The Tolbert Report

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported today that Gov. Beebe has decided to end the decades old practice of having state Cabinet meetings. From their report…

Gov. Mike Beebe has ended a nearly four-decades-old practice of holding Cabinet meetings, a tradition dating back to former Gov. Dale Bumpers.

Each governor has his own style for managing the giant that state government has become, consisting of more than 27, 000 employees — not counting higher education – and involving more than $ 21. 1 billion a year. And Beebe’s choice not to sit down regularly with a Cabinet seems to have had no deleterious effect on the operation.

“We meet all the time with our agency heads,” said Matt DeCample, Beebe’s spokesman. “Individual meetings were all we really needed. We didn’t need to sit everyone down in a room together and call it a Cabinet.” Still, there hasn’t been any formal decision to abolish a Cabinet, Beebe aides said.

Of course, the article writes this off as just Beebe’s governing style and it goes on to discuss how inefficient these cabinet meeting were. The article actually goes as far as telling a story of former Gov. Bumpers having to get on to his department heads for drinking during their lunch break!

I can’t help but think that a Republican Administration would not have gotten such a free pass on this move. I am sure the story would have been told how the governor was moving these meetings behind closed doors and that the bureaucrats would now be running the show from smoke filled (or smoke free in case of Gov. Hucakbee) back rooms. What happened to the push for state government that operates in the sunshine? Has anyone bothered to ask if these “individual meeting” with the agency heads will be public?

Today, I attended my first State Republican Convention. I have to say that it was really pretty cool. I was not sure what to except as I had not been to one before but had been to a number of Baptist Conventions and Church Business Meetings. I did not know whether it would be a long day full of parliamentary procedures or more like a big pep rally. It turned out to be the later instead of the former and the surprise keynote speaker definitely left me cheering.

The Convention was at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock in a mid-size convention hall. I signed in, got my nametag, said hello to some friends, and settled into my seat with my delegation from Saline County. However, my convention experience actually began several weeks back. At our July County GOP meeting, our state Platform Committee distributed copies of their initial draft of our 2008 Party Platform. As I read through it, I noticed that much of the pro-life language in the Platform had been removed, such as our support for the overturn of Roe v. Wade and our support for a Federal Human Life Amendment. After some phone and email conversations with several of our state’s pro-life leaders as well as members of the Platform Committee, we were able to restore this language. I even got to attend the state Platform Committee meeting yesterday as they made this change. As I settled into my seat, I was glad to see this strong Pro-life Plank in our Party Platform and took satisfaction in my small role. I also was thankful to see that our system works. I had a concern, expressed this through the proper channels, and was able to have this concern addressed. What a Country! What a Party!

The meeting began with prayer and the pledge of allegiance with a local Boy Scout Troop doing a great job presenting our colors. This was followed by election of our Convention Chair and Convention Secretary. We approved our party rules with some minor changes and heard from different speakers representing different groups in our party such as my friend Doyle Webb who is chairing our Arkansas Victory 2008.

Next came the highlight of the convention for me and I think most of the delegates; our surprise keynote speaker was our former Governor Mike Huckabee! I don’t think anyone knew about this ahead of time, probably because he was not sure if his schedule would allow for it. If I had known, I would have brought my video recorder in from the car. As always, he was able to excite the room like no one else. His speech focused on our core principals that we believe as Republicans. He discussed how our moral beliefs are not a separate part of our Republican principals but rather the foundation on which they are based. If you have heard his speech at the Iowa Convention, it was very similar. I worked hard for Gov. Huckabee during the Presidential Primary and this was my first chance to see him since then so it was a real delight for me. As Gov. Huckabee left a room full of cheering fired up Republicans, I could not help but think what a tremendous asset he is to our Party and what he asset he would make to our Party’s ticket as our Vice President.

