The only problem I think the Democrats will experience with that is Tim Griffin’s Democrat opponent only got 38.2% of the vote. Putting Jefferson County into the 2nd district would all but guarantee Joyce Elliott’s Democrat Nomination again and then she would have to pick up about 25,000 votes to get over the hump. Is that possible? At the same time can a Democrat in the South continue to get elected in the next decade with the loss of Jefferson County?
If Brantley gets his way, we may actually see at some point a switch in both seats but still a 3 to 1 advantage by Republicans. Rolling the dice may give the possibility of 2 and 2 but it may also cause a 4 to 0 sweep by Republicans.
Yesterday I posted this: The 2010 Congressional election proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that both Central Arkansas and North West Arkansas voted in Republican Congressmen with large margins. It seems that 125,000 of these voters from these two districts have to be moved to the other two districts (50,000 to 1st where Republican Rick Crawford won close race and 75,000 to 4th where Democrat Mike Ross won with 57% of the vote).
This is the general problem for Democrats. The state is turning red right before their eyes. I suggest they shove all the Democrats they got into the South and just try to save one district for the Democrats. In 2020 don’t be surprised if the Republicans try to put 55% Republicans in every district and then the Democrats will be wishing they had tried to hold on to at least one seat a little longer.
Me and Archie Manning at the Sugar Bowl. He insisted on taking this photo with me so who am I to turn down a football legend?
Saline Courier Sunday Paper front page Jan 23, 2011
If Saline County’s state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson has his way, the state Highway Commission, the Game and Fish Commission, the Lottery Commission and institutions of higher education would lose their autonomy under a proposed constitutional amendment Hutchinson filed this week.
Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, who recently took office, represents portions of Saline and Pulaski counties.
Under his proposal, budgets for these agencies would be overseen and set by the Legislature for the first time.
The resolution would amend parts of the state constitution that allow these three state agencies and the state’s colleges and universities to operate independently.
“I think people want accountability, and right now these four institutions are not as accountable,” Hutchinson said.
“I don’t think there is graft or corruption, but they don’t have the accountability like the Department of Finance and Administration has or the Department of Human Services, and they’re spending a lot of taxpayers’ dollars, particularly the Highway Department,” he said.
Hutchinson’s proposal was referred to the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The Legislature can refer up to three proposed constitutional amendments to the general election every two years, Hutchinson noted.
In Hutchinson’s proposal, the Highway Commission, created by Amendment 42, the Game and Fish Commission, created by Amendment 35, and institutions of higher education, which were granted a certain amount of independence under Amendment 33, would no longer be independent of the Legislature and would be subject to legislative appropriations.
The proposal also would amend Amendment 87, which authorized the state lottery, to say that lottery proceeds can be appropriated by the General Assembly.
The amendment currently prohibits the Legislature from controlling lottery funds.
Hutchinson contends that recent controversies within the Lottery Commission and Game and Fish Commission illustrate the need for legislative and executive branch oversight.
The state Lottery Commission was found in an audit to have operated with undocumented expenses, without checking employee backgrounds and without meeting accepted standards on awarding large vendor contracts.
The Game and Fish Commission recently considered exempting itself from the state Freedom of Information Act. It eventually backed off.
Hutchinson said his main interest, however, is the Highway Department.
“I think the Highway Department has been shortchanging Saline County and other parts of the state for 50 years,” Hutchinson said.
“I think they need to redraw the district lines to allow equal funding,” he said. “The Legislature currently has no say in the matter. My proposal would give the Legislature, who are the people’s representatives, the authority to rectify inequities.
According to Hutchinson, the Highway Department “spends more tax money that any department, except for the Department of Education, yet there’s very little accountability or oversight.”
“As for the Game and Fish Commission and Higher Ed being under the Legislature, I really don’t have a burning issue with them, but I think what’s fair is fair,” he said.
“In particular the Highway Department should have legislative oversight,” he contended. “We learned during the last election that people want accountability and with our form of government, the people get that through their elected representatives.
“Currently the elected representatives can’t do anything about these agencies,” he said. “If we bring these others under legislative control, they can at least be controlled by voting the legislators out.”
Hutchinson said he believes the bill will pass “if it’s referred out” (for a public vote).
“The Legislature refers three constitutional revisions every session. If this gets referred out, it will pass. I think the people are crying out for more accountability.”
Hutchinson said he has had “very good response” in conversations with other legislators. “There may be amendments that may be filed and we may need to remove an agency or two that the Legislature doesn’t support.”
In regard to his proposal, Hutchinson noted that the “Highway Department certainly doesn’t like it.”
