Democratic Party Chairman Appears At NEA Political Animals

The political obituary of the Arkansas Democratic Party may not be written after all, the party’s chairman said Friday in Jonesboro.

However, the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party countered that the Democrats face a deep hole going into a pivotal campaign year.

Vincent Insalaco spoke to the NEA Political Animals club about his party’s future and the 2016 campaign during the monthly meeting at the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Insalaco said while his party has faced three consecutive stinging statewide defeats at the polls, he is optimistic.

“I do think the Democratic Party is alive and well in Arkansas,” Insalaco said.

The Democratic Party chairman said being in the minority can be liberating, not having to face dictates from the state Capitol on messaging and other issues.

However, he said after the speech that politics is a cyclical business.

“In 2008, George (W.) Bush left office with the lowest approval rate ever of 23%. The Republican Party was dead and the Democratic party won everything,” Insalaco said. “Here we are, six years later, there are people who say the Democratic Party is dead. It is simply not true.”

Insalaco, in part, blamed a 24/7 news cycle and social media for his party’s recent struggles.

“Will we be back in one cycle? Of course, not. Will we make gains in the next cycle? Yes,” Insalaco said. “Will we make gains in the cycle after that? Yes. Will we lose some in the next cycle? Yes.”

In the 2014 election, Insalaco said his party bottomed out at between 44% and 49% among state legislative candidates.

He said Democrats lost several legislative races narrowly and plans to battle back.

His advice for Democratic candidates?

“Hard work and at least six pairs of good shoes,” Insalaco said of the campaign. “Unless you have unlimited money like Donald Trump seems to have. By the way, he is the worst example of a candidate. You know, think about that. It’s, you know, I can’t think of anything worse than needing everybody’s money than someone running for office not needing anybody’s money.”

In 2016, both parties will have a March 1 primary date.

Insalaco said his party plans to be ready.

“Especially with the last two cycles, we are more focused on what we are going after. Again, it is about money, about the resources, about what can we afford to do,” Insalaco said. “That is what we are focused on.”

There was also a debate Friday over the issue of voting.

Insalaco argued that “Democrats want to make it simpler to vote. Republicans want to make it harder to vote.”

The remarks drew a response from Craighead County Justice of the Peace (and Republican Party chairman) Billie Sue Hoggard.

Hoggard told Insalaco that she did “not know of any Republican who wanted to do that” and that most people support fair and honest elections.

Insalaco then asked the audience to name a case since the 1980s in Arkansas, where voter fraud was prevalent.

“Hudson Hallum,” Chris Caldwell, an official in the Little Rock office of Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who was attending the meeting on his own, said.

Insalaco said the system caught up to Hallum, who pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to bribe absentee voters with food and alcohol.

WEBB RESPONDS
Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb also attended the meeting Friday as a member of the audience.

Webb, who spoke to the group earlier this year, said he was in Jonesboro to help recruit candidates for the 2016 campaign.

“I dropped in to hear what he had to say,” Webb said. “He (Insalaco) talks about things he thinks the state needs to do. My view would be that, they were in control of the state, the Democrats had control of every branch of government for 140 years. If it was that important, why didn’t they get it done during that time?”

Webb said his party has been able to attract new candidates and voters, even former Democrats, due to the issues.

“I thought one of the most interesting questions was ‘Has the Democratic party just abandoned moral issues and values?’” Webb said of a question asked during the meeting. “Certainly, the Republican Party stands for marriage between a man and a woman. Certainly, it is opposed to the parting out of babies. Certainly, it is against what Planned Parenthood has done in the past. By the same token, Chairman Insalaco had supported both the Supreme Court decision, which allows gay marriage; and has chastised our governor for his cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood. It appears that there is a clear difference between the state Democratic party, which has become nationalized.”

Webb said he is also optimistic that his party will pick up seats in the state legislature, as well as retain the Senate seat with Sen. John Boozman and all four House seats (Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman) staying Republican.

Webb also said he is optimistic that the Republican nominee for President will win in 2016 both nationally and in Arkansas.

NEXT MEETING
The club’s co-chairs – Republican Andrea Allen and Democrat L.J. Bryant – said they are both working to bring a presidential candidate to Jonesboro for the club’s October meeting.

Invitations have been sent out to the candidates and both Allen and Bryant are optimistic that it will happen.