Hard as it might be to believe, especially with those commercials that seem to be running twice a minute on every television channel in the state, and between each song on the radio, some folks might actually forget there's an election on. And that today's is an important vote.
Lest we forget, if that's possible, the primaries won't be over till tonight. There are run-offs in a handful of local elections today--and in a mighty important one on the state level. In the Republican run-off for attorney general, Leslie Rutledge is in a pitched battle with David Sterling. She's a lawyer, he's a lawyer. She's a conservative, he's a conservative. She notes her experience, he notes his.
If that were all there was to it, the Republicans would still have a heckuva run-off on their hands. Unfortunately, there have been other hands messing in this race. Specifically, the mud-throwing mitts of a shadowy group out of Washington, D.C.
Long ago, "Washington D.C.?!" replaced "New York City?!" as the standard exasperated cry when some literally outlandish notion is expressed by a stranger in these parts. (Think of the old Pace picante sauce commercials.) This time the interloper is an outfit of indeterminate origin out of Washington, D.C., called the Judicial Crisis Watch. This JCW has flooded the airwaves in Arkansas--and our mailboxes--not so much in favor of David Sterling as against Leslie Rutledge for attorney general of Arkansas.
Her most notable failing, according to the outlanders? She's not sufficiently for a Stand Your Ground law in this state. Which seems to be the Holy Grail for these outsiders even if it sounds like an invitation to trouble to some of us. For it would let folks open fire on anyone they can reasonably perceive as a threat. Talk about a bad idea, this one is among the baddest.
Not that Counselor Rutledge is necessarily opposed to such a law, mind you. But she knows, or at least she's said, that the Legislature is in charge of passing laws. If the Ledge decides to pass such a law, Leslie Rutledge says she'll help the legislators put it together, and it would be her duty to defend it in court if the thing gets that far. Which is what the state's attorney general is supposed to do. But because she's running for attorney general, not the state legislature, Leslie Rutledge's campaign has been largely focused on how her office could limit the over-reach of the federal government, as with Obamacare.
But that's not good enough for the folks at the Judicial Crisis Watch in Washington, D.C. (Washington D.C.?!) So they've been saturating the air waves and mailboxes with crazy talk about how Leslie Rutledge is just a carbon copy of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Eric Holder. All the usual suspects.
As it happens, Leslie Rutledge does have some things in common with that crew. The first thing, and maybe only thing, is that she worked for her party on the national level. No need to mention that hers was the Republican one, in opposition to pert' near everything Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi stand for. And she promises to oppose them in the future if she's elected attorney general of Arkansas. She seeks to look after our interests right here at home, not those being promoted out of, yes, Washington, D.C.
In case anybody thinks Leslie Rutledge might not be sufficiently conservative for a state like Arkansas, keep this in mind: The left-leaning members of the commentariat in this state can't seem to stand her. And say so. She's pro-life, for the Second Amendment and supports smaller, better government in general. Her nomination would drive her critics crazier, especially if she were to go on to win in November.
All of which makes Leslie Rutledge the responsible choice in today's Republican run-off. No matter what some amply but vaguely financed outfit in Washington, D.C., says.
Washington, D.C.!?!
Editorial on 06/10/2014