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Todd Turner of Arkadelphia, who was recently named as chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, is a partner in the Arnold, Batson, Turner and Turner law firm. I visited with him last week to see how things were going.
Downs: What do you consider to be your major challenges as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Arkansas?
Turner: I guess my major challenge is going to be to keep folks involved. to make sure people stay involved with the process at the local level and not get disenchanted with politics in general because of all the bickering that’s going on.
Downs: Were you surprised that Sen. John McCain carried Arkansas and also Clark County?
Turner: Yes, I was surprised. I’ve thought a lot about this. I think some of it was the regionalism, the fact that we are in the South. Some were concerned that Obama was going to take people’s guns away, that sort of stuff. But I was really surprised that Clark County went with McCain.
Downs: What kind of grassroots effort do you have in mind for the state?
Turner: I want to visit with all the county committees in the 75 counties and encourage them to get people involved in the political system, increase the ranks, generate interest and support at the local level. When I was the county chairman here, we were always trying to get people involved, to get them to run for justice of the peace, constable or anything. Mike Ross got his start as a justice of the peace in Nevada County. Now he’s a congressman.
We especially need to get young people involved at the local level and also those who are ambitious enough and have the training and competence to move on up to the state or even higher levels. That makes good government for all of us. President Obama is a great example. Here’s a guy with a background you would never think would lead to his being elected to the highest political office in the land. It proves that it’s possible for anyone in America, regardless of their background or family connections.
Downs: What are the basic tenets of the Democratic Party?
Turner: The Democratic Party is committed to working toward good government and supporting policies that will allow every American the opportunity to reach his or her potential. We believe that fairness, justice and the level playing field that they provide are not simply issues of law, but values which directly impact our state and nation. No one individual or group should stand in the way of another person’s personal liberty or personal faith. We believe that every citizen deserves the right to work hard, play by the rules and prosper.
Todd Turner of Arkadelphia, who was recently named as chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, is a partner in the Arnold, Batson, Turner and Turner law firm. I visited with him last week to see how things were going.
Downs: What do you consider to be your major challenges as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Arkansas?
Turner: I guess my major challenge is going to be to keep folks involved. to make sure people stay involved with the process at the local level and not get disenchanted with politics in general because of all the bickering that’s going on.
Downs: Were you surprised that Sen. John McCain carried Arkansas and also Clark County?
Turner: Yes, I was surprised. I’ve thought a lot about this. I think some of it was the regionalism, the fact that we are in the South. Some were concerned that Obama was going to take people’s guns away, that sort of stuff. But I was really surprised that Clark County went with McCain.
Downs: What kind of grassroots effort do you have in mind for the state?
Turner: I want to visit with all the county committees in the 75 counties and encourage them to get people involved in the political system, increase the ranks, generate interest and support at the local level. When I was the county chairman here, we were always trying to get people involved, to get them to run for justice of the peace, constable or anything. Mike Ross got his start as a justice of the peace in Nevada County. Now he’s a congressman.
We especially need to get young people involved at the local level and also those who are ambitious enough and have the training and competence to move on up to the state or even higher levels. That makes good government for all of us. President Obama is a great example. Here’s a guy with a background you would never think would lead to his being elected to the highest political office in the land. It proves that it’s possible for anyone in America, regardless of their background or family connections.
Downs: What are the basic tenets of the Democratic Party?
Turner: The Democratic Party is committed to working toward good government and supporting policies that will allow every American the opportunity to reach his or her potential. We believe that fairness, justice and the level playing field that they provide are not simply issues of law, but values which directly impact our state and nation. No one individual or group should stand in the way of another person’s personal liberty or personal faith. We believe that every citizen deserves the right to work hard, play by the rules and prosper.
Downs: What are your thoughts on the new president. Is he leading us in the right direction?
Turner: I think so far he is. He has inherited a lot of problems he’s got to deal with that are beyond his control, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic problems we now face. He’s doing a good job getting advice from competent people to come up with ways to deal with all those issues.
Downs: Do you foresee any problems in getting conservative Arkansas Democrats to support a liberal president and Congress?
Turner: We have a representative democracy, and I think those congressmen represent and reflect their districts. Our congressman, Mike Ross, for example, has the highest ranking you can get from the National Rifle Association. In fact, he has a higher ranking that even New York’s Rudi Guliani does, who was potentially the Republican nominee for president. That doesn’t mean Guliani was a liberal and Mike Ross is a conservative. It just means they reflect the values of the areas they represent. What he is trying to do is to have good government.
Downs: Many of us —conservative Democrats, Republicans and moderates alike—are deeply concerned about healthcare, fears that we are moving toward socialism, that political bipartisanship is dead, etc. Any comments?
Turner: I think it is remarkable that Republicans would claim that we are moving toward socialism. Most Republican lawmakers supported the $700 billion Wall Street Bailout that provided money to corporations and CEOs. They also supported the expenditure of billions of dollars to build and improve the infrastructure in Iraq, often through no-bid contracts.
Then, when a stimulus plan is designed to infuse money in our own local communities and to build and improve our own infrastructure, they call it socialism. I think the President’s aim is to try to turn the economy around, not socialize it.
I do not think bipartisanship is dead because some Republican Senators voted for the stimulus plan. However, there will always be some politicians who will criticize and call names instead of trying to work together to address the serious problems that were created by the failed policies of the last presidential administration.
Everybody should contact their representatives at the state and national levels with their personal concerns. We all need to work together in trying to solve the economic problems we are facing. We must maintain faith in the American spirit.
Next week: A conversation with Bob Steel, show host of “First News,”a talk radio program on KARN News Radio in Little Rock, on efforts to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine for broadcasters.
