Tolbert: A Partisan Point Of View

Jason Tolbert of The Tolbert Report uses his Stephens Media column this week to talk about the role of partisanship in this year’s state legislative session.

Tolbert picks up on an end-of-the-session remark made by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe to reporters on the political wrangling at the session.

“The partisan squabbling in the House was much greater than I thought we would see,” said Beebe. “My observation was that you had roughly the same — give or take a little bit — Democrat-Republican divisions in the House and the Senate. And I saw very little overt partisanship in the Senate.”

Beebe clearly felt that partisan strife was more pronounced in the House than the Senate, where a more collegial atmosphere exists.

"It is also interesting that Beebe pointed specifically to the House and not the Senate. Perhaps that is because Beebe is a former senator and feels more comfortable dealing with them. Perhaps it is sign that the Republican Senate leaders felt more in common with the governor than the Republican House leaders.

"But the dynamic could get even more interesting the next time around, especially if Republicans in the Legislature switch from robust minorities to slight majorities after 2012 elections," Tolbert concludes.

He’s right. If the Arkansas GOP gains the helm of both or either chamber of the Arkansas Legislature, it will present a dynamic not seen since Mike Huckabee was Governor and a Democratic-dominated legislature ran rather rough-shod over the chief executive. Would a repeat be in the cards? Hard to imagine.

Read Tolbert’s full column at this link.