The Tolbert Report

It looks like we could be in for a good old fashion internal party political race once again, and you can count on the Tolbert Report to give you a front row seat.  An email several weeks ago announced that Elizabeth Aymond will challenge current Arkansas Young Republican President David Fort in the upcoming election.

Aymond has been involved with the Republican Party for sometime, serving most recently as the communication director for the Republican Party of Arkansas.  I got to know Aymond during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul where she coordinated the events and logistics of the convention for the Arkansas delegation.  She is certainly running  a full campaign with weekly email updates, endorsements from other AYRs such as Yolanda Hugg, Drew Daniel, and Liza Freeman, and of course a Facebook group and a twitter account.

With all this information on Aymond, I contacted the current AYR President David Fort for some comments on the election.  Fort confirmed that he intends to seek reelection and said that he is optimistic about the organization’s future.  “We are working on a strategic plan for the YR’s that will take our organization to the next level and make sure that 2010 is a successful year for the Republican Party of Arkansas,” said Fort.

It is still uncertain exactly when the election will take place.  The officers are elected each year every other year during the Arkansas Young Republican Convention which has not yet been scheduled but will be sometime this summer betweem August 15 and October 15.  In somewhat related news, the two year old controversy that swirled around the last AYR election came up again recently in the comments section of a post on The Arkansas Project.

UPDATE: And because I know you folks love to click on things, here is a little poll just for the fun of it…

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I admit that I have grown to love really like twitter.  I was a Facebook guy but now I very rarely update my status.  I prefer to tweet.  But as seen in the video above of a conversation between Blake Rutherford and David Kinkade, twittering can be dangerous.

 Oh, and to find out what I am doing, make sure and follow me on twitter.

It is disheartening to watch the ever expanding reach of legalized gambling in Arkansas.  This is a battle that we have lost by inches over the last few years and we once again lost another inch today as the house approves HB1955, a measure allowing for 24 hour alcohol sales at Oaklawn and Southland “Racetracks.”  Will anyone still have the audacity to say these businesses are not casinos (see picture above from a Commercial Appeal story on Southland)?

If you recall back in 2005, the state legislature narrowly passed SB999 which became ACT1151 giving “cities or counties where horse racing or greyhound racing parks are located” the ability to call a local election to approve “electronic games of skill” at the racetracks.  This was perhaps the most corrupt bit of legislation to be ramroded through the legislature by the state gambling lobby which pushed through the bill in eight days before opposition had time to organize. 

At the time, we were told this only gives these communities a chance to vote and it will not create casinos but only games of skills, as games of chance are banned by the Arkansas Constitution.  Within two years, Hot Springs and West Memphis both approved these games of skill and video poker, blackjack, and games that look a lot like slot machines went operational.  How big have they gotten?  At the end of 2008, Roby Brock reported, “With two years of EGS numbers under their belt, the two tracks have collected a combined $957.7 million in new gambling revenue from the blackjack and poker machines and other creative electronic mechanisms.”

Today’s measure, approved by the house with 57 votes and sent to the Senate, is just another inch in the ever expanding gambling in Arkansas.  The gambling lobby continues to show they have tremendous influence on our state legislators.  I am disappointed in the representatives who approved this bill.  I hope the Senate has better sense.

The New York Times published a story today (thanks Max) on the success of Pure Digital Technologies the makers of the Flip Cam.  As regular readers of my blog know, the flip cam is the official camera of the Tolbert Report.  It is simple and easy to use.  Armed with my flip cam, I can head to the capital, record some committee meetings or interview a state legislator, upload it to YouTube, and embed it on my site.  If you like an inexpensive simple device to easily upload videos to YouTube, then I highly recommend it.

Anyway, the San Francisco based 100 person company was just acquired by Cisco Systems for $590 million in stock.  That’s pretty good in today’s economy.  It is unclear what role the Tolbert Report’s promotion of their product played in their success, but I am sure it was some where between all of it and absolute none of it.

I just received perhaps the hottest tip in the Arkansas Blogosphere today!  There is undeniable evidence that David Kinkade of the Arkansas Project will run for the U.S. Senate in 2010.  My proof? It seems he is the scheduled speaker at the Central Arkansas Young Republican lunch this coming Tuesday.  That’s right, Kinkade will be speaking following talks from Tim Griffin, French Hill, and Rick Calhoun.  We now know why he is denying the rumor to be the next RPA Executive Director, as he is holding out for this higher office. He has also been making the Arkansas TV circuit lately appearing on shows such as Unconventional Wisdom and Talk Business with Roby Brock.

I would ask him directly if this rumor is true but I really don’t think any more proof than this is needed. Will Kinkade actually announce he is forming his exploratory committee at the lunch or will he wait and twitter it?  Found out on March 24 at noon at Loca Luna in Little Rock.

