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Considering candidates and political parties Sunday, Oct 23, 2005 By David Sanders Correction Paul Suskie was not a College Republican as reported in David Sanders' Sunday column. He was a member of the College Democrats. ------- It has been a while since we discussed all the pieces on Arkansas' political chess board - there are so many these days. It appears that all the candidates who are running for major office have either announced or made their intentions known. Governor Mike Beebe: After weeks of bad news - Lake View, eminent domain, a potential primary opponent who is said to have a half-million in the bank - a very small ray of sunshine fell on the Democrat attorney general who wants to be governor. His most recent campaign finance report showed that he can still raise the bucks and the Democratic opinion writers are coming back home. For Beebe to capture voters' hearts and minds, he will need more than cash and support from Wal-Mart executives, which has resulted in zero public outrage from organized labor's ranks. Bill Halter: Despite being snubbed by Wesley Clark and Bill Clinton by way of Clark's spokesman, who now apparently speaks for both Clark and the former president, he doesn't appear to be fazed. Halter has to announce his candidacy and engage in a full-fledged campaign, which it seems he could fund today, before he will get any major traction. Asa Hutchinson: I suppose he could sit back and relax, but he isn't doing that. While he may not be dictating the terms of the debate - the news has a way of doing that - he might as well be because he is saying all the right things. Lake View and eminent domain are working well for him. He hit this writer's soft spot by talking about how the state can achieve economic growth by cutting taxes. Lieutenant governor Chuck Banks: The GOP's best chance at winning it all. Jim Holt: Could win the GOP nomination without raising much money. Doug Matayo: Thought to be the positive alternative to Holt, but the campaign finance report wasn't so positive. Mike Hathorn: The good-ole-boy liberal Democrat is the favorite. Jay Martin: This traditional conservative Arkansas Democrat is in the wrong race and wrong party. Drew Pritt: He is an off-the-deep-end liberal Democrat who will clog up an inbox with press releases. No. 17 arrived Thursday morning at 2:16 a.m. Tim Wooldridge: I still can't get past the fact that he said if Jesus were walking the Earth today he would be a Democrat. Might I point him to the scripture? "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV). Attorney general Robert Herzfeld: He has some money in the bank and enjoys a high profile in central Arkansas. But some folks back in Saline County say that the young prosecutor can wear on you after awhile. Dustin McDaniel: He also has money in the bank and this Jonesboro native will do well in Democratic bastion that is northeast Arkansas. Paul Suskie: This former College Republican should have stayed in the GOP. He is a quality candidate whose military background may not be such a huge benefit in a Democratic primary. Gunner DeLay: He is the only person in the race calling himself a Republican. He may be able to run as the populist candidate and is off to a good start by calling for a campaign free of utility money. Major political parties Republican party: Its people are setting fund-raising records and eager to engage Mike Beebe. Remember guys, it's a long race and Arkansas is still a very Democratic state. Democratic party: This week the party began airing radio ads attacking U.S. Rep. John Boozman for accepting a $1,000 contribution from an oil company. The apparent mastermind behind the attack on the 3rd District Republican was Drew Smith, a state Democratic party official from Washington County. Smith didn't do his homework. Had he spent a few minutes on the Internet he would have discovered that members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation have accepted more than $100,000 from energy and oil interests. Had he paid attention to the goings-on of the state party (of which he's also the treasurer), he'd have realized that only days before he made his accusation, the Democrats raised over $200,000 in the home of an oil company executive. Might I reference another verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes? "Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is." Ecclesiastes 10:3 (NIV). ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
