Asa Hutchinson 'expects' to make ’14 governor bid
By The Associated Press
This article was originally published January 4, 2013 at 10:47 a.m. Updated January 4, 2013 at 10:52 a.m.
PHOTO BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., speaks Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
- Comments (56)
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LITTLE ROCK — Former Rep. Asa Hutchinson says he expects to run for Arkansas governor in 2014.
Hutchinson said Friday that he “fully expects” to seek the Republican Party’s nomination for the state’s top office. Hutchinson is the first Republican to join the race for the state’s top office.
Hutchinson said he expects to make his bid official after finishing his work on a National Rifle Association study on school safety. Hutchinson is a former undersecretary of the federal Department of Homeland Security and served as a U.S. attorney in Arkansas for three years.
Hutchinson ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 and lost to Democrat Mike Beebe.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is the only announced Democratic candidate for governor, and has faced questions about his political future after admitting an extramarital relationship last month.
Curtis Coleman, a Little Rock Republican and the chairman of the Curtis Coleman Institute for Constitutional Policy, has formed a committee to explore the possibility of running for governor in 2014 and has said he'll announce by this summer whether he intends to run.
Comments on: Asa Hutchinson 'expects' to make ’14 governor bid
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ToTheLeft says... January 4, 2013 at 11:08 a.m.
Was it his son who was recently charged with misappropriating funds?
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MomLady says... January 4, 2013 at 11:17 a.m.
Excellent work finding the most unflattering photographic image possible.
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LevyRat says... January 4, 2013 at 11:18 a.m.
Is this the best Arkansas has to offer .......... Asa Hutchinson or Dustin "Little Bill Clinton" McDaniel?
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GAITOR says... January 4, 2013 at 11:18 a.m.
Great news for Arkansas!
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rainbowharold55 says... January 4, 2013 at 11:18 a.m.
And look out! He has all those NRA members armed with assault rifles behind him!
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RHudson says... January 4, 2013 at 11:25 a.m.
Proud to see Asa running. He'll be a darn fine governor!
RainbowHarold: You say that, but in Arkansas NRA members and non-NRA member gun owners are a huge voting block and they will likely vote for Asa.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 4, 2013 at 11:35 a.m.
ToTheLeft that was not his son; that was his nephew.
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ahelms says... January 4, 2013 at 11:41 a.m.
Mr. "more guns in schools" NRA mouthpiece...great.
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iamtherevolution says... January 4, 2013 at 12:58 p.m.
I don't know who I'll vote for in that election, but I agree that it seems as if someone found the worst possible picture of Mr. Hutchinson for this story. C'mon Democrat-Gazette, does no one in charge of editing / proofing have any sense? Or are personal agendas now allowed to bleed into your online news division? I'd hoped you were better than that!
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RBBrittain says... January 4, 2013 at 1:30 p.m.
He better not have any girls in his closet. Not because of Dustin McDaniel, but because he was one of the "managers" (prosecutors) in Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.
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dickivy says... January 4, 2013 at 1:39 p.m.
Is this the best the GOP can come up with? I like Asa, but good grief, isn't there any NEW blood in the party?
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Populist says... January 4, 2013 at 2:14 p.m.
RBBritain,
I believe Asa has a good marriage, and I saw no signs of cheating in the years I knew him and lived in Arkansas. I think that he is hard to beat Asa in a Republican Primary. Asa is on a first name basis with everybody in the party and has worked hard for the party for years. Almost everybody, if not everybody, who knows him personally likes him.
If the choice is Asa and McDaniel, I think people will overlook some of Asa's right of center political views. However, I think the dog catcher from Scott County is eyeing the Democratic nomination also, and I think he could beat McDaniel. Also, I believe Bill Halter and many others would beat McDaniel.
An Asa/Halter choice would be nice. Asa will need to avoid the temptation of taking Koch money, and I don't think that he will do that. Asa always has a hard time with women and blacks. While the NRA stuff helps with the white male hunter, he was going to get those votes anyway. Asa needs to take strong stances on the environment and education to have a chance to catch a few moderate votes.
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marja58703241100 says... January 4, 2013 at 2:29 p.m.
MomLady, I agree. This is an example of yellow journalism from the AP and the Democrat Gazette.
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Jackabbott says... January 4, 2013 at 2:34 p.m.
This guy will scare off any decent industres or business trying to invest in Arknsas. His image after the Newtown shooiing is horrible. He shold have had enough sense and common decency to keep his mouth shoot. Arkansas does not need to become a haven for gun nuts, We already have enough crime as it is now.
Surely the GOP and Dems can come up with some better candidates.
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Pobucker says... January 4, 2013 at 2:37 p.m.
Wow, suprise!
When will Republicans run out of old white guys?
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Packman says... January 4, 2013 at 3:02 p.m.
