Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback urged Arkansas Republicans on Friday night to embrace conservative ideals in their party’s search for “the way back.”
“A lot of people are saying the Republican Party is - you know - kind of maybe is being passed by,” Brownback said at the annual Reagan-Rockefeller Dinner. “We’ve got to reach out and touch the heart of people: faith, family and freedom, things we’ve stood for for a long period of time.”
Named for late GOP stalwarts President Ronald Reagan and Arkansas Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, the state Republican Party’s largest annual fundraiser sees politicians, donors and special guests gather for a celebration of the party’s political efforts.
Party officials said this year’s second annual Reagan-Rockefeller dinner, formerly known as the Governor’s Dinner, comes at a pivotal time for Republicans in Arkansas. The dinner presented state Republicans with an opportunity to lay out their vision for the 2014 elections and beyond, said Arkansas Republican Party Communications Director David Ray.
“As long as we hit our targets in terms of fundraising, we feel confident that we’ll be able to elect a Republican governor, defeat Sen. Mark Pryor and expand our majorities in the House and Senate,” Ray said in an interview before the event at the Statehouse Convention Center.
Ray said the party was not yet ready to disclose fundraising figures from Friday night.
Brownback, the one-time presidential candidate and current governor of Kansas, pointed to his administration’s achievements during his keynote address before a crowd of 500. He spoke glowingly of his state’s growing economy and low tax rates. Kansas’ growth, he said, illustrated the power states have to steer their own course in a languishing economy.
“We will change America by changing states,” he said.
Before his governorship, Brownback served 14 years as a U.S. senator, filling the seat once occupied by Bob Dole.
Brownback decried Washington-style politics in his speech, referring to an attitude of “federal largesse” that had overtaken government in recent years.
Arkansas Lt. Gov Mark Darr, who introduced Brownback, said Brownback’s selection as the keynote speaker made sense for a state looking to improve its economy and create more jobs. Before the speech, Darr said he had never met Brownback before Friday night, but he was happy to introduce a politician who embraced socially conservative values like the traditional definition of marriage.
“He’s made government smaller,” Darr said. “He’s made it more for the people, as opposed to the people working for the governor.”
An official with the state Democratic Party rejected Darr’s characterization Friday. Candace Martin, spokesman for the Arkansas Democratic Party, said Brownback’s selection as a speaker illustrated the Republican Party’s negligence on the issues affecting the state.
“The major priorities of Arkansans are creating jobs and strengthening our schools,” she said in a telephone interview.
“It’s not surprising that neither one of those things were said to be important values of the Republican Party of Arkansas at tonight’s dinner. It appears that the Republican Party of Arkansas again wants to put divisive issues at the forefront of their agenda and leave jobs behind.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 19 on 06/30/2013