Category Archives: Politics

Better way to elect, or select, judges?

Alabama, blue wave, school boards, Hixson, Breanne, red tide, judicial electionsBy Steve Brawner , © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Let’s say you were on trial for a murder you didn’t commit. Your fate would be decided by average Arkansans.

Which process would you prefer?

A. A small group of focused people from all walks of life would hear both sides of the case through an orderly process. You would have a chance to testify. By the end, they would have adequate information upon which to make their decision.

B. Maybe a million distracted Arkansans would decide your case along with other cases by clicking “guilty” or “innocent” on an electronic ballot. Their information would be limited, and much of it would come from 30-second ads and mailers produced by anonymous people who say you’re guilty.

If you chose “A,” that’s the jury system. If you chose “B,” that’s the way we elect judges.

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Can the center make a comeback?

vote, Mark Moore, 16-year-olds, Clarke TuckerBy Steve Brawner

© 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Does “the middle” equal “mushy”?

The concept came up in an interview with Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, by the New York Times. The newspaper featured Tucker in a story about national Democrats favoring moderate candidates in Republican-leaning districts like central Arkansas’ 2nd.

It’s represented by Republican Rep. French Hill, himself not a fire-breather, but national and local Democrats think they have a shot at winning it. So they recruited Tucker and have backed him financially.  Continue reading →

Why five legislators are going to jail

Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas WorksFour of the 135 members of the 2013-14 Arkansas Legislature probably are going to jail, along with a fifth who served earlier. More might join them before the FBI is finished. Let’s consider why this is happening, beyond the standard explanation that, “All politicians are crooks,” which is not true.

The four ex-legislators – Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale; Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale; Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith; and Rep. Hank Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff – have been found guilty (Woods) or pleaded guilty (the others) to various financial crimes, a common denominator being misuse of the state’s General Improvement Fund for their own benefit. A fifth ex-legislator, Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne, who served from 2005 to the beginning of 2011, has also pleaded guilty to financial wrongdoings including misuse of the fund.

The GIF is a grant program directing state dollars to specific local projects at the behest of individual legislators. The process has changed many times because of political machinations or court rulings, the latest last year. Its latest incarnation sent grants to planning districts that rubber-stamped legislators’ wishes.

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Poll shows why GOP must ride the Trump train

Donald TrumpWe learned this week that it’s statistically possible that the only Republican voters in eastern Arkansas’ 1st District who don’t approve of President Trump are the half a dozen who said so in a poll.

The survey by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College found that 96.6 percent of respondents in that district said they approve of Trump’s performance. It polled 676 likely Republican primary voters statewide, or about 169 per congressional district, though it wasn’t exactly that. If it were, that would mean somewhere around six voters in the 1st said they didn’t approve of Trump or didn’t know, while the rest approve.

But the survey had a margin of error of 3.8 percent both ways, and 96.6 plus 3.8 equals more than 100. So who knows – maybe those are the only six? Continue reading →

Looks like the governor is safe

Asa HutchinsonAs the campaigns heat up before the May 22 primary …

I’d been wondering why Gov. Asa Hutchinson hadn’t been spending more of that $1.86 million he had in the bank as of March 31. A recent poll may provide the answer.

The governor has always been an overwhelming favorite to be re-elected, but if he were to face a challenge, it more likely would happen in the May Republican primary rather than the November general election. Primaries are weird because they attract a smaller turnout with more partisan voters. His opponent, Jan Morgan, is pretty good at bringing attention to herself through hot-button issues that are important in a Republican primary – guns, in particular. In the age of Donald Trump, she’s the more Trump-like candidate.

So I thought she might make the governor sweat a little. Continue reading →