It’s your ball now, GOP… run with it

Our View

It’s your ball now, GOP… run with it

It has become apparent the Democratic Party is in crisis mode right now after coming to the realization that not only have lost their political clout in Washington but also most state legislatures including Arkansas.

Adding insult to injury right here in “The Natural State” was recent news from Little Rock that Arkansas House Republicans have gained an additional member, tilting the balance of power in the statehouse to a 75/25 split, which, by the numbers, give the “Grand Old Party” a supermajority in the House.

The bad news for these Democrats is that gaining that supermajority could lead House Democrats totally out of the loop when deciding on important appropriation bills they don’t like.

The reality is this leaves Democrats one short of the 26 votes need to stall appropriations.

This all comes about as Rep. David Hillman, DAlmyra, announced the other day that he is jumping the Democratic ship and joining the Republican Party, making him the second Democratic House member in as many weeks to defect to the GOP.

The day after Election Day, Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, DWarren, announced that he too would be joining the winning GOP team being led by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Short of the Delta region of the state and a couple of other counties, including Pulaski, Arkansas voters clearly support the Republican Party and its candidates from those representing them in Washington to those in Little Rock.

At least for a couple of years, and until the next election in 2018, Republicans will clearly decide the direction of Arkansas government where we expect to see some major changes in the state’s version of Obamacare to the direction of the state’s education system, the Department of Human Services and economic development.

It is important to emphasis the need for the GOP leadership to reduce the number of Medicaid recipients, create effective training programs that provide quality jobs, address the state’s tax burden on the middle class as well as finding ways to reduce the state’s prison population.

The political ball is certainly in the GOP court right now and it is important for these Republican politicians to clearly and effectively demonstrate to their constituents they can and will do a better job of managing our state government.

The voters of Arkansas have spoken and have placed their confidence in a political party that now has the clear ability to lead in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades.

Let it be known that while the Democrats are the minority in state government doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that they won’t attempt to derail GOP efforts by what limited means they have available to them.

By the same token, as concerned Arkansas voters we would expect every effort by the controlling party to work with Democrats regarding their agendas but we hope Democrats can understand bi-partisan leadership when it comes to critical decisions that will affect the good of all Arkansans.

While the political ball may be in the laps of Republicans doesn’t guarantee they will be able to maintain this control if they fail to address the concerns of their constituents.