Sen. Baker, Beebe meet to heal rift over ’06 ads
Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008
Political rivals during the past two elections, Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, and state Sen. Gilbert Baker, a Republican, are taking steps to improve their relationship.
Beebe and Baker said Friday they met after the Nov. 4 election, during which Baker won a second term over a Beebe-backed Democratic challenger.
“He was very gracious,” said Baker, the expected Senate chairman of the Joint Budget Committee for the 2009 legislative session. “I think we’re going to have a good session.”
Beebe said Baker brought up the ads the Republican Party helped fund during the 2006 governor’s race trying to tie Beebe to a convicted felon. Beebe and other Democrats have said the ads were unfair, misleading and false.
Baker of Conway has said he regrets that the party funded those ads but has declined to say whether he owed Beebe an apology.
Neither would give details of what was said during their meeting.
“He was very gracious,” Beebe said. “He came up, asked for the meeting.”
Baker said they met Nov. 6 in Beebe’s office for about 15 minutes. He said Beebe’s chief of staff, Morril Harriman, was also in the meeting.
“It was a personal meeting,” Baker said. “Absolutely, I’m moving forward. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him during the session.” In 2006, Baker was chairman of the state Republican Party and supported Republican Asa Hutchinson for governor over Beebe. The state GOP donated $ 167, 000 to the Coalition for Arkansas’ Future, a committee that produced an ad connecting Beebe to former Democratic state Sen. Nick Wilson of Pocahontas, who was sent to prison for racketeering. Beebe and Wilson served in the state Senate together but were in opposing factions. “Nick Wilson stole millions from Arkansas taxpayers,” the ad said. “Mike Beebe let it happen.” The ad also said “crime pays” under Beebe.
Baker has said negative campaigning isn’t his style and that he didn’t know what form the ads would take when the party approved the expenditure. He’s said he has always spoken favorably of Beebe.
The two men’s Senate terms overlapped by two years.
Beebe served from 1983 to 2002. Baker was elected to the Senate in 2000, and he has said Beebe helped him learn the ropes as a freshman senator.
This election year, Beebe supported Joe White, a longtime Democrat from Conway, in a bid to unseat Baker. Beebe appeared in commercials for White. The race cost about $ 800, 000 and became the most expensive legislative race in the state’s history.
Baker prevailed over White, winning 55 percent of the vote to White’s 45 percent.
Beebe said past differences he had with Baker won’t affect the legislative session.
“In terms of working together and getting problems solved, you [moved past that ],” Beebe said. “The political part of it, when the election is over, you work together across party lines.”
On Thursday, Beebe released his proposed budget for fiscal 2010 and 2011.
Baker’s support in the Budget Committee would help ease the passage of Beebe’s budget plan, which includes a reduction in the state’s sales tax on groceries from 3 percent to 2 percent.
“He’s taking a very conservative approach to the budget, and I applaud him for that,” Baker said.
Baker said he prefers that the entire grocery tax be eliminated. While he said he understands the budget constraints on the state, he said he’ll continue to look for ways to cut more of the tax.
Some legislators have already said they support Beebe’s plan.
Others have said that they don’t understand why Beebe would seek a grocery tax cut when the state has other needs, such as keeping pace with skyrocketing Medicaid costs.
The proposed $ 4. 5 billion general revenue budget for 2010 represents a 1. 3 percent increase from the current fiscal year, 2009.
Beebe’s budget has no new money for Medicaid, but the governor is seeking legislative approval to tap the state’s $ 300 million surplus to plug budget holes as he sees fit.
State Rep. Chris Thyer, DJonesboro, on Thursday questioned whether Beebe’s grocery tax plan makes “sense” and likened the governor’s proposed powers on spending the surplus as something a “king” would have.
The governor said Thyer’s comments reported by news media made first lady Ginger Beebe wonder.
“Ginger asked me this morning if he was mad at me,” the governor said, laughing. “I said, ‘ That’s just Chris Thyer. ’”
Beebe laughed as he recalled that Attorney General Dustin McDaniel refers to Thyer as “angry man.”
“Whether he’s mad or not, he comes across as angry,” Beebe said of Thyer.
Thyer was term-limited from seeking re-election this year and won’t be in the Legislature for the 2009 session.
Baker said he questioned Beebe about the surplus spending proposal but doesn’t think they would be kinglike as Thyer suggested.
“The governor was very clear that the legislature would be involved,” Baker said. “We would have to flush out the process.”
Beebe said legislators continue to express a mixture of support and concern regarding his budget proposal.
“They’ve all been very openminded and respectful,” Beebe said.
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