Why, lookee there, it’s Arkansas Project contributor Rep. Dan Greenberg making another appearance on the national media scene, here in the (outstanding) libertarian mag Reason.

An article by Nicole Russell about the horrors of state and local lawmaking notes some of Greenberg’s legislative efforts in Arkansas, and picks up a comment from the GOP legislator:

Sadly, many frivolous and harmful bills made it through the legislature without any uproar. Rep. Dan Greenberg (R-Little Rock) is in his second term and has a reputation for authoring libertarian bills like “The Open Checkbooks in Government Act” [link opens as PDF file]. Greenberg told me he believes that when it comes to his state, the political culture is as much to blame as the people. “[In the legislature] it’s understood as bad manners…There’s pressure not to have public disagreements. We’d have a much healthier political culture if we’d get more comfortable with the notion that it’s okay to disagree with other people.”

Perhaps that’s one reason why so many destructive bills survive local legislatures. With lawmakers remaining silent, citizens have no reason to pay attention. Thankfully, blogs and grassroots activism have helped fill some of the information gap.

Read the whole thing. It’s not Greenberg’s first appearance in Reason—he was profiled last fall. And earlier this week, Greenberg was interviewed by the New York Times about his “Edifice Complex Prevention Act.”

A New York Times story explores the trend of local communities naming schools and other buildings after President Barack Obama, with debate focusing on the appropriateness of naming public facilities for a politician who’s record is as yet unclear. Article includes interview with Arkansas’ own Rep. Dan Greenberg, an Arkansas Project contributor, who’s pushed to restrict the practice in this state with his “Edifice Complex Prevention Act”:

In Arkansas, State Representative Dan Greenberg, a Republican, has been pushing a measure to bar the naming of public buildings for living politicians, but the legislation has stalled. Mr. Greenberg said in an interview that such naming gave an unfair advantage to politicians seeking re-election, because it amounted to a “billboard” at public expense.

UPDATE: Additional comment from Michelle Cottle at The New Republic, who doesn’t necessarily see a problem with the practice, but allows for this:

Arkansas state legislator Dan Greenberg, who has introduced a bill to prohibit the practice, argues that such premature naming is tantamount to supplying taxpayer funded advertising for a pol come election time. This likely has more of a concrete impact at lower levels of public service than the presidency, but it’s a compelling point in general. Our system already stacks the deck in favor of incumbents. Why pile on?