Mark Darr: Live by the Polls, Die by the Polls

Lt. Governor Mark Darr recently wrote a column outlining his opposition to Obamneycare and, as someone very familiar with the Office of Lt. Governor, I can safely predict at least 21 people read it.

One of Darr's arguments against Obamneycare was that polling shows it's very unpopular with Arkansans.

From Darr's column:

“Like 70% of the citizens in our state who opposed the federal healthcare law, I remain concerned about the implications of this decision.”

One can reasonably infer that Darr is arguing polling should be taken into account when public policy is concerned. Otherwise, why else would he mention it?

However, yesterday in an interview with content partner The City Wire, Lt. Governor Darr shows a dramatic contradiction in logic and reasoning.

In the interview, Darr states his opposition to the potential ethics reform ballot initiative by Regnat Populus that would prohibit campaign contributions from corporations and unions and

prohibit lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators. Darr even questions the motives of those who propose the ethics reform.

The kicker is the ballot initiative that Darr opposes is wildly popular with Arkansans.  A recent Talk Business poll found that 69% supported the passage of this measure and only 18% were opposed.

(It must be noted the ethics reform measure won't be on the 2012 ballot since the organizers failed to collect the required number of signatures. Today was the deadline for signature submissions)

Using Darr's logic, Arkansans are only right on an issue when he happens to agree with them and if the polls show voters support something Darr opposes, then he can just ignore the will of the people. If politicians cite polls when stating their position on a policy, they must be consistent.

Lt. Governor Mark Darr must learn that when you live by the polls in forming public policy, you can also die by the polls.