The Dobbins Dilemma, Part 2

July 31, 2008

Can Dwayne Dobbins  Be Blocked from Serving in the House?

What if Dobbins wins?

What if Dobbins wins?

Two days ago, I wrote about the Arkansas Democratic Party’s attempt to block former state representative Dwayne Dobbins from the ballot because of his felony sexual assault charge and subsequent misdemeanor plea-bargain. I concluded that the Democratic party’s attempt to keep Dobbins off the ballot would, by itself, probably fail.

However, state legislators who do not want to see Dwayne Dobbins serve another term in the House are trying another tactic: they have proposed a rules change that would make Dobbins ineligible (assuming he wins the November election) to be sworn into or seated in the state House.

The question: If Dwayne Dobbins wins his November election, can the House amend its own rules so as to block him from serving there?

The answer: Probably.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

More on Lu Hardin

July 31, 2008
Hardin: Down, but not out

Hardin: Down, but not out

A Friendly Correspondent (FC) e-mails with thoughts on yesterday’s Lu Hardin post, suggesting that those who would write Hardin off based on his recent travails are way off-base. It’s been speculated that Hardin aspires to the governorship in 2014, and FC points out: “Six years is a few thousand political lifetimes, as you know, so I wouldn’t totally count Hardin out of anything.” So true! Hardin strikes me as a wily old dog, and while the current scandal is bad, the damage may not be enduring.

FC, who I take to be something of a Hardin fan, notes that “while there’s no doubt this story deserved the coverage it got, sometimes the stories and editorials did have a certain breathless quality to them. I wonder how big this scandal would have gotten if it had happened in late October, with a presidential campaign in its final days and football in full force.”

Again, FC is correct: Timing is everything in these matters. I would add that the Arkansas media has been spoiling for a fight. Media abhors a vacuum: In the Mike Beebe era of good feelings, without Mike Huckabee to kick around, it was getting to be about time to knock someone down. And Hardin, with the secret bonuses, disregard for transparency and general shiftiness, delivered. Boy, did he ever deliver.

More: Commenter “A Little Much” chides my tongue-in-cheek Lu Hardin Deathwatch reference from yesterday, given Hardin’s recent bout with eye cancer. Hm. Good point. We certainly wish Lu Hardin all the best in winning that fight, so on second thought, let’s call it Lu Hardin Steps Down to Spend More Time With His Family Watch.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics

The Lottery Song

July 30, 2008

Bud Jackson: Halter spokesman, charmless vulgarian

Over at the Arkansas Times blog, Max Brantley digs up a nice little nugget from the Chronicle of Higher Education. A Rhodes College professor with some expertise on state-run lotteries, during a recent lecture at the Clinton School for Public Service in Little Rock, ventured some criticism, noting that lotteries are a particularly regressive vehicle for generating state revenue. (You can read the professor’s full recounting here—recommended).

Fair enough. Let’s get all sides out there, right?

Well, no, not if you’re Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

The lottery, as you well know, is Halter’s pet issue, upon which he has staked his short-lived political career—so those who would question the scheme can’t be debated. They must be shouted down, belittled and bullied.

That job fell to Halter’s spokesman Bud Jackson, a Virginia-based political consultant who, based upon his regularly published comments in the newspaper, is as charmless a vulgarian who ever drew breath, and who clearly relishes his role as Halter’s pit bull.

Jackson’s response, as Halter’s mouthpiece, showed up in the paper the following day:

Halter spokesman Bud Jackson said Arkansans ‘are smart enough to trust the facts over some kooky college professor trying to turn a quick buck with a book that is several chapters short of being an honest and complete representation of reality.’

Arkansans ‘would also be thrilled to know that the kooky professor would prefer tax hikes for all people rather than a voluntary game that would benefit tens of thousands of Arkansans with new scholarships.’

Brantley points out, quite rightly, that Jackson’s response was “over-the-top” and characterized Jackson as “bumptious” (great word). That sparked another response from Jackson, which I’ll let you read over at Max’s blog.

But this is all a long way around of noting that if Halter is looking to win friends and influence people on this issue and others, a good place to start might be placing a muzzle on his overly aggressive and embarrassing spokesman. Bud Jackson, as a political consultant, is no doubt making plenty of money off Halter and the state of Arkansas. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s low rent.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

The Epidemiology of Wal-Mart

July 30, 2008

Here’s one just for fun: Check out this nifty flash animation piece illustrating the expansion of Wal-Mart across the United States. Very neat. (Via Boing Boing).

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Sanders’ Pool Report

July 30, 2008

The “Who’s Up/Who’s Down” framework is a favorite of newspaper columnists everywhere: You pull out a few boldfaced names from recent news stories, assign an up or down designation, write up a quick blurb to justify your case and then call it a day. It’s an easy crutch for the harried writer, which is why I’ll probably start doing something like that on The Arkansas Project someday.

Come on in! The waters fine!

"Come on in! The water's fine!"

These columns are also fun to read, because we all like keeping score, and part of the fun is watching the contortions that writers go through to freshen up the concept. That’s what Arkansas News Bureau columnist David Sanders does nicely today in his pool party column, where he assesses recent Arkansas political events based on who’s swimming, who’s sinking and who’s treading water.

Notably sinking: University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin, the target of a recent bonus scandal that somehow just keeps getting worse and worse. Secret bonuses! Forged memos!

