Canvasback
Asa Hutchinson's announcement that he'll run for governor again next year inevitably brought Harold Stassen to mind. Like Hutchinson, Stassen was a frequently unsuccessful political candidate, running for president nine times. Like Hutchinson, he was a Republican. Voters tired of Stassen, and they must be tiring of Hutchinson. There are dissimilarities, of course. Stassen was a moderate, at a time when the Republican Party still admitted moderates. Hutchinson is a far-right ideologue of the sort that now run the party. Stassen lacked a mean streak. He never rousted cancer victims trying to relieve their pain with medical marijuana, nor helped impeach a popularly elected president for the offense of belonging to the wrong political party. Unlike Hutchinson, Stassen never avoided military service in wartime. But there's no getting around the long losing records of both men. If a Stassenite is the best that Arkansas Republicans can offer for governor, the party's not as strong as it pretends.
Speaking of Asa Hutchinson
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Guns and the governorship: Asa Hutchinson continues to front for NRA
May 17, 2013In for a penny .... Asa Hutchinson, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, seems happy to be indelibly branded as the NRA's front man on guns as the calendar rolls toward the May gubernatorial primary. /more/
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Debra Hobbs to enter Republican race for governor
May 13, 2013I posted a note the other day that indicated state Rep. Debra Hobbs of Rogers was giving prayerful consideration to a run for governor. /more/
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It's not just geography that matters in Arkansas GOP primary
May 9, 2013In a blog post last week, I made the case that geography no longer creates a clear barrier to the Republican nomination for a candidate from outside of Northwest Arkansas like House Speaker Davy Carter. /more/
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High on the hog — and guns — open line
May 4, 2013Winners in the Hog Roast. Asa Hutchinson speaks to NRA. Gun nuts argue that open carry now legal in Arkansas. /more/
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The Do You Remember Robbie Wills Edition
May 3, 2013Merger negotiations between St. Vincent and UAMS, non-partisan elections, the race for the Republican nominee for governor and more — all covered on this week's show. /more/
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Asa Hutchinson on the NRA speakers platform today
May 3, 2013Good to be associated with the extremists of the NRA? In Arkansas Republican circles, the answer is a big ja wohl! /more/
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Must a GOP candidate be from Northwest Arkansas?
May 2, 2013Jay Barth, Hendrix politics prof and Times contributor, offers the following analysis on Republican primary voting patterns and what they could mean for a candidate from outside Northwest Arkansas, the historic GOP base in the state. /more/
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Room in the middle for Arkansas politicians?
April 25, 2013Recent events recommend former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross' plan to emulate Gov. Mike Beebe as a middle-of-the-road Democrat. Moderation is appealing. /more/
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Report: Bush administration ordered torture; no firm evidence it was productive
April 16, 2013Big news that first appeared in the New York Times this morning, but lost in the Boston bombings: A bipartisan panel said President George W. Bush’s administration engaged in torture after the Sept. 11 attacks and blamed “the nation’s highest officials” for “allowing and contributing to the spread of torture.” The 560-page report by a task force of the Washington-based Constitution Project also takes aim at the Obama administration for maintaining secrecy on past abuses and failing to prosecute acts of torture. /more/
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Head-hunting
April 11, 2013Asa Hutchinson is not as dizzy as Wayne LaPierre — who is? — but if you accept donations from the unstable, and champion their creepy causes, you're apt to be tarred with the same brush. /more/
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Latest in Editorials
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Misquoted
There's embarrassment in the young gubernatorial campaign of state Rep. Debra Hobbs of Rogers. Announcing her candidacy last week, Representative Hobbs said "I feel like this is what God wants me to do." But sources close to God say that He gave her no encouragement and was at most indifferent to her campaign.
- May 23, 2013
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Say goodbye
It's kind of piling on, admittedly, but we feel compelled to join the call for state Treasurer Martha Shoffner to resign. Awkwardly compelled, that is. She has not yet been convicted of the criminal charges filed against her, and that's an important point. The presumption of innocence has not been repealed.
- May 23, 2013
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Listen, UA
Any public-university trustees considering merger of their tax-supported teaching hospital with a Catholic hospital should ponder these wise words from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
- May 16, 2013
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Event Calendar
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Re: The crash of Martha Shoffner
Now, Maxine, if Martha Shoffner were a Republican, you know you wouldn't be sad about…
- on May 24, 2013
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Re: Say goodbye
Because Dustin McDaniel is a law abiding SOS? How dare he speak out after his…
- on May 24, 2013
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Re: The crash of Martha Shoffner
I don't see sadness either. Every day the Lord sends the criminal justice incarcerates a…
- on May 23, 2013
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