Steve Beshear, fresh off his promise not to make anything a political issue during the legislative session, has done just that.

He’s taking Mark Riddle’s advice (Mark and his lobbyist partner are running a 527/PAC in support of the Beshear-Abramson candidacy, as it is) and has launched an anti-David Williams “petition”:

I have drawn a line in the sand against radical cuts to education, health care and public safety because I believe in our bipartisan solution to balance Medicaid and protect these critical services.

Show you won’t stand for one penny to be hijacked from our school systems nor one cent stolen from public safety to protect our families by signing our petition calling on the State Senate to pass a bipartisan, common sense solution.

-SNIP-

I’ve drawn a line in the sand and I’ve vowed to fight David Williams’ extreme proposal.

Will you join me and stand with Kentucky’s schoolchildren, teachers, seniors, and law enforcement in this fight by signing our petition?

With your support, I’m confident that we can defeat this radical proposal and implement a bipartisan solution that is consistent with our Commonwealth values — and I’m willing to work as long as it takes to get the job done.

We all know how well those petitions worked out for Jack Conway last year.

No one can deny that Williams’ effort in the State Senate to cut everything – and the Democrats’ lack of an interest in forcing Republicans to work toward a compromise – is one of the many reasons Kentucky can’t have nice things.

But it’s also important for us to recognize that Beshear is doing precisely what he said he would not. Regardless of its merits.

Here’s hoping that some day folks in Frankfort won’t consistently say one thing while doing another.