Zingbot Is In Arkansas Politics
by September 11, 2011 7:00 pm 78 views
In case you missed it, we reported earlier that Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued a much-anticipated opinion today on whether someone with Shane Broadway’s credentials could be the director of the Department of Higher Education – legally speaking. McDaniel would not comment specifically on Broadway, but he said someone who he basically describes as exactly like Broadway is ineligible under the current law.
But that’s just where the fun started. After this news broke, zingbot fever struck in Arkansas!
Spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, Matt DeCample, started it all off with a zinger to the Republicans. Two Republicans, Reps. Allen Kerr and Jane English, had pushed the issue by requesting the AG opinion regarding Broadway’s eligibility. Cue DeCample…
“There are many people, including those behind this opinion request, who have made it clear that they would like a pricey national search at taxpayer expense, and that’s what we’re left with,” DeCample told Arkansas News.
I could be waaaaay off here, but I don’t think "a pricey national search" – as fun as those are – was really the goal of the Republicans who requested the opinion. It seemed more about pointing out the Governor choosing a long-time friend for the post regardless of the statutory requirement.
Anyway, the Republican Party of Arkansas could not resist joining in the fun of zingbot Monday, so they sent out this statement.
“We thank Attorney General Dustin McDaniel for providing clarification on a law that many felt was already clear in defining what was required of the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Director of Higher Education,” said RPA Communications Director Katherine Vasilos. “The Governor’s failed attempt to circumvent the law with a ‘friends of Beebe’ exception is inexcusable and should serve as a reminder that good old boy politics has no room in state government.”
Good ol’ zingbot Monday. Let’s hope the tradition continues.
Also, Max Brantley – Arkansas’ orginal zingbot – felt the need for Zing by basically hitting his standard talking points – Huckabee, Bryant Mayor Jill "Please Call Me Republican" Dabbs, and Mark Martin.