Arkansas PoliticsArkansas Republicans

The Fun Begins!

Baker
Baker: Mad as hell. Also, will not be taking it anymore.

A feisty media advisory arrived from the Republican Party of Arkansas stating the following:

Senator Gilbert Baker will hold a news conference today at 3:00 pm at the Faulkner County Republican Headquarters, 802 Front St to respond to an illegal political attack launched by his opponents today.

Baker will respond point by point to the misleading and false accusations.

“Illegal political attacks”? “Misleading and false accusations”? And here I was bemoaning the lack of drama in this year’s Arkansas political races.

The Arkansas Project would cover this news conference, but it’s in Faulkner County, which is a little far for me to go. If they did something closer to Arkansas Project World Headquarters—say, at the end of my driveway—I’d be all over it.

Baker faces Democratic challenger Joe White in his bid to hold the District 30 Senate seat. Earlier in the week, The Arkansas Project looked at ads the two candidates are running in this heated race.

Update:

Arkansas Project sources indicate that Baker is responding to a mail piece sent out by (or perhaps on behalf of) White, with the following text (it was sent to me in an e-mail, so I don’t yet have a copy of the original):

Front:
Senator Gilbert Baker directed $558,000 to the University of Central Arkansas and ZERO went to Faulkner County. Did personal favors have anything to do with this transaction?

Back:
Senator Baker’s son, a UCA Student, received special treatment for his university housing.  Former President Lu Hardin admitted that Baker’s son received his housing because of “contacts” and “greater access.”

Senator Gilbert Baker used public property belonging to UCA for a campaign fund raiser, paying for it six weeks later with an undated check.

Senator Baker has been the beneficiary of gifts and favors paid for from Former UCA President Lu Hardin’s public expense fund.

Senator Baker refuses to offer a public explanation about these issues.

The mail piece reportedly includes photos of Baker on both sides and lists a P.O. box for contact. If I get a copy, I’ll post it here. (More over at the Arkansas Times blog.)

Update: Here’s the controversial mail piece at the center of this storm, courtesy of the tireless Mr. Tolbert (click the image for enlarged version):

Disclosure: I contributed a total of $112.50 to Baker’s campaign, all in 2007. That’s probably a lot of money to the likes of you, but it’s a drop in the bucket of The Arkansas Project family fortune.

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6 thoughts on “The Fun Begins!

  • Conway is out of the coverage area of the “Tolbert Report” as well. Any of the political blogging network located near Conway that can cover this for us?

    Reply
  • Blue Dog Razorback

    Gilbert Baker must be stopped, and Joe White will do it.

    Reply
  • Grandaddy’s old slave business must have done you good, David. I’m glad to see you throw your pennies in the direction of God fearing candidates like Gilbert.

    Reply
  • David Kinkade

    Bill,
    That’s true. To be clear, it was a white slavery business. Gramps Kinkade sold orphan children from Kentucky to Argentina to work in their munitions factories during the Falklands War.
    D.

    Reply
  • David, let me just say I’m glad I wasn’t born a coal miners daughter over in East Keentuck then.

    Reply
  • Fourche River Rex

    So, Baker gets over half a mil for UCA and the best thing he could get out of it is a better housing set up for his son? Looks like he could have at least gotten his son the room and a lap dance from the cheerleaders. Or maybe breakfast in bed, served by UCA quarterback Nathan Brown.
    What makes it worse is that if Baker hadn’t quit teaching so he could run for the Senate, then his son would have gotten to go to college for a reduced price, if not totally free. Then UCA would be paying Baker and doing him favors as well. He was more effective at getting free crap as a college professor! That won’t do for an Arkansas legislator!
    Maybe White should have taken the tack of Baker being higly ineffective in receiving perks. Prolly would have played better.

    Reply

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