Arkansas Blog

Max this whole thing is bullshit!

The Brotherhood and Speaker race coalitions take a very solid Democratic majority and F it in the A.

The Speaker of the House should be picked out of a Democratic caucus. BUT now we have a system where the candidate for Speaker who has the least support among the Democrats ends up being speaker because he cuts a deal with the devil ..er .. I mean Repubs.

Robbie Wills is a heck of a nice guy BUT What kind of insanity is it that Repubs control who is speaker when Democrats have 75 seats out of a 100 member house?

The real Dems need to get together and create a well funded House Caucus and help get Democrats elected BUT then hold them accountable to acting like Democrats when they actually get to the House.

Cowling, Hawkins, Hoyt, and Reynolds all directly benefitted from independent expenditures from the Democratic Party in their races to help them overcome Republican opponents and put away the Repub 527 Coalition for Arkansas' Future.

SOO how the hell do they repay the old party of Jefferson and Jackson... by abandoning David Stoppel. Who is in the same position they were two years go

F'ing Ridiculous. That's a real nice system they have got over there

I know I mentioned this in the other post too, but anyone notice the resemblence to SNL character Tim Calhoun? Click the blue Devil.

We need public campaign financing ONLY.. We need better citizen access to the actual resume', deeds, and voting record of our elected officials (including Judges) and other candidates on a state and local level. The system is terribly flawed and almost impossible to figure out what's going on.

I don't care what the current system is.. if there are 75 Dems and they support or pander to an uber GOper it's because they want to.

Keep in mind though, even if he did something politically inconvenient, he did it because he's a man of his word (about the King fundraiser), even when the situation changes, we can trust that Robbie Wills will keep his promises.
However, he should turn around and campaign heavily for Stoppel after he gets his obligation over with.

Why, Rep Wills is just practicing for the post-partisanship era that will be ushered in by the ascendancy of BHO.

Let's take a look at Obamas post partisianship.. he passed a campaign finance law with MChenycain... and hooked ole McCheneycain owns tactics...McCain is now violating his own bipartisian law. WTG Obama!

Clintons vote one way but substantially finance the Lieber-Pryors to ensure the results go the other way..on a myriad of areas...such as unitary executive, 4th amendment protections, illegal war, Federalist judges and madmen AG's... don't forget mark being anti-choice or the entire Clinton DLC organization pushing far right wing congressional and senate campaigns!

Talking about bipartisanship like Obama does, and financing it like the Clintons are two very different levels of concerns.

I do wish Obama would quit talking about it... but the real danger is what the Clinton machine actually does.

Try to find a "principles statement" on the DPA website, or any where in the DPA.

What we have is a Corporate Legislature. And how irrelevant is the
Green Party ?

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How about this for FULL TRANSPARENCY, have the SPEAKER'S RACE BE OPEN BALLOT as opposed to secret ballot.

Now crazy as it seems that would do it. You know something just occurred to me it might be illegal for a secret ballot due to FOI for govt. decisions to be made, e.g. speaker's race, without full disclosure. You cannot have any secret voting for any govt action without disclosure. Hmmmmm........where are you AR Times and Dem_Gaz on this one. There, add that to the list.

Let's not forget the treachery of Pres Pro Tem Jack Critcher and Pro Tem-elect Bob Johnson. First they commit treason as Democrats and host a fundraiser for Repub Gilbert Baker. Now they're hosting a fundraiser for Repub Shawn Womack. I'm embarrassed for Critcher and Johnson to call themselves Democrats. Critcher's wife is running for the House in Batesville; I wonder if party loyalty means anything to her, or is it just a convenient label to keep the Critcher family on the state payroll?

Max:

I didn't know that Rep. Gaskill was still "with us." I haven't heard him say anything slanderous about fellow House members or talk about wanting to kill his father and running away from home at the age of 14, so I figured he'd "passed on"...

eLwood:

The fundamental principles of the Democratic Party of Arkansas are the promotion of individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and a healthy and vibrant democracy. All are essential if Arkansas is to reach its full potential.

Under the Tab "Our Beliefs" first passage of the preamble.

The next Democratic non-partisan fund raiser? Benton County of course since they like cutting deals with Rwingnuts here's a giant of a non-partisan Rwingnut they can coalesce around:

The Iconoclast
It looks as if the Benton County Republicans are sending up a trial balloon for their next gubernatorial candidate. If Lobbyist Asa Hutchinson couldn't cut the mustard in 2006, then maybe they will gift Governor Mike Beebe with opposition from Rogers Mayor Steve Womack in 2010."

