Category Archives: Politics

Will 3 percent vote for almost no government?

Mark West

Mark West is running for governor as a Libertarian.

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

For Mark West, victory in the Arkansas governor’s race realistically will be measured using two numbers: 50 and 3.

He says if his votes keep Gov. Asa Hutchinson under 50 percent, that would be a measurable number that shows his third party campaign kind of caught on. Achieving that goal seems unlikely.

The more important number is 3 percent. If he wins that amount, his Libertarian Party won’t be a “new” party under Arkansas law in 2020, and it won’t have to expend its limited resources collecting 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. The party’s 2014 candidate for governor, Frank Gilbert, won 1.92 percent.

How limited are those resources? Hutchinson as of the last campaign finance reporting deadline Aug. 15 had raised $4.3 million for his campaign. The Democratic challenger, Jared Henderson, had raised about $324,000. West has raised $6,000 to date. Continue reading →

Biggest loss with McCain: his independence

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

The late Sen. John McCain pointed out in his farewell statement that Americans are “opinionated, vociferous individuals.” That certainly is true, as displayed in the response to his death.

The passing of a public figure usually is accompanied by widespread praise, the general idea being that we focus on their accomplishments and we don’t speak ill of the dead, at least not the recently dead.

The vast majority of comments I’ve seen regarding McCain likewise expressed admiration, but some on the left called him a warmonger, and some on the right called him a RINO. That’s a “Republican In Name Only,” which some consider a major insult. Continue reading →

In legislative corruption case, which will be the next puzzle piece to fit?

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge met with reporters Wednesday, the main purpose being to try to put to bed a four-year-long story about her 2007 departure from the Department of Human Services. The more interesting tidbit was the bigger story that won’t go away – the continuing investigation into legislative corruption.

First, let’s sum up the part about Rutledge’s work history, because you’re going to hear about it occasionally during her re-election campaign. In 2007, she was working as a foster care attorney for the Department of Human Services. In December, she left to work for Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign without giving her two weeks notice. She reasoned that campaigns happen fast so she couldn’t spare the two weeks, but it left the short-staffed agency in a bind. There were some hard feelings, and her supervisors placed her on a “do not rehire” list. Her file was changed to say she was discharged for “gross misconduct,” which is simply not true. She clearly resigned voluntarily.

The issue came up in 2014 during her first campaign for attorney general. It resurfaced recently when the Democratic Party of Arkansas sued in order to release the unreleased parts of her personnel file. A judge on Monday ordered it to be done. She preemptively released eight pages Wednesday.

Her opponents are Democrat Mike Lee and Libertarian Kerry Hicks. Unless something else surfaces, base your vote on something other than this.

The more interesting part of Wednesday’s meeting occurred in its first few minutes, when Deputy Attorney General Lloyd Warford discussed the office’s work alongside an ongoing federal investigation into legislative corruption.

Continue reading →

Do we really want the president to turn off the news?

By Steve Brawner,© 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Here’s the thing about polls: They never tell you everything, but they often tell you something.

Such is the case with a recent Ipsos poll where 85 percent agreed that “Freedom of the press is essential for American democracy.” At the same time, 29 percent, and 48 percent of Republicans, also agreed that “the news media is the enemy of the American people.”

In other findings, 26 percent of Americans, and 43 percent of Republicans, agreed that “the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior.” Thirteen percent of respondents, including 23 percent of Republicans, agreed that “President Trump should close down mainstream news outlets, like CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times.” Another 3 percent of Americans didn’t know.

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What Gov. Hutchinson and Jared Henderson have in common

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his Democratic opponent, Jared Henderson, have at least two things in common: They both started their political careers at young ages as heavy underdogs in statewide races, and they both have offered a big idea regarding education.

Hutchinson’s political career began in 1986 when, at age 35, he challenged the late two-term U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, 61. Bumpers was a Democrat like almost all elected officials in Arkansas. Running as a Republican gave Hutchinson little chance to win a statewide race of any kind. But that was the party where he felt he belonged. He lost, 62-38 percent.

Four years later, Hutchinson ran another statewide race – this one against Democrat Winston Bryant for attorney general. Bryant had been lieutenant governor for a decade, mostly under then-Gov. Bill Clinton. Hutchinson lost, 55-45 percent

Hutchinson did not have a realistic chance of beating Bumpers. Beating Bryant would have been an upset.

Continue reading →