Razorback Truth

Bill Comes Back

2006-11-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Things are getting more exciting every day as we cruise towards election day. Yesterday, Bill Clinton made his second trip home for the benefit of Mike Beebe and the Democratic ticket. Here are some links to news clips covering the story.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q0qxEs6Davg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dPTKNJpnKi4

A few thousand people showed up to the airport in Jonesboro to see Arkansas' favorite son. Victory was in the air. Quite a contrast to Asa Hutchinson's poorly attended grocery bagging event held with Mike Huckabee. There's no doubt who has the momentum heading towards Tuesday.

In The Bag? Hutchinson's Day at The Grocery Store

2006-11-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

Asa traveled to Northwest Arkansas, his home turf, along with a decently popular governor less than a week before the election. Normally, this type of event would draw a huge crowd. But apparently, voters run from wherever Hutchinson goes. There were several embarrassing stories from the event at the grocery store not counting Hutchinson's shameless pandering and obvious flip flop on the grocery tax itself.

No people showed up. It got so bad that a cashier had to pretend she was a shopper. After the photo-op, she went back to work. If Hutchinson can't bring out a crowd this close to election day, how is he going to mobilize voters?

Hutchinson also claimed if lost the election, he might return to bag groceries for a living. The further we can keep him from positions of responsibility the better!

Maybe George W. Bush, who is visiting on Monday, can bring some folks out. That mid 30's approval rating could provide just the boost Asa needs.

Negative Asa Ad Taken Off Air

2006-10-31T22:43:00.000-08:00

There was another triumphant win for camp Beebe today when Channel 8 in Jonesboro removed a slanderous and disgusting political television commercial from the airwaves. The group that made the ad, the Coalition for Arkansas' Future, was the same one that has produced other false ads this campaign season attacking Mike Beebe's record.

It's also important to note that nearly all of the Coalition for Arkansas' Future money comes from Republican interests--including a huge donation from the Republican Governors Association.

This is a big blow to the smear campaign and a big win for Mike Beebe-who has kept a clear, concise and clean message since entering the race.

Here Come The Endorsements

2006-10-29T18:07:00.000-08:00

Recent polls leave little doubt which gubernatorial candidate Arkansans believe is the best man to move the state forward.

Today, two important newspapers gave Mike Beebe their endorsement.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state's most read paper, called Beebe a "pragmatic, even-tempered, knowledgeable and forward-looking candidate deeply rooted in his community and his state." High praise from a normally conservative editorial page. "Our choice for governor is Mike Beebe," the endorsement concluded.

The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas offered an enthusiastic endorsement. "We are definitely for Mike Beebe for governor," the editorial states. "But don’t limit his appeal to Democrats. We know for certain that he has strong supporters right here in Republican-rich Northwest Arkansas. Beebe is their choice – and ours – because of what can and will do as governor. He will lead this state. Beebe will go into office with a better working knowledge of sate government than any governor in recent times and perhaps better understanding of the legislative process than many sitting lawmakers who have the potential to be an outstanding governor."

That's some high praise for Mike Beebe. With just over a week until the election, things could hardly be better for the Attorney General.

More Polls Show Beebe Cruising

2006-10-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

Attorney General Mike Beebe got more good news today, with two new polls showing him leading Asa Hutchinson. The Arkansas Poll, conducted by UA researchers, showed Beebe leading Hutchinson 51 to 38. Meanwhile, a SurveyUSA poll showed his leading Hutchinson 58 to 38.

And please don't forget Mitt Romney, the head of the Republican Governors Association, predicting a Beebe victory. You can watch the clip here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sfHu34OPxaI

Heard It Through The Grapevine

2006-10-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

Asa Hutchinson is apparently traveling the state by bus. Sources tell me that there's no license plate on the vehicle. Maybe it's an import from DC--just like Asa!

Same Story, Different Day: Another Great Poll for Beebe

2006-10-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

The third Constituent Dynamics poll of the cycle came out and Mike Beebe has reason to be happy. The poll again shows Beebe ahead by double digits and again polling over the important 50% threshhold. He is leading Republican Asa Hutchinson 52-39.

