Monday, July 10, 2006
Some LIGHT politics
This is a strange political season. For the first time in almost three decades the governor’s office is open and the contest between Asa and Beebe is about as interesting as watching the grass grow. Not that I would stoop to covering politics like a horse race, but one might expect a bit of occasional entertainment.
No, this year, the excitement is strictly in the Lieutenant Governor’s race where plucky religious conservative Jim Holt is facing rich outsider Bill Halter. Democrat Halter should take no consolation over the latest campaign contribution reports. In the Republican primary, which Holt easily won, the defeated Chuck Banks raised around 275 grand. Holt’s total is close to $69 thousand. Doug Matayo also took in about as much as Holt.
This should tell Halter that he can’t simply write a check and take over a constitutional office. The situation for Mr. Holt is not entirely positive. He is now in the unenviable position of presumed leader. He is the de-facto incumbent. Halter is the underdog, as it should be. Even for a popular guy who seems to say the right things, the people of Arkansas just don’t give away state offices.
(Network broadcast July 5, 2006)
No, this year, the excitement is strictly in the Lieutenant Governor’s race where plucky religious conservative Jim Holt is facing rich outsider Bill Halter. Democrat Halter should take no consolation over the latest campaign contribution reports. In the Republican primary, which Holt easily won, the defeated Chuck Banks raised around 275 grand. Holt’s total is close to $69 thousand. Doug Matayo also took in about as much as Holt.
This should tell Halter that he can’t simply write a check and take over a constitutional office. The situation for Mr. Holt is not entirely positive. He is now in the unenviable position of presumed leader. He is the de-facto incumbent. Halter is the underdog, as it should be. Even for a popular guy who seems to say the right things, the people of Arkansas just don’t give away state offices.
(Network broadcast July 5, 2006)
