Arkansas

Arkansas Republicans
by Tom Bowser

           The State of Arkansas, known as The Land of Opportunity, is situated geographically in the west south central United States. The state consists of two mountainous regions and lowland plain. The capital of Arkansas is Little Rock, which is also the largest city in the state. Arkansas is the nation’s leading producer of rice and broiler chickens and the soybean is the most important cash crop. Tourism is another major source of revenue for the state.
           Arkansas contains a population of 2,522,819 residents (1997 estimate). Whites make up approximately 83% of the population and blacks make up approximately 16%. Of residents over 25 years old, 66% have a high school diploma, which ranks Arkansas fourth lowest nationally. The most common religious denominations are Roman Catholic, Baptist and Methodist.
           In 1803 the territory of Arkansas was bought by the U.S. government as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Arkansas became the 25th State in 1836. The present State Constitution was adopted in 1874. The chief executive of the state is the Governor, who is elected to a four-year term. The legislature is known as the General Assembly and consists of a 35 member Senate and a 100 member House of Representatives. Arkansas is represented in the Electoral College with 6 votes. Bill Clinton, the current President of the United States, is a resident of Arkansas, where he served as governor from 1979-1981 and again from 1983-1993. *Information for this section was taken from the Microsoft Network Encarta Online Encyclopedia.
           The Republican Party of Arkansas includes members currently in office in national, state and local office. U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson is joined in Washington by Representatives Jay Dickey and Asa Hutchinson. In the state government, both the Governor, Mike Huckabee and Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller are members of the Republican Party. In the General Assembly, 7 of 35 state senators are Republican, as well as 14 of 100 state representatives.
The Republican Party of Arkansas provides a detailed platform which is based on the following six principles (as published in the Preamble to the Party platform):
The United States of America was founded and has prospered with a strong faith in God. We believe that all people are endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights and that we are one nation under God. The government must support freedom of religion.
           1) Individuals are capable of managing their own affairs and should be free to do so without undue governmental intervention. The individual and the traditional family are the foundations upon which our society and culture stand. They should be encouraged, supported and protected
           2) Governments must only pursue policies which encourage individual initiative and responsibility for economic, political and social well-being.
           3) The basic functions of government are protection of life, liberty and property, and equal justice under the law.
           4) The functions of government should be executed at the most local level possible.
           5) Our freedom as Americans is inseparable from our responsibility to serve our community, state and nation; to participate in our political process, and work for the preservation of our freedom. (http://www.arkgop.com/nav.html)
The Arkansas Republican Party platform provides a detailed blueprint for economic growth and security in Arkansas. It includes many measures that are specific to the state, but it also contains recommendations for action at the national level. The suggestions, both state and national, include the following: regulatory and tax relief for small business, creation of a Regional Economic Development Plan to expand manufacturing and service sector jobs, and the creation of enterprise zones in minority communities. The Republican Party also supports free and fair trade with the nation’s trading partners. Another element of the platform includes efforts to lure senior citizens to the state. Some of the recommendations are a repeal of the Estate tax, repeal of the income tax on Social Security for middle-class retirees and other tax incentives for senior citizens. One additional element of the economic plan put forth by the party is a desire to promote tourism to the state but the party stands in opposition to legalized gambling of any form in the state of Arkansas.
           In a related economic area, the Republican Party Platform also contains some recommendations regarding labor and business. The platform contends that the right to collective bargaining should be coupled with restraints on unions and strikers. The party is in favor of reducing the regulations on business and calls for strict enforcement of immigration laws.
Agriculture is an important source of income to the state of Arkansas, and the Republican platform contains several recommendations regarding agricultural policies. First among the goals is the desire to improve the domestic and international markets for products from Arkansas. Secondly, the party desires to protect soil and water resources, maintain forests and grazing lands and protect wildlife. Included in each of these goals is the acknowledgement and respect for private property owners. And the final recommendation for agricultural policy is a call for the repeal of Estate and capital gains taxes.
           In addition to economic issues, the Republican Party of Arkansas also holds views on a host of social issues. The first issue treated in the platform is that of education. Arkansas Republicans believe that the main responsibility for education lies with the parents. The party supports school choice including home schooling and tuition vouchers to attend private school. The party also believes that state schools should spend less on administration and more on teachers and students. The platform calls for tougher disciplinary measures, a core curriculum for high school students and testing and evaluation at every level of education. The Republican Party of Arkansas also firmly supports prayer in public school.
           In the area of human and civil rights, the Arkansas Republicans have views on a number of issues. First of all, the party states, “ Bigotry has no place in our state. We denounce those persons, organizations, publications and movements which practice or promote racism, anti-Semitism or religious intolerance”(http://www.arkgop.com/nav.html The platform is opposed to any type of quota system enforced by the government (affirmative action). It is also against welfare programs, which it calls dependency programs, but it does want to make sure that the physically disabled have equal opportunities. And finally, the party is opposed to any form of control or restriction on the right to bear arms.
           In the realm of criminal justice, the Republican Party calls for several measures which deal directly with the state of Arkansas such as the election of judges and sheriffs. In addition to those measures, the party calls for increased construction of prisons, reform and elimination of the parole system, increased funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy and coordinated drug interdiction efforts among local, state, and federal agencies. The platform states that “Under no circumstances should the legalization of drugs occur” (http://www.arkgop.com/nav.html).
           The Arkansas Republican platform also contains specific policy suggestions for healthcare including a call to the federal government to extend the life of Medicare and provide funding for the next 10 years. The platform also supports Medical Savings Accounts (similar to IRA accounts) and recommends that the distribution of Medicaid funds be left to the discretion of each state government. In addition to these policies, the party generally supports the Republican National Convention’s call to make “healthcare and health insurance more accessible and more affordable” (http://www.arkgop.com/nav.html).
           The Republican Party of Arkansas promotes several policies that relate to the fiscal policies of the federal government. It supports a balanced budget and spending limit amendment to the Constitution. It supports the line-item veto for the President. And it also wants tax cuts linked to spending reductions. The platform is opposed to unfunded federal and state mandates. It calls for a reduction in the capital gains tax and for tax codes that promote marriage and the family.
Although this report is only an overview of the Arkansas Republican platform, it shows how the policies of the party support and defend the six principles established in the preamble to the platform. Many of the measures can be directly linked to one or more of the articulated values. For instance, the defense of prayer in school follows from the party belief in a strong faith in God. The position that states should control Medicaid stems from the principle that government should be executed at the most local level. And the support for the complete right to bear arms comes from the viewpoint that individuals are capable of managing their own affairs and should be both free and responsible. The information for this report was derived from the Republican Party of Arkansas Platform as it appears on the internet at the following address: http://www.arkgop.com/nav.html.