Street Money Blanche?
Sen. Lincoln enjoying the phat cash Vice President Biden raised. How will she spend it?
by K Ryan James: Interesting note from the pro-liberal Arkansas Times:
It is that Sen. Blanche Lincoln is feeling uncomfortable about the fuss raised by black lawyers over the all-white slate of nine names sent to President Obama for three vacancies on the federal bench in Arkansas. Does that mean she’ll work extra hard to find a black lawyer for the list of nominees that will go up for the just announced fourth judicial vacancy in Arkansas at Fort Smith? (Or, for real diversity, maybe an Oklahoman to go with the Texan she and Mark Pryor have suggested for the judgeship in South Arkansas.)While I agree that Sen. Lincoln (as the state’s senior Senator) was wrong in allowing a list to be put forward that did not contain an African-American jurist (unlike Republican Rep. John Boozman during the last administration), what twigged me is the parenthetical notation of the “street money” efforts by Sen. Lincoln.
No, the rumor is that the makeup to black voters (Lincoln, like most Democrats, has depended on a strong black vote in past elections and has lavished money on notorious street money operators to get the job done) might come in U.S. attorney nominations. No word has been forthcoming on these so far. The most mentioned names for the jobs — Michael Barnes in Little Rock and Conner Eldridge for the Western District — are white males.
I am not naive enough to think that Democrats in Arkansas do not engage in the old politics epitomized by Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, but one would have to ask: In the post-racial America of Barack Hussein Obama, does street money have a place in the electoral process? After all, he turned his nose to the practice during the Pennsylvania primary.
As a constituent of Mrs. Lincoln, I would like her to share with us her “buy-out-the-vote-efforts” of the past or call Mr. Brantley’s claim false. Personally, I do not expect the latter as - despite my opposition to many positions he possesses - Mr. Brantley doesn’t report things he knows to be false.
If Blanche Lincoln really wants to show Arkansans that she is not of the stale politics of old, she would do well to disclose her Boss Tweed tactics and choose to disavow any street money payments by her, or allies on her behalf, during her re-election campaign. Will she run on her merits, or will she “make it rain”?
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Tags: Arkansas, Barack Obama, Blanche Lincoln, Democrat, John Boozman, Judges, judicial appointments, Mark Pryor, political favors, Republican, Senator To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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