The John Brummett Enshortener: Today’s Column In Four Words!

The sage of Hillcrest

Oh, no! Democratic news columnist John Brummett is surveying the scene at the state Capitol, where Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been engaged in a state budget dispute of no significant consequence, and he likes not what he sees.  The Sage of Hillcrest, his brow furrowed with deep grooves of disapproval, devotes his morning column to a stern, stern denunciation of this dark new era of "dreaded Washington tactics" in the Natural State. That's right, my friend: Partisan politics … [Read more...]

Burris on Arkansas Budget Battle: ‘They Don’t Like What We’re Doing Because It’s Effective’

Burris and Beebe

Rep. John Burris, the Republican minority leader in the Arkansas House of Representatives, spoke to a meeting of the Central Arkansas Young Republicans today at Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock. Since I've written here about the budget debate at the Capitol, I stopped by to hear Burris's thoughts on the current state of play. Burris, who along with his colleagues has proposed budget reductions totaling some $21 million, noted that Gov. Mike Beebe has been unreceptive to his message of reining in … [Read more...]

Governor, Agencies Say Trivial Budget Cuts Would Be Devastating, Which Was Entirely Predictable!

Clipart by BestVector - http://clipartof.com/215955

You guys, this Arkansas budget debate! What a mess! Let's see: House Minority Leader John Burris proposes cutting a handful of state agency budgets in a gambit to (very very very mildly) slow the rate of growth in state government. Gov. Mike Beebe, he does not like this at all, pal, mostly because he doesn't appreciate challenges to his budgeting authority. So Beebe tells the agencies to assess themselves and to let us know what effect these proposed budget cuts would have. And the agencies … [Read more...]