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SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS: State officials conspire to break law, make up rules on fly, violate 100k Arkansans' right to petition, & engage in blatant viewpoint discrimination--desperate plot to keep abortion issue off ballot this November by any means necessary
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS
The latest: Attorney General who made up capricious, post-hoc rules on the fly in conspiracy to keep abortion off the ballot by any means necessary tries to defend malfeasance. But he only makes things worse.
Biggest misconception re: Medicaid "work requirements"--actual *requirement* is keeping up w/busybody paperwork, which in most states will be administered in confusing & burdensome grind that would make the DMV blush. You can work/be exempt & still get booted by the paper pushers
Massive news from Arkansas: An amendment to reverse the state's abortion ban & protect abortion rights up to 18 weeks has enough signatures in hand to qualify for the ballot in November.
Abortion rights have done well w/direct democracy but Arkansas toughest test yet post-Roe.
Massive news from Arkansas: An amendment to reverse the state's abortion ban & protect abortion rights up to 18 weeks has enough signatures in hand to qualify for the ballot in November.
Abortion rights have done well w/direct democracy but Arkansas toughest test yet post-Roe.
Secretary of State's letter was deeply misleading. Abortion petitioners did in fact submit the list of paid canvassers. SoS's reasons for tossing pretty damn flimsy. But even if that holds they are CLEARLY violating the law by stopping the count. More soon.
Y'all I'm fixing to publish a new article on the abortion petition kerfuffle and honestly I'm starting to feel like this is one of the biggest scandals I've ever covered. More soon.
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS (continued): 1) State officials preemptively DQ'd petition to put abortion on ballot for alleged paperwork error 2) they realized didn't follow law, made up new flimsy excuses 3) AR Supreme Court bails them out, stretches law to ok DQs.
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS (update). More info on AG conspiracy to keep abortion off ballot: Other 2 petition groups who got more favorable treatment than abortion group intervene in case to agree that key AG claim is b.s & he’s not applying (made-up) rule fairly
Sarah Huckabee Sanders' weird claim that a "special feature" justifying a $19,000 podium is that it's a bit shorter than your average podium is low-key the goofiest fib she's ever told.
Nannette Ruelle works 25-35 hrs/wk at $9/hr. She's locked out of Medicaid coverage in Arkansas for rest of year because of state's confusing new work-reporting bureaucracy. She's now running out of medications she needs to continue working. via
@unbenji
Update: State officials' malfeasance blocking abortion petition is so blatant a violation of due process & right to petition that 2 other petition groups (including 1 on other side of abortion issue) have intervened to call out the absurdity & unfairness.
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS: State officials conspire to break law, make up rules on fly, violate 100k Arkansans' right to petition, & engage in blatant viewpoint discrimination--desperate plot to keep abortion issue off ballot this November by any means necessary
Tom Cotton has bloviated about grand senatorial notion of virtuous leadership since he was a teenager. He thinks that was his destiny. But his relentless, bloodthirsty demagoguery--translating normal human fears into murderous bad policy--makes him utterly unfit for leadership.
Here is my big story about the roller coaster tale of the Arkansas abortion ballot initiative. What happened, what's next, the legal arguments, the weird shenanigans, and more.
This may well have been tweet that started the coverup. I believe state officials initially truly thought they'd found gotcha to automatically DQ abortion petition. Then they rushed & made mistake. But once SHS said this--no going back. Can't wound her ego so can't admit error.
@chrislhayes
@charles_gaba
Depends on what the policy goal is. If the goal is kicking poor people off of Medicaid (including some who are working or are supposed to be exempt), it was highly effective in Arkansas.
PLOT THICKENS—2 other petition groups intervene to agree w/abortion petitioners that key argument from AG is made-up, out of the blue, last-minute BS: violating due process & right to petition + unfairly treating groups differently for no legit reason.
