Author: Michael Cook

Michael Cook

Sen. Pryor Open To More Debate On Gun Legislation

Arkansas’ senior senator finds himself in the middle of a heated debate on gun control and background checks. Will the issue get a second look?

First And Fourth Congressional District Candidates Update

Back in February, I wrote a couple of stories on two Democratic state legislators who were considering running for Congress in the 1st and 4th Districts. State Representative Marshall Wright and…

Tom Cotton And Right-Wingers’ Revisionist History

Congressman Tom Cotton’s speech this week on the House floor is going viral on various right-wing websites because it delivers exactly what they crave – a good storyline devoid of facts….

Sen. Pryor Gets Lucky With Obama Group’s Opposition

Today, the LA Times reports that a non-profit advocacy group created to back President Obama’s agenda plans to target Senator Mark Pryor over his vote against expanding gun background checks….

Cook: Arkansas Republicans ‘Mitt Romneyed’ Themselves On Obamacare

It’s official as of 10:30am today. The Republican-controlled state legislature passed Obamacare in Arkansas and Governor Beebe signed it into law. Or, as it’s commonly called, the private option. Which leads…

Arkansas Republicans’ Self-Inflicted Black Eyes

The past week was a series of black eyes for Arkansas Republicans. However, the black eyes weren’t inflicted by an opposing pugilist, but rather it’s as if a boxer stood…

Best Session to Attend at Arkansas Literary Festival

“The book was so much better than the movie.” We’ve all heard that comment, or maybe even said it ourselves after seeing a film based on a book we took…

One Day In: Ross vs. Halter Race Heats Up

We’re officially now one day into the fight for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and Mike Ross and Bill Halter are already trading jabs. Yesterday at his Little Rock stop in…

Americans For Prosperity: 0 for 3

Yesterday, the GOP-controlled State Senate voted to approve Obamacare in Arkansas by providing health care to tens of thousands of low-income working families. They did the right thing. If working…

Good News For Arkansas Democrats, Bad News For Arkansas Republicans

Today, former Congressman Mike Ross officially announced he’s seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor. He’ll face former Lt. Governor Bill Halter in May of 2014. This contested gubernatorial primary with…

Democrats, Republicans Report First Quarter Fundraising

Yesterday both major political parties in Arkansas submitted their quarterly fundraising and expenditure reports to the Secretary of State. From January 1 to March 31 of 2013, here’s the fundraising…

Sen. Hester’s Anti-Working Family Bill Fails

Last week, I wrote a story about Republican Senator Bart Hester’s bill that would directly harm Arkansas’s working families by reducing unemployment benefits. Senate Bill 875 passed the Senate with…

Pryor Raised Nearly $2 Million Last Quarter

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor raised nearly $2 million in the first of 2013, according to Politico. From Politico: Pryor brought in $1.9 million over the last three months, officials told…

Arkansas GOP Senate Sticks It To Unemployed

Imagine a single mother of two laid off from work when her company decided to downsize. To make ends meet, while she looked for another job, she went on unemployment….

Believe It Or Not: Kudos To Sen. Jason Rapert

Last week, I wrote a story critical of Senator Jason Rapert for skipping the crucial Medicaid private option vote. This story came to light via Rapert’s back-and-forth Tweets with former…

Jason Rapert Skips Biggest Vote of Session

No matter where you stand on the Medicaid private option debate, we can all agree that it’s one of the most defining votes of this session. Literally hundreds of millions…

Arkansas State Legislature Not Thinking Big or Long-Term

The main focus of this legislative session has finally shifted to the topics of tax cuts and the Medicaid private option. The on-going tax cut debate has caused me to…

Halter Raises $1 Million; Loans Campaign $640,000

On Wednesday (April 3), Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Halter released fundraising figures revealing he raised over $1 million dollars for the first quarter of 2013. However, Halter made a personal…

Have Legislative Democrats Set Themselves Up for Electoral Failure?

In the middle of a session, it”s easy to get lost in the weeds of the legislative process. I want to step back to look at the big picture implications…

Well Played, Senator Pryor

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is launching a television blitz in 13 states to influence Senators on various gun control efforts making their way through the U.S. Senate. One…