I Just May Do It!

For years I've wondered what it must be like to serve as a representative in the state legislature or the US Congress. Having finally taken my first trip to Washington DC a couple of years ago, I was awed by the sheer history that surrounds everything. Though we did not get the chance to tour the Congress or the White House, I could not help but to wonder how any politician could lose that sense of awe and wonder in being a part of history.

I really began paying attention to national politics in 1980 when President Carter faced a challenge from Ronald Reagan. It was then when jobs were not so easy to come by and interest rates were out of control. Though I hesitate to blame President Carter now (I was happy to at the time!), I am convinced in my heart and mind that President Reagan was the right man at the right time for the job. I was so inspired by Mr. Reagan that I joined the US Marine Corps to become a part of something much bigger than self. In fact, during a battalion inspection in boot camp just prior to graduation, this is exactly what I told the battalion commander when he asked why I had joined up.

Over the years I was quite caught up in the "fight" that has since come to define politics. I sometimes wonder if my involvement somehow helped to fan the flames to the low point that politics has reached now. It is becoming more difficult to wade through the "mud" and find out exactly what a political candidate stands for. We have become a complacent nation that seems to be satisfied with sound bites and name-calling candidates. I suppose the nature of political campaigns has become so much worse over the years because we voters have rewarded the nastiest of these people with an election win and, ultimately, a lifetime job and pension.

So I am seriously considering a run for a house seat in the Arkansas legislature. Whether I will actually do it this time is still a big question. I've just learned that the only other Republican who is running for the same seat is an attorney; I have yet to earn a degree though I am in school. In order to get voters to take such a candidacy seriously would require the kind of political savvy that I am not so sure I possess.

Is it possible to run a campaign without trashing one's opponent? I think this would be where I would like to start. Having a face-to-face debate is one thing, but throwing charges and counter-charges through the media in a campaign is somewhat over the line and not conducive to giving voters real choices. If a candidate did nothing more than to educate voters and give them some things to think about besides a political opponent's nocturnal habits, much more could be accomplished.

In my own congressional district is a gentleman named Vic Snyder. He is a Democrat and has served this district (honorably, I might add) for ten years. Love him or hate him, but he commands respect not because he is some awesome creation but because he is a gentleman. He is of sound character and, I think, profound intregity. His sense of ethics has never been questioned though his politics has been challenged more than once. However, I think he has run for re-election twice without opposition; once for sure that I distinctly recall. Why? Maybe it is for the same reason I have seriously considered voting for him as much as I disagree with him. I know I can trust him. Not everyone can say this about their congressman or senator and for me, this is worth a lot.

I have only a few issues that I believe to be important in Arkansas politics. Whether I actually get to introduce these proposals myself remains to be seen:

• Arkansas constitutional officers are term-limited by a vote of the people. In response, the Arkansas legislature changed the formula by which they qualify for pension. They now need only to serve five years - FIVE YEARS - to qualify for a LIFE TIME pension. My proposal would be to simply have the state make a contribution to an officer's existing retirement fund; whether IRA, 401(k) - with no matching funds - or other similar retirement plans; only during their active service, and that's it. Once they leave office, there is no more money coming to them from the state. These are supposed to be citizen-legislators, not career politicians.
• Term limits would apply to the person and not the position. As it is now, a person serves in the House, term limits out and then runs for the Senate. From there, maybe a run for attorney general and then, perhaps, governor. Surely the term limits were intended to prevent the person from consolidating power and thus corrupting the system. It happened here not with a house seat but a person.
• Currently Arkansas is home base to the largest publicly traded trucking company in the United States as well as several other very large commercial carriers. Yet each of the vehicles, trucks and trailers alike, are all licensed in Oklahoma. Why? Because Oklahoma is cheaper, and a company is only required to maintain an office in that state. Arkansas misses out on enormous revenue by trying to be greedy. In exchange for making licensing in Arkansas an attractive alternative, the state could also cut the state's fuel tax on diesel for every carrier who tags its vehicles in Arkansas. In the end there would be more revenue for highway building and maintenance projects. There are also more jobs prospects in this kind of proposal not only for the state but also for carriers who might considering changing their place of domicile.
• Public school funding must be centralized to the state's Department of Education. This way, rural districts would be able to share in the wealth of districts that have more money only by virtue of their location and tax base. Each of the 75 counties in Arkansas would have only one school superintendent who would be an employee of the state, specifically the Department of Education, and would oversee the equitable disbursement of funds. They would be accountable to the state superintendent of schools. Teachers would also become employees of the state and not the local school district. The Lake View case in Arkansas has demanded that every student is entitled to equal educational opportunities. This consolidation of funds and other resources is the only way to make this happen without a substantial increase in taxes.

There is much more to what needs to be done in Arkansas, but how can an uneducated rube such as I run against a lawyer without telling lawyer jokes? For my way of thinking, at least, it could be that there are too many lawyers running the state now. An esteemed profession it is, but being an attorney does not imminently qualify one to run the state or to speak in my behalf.

More later.