LITTLE ROCK — Campaigning Saturday for Democrats in northeast Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe took aim at conservative groups funded from out of state that have sent out mailers and run radio ads containing what he calls false information.
The state Republican Party responded later in the day by saying Beebe is running away from his own record.
Beebe made last minute stops before Tuesday’s election in Jonesboro, Paragould and Pocahontas stumping for Democratic legislative candidates. The region had historically elected Democrats, until U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, won the 1st Congressional District seat in 2010.
The Republican Party opened a second headquarters in the region for the 2012 election, and the area - like many others in the state - has been flooded with mailers and advertisements from groups seeking to influence the election.
By the end of Tuesday’s general election, voters will have decided whether Democrats retain control of the state Legislature or Republicans lead the chambers for the first time in 138 years.
Democratic Party Chairman Will Bond urged the crowds to talk to their friends and relatives about voting for Democrats.
“We don’t want to go back to 1860, we want to keep going forward,” he said.
Beebe and the candidates he was campaigning for said changes in the past six years have been “incredible” for Arkansas, considering how other states fared, and that conservative groups are painting a falsely dark picture of jobs, education and taxes in Arkansas.
Beebe was campaigning for:
Sen. Robert Thompson of Paragould, who faces Republican Blake Johnson of Corning.
Rep. Butch Wilkins of Bono, who faces Republican John Cooper of Jonesboro.
Harold Copenhaver of Jonesboro, who is challenging Rep. Jon Hubbard, R-Jonesboro.
Rep. James Ratliff of Imobden, who is challenged by Republican Ronald Cavenaugh of Walnut Ridge.
Mary Broadaway of Paragould, who is running against Republican Wes Eddington of Paragould.
Scott Baltz of Pocahontas, who faces Rep. Lori Benedict, R-Sturkie.
“It’s a topsy-turvy world right now,” Beebe said. “Most of these races are tight. The Republicans have really done a good job with the outside money. When you get eight or 10 mailers in the course of the election that really does trash somebody, sooner or later that really does have a cumulative effect, so they have to get out and counteract it.”
The mailers and ads have promoted incorrect information, Beebe said. He said Arkansas has the 47 th-highesttax burden of all the states, the state’s educational system improvements prompted Education Week to list it as fifth in the nation overall and that 27,000 jobs have been created since he took office.
This isn’t the first time Beebe has publicly addressed political advertising during this election season. In September, he accused Americans for Prosperity of maligning Arkansas after the group ran an ad saying many people are leaving the state to seek “greater opportunity elsewhere” as the cost of everyday living becomes too high.
“Instead of running from his record, Gov. Beebe needs to hold himself accountable for helping to fund untruthful partisan personal attacks against Republican candidates. Democrats have gotten so desperate they have even attacked Republicans for voting for legislation that the Governor supported and signed into law,” Republican Party spokesman Katherine Vasilos said by email Saturday.
Beebe said he wishes the state Republican Party had stood up to the outside groups that spread incorrect information.
“I know it’s politics ... but they can be as incensed about it as I am,” Beebe said.
He pointed to some current and past Republican legislators who played a role in passing legislation affecting jobs, education and taxes. He said when he served in the Arkansas Senate with Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb, they worked together to pass some of the policies that have improved the state.
“So, in effect, they are trashing his work, and I’m sure in his heart of hearts he probably feels a little bit the way I feel about it, but I guess he has to be careful about what he says,” Beebe said.
Vasilos said the party can’t be expected to respond to every third-party mailer or ad that runs in the state.
“This election is about who has a better plan to help hardworking taxpayers and create a better future for Arkansas,” Vasilos said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/04/2012