The meeting continued with brief speeches from the different state legislative candidates from around the state. We are fortunate in my home county of Saline to have several wonderful candidates. Rep. Dan Greenberg is an incumbent state representative from the north part of our county and is unopposed. David McCoy in Benton and Ann Clemmer in Bryant are running for two open seats in the state house. Both of these seats were held by Democrats and both Mr. McCoy and Mrs. Clemmer have a very good chance of winning their races and retaking this seats.

After all the candidates spoke, we elected our slate of Arkansas electors to the Electoral College which interestingly enough includes Gov. Huckabee. I hope that Elector Huckabee gets to cast his ballot both for John McCain for President and for himself as Vice President! We then moved on to our Party Platform. Before bringing our actual Platform, the Platform Committee allowed for discussion of Arkansas Referred Amendment 2, which proposes to change our state legislative session from meeting every other year to meeting every year. There were compelling and passionate arguments made by Sen. Kim Hendren and Rep. Dan Greenberg against the Amendment as well as Sen. Bill Pritchard, Rep. Donna Hutchinson, and Rep. Mark Martin in favor of the Amendment. Although both sides made good arguments in the end, I decided to vote against supporting the Amendment as I felt that the less our legislatures meet, the less chance they will have to expand our government and further raise our taxes. However, the measure did end up passing by a vote of 111 in favor and 77 against. The Platform Committee then presented our Party Platform, which passed without any discussion.

The Convention closed with some final closing remarks from our former U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson. It was a really great experience to be a part of it. If you are not involved in your local Republican Party, I highly encourage you to do so. This is an important election not only for our President but for our local representatives as well. Go research and find a local candidate who represents your views and ask them how you can help. If you don’t know who to help, let me know and I will help connect you with someone. Don’t sit this one out it! Get involved and make a difference!

State Senator Gilbert Baker had a great post today on Gov. Huckabee’s Huckpac Vertical Day Event.

The preservation of life is an issue that remains within the central fabric of American society. We as a people must continue our work and progress to ensure that everyone is entitled to experience God’s gift of life. I believe every life is a miracle that should be celebrated, not debated. Everyday children are deprived of their chance at life, and because of this deprivation our country loses a person who has the potential for greatness. By continuing to allow abortions, we as a people are denying ourselves individuals who could potentially achieve greatness. This is why I will continue my pro-life stance.

Throughout my time in office I have been involved in the legislation pertaining to the advancement of life. I serve on the board of Life Choices Inc. and will continue to work with various other pro-life organizations within our state.

With your help and your support, we can continue our mission and give a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves. This November will determine the state of our country for years to come. With your vote and your hard work we will be successful and promote the right to life that we hold dear.

To learn more about Senator Gilbert Baker click here.

July 23 is Vertical Day at HuckPac. Log on to read posts from a dozen conservative candidates across the country. It starts at noon and lasts until midnight (EST).

One such candidate is Arkansas’ own State Senator Gilbert Baker. I hope to participate and report on this tomorrow. I hope you will too.

Zogby reported today that polling data suggests that former Republican rivals Huckabee and Romney could give McCain a boost in the Fall Election.

Among McCain’s potential vice presidential picks, former Republican nomination challengers Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney earned the strongest support from likely voters overall, as well as from Republicans and political independents. Among likely voters, 27% would be more likely to support McCain with Huckabee on the ticket, and 26% said the same if Romney were selected. A Huckabee pick would cause 13% of likely voters to be less likely to support McCain, while 11% would be less supportive of the presumptive Republican nominee if he were to choose Romney as his running mate. Among Republicans, 40% would be more likely to support a McCain/Huckabee ticket, while 11% would be less likely – a 29% net positive for the choice of Huckabee. If Romney were to be chosen, 41% of Republicans would be more inclined to vote for McCain, compared to 8% who would be less likely, for a net positive of 33%. Both fare well among political independents, with a 15% net positive for Huckabee and a 17% net positive for Romney if chosen as a running mate by McCain.

I think the final decision will come down to which running mate helps McCain in the must win states of Ohio, Florida, Missiouri, and Virginia.