Breaking News: Beth Anne Rankin to run for U.S. Congress

The Texarkana GOP just learned from reliable sources that Beth Anne Rankin will run for Mike Ross' seat in Congress.  Although there has been no official announcement from Beth Anne at this time, the source stated, "Spread the word."

Field Opens with Ross Exit

Mike Ross is out of the field for his position in Congress.  The announcement today did not surprise many people expecting Ross to make a run for Governor of Arkansas.  It also did not surprise Republicans keenly aware that redistricting in Ross’ area will likely bring in some areas normally voting Republican.  Ross is a smart politician able to see the writing on the wall, or maybe the painting since Arkansas’ Republicans have a goal of painting the state red and so far have been showing great success with the brush.

The last election placed Ross across from Republican Challenger Rankin.   When the smoke cleared, Ross was the lone Democrat standing in Congress for Arkansas.   Rankin supporters, realizing the margin was closing in before the election, quietly put away their Rankin for Congress signs to wait.  The Red Headed Republican from south Arkansas has not made her motives known publically, but many supporters hoped for a Rankin / Ross rematch.  Ross, now surrounded by Republican Congress members in his home state, has decided to opt out and shoot for the governor’s office.

from http://www.bethannerankin.com/

Democrats will be scrambling to find a candidate to replace Ross.  Many in the Texarkana area will likely look at the possibility of a Harrelson run, but there could be other contenders waiting in the shadows.  For many Republicans the calls, emails, letters, and even web blogs like this one will quickly target that certain Red Headed Republican named Rankin to run one more time.

Mike Huckabee: Factors Say Go, Heart Says No

Local favorite for President, Mike Huckabee became the latest to drop out of the field for 2012.  After a lot of speculation from supporters, close insiders, and political analyst Mike cleared the air on Fox.  “All the factors say go, but my heart says no,” said Mike from his Fox show Saturday evening.  The end came after a reported ten emails went out saying he would make his decision known Saturday night.  Some hoped for Mike to make the announcement on live television much like a famous Republican California Governor did a few years back.  Sadly for supporters though the expected fanfare and “I like Mike” posters and stickers will have to go to the back burner for now.  What supporters can hope for now is that Mike is playing the “wait” card much like another Arkansas Governor did back in the 1980’s.  Many supporters wanted that governor to run against George Bush, Sr. in the late 1980’s.  That Arkansas Governor chose to wait and run when the odds were better for a win rather than take on a vice-president supported by Ronald Reagan, arguably the most popular President of the last century. 

There are still going to be those sitting on the sideline though scratching their heads and saying, “Why not run now?”  After all, the country is an economic disaster zone, there is a war on terror still going on, health care is a potential mess, the current President is not as popular as he once was among voters, and the growing Patriots,  and Tea Party groups do not support him.  It would appear that a Republican Presidential potential would have huge amounts of support to win the White House.  However, those wanting Mike to run forget a basic rule of politics, “Voters have a six month memory.”  It’s a fact and if you don’t believe it ask former President George Bush, Sr.   President Bush saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of Communism, and he oversaw one of the most successful war efforts since World War II with the Gulf War.  Those events all occurred early in President Bush’s term.  By the end of his term the economy was bad, gas prices were higher, and food prices were jumping out of the consumer’s grasp (remember the “how much does a loaf of bread cost” question?).  The end result was a successful President Bush became a one-term President.  Obama knows this.   Obama will do what the nation considers to be his best work during the last year of his term as President.  Voters will see this and they will not look back at the mess of health care and all the other things that Republicans, Tea Party Groups, and Patriot Groups have been yelling about since 2009.  For the American voters it will appear that Obama is doing a fine job by the time it is time to go and vote.  Obama knows this, but more importantly to the Republican supporters of Mike Huckabee, Mike also knows about this potential factor. 

Make no mistake about Mike.  He is still a future candidate for the Republican Party.  He will continue in the eyes of the nation on Fox News, he will continue to attack the radical, country destroying ideas of the Obama Administration, and he will watch.  When the time is right, and the nation is ready again, he can step up to the line and run, but he must run when he can win.  Running for President is a strategic battle that must be fought on a timely basis.  We need a Mike Huckabee in the White House.  We need him desperately, but he is no good to our nation if he runs against an Obama political machine backed by nearly a billion dollars, a television station (remember the 24-7 shows against McCain?), and a voter view of the past six months to only become another Republican casualty in 2012.  As for me, I’ll put my “I like Mike” signs up and wait with Mike.

