Creationist Ken Ham Blames Atheists For Ark Park Failure

[Benton]

(07-19-2017, 01:01 AM)samhain Wrote: Man, I dislike that clown as much as the next guy, but the planning and approval for the tax breaks came during the Beshear years.  Blame Bevin for allowing this insult to Kentucky's taxpayers to be perpetuated, but blame someone else for it's coming about.  He was nobody but a joker trying to challenge Mitch McConnell (and getting his ass handed to him) when this idea came about.

Yes, and no. From the earlier link.

Quote:In 2010, former Gov. Steve Beshear initially warmly embraced the ark project as one that would draw thousands of tourists to Kentucky. And the park’s initial application for incentives was approved by the authority in 2011. But that application was for a larger project, and Answers in Genesis ran into financing problems and had to withdraw its application. The Christian ministry came back later with a smaller project that still retained the main attraction – the ark - and it won preliminary approval by the authority in the summer of 2014.

But in December 2014, Bob Stewart, secretary of Beshear’s Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet, rejected the application saying that postings on the ministry's website and correspondence with his staff showed that the original secular project had evolved into one that would advance Answers in Genesis' particular ministry and would discriminate in hiring based on religion. Stewart said the separation of church and state mandates of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions prohibited incentives for the projec

Beshear was initially for it, and supported tax breaks. But that was when it was supposed to be like a Six Flags for Christians, a theme park with a religious theme. But more of a park and less religion. 

When it became more about religion and less about a park, Beshear and the board backed off the incentives. Plus, the pension crisis was coming to a head and State Reps (where dems were in control) were trying to bring all spending to a halt so they could come up with enough money to push the impending crisis back a little. They didn't want to be out the tax dollars, at least in the short term. Then the election, where Bevin pushed to bring the incentives back regardless of the purpose of the park.