Brummett: Social Issues Much Easier Than Fiscal Ones

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette political columnist John Brummett says Republican control of the Arkansas legislature hasn’t left him in a lurch for writing material.

“I haven’t touched on a national issue in what seems like a month now,” Brummett said on this week’s edition of Talk Business Arkansas.

Brummett, who has been covering state capitol politics for 30 years, said the smattering of controversial legislation related to guns and abortions with the GOP in control is not too surprising.

“These are extraordinarily easy and popular positions that the Republican majority has taken,” he said.  “They’re easier to get done.”

Many political observers expected the Medicaid debate to dominate the session’s politics. While it has been in the mix, it has taken a back seat during the first month of the session to the aforementioned social agenda.

“We’ve got Medicaid and whether to expand, and fiscal issues are difficult. You have to get down with some mathematics and make those work. That’s all deferred to later. Right now, this stuff is politically easy,” Brummett said.

You can watch his interview in full below.