What The Polls Say & Health Care Reform

The fact is as Americans we are always going to have differences. We will always have some people thinking things should be one way and others thinking it should be another. That is what makes the political system go around. It causes the debates, the discussions, the compromises, the deals, and ultimately it causes us to come to an agreement on something. If we cannot come to an agreement, then the side having the most support wins. Those areas where we cannot agree have usually been decided by polls, if not votes. We are not talking about random polls where you ask only Democrats or only Republicans what they want. We are talking about real polls that go out and get the general population to participate and make a decision.

There is a variety of these polls completed everyday. In my review of the recent Health Care Reform, I studied many of those polls. Fortunately I found a great site, Pollster.com that helps compile what all the poles are saying, show each one individually and then pull all the information together into one nice big poll that shows what’s going on. Pollster also shows you the changes in the polls as the months progress.

So, the big question is simple. What does Pollster.com say about the Health Care Reform? It is a simple question that does not have a simple answer, but basically, people thought it was a pretty good idea in the beginning. After all, most everyone thinks something needs to be done, but then the Democrats started modifying, tweaking and fixing their bill. The months went by and that poll took a swing in the opposite direction. In fact, according to Pollster 51.3 % oppose the current health Care Reform. Only 42.3% support it. Folks, if those were election results, guess who would have won? The ones who oppose would have won.

Well, since we are Americans and our government listens to us, then we all know what the results of Health Care Reform in it’s current state will be, right? You are absolutely right, Health Care Reform, based on Pollster.com will fail because the majority of the Americans do not want it. Problem solved and we go back to the drawing board and try to come up with something everyone likes or at least the majority likes. But wait! Something went monumentally wrong with the vote. Despite the majority of American’s not wanting the current Health Care Reform, the majority of the government “for the people and by the people” did not listen to Americans.

Simply put, the Democrats refused to listen to the people they were elected to represent. Republicans on the other hand listened. Although there are a few differences on the websites, The Los Angeles Times link reported that no Republicans voted for the Heath Care Bill. It further noted that thirty-three Democrats crossed Obama’s lines to join with their Republican counterparts and voted “no”.

America has 178 Republican and 33 Democrat heroes who stood up, listened to the American people who elected them and did the right thing. 220 Democrats decided to ignore the American public and vote how Obama told them to vote. I expect Republicans to defend American viewpoints because it goes back to the early days of the party for the people. I appreciate those Republicans. To those Democrats joining the fight to save our nation, I thank you on behalf of the American public. We should note, since this is the TexarkanaGOP that Arkansas Representatives Mike Ross and Marion Berry voted against the bill. Texas Representative Chet Edwards also stood with his Republican counterparts against the bill.Link to List

I would like to add just a final little reminder. I work in the real world. I work a job where my boss assigns me a task and often tells me how it is to be done. I listen to that boss and perform my assigned task to the best of my ability. It’s called a job and that is the structure I work in daily. Representatives are elected and we, the American people, are their bosses. If we tell them to do something, they should do it. If I failed to follow my directives from my boss, what do you think would happen? I would likely be fired. During the 2010 and 2012 elections, America needs to think about firing some employees and it sounds like there are right at 221 (counting Obama) people that need to be fired for not listening to their bosses.

Beth Anne Rankin: Candidate 4th Congressional District

Jim Harris of Bryant is president and CEO of Harris Oil & Timber Company. He covered Arkansas politics for almost 20 years for newspapers including the Texarkana Gazette. He has been the press secretary of former U.S. Rep. Ray Thornton, U.S. Rep. Jay Dickey and Gov. Mike Huckabee. He was the Director of External Communications for the Huckabee for President Campaign and a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2008. His column appears on Tuesdays in the Benton Courier. Jim was kind enough to contact me and share his article and the picture of Beth Anne filing in Little Rock with TexarkanaGOP. The article below comes to you from Jim and was previously published in the Benton Courier. Thanks Jim for your input!