You can check out the results here:

http://www.talkbusiness.net/Weblogs/WeblogItemList.aspx?WeblogID=2c1ca2ae-06e6-4883-9e3a-554f31d9db55

With poll numbers like this, it's pretty easy to see why Asa Hutchinson stoop to new lows in a recent television ad, using children to criticize Beebe.

Asa Uses Kids in New Partisan Attack Ad

2006-10-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Asa Hutchinson began airing a new television ad today that must set some sort of sleaze record. The ad actually features young children--some young enough that they wouldn't enjoy pre-k if Hutchinson were elected--bashing Mike Beebe with every attack you could think of.

Perhaps no single event in the campaign better cements Hutchinson's status as a typical DC politician. Hutchinson does not understand that Arkansas needs a governor who can reach across the aisle and unite us. This type of partisanship pervades the national political scene. There's no room for it in Arkansas.

And to feature young, innocent children to launch attacks on Mike Beebe is objectionable, pathetic and desperate.

National Republicans Run Away from Asa Hutchinson

2006-10-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

This YouTube clip is proof positive that national Republicans--who for so long have been the strongest supporters of Asa Hutchinson--are running away from his increasingly desperate and failing campaign.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sfHu34OPxaI

You can watch Wolf Blitzer interview Mitt Romney--the head of the Republican Governors' Association. Romney, whose organization almost solely funded the false and malicious ads put up by the Coalition for Arkansas' Future, tells Blitzer that he expects Democrats to take a majority of governors' seats after November 7th and lists Arkansas as an example of the trend. What more proof do you need that Mike Beebe is marching toward victory?

That's How You Debate

2006-10-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

The third and final debate was held last night in Little Rock. It gave viewers statewide a final look at the two candidates side by side three weeks before election day.

Hutchinson, for the third time in a row, played by the old GOP playbook of fear-mongering and distortions.

Beebe aggressively defended his record and policies and layed out a comprehensive vision for Arkansas based around education, healthcare and jobs.

Hutchinson, like his DC counterparts, relied on issues that divide people.

With the election less than three weeks away and Beebe ahead in polls and fundraising, Hutchinson surely failed to turn enough voters' minds around.

Show Me The Money!

2006-10-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today must be another great day in Beebe land. As if the Attorney General needed any more momentum going into tomorrow night's third and final debate, he got positive news in the polls and in the monthly fundraising report.

A Rasmussen poll showed Beebe up double digits with three weeks left till election day. While the only poll that matters is on November 7th, Beebe has led in every poll that has been taken in recent months.

There was surprising news later in the day. Beebe tripled Hutchinson in fundraising in September, raising over $678,000 compared with Hutchinson's $208,055. More importantly, heading into the campaign's final weeks, Beebe has $1.67 million on hand, nearly three times Asa's $580,765. This should give Beebe all he needs to combat the increasingly negative and truth-stretching television ads Asa has embraced.

$You can read the article in the Baxter Bulletin here:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AR_CAMPAIGN_CASH_AROL-?SITE=ARMOU&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Beebe Hits Asa on Immigration Record

2006-10-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Mike Beebe is up with a new ad on the truth about Asa Hutchinson's immigration record. Good thing too--Beebe has been dealing with ridiculous ads against him for weeks.

Asa Hutchinson's record in DC is atrocious and it is fair game. He'll surely act amazed and accuse the other side of dirty politics. But what's dirty about pointing out that your opponent stopped raids against illegals or failed to prosecute employers who hired illegals? What's dirty about revealing the truth about Hutchinson's ineffective and damaging policies?

President Bush did not want to give Asa a promotion at the Department of Homeland Security. He passed him over twice. He can send Karl Rove to talk about what a great job Asa did, but it's lip service. Was the president lying when he addressed the nation in May and talked about how our borders were broken? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Asa's body of work.

