The Tolbert Report

After seeing this photograph from the Arkansas Times of Attorney General Dustin McDaniel at a fundraiser for Arkansas Families First, the group formed to oppose Initiated Act 1, I decided to go down to the Arkansas Ethics Commission on my lunch break and take a look at their financial disclosure statements. My hunch was right.

The McDaniel Leadership PAC contributed $1,000 on October 28, 2008 to support Arkansas Families First in their campaign against Initiated Act 1. According to the PAC’s filing with the Arkansas Secretary of State, Dustin McDaniel serves as chairman of this PAC. (As a side note, fellow blogger Blake Rutherford serves as the treasurer.)

This is significant because as the Attorney General for Arkansas, McDaniel’s office now serves as the defense attorney in representing the state of Arkansas against the ACLU’s court challenge of Initiated Act 1. McDaniel’s Chief Deputy Attorney General Justin Allen told the Associated Press yesterday that his office will still be the ones defending the lawsuit.

I cannot help but wonder how someone who has contributed financially for a measure’s defeat can now be the advocate for the people of Arkansas in defense of that passed measure. I am certainly not a lawyer but referring to a borrowed copy of Howard Brill’s “Arkansas Professional and Judicial Ethics,” this appears to be a violation of Rule 1.7 defining a conflict of interest. The rule states “A concurrent conflict of interest exists if …. there is a significant risk that the representation of one of more clients will be materially limited … by a personal interest of the lawyer.”

Is this circumstance not a clear example of this definition? The rule goes on to discuss several requirements for a lawyer to overcome this conflict including if “each affected client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing.” The clients in this case would be a people of Arkansas, particularly the 586,248 Arkansans who voted for the Act. I am not sure how McDaniel is going to pull that one off.

UPDATE II – McDaniel tells the Associated Press on Friday afternoon that he will not recuse himself from the defending the Act he gave money to defeat. (Note – I attempted to contact the Attorney General on Wednesday through his chief of staff when this story was posted but have still not heard back.)

UPDATE III – McDaniel also visits with Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times. It looks like he is visiting with the entire state expect for the guy who broke the story (me)!

McDaniel tells the Times, “I don’t see any reason why we would not be able to vigorously and diligently defend the constitutionality of this act despite the fact that I opposed it on policy grounds. As long as you have the attorney general being an elected official, political issues are going to be out there [on which] people want to know where you stand. People have a right to know where you stand on the issues. I don’t in any way regret the statements that I made before the election.”

It is not the statements you made Mr. McDaniel; it is the contributions that you gave. In defending the Act, you are engaging in behavior that an attorney in public practice could not do.

Still awaiting your response – Jason@TolbertReport.com

From the Office of Governor Mike Beebe…

Governor Beebe will appoint Jay Bradford of Pine Bluff as Commissioner of the Arkansas Insurance Department. The appointment will take effect on January 15.

For the past two years, Bradford has served as Director of the Division of Behavioral Sciences at the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Prior to that, Bradford worked in the insurance industry for more than four decades, including 30 years as founder and chairman of First Arkansas Insurance Group in Pine Bluff. Bradford also served more than two decades in the Arkansas Legislature, chosen both as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

Bradford will replace Julie Benafield Bowman, whose resignation takes effect today. Beebe will appoint Lenita Blasingame of El Paso, a 43-year veteran of the Arkansas Insurance Department, to serve as Interim Commissioner until Bowman’s term officially expires on January 14. Blasingame will return to her position as Chief Deputy Commissioner once Bradford is sworn in. Bradford’s appointment will expire January 14, 2013.

The Arkansas State Memo is “Regnat Populus,” meaning “The People Rule.” Evidentially this is a belief that the Arkansas Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union does not share. Yesterday, Rita Sklar, director of the ACLU, announced that they will be filing a lawsuit against the State of Arkansas on behalf of twenty-nine adults and children that they say will be affected by the recently passed Initiated Act 1. Act 1, which will take effect tomorrow, prohibits individuals who are cohabitating outside of a valid marriage from become adoptive or foster parents. The Act was passed in the November election by 57% of the voters.