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS: State officials conspire to break law, make up rules on fly, violate 100k Arkansans' right to petition, & engage in blatant viewpoint discrimination--desperate plot to keep abortion issue off ballot this November by any means necessary
My wife's deeper theory: Women like Kristi Noem & Katie Britt are trying ever more exotic stunts searching for a template for a powerful woman's place in Trumpian universe--but they're flailing and failing bc actually there is no place for powerful women in Trumpian universe.
My wife has a very funny theory that the story is not even true (Grace grew up on a farm & her daddy and brother had a pack of hunting dogs, fwiw). This is obviously the funniest possibility, and she persuaded me that it's at least plausible.
Like if you get in a tizzy about a phrase in an unsafe water advisory and then you ban it because the words upset you, YOU ARE the P.C. police. You have become what you thought was dumb.
Sanders signs executive order banning the term ‘pregnant people’ in state documents.
Two days ago she was fussing about Chinese seed companies.
It's almost like the gov is attacking trans and Chinese people to deflect from
#podiumgate
. via
@arktimes
The AP's Andrew DeMillo is the most straight, down-the-middle reporter in the game, so if you're sneering at him as your enemy, maybe the problem is you.
The same gang pushing this previously opposed these same people, working or not, from getting Medicaid at all! And tried unsuccessfully to boot them off Medicaid, working or not, when they last controlled House. This is just their new attempt: death by a thousand paper cuts.
Important clarification: I'm NOT saying SoS intentionally tricked abortion petitioners + I believe state officials INITIALLY thought missing paperwork fatal. But they realized mistake & AG won't admit--started making up new BS excuses in bad faith. THAT'S the conspiracy & scandal
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS: State officials conspire to break law, make up rules on fly, violate 100k Arkansans' right to petition, & engage in blatant viewpoint discrimination--desperate plot to keep abortion issue off ballot this November by any means necessary
Lot depends on whether staffers start complaining but more it looks like AG Griffin was knowingly violating law to keep abortion off ballot by any means necessary--in a hamfisted way guaranteeing backlash--not joking when I say public officials should be calling for him to resign
Y'all I'm fixing to publish a new article on the abortion petition kerfuffle and honestly I'm starting to feel like this is one of the biggest scandals I've ever covered. More soon.
my take is a lot of liberals have very serious anxiety problems & a lot of conservatives have very serious anger problems, and when it gets reflected in their politics, filtered through high social media usage, the results are very strange, very dark, w/highly baroque particulars
Something under appreciated in discussions of Vance and his ilk is the degree to which, yes, his ideological transformation is opportunistic, but also I think he and huge swaths of the modern right really have self-radicalized largely online and are constantly imbibing all kinds
When Tim Griffin says his motto is "FTL" he doesn't mean "follow the law"--he means "f the left." If you're a lawless partisan operator you cannot serve ALL the Arkansans you were elected to serve. We can no longer have faith in basic fairness of our state gov.
He should resign.
"If any demonstrator ever lays down in front of my car, it'll be the last car he'll ever lay down in front of."
--George Wallace
“It would probably be pretty painful to have their skin ripped off. But I think that’s probably how we would handle it in Arkansas.”
--Tom Cotton
No matter what happens next the Court has refuted the stated position of SoS, backed by AG Tim Griffin, that the state was duty-bound to preemptively stop the count. The Secretary of State did not follow the law in doing so, forcing the Court to order him to now comply.
HOW LOW CAN HE GO? The humiliation of Attorney General Tim Griffin--and the flailing conspiracy to keep the abortion petition off the ballot in November.
I have no idea how AR Sup Court will react. Obviously majority's anti-abortion. They could find other grounds to stop petition. But stink of scandal around AG's actions--& hypocritical absurdity of argument AG most emphasizes in last brief--may nudge 'em to force count to proceed
This was true dating back to negotiations with Arafat and the media's failure to make this clear helps explain some of the confusion and disappointment that followed.
There’s a lot of linguistic sleights of hand in media discourse but none more sinister—and successful—than “two state solution.” The gap between what the avg listener imagines this means vs what pundits and lawmakers actually mean is lightyears apart. Not remotely the same thing.
