Religion And The Bill Halter Campaign
Today, the announcement by Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter that he will challenge incumbent Blanche Lincoln in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary this year has led to a remarkably quick series of endorsements by progressive organizations and media. MoveOn, the Accountability Now PAC, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are just a few among many groups that have rushed to show support for Halter.
Why? It’s clear why these groups don’t want Blanche Lincoln re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator Lincoln has consistently voted with Republicans on key issues, thwarting efforts at progressive change. The groups endorsing Halter are quick to point out these flaws.
What Halter’s endorsers don’t say is what makes Bill Halter a better choice. The truth is that they don’t have much material to work with. Bill Halter’s campaign so far is extremely vague, avoiding specific statements about particular political issues in favor of bland statements about Halter’s personal history.
Among these biographical tidbits is a statement from Bill Halter’s first campaign advertisement, in which Bill Halter himself emphasizes how important it was for him to learn “faith in almighty God”. As Halter makes this statement, a photograph of Halter as a boy praying along with other children and a smiling priest moves across the screen.
What is the purpose of this statement of religious belief in an advertisement for a campaign to the United States Senate? The Constitution of the United States explicitly forbids any religious test for public office, yet the Halter for Senate campaign seems to trying to prove that Halter would pass just that sort of test. The statement seems to aim to reassure voters that Bill Halter will be an acceptable candidate because he’s a Christian. The implicit suggestion is that non-Christian candidates for the United States Senate are not acceptable.
That’s certainly not a very progressive attitude for a political campaign to take. It’s reminiscent of the effort of another Arkansas politician, Mike Huckabee, to use religious imagery to divide and conquer key demographics of voters. Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign created a campaign ad featuring a large cross in the background. Is Bill Halter’s picture of praying children, and declaration of “faith in almighty God” so different?
The Bill Halter for Senate campaign is not yet even a day old, but already, it’s given Democrats reason to doubt the sincerity of his supposedly progressive challenge to Blanche Lincoln. Progressive voters would gain little in seeing one right wing Democrat replaced by another right wing Democrat. If he is to succeed, Bill Halter needs to differentiate himself from Blanche Lincoln’s Republican-like politics, not imitate them.
During the run-up to the primary & run-off elections, the majority of Arkansans, including myself, felt that Lincoln led a false & misleading campaign against Halter. Over 60% of us were for the “public option” & even more favored extending medicare to age 55 but Lincoln kept on saying she voted against because it was wrong for Arkansas. Instead of her telling of some of good things that democrats had done, she spent most of her time talking about when she went against Obama and even against her own party. She didn’t deny that she had received huge sums of money for corporations, she accused “outsiders” of interfering in the primary. The are no “outsiders” within the borders of the United States. Everyone of the people in those ads reside in Arkansas. In Garland County where there 42 precincts open, Halter won. However: in the run-off, only 2 precincts were open, Lincoln won. Halter voters all over the states were highly upset about that..
Us voters have noticed Pryor mostly votes in lockstep with Lincoln. Neither one of them knows much about what their constituents want because they rarely hold “townhall” meetings. I have a feeling that Mr. Pryor will meet a challenger come 2012.
I voted for the Green Party candidate for 4th distrct congressman. I will never vote for Mike Ross again. Hopefully he’ll eventually meet the fate of his fellow Bluedogs in Mississippi, Texas, etc.