- July 15, 1996 was a day or great turmoil in Arkansas. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker had been convicted of federal felony charges in connection with the Whitewater investigation.

Tucker resigned and Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee became the third Republican governor since Reconstruction. Tucker, understandably a little bitter about having to leave office, had his staff take away or destroy everything. The computers were wiped clean so not even a word program was left on hard drives.

As the director of press operations for the new governor I found myself working with others on staff to get the governor’s office up and running with many staff people I had never met.

One of those I was introduced to was Beth Anne Rankin of Magnolia. The first thing I learned about her was that she was Miss Arkansas 1994 and after her reign ended, she was part of Dino Kartsonakis' Christmas Extravaganza in Branson, Missouri.

Stereotyping people rarely works, but I remember thinking, “Why did the governor need this empty-headed beauty queen on his staff? Don’t all beauty queens have big egos?” As it turned out, Beth Anne was far from empty headed. She graduated from Ouachita Baptist University magna cum laude.

She became the governor’s liaison and policy advisor to the National Governors’ Association, the Southern Governors’ Association, the Council of State Governments, Southern Regional Education Board, Congress and the White House.

The Capitol offices are small. Our offices were near each other and sound travels within those marble walls. Often times Beth Anne would be on conference calls with others who worked for those organizations or for other governors. I heard her dealing the people I knew who had MBAs from Harvard or Yale. She never had trouble keeping up with them. Occasionally, I would think they were having trouble keeping up with her.

I also learned she did not have the big ego I expected from a beauty queen.

As a 1989 honor graduate of Magnolia High School, Beth Anne was making motivational speeches to youth groups when she wasn’t putting in long hours in the governor’s office.

Somehow, she managed to find the time to serve on the governing boards of the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, Arkansas Teen Challenge and the Daisy Gatson Bates Holiday Planning Committee.

Youth mentoring was her platform in the Miss Arkansas contest. It was soon apparent that she not only talked the talk, she also walked the walk.

Beth Anne joined the Arkansas Big Brothers Big Sisters program. At age 13, Keshia Tillmon of Little Rock became Beth Anne’s Little Sister. On many occasions, Beth Anne and Keshia would be in our offices.

Together they set two goals of Keshia. The first was that she would graduate from high school with honors and the other was that she would break the pattern of early pregnancy that was part of her family history.

To accomplish that first part, Beth Anne would pay her Little Sister a small amount of money for every A she earned on her report card. She would spend half of that money then and the other half went into a fund to help Keshia pay for college.

The values Beth Anne instilled in Keshia worked. Keshia graduated with honors and moved to Dallas where she went to college. She later got married.

Beth Anne’s trade mark is her flaming-red long hair. One day she walked into the office with it cut short. She is a member of Locks of Love. She had had her hair cut and given to that organization to make a wig for some girl with cancer or alopecia.

She said somewhere there was a girl that lost her red hair who needed a wig made of real hair that color. Beth Anne made the sacrifice because she didn’t want that girl to have to wear a brown or blonde wig.

After leaving the governor’s office, Beth Anne self produced several CDs of music that she wrote and performed. She went on to start Beth Anne Productions in Magnolia. This business woman found time to serve on the Magnolia Arts Council and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce.

Beth Anne recently filed as a candidate for Congress in the Fourth District of Arkansas. She has a Republican opponent in the primary. Glenn Gallas of Hot Springs is a leader of the Garland County Tea Party. He is a nice enough guy, but would have been token opposition to the incumbent.

The winner of that primary will go on to face Congressman Mike Ross in the November General Election. Ross was elected to Congress in 2000 when he defeated Congressman Jay Dickey.

Dickey had voted for the impeachment of Bill Clinton and Clinton wanted revenge. When Ross filed to run, Clinton sent James Lee Witt and Rodney Slater to campaign for Ross. It was as if Dickey was running against three opponents instead of one.

Then President Clinton made a last-minute campaign stop for Ross two days before the election and Ross won by a handful of votes. Since then, Ross has had only token opposition.

