About damn time.

Finally, it’s over. Coleman’s out, Franken’s in, and the Democrats have a fillibuster proof majority. Now there’s no reason for Democrats to bitch and moan about needing sixty votes to get anything done because, guess what, we’ve got them. Now the question is are sellouts like Lincoln and Pryor and the Blue Dogs in the House like Ross going to hold things up? The answer to that is probably yes. Ok….not probably….definately. But there’s something Democrats should be aware of. If they don’t deliver then we can’t make the argument that we need to keep electing and reelecting Democrats and our majorities will be in danger. For me, that’s one big reason to get Democrats like Lincoln to shape up.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

Mike Huckabee: He’s a charming, roly-poly former Arkansas governor with his
own talk show on Fox. He used to be fat, then he got skinny, and now he is kinda
fat again. He is friends with Chuck Norris. A lot of liberals find him
surprisingly tolerable, and he is more than willing to charm them without losing
his Conservative Christian Cred. He plays the bass.
But there is a problem:
he says a lot of dumb shit and is hard to take seriously, especially now that
he’s doing his “Conservative White Male Oprah” thing at Fox.

Like I keep saying, Blanche Lincoln always seems to get a nut to run against and this time around will probably be no exception. Curtis Coleman already stepped in it big time with his visa and shots comment. Now he’s making it clear that he’s certifiably crazy:

Curtis Coleman of Little Rock paused and got choked up during a speech to a
Republican group Friday when talking about his struggles as he contemplates
whether to run for the U.S. Senate next year.
Coleman told the Central
Arkansas Republican Club meeting in Little Rock that he’s leaning toward
running
because he doesn’t want to tell his grandchildren he didn’t do
anything about
the country’s bad direction.
He said he dreads the
thought of his
grandchildren’s “liberty wings being clipped” and them asking
him years from
now, “Tell us what America used to be like.”

So what’s so bad about these times we live in?

Coleman questioned whether global warming is real in opposing efforts in
Washington to reduce the release of greenhouse gases.

He said he opposed healthcare coverage changes, saying that sometimes it’s
better to do nothing.

He said he opposed the federal stimulus package for
the economy and wants to cut federal spending but offered no specifics of where
to cut.

O…k….So global warming is fake, we shouldn’t do anything about healthcare, and the guy wants to cut spending but won’t say what. Apparently though, living under government that lies to get us into wars we don’t need to be in, taps our phones, goes through our library books, and tortures people in secret prisons isn’t scary, but if government tries to do something about climate change or healthcare or a recession then WATCH OUT!!!!! OUR FREEDOM TO SUFFER IS IN DANGER!!!!!! Seriously, do guys like Coleman even think before they speak??? Oh…wait…

“We’re in danger of having a whole new system of slavery where everyone sits on
the steps of the Capitol waiting for a handout,” Coleman said.

That answers my last question.

I’m betting the climate change bill is DOA in the Senate with Lincoln and Pryor being two Democrats to count as nay votes.

Blanche Lincoln always gets a, shall we say, colorful Republican to run against. I wonder which nut she gets this time? Will it be the Jew hater, the guy who thinks south-east Arkansas is a foreign country, or some other lunatic.

Will have a post on our prison problem up soon.

I wonder if Martha Shoffner can be talked into running for governor. She might be better than the other clowns so often mentioned.

Last week the House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, an energy bill designed to jump start investment in clean, renewable energy like solar and wind and establish a market based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Now the bill’s not perfect, having been heavily watered down by conservative Democrats like Minnesota’s Colin Peterson, but it’s a good start for addressing climate change and getting America on the path to the energy solutions of the future. Thing is, only one guy out of the Arkansas delegation voted for it. That vote, of course, was Vic Snyder. Boozeman’s vote I understand; he is a Republican after all. It’s Marion Berry, my Congressman, and Mike Ross that have pissed me off.

Now Berry’s a has been by this point. Everyone in eastern Arkansas is pretty much sitting around waiting for him to retire or kick the bucket. But Ross is younger and could have a long political future. He’s already a prominent member of the Blue Dog Coalition in the House that worked to water this bill down before voting against it, but it’s also generally believed that he’s probably eyeing the race for governor in 2014.

You can read Ross’s defense of himself here. It’s maddening that he claims this bill will hurt jobs and do nothing to promote clean energy then turns around and pushes the horse and buggy solution of more coal and more oil (which is probably because oil and gas companies are among his biggest contributors). That’s the past, solar, wind, and other renewables are the future, and while Arkansas may not benefit the most from the new energy economy we would certainly benefit from reducing the ill effects of global warming on our state.

