GOP attorney general’s race: Who is most pro-guns?
By Roy Ockert Jr.
June 3, 2014
You’d almost think the Republican nomination for attorney general is going to be settled by a gunfight in front of the state Capitol.
The two candidates who will meet in the June 8 runoff, Leslie Rutledge and David Sterling, have come out firing since the primary in an effort to prove who is the most pro-guns.
Sterling had already announced that, if elected, he will push for a “stand-your-ground” law, and he said he believes Arkansans already have the right to legally carry handguns either openly or concealed on their person or in their automobile. That differs from the opinion the current attorney general, Dustin McDaniel, issued last year after the passage of Act 746.
Now another shadowy group that backs Sterling has bought television ads costing an estimated $300,000, accusing Rutledge of opposing a stand-your-ground law.
For his part, Sterling denies that his organization had anything to do with the ad buy.
Rutledge, who led Sterling by nine percentage points in the May 20 primary, blasted back at the dark money campaign in a news release Saturday.
“First, let me make myself clear,” she said. “I am a life-long Christian conservative who strongly supports Second Amendment rights. I have the highest possible rating from the National Rifle Association, am an NRA member, carry a Glock 27 .40-caliber and hold a concealed carry license. I 100 percent support the right of any individual in the State of Arkansas to defend him/herself if attacked. As attorney general, I will make it a priority to ensure that our Second Amendment right is protected.”
What may be more important than who carries the biggest gun is who has the quickest draw.
I’m especially interested in that contest because I voted in the Republican primary. Some GOP leaders have tried to make a big deal of the primary numbers — more Republican ballots than Democratic ballots — but the fact is they had the only contests in many parts of the state.
I usually take a Democratic ballot because traditionally it had decisions to be made. But this time in my precinct the only Democratic “contest” was a no-brainer for governor. Then there was a chance to vote for all unopposed candidates. So I “crossed over.”
That’s why no one should make much of the sheer numbers of votes cast in the primaries. After all, in the 2010 primaries nearly 330,000 votes were cast for incumbent U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln and two other Democratic candidates, more than double the 142,260 cast for U.S. Rep. John Boozman.
And we know the numbers were much different in the general election.
In 2012 the Democratic candidates for 4th District Congress outpolled the Republicans by more than 19,000 votes. But Tom Cotton won the general election contest by nearly 60,000 votes.
Arkansas has had a 2-party system for several years, and primary voting is not necessarily indicative of what will happen in November. But a hard-fought primary contest, like that between Lincoln and former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in 2010, can affect the general election contest in several ways.
Intra-party struggles can eat up resources, expose weaknesses and divide loyalties. Further, the proliferating dark money attack ads may wind up turning voters off to certain candidates, even if they deny responsibility.
Can it be a good thing when office-holders from one party gang up in an effort to defeat one of their own? Is that a sign of a stronger 2-party system?
That’s exactly what is happening in Baxter County, where Rep. John Burris of Harrison and Scott Flippo of Mountain Home, owner of an assisted living facility, are squared off in a nomination battle for the District 17 Senate seat.
The Baxter Bulletin reported Saturday that a dozen Republican state legislators got together Saturday to endorse Flippo. You see, Burris committed a sin in their eyes by helping put together and pass the so-called private option, an expansion of Medicaid with Obamacare money.
Whether their help will be enough to carry Flippo to victory remains to be seen, but the Republican squabble won’t help the Democrats directly. The winner won’t have an opponent in the general election.
One other point should be made about the primaries: The new voter ID law did not work well, even though the problems were downplayed by election officials and the secretary of state.
Act 595 of 2013 requires voters to present photo identification at the polls, but only to verify their name and likeness. Before the election a Circuit Court judge ruled the law unconstitutional but allowed its provisions to stand for the primary voting, which was already under way.
In Pulaski County some poll workers ignored or misinterpreted their instructions, using the photo IDs to compare addresses or to quiz the voters, which is not permitted. Also, 62 of 636 absentee ballots — almost 10 percent — were not counted because of the lack of accompanying identification.
The Forrest City Times Herald reported that the new law caused 83 of 102 mailed absentee ballots to be disqualified. The Washington County clerk reported that 19 of 121 absentee ballots — 15 percent — were rejected for lack of proper identification.
Similar problems were reported all over Arkansas, and it’s obvious too many voters were disenfranchised without justification. Perhaps the Supreme Court will rid us of this monstrosity soon.
Roy Ockert is editor emeritus of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.