State party committees keep chiefs, set strategy
Posted on Sunday, December 10, 2006
Arkansas Democrats rejoiced in widespread election victories at their state committee meeting Saturday, while Republicans at their own gathering chose to keep their party leader and seek businessmen's advice on how to revive the GOP after stinging losses in November.
In Fayetteville, Democrats cheered Gov.-elect Mike Beebe, who told party members that he credits them for his election last month as well as the sweep of constitutional offices and gains in the state Legislature.
"You deserve to celebrate. You deserve to revel in what happened... so for the next several days, party and revel and cheer,"Beebe told about 150 Democrats who attended the state committee meeting at the Walton Arts Center.
Members of the committee later voted to add four new auxiliaries to the Democratic Party structure, choosing to include new members from a gay group as well as from the state's faith community, veterans and from the labor movement.
In Little Rock, the Republican Party of Arkansas showed faith in its leadership by re-electing Chairman Gilbert Baker to a second two-year term. No one challenged Baker, a Conway state senator, despite the party's election setbacks.
Gov. Mike Huckabee, U. S. Rep. John Boozman and the party's unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, Asa Hutchinson, supported Baker's bid to continue as party chairman.
Baker said the party's recruiting, training and financial support for its legislative candidates was unprecedented.
"We have to look for the seeds of victory that have been sown even in this most recent defeat,"Baker said.
He pointed out that Huckabee's unsuccessful race for the U. S. Senate in 1992 came before his election as lieutenant gover- nor in a special election in 1993 and from there he was elevated to governor in 1996.
"I in no way want to softpedal"the Nov. 7 election, he said. "It was a horrible defeat. We lost seats that we never ever dreamed we would lose."
But Baker said the Democrats "beat us with the core principles of personal responsibility, smaller government, cutting taxes [and ] a strong commitment to a man and a woman as the marriage definition that has structured our families.
"They took the pages out of our playbook and tried to insert them temporarily into theirs. That makes it very difficult for them as they move forward, but it should give us comfort and... remind us that we have to stay committed to those principles that we know are basic bedrock conservative principles,"he said.
Baker said he plans to appoint a steering committee of business leaders in the next few weeks to review the party's strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations to improve the party.
"I want to re-engage the business leadership in this state. They already have reached out to us, and we will reach back,"he said.
"I also want to engage those that are involved in our party from the social conservative standpoint. Folks, those dogs do hunt in this state and this nation,"Baker said.
Hutchinson told the crowd that he and his wife, Susan, want to continue to support the Republican Party behind the scenes.
"After the election, we were devastated for 48 hours, and then we just got over it,"he said in quoting his wife.
Beebe entered his party's meeting to a campaign-style standing ovation with "I Can See Clearly Now"blaring through the sound system. Committee members held dozens of signs, including one that read "We kicked asa !"
Beebe gave a short version of a speech he has given often as attorney general and as a candidate for governor, emphasizing that politicians must "underpromise and overdeliver"if they're to stem citizens' apathy toward their government.
He said his promises for the coming legislative session are to fund an expansion of prekindergarten programs, make sure the state adequately funds need-based college scholarships, increase property tax relief, expand opportunities for the state's biofuel production and reduce the grocery tax "in a responsible manner."
Beebe said in an interview after his speech that the party must rein in its spending and that he would help lead the effort to raise money and cut expenses.
"Everybody's expenses will be looked at,"Beebe said.
The party's filing with the Federal Election Commission last week showed that Democrats took out another $ 50, 000 loan at First National Bank of Jonesboro on Nov. 27.
That's in addition to $ 25, 000 the party owes the same bank on the remainder of a loan earlier this year of $ 100, 000.
Chairman Jason Willett of Jonesboro said that's the same line of credit that the party has had since 2005.
"I'll continue tapping it at times when I need to, and I'll pay it down and use it again,"he said in an interview. "It's not going anywhere."
After Beebe and Lt. Gov.-elect Bill Halter gave speeches and left the meeting, committee members chose to add to the ranks eight members each from four auxiliary groups including the Stonewall Democratic Club, which consists of gay Democrats.
Willett said it's important for the party to be inclusive but that he wouldn't be surprised if Republicans criticize Democrats for that move. But he said that doesn't matter.
"All it will come down to is at the end of the day, people are just getting sick and tired of it,"Willett said of such criticism. "If they want to blame somebody, they can blame me."
They'll be added to the committee later along with new members who represent the "faith community"in Arkansas, the labor movement and veterans. "It's appropriate,"Willett said.
No committee member voted against the addition of members from the four groups.
The Democratic Party won't elect its new officers until late January, but they all are running for re-election including Willett.
Beebe said he backs Willett wholeheartedly and gave him credit for the party's victories.
Also Saturday, the GOP's State Committee elected the party's unsuccessful candidate for secretary of state, Jim Lagrone of Benton, over Rep. Doug Matayo of Springdale, as the party's first vice chairman.
In May, Matayo lost a bid for the party's nomination for lieutenant governor.
The GOP committee elected Anne Britton of Fayetteville as the party's second vice chairman, Dennis Milligan of Bryant as treasurer, and Jennifer Parks of El Dorado as secretary.
The committee voted to add $ 100, 000 to the party's $ 599, 000 budget for next year for party building and outreach activities.
According to its latest reports filed with the Federal Election Committee, the state Democratic Party's receipts totaled $ 3. 631 million through Nov. 27, compared with the state GOP's $ 940, 727.
The Democratic Party's disbursements totaled $ 3. 569 million through Nov. 27, compared with the state GOP's $ 910, 203, in those reports.
The state Democratic Party reported cash on hand of $ 70, 185, compared with the state GOP's $ 122, 850.
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