“That was to be expected,” he said. “I haven’t heard from Higher Ed. While I’m concerned about tuition increases, I have no particular issue with them. I don’t see anything they’re doing that’s particularly offensive.”
Hutchinson emphasized that his proposal has “just been introduced. The resolution won’t be heard until the very end of the session.”
“The Joint State Agencies Committee will meet and refer them out, and we’re just now getting feedback. We’ll tweak the legislation and a hearing will probably be held in March. There will be a lot of input and we’ll try to address needs and concerns as they arrive, but obviously still hold people accountable.”
Efforts to obtain a reaction to Hutchinson’s proposal from the state Highway Department were unsuccessful Friday.
Ralph Hall, assistant to Director Dan Flowers, referred comments to Randy Ort, the agency’s public affairs officer. Ort did not return phone calls in time to be included in this report.
Matt DeCample, spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said earlier this week that the governor “is just now starting to review the language of the proposal,” but is strongly opposed to any changes to Amendment 33.
Beebe supports the independence of colleges and universities, DeCample said.
Rep. Barry Hyde, D-North Little Rock, a co-chairman of the legislative Lottery Oversight Committee, reportedly said he would oppose changing the lottery amendment. He said that when lawmakers were setting up the lottery’s structure, lottery officials in other states strongly recommended that the program be insulated from politics as much as possible.
“To put it under the direct month-to-month control of the Legislature would open the door to all kinds of political shenanigans,” Hyde said.
Hyde said he worries about the future of the lottery, which generated more than $100 million for college scholarships in its first year.
TolbertReport.com – Jeremy Hutchinson Announces for he will run as a Republican for Arkansas State Senate district 22 (Video from last year)
I used to write letters to the editor a whole lot back in the 1990’s. I am pro-life and many times my letters would discuss current political debates, and I got to know several names of people that would often write in response letters to my published letters. One of those individuals was a Dr. William F. Harrison from Fayetteville. Later I found out from reading an article by David Sanders that Dr. Harrison was an abortionist. Dr Harrison died from leukemia on September 24, 2010. Here is a post from Jason Tolbert from July of 2010:
KFSM in Fayetteville is reporting that abortist William Harrison is closing the doors to his abortion clinic in nothwest Arkansas for health reasons. In an ABC News story a few year ago, Harrison said he had performed over 10,000 abortions and was comfortable with the taking of life.
I now write a column for Stephen Media in a spot once held by conservative David J. Sanders who is currently running for the Arkansas House of Representatives. Sanders shadowed Harrison in his abortion clinic and wrote of series of columns on the experience. I think these are prehaps Sanders’ best work…
Harrison is sure that what he does is right, but he confessed to the enormous costs that come in his line of work. There were threats against his wife and children and staff. He commented that if he “had known” everything – the threats, the risks – that would take place over the years, he might not have decided to provide abortions.
Some years ago, a 16-year-old daughter of a close friend of the family had gotten pregnant. “Their Baptist minister had advised her parents that she shouldn’t have an abortion and that (if she did) she would regret it the rest of her life. But had I had the choice, at the time, I would have advised (the mother of the teenager) to have that child aborted,” he said as he stared at his desktop.
“Well, she had her baby. She’s as smart as a whip,” he said. Now, years later, that baby is grown and about to finish her doctorate at the University of California at San Francisco.
I asked him if that sent chills up his spine. His response: “Absolutely.”
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Today I have a profile of St lawmaker Ruth Whitaker.
Ruth Whitaker (b. December 13, 1936) has been a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate since 2001. She represents the 3rd district.Whitaker is a former Alderman of the City of Cedarville. She worked as a Secretary for the Arkansas State Republican Party from 1992 to 1994.
Whitaker earned her BA from Hendrix College in 1958.
Whitaker has worked as a Political Advisor and a Community Activist.
Arnold Schwarzenegger opens this clip of Milton Friedman’s film series “Free to Choose” with a statement that contrast the socialist country he came from to the freer society in the USA where he came to live in 1968. I am going to post several video clips from this film series that will demonstrate that our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls.
Jason Tolbert, Max Brantley and John Brummett all wrote interesting articles on the issue of American Exceptionalism during the fall after Tim Griffin and Joyce Elliott discussed the subject during the campaign.
I don’t think we are exceptional because of our people, land or resources. It must be because of two principles that have existed in this country for many years.
First, our country was founded on a reformation base. Francis Schaeffer pointed out in his film series, “How should we then live?” episode 5 on the Revolutionary Age: “As the reformation emphasis, that the Bible is the only final authority, took root the ordinary citizen was increasingly freed from arbitrary governmental power.”
