By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Government in the United States isn’t designed to be like Great Britain’s, but that’s how it often functions. In Arkansas, that’s just a reality. In Washington, D.C., it’s a problem.

Political parties structurally are part of the British system, and the executive and legislative branches are interconnected. There are two major parties, Conservatives (Republicans) and Labor (Democrats), and also minor parties that do win seats in Parliament. The party that wins control in parliamentary elections forms a government. It’s headed by a prime minister, Theresa May, who is an elected member of Parliament who represents the town of Maidenhead.

May along with her Cabinet are really who chart the country’s direction. Her primary worry regarding Parliament is maintaining her Conservative Party’s support. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose her job. This could happen if she can’t manage Brexit, the politically impossible divorce from the European Union. Continue reading →

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

“Symbols matter.”

That was the argument offered by Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock, for his bill that would change the meaning behind the star representing the Confederacy on the Arkansas state flag.

Based on a 1924 design, the flag has four blue stars in its center area. The three below the state’s name commemorate its belonging to France, Spain and the United States prior to statehood. The one above commemorates its belonging to the Confederacy.

Blake, who is African-American, says that era shouldn’t be forgotten or commemorated. His House Bill 1487 would change the star’s meaning but not the flag itself. Instead of the Confederacy, it would represent the Native American tribes who first occupied the landscape. Continue reading →

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Who are the 135 legislators passing laws affecting current and future Arkansans?

Typically these days, they’re white male Baptist Republicans with college degrees, according to the Arkansas Legislature’s website and some internet searches. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Racial and gender categorizations cannot be avoided, so let’s cover them first. The Legislature is composed of 102 Republicans and 33 Democrats. Of the Republicans, 82 are white males and 20 are white females. Of the Democrats, 11 are African-American males, five are African-American females, and six are white females. 

That leaves only 11 white male Democrats, which once would have described the entire Legislature. In the 100-member House of Representatives, there are only six.  Continue reading →