Hi if anyone from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office would like to speak on deep background about the ballot petition counting/review process, I would protect your anonymity—feel free to reach out!
Desperate Tim Griffin takes his made-up, absurd arguments to YouTube. Embarrassing behavior. I’ll write about this over weekend but hard to overstate how pathetic this is, just making his scandal worse. I guess if he can’t fool judges, hoping he can fool public. Utterly corrupt.
From time to time I like to speak directly to you on issues of great importance — especially when they impact millions of Arkansans. Today I’m speaking on the ballot measures that have been in the news lately. Some of the key facts have at times been missing from the
You've interviewed or talked with me dozens of times lol. You've also demonstrated that you know nothing about the due process issues in this case. You just hate abortion--precisely what motivated state officials & SC majority to bend the law to keep it off the ballot. Thanks.
This is rubbish. It is actually a direct attack on the rule of law in
#Arkansas
and elected officials in our state. I would never give this person an interview or cooperate with them for writing this kind of yellow journalism.
#arpx
#arleg
AR Sec of State now has different rules for different petitions. Latest filings, flip-flopping policies, bizarre timeline suggest this is more than tussle over statutory language: State officials actively conspiring to twist law to block abortion petition.
Increasingly appears AG determined to block abortion petition by any means necessary--including violating law. They thought they had a gotcha; when it proved flimsy, new excuses flew, finally simply made up rules out of thin air & penalized 1 group while giving pass to others.
AR Sec of State now has different rules for different petitions. Latest filings, flip-flopping policies, bizarre timeline suggest this is more than tussle over statutory language: State officials actively conspiring to twist law to block abortion petition.
The current situation w/arkansas abortion rights petition is confusing. Lots of people (and some media reports) have lost track of state of play & key legal issues remaining. So let’s take a breath & go over basics as simply as we can!
Here is our preliminary story about what's going on with the abortion ballot initiative. We have much, much more, but wanted to share the basics. More coming soon, stay tuned...
AG Griffin’s made up arg (canvassing co can’t sign as “sponsor”) is so obviously wrong marijuana AND casino are intervening in abortion case to say so!
Cheech, Chong, & Chips call it “11th-hour argument” w/o merit. Almost like AG realized abortion DQ was unlawful, now scrambling
How much more bullshit will AG Griffin feed SC before justices get sick? He just filed claim that he's not treating groups differently but he points to wrong statute. The disparate treatment is on 601, not 111. He can't be this incompetent. He's lying.
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS: Partisan 4-3 majority on Sup. Court re-writes law, giving cover to state officials twisting statutes to keep abortion off ballot. All 3 branches of gov conspiring to violate rights of 100k+ signatories & block voters from having a say.
FYI 25 years ago in 1999, Tim Walz coached the Mankato West HS football team to its first ever Minnesota state championship & also volunteered to be the faculty advisor of the school’s first ever gay-straight alliance.
One of my favorite Asa Hutchinson accomplishments is he inherited "Private Option" Medicaid expansion w/pressure to kill it after GOP wave in '14. But he just renamed it "Arkansas Works." It was basically the same policy at the time, just rebranded. And that worked fine! Amazing!
Tim Griffin's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad video. In widely panned foray try at being YouTube influencer, Powerpoint Timmy tries to bamboozle public on his abortion petition malfeasance. Phony nonsense arguments, awkward, unseemly. A pathetic fail.
AG Griffin’s made up arg (canvassing co can’t sign as “sponsor”) is so obviously wrong marijuana AND casino are intervening in abortion case to say so!
Cheech, Chong, & Chips call it “11th-hour argument” w/o merit. Almost like AG realized abortion DQ was unlawful, now scrambling
Today is
@Lindsey_millar
's last day as editor of the
@ArkTimes
. He was not as...vocal as Max, so many on the outside may not know his name, but for those of that worked there, it's the end of an era.
