BREAKING: Treasurer Martha Shoffner Arrested, Held in Pulaski County Jail

May 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
9923-13

Well, here's a little bit of Saturday night political news for you: State Treasurer Martha Shoffner has been arrested and is being held in the Pulaski County jail. You can see a record of her arrest at the jail's website by searching for her name. No further information is available at this time. Stay tuned to The Arkansas Project for new developments. Update, 8:24 pm: The AP is reporting that Shoffner has been charged with a form of extortion. More details as they become available. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats

New Poll Shows Plurality Less Likely to Support “Private Option,” Oppose Medicaid Expansion

April 8, 2013 2 Comments
private option poll

Today, as the Advance Arkansas Institute kicks off their Medicaid town hall tour across the state, AAI has released a new scientific poll on the “private option” plan. The Senate passed the plan on Friday, although the results of this survey suggest that a 75 percent vote (which will be required in order to spend Medicaid money) will be difficult to achieve. According to the poll, a plurality of Arkansans are “less likely” to support expansion under the private option model -- they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Verdict Is In: Time for Conservatives to Abandon the “Private Option”

March 28, 2013 7 Comments
medicaid expansion

For the last several weeks, we have heard a few Republican legislators explain the wonders of the Medicaid expansion that has newly been christened the “private option." It was allegedly the Medicaid model to end all models; the real conservative solution to grappling with Obamacare that we had all been longing for. Unfortunately, the Department of Health Services deflated this daydream yesterday when they released their fiscal analysis of the three Medicaid options for the state. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

$400,000 For Sweet Potato Research? Yam Right!

March 26, 2013 3 Comments
Farmer Beebe

There are several remarkable aspects of Governor Mike Beebe’s veto of SB2, the voter ID bill, yesterday. It looks like Beebe threw a bone to the gubernatorial base -- which suggests that the base is in need of stimulation. It is also intriguing to see a governor veto a bill that passed with bipartisan support in both chambers and is supported by large majorities of Democrats, women, African-Americans, and even crusty old white guys. But most importantly: how odd it is to see a governor use the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Pointless Government Policy: Secret Background Checks for Political Candidates

March 25, 2013 Leave a Comment
criminal records

This afternoon, the Senate is scheduled to consider SB1029. The bill, sponsored by Senator Keith Ingram, would require candidates for public office to undergo criminal background checks as part of the initial filing process. Sounds like a great idea, right? Let’s take a closer look. Here is the process required by the bill: 1. When a candidate files for office, they must file a criminal background check waiver at the same time (and bear the cost of the check). 2. The waiver is signed by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Freedom Of Information Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

FACT CHECK: Club for Growth Launches Ad Against “Obama Ally Mark Pryor”

March 1, 2013 5 Comments
pryor-senate-4_3_r536_c534

The Club for Growth (or “Club for Greed,” as a famous Arkansas governor once called it) has released a new ad targeting Obama BFF Senator Mark Pryor. As I’ve learned from Max Brantley, this type of targeted (conservative) brainwashing represents everything that’s wrong with American politics. I mean, how can unions ever hope to compete with this? So, out of fear that innocent Arkansans might be misled by billionaires with the sinister motive of promoting freedom, we are going to fact … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats, Election 2014, Mark Pryor Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Confirmed: Representative Leding Has Not Called Me Back

February 22, 2013 1 Comment
Sherlock Leding, in search of scandal.

It has been well over 24 hours now and I am yet to hear back from Rep. Greg Leding about his claim that a Republican Senator, while speaking on the Senate floor, said "voter ID will help elect Republicans." You would think that, if this statement was made, Rep. Leding would be anxious to tell the world all the details -- or at least be willing to tell me specifics of what was said and who said it. Nevertheless, my calls, voicemails, and tweets have been ignored. As I mentioned yesterday, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Voter ID Tagged With: , , , , , ,

An Ad Hominem in Search of a Target That Doesn’t Exist

February 21, 2013 2 Comments
sherlock-holmes-glass_550

Yesterday afternoon, State Rep. Greg Leding took to the twittosphere to claim that a Republican state Senator "speaking on the Senate floor, did in fact say that voter ID will help elect Republicans." In fact, Rep. Leding didn't just send a frivolous tweet -- he said the quote was "Confirmed:" Confirmed by who? And who said it? And what exactly did they say? I was in the Senate gallery for the full discussion on voter ID -- I never heard any such comment. In addition, I have video of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
«Older Posts