kids were not.

One of them Noah Bevan was one of the adopted children of former governor Matt and he became a ward of the Jamaican state.

It's an incredibly disturbing story and we haven't heard a response from the former governor yet as to what exactly is going on here.

But this is a really big policy platform for the former governor when he was in office was reform of the of this of the state's foster care system is somebody who's really focused on on child welfare apparently after he lost re-election.

You know, you said one of his own adopted kids to the facility that it was determined ultimately be abusing some of the kids.

So I think everybody is pretty disturbed by this and still waiting to hear from the former governor.

So we can get the full story.

>> All right.

Well, Ron, we appreciate it so much.

Thank you, as always, for your insight.

And we will talk to you again next week.

>> Electric vehicle owners, if you like to visit Lake Cumberland to have a new charging option, Kentucky utilities just opened 2 new charging stations and Russell Springs at the Lake, Cumberland Tourist Commission parking area near the Cumberland Parkway.

>> We're very blessed to have been chosen and we are the prime location right off of the Cumberland Parkway.

You have 4 million visitors that come through here each to travel, delay, Cumberland.

So what better location is there?

There is nothing in Russell County like it in all of our travelers are going to enjoy it.

>> KU and its sister company, Louisville, Gas and Electric operate a network of EV charging stations around the state.

♪ ♪ When you think about Lexington being the horse capital of the world, that probably conjures images of the Keeneland racetrack and the breads.

But the horse industry is vast and the Kentucky Horse Park wanted to offer folks a new experience.

That's why they hosted the gay poll only this past weekend.

>> I founded the gay poll Li Gun.

I was living in Los Angeles in 2006.

And I really just started a group because I wanted to expand by social network within the LGBT space.

And then since then, it's just taken off an hour international.

We enjoy members and 15 countries and we produce 3 international events here.

We do want to Europe every year we do one in Palm Beach, Florida, every year and we do one and Argentina every year.

We were looking to expand our calendar for and add one more international events and through luck and a little bit of persistence, we're actually able to connect with the Kentucky Horse Park and the Lexington Public Club.

And this is our first year here at Lexington.

So we're very excited to be here.

We're hoping that this turns into our 4th international event annually.

So the Kentucky Horse Park.

>> Was it a state agency were formed in Is when we open to the public.

And our mission is to connect people horses to talk about our history, to educate folks on the horses.

And we do that in a variety of different avenues again, from our competitions to our visitor experience for a campground.

So we look to connect people to the horse.

We host a variety of different events.

And so we like the diversity.

We want to expand the offerings.

And so when talking with chip about the league, bringing that to the park, we felt like this was just a great opportunity for us to and inclusive audience to come in and enjoy the park in and hopefully show some of our a local residents Halloween and let them come and experience.

>> you paint a dean's ahead for previous H team.

You've got enough or nutty number 2 to number one.

Any they have.

They defend work.

I'm Megan.

The number one is the more that they need to make goes.

Then number 2 is more like a big fight in the Phelan opened a big game for that.

But for the players, number 3, East Day.

Could be a more they need to be the more this might have to play it.

I could create a big game.

if that that she and the number for you this morning, the defense, they go to see a fumble, a fast We have somebody like a fun to watch.

Everybody is welcome in our veterans.

>> It's highly interactive.

It's very family oriented, in fact, because Polo, you know, it's a beautiful sport.

It's a traditional sports, an ancient sport, but it's also a sport that's very easy to When you see it, you understand what's happening on the field.

So we're able to educate people, maybe introduce more people to polo.

And and I want to say that's how we also hope to get more followers and maybe a few more polo we want everybody to come.

And while we are gay, identified we are 150% inclusive were not ex was.

So everybody is welcome to come to about later.

>> The gay League raises money for LGBTQ+ causes and one of their events earlier this year they raised over $100,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

It seems like every business has some and turns around getting hands-on experience and how the real world works.

That includes one of Kentucky's signature industries.

>> Here in Kentucky, bourbon, especially as shot through the roof.

And it is still in place.

You can do this and that is really why I chose this.

>> The Jim Beam Institute on the University of Kentucky campus has its first class of interns this summer.

Hear how these in terms of been helping Jim Beam with its research and production.

That's Thursday on Kentucky Edition, which we hope you'll join us for tomorrow night again at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central were we inform connect and inspire.

Connect with us all the ways you see on your screen there, Facebook, Instagram to KET in the loop.

But so many other ways.

>> Thanks again for watching from Louisville.

I'm Renee Shaw and I'll see you tomorrow night to take good care.

♪ ♪