I’ve found myself less than enthused with the 1st district candidates I’m afraid to say. Wooldridge is a no go. I know nothing of Bryles or Cook as of yet and, so far, have no reason to be too interested in either. Causey’s a good guy with plenty of potential, but some of the things he’s said and the sense that he might not be ready for prime time has me concerned. Up to this point, I’ve been in the anybody but Wooldridge category. Now though, this new guy, Ben Ponder, has peaked my interest…

The first thing that grabbed my attention when looking at this guy is his background. He’s a product of the public schools, he’s got a PhD in communication, he’s been a researcher and teacher, and he’s studied theology. More interesting though is what stands out about his work in the private sector:

While completing a 900-page dissertation, Ben also led a start-up renewable energy company with offices in the Chicago area and in Central Arkansas. The business’s goal was to provide affordable, home-grown renewable fuels to communities throughout Arkansas. When venture financing began to dry up at the start of the Great Recession, Ben and his teammates made the difficult decision to pull the plug on an innovative business that had been driven for two years by a stellar team of entrepreneurs and advisers.

Beyond his background, Ponder actually tells you in his announcement what his platform focuses on, and from the looks of things, it’s pretty good. He sounds like a good old fashion populist with a real progressive streak:

I am running for Congress because I want to give voice to this voiceless multitude of those who will come after us. They will be our judges in history. They will be the ones who name our generation. Do we aspire to share in the honor of the generation that is now passing—what has been called “the greatest generation”— or will we settle for the stature of “bubble surfers,” “payday loan sharks,” or “the generation when America began its decline.” We must not squander the bounty and splendor that our fathers and mothers left us as an inheritance. We must now make the hard choices and the bold stands for justice that history demands of us.

In the coming days, I plan to talk with you and with the citizens of Arkansas’ First District about the specific policies and plans that I will enact if you elect me as your Representative in Congress. Today, in the interest of time and temperature, I will keep my policy remarks concise.

Three areas of domestic policy that require our immediate attention are JOBS, HEALTHCARE, and EDUCATION.

The Senate yesterday passed a modest jobs bill that was an encouraging sign of teamwork between the two parties, even if the bill lacked the teeth to make a significant dent in our melancholy unemployment numbers. The passage of this bill in one chamber of Congress is a good step, but more action must be taken and taken quickly.

As a businessman and an academic, I understand both the practical and theoretical sides of economic policy. The stock market has slowly recovered over the last year, but job growth has not followed. Why is that? The answer is that job growth in the 21st century is not tied to publicly traded companies. Fortune 500 companies do not create jobs. They are mature capitalist enterprises and as such, they are fundamentally driven to eliminate jobs in the pursuit of “operational efficiencies” and “increased productivity.”

The engine of job growth in America has always been and will always be the entrepreneur. Those who seize upon an idea or innovation, turn it into a useful product or service, and find a way to reach a growing market. These men and women find themselves needing help, needing workers. Small businesses create jobs; REAL jobs with REAL futures, not dead-end temporary jobs or statistic-manipulating job shifting.
Our energies and our money as a nation must be targeted toward small businesses. We must increase access to capital, to ideas, to technical skills, and to business management training. In order for our economy to truly flourish, we need to change our focus from the banks and auto companies that are “too big to fail” and begin to invest in promising, local businesses that are “too SMALL to fail.”

The second area of grave concern in our country right now is HEALTHCARE.

We all have a vague sense that our American healthcare system is not what it could be.

For some, the system is completely shattered. For others, the system simply requires a few minor tweaks. Regardless of where you land on the spectrum, we all believe that health care needs reform.

I am bothered, however, that the public debate and the actions of Congress with regard to “health CARE reform” are, in fact, a narrowly conceived attempt at what is really “health FINANCE reform.” Now, health finance reform is important, but it is only a piece of the puzzle. Our system will not improve until we reform the quality of care as well as the mechanism of payment.

In Congress, I will not vote for any healthcare bill, popular or unpopular, that doesn’t have two key provisions:

1) We must shift the business model of the health insurance industry. As a publicly traded corporation, these insurers are ultimately beholden to their shareholders, not to their policy holders. Forcing everyone to purchase health insurance is short-sighted: it will temporarily decrease premiums, yes, but as long as health insurers are driven by a mandate for escalating profits, then they will be forced to pay less and less on claims.

The perverse disincentive for health insurers to pay on legitimate claims must end.

Health insurers should be run as cooperatives, like we see with credit unions, rural electric companies, and farmer’s co-ops, where the policyholders are also the owners of the business.

2) Doctors should be paid to listen first and to cut second. The system as it stands today encourages doctors to perform expensive exploratory surgery rather than to simply listen to you describe your symptoms. If a doctor wants to keep the lights on in his or her practice, he or she must perform costly tests and invasive surgical procedures.

Physicians must rush through their regular clinic visits, because they have to see 40, 50, or 60 patients a day just to cover the costs of their practice. Until our health care system encourages and pays for doctors to listen to their patients, true health care reform is a mirage.

The third major area of domestic policy that requires our immediate attention is EDUCATION. This building, the Old College Hall, is landmark in the history of education in Arkansas, and it is a fitting reminder of the educational legacy of our community.

Our commitment to education is the key indicator of our hope for the next generation.

Education policy is now so consumed with standardized testing and metrics that teachers are forced in lock step to “teach to the test” rather than having the freedom to inspire their students with a love for learning.

My education policy is simple: teachers, teachers, teachers. Facilities and technology are wonderful, but Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had neither buildings nor computers, and they proved to be fine educators. We need to attract, retain, and reward educators who “know their stuff” and who can infect students with an abiding passion for learning.

Then, and only then, will our children and grandchildren be prepared to compete in the global marketplace.

A lot of good stuff there…really good stuff. Now, there are a few things I’m concerned about. The first is simply a critique of his style as a candidate and it’s that his language tends to be a bit flowery. However, that might work for him-I haven’t seen any video yet or seen him in person (would love to though) so I don’t know how good he really is on the stump. If he’s got the charisma to pull it off, it would be great to see a candidate in this pack that could get out there and really inspire people with high minded talk like this.

The other concern is that he might turn out to be in the same vein as Wooldridge on social issues. Now if he’s somewhat conservative on social issues, that’s fine. I understand he’s a devout Baptist (I grew up in the Southern Baptist church and still consider myself a Baptist. There is a moderate, even a progressive minded, band within that denomination that was pushed aside back in the 70s and 80s.) and I understand that this is a district with a conservative streak on social issues. Remember, when I was running the beta version of this site by myself, Blue Arkansas was backing Marion Berry, who’s got a significant conservative streak to say the least. But there’s a difference between being conservative and sitting on the board of a hate group and letting your campaign staff lie and try to cover it up. I don’t expect Ponder to come out for marriage equality or anything close-that’d be an unrealistic expectation for sure. I’d be fine with it if he announces he’s anti-choice. But I want to see that he is tolerant of others and willing to protect the civil rights and liberties of ALL his potential constituents. If he can reassure me on that front…I may have found my candidate.

One last thing. There is an interview Ponder gave to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Now, I’m not about to pay a penny to read that crappy right wing rag, but I’d love to know what was said. If someone else has access to that, pass it along to me if you would.

Tags: AR-01, Ben Ponder, Democrats, primaries

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