I'm covering the details bc key to whether abortion petition stays alive. But my main opinion is it's outrageous that we've made direct democracy into document compliance challenge. Lawyer shit. No dispute that petitioners did fraud-prevention actions! Just busybody paperwork...
lol, this bill is so atrocious that even Roby Brock finally broke character as unflappable objective journalist and almost started laughing at the b.s. at the end of this interview
Never mind, no scandal any more, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has reimagined herself as a hip-hop legend.
AUDIT REPORT REFUTED WITH THIS SICK ANIMATION AND SICKER BEATS.
You want her podium? COME AND TAKE IT*.
*unless it's the feds
Under the law, the abortion petitioners could have been collecting additional signatures this whole time to make up shortfall if they wind up being allowed to "cure." I don't understand why they haven't kept up the push. They could win in court but run out of time.
This is developing story & we're continuing to analyze the opinion & dissents. Refresh for updates, there will be plenty in next few hours. Truly atrocious legal reasoning--like, embarrassing themselves--in the majority opinion, but of course they don't care!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
SCANDAL IN ARKANSAS (continued): 1) State officials preemptively DQ'd petition to put abortion on ballot for alleged paperwork error 2) they realized didn't follow law, made up new flimsy excuses 3) AR Supreme Court bails them out, stretches law to ok DQs.
The thing about politics is usually people who are this smart, this generous, & this fundamentally decent just don't run for office. LRSD got lucky. Anna is indefatigable. And she's almost shockingly uncynical: She just cares about kids, a lot, and she will fight for them.
Results are in! More tomorrow, but tonight my heart is so full of gratitude to family, friends, and neighbors who gave time, encouragement, funds, and votes to help me earn a spot on our school board. I can’t wait to get to work for the kids in
@lrsd
! 💚
I feel like the chain of events where the sheer spite
@alexahenning
& co had for
@BlueHogReport
leading to redoubled popular effort to strengthen FOIA and then Matt getting hired at
@arktimes
has kinda worked out happily?
@SarahHuckabee
has gifted
@arktimes
more than just clicks.
This puff piece on Sarah Huckabee Sanders is an unforgettable masterpiece of the form.
"Occasionally she’ll kind of smile, and there will be a twinkle in her eyes.”
bahaha!!
Campaign slogan: "Sarah Huckabee Sanders--occasionally she'll kind of smile."
In any event, I plan to target my attacks at Arkansas AG Tim Griffin & Secretary of State John Thurston because they're conspiring to violate the law. If you'd like to tattle tale to my boss or, like, call security--I ask only that you read Figurative Language for Dummies first.
If you wrote SoS letter last week (did you?) & falsely implied there were 2 missing documents--& wrote it in such a flurry that you totally missed limitations on facial violations in § 7-9-126--you have no one to blame but yourself.
If you come for the people, you best not miss.
As I have long said, changing the Arkansas Constitution involves a rigorous process, as it should, and it requires sponsors to adhere to all applicable laws and rules. In this instance, the sponsors failed to follow the law, specifically a simple and straightforward affidavit
I’ve always thought of Tim griffin as ruthless but smart but this 20-minute (!) power point presentation is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. Descending into “The Office” vibes.
Surprised Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't also ban the word "vouchers." Maybe she already has. I guess that word polls poorly. Gotta call them "Education Freedom Accounts," which sounds like a line from a twelve-year-old's attempt to write a dystopian novel after reading 1984.
Arkansas Education amendment group says they'll be crossing the 50-county threshold in the next 48 hours. the total signatures needed sounds like it's going to be close but they're confident that they're in striking distance for the close.
This is the true basis of the legal "reasoning" by both state officials & the majority of the Supreme Court. They did not follow the plain language of the law. But they were willing to keep the abortion question off the ballot come November by any means necessary.
I may be loud but I am clued in: This video insists on violating the law. And good lord, eleventh hour begging of the justices to side with him is unseemly. Embarrassing for all involved. Also just a low quality product, need better effort on the comms here.
Grateful we have an Attorney General who insists on following the law rather than swaying to the political whims or placating the loud but clueless voices on social media.
#arpx
#arleg
I'm not avoiding massive real-world stakes re: abortion. But I've chosen not to comment on abortion issue itself in my coverage of this issue. Whatever your opinion on abortion, you should be appalled by state officials conspiring against due process, basic fairness, rule of law.
