Full AYR announcement on the jump.

Hello Fellow Conservatives! We’ve got an exciting event coming up, and we wanted to make sure you knew about it in order to make plans to attend.

On Tuesday, March 16 the AYR’s are partnering with the Republican Party of Arkansas in sponsoring an event for the ages! That’s right! We are hosting a U.S. Senate Primary debate! KATV Channel 7 has graciously accepted our invitation to moderate the event, will be asking their viewers to submit questions to ask the candidates, and will live stream the debate on their website.

We also want to extend the invitation for questions from you – our members and supporters. These questions will be gathered through Tuesday, March 16 at noon. If you have something that you’ve wanted a candidate or candidates to answer now’s the time to send it in! The debate will last an hour and a half, and we will get through as many questions as possible.

Everything will kick-off at 6:30 p.m. at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law (1201 McMath Avenue in Little Rock). Signs will be posted to direct you to the Friday Courtroom . We look forward to seeing you there!

In Republican Service,

The Arkansas Young Republicans

“The people of the Second District will be electing a new congressman in November and they deserve to know where each candidate stands on issues important to them. A series of debates will be a great chance for citizens to know which candidate has the ideas, experience and judgment to best represent them in Congress,” Boling said.

In other words, It’s on! Full release on the jump.

UPDATE -  John Adams says bring it on in cyberspace…

“I gladly accept the call for debates and encourage the other candidates to do so as well,” said Adams on his website. ”I welcome the opportunity to share my ideas on issues important to Central Arkansans like healthcare and tax reform. People want to hear practical solutions for real-life problems. I want all citizens to have an opportunity to talk to me and ask their questions, so I strongly encourage having an open forum where citizens submit questions in person and via twitter, facebook and youtube. I look forward to debating these important issues.”

Democrat David Boling Calls for Debates in Race for CD2

(Little Rock, AR) Democrat David Boling on Thursday challenged his opponents for the Democratic nomination for Arkansas’s Second Congressional District to a series of debates to discuss the issues facing the nation and Arkansas.

“The people of the Second District will be electing a new congressman in November and they deserve to know where each candidate stands on issues important to them. A series of debates will be a great chance for citizens to know which candidate has the ideas, experience and judgment to best represent them in Congress,” Boling said.

Mr. Boling proposed three debates in April and May, with the first focusing on the range of issues of importance to the people in the district and the second focusing on national and homeland security issues. The final debate Boling proposed would focus on jobs and the economy.

In an effort to ensure people throughout the district have the opportunity to hear the candidates, his campaign has been contacting leaders at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas State University-Beebe, and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway encouraging them to host the debates. Boling recommended that specific dates, moderators and formats should be negotiated between the candidates.

“I have tremendous respect for all of my opponents in this race,” Boling said. “There are differences, however, between us in both policy positions and experience level. I believe being open and accessible and sharing information with the people of the district is the most important thing a candidate or member of Congress can do. I hope citizens will encourage the other candidates to accept my proposal and participate in these three debates.”

Gunner DeLay put out a press release calling the pledge a “boondoggle” saying “if Womack followed through on his proposal it would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. If he is seriously believes that every American should have access to these kinds of regional work-out facilities he will have to substantially increase spending by both federal and local governments.”

“It’s a bit early in the game still, but today’s false attacks were, unfortunately, not unexpected,” shot back Womack. “I presume as a member of Congress Mr. DeLay would work to end “boondoggles.” To the extent he believes the Wellness Center is one of them, I know the Center’s members would be eager to “visit” with him about any of his plans to try and shut the Center down. Regardless, the people of the 3rd District can count on me to fight for the Wellness Center and others like it.”

DeLay said that a tour of the wellness center sounded good to him. “If someone is proposing a massive increase in federal government spending I think the taxpayers of the 3rd District are entitled to know how their money will be spent. That is why we have extended the invitation to tour the facility to the other candidates in this race, as well as the media,” said DeLay in accepting the invitation.

The much hyped tour finally took place yesterday. ““I think Mr. DeLay’s visit was educational,” said Womack. “First, we learned why the Wellness Center has been nationally recognized as one of the finest facilities of its kind in the country. We heard first hand of the literally life changing benefits the Center has offered many citizens. Second, Mr. DeLay learned more about my proposals.”