Remember when Lu was popular? Of course you do. That was last month. But not anymore. Anyone laying odds on length of Hardin’s tenure at this point? Is it time to launch the Lu Hardin Death Watch?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Dobbins Dilemma, Part 1

July 29, 2008

Can the Arkansas Democratic Party Block Dwayne Dobbins’ Candidacy?

State politicos are groping for a solution to the Dobbins dilemma.

State politicos are groping for a solution to the Dobbins dilemma.

In the days ahead, I’m going to try to explain the legal issues involved in Dwayne Dobbins’ attempt to serve in the state legislature again—and the attempts of the Arkansas Democratic Party and the House of Representatives to stop him from doing so. I hope I will be able to convey what’s really going on in plain English without doing violence to the complex legal issues involved. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

“Welcome Home, Huckabee” Fundraiser, Aug. 11

July 28, 2008

The Republican Party of Arkansas is pitching a “Welcome Home, Gov. Huckabee” fundraiser on August 11 at the Clear Channel Metroplex—and pitching hard, as I’ve now received in the last two weeks a mailed invitation to my home as well as two three follow-up e-mails from party workers. A couple of observations:

Oh, goody, hes bringing his band.

Oh, goody, he's bringing his band.

Tickets for the event are 50 bucks. That’s good—one of the annoying things about recent Republican events in Arkansas is that they’ve been priced way out of the range of most grassroots types. Not as many people are willing—or able— to pay $125 or $250 for a banquet dinner as party fundraisers sometimes think.

The e-mail invitations I’ve received explicitly note that the money raised from the event will stay in Arkansas. That’s good, after the John McCain fundraiser in Little Rock in April, the proceeds of which were sent to Colorado, Wisconsin and other states. There was a good deal of grumbling about that in GOP circles, with some justification.

And Huckabee’s involvement is absolutely a plus, in spite of the fact that he’s bringing his band.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans

We’re All Gonna Rock to the Rules That I Make

July 27, 2008
Jon Woods, statesman, rock star. You know, like Bono.

Jon Woods, statesman, rock star. You know, like Bono.

In the “Style” section of Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, you might have come across a brief review of a new CD from the Fayetteville-based band A Good Fight, “The City Could Be Ours by Morning.” Reviewer Kody Ford raves about the band’s “mixture of punk and pop with a gritty edge.” You can sample the sound on the band’s MySpace page here and at their website here.

What you may not know is that the band’s bass player is none other than Arkansas Rep. Jon Woods, a Republican House member from Springdale. I’m not sure if my pointing that out will be helpful to either the band’s career or to Woods’ career as a legislator, but there you go.

You can also download the “The City Could Be Ours…” on iTunes, so get over there and show your support now. And no, this is not the uncomfortable baby boomer classic rock cover band stuff that Mike Huckabee‘s band plays, which is like watching your parents do the macarena at a wedding reception. It’s good, really. Click link below for a sample track.

Click to hear “Deja Vu in a Suitcase”

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans Tagged With:

“Delusions of Invincibility and Invisibility”

July 26, 2008

If you’ve picked up an Arkansas newspaper in the last month, you’re well aware of the UCA bonus scandal, in which formerly popular UCA President Lu Hardin was discovered to have received a nice $300,000 secret bonus from the Board of Trustees. (That’s a very short version of what became a very complicated story). Because $300,000 is chump change, and who’s gonna notice that, right?

Arkansas News Bureau columnist John Brummett extracts a few lessons from the recent flap. I liked this useful reminder, which he directs to Gov. Mike Beebe and his fans:

It’s simply that this lesson – to be ever aware of those roundly applauded for spectacular job performance, especially in the public arena – would apply powerfully to [Mike Beebe], or at least his office. Our term-limited legislators don’t keep a check on him. He dominates them.

Beebe has had scant detractors and, in fact, no substantive or significant ones. He seems by every reasonable and quantifiable indication to be performing the governorship with great and positive command. For that very reason, he should be ever vigilant not to deem himself invincible or invisible, and the rest of us ought to keep our eyes on him skeptically even as he appears clearly to excel.

It’s just something to keep in mind, not that there’s anything there. It’s an abiding principle of the news business, but one worth reminding ourselves – and our public servants – of. Like the old news media adage says: When your mom tells you she loves you, seek a second source.

A healthy admonition, that, in this era of Arkansas Democratic triumphalism.

Filed Under: Arkansas Media, Arkansas Politics, Gov. Mike Beebe

Taking License with State Government

July 26, 2008

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Noel Oman had a nice little story on Thursday about the state Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) pulling some 981 license plates from circulation following a complaint from a ridiculous nitwit concerned citizen.

Alice Kunce of North Little Rock, a middle school teacher, was issued a license plate with the randomly generated sequence 018-NGR. Kunce, possessing as she does an exquisitely sensitive soul, objected to the series of three consonants, which she believed contained a secretly coded racial epithet.

While apparently no one else—not the employees of DFA nor the 17 other Arkansans who were issued plates with the NGR designation before they were pulled from circulation—picked up on the potentially offensive and inflammatory epithet, Kunce saw it immediately: “My mind is trained to think in different ways,” she helpfully told the reporter. Indeed.

So, as a result, the state pulled 981 plates, at a cost of $1.46 per plate, according to the newspaper, for a total loss of $1,432.26, to ensure against a possible imagined offense to a single ridiculous nitwit concerned citizen.

For an encore, Kunce announced that she would be filing additional complaints with the National Grape Registry at UC Davis, the Northgate Radio project at UC Berkeley and NGR Producciones, an event planning firm headquartered in Spain.

Filed Under: Uncategorized
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