Somehow this email went out without a subject line and without my name and before it was finished so am sending it again. In yesterdays' article about Stubblefield stepping aside, Dismang is quoted as saying,  "As for the future of the private option, Dismang said it's too early to predict its fate."  In other quotes he has acted as though it was a done deal that the P.O. didn't have the votes to continue. Debbie

 

Only Eleven Democrats in AR Senate But They Still Picked the Senate Leader

All Is Not Lost But Hopes Are Diminished

And Thanks To Stubblefield, For His Heroic Effort And To All Who Supported Him

 

This was probably the conservatives' best chance of EVER picking the leader of the Senate, but it did not happen. It would be hard to imagine the GOP ever reaching a higher number, especially so now. There are 35 senators in the Senate; 24 Republicans won seats but Senator Lamoureaux is resigning because he is going to work for the Asa Hutchinson, the new governor.

 

So there are 23 Republican Senators and only eleven Democrats. Yet when a true conservative, Senator Gary Stubblefield, rose up to counter Jonathan Dismang (the main architect of the Private Option) as leader of the Senate, there was not a strong enough mandate from Republicans supporting him, and he stepped down to keep unity.

 

So basically the eleven Democrats with the help of probably seven Republicans kept the true conservative Senator Stubblefield from being elected as Senate leader. Even though Dismang is a Republican, one can figure out what type of Republican he is considering all the Democrats supported him and considering he was a major architect of the Private Option. That's the way legislators keep electing liberal leaders just as they did with Davy Carter - with the vote of all the Democrats and a few Republicans. We had a great opportunity this time but lost it.  

 

Those Republicans who committed to vote for Jonathan Dismang as senate leader,  a major architect of the Private Option, had to know the voters back home who put them in office would not want them to support Dismang. Evidently these Arkansas legislators, like Jonathan Gruber, thought the people back home just did not understand what was good for them. (Jonathan Gruber was a major architect of Obamacare and key adviser to Obama who has been in the news lately for calling voters too stupid to understand that Obamacare was a good thing, so they lied to the people to get it passed.)

 

In an interview with Talk Business & Politics with Roby Brock, March 23, 2014, Dismang praises Governor Beebe saying "the governor is very conservative in his budgeting." How can Beebe  be conservative in his budgeting when he pushed through the Private Option that is exceeding the government financial caps every month - millions of dollars that Arkansas (taxpayers) now owes to the federal government.  And just today, Nov. 13, 2014 the news reports: Arkansas Medicaid program will need an additional $84.2 million and $60 million from the surplus next year if lawmakers move forward with tax cuts approved last year, Governor Beebe said.

 

In the same interview Roby Brock asks Dismang, "Has anything changed down in the Senate in terms of how you guys do your committee assignments?" Dismang answered,  "One of the biggest issues there would be Budget Chair.  Senator Teague [Democrat] is doing a great job for Senator Lamoureaux this current session, and you know we haven't visited yet about what he would like to do moving forward, but that would probably be one of the more prominent you know positions that we would have some influence on."[On November 8 in Democrat Gazette,  Dismang was quoted as saying: "I gave my word to Teague to do that almost a year ago, at this point, and I am going to honor my commitment," Dismang said.]

 

Other information on Senator Jonathan Dismang that I have already sent out:

(Information below on Dismang provided by Conduit For Action, Nov. 5, (see link at end of email)  and most of it was followed up & reported in the Democrat Gazette article.)

 

JONATHAN DISMANG & DEMOCRAT ALLIES

 

Senator Jonathan Dismang is also facing a more conservative Senate than when he was chosen by the previous Senate to be President Pro Tempore Designee.  He has been open about actions favoring Democrats.

 

Dismang sent shockwaves through the Senate when he announced that he had hired James Miller as his Senate aid for the equivalent of $90,000 per year.

o   Miller was on Democrat Governor Mike Beebe�s staff .

o   Miller helped Beebe  draw Democrat friendly legislative districts; and

o   Miller was active in 2012 in at least one district in trying to elect a Democrat as State Senator.

 

Dismang declared support for Democrat Senator Larry Teague to be chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. The JBC is the most powerful committee during legislative sessions. [Dismang was quoted in the Democrat Gazette in Saturday's paper and yesterday's paper that he was going to appoint Teague as Chair.]

 

 

Dismang's recent quote on the Private Option http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/nov/13/senator-drops-bid-for-leadership-post-2/

 

Source for information on Senator Dismang:  "Gains in AR Legislature could be minimized by legislative leaders" Conduit For Action (CFA) Nov 5, 2014

http://www.conduitforaction.org/gains-in-ar-legislature-could-be-minimized-by-legislative-leaders/#more-1670

 

Talk Business & Politics Roby Brock Interview with Dismang and Gillam, March 23, 2014 at this link: http://talkbusiness.net/2014/03/rep-gillam-sen-dismang-outline-governing-style-issues-2015-leadership/ 

Scroll down to bottom for the video.  See this link for a transcript of the interview. http://www.wpaag.org/Election%202014-Dismang%20&%20Gillam%20House%20&%20Sen%20speaker.html

 

"Senate fight brews for leadership post," Arkansas Democrat Gazette November 8, 2014

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/nov/08/senate-fight-brews-for-leadership-post-/?f=news-arkansas

 

Dismang's recent quote on the Private Option http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/nov/13/senator-drops-bid-for-leadership-post-2/