The ad is great. Arkansans deserve to know the truth about the lobbyist the Republican Party is trying to elect governor. He couldn't secure our borders in DC; he's certainly wrong for Arkansas.

New Anti Asa Ad

2006-10-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Greasy Creek is a new blog getting a lot of attention these days. They posted a new ad up on the site, which you can check out at www.greasycreek.org. The ad hits Hutchinson on one of the many weaknesses in his record: immigration.

Karl Rove was in town a few days ago extolling Hutchinson's immigration record. But President Bush passed Hutchinson over twice for a promotion and Hutchinson almost completely failed to prosecute employers who hired illegal immigrants.

Attorney General Debate

2006-10-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Caught the Attorney General's debate between Dustin McDaniel, Gunner DeLay and Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy.

McDaniel was the clear winner. He seems poised and ready and his law enforcement background adds to his credibility.

DeLay was off message. He mentioned gay adoption and abortion in his opening and closing statements and never in between. As opposed to a coherent platform, DeLay latches onto issues he thinks will win him votes.

He also seemed to be uncomfortable on the stage. He was nervous and shifting around a lot.

And Kennedy showed an impressive display of knowledge of the issues. So much so that when the camera was on DeLay, his eyes seemed to be looking toward her.

Asa The Lobbyist

2006-10-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

g There was an interesting article in the Arkansas News Bureau a few days ago that didn't get a lot of attention. The article discussed what each gubernatorial candidate would do with the governor's Washington DC office. Attorney General Beebe talked about how his focus was about getting elected. But Asa Hutchinson's answer was quite different:

"Hutchinson said it is possible that he would hire a lobbying firm, keep the office intact, or have both lobbyists and state employees in Washington."

Isn't that sweet? Hutchinson, himself a DC lobbyist, would consider hiring a lobbying firm to work in the office. With the recent scandals involving Jack Abramoff and others, it seemed conventional wisdom was that we needed fewer lobbyists--not more of them.

Then again, no one has ever accused Asa of being free from special interest influence. He signed on to be a lobbyist the day after he left his job at the Department of Homeland Security.

Bill Halter Ad

2006-10-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the latest ad from Bill Halter, the man who looks to be Arkansas' next Lt. Governor. Halter is running against Jim Holt, who has had famous spats with a host of his Republican counterparts, including Mike Huckabee.

The ad is here:
http://campaign.viditalk.com/halter/msg.asp

It will be interesting to see if Holt can garner enough money to even run an ad.

Hutchinson's Rotating Grocery Tax Position

2006-10-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Andrew DeMillo wrote an informative piece in yesterday's AP about Asa Hutchinson's myriad positions on the grocery tax. As we know, the grocery tax has become a key issue in this year's gubernatorial race. Hutchinson has been falsely attacking Mike Beebe over his grocery tax position, calling the Attorney General's plan to phase the regressive tax out an "empty promise." Beebe, while in the senate, was a lead advocate for removing the tax. In January, when Beebe had already come out with his phase out plan, Hutchinson said eliminating the tax was not part of his agenda.

While he now says it was an error in "phrase-ology," at the time he said "I think the people spoke on that issue a few years back." Of course Hutchinson later in the year supported the idea of a "phase out," but in an ultimate politics play, now criticizes Beebe for what is a fiscally responsible plan.

The Second Debate: Make Hutchinson Mayor of Paron, Beebe Governor of State

2006-10-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mike Beebe was the clear winner of the second debate in Fayetteville. Beebe showed a more profound knowledge of Arkansas issues and beat back increasingly negative and false ads from Asa Hutchinson.

As John Brummett said in a column today, "Asa lost because he's wrong and Beebe is right."

Brummett goes on to discuss Hutchinson's narrow education agenda. "Hutchinson's education policy is based on the unique circumstances of one little village in remote Saline County. Beebe's has to do with equal and adequate educational opportunities statewide. So, here's what we ought to do: Let's make Hutchinson mayor of Paron. Let's make Beebe governor of the state."

