Arkansas Democrat Gazette Endorses Hutchinson Campaign

Arkansas Democrat Gazette thru "Hutchinson for U.S. Senate" webpage ^ | Oct.20, 2002

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Arkansas Democrat Gazette Endorses Hutchinson Campaign Arkansas Democrat Gazette October 20, 2002 For Tim Hutchinson We know where he stands RULE NO. 2 in taking on an incumbent politician is: Explain why the voters should make a change. (Rule No. 1 is: Raise lotza money.) The principal argument Mark Pryor has made for unseating Senator Tim Hutchinson is this: My last name is Pryor. That may have been good enough for his father, but it isn't good enough for us. And it shouldn't be good enough for serious Arkansans, either. Even on the most important of issues, Mark Pryor just smiles his smile, awshucks his way through the question, and all but sketches imaginary circles on the floor in front of him with the toe of one shoe. It's almost as if he's counting on some kind of automatic voter reflex to put him in the United States Senate. (Ballot says Pryor, vote same.) Agree or disagree, Arkansans have the right to know where their senator stands on abortion. Mark Pryor was prochoice in 1998 when he ran for attorney general, or said he was. Now he says abortion is wrong but he wouldn't do anything to stop it. And while he's opposed to abortion personally, he thinks women should be able to abort their children. Well, sometimes. After all his talk, all we know is this: If Mark Pryor gets pregnant, he promises to have the baby. As attorney general, he aw-shucked his way past those payday loan lenders who take advantage of the least among us. He was satisfied to take their money and leave them to prey on the desperate. He also defended an unconstitutional law that branded homosexuals as criminals. And our attorney general showed even less backbone when it came to thoughtcrime. Maybe you remember that. Maybe not. We don't blame you if you don't. His rationalizations weren't worth remembering. But Attorney General Pryor once backed a hate-crime law for Arkansas. He said the bill would punish only conduct, not thought. Nice sound bite. But it made no sense. The proposed hate-crime law would have increased penalties for those who commit an offense if their thoughts were in the politically incorrect place. Beating up somebody over his race/color/ religion/gender/sexual orientation would have got you a 20 percent higher sentence. Beating up somebody else because of his class, dress, political affiliation or for just his wallet would get you a 20 percent discount. Thought had everything to do with it. That's why these laws are a species of what George Orwell called thoughtcrime. They create "protected classes" that divide ordinary victims from special ones. We ourselves would prefer to treat all criminals equally. And severely. Granted, our conversation with the attorney general on this issue got ridiculous at times, but that's what happens when an attorney general supports a ridiculous law. Our minds fog just thinking about it. We were thinking of that weird conversation when some simple, sensible thoughts intruded: Tim Hutchinson deserves a second term. Yes, there have been times when we didn't like how he voted or what he was saying, but we knew where he stood. And could understand it. He gave the conversation some traction. The senator is gaining in seniority, which helps small states like Arkansas in Congress. He's a solid supporter of the Second Amendment and gun rights. He's a member of the Armed Services, Veteran Affairs, and the Agriculture committees, among others. He has taken a consistent, principled stand on abortion. (He's agin.) And you never have to wonder what the heck he's trying to say. But, we've forgotten the most important reason of all to vote for Tim Hutchinson. It's more important than bringing home the bacon, more important than his opponent's non-answers to tough questions. The president needs Tim Hutchinson in the Senate. So do all those who value freedom abroad and a free market at home. This isn't to say Mark Pryor wouldn't lend W. a hand if it were the popular thing to do, as on issues like the War on Terror. He would. As long as the polls held up. But this president needs a Republican majority in the Senate to push through other legislation - like making his tax cuts permanent - and to approve judicial nominees now stuck in the long, long partisan pipeline. The 107th Congress is still sitting on dozens of judicial nominees, and it's tying up the court system in elaborate knots. (Strom Thurmond pert-near birthed a cat the other day when the Judiciary sat on one of his favorite nominees. But it was kind of fun to see the Senate's oldest member "ever" raise Cain with these 70-year-old whippersnappers.) The Homeland Security Bill is stuck in the mud, meaning the Senate. And in the next couple of years, a couple of vacancies could be opening on the Supreme Court of the United States. Who will fill those seats - a Scalia or a Ginsburg? A thinker or another vague mediocrity? The answer could determine the course of constitutional law for the next decade. Or more. Do the people of Arkansas want every nominee to kiss current Majority Leader Tom Daschle's ring before a vote? Mark Pryor could prove to be another arrow in Sen. Daschle's quiver. A vote for Tim Hutchinson could prove a vote for a much-needed new majority leader for the U.S. Senate. A Republican-controlled Senate could clear the way to exploration of oil drilling here at home, and that would mean less reliance on Middle Eastern mullahs. Other needed legislation is also knee deep in the Senate. A lot could depend on your vote November 5 th. (Or tomorrow, when early voting starts.) Will we reform the Social Security system, letting folks decide to invest a portion of their own money, or let the system get as close to bankruptcy as possible before rushing pell-mell to save it? You have a close race and some great issues in your hands, Mr. and Mrs. Arkansan. Lest we forget, at critical times like these, all politics is national. Every seat in a closely divided Senate is decisive. A smile, a familiar name, and a handshake shouldn't be enough to win your vote. Arkansas needs to send an experienced, principled senator, one with the president's ear, back to Washington.