“I’m sure Mr. Delay would never intentionally misstate my position for political gain. But I have never said that Wellness Centers should be forced on communities as ‘unfunded mandates.’ It may have looked good in Mr. DeLay’s press release, but it wasn’t true. My idea is that federal, state and local governments should be able to voluntarily join with private sources to build these highly successful wellness centers on a regional basis,” continued Womack. “Third, while Mr. Delay offers only rhetoric about fiscal responsibility, I have a record. As Mayor, I ended deficit spending and balanced the budget without raising taxes. Record beats rhetoric every time.”

Also, on hand was Kurt Maddox who is also running for Congress. “I appreciated being a part of Mayor Womack’s tour of the RogersWellness Center and can clearly see the positive impact of such a facility,” said Maddox. “I view this debate as not about the center’s glowing reviews, but about the role of the federal government. The message I hear loud and clear from the vast majority of Arkansans is that our national government is trying to do too much.”

Got all that?  Don’t worry.  With 8 Republican candidates in this race, I am sure more to come.

He has pledged to hold a town hall in all 75 counties in Arkansas each year if elected to the Senate. Interesting, idea, although it is not new. Republican Curtis Coleman proposed the exact same thing back in August. Perhaps, Halter and Coleman could save some money by car pooling to these events, provided they both have the proper shots and a visa.

Campbell took issue with this telling The City Wire, “In today’s world, family ties do not guarantee performance as evidenced by my opponent’s mediocre record.”

I followed up with Campbell this morning to see what it was about Malone’s record he felt was mediocre. I reached him as he had just gotten stuck in a bog while putting up campaign signs.

“I don’t feel that Rep. Malone has done enough for the city of Fort Smith,” said Campbell. He could not point to any votes she cast specifically that he disagreed with but said in general he felt she did not do enough to bring projects home for the district. “When Congressman Boozman brings a project home for his district, everyone knows about it. I have not seen this with Rep. Malone.”

Malone strongly disagreed with this assessment. “I am proud of my conservative voting record,” she said this morning. “I am confused when my opponent says I have not done enough for the district but cannot offer any specifics.”

She said that she voted for lowering taxes on groceries and taxes on manufactures both of which have benefited her constituents. She also said that she has worked with federal and state officials to help bring highway funding for the area.

Malone was quick to point out that last term she was a freshman representative and knows she will be in a stronger position if re-elected for a second term while Campbell would not have this experience if voters elect him.

With no Democrat filing for this race, the Republican Primary will decide the election on May 18.

There explanation is that “state Sen. Davy Carter” did not get in the race. News flash – Carter is a state representative and although he did consider it, I don’t think his consideration ever reached the point to warrant a ratings change on the race. They also point to state Sen. Johnny Key who did consider getting in a bit more seriously than Carter.

I am not trying to beat up on CQPolitics rating here. They do as best they can while sitting 900 miles away from the district. But it would be nice to have a local ratings group with more of a feel for the situation on the ground than could be found in D.C.

Last Thursday Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison surprised everyone by filing for U.S. Senate as a Democrat to join Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter in the Democratic Primary. I caught up with Morrison today at the state capital and found out a little bit more about this unknown candidate.

Morrison described himself as a conservative Democrat and “a citizen who is very dissatisfied with the direction of our country.”

“I think we need more people who are just everyday ordinary citizens to stand up for what they believe in and what are country was founded on which is freedom and individual responsibility,” said Morrison. He pointed to the bailouts as an example of one of the things he was dissatisfied with that lead him to make the decision to run.

“I am conservative. I don’t believe that we should leave trillions and trillions of dollars in debt for our children to pay off,” explained Morrison. “May 18 I am asking conservatives to come out and vote for me and stop two big government liberals in one day.”

“I have never held public office in my life,” emphasized Morrison. “Most conservatives want to take care of their family, take care of their job, go to church, and mind their own business. And as long as we do that and we leave it to the political class and the liberals to run the country that is exactly what we are going to get – a country that is not working for everyday working Americans. So that is why I am running for office to give them a voice.”

He said he was not concerned about the amount of money his two Democratic primary opponents have raised as he thinks they will spend most of that beating each up with it and make his job easy. He has put some of his personal funds into his campaign although he declined to say how much.

When I asked if he had always been a Democrat, he said he supported Republican Ron Paul in the last Presidential election and that President Ronald Reagan was a hero of his. As for state politics, he voted for Republican Asa Hutchinson for Governor but thinks Gov. Mike Beebe is “doing an excellent job.”

