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ARKANSAS TIMES
to the House floor, including any continuing appropriations bills.” During an October teleconference with random Arkansas voters, he maintained he “never wanted a shutdown.” He said the Democrats, by not acting to undo a law that had been in place for four years and been declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, were to blame for bringing the government to a halt. In a caller poll, he asked listeners to vote on whether the president and Congress should negotiate a way to open the government or whether “we should pass whatever the president wants.” Clemmer has positioned herself as the states’ rights candidate, saying Arkansas was “constrained by the federal government” from finding its own solutions to social problems and that “we’ve given up too much of our power and money” to the government. She also reminded voters of her social bonafides, saying she was proud to carry the antiabortion bills the legislature passed last session and proud to vote to override Gov. Mike Beebe’s vetoes of them, and her disenfranchisement bonafides, bragging on the voter I.D. bills Republicans passed. She wants to repeal Obamacare “if it isn’t working.” Of all the Republican candidates out there, political scientist Barth thinks, Clemmer “may come closest” to resembling Griffin, at least in how she’ll vote.
which bans banks from serving as creditors and investment advisors. His dislike of the Affordable Care Act sounds bankable — depending on how the law plays out, which will be crucial to 2014 campaigns. Hill did not respond to requests for an interview with the Times, but to judge where he falls on the political spectrum, it might be instructive to note that he spoke at a rally for the Koch-brothers-founded Americans for Prosperity a couple of years ago along with Asa Hutchinson, who was quoted “nudging” Hill into the 2nd District race. So, he’s no centrist. But, political scientist Barth says, “There’s going to be some tea party folks who’ll ask if he’s ‘one of us’.” Both Hill and Clemmer abandoned state races to do battle for the Republican nomination. Clemmer was going to challenge incumbent State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson in the Republican primary for the District 22 seat. Hill had announced he would make a race for the District 35 (Riverdale, the Heights and Pinnacle Valley) seat currently held by term-limited state Rep. John Edwards. Conrad Reynolds of Conway, the third Republican in the race, made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 campaigning on repeal of the 16th amendment and replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. He did not return a call from the Times.
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Little Rock banker French Hill out-pedigreed Tim Griffin when he announced Oct. 29 his candidacy for the Republican nomination: He described himself as a ninth-generation Arkansan, in contrast to the five generations Griffin claims. Maybe that’s why his first name is French. Nor does he ride a dirt bike — one of Griffin’s favorite pastimes — so he’s not exactly a populist type, though he touts his fishing and hunting on social media. Hill is the founder of Delta Trust and Banking Corp. and has worked in Washington, as a legislative aide to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, House and Urban Affairs in the early 1980s and later as senior economic policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush and deputy assistant secretary to the Treasury. Not surprisingly, Hill wants to repeal Obamacare, which he described as “jobskilling,” and the Dodd-Frank legislation. Stumping on the repeal of DoddFrank, the Wall Street reform law, is unlikely to ignite the passions of voters in, say, Perry County. Bankers object to the bill because of the “Volcker Rule,”
Republican strategist Clint Reed says the 2nd District is going to be “one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country,” and if Election Day brings out Democrats in greater number, the election will have “greater tentacles than the 2nd District race,” impacting the governor and legislative contests. (Griffin’s retirement has already had an effect, with Hill and Clemmer abandoning legislative races). The 2nd District has traditionally been a battleground district, with heavily Democratic Pulaski County balanced by increasingly Republican surrounding counties. (Ouachita Baptist University political scientist Hal Bass calls it “bipolar.”) Griffin will play a “very hands-on role in making sure the 2nd District remains in Republican hands,” Reed believes. (He added that Griffin had told him “unequivocally” that he was not running for governor, as some speculated.) But without him, Reed said, outside Republican groups won’t be channeling dollars to Arkansas the way they would if Griffin were running again.