Sadly our country has allowed humanism to take away many of the freedoms that our founding fathers meant for our country to have including prayer in schools. Did you know that 29 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had seminary degrees? Futhermore, over 90% of the 250 original founding fathers claimed to be Christians according to their own writings.
Second, our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls. That was because the founding fathers saw the government as a necessary evil and not a positive force to be interfering with our lives.
This article today is the beginning of a series that I will be starting on the true secret behind the American Exceptionalism in our past. There is no denying that it existed in the past. Take a look at page 976 of the book A History of the American People by Paul Johnson (1997):
It is appropriate to end this history of the American people on a note of success, because the story of American is essentially one of difficulties being overcome by intelligence and skill, by faith and strength of purpose, by courage and persistence. America today, with its 260 million people, its splendid cities, its vast wealth, and its unrivaled power, is a human achievement without parallel. That achievement–the transformation of a mostly uninhabited wilderness into the supreme national artifact of history–did not come about without heroic sacrifice and great sufferings stoically endured, many costly failures, huge disappointments, defeats, and tragedies. There have indeed been many setbacks in 400 years of American history. As we have seen, many unresolved problems, some of daunting size, remain. But the Americans are, above all, a problem-solving people. They do not believe that anything in this world is beyond human capacity to soar to and dominate. They will not give up. Full of essential goodwill to each other and to all, confident in their human decency and their democratic skills, they will attack again and again the ills in their society, until they are overcome or at least substantially redressed. So the ship of state sails on, and mankind still continues to watch its progress, with wonder and amazement and sometimes apprehension, as it moves into the unknown waters of the 21st century and the third millennium. The great American republican experiment is still the cynosure of the world’s eyes. It is still the first, best hope for the human race. Looking back on its past, and forward to its future, the auguries are that it will not disappoint an expectant humanity.
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I am taking a look at state lawmakers. The first one was Ann Clemmer, and the second one I want to share with you today is my own State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson:
Jeremy Hutchinson served in the Arkansas legislature from 2000 – 2007. Jeremy was term limited from serving further in the Arkansas General Assembly, but left as the most senior member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He was elected to be the Assistant Minority Leader and served on Judiciary, Insurance and Commerce, and Joint Budget Committees. He also served on both the Retirement & Pension and Energy Committees.Jeremy was recognized as one of the most effective conservative legislators to serve in the Arkansas Legislature. He sponsored and PASSED controversial bills to require parental consent before performing abortions on a minor (HB 1033 of 2005), and to authorize state and local police to enforce our federal immigration laws (HB 1033 of 2005). Jeremy helped draft and co-sponsored the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2005. He also sponsored and passed legislation that granted a leave of absence to our veterans for treatment of military service-connected disabilities (HB 1254 of 2005), established a new tax deferred college saving plans (HB 1735 of 2003), and created the “Baby Sharon Children’s Catastrophic Illness Grant Program” to assist families whose children suffer from catastrophic illness to pay their mounting bills so the parents can focus on their child (HB 1039 of 2003).
Jeremy also has a strong commitment to protecting citizens from crime. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he sponsored and PASSED legislation that made the murder of a child 12 years of age or younger an aggravating circumstance for purpose of imposing the death penalty (HB 1264 of 2001), extended the statute of limitations for rape (HB 1423 of 2001), created the criminal offense of exposing a child to a chemical substance or Methamphetamine (HB 1267 of 2003), and enhanced the penalty for offenses of domestic violence committed on a pregnant woman which recognizes the value of an unborn baby (HB 1540 of 2003).
Jeremy received his undergraduate degree (B.B.A. Economics) from Harding University and his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. He is an attorney in private practice and a part time deputy Prosecutor in Saline County. Jeremy is also an adjunct professor at John Brown University and Harding University, teaching Employment Law and Economics. Named to Arkansas Business’ 40 under 40 in 2002, Jeremy was also voted one of the “Best Conservatives” by the readers of the Arkansas Times in 2005.
Jeremy is married to Stephanie Hutchinson and they have three kids: Jack (11) Hallie (8) and Abby (6). They attend Fellowship Bible Church.
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Francis Schaeffer does a great job in three 9 minute clips of showing how the USA was founded on a reformation base. Here is the first clip:
Jeremy received his undergraduate degree (B.B.A. Economics) from Harding University and his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. He is an attorney in private practice and a part time deputy Prosecutor in Saline County. Jeremy is also an adjunct professor at John Brown University and Harding University, teaching Employment Law and Economics. Named to Arkansas Business’ 40 under 40 in 2002, Jeremy was also voted one of the “Best Conservatives” by the readers of the Arkansas Times in 2005.
The Daily Hatch 