[Catspaw]

Hardly. But why does Hutchinson get a pass on his adultery? Not everyone is willing to give a pass to an adulterer. But if that doesn't bother you, so be it. I'll let my friend know that pragmatism outweighs morality.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Sorry, after years of Clinton, she's not much into moral equivalency.

How are things up in Wisconsin this morning? I have always wanted to visit your state, especially in the middle of our long hot summers down here in Arkansas.

But back to our discussion. I am not following how we have a moral equivalency issue here. I fail to see how not voting for Tim, thus in effect casting a vote for Pryor is moraly equivalent.

The two men could not be more diametrically opposed on their positions.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Hardly. But why does Hutchinson get a pass on his adultery? Not everyone is willing to give a pass to an adulterer. But if that doesn't bother you, so be it. I'll let my friend know that pragmatism outweighs morality.

Again I fail to follow your arguements. But thanks for passing that info on to your friend, if you really have one here in Arkansas. Again as I have said on earlier posts, and has been noted by others, I suspect that you are a democrat plant in this forum

[Catspaw]

No, I'm not a Dem. Neither is my friend or my mother. We're all livelong Republicans. But hey, whatever. I do know they don't like a man who trades in his wife for a newer model, and they aren't going to vote for someone who does, and I don't either. But it was a calculated risk that Hutchinson took by not resigning or declinging to run again. He may be trading off the votes of those who are offended by his actions by those who are saying, "way to go, Tim!"

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Character Doesn't Matter!

Do you really believe that? The pic at #71 motivates me - Big Time. So does knowing that world leaders chuckled and winked at xxx42's "threats" while they suddenly woke up to a President who means what he says in George Bush.

It may not mean anything to the small # of pol professionals (and/or terrorist supporters), but to the average American, character does count. Tim Hutchinson, by standing up to Daschle and the gang of character deficient Dems. in the Senate, has earned the esteem of the Arkansas voters, imho.

[Catspaw]

We had snow yesterday, thanks very much, but it changed to rain and melted off. And we do get lots of tourists who want to escape the heat of summer further south, including some who stay for the entire summer season, a number of them who own summer homes and condos in major tourist areas. The one closest to me is Door county, a lovely area, but, of course, always crowded from June-August. We do go up to Door county, but we spend our time sailing, not fighting traffic or going from one shop to another (although a trip to the fudge shop is all but mandatory if we're anchored near Fish Creek). And if you do come up during Packers summer camp, their morning and afternoon sessions are open to the public. Of course, the colleges in the area do have a number of out-of-state students, some of whom are very surprised when our harsh winter comes.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

No, I'm not a Dem. Neither is my friend or my mother. We're all livelong Republicans. But hey, whatever. I do know they don't like a man who trades in his wife for a newer model, and they aren't going to vote for someone who does, and I don't either. But it was a calculated risk that Hutchinson took by not resigning or declinging to run again. He may be trading off the votes of those who are offended by his actions by those who are saying, "way to go, Tim!"

Perhaps so. As the morning is getting late and I have other fish to fry, I must soon leave this discussion.

It is all probably a moot question anyway, as Pryor can probably win on his name recognition alone. No matter who the Republican was that is running against him, no matter how "clean" the Republican's life has been.

The true bottom line here is this: A vote for Pryor gets a Daschle supporting syncophant, a vote for Hutchinson gets a man who will support our and Your Republican President.

[spectre]

Ouch! Is your back hurting? YOU a Democrat? LOL!

The truth about this election in Arkansas is hard to take.

Hutchinson, a Southern Baptist minister was elected to the Senate in 1996 after saying he would fight to stop the breakdown of the family, then separates from his wife of 29 years in 1998, and marries on Aug 26, 2000 to a former staff member who ran his Arkansas office in 1997 and 1998.

Supporters of Tim were left in shock, even his own brother, ASA was horrified.