I caught up with Jim Holt today as he was filing for U.S. Senator at the state capitol, becoming the eighth Republican to do so. I asked him about a statement he made to KTHV a couple weeks ago where he said on the U.S. foreign policy, “To this point, I have not seen a clearly defined objective and if we do not have a clearly defined objective we need to get out, point blank.”

“I am a veteran and I don’t like politicians playing with our soldiers lives,” explained Holt. “Someone asked for 60,000 troops…and we give them 30,000 and then we say that no matter what happens we are going to pull out within a certain time frame. So what is that telling the enemy? That is telling the enemy that we are going to stay here, they are going to hunker down and they will pick us off.”

“It is just not logical to go in without an exit strategy, without a clearly defined objective,” continued Holt. “And that is what we have to have, if not, then we don’t need to be there. We don’t need to nation build. We don’t need a police state.”

When asked if he feels we should pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, “If don’t have a clearly defined objective, Yes. If we are going to win the war of terror, let’s win it, and then let’s get back home. Let’s don’t keep them over there as sitting ducks telling the enemy how long we are going to be there.”

Kidd has come under fire for his hiring of former Saline County Prosecutor Dan Harmon, who was served eight years in prison for racketeering and drug-related offenses prior to Kidd hiring him to do part time work for his office. Harmon was arrested again last month for selling drug near a school in Sheridan.

“I’d say they need to get their Bible out and read about redemption, and I’d also tell them they need to realize what a bargain the county is getting for $9 an hour,”  (CORRECTION - The above quote was from Harmon not Kidd.)  “He’s doing a good job and we’re very fortunate that someone with his legal knowledge is there to help us. I almost feel a little guilty and that I’m taking advantage of someone with his knowledge and experience,” Kidd told the Benton Courier last year in defending his hiring of Harmon.

“I decided to run because the incumbent has become so arrogant that he has hired a man who betrayed a public trust and went to federal prison for it,” Milligan said in a press release. “I could not let such a slap in the face to Saline County voters go unchallenged.”

“There are so many people unemployed in Saline County right now because of the Recession. It is an outrage that our circuit clerk hired the epitome of a crooked politician to work in that office when so many good people need work,” Milligan added. “I want to return integrity to that office.”

Full Press Release on the jump.

Dennis Milligan news release…

BENTON — Bryant businessman and former Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Dennis Milligan filed to run for Saline County Circuit Clerk Tuesday.

The 52-year-old Milligan is the owner of Water Treatment Services and is involved in commercial and residential real estate development in Saline County . He breeds and races thoroughbred horses in Arkansas , Texas , and Louisiana .

“I decided to run because the incumbent has become so arrogant that he has hired a man who betrayed a public trust and went to federal prison for it,” Milligan said. “I could not let such a slap in the face to Saline County voters go unchallenged.”

Former Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Harmon has been working in the circuit clerk’s office since 2008. Harmon was convicted in July 1997 of racketeering, extortion and drug conspiracy, and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was later sentenced to three additional years in prison on drug charges. He was released from prison in 2006. He has been out of prison for four years.

Harmon was recently arrested for allegedly selling the painkillers hydrocodone and morphine to an undercover officer near a school in Sheridan .

“There are so many people unemployed in Saline County right now because of the Recession. It is an outrage that our circuit clerk hired the epitome of a crooked politician to work in that office when so many good people need work,” Milligan said. “I want to return integrity to that office.”

Milligan said he would like to have the opportunity to study ways to modernize the circuit clerk’s office and make public information more readily available to people on the Internet.

“The incumbent is in his tenth year in that office. He has had no challengers in his re-election bid and has produced no new ideas other than to keep the status quo,” Milligan said. “It is time the people of Saline County had a circuit clerk that wants to improve operations and efficiency.”

Milligan was chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas from 2007-2008. Before that, he served as treasurer of Republican Party of Arkansas and chairman of the Saline County Republican Party.

He was a Saline County Constable from 2006-2007. For the last five years, Milligan has been a volunteer for the Saline county Sheriff’s Office as certified domestic violence deputy.

 Milligan is a supporter of Saline County Humane Society and a member of the Church at Rock Creek.

He has been married to the former Tina Summers for 33 years. They have one grown daughter, Tiffany, who an attorney.