Hutchinson is a panderer, trying to find a winning combination of issues. But when he talks about holding some of our school kids to lesser standards than others, he's just clearly wrong. And everyone knows it.

2006-10-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

There's another great poll for Mike Beebe, which should give the Democrat momentum going into tomorrow night's gubernatorial debate in Fayetteville. It's too bad the debate won't be broadcast statewide, but if you're in Northwest Arkansas you should be able to tune in. The race pits Beebe, current Attorney General and respected and accomplished 20 year veteran of the state senate against Asa Hutchinson, a former Congressman and lobbyist who held high-ranking positions at the DEA and Department of Homeland Security. The poll, which was released by Opinion Research Associates, showed Beebe winning 53 to 35. The polls can't all be lying. I'm just curious what dirty tricks Asa and his comrades will use next.

2006-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Another day and another good poll for Beebe. This one is a Constituent Dynamic poll that has Beebe leading by double digits and over the all-important 50 percent threshold. You can check out the results here:
http://www.talkbusiness.net/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=700b4331-749e-4921-9ad7-56168645cd76

As Rory Brock said on his Talk Business Blog: "I’ve observed a few trends that indicate strength for both Beebe and Hutchinson, although the news is better for Beebe. First, Mike Beebe has topped 50 percent in our poll, up from 48 percent last month. In the political world, exceeding the 50 percent threshold is important because it signifies not only a majority, but also the fact that your opponent(s) must take votes away from you to win. This is the case now for Asa."

2006-10-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Interesting editorial in today's Arkansas Leader.

http://www.arkansasleader.com/2006/09/editorialgoing-after-payday-lenders.html

The opening line sentence says it all, describing the Hutchinson campaign as "desperately needing traction."

The editorial criticizes the GOP hypocrisy on the issue of payday lending; Hutchinson is attacking Beebe for a bill Beebe voted against. As Attorney General, Mike Beebe has gone after payday lenders.

Meanwhile, Gunner DeLay, who shares the ticket with Hutchinson, voted for the 1999 law that legalized commercial check cashers and has twice voted against repealing it.

This contradictory behavior is a main reason it looks like a sweep for the Dems come November 7th.

2006-10-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

There's not much else to say but this:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2006/governor/ar/arkansas_governor_race-43.html

Beebe's up 15 in the latest Survey USA poll. And it's not surprising why Asa Hutchinson and his henchmen have gone so negative these past few weeks; they're looking at the same data we are and their guy is behind--way behind.

2006-09-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hutchinson and his cronies are up with new negative ads. It's easy to see why when you look at the newest poll:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/09/27/in_arkansas_democrats_look_to_win_across_the_board.html

Hutchinson can't win the old-fashioned way. He's the lesser candidate in all ways. He is desperate and it's starting to show.

2006-09-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

That guy in the corner with the egg all over his face this morning must be Asa Hutchinson. Amazing story from yesterday: Hutchinson decided the campaign needed a new level of openness and called on Mike Beebe to release all of questionnaires he has filled out this election season. Beebe swiftly agreed--but Hutchinson ran into some troubles. While Asa was busy making false allegations, (what else is new) his own questionnaires were not even ready for review. Beebe actually released his answers before Hutchinson did. We knew Hutchinson was unprepared at his big jobs at DEA and DHS in Washingon. We're finding out now he's bad at the little jobs too.

2006-09-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

It has been an eventful few days. Hutchinson's new ad--touting his career at DEA and DHS fighting meth and illegal immigration--is on the air. What the ad doesn't mention is that drug use actually went up when Hutchinson was running DEA. Hutchinson's people attacked back in the newspaper, claiming that youth drug use declined during Hutchinson's tenure. Turned out, they were wrong. Youth drug use also went up. Not to mention that Asa virtually ignored employers who hired illegals while he was at DHS. He performed so badly there, that he was passed up for a promotion. Arkansas deserves better than incompetence on these important issues. While noone expects Hutchinson to tout his failures in his television ads, he at least owes Arkansans an explanation for his incompetence.

