Don’t focus on useless legislation

It was not many years ago that I served as chief of staff and director of legislative operations at the Arkansas Attorney General's Office. Several Republican members of the Arkansas General Assembly expressed their agitation at me as well as attorneys from our office for testifying against the constitutionality of their bills.

I have served in three state attorneys general offices, and matters of state and federal constitutionality reign supreme. Unconstitutional legislation costs taxpayers money.

Then, in Arkansas, the Republican caucus saw the state as a breeding ground for cases of first impression, particularly when it came to limiting a woman's right to autonomy over her own body. As a result, I had more than one animated exchange with a Republican legislator on this point, always after their bill failed in committee.

During those years, I learned that wanting something as badly as proponents of anti-abortion legislation wanted the procedure to be outlawed created an impasse for rational, legally minded discourse.

Fast forward. The 2021 Arkansas state Legislature, led by Republicans, has passed a stand-your-ground bill; the Arkansas Republican Women's Caucus introduced a transgender athlete bill to prohibit biological males who identify as females from competing in women's sports; the anti-abortion bills are the most restrictive in the United States, and voting rights are on the chopping block.

None of these measures facilitates job creation, local or regional economic prosperity, technological advancement, educational opportunity, or small business incubation. In the face of a deadly pandemic for which Arkansas ranks near the bottom in overall response, it begs a serious question: What will Republicans achieve?

Recently, Gov. Asa Hutchinson intimated that the state's mask mandate might become advisory at the end of March if Arkansas reaches certain metrics. This runs afoul of the current Centers for Disease Control directive. Policy aversion to masks is incomprehensible considering the science; more than 517,000 people are dead from covid-19 in America, the wealthiest nation in the world.

Yet it was no surprise that Republicans at the recent CPAC conference, attended by Sen. Tom Cotton and gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders, booed the organizers for encouraging mask-wearing.

Perpetuating culture war is not the pathway to state prosperity, although it might garner votes.

To that end, there is a considerable cost.

America witnessed this most recently in Texas, where the energy grid failed during a winter storm. Families were trapped, left to burn their belongings to keep their children warm. There was no drinkable water. People froze to death.

In the years before the storm, Republicans, who have been in control of state government in Texas for more than 20 years, chose ideological battles over the basics of governing (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas was put on notice in 2011 that the grid was ill-equipped for a storm of this magnitude).

Protectionism, profit, and anti-regulation led to a lack of accessible power when Texas citizens needed it most; now they are being saddled with extraordinary electric bills.

I am reminded of something Christopher Hitchens acknowledged in his memoir “Hitch-22” when asked what he most disliked in others. “Stupidity, especially in its nastiest forms of racism and superstition.”

Economic development thrives based on immediate opportunity, productive labor, quality of life, long-term sustainability, and diversity.

Arkansas is not operating at full strength. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arkansas 45th among the best 50 states to live in. In health care, Arkansas is 49th, which is not what you want in a pandemic. The median income is just above $25,000, yet Arkansas' entire federal delegation has opposed a minimum-wage increase.

Only one-third of the state's population has a college degree, yet there is no effort to work on student loan reform. The lack of progress in education, economy, and infrastructure keeps Arkansas pinned at the bottom.

Arkansas' economic predicament is best served by defeating anti-modern initiatives. Business and social investment across all income classes is a means to prosperity, and right now Arkansas' central focus should be providing relief to the disenfranchised as well as those hit hardest by the pandemic. This is the moment.

Will Arkansas rise or fall?

Blake Rutherford is co-founder and executive editor of Source-Stream, the first bipartisan interactive live streaming political network in America. He is formerly the chief of staff and special adviser to the attorneys general of Arkansas and Pennsylvania. He can be reached at Rutherford.Blake@gmail.com.