Ross’s campaign style in 2000 was attack, attack, attack. That won’t work against Beth Anne. Voters would take a dim view of him verbally beating up a Miss Arkansas. Beth Anne has said publicly she won’t be running a negative campaign, but will talk about the positive alternative of sending her to Washington.

Running on his lackluster voting record in Congress isn’t a good option either in this year when voters are in the mood to clean house.

Beth Anne is a much better public speaker than Ross. If she challenges him to a debate, Ross should avoid it at all costs.

Like Ross, Beth Anne is a member of the National Rifle Association. She learned to shoot growing up on the family farm with her brothers. If she challenges Ross to a shooting contest, he should avoid that too. She would likely out gun him.

Ross will likely try to stereotype Beth Anne as an empty-headed beauty queen. That sounds like an exit strategy from Congress for him.

Happy Birthday President Reagan

Moments ago I received an email reminding me that Saturday would have been President Reagan’s 99th birthday. As I sit here writing this, I find it hard to believe that I lived through the Reagan years. I wasn’t a Republican at the time and in fact I wasn’t too concerned about the political world in the least bit. I was more concerned about music, the new wave of MTV, the latest television programs, baseball cards, and hair. We won’t even talk about the big hair of the 1980’s. Nevertheless, through it all, I admired Reagan. I came from a Democratic household that did not admire Reagan in the least bit, but despite family persuasions I admired him.

Several Reagan memories stand out in my mind on this early morning. I can remember President Reagan and Nancy’s response as the space shuttle carrying the first teacher into space blew up in the sky and on our television. I can remember how Reagan came on television to comfort the nation, reassure the children who were watching, and remind the world that America would not abandon the space program. I can remember when Reagan allowed terrorist to take a plane after freeing their hostages, and I can remember when he proudly announced that U.S. Warplanes and encouraged those same terrorist to land their stolen plane. I can remember when Reagan was shot and how he rose and became the symbol of the American male. I can remember wondering why so many people thought of John Wayne as an “American Hero” when we had the man in the White House who was so many of John Wayne’s characters all rolled up into one.

I have so many other memories of President Reagan that it would take far too long to list them here. Even today, I still listen to some of his speeches in awe at how he communicated to a nation in a way that made everyone feel like he was your own grandfather talking directly to you. Sadly, President Reagan died as a shell of the man he had once been. I was proud when Nancy refused to let the public see him toward the end. That protection of the man, protected the image that America needs to hold onto today.

Ironically, the late 1800’s and early 1900’s had Lincoln’s image to hold onto when they thought of great presidents. The mid 1900’s had the image of Teddy Roosevelt to hold onto. The 1960’s and the 1970’s had the image of Ike to hold onto. Now, the last years of the 1900’s and the early part of our new century has the image of President Reagan to hold onto (yes, I know they are all Republicans, what did you expect at a GOP page?). As we dive into this new century, already ten years in, let’s hold onto those images and memories of President Reagan. It is very likely that our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grand children will someday ask us not only “What was Reagan like,” but as we go into these difficult times, they will likely ask the more important question, “What would President Reagan do?”

Now, with respect to President Reagan, I think he can best close this article today:
“In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.” ~ President Ronald Reagan (from Reagan’s final letter)

H.D. Bailey - A Republican's "Common Man"

There is a good chance that you have never heard the name H.D. Bailey. Those in the Texarkana area probably do not even realize that a man named H.D. Bailey is running for any kind of office. They probably do not realize that H.D. Bailey is a Republican. They may not know that H.D. Bailey is a lawyer. They most likely have no idea that H.D. Bailey has been a justice. If you do not know who H.D. Bailey is, then you are not alone. Although, I’ve said “H.D. Bailey” enough now that you should at least remember his name.