2006-09-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

If you needed any more proof that Mike Beebe creamed Asa Hutchinson in their first debate, it was on display yesterday. The wheels are off the bus at Camp Hutchinson. The paper had all the news about Asa's meltdown. Asa said the sales tax doubled to 6 percent when Beebe was in the senate. It's flat out wrong. The tax jumped to 6 in 2004, when Beebe was already Attorney General. I guess any headlines are good headlines when you're losing. "If that's the case, then I'm wrong," Hutchinson said.

If you're going to attack a candidate's record, please Asa, check your facts. There is no place for this desperate, false attacking.

2006-09-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

What a debate! I have to admit, I was expecting much more out of Asa. All he delivered on were tired, old distortions of the Attorney General's record. Beebe, who looked like an old pro on the podium, rightfully pointed out the hypocrisy of Asa's criticisms and demonstrated a vision to improve life for every Arkansan. It wasn't wrong of Asa to live and work in DC for so long; but it is irresponsible to attack a respected and effective legislator who has spent over two decades getting real legislative results.

2006-09-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

Saw the paper this morning where Dale Bumpers talked about how Asa bested him in their debates in '86. It shouldn't come as a shock--Asa is an experienced and polished debater. Beebe and Hutchinson are getting ready for their first debate tomorrow night in Jonesboro. Recent polls have shown Beebe with a comfortable cushion and Hutchinson is increasingly turning to a negative attack campaign through his minions. Let's just hope the dialogue is respectable, the questions are fair and the discourse is salient.

2006-09-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Gunner DeLay continues living up to his proud last name. For a while, all he had to talk about was how bad Dustin McDaniel was on guns; turns out, Gunner didn't even have a hunting license. Today, he took the smear campaign to a new level--questioning Dustin's patriotism. There is simply no place for this in politics. Usually, it's the DC crowd that does all the name calling. Sadly, this is what happens when a candidate is desperate.

2006-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's been a busy week so I'm playing catch-up tonight. It has been a week since President Clinton came to town on behalf of Attorney General Beebe. Clinton raised a million bucks for Beebe and the party, not to mention fundraising for Dustin McDaniel--far more than Bush raised for Asa the week before. There's nothing like when Bill comes to town to support a fellow consensus-building Democrat!

2006-09-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

With a slate of elections only two months away, it seemed like as good a time as any to start blogging with my thoughts, impressions and opinions of a race between two very different candidates.

Democrat Mike Beebe, who served in the state senate and currently serves as Arkansas' Attorney General, has made a career of consensus building and bi-partisan legislating.

Republican Asa Hutchinson has largley made his name in Washington, D.C., first as a Congressman who presided over Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in the late 90's and later as head of the DEA, underscretary at the Department of Homeland Security and a lobbyist.

Asa Hutchinson returned to Arkansas after President Bush twice passed him over for a promotion at the Department of Homeland Security.

Three weeks ago, Beebe, who has nearly doubled Hutchinson in fundraising, aired his first two tv ads. The first touted the Attorney General's hlep in passing an increase to Arkansas' minimum wage. The second showed his love for hunting and fishing and discussed his opposition to any new gun law encroaching on our Second Amendment rights.

This past weekend, Asa Hutchinson aired his first television ad. It was mostly just background stuff but contained one very interesting sentence.

Hutchinson was described as "The homeland security leader trusted to keep us safe after 9/11."

It's true--Asa Hutchinson was trusted by President Bush to keep our nation safe after 9/11. But his work at DHS was so lackluster--the former inspector general called him "blase" and "unfazed" by security breaches--that Bush twice passed him over for a promotion in favor of a crooked cop and the man who ran the historically pathetic response to Hurricane Katrina.

The thought of Asa Hutchinson running an entire state--especially one as ecclectic and complex as Arkansas--is downright scary.

In the coming weeks, I will post on this blog as frequently as possible. I am a concerned voter and view this as a way to express my views. Please feel free to leave comments and let your friends know that I'm posting here.