Arkansas Project Poll: Bock vs. Malone

October 28, 2008

We’re down to the last seven days, with several state legislative races in the “highly competitive” or “too close to call” categories. Over at the “Under the Dome” blog, Rep. Steve Harrelson has listed the most competitive races for House seats, with a dandy interactive map, that is well worth review.

So let’s try an Arkansas Project series of polls on state legislative races—straight-up, head-to-heat match-ups of some of the top races in Arkansas, based on Harrelson’s list.

First up: District 64 in Fort Smith! Republican Stephanie Malone vs. Democrat Mike Bock! Who’s the favorite? Which party will be more effective at e-mailing supporters to vote in this highly unscientific absurd joke of a poll? Take it away:

[poll id="3"]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

Pryor: Dems Need to Reach Out to GOP

October 28, 2008
David Pryor: Cant we all just get along?

David Pryor: Can't we all just get along?

Arkansas Democratic Party chair David Pryor says that, when Democrats are in the majority in Washington in a few months, as expected, they’ll need to eschew the “arrogance” and reach out to work with Republicans, Doug Thompson reports in the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas.

Pryor and his son Sen. Mark Pryor were in Fayetteville with C-list celebrities Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen to rally support for Barack Obama. (GOP chair Dennis Milligan pointlessly took umbrage at their presence in the Natural State here.) Despite all the star power, Obama trails John McCain by double digits in Arkansas in all recent polls.

You can read all about the various rallies that these jokers will be holding around the state over at the Democratic Party website. So if you’re sitting around the house in Hazen and wondering why nothing ever happens in your town and why your life is so miserable, hey, things are getting ready to look up.

I was going to try one last time to talk Arkansas Project Girlfriend (APG) into attending one of these rallies and reporting back for the blog, but I decided I better not try my luck. We’re kind of on the outs right now and she’s not talking to me, but it’s totally unjustified. Look, if you’re gonna buy a giant bag of Halloween candy and just leave it sitting on the damn kitchen counter and think I’m not going to eat it all inside of 36 hours, you deserve what you get.

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

Memo to Pat Lynch: Shut Up!

October 28, 2008

Arkansas radio man/blogger/columnist Pat Lynch accuses The Arkansas Project of being “a bunch of conservative weasel crybabies.” (Then he goes on to say some really nasty things.)

I contest that characterization: We are certainly NOT “crybabies.”

P.S. Pat’s joking, of course. I think. Let’s go with “joking.”

Filed Under: Arkansas Media Tagged With:

Fechtelkotter Fundraiser Wednesday

October 28, 2008

A note in the overnight mail says that a few Republican legislators will be hosting a fundraiser at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Little Rock for GOP House hopeful Bill Fechtelkotter. Good Lord, what a name. I had to look back at the e-mail three times to make sure I spelled it right. It’s at Republican Party of Arkansas headquarters and tix are $100—call Fechtelkotter at 501.231.8651 for the details.

He’s up against Democrat Linda Tyler for the open seat in District 45 around Conway. Here’s an ad where he admits that his name is a nightmare, so it’s not just me:

Columnist David Sanders took a closer look at the district and at Fechtelkotter a few weeks back.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans Tagged With:

Neo-Nazi Plot to Assassinate Obama Exposed!

October 28, 2008
This is what skinheads look like. Also, idiots.

This is what skinheads look like. Also, idiots.

Oooh, that headline makes it sound so lurid, doesn’t it? This was reported breathlessly all over the place yesterday, and one of the suspects is apparently from Helena, Ark. The Arkansas News Bureau’s Rob Moritz has more here.

The Smoking Gun has the relevant paperwork, and I’m going to admit, I find it hard to take these guys as seriously when I see passages like this:

In separate interviews with investigators, the men said that they planned to speed their vehicle toward Obama while “shooting at him from the windows.” Apparently befitting the historic assault, Cowart and Schlesselman “stated they would dress in all white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt.”

I understand that investigators have to take these matters seriously, and they should. But looking at the details of this plot, I don’t think these clowns could organize my glove compartment, much less an elaborate multi-state killing spree culminating in the assassination of a presidential candidate.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

BREAKING: GOP Chair Takes Strong Stand Against Celebrities

October 27, 2008
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. Does she always look that good? I don't remember her looking that good. Is this a new development?

Just received an alert from the Republican Party of Arkansas that chairman Dennis Milligan will not sit by idly as celebrity Democrats Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen (an Arkansas native) barnstorm the state on behalf of Barack Obama.

One wishes that Milligan would take as strong a stance in fighting state Democrats as he does in fighting C-list celebrities, but there you go. Here’s the full statement:

Mary Steenburgen may have Arkansas roots, but in no way is her ultra-liberal ideology representative of the Arkansas voters she and her husband, Ted Danson, are attempting to court this week. We have yet to see Senator Obama himself come to Arkansas to ask for support; instead, he continues to send surrogates who fall far short of their assignment.