H.D. Bailey is the kind of man I like to call a “common man”. He is from Gilmer, Texas (you know, west from Texarkana…over there somewhere) and he is the son of a farmer. Bailey is a lot more though and a few minutes of reading his website www.BaileyForChiefJustice.com will show you pictures of his family, testimonies of people he has defended and people he has presided over as a justice. Although you may not know the name, a few minutes on his website will ensure that you know he has affected some lives around Texas. His supporters range from physicians to psychologist and bankers. People from all walks of life have submitted testimony to his website about the character and the man (you know, H.D. Bailey).

As mentioned before, Bailey grew up on a farm. In particular, he worked that farm with his family picking cotton and doing chores that are routine to a farm. If you have ever had to pick cotton in your life, then you know it is not something the weak do. My own mother grew up on a farm similar to Bailey’s in Northeast Arkansas. Like Bailey, she had chores and picked cotton. This was long before the machines that now move across the cotton fields and gather the cotton. This time that Bailey and my mother picked cotton was a time when you carried a sack on your shoulder, picked the cotton and carried that full sack back to the scales to be weighed. You did this during the hot day, during the hottest of days and you did this in addition to your schoolwork and other chores. It was not an easy life, but like my mother’s life, it was a life that built character in a person and the appreciation for a hard day’s work.

Bailey went on later to serve in Vietnam and afterwards to go to college and law school. In the field of people running for office, Bailey is something unique. Bailey is a “common man”. He knows what it’s like to work. He knows what it is like to work hard. He knows what it is like to defend his country. He knows what it is like to have to work your way through college and through law school. Bailey is what many Republican supporters are today. He is a “common man” with the ability to make the hard decisions based on a lifetime of hard work.

As the March 2nd Republican Primary approaches, Republican voters on the Texas side need to remember that a “common man” with values and character wants to be your Chief Justice in the 6th Court of Appeals. If you ever have to go before the 6th Court of Appeals, I assure you that you want someone like H.D. Bailey sitting on the bench.

Yes, We Can In 2010!

In all that Obama said during his campaign, there is one thing we can believe that he said. He said “Yes We Can” and made it a part of his slogans. I’m here to tell you Obama was right, “Yes We Can”.

Yes, we can take back our government from those wanting to replace our Constitution with a weak, failed form of Socialism.

Yes, we can send representatives who refuse to listen to the people back home packing and replace them with good men and women who will stand behind America and stand up for America.

Yes, we can protest, filibuster, and make our voices known from the streets of little towns like Texarkana to the front steps of the White House.

Yes, we can support the War on Terror and our troops defending us around the world from those who would harm us.

Yes, we can support a National Day of Prayer.

Yes, we can defend ourselves from any religion that would promote the overthrow or defeat of the United States as part of its core values.

Yes, we can remember September 11.

Yes, we can claim to live in the greatest nation the world has ever seen.

Yes, we can have the greatest health care system in the world without the government running it for us.

Yes, we can state outright when our leaders are “lying” to us about their true intentions.

Yes, we can believe in God and lift up our country to Him in prayer and honor.

Yes, we can have a fantastic future in America.

One of the greatest Presidents of the last century, Ronald Reagan addressed us with a short letter after he knew he was facing Alzheimer's crippling attack. President Reagan, always one to face problems head on, knew his time would be short and that his time in the public eye would be even shorter. He wanted to leave America with a message of hope for a great future. He gave his message in a short sentence just before the last two lines of his address when he wrote, “I know that for America there will always be a bright new dawn ahead.” Yes, we can ensure that for “America there will always be a bright new dawn ahead.”

It’s 2010. This last year we saw many Republicans in Washington lead astray into believing some of the lies, but we also saw many Republicans stand firm against the tyranny of darkness slowly creeping over our bright dawn Mr. Reagan described. The time to move off the couch, away from the computers, away from televisions, and into history has come. Mr. Reagan said, “I know” when he talked about America’s bright future. He did not write, “I think there might be” rather he said, “I know.” Move into history now and let future generations know that we still believe that “Yes we can have a bright new dawn ahead.”