This is the true basis of the legal "reasoning" by both state officials & the majority of the Supreme Court. They did not follow the plain language of the law. But they were willing to keep the abortion question off the ballot come November by any means necessary.
I have no idea whether Educational Rights Amendment will make it onto ballot or not but if it does & wins, would be biggest progressive achievement in Arkansas since Medicaid expansion more than a decade ago. Deadline for signatures is July 5.
Evergreen reminder:
Surpluses in Arkansas are a policy choice to intentionally underfund state agencies in the budget AND/OR a function of consistently lowballing the forecast, acting as a de facto spending cut.
"This is almost an embarrassing situation. I'm not sure we knew what we passed to begin with. Now we're trying to do something. I'm not sure whether we're helping or hurting but I'm going to support it bc we need to do something."
Ladies and gentleman, the Arkansas Legislature!
I feel bad for John Thurston because it’s not like he wrote that letter or conflated two different statutes, his thing is playing golf and being a constitutional officer (various).
Baker's dissent brutalizes the Calvinball bullshit the majority used to bend the law in order to kick abortion petition off the ballot by any means necessary.
This is NC
@RepRichHudson
pictured with Gov. Sanders. It's difficult to determine the exact time displayed on his watch but it appears to be 2:20 PM.
Someone's story has holes in it.
As I’ve long said, if state official scolds citizens exercising constitutional right for paperwork error, official must adhere to very same statues they cite—rather than break law, realize, make up new excuse even friendly SC laughs off. Tim: You have no one to blame but yourself
As I have long said, changing the Arkansas Constitution involves a rigorous process, as it should, and it requires sponsors to adhere to all applicable laws and rules. In this instance, the sponsors failed to follow the law, specifically a simple and straightforward affidavit
"Come and take it" about a phony lectern purchase to grift public $$ to a pal is funnier than anything Pynchon ever wrote.
Nixon on the lock-picks & door-jimmies: "Come and take it"
McNamara on the Pentagon papers: "Come and take it"
Clinton on the blue dress: COME & TAKE IT
You’ll never believe this but this is the same trash arguments that have been utterly dismantled by briefs from three different groups. He’s just trying to bamboozle the public with some graphics. He continues to make his own scandal worse.
From time to time I like to speak directly to you on issues of great importance — especially when they impact millions of Arkansans. Today I’m speaking on the ballot measures that have been in the news lately. Some of the key facts have at times been missing from the
Excellent
@chrislhayes
interview w/all american badass Jasmine Crockett, but small correction: Rhodes is not a "Bible college" in sense Chris implies. Like many american colleges it has historical affiliation w/Mainline (presbyterian) church that it has maintained, but...
kinda wish I was in Little Rock and just announce I'm at a bar to explain this abortion petition stuff to anyone who shows up. it really is confusing! some people don't wanna read all that, but might be game to talk it out over a pint. I'm into new media outreach involving beer.
On further reflection, the video was a cleverly designed loyalty test.
"It's too on the nose, too stupid, too low-quality, too cringey, no one will like it," the staff told her.
"Nothing is too stupid for my minions," the governor said. "Keep going. Harder. Make it go harder."
@NateBell4AR
@BlueHogReport
Principles at stake—due process, rule of law, sep of powers, right to petition, basic fairness, abuse of power—should matter to ppl on either ideological side. For example, Rep. Lowery (RIP) spoke presciently on these same issues in ‘13 from AR Right to Life’s side on abortion.
I wrote about public corruption in Arkansas: Cash-stuffed envelopes, an alleged murder-for-hire plot, buying hydrocodone on the streets of Texarkana, and how the state's government got hijacked by a criminal enterprise.
No one knows AR ballot initiative law better than
@DavidCouchAR
. In statement from League of Women Voters, he endorses straightforward reading of law we’ve been explaining here & on blog. Law demands count proceed w/avenue for cure. Will AR Supreme Couet follow the law?