Arkansas is a conservative state. We care about protecting our country, our families and our pocketbooks. Sen. McCain’s policies of tax relief, strong support for small business, and protection of our family values are right for Arkansas, and right for America.

Milligan then took an unprecedented step in calling on Arkansans to boycott all viewings of “Three Men and a Baby” and “Cheers” re-runs, because Ted Danson was in those, and he’d call on people to boycott movies that Mary Steenburgen has been in, but for the life of me I can’t think of what she’s been in, so this entire punchline just went to hell.

Where on earth was I going with this? I don’t remember. But as a Republican in Arkansas, there are times when I weep for my party.

Filed Under: Arkansas Republicans

Endgame for Dobbins?

October 27, 2008

Dwayne Dobbins: Time is tight.

Unstoppable groping machine Former Democratic legislator Dwayne Dobbins took it on the chin once again today as the Arkansas Supreme Court told him to “buzz off” in his quest to get listed on the ballot, the AP reports. With eight days to go until Election Day and early voting in full swing, Dobbins is running out of plays and this is just starting to get kind of sad.

OK, one more time for those just joining the Dobbins Saga (*long Kinkade sigh*): Dobbins resigned from his House seat in 2005 as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors to avoid felony charges for groping a 17-year-old girl and his wife was elected in his place and then when he filed to run again this year in a surprise move the Democrats declined to certify him for the ballot so he’s been fighting to get back on the ballot but even if he were to win it would not matter because members of the Arkansas House overwhelmingly passed a rule in August that would bar him from being seated so I’m not really sure where he’s going with all this. Whew.

And I say it’s a crime, what’s being done to Dwayne Dobbins. The man just wants to legislate! Won’t you let him legislate? Damn you! Damn you all to hell!

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature Tagged With:

Notes on the Arkansas Blogosphere

October 27, 2008

The Arkansas Project likes to share the wealth and point you toward ongoing developments in the Arkansas blogging community, and here are three more for you to take note of:

Radio man/blogger Pat Lynch, pictured here in olden times

Radio man/blogger Pat Lynch, pictured here in olden times

On-again/off-again blogger Pat Lynch is on again at his Lynch at Large blog. Between his blogging, his radio show, regular TV appearances with sparring partner Bill Vickery, and a weekly column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Lynch is in a tight struggle with David Sanders to be the state’s leading one-man multimedia empire. (Close on their heels: Roby Brock of Talk Business.) Here’s an amusing blog note from Lynch to Bill Clinton on the campaign trail: “Shut up!”

And then here are two that I stumbled across only recently:

The Wide Awake Cafe is an Arkansas-based blog from a center-right perspective.

The American Truckers at War blog is based in Bradley County, Ark., of all places, and is fiercely pro-McCain, so naturally I dig it.

Check ‘em all out at your leisure.

Filed Under: Arkansas Media Tagged With:

California: Lottery Not So Hot

October 27, 2008

A few weeks ago I noted a New York Times report arguing that, during tough economic times, state lotteries do well. But now we have a report from the Los Angeles Times that suggests precisely the opposite for the state of California, where ticket sales have fallen off steadily over the last two years.

With Arkansans voting right now on a proposal to create a state lottery (which will most likely pass), this report on California’s experience is well worth considering:

Similar drops in lottery sales have been seen in other states hit especially hard by the economic downturn, including Florida, Texas, New Hampshire and Maine.

“Lotteries all over the country are down,” said Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor of economics who has written books on the gambling industry.

“The primary engine of growth for lotteries previously was instant tickets: the scratch tickets for $1, $5, $10 and even $20,” he said. “But given the price of gasoline and the state of the economy, people have stopped buying these tickets. They no longer have the discretionary income to fuel the sales of these instant tickets.”

The state is considering various measures to “modernize” the lottery, including allowing the legislature to borrow against future lottery earnings. I just do not see any way that could possibly end up being a bad idea at all.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

Sanders: Obama Slipping? McCain Swimming?

October 27, 2008
Dave's ride

Dave's ride

In a Sunday piece, Arkansas News Bureau columnist David Sanders jumps into the deep end to assess the state of the Presidential race with a counter-intuitive take on the campaign.

Sanders suggests that, despite national polling trends, Democrat Barack Obama may be facing some challenges, while Republican John McCain could be gaining ground.

Sanders and I are both McCain-Palin supporters, of course, but he’s a good deal more sanguine about the race than I am. Frankly, I’m starting to feel like having that “McCain/Palin ’08: The Original Mavericks” mural painted on the side of my van might have not been such a hot idea.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics Tagged With:
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