Bet those DINOs can really cut deals with Boss Womack.
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btw, that's a direct copy/paste off their website

Under the Tab "Our Beliefs" first passage of the preamble.<<
JK

I read all of them previously JK. I also noted DPA 'believes in' a "living wage" for all workers. What a JOKE! Tell that to the Poultry Federation.

Beliefs are things to pretend to uphold in church once a week just in case there's some truth
in any of it.

Principles are ideas you ACT on. Supporting a gay-bashing Rwingnut leggie is not upholding a principle. It's upholding nothing but bigotry.

DPA are safe with "Beliefs." Principles require some integrity.
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I bet the DPA is not happy with any of these folks.

Also, it's very high and mighty to talk about principles...but do you think an honest living wage can happen overnight? Do you think that the State of Arkansas has the money or political will to do a lot of the things that many of us desire for our state?
Do you think that the MAJORITY of the DPA thinks that these politicians supporting people outside of the party is a good thing? No. That's why it's so notable when it does happen.

I would say this is an instance of individuals within the party going against its principles. Not the party itself revoking those principles.

There are no PRINCIPLES JK. DPA only has "Beliefs." You know the stuff that keeps Santa Claus alive.
They have no principles. It there were in fact principles which are upheld the very least the DPA would do is CENSURE the 12 DINOs for supporting an opposition candidate over the Demo candidate.
The Democratic legislature is nothing but a Corporate beholden legislature. I respect the Republicans inasmuch that they make no pretense about who/what they support.
I seriously doubt you will ever find a bunch of Republicans going to Ft Smith for a fund raiser for any Democratic candidate even if the Poultry Federation told them to do it.
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Also, it's very high and mighty to talk about principles...but do you think an honest living wage can happen overnight?<< JK

Yes, it happened in Pine Bluff on Nov 7, 2006. The campaign for it last a few months.

Can't do this, can't do that...never accomplished a damn thing. Allowing the Poultry Federation, Farm Bureau and Corporate Retail to run the state legislature will keep wages at subsistence levels. It took a group of concerned MINISTERS from Central Arkansas to increase the pathetic Ark minimum wage. DINOs and Huckafuck only jumped on the wagon when they saw the ministers' ballot initiative as inevitably successful. Ark DPA was notably ABSENT on the issue. With a wealthy, unelected car dealer running the show just how much concern do you ever think will be allowed for living wage??
Principles indeed. High and mighty? Are you kidding us?
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When I would talk with progressive/liberal groups and Democrats outside of Arkansas, they'd asked me when would we ever get a majority of Democrats in the Arkansas Legislature. They would cite the truckload of repressive laws against labor, women, civil liberties, civil rights, the environment, and against plain old common sense passed every time they met.

I told them that 75% of the General Assembly called themselves Democrats, but 90% of those voted like Jesse Helms, who was considered to be a liberal by the Arkansas Republican members. I could say that nothing's changed, but it's gotten worse. The masquerade continues and good Democrats will mindlessly vote for these charlatans just because of the label.

I don't expect Bill Gwatney to do or even say anything. The real goat in this deal is Steve Harrelson, who is supposed to be the House Democratic Leader charged with recruiting and electing Democrats to the House. The manifest disrespect shown to him by Wills and the others is now obvious to everyone. Most of the twelve are opportunists or closet Republicans; Bobby Pierce and Robert Moore are the only real surprises and disappointments.

Cassandra they are Corporate bird dogs. They go hunting with the corporation paying their tabs.
Steve's fate reminds me of the 3 Demo leggies we managed to get elected in Washington County.
They were never given chair of any committee. Pettrus gave the committee chairs to Republicans.
Never trust a car dealing Democrat. Never.

"We need public campaign financing ONLY.."

Eureka, what good would it do
if everyone opted out of the
system like Obama is doing.
You can bitch about McCain,
but at least he's not going
back on his promise like BO
is going to do.

And your man Obama supported
Lieberman so shove the Clinton
hate straight up your ignorant
@$$.

"Let's take a look at Obamas post partisianship.. he passed a campaign finance law with MChenycain..."

Eureka, what campaign finance
law are you referring to? I
know Obama didn't help pass
McCain Fiengold since he was
not even in the US Senate.
He was probably snorting coke
when the public finanicing of
presidential campaigns was
set up long ago.

Obama isn't even participating
in the public financed system,
and is backing away from his
promise to participate in the
fall.