Governor Hutchinson. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? To east Arkansas rednecks critical to statewide election of any Republican, being an NRA mouthpiece is more street cred than having played football for the Razorbacks. That vote, combined with NW Arkansas, and Asa's a shoe in. McDaniel is toast because he can't keep it in his pants. Halter is toast because the lottery has failed to deliver as promised and he will easily be linked to the South Carolina jerks initially hired to run it. The only other plausible Arkansas demorat is Joyce Elliott, and we all know what happened when she faced Tim Griffin. Governor Hutchinson. Better get used to it.
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rickradio says... January 4, 2013 at 3:39 p.m.
Let's see here. Asa was a prosecutor in the Clinton impeachment proceedings in the Senate. His brother Tim was a sitting senator (can we say conflict of interest here?) and was fooling around on his wife at the time. After the trial Tim then divorced his wife of many years and married the staff member he was having an affair with a short time later. Both of "The Righteous Brothers" are grads of Bob Jones University. Asa is a frightening choice for the Republican Party. Yeah, I'm really scared for Arkansas.
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BillSmith says... January 4, 2013 at 3:40 p.m.
He was a do nothing congressman, he will be a do nothing Governor. He will be in the pocket and be a pull chain for the Koch brothers and the NRA. So goes Arkansas, let it go.
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BillSmith says... January 4, 2013 at 3:46 p.m.
Momlady, Rosemary.....Go to Fix News and see the pictures they post of Obama.
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Packman says... January 4, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.
Hey BillSmith - It's not Fox's fault BH Obama has ears bigger than Dumbo the elephant. And did you really just concede Asa as Governor in 2014? I knew the demorat party had hit new lows in Arkansas, but not to the point rabid libs concede elections two years out......
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inquire says... January 4, 2013 at 5:04 p.m.
What, if anything, did Asa know about the drugs coming into the Mena airport in the early eighties (when he was US attorney for the western district) and when did he know it?
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BillSmith says... January 4, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.
With the ignoramce the Arkansas electorate showed with electing the GOP legislature, why should I believe they would not make the same mistake twice.
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BillSmith says... January 4, 2013 at 5:21 p.m.
At least the south is irrelevant in a POTUS election as we found out 2 months ago.
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Populist says... January 4, 2013 at 5:36 p.m.
Inquire,
The old conspiracy theory had Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush as part of the conspiracy. I would not sling that mud. If Asa takes Koch money and does not make specific promises regarding the environment and improving education in Arkansas, I suspect the Democrat will win--as long as it is not McDaniel. Republicans usually only win statewide when the Democrat is weak. While the lottery may have had some problems, there are lots of kids going to school with that money. I think Halter is incredibly smart, and I would love to see him as governor.
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inquire says... January 4, 2013 at 6:06 p.m.
It is not mud, it is a mystery. I was very active in the activist world at that time and there was a lot of information in a lot of places, before the mainstream press every heard of it.
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LR1955 says... January 4, 2013 at 7:17 p.m.
Hutchinson on a bad day is better than the little poke-her porker mcdaniel an his inappropriate activities.
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ELKHUNTER says... January 4, 2013 at 7:36 p.m.
A total embarrassment. Yikes.
This just in....Unnamed Democrat a shoe in for 2014 Governor's race.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 4, 2013 at 8:09 p.m.
Nice try inquire; you threw some crap out there about something that happened 30 years ago so you could make someone look questionable. I bet you have never tried to connect Clinton to it as Pop suggests.
Elkhunter if you are going to use the term SHOO IN please learn how to spell it properly so you do not make yourself the embarrassment
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inquire says... January 4, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
UThinkIStillCare, Clinton may have been involved. The CIA may have been involved. Others in government or law enforcement may have been involved. It may have been somehow connected to the Iran-Contra scandal. Remember that? Too many unanswered questions because of too many incomplete investigations.
Nothing in the past is too old for Republicans to bring up, but you think the "rules" are different for Democrats? Nice try, but I don't accept your self imposed rules.
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NoCrossNoCrown says... January 4, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
This whould be one giant step backward for the state to elect this loser Gov....
Pobucker...They plan to dig up the old ones when they do run out...
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Packman says... January 5, 2013 at 10:19 a.m.
Hey inquire - Did ya know those planes flying into the Mena airport were being flown by Bigfoot? The plane's cargo was full of Ivory-Billed woodpeckers and the Easter Bunny was main stewardess. Wow, inquire, I think you are on to something LMAO!
Hey BillSmith - The South is irrelevent in a POTUS election like California, New York and most of the NE seaboard. You might say the same about Hollywood, the black vote, and white guys who drive pickup trucks. Do you have a point or just being verbose?
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ELKHUNTER says... January 5, 2013 at 1:41 p.m.
Hey Ustill, if you were more intelligent you could look in the dictionary before calling someone out on spelling. But your not.
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inquire says... January 5, 2013 at 2:21 p.m.
You are just showing your ignorance, Packman. I was paying attention and reading at the time. I never claimed to know exactly what happened. When there is that much smoke, and investigations never actually conclude or release findings, there just might be some fire.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 5, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.
Elