Et Tu, Republicans? No Meaningful Tax Cuts For Arkansans

promises_made

For many weeks, the people of Arkansas have been led to believe that once the legislature passed Medicaid expansion, it would then produce significant tax relief. We have documented these assurances in our previous coverage -- and repeatedly emphasized that the cuts were in no way linked to Medicaid expansion as a matter of policy, but perhaps only as a matter of politics. Boy, were we right. As you probably know, the Senate signed off on funding for Medicaid expansion yesterday, signaling … [Read more...]

Voter ID Veto Override Delayed Despite 77% Support

77 percent support voter ID

Two days ago, the Senate overrode Governor Beebe’s veto of the voter ID bill, SB2. The House was scheduled to vote on the override yesterday, but the vote was delayed. On Twitter, Rep. Stephen Meeks -- who carried the bill on the House side -- told me the vote was delayed due to a “LONG calendar.” A previous tweet from Rep. Meeks said the issue was not being brought up in order to allow legislators to get home early for Easter weekend. Perhaps, however, there is more to the story. On … [Read more...]

Talking Obamacare, Medicaid Expansion With Paul Harrell

phplogo

Yesterday I went on The Paul Harrell Program for our weekly segment. We spent the duration of the segment discussing Medicaid expansion, The B-S Plan, and how Arkansas can stop Obamacare. You need to hear this: … [Read more...]

Church Protection Act Passes the House, Heads to The Beebe

Rep. Bell, the Gnome of Mena, wielding his fully automatic Glock assault rifle.

Yesterday, the House passed SB71, “The Church Protection Act,” which we have been following for a few weeks now. It was a landslide: 85 for and only 8 votes against, with 7 not voting. See how your legislators voted by clicking here. I would remind you (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) that the bill will not mandate that churches allow concealed carry. In fact, the bill's default rule is that concealed carry is still prohibited unless a church specifically decides to allow … [Read more...]

Voter ID, Action Plan, & Cornball Brothers

Yesterday, I joined The Paul Harrell Program for our weekly segment on Arkansas politics, policy, and other stuff. We discussed Rep. King's voter ID bills, House rules, the AAI Action Plan, and cornball brothers. You can catch the interview below around the 1:05:00 mark. Enjoy! Video streaming by Ustream … [Read more...]

The Reviews Are In!

Highly acclaimed radio host Paul Harrell has reviewed AAI's Action Plan for Arkansas which I told you about earlier this week. Needless to say, Paul is a big fan of the book, particularly the chapter beginning on page 77 which talks about the need for more transparency in the committee voting process. Hear his comments on AAI's plan from his show yesterday, beginning around the 5 minute mark in the video below. And don't forget to catch me on Paul's show today at 5:00 for our weekly segment. … [Read more...]

Update: Carter Elected Speaker of Arkansas House

Update #2: Rep. Davy Carter has defeated Rep. Terry Rice 52-45 in the Speaker's race. Davy Carter is the Speaker-elect and will be the first Republican Speaker of the Arkansas House. Update #1: Speaker-elect Darrin Williams not affirmed as next Speaker of the Arkansas House by a vote of 48 For, 49 Against. Speaker Robert Moore has now opened up the nominating process. The House will reconvene at 1:20 for further proceedings. I'm live-tweeting the Arkansas House Speaker election … [Read more...]

Hold Down The Fort: Gene Jeffress Goes Native

Chief Jeffress

You probably remember the series of videos of state Senator Gene Jeffress we posted back in July.  Jeffress, a candidate for Congress in south Arkansas, was filmed at a town hall meeting espousing the wonders of Obamacare.  Jeffress’s credulous Obamacare advocacy was one step away from arguing that Obamacare would raise the dead to life or make the lame walk. Another video featured Jeffress repeating a racial slur -- the “n-word.” Well, now another town hall video of the senator has … [Read more...]