People on this forum have to keep in mind, that the Republicans in Arkansas are conservative and unlike the Dems, trusted in Tim's platform.

Having said that, my husband and I WILL vote for Tim, to help our President with the Senate. I loathe what Tim did to his wife, family and friends. He is suffering the political consequences, and there ARE voters in Arkansas who won't vote at all rather than vote for Pryor or Tim...what a shame, but it's the truth.

sw

[Catspaw]

I think you've portrayed what I've gotten from my Arkansas friend accurately. She was shocked beyond belief, and I don't know if she can overcome her disgust for Hutchinson's behavior and moral failings to vote for him. It is much more complex than what some posters on this thread have said. She may hold her nose and vote for him once she's in the voting booth, but she would've preferred he resign when the scandal unfolded, but he didn't. And now he's feeling the backlash. I don't have any detailed polling data, but I'd bet he's lost votes from conservative women because of his character flaw.

And as far as calling me a Dem, it could be worse: they could've called me a Buchananite, a Libertarian or (gag wretch) a Green.

[spectre]

LOL, Catspaw..you haven't really been flamed till you've been called a bigot, racist, and commie...(Holding up my hand here, LOL!)..

Tim gets my vote, only because I have to do the right thing for our President, but he has lost my respect..

regards, sw

[Catspaw]

Being on this forum for a couple of years (second anniversary last week, but lurked for quite a while before that) has toughened my hide :-)) And these flames are nuttin', I tell ya. I DID forget to add "commie" to the list, didn't I, but I figured "Green" was close enough. Of course, the worst flame of all would've been to call me "Cynthia McKinney." Them's fighting words!

[rmmcdaniell]

A friend of mine who lives in Arkansas will not be voting for Hutchinson for the reasons you cited. She won't be voting for Pryor, but she cannot bring herself to vote for Hutchinson.

This is so stupid. There has never been an evidence of marital infedelity before the divorce, only rumors perpetrated by the left wing media.

Before you stay home this election remember that Ronald Reagan was divorced and remarried.

[rmmcdaniell]

My mother was the same way. If a man divorced his wife for another woman, as in this case, she'd literally boycott him.

So I suppose she voted for Carter and Mondale?

[rmmcdaniell]

I'm not so sure. Posters are suggesting that one should set aside high moral standards to maintain a Republican Senate, affairs be damned.

So Carter would have been the better choice in 1980 right?

[rmmcdaniell]

I'm not so sure. Posters are suggesting that one should set aside high moral standards to maintain a Republican Senate, affairs be damned.

So Carter would have been the better choice in 1980 right?

[ofMagog]

My wife and I both in our practices (her OB/GYN, me clinical psychologist) had many cases of women whose husbands had dumped them for a younger bimbo. If I lived in Arkansas, I'd probably hold my nose and vote for him, not because the opponent is bad, but to support the GOP. My wife says, she might vote for him, but only if he'd agree to castration.

[Lauratealeaf]

And as far as calling me a Dem, it could be worse: they could've called me a Buchananite, a Libertarian or (gag wretch) a Green.

Must have been something you said. Well, since you are a Yankee that tells me a lot about your odd standards.

[hobbes1]

Arkansas residents would choose a Democrat over a Republican like Tim Hutchinson just because of a divorce and remarriage? They compare Tim's marital difficulties to the serial philanderer and Commander in Chief who loathed the military, gave away our nuclear secrets while closing off our energy sources and teaching schoolchildren the meaning of Bjs?

Which, sadly, makes them at least ten times more sophisticated, than N.J. Voters.

[conservative_2001]

"Hutchinson is a liar (per breaking of marriage vows), so where's the assurance that he won't switch, too?"

So anyone who goes through a divorce is a "liar" and shouldn't be eligible for public office? I sure hope you're as perfect as you expect others to be.

I'm sorry you voted against Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole. I'm sure your votes for Carter, Mondale, and Clinton did a lot of good for this country and your moral values.

How many dead babies are worth it to you?

[conservative_2001]

"Hardly. But why does Hutchinson get a pass on his adultery? Not everyone is willing to give a pass to an adulterer."

FOR THE 3RD TIME THERE WAS NO ADULTERY. GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD. Do you have evidence of your charges? If not, STFU. He got involved with his current wife AFTER he and his wife divorced. Facts apparently mean little to you.

"I'll let my friend know that pragmatism outweighs morality."

How moral is it to kill unborn children? Because by voting against Hutchinson, that is what you're doing. Pryor is pro-abortion, will vote for pro-abortion Tom Daschle to control the Senate and pro-abortion committee chairs, and is one extra vote to vote against President Bush's pro-life judicial nominees.

Your so-called morals kill unborn children.