It looks like Mike Huckabee’s radio program “The Huckabee Report” got a major boost today from ABC Radio (hat tip to Brantley for the tip who actually predicted it a couple weeks ago.)  It seems The Huckabee Report will fill the time slot for radio stations that had carried Paul Harvey’s News and Comment. From ABC Radio…

Beginning 3/23, ABC Radio Networks will feed The Huckabee Report short form news feature hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee, to all current Paul Harvey affiliates. … Each report is 5 minutes in length, which will fill the morning and afternoon feed times. For the former 15-minute Paul Harvey Noon News segment, the Network will be returning 10 minutes back to affiliates.

I just got an email announcing that state senator Gilbert Baker will be the featured speaker next Thursday, March 26 at the Central Arkansas Republican Club.  Interestingly enough Tim Griffin was their speaker last month.  Connection?  I will let you decide.  It is just not like me to start rumors.

The lunch is starts around 11:30 at the Little Rock Club on top the Region Building in downtown Little Rock.  It will set you back $20 but that will get you a nice buffet, free parking, and the chance to hear Baker and ask him some questions.  For reservations, contact Bonnie Davis at bkdavis@jettwebs.com or 501-835-6004.

Max Brantley, scooping me on Republican news once again, reports that the embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele will be coming to Little Rock on September 21 for Philander Smith’s “Bless the Mic” lecture series.  This lecture series has brought in names from the full political spectrum, from Cornel West to Ann Coulter.

A new website popped up in the Arkansas blogosphere aimed at persuading State Senator Gilbert Baker to jump in the race for U.S. Senate.  The website includes the YouTube video above and the reasons for supporting Baker.  It all appears to be the brainchild of fellow Arkansas conservative blogger Rett Hatcher.  Hatcher writes…

I had been considerably less than thrilled with all of the early speculation, mostly swirling around second-tier Senatorial candidates, so I decided to see if there was anyone better suited for the job. So, I developed the following profile for the perfect US Senate candidate:

1. A energetic, experienced, fresh face who will energize the electorate

2. Not connected to the current DC climate

3. Socially Conservative

4. Fiscally Conservative

5. Knows what its like to be a regular guy

One of the first names I found that fit these qualifications was that of Gilbert Baker, the recently re-elected State Senator out of Conway. I knew that I had stumbled upon a fantastic candidate for national office, but I kept looking in the hope that I could find other potentially viable choices. However, after looking at every viable candidate being mentioned, I found that Baker had only become more appealing.

Conservative to the core, Baker has the instincts to fight for Arkansas.

UPDATE - And now there is also a “Draft Gilbert Baker for US Senate” Facebook group.

UPDATE II – I noticed this morning that Gilbert Baker’s wife Susan joined the “Draft Gilbert Baker” Facebook group.  It seems to me that Baker is clearly going to run!

UPDATE III – An astute reader points out to me that there is also a “Draft Tim Griffin for U.S. Senate” Facebook group as well and it already has 116 members. Better get busy Baker’s group!

Can’t decide which one to join? Take the Tolbert approach and just join them both!

By the way, Griffin’s wife Elizabeth is a member of his Facebook group as well.  If these guys listen to their wives, then we should have a good Republican primary race on our hands.

Previously, I broke the news that Mark Darr is chomping at the bit to take on Bill Halter in the general election for Arkansas Lieutenant Governor as the Republican nominee.  However, it appears someone else may beat him to the punch.  Blake Rutherford thinks (get it) Tyler Denton may mount a primary challenge to Bill Halter’s attempt to hold his office as second in command at the state capital.

With a big name like Tyler Denton, Halter does not stand a chance in this primary.  I mean the moment I heard Denton was jumping in I knew he would have this thing wrapped up by June.  Okay, okay, I admit I never of him either until today.  But according to Rutherford, he is an Arkansas native, works for the ONE campaign, and some sort of ties to the Clinton Foundation.  I don’t know much more about him than that but I did facebook friend him today so if he accepts maybe I can tell you some more.  I will also test Kinkade’s theory that Rutherford made him up.

This has me wondering what exactly this means for the Democrat Party.  Is Bill Halter so unpopular with his own party, from Gov. Beebe on down, that they want to kick him out of the lieutenant governor’s office? Or does this mean that the lieutenant governor’s post could be an open position in 2010 with Halter perhaps challenging Sen. Lincoln in her primary reelection campaign?  Maybe Denton knows something the rest of us do not.  Who knows?  But it is fun to speculate.  Feel free to post your wild theories in the comments section below.  It beats talking about the structure of the state lottery commission.