Want Bill Halter to challenge Blanche Lincoln? Then let’s convince him that the support is there. Let’s start sending letters to the editors of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Arkansas Times, and even your local paper laying out the case against Blanche Lincoln and why Bill Halter should challenge her. If Halter and his staffers see plenty of letters out there it will show them that there is a ground swell of support. What’s more, the more people see and hear from us and learn about this effort to replace a Republican in disguise, the more people will become interested and involved in the effort. So come on, let’s put pens to paper and fingers to keyboards, every last one of us.
You can submit a letter to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette by following this link.
You can get the information for contacting the Arkansas Times here.
And I’d also suggest contacting Halter’s campaign to tell them you’ll support him if he takes on Lincoln. You can do that here.
I’ve already submitted my letter to the ADG and my local Jonesboro Sun. I ask that the rest of you interested in seeing a real Democrat replace Blanche Lincoln in the U.S. Senate join me. Here’s the letter I submitted:
Blanche Lincoln does not deserve to be reelected. Again and again she has proven that she cares more about the interests of corporations than she does about the well being of Arkansans. She fought for a give away to drug companies but worked for the insurance companies to kill the public option. She’s happy to advocate for eliminating the estate tax for the wealthiest Americans but doesn’t believe working Arkansans should have the right to unionize for better pay and benefits. She’s always favored big corporate farms over small farms. Meanwhile towns in Arkansas look like they’ve been hit with atomic bombs and she doesn’t lift a finger to help us at all.
However, the Republicans running against her would be even worse, that is why I, and many others, hope Bill Halter will challenge Senator Lincoln in the Democratic primary. In his short time in an office with little real power, Halter has proven to be the most effective politician in Arkansas, working to get a state lottery on the ballot that will help thousands of Arkansans realize the dream of a college education and intervening to bring a free clinic event to Little Rock that provided needed care to countless of the poor and suffering. He has also shown real courage (something Lincoln has none of) in standing up against the bigoted Initiated Act 1. Halter is a real Democrat and a real reformer. Blanche Lincoln, on the other hand, is part of the problem.
This can happen. We can get a real Democrat trough the primary and elected to the U.S. Senate. But to do it, we have to get active.
UPDATE: Just received a call from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette saying that, because my number is unlisted I have to send them a copy of either my driver’s license or a utility bill…Now, I don’t know much about the inner workings of a newspaper business but can anyone make an argument as to why that policy isn’t royally screwed up?
UPDATE 2: Asked the folks at the ADG about this policy and they actually have a good answer. “The policy was put in place after an incident a few years ago. A couple claimed to sign what they thought was a petition but it was really a letter to the editor someone else submitted in their names. The letters were verified on cell phones with others pretending to be the people who supposedly signed the letters. The people who actually signed the letter threatened to sue after the letters were published.” Works for me, especially since I’ve been informed I only have to do this once.