President Bush comments on Bin Laden 5-1-11

Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001.  I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission.  They have our everlasting gratitude.  This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.  The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message:  No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

Arkansas House Commentary: Representative Prissy Hickerson

(provided by Representative Mary "Prissy" Hickerson)

Entering the fourth quarter of the session meant two-a-days for lawmakers, with the House convening twice a day and legislative committees holding multiple daily meetings. Cruising full speed ahead, members passed a bill Monday to decrease voter fraud and ensure fair elections. The measure requires Arkansans to present a voter ID card when casting a ballot at the polls, and would allow county clerks to issue identification cards to individuals without driver’s licenses. House Bill 1797 is currently en route to the Senate for consideration.

Arkansas owes $330 million in unemployment benefits to the federal government. In order to responsibly address this debt, we passed a bill to place a cap on unemployment benefits and cut the benefit period by a week. The measure could potentially save our state $50 to $75 million annually, thus shoring up money to begin balancing our unemployment trust fund.

Around four hundred Arkansans gathered this week to protest several bills threatening the livelihood of our state’s natural gas industry.  The five measures would have imposed burdensome regulations on an industry that provides jobs for Arkansans and revenue for our state. After mounting opposition from conservative lawmakers and hundreds of citizens, one bill failed to pass the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, while the remaining four were successfully removed from consideration and sent to interim study.

A proposed congressional redistricting map made its way through the House State Agencies Committee this week. Dubbed the “Pig Trail Gerrymander” or the “Fayetteville Finger” for its suspicious meandering, creative carvings and raw partisanship, the redistricting proposal ruffled plenty of feathers during week eleven of the 88th General Assembly.  If you have not seen this map, please take a look at it.  You will be amazed and puzzled.      

Conservative legislators believe the proposed map ignores the traditional communities of interest in Arkansas and only exists for raw partisan purposes.  Most notably it puts the northwest city of Fayetteville into the fourth congressional district, which currently encompasses the southern region of our state.  Arkansas has four defined regions, the Ozarks, Northeast Delta, Central Arkansas and Southern Timberlands. The full House is expected to vote on the “Pig Trail Gerrymander” early next week, and I will be voting against this proposal. You can view the map at www.arkansasgop.org.

HB1902 is now on its way to the Governor for signing.  This bill will refer to voters a 5 cent diesel tax proposal which would be used to enhance existing bonds.  Also the House passed a resolution this week that would refer to Arkansas voters a constitutional amendment creating a half-cent temporary sales tax increase to fund construction of a four-lane highway system. This proposal is one of several constitutional amendments being considered by the Legislature. The General Assembly has the authority to refer up to three measures to the people in the 2012 general election. I supported both of these measures because they allow the voters to decide whether they want these tax increases.

Also passing the House this week was HB1958 which removes a ban on carrying concealed guns into churches, allowing churches to make their own policy on this issue.  I voted yes to this bill.

A bill to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas failed in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee Friday, falling short of eleven votes needed to pass.  House Bill 2138 would have established insurance exchanges necessary to the implementation of the healthcare law. More than half the states, 28 and counting, are challenging the law in court on the grounds it violates the constitutional rights of their citizens. The argument is that until we know how the Supreme Court will rule on the federal healthcare law, we do not need to spend more money implementing the law in Arkansas.

House members also approved a bill that would allow public schools to adopt curriculum standards to teach the Bible for academic significance. The measure, which passed our chamber with a vote of 71-16, now goes to the Senate for consideration. I missed this vote because I stepped out of the chamber to talk to someone about a pending bill.  I assumed the debate inside would go on longer than it did.  My vote would have been yes. Now I know never to assume! For this freshman legislator, lesson learned.

Finally, the House and Senate gave final approval to tax cut measures.  SB276 shaves another half cent off the grocery tax, SB275 reduces the tax that manufacturers pay on utilities, HB1369 creates a back to school sales tax holiday during the first weekend in August and SB274 exempts from sales tax cars costing up to $4,000.  These measures have all been sent to the Governor’s office for signing into law.

What to watch for:

Two pro-life Senate bills are headed to the Arkansas House for consideration. As a pro-life conservative, I intend to support these bills.

The congressional redistricting debate is sure to be contentious. Stay tuned for the final results. 

The final significant piece of legislation lawmakers will approve before the session’s end is the budget bill, also known as the Revenue Stabilization Act. Because we held the line on spending to reduce taxes for Arkansans, the final balanced budget will be much smaller than originally proposed.

Since January 10, House members have tackled hundreds of critical pieces of legislation, and with just days to go until our scheduled April 1 recess, I will work to protect your values and move our state forward.

As your Representative, I am honored to serve you in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. My email is phickerson@valornet.com.  

I also encourage you to visit www.arkansashouse.org where you can live stream committee meetings and proceedings happening on the House floor from anywhere in the state.