Senator Rapert Calls Again for “Private Option” Delay

April 11, 2013 4 Comments
medicaid expansion

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

$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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VIDEO: King, Greenberg Testify in Favor of Voter ID Bill

February 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
voter-id1

It took a little longer than expected, but as promised, here is some video from Thursday's Senate State Agencies Committee meeting at which Senator Bryan King's voter ID bill was discussed. The first clip below is testimony in favor of the bill by Senator King and AAI President Dan Greenberg. The second video is testimony against the bill by Holly Dickson of the ACLU.  The committee meeting was approximately 2 hours long and we do have more video. If you're interested in seeing it, … [Read more...]

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

Let’s Talk About Election Integrity!

February 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
Rep. Hallum voting for the last time.

Today, Advance Arkansas Institute President Dan Greenberg joined freedom fighter and all-around good guy Senator Bryan King to discuss the idea of requiring voters to show identification at the ballot box with the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus. I was there to catch the entire event on video. You're welcome. There are several interesting exchanges in the first video below. A few of them deserve further analysis which will come at a later time. But for now, enjoy the videos and read this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Voter ID Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Arkansans, What is Corporate Welfare Costing You?

December 14, 2012
Screen Shot 2012-12-13 at 7.18.10 PM

$148 per person -- that’s the amount of money, on average, that the state of Arkansas spends per year on corporate welfare, according to a new report from The New York Times. That’s more than Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. In fact, The Show Me State just to our north spends just $16 per capita on subsidies -- nearly 90% less than Arkansas. I tend to think this debunks the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Grant Tennille who thinks we must continue this large-scale … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Cronyism, Gallery Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Senator-Elect Bryan King Files Voter ID Bills

December 13, 2012

No doubt many of you remember our friend Representative Bryan King (soon to be Senator King) who has been raising awareness about voter fraud in Arkansas. In fact, Rep. King even sent a letter to a U.S. Attorney, requesting a formal investigation into fraud in Lee County, AR -- which seems odd, since we have it on good authority that voter fraud does not exist in Arkansas. Nonetheless, Rep. King is moving forward to reform Arkansas elections: yesterday, he filed two bills -- SB2 and SJR1 -- … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Elections, Voter ID Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Advancing Arkansas: Biviano Eyes Medicaid, Tax, Education Reforms

December 7, 2012

Yesterday I visited with state Rep. Mark Biviano (R-Searcy) for our Advancing Arkansas interview series, previewing the upcoming legislative session. One might call his goals “very ambitious.” Biviano, who serves as the Policy Director for the House Republican caucus, said he has three main objectives for the session: reform Medicaid, reform the tax code, and reform education. And when it comes to Medicaid, he said the issue is much more complex than simply a “yes or no” on … [Read more...]

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

Chief Osborne, Call Me Maybe?

October 23, 2012
IMG_1666

In his latest campaign expenditure report, Searcy police chief and candidate for state representative Kyle Osborne reported a $400 expense for “rent.” The address given leads to an apartment complex in Searcy. State ethics laws regarding the use of campaign funds for explicitly personal reasons are fairly clear -- it’s a no no. However, the ethics commission reserves the right to determine whether or not expenses are for “personal use” or for campaign use. The following paragraph … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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