The Arkansas Project

Richard Womack: No Pie for Me!

May 21, 2013 Nic Horton 7 Comments

There’s been a lot of gossip swirling around the vote to expand Medicaid in Arkansas. For example, how did proponents of expansion pick up 8 votes from Monday (when the bill first failed) to Tuesday when it passed? There’s been a lot of talk about bribery or extortion -- Rep. Nate Bell even went to the House floor and spoke of “threats” that had been leveled against House members. Rep. Bruce Westerman, in a fiery speech, asked members if their votes were worth “30 pieces of silver?” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: AAI, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Arkansas Times, bribery, Bruce Westerman, legislature, medicaid, nate bell, obamacare, pie, Richard Womack, Shoffner

On the Arkansas Times, Part I

May 13, 2013 Dan Greenberg 2 Comments

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One of the legislature’s most praiseworthy achievements this session was passing a “voter ID” bill. If you read the unsigned article in this week’s Arkansas Times, though, you’ll see a very different perspective on voter ID. Indeed, the Times explained: Republicans say the new law will protect the integrity of our elections; some may believe that. But there's no evidence of substantial in-person voter fraud, the only kind prevented by the new law. There is plenty of evidence, however, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Media, Elections, Voter ID Tagged With: AAI, advance arkansas institute, Arkansas, Dan Greenberg, legislature, media, Policy, Politics, taxes, voter ID

Day of Reckoning in Saline County: Who Said It?

May 11, 2013 Nic Horton 22 Comments

Thursday night, the Saline County TEA Party hosted a town meeting so that their members could question the Saline County legislators who had supported the “private option.” About five state legislators representing Saline County attended; at least as many legislators from outside Saline County attended as well. Almost every public official who was there has been a friend of the Advance Arkansas Institute and, in some way, has fought for good-government reforms. But I have become … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: AAI, advance arkansas institute, Arkansas, Batman Rule, contest, Exchanges, federal debt, health care, Medicaid expansion, obamacare, Policy, Politics, Republicans, Saline County, tea party, the arkansas project

AAI Surges to 2nd Place in Social Media Ranks

May 4, 2013 Nic Horton 1 Comment

The Frontier Lab has released their latest rankings of social media influence. The results? The Advance Arkansas Institute has surged to second place in the State Policy Network, passing policy giants such as the Goldwater Institute, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the Mackinac Center in the month of April -- and trust me, this was no easy task. AAI (the parent organization of The Arkansas Project) made its first appearance in the SPN Social Media Top 10 in January, coming in at #10 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: State Policy Network Tagged With: AAI, Arkansas, Dan Greenberg, facebook, Goldwater Institute, Illinois Policy Institute, legislature, Social media, State Policy Network, the arkansas project, Twitter

“I Want to Believe” This Isn’t Obamacare

April 17, 2013 Nic Horton 1 Comment

X-Files fans are familiar with the poster in Fox Mulder’s office. If you weren’t an X-files watcher, you probably don’t know that Mulder, an investigator of paranormal phenomena, gradually uncovered an interplanetary alien conspiracy to take over our planet. It’s a free country: people are entitled to believe in interplanetary alien conspiracies, or indeed to believe in whatever they want. But if Fox Mulder were in the Arkansas state senate, that would be a problem. When people who are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: AAI, Arkansas, Friedman, Heritage, medicaid, obama, obamacare, Policy, senate

Senator Rapert Calls Again for “Private Option” Delay

April 11, 2013 Nic Horton 4 Comments

Yesterday I reported that state Senator Jason Rapert announced (while attending AAI’s Monday town hall meeting in Conway) that he wanted the legislature to delay passage of the “private option” Medicaid expansion. Now the AP has picked up on the story. According to a new report, Rapert reiterated his calls for delay this morning at the Capitol, saying lawmakers should take three weeks off to go talk to their constituents and then reconvene. Talk to your constituents? What a great … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: AAI, abuse, advance arkansas institute, Arkansas, Conway, fraud, health care, Jason Rapert, legislature, medicaid, obamacare, Reform, spending, taxes, tea party, waste

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

March 25, 2013 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

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: AAI, advance arkansas institute, Arkansas, background checks, candidates, Election, general assembly, Keith Ingram, legislature, Reform, transparency, West Memphis

Voter ID Bill Clears Final Hurdle, Heads to Governor

March 19, 2013 Nic Horton 3 Comments

Today, the Senate Rules Committee convened to consider whether or not the voter ID bill required a supermajority vote. The House Rules Committee met on this issue last week and ruled that the bill, SB2, did not require a supermajority vote. The full House then passed the full bill and sent it to the full Senate to concur in amendments. Advance Arkansas Institute's Dan Greenberg appeared before the Senate Rules Committee today to offer his opinion: Amendment 51 supplies conditions for … [Read more...]