The lawsuit claims that Act 1 violates federal and state constitutional rights to equal treatment and due process under the law, specifically for the 29 adults and children named in the case. The ACLU has spent the last few weeks looking for “families affected by new statewide parenting ban” imploring them to contact their office so that they could help defend their rights. In a December 8 press release, Rita Sklar said, “We’ve already heard from many people who are frightened and worried about how Act 1 might hurt their families, and we want to hear from more.”

The lawsuit names the state of Arkansas, the related state agencies and their directors as defendants in the case, meaning the lawyer defending Act 1 in court will be Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. McDaniel was an outspoken opponent of Initiated Act 1, as seen in this picture from the Arkansas Times with Arkansas Families First Director Debbie Wilhite at a fundraiser for the group opposing Act 1. In spite of this, McDaniel’s office says that they feel they will be successful in fighting the ACLU’s challenge.

The case is set to go before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox. This is not the first time Judge Fox has ruled on such a case. In 2005, Judge Fox struck down the Arkansas state policy banning the placement of foster children with gay adults, saying that the state had no authority under the Arkansas Constitution to rule on “public morality.” It looks like the ACLU will be blessed with a judge who has previously ruled in their favor and opposing counsel who agrees with their claim.

In spite of this, Jerry Cox with Family Council of Arkansas, the group that sponsored Act 1, told the Arkansas News Bureau that he is “confident this lawsuit will fail and Act 1 will remain on the books.” He added, “That’s why we took extreme care in crafting the language in such a way that it could stand up against any legal challenge.” Cox went on to say that he plans seek the courts permission to intervene in the case. Good idea!

Some people just don’t know when to quit. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama as the junior Senator from Illinois. Burris has run for governor of Illinois three times but brags that he “has never lost to a Republican” meaning that he lost in the primaries. Gov. Blagojevich plans to announce this appointment at a news conference at 2:00 in his Chicago offices (too bad this is outside my area so no flip camera coverage). No word yet how much Burris was willingly to pay for the appointment. Perhaps Blagojevich is saving this bit of news for the press conference.

UPDATE – The ever vigilant Politico reports that Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that the Burris appointment is “unacceptable” and he will not be seated. While at the same time, the Illinois Republican Party released a statement blaming the Illinois Democrat for the “constitutional crisis.” The Illinois Republicans in the state legislature attempted to strip Gov. Blagojevich of his appointed power and call a special election; however, the Democrats, fearing they might lose the special election, blocked this attempt.

UPDATE II – It’s official! Gov. Blagojevich makes the official announcement saying, “Please don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man.” He goes on to say that he had to make the appointment because of “his responsibilities under the law” and “because the state legislature failed to act.” Here is the video…

The Associated Press reported today that Tennessee State House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh denounced Chip Saltsman candidacy for RNC Chairman due to his Christmas present to the RNC members of a Paul Shanklin CD containing the song “Barack, the Magic Negro.” Speaker Naifeh released a statement saying, “Once again a Tennessee Republican is practicing the art of racial divisiveness in an apparent effort to appeal to what he believes is the base of the Republican Party.” What is missing from the story however is the old axe that Naifeh has to grind with Chip Saltsman.

I asked Saltsman about his past relationship and he casually said that Nailah was “never a big fan” of his. This is definitely an understatement. Naifeh has served as Tennessee speaker of the house since 1991; however the likelihood of this continuing is in serious doubt after the control of the Tennessee House shifted this November to a 50 to 49 Republican control for the first time since 1971. With Republicans in charge, it appears that Republican House leader Jason Mumpower is set to take over as speaker. Much of the groundwork leading to the Republican takeover began when Saltsman was chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1998 to 2002. In addition, Saltsman led a successful campaign to defeat the state income tax which was backed by a coalition with Speaker Naifeh and then Republican Governor Don Sundquist.

Now, with Speaker Naifeh smelling blood in the water, he has attempted to go in for the kill on Chip Saltsman’s rise within the Republican Party. Hopefully, RNC members will be smart enough to see through this smoke screen for what that attack truly is. Naifeh’s comments are nothing more than settling an old political score and attempting to wound a Republican who he perceives as a real threat.

Veteran reporter and new comer blogger John Brummett writes today that an organization called Save our Secret Ballot (SOS) is pushing states to adopt a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a secret ballot. If you are like me, your first thought was don’t we already have a constitutional right to secret ballot? Apparently not! Congress is currently debating a misnamed act called the “Employee Free Choice Act” – “Card Check” for short. The Card Check legislation is a payback to the labor unions who have traditionally supported Democrat candidates and, among other things, eliminates the right of workers to a secret ballot on union votes.

