What happens to a country of contempt?

How well can a nation based on being a representative democracy and a free market economy function when a majority of its citizens say their countrymen are immoral?

We may find out in the coming decades.

The first paragraph’s question arises from the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of 30,000 citizens in 25 countries.

The United States was the only country where a majority of respondents – 53% – viewed their citizenry’s morality and ethics as “somewhat bad” or “very bad.” Turkey and Brazil were close with only 51% having a positive view of their countrymen. The percentage was 55% in both Greece and France.

In contrast, 92% of both Canadians and Indonesians believed people in their country were “very good” or “somewhat good.” Eighty-eight percent had the same view in India and Sweden. Australia was at 85%, while Japan and Mexico both were at 83%. Continue reading →

Sanders’ State of the State shows what will pass

One big difference between a president’s typical State of the Union address and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ State of the State address April 8 is this: What the governor proposed will actually happen.

While the State of the Union often features a laundry list of policy proposals applauded only by the president’s party, Sanders’ State of the State at the beginning of this year’s fiscal session didn’t offer many policy specifics. And while there were standing ovations and opposition sit-downs, it didn’t have a partisan vibe.

In fact, don’t expect a lot of fireworks during the fiscal session, for three reasons. First, fiscal sessions, which happen every even-numbered year, are designed to last 30 days and focus on relatively boring budget matters. Lawmakers can get into other topics, but most don’t want to. Second, Sanders is in her first term and still likely to pass most of her priorities through a supportive Legislature. Third, Sanders has taken the most contentious item, her proposed 3,000-bed Franklin County prison, off the table for now. It just doesn’t have the votes, and may never have them.

We can be fairly certain, then, that lawmakers will agree to Sanders’ request for full support of the educational freedom accounts in her 2003 LEARNS Act. Those accounts provide families of any income level about $7,000 per child annually for private and homeschooling expenses.  Continue reading →

Rep. Steve Womack: Biggest threat not Iran, China or debt

Steve WomackWhat’s the country’s biggest threat? According to U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, it’s not a nuclear-armed Iran, China attacking Taiwan, or the nearly $40 trillion national debt.

“It is the profound division in the body politic that prevents the legislative branch of the greatest country this world has ever known, that prevents that legislative body from doing its most basic function,” he said in Springdale Wednesday. “And then you have to ask, ‘How did we get here?’ …

“Let me tell you how we got here. We got here because we couldn’t control ourselves in the area of redistricting.”

Womack, who represents the 3rd Congressional District in northwest Arkansas, made his comments at a conference of the state’s engineering firms and the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

While part of his remarks covered infrastructure, he spent most of the last 10 minutes discussing partisanship and gerrymandering. The latter is the centuries-old process where majority parties redraw congressional districts using sometimes squiggly lines to ensure their states elect more of their own party members. Democrats and Republicans both do it. Continue reading →

Bryan King shows how an independent can get elected

Sen. Bryan King

Sen. Bryan King

Today let’s talk about two independents who were on Arkansas’ March 3 ballot – one explicitly independent, one functionally so. The explicit one, Adam Watson, lost badly. The functional one, Sen. Bryan King, won easily. 

There’s probably a lesson to be learned there – by me, if by no one else.

I’ve long hoped that voters would elect more centrist, commonsense independent candidates who are not beholden to the Republican and Democratic parties, which together have created the $39 trillion national debt. Three or four truly independent U.S. senators could serve as the balance of power and force the two parties to behave more responsibly.

But voters haven’t elected many independents – not at the federal level, and not at the state level. In fact, there have been only eight independent U.S. senators since 1983. There currently are two, but they generally work with Democrats. There’s one independent in the House of Representatives, Rep. Kevin Kiley from California, but until very recently he was a Republican. 

Back to March 3 in Arkansas. Continue reading →

The 2.28% have spoken

The official in charge of Arkansas’ elections probably was elected Tuesday by a little more than 2.28% of the state’s registered voters.

State Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, narrowly defeated Bryan Norris in the Republican primary runoff for secretary of state. The vote was 50.57% to 49.43%, with Hammer receiving 40,920 votes and Norris receiving 40,002.

Hammer and Norris made the March 31 runoff after placing in the top two in the three-candidate primary March 3.

Hammer advances to the November general election, where he will face Democrat Kelly Grappe and Libertarian Michael Pakko. He will be a heavy favorite because he’s the Republican nominee in a Republican state. 

Statewide, 5.13% of the state’s almost 1.8 million registered voters cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic runoffs.

Voter turnout in the March 3 primaries was much higher – 24.25% between the two parties. Even higher percentages vote in November general elections: 65% in the 2024 presidential election and about 51% in 2022.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Arkansas’ population was a little more than 3.1 million as of last July 1. Hammer’s 40,920 votes means that 1.3% of the state’s total population voted for him. Continue reading →