News about Democratic activities in Benton County, Arkansas

Ready, set, go. Election year 2012. Now is the time to commit to making this election year count. It is disappointing and discouraging that Benton county Democrats have not yet stepped up to fill several available seats at both the county and state levels and time is growing short. Still, we do have opportunities to help our neighbors preserve the Democratic majority in the state Senate and House. After the filing period beginning February 23 and ending March 1, we will know all the possibilities and can begin in earnest working toward getting those Dems elected.

We do have a candidate for the most critical of all positions, the U.S. Congressional race. Most people are aware by now that Ken Aden has thrown his hat in the ring to unseat Rep. Steve Womack. As I write this, Rep. Womack has provided enough fuel to begin that process through his recent town hall meetings. He personally dubbed these meetings a “listening tour” and quickly proved that his intent was anything but. Aden jumped on that opportunity immediately with his press release and social media blogging. Impressive is the number of people who joined with him in denouncing Womack’s arrogant and hateful responses and we should all be echoing that sentiment when speaking to friends and neighbors to create all the awareness we can.

We can watch the circus created by the Republican presidential candidates and feel very confident in the likelihood that President Obama will be reelected, albeit with only our own weak support in Arkansas. John Brummet said it best in his column last week when he wrote that “there was one clear winner in the Iowa caucuses and that was President Obama.”. We have one of the most intelligent and forward thinking presidents of our time but, clearly, that does not matter as long as we have a Congress that refuses to work with him for the benefit of the country. National Democratic leaders have started putting a plan in place that will reclaim the House and, hopefully, maintain the majority in the Senate. Until this happens we are just running in place with our best and only hope to prevent more damage.

We must do what we can in the third district and expand our goals to help in districts that can make a difference. Ready, set, GO!