Enter Arkansas Senator Gilbert Baker. Sen. Baker has been working with the supporters of an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution which would guarantee the right to a secret ballot including votes for “employee representation” (ie. labor unions.) Sen. Baker told the Tolbert Report in an email interview today, “Arkansas is a state with independent minded people that appreciate the value of the secret ballot. The state efforts to ensure the secret ballot are needed in the event that ‘card check,’ in the present form, passes at the federal level.”

Sen. Baker went on to say, “I believe that Arkansans understand the basic value of the secret ballot and want it protected. The best way to protect the secret ballot is to have an initiated constitutional amendment on the ballot and allow Arkansans to vote.” So this will definitely be a bill to follow during this next session. It will be interesting to see if this development puts added pressure on Sen. Blanche Lincoln who, after months of study, has still not taken a position on this issue.

Chip Saltsman, candidate for RNC Chairman, recently visited Arkansas to meet with newly elected Arkansas Republican Chairman Doyle Webb. Saltsman previously had visited the state to meet with Arkansas Committeeman Jim Burnett. I spoke with Saltsman last week and he reported that both meetings went well as he appreciated hearing their thoughts on how the Republican National Committee can help the state party achieve success in the future. An important ingredient in Saltsman’s platform is responding to the individual needs of each state. Another candidate for RNC Chairman, Saul Anuzis also came through Arkansas recently.

Saltsman’s campaign has been sidetracked over the last week as he has had to respond to controversy over his Christmas gift to the 168 members of the RNC. Saltsman sent out a CD with collections political parodies written by long time friend Paul Shanklin. Shanklin’s songs, often featured on the Rush Limbaugh Show, included a song entitled “David Ehrenstein’s Barack the Magic Negro.” Listeners of Limbaugh will recall that there was controversy surrounding this song last spring when the song was played on the his show. Several of Saltsman’s opponents for the RNC chairman have come out publicly criticizing Saltsman for the gift included the current chairman Mike Duncan and Saul Anuzis, while Ken Blackwell has defended the gift.

Expect the race for RNC Chairman to heat up in the coming weeks with the actual vote taking place at the next meeting of the Republican National Committee at the end of January. A debate has been scheduled for January 5, sponsored by the Americans for Tax Reform. The next day, the candidates will meet in Washington to address the RNC’s Conservative Steering Committee which will hold a straw poll and a list of approved candidates that the organization believes to be conservative enough to lead the party.

UPDATE - The Hill is reporting that the Republican National Committee will meet in an unusual special called meeting on January 7 to hear from the RNC Chairman candidates. A seldom used rule was involved where by a majority of the RNC members could call a special meeting. The sole agenda for the meeting is to hear from the RNC Chairman candidates, which will come on the heels of the January 5 debate and January 6 straw poll.

UPDATE II - KATV reports that Paul Shanklin is defending the song saying that it is political satire and supposed to be provocative.

It is Christmas time in New Orleans both literately and politically (at least for the GOP). I went down to the French Market this morning with my family and had breakfast at Café du Monde of fresh beignets and café au lait with a street performer playing “Silent Night” in the background (click for video). It does not get much better than that! We followed this up with a streetcar ride down St. Charles to see the houses decorated for Christmas. Of course, I could not help but snap a shot of the Joseph Cao for Congress sign hanging from one the balconies. Republicans in New Orleans are sky high this year after the upset victory of Joseph Cao over incumbent Democrat William Jefferson in a Congressional District deemed unwinnable by the experts. Congressmen-elect Cao should be an inspiration to those of us in Arkansas who are in districts often times written off by the experts. Hopefully, in 2010, we will take a note from the Big Easy Republicans and field quality candidates in every Congressional race.

The staff of the Tolbert Report (that’s me, my wife Kathy, and four year son Luke as well as our newest addition scheduled to arrive in April) will be traveling out of the country to New Orleans for Christmas. I think New Orleans is still part of France. So blogging may be light over the next few days. But rest assured, I will return well rested and several pounds heavier, ready to bring you new and exciting stories. The political blogging jamboree (also known as the legislative session) is only days away!