Between this and his vote against the hate crimes bill, Ross doesn’t need to be anywhere near the Governor’s mansion. And honestly, if it’s a choice between him, Bill Halter and Dustin McDaniel, I’ll be looking for another candidate.

I’m gay. That’s not that big a deal to say these days but forty years ago it would have been huge, dangerous for that matter. It’s easy to forget just how good we have it today as a group. Sure, it’s not perfect-we’re not equal under the law, we can be fired in a majority of states for our sexual orientation, we can’t serve our country openly, and if I get drug behind a truck there’s no guarantee as of yet that the federal government will come in to make sure my killer’s trial isn’t hijacked by Sheriff Big John, Judge Bubba, and the gay panic defense. That said, progress is being made, with several states allowing folks like me and my better half to get married, several benefits and protections in various states and localities, and a new generation that is extremely supportive of civil rights for LGBT people. What’s more, for the most part our community doesn’t have to worry about the kind of police brutality that set off the Stonewall riots.

To understand where we are we have to understand where we’ve come from. Sure things aren’t the best now, but forty years ago they were far worse. The fact that the debate has shifted to a battle for full marriage equality and protection from violence and discrimination, the fact that a popular President is being held to task for his lack of action on behalf of our community is something that should be reassurring. Think about it. Instead, we could be facing the same things those that went before us did-organized state oppression, a world where hatred of LGBT Americans isn’t simply a disgusting fact of life but something to be expected and uplifted, and venom spewed by the likes of Anita Bryant being treated as gospel rather than ridiculous drool.

Things are better now because of those who came before us. If not for those that stood up at Stonewall, for people that came later like Harvey Milk, things would be much worse than they are. The challenge for LGBT people of today, for progressives today who want to see things change for the better is to emulate the courage of those who stood up in much more difficult times. If we want a better world, we have to work for it just as hard as they did. We have to take a stand, even when it isn’t easy, though knowing that our skulls aren’t as likely to be bashed in by a cop should give us a little more confidence to stand up for what’s right.

On the state level here in Arkansas we’ve seen some progress, even if it doesn’t seem like it. We now have one open member of the LGBT community in the state legislature and there are some folks here who’ve got our backs. But let’s face it, we’ve got one political party that really, really, really doesn’t like us and the other one just wants us to shut up and go away. Oh, but they want our votes so they give us the wink-wink, nod-nod, routine to promise that things will be better for us if they win and then don’t want to do a damn thing for us because WE’LL MAKE THEM LOSE!!!!!! It’s time to wake up politicians across the state and across the country. Let them know that bigotry is not acceptable and neither is pandering to bigots. We can make gains even here in Arkansas, but only if we rattle the cages and don’t back down in channeling the courage of Stonewall.

ARDem here, and welcome to Blue Arkansas. I’m a Democrat…a REAL Democrat, and by that I mean I’m a liberal/progressive Democrat and damn proud of it. It’s not easy being a left winger in Arkansas, but it’s not just the Republicans that make it so, it’s also the endless sea of conservative Democrats, the Blue Dogs and their ilk that push a corporate agenda with no concern for people, that don’t care about the poor, minorities, the environment, or the victims of war. And that’s where this blog comes in.

My greatest ambition is to grow this site to become a real force in the Arkansas political landscape the way other political blogs have across the country. That will take a lot of time and effort, but it’s worth it, because I want to see this state change for the better. I want good government, sound public policy, and a successful progressive agenda advanced at the local, state, and federal levels. I want to give the progressive community in Arkansas a place to come together, both to unwind and, more importantly, to organize. I want to provide a counter voice within the party to the do nothing, so called “moderates” and right wing Democrats that do more to thwart progressive policy than any Republican could ever do. I want Blanch Lincoln, Mike Ross, Marion Berry, Dustin McDaniel, and all the rest to be held accountable and made to do far better than what little their sorry lot has given us. It’s a tall order, but in due time it will be reality, and in the meantime it will give me a place to rant.

So, to the progressives and liberals that might be reading I say let’s come together and strengthen the hand of our community here in the Natural State. To those that are unaffiliated or don’t follow politics I invite you to listen, talk with us, and learn. To the wingnuts and Republican goons I simply say enjoy your straight jackets and please, please, please keep providing us with entertainment and reminders of why no one should be on your side of the fence. And to the so called “moderates”, the Blue Dogs, and the Democrats that do nothing but whine about liberals and complain that we’ll lose if we, God forbid, stand on our principles-shut up and get out of our way. Blue Arkansas is up, running, and ready to go.