But his lawyers are trying an innovative defense of his alleged improprieties: Everybody else was doing it."
...Fletcher shouldn't be prosecuted for violating Kentucky's merit-protection law, his lawyers say, because Democrats have broken it repeatedly for 45 years without being punished.
In a 96-page motion, Fletcher's legal team cites decades of alleged political discrimination by Democratic administrations. But it notes that until Fletcher -- the first Republican governor in 32 years -- arrived in Frankfort, not a single person had been prosecuted for violations of the merit law.
It's an interesting approach. They're not saying Fletcher didn't break the state's hiring law; they're just saying he's been singled out by prosecutors.
We'll see how successful it is. That excuse never seemed to work on my mom when I was a kid, but maybe Fletcher will have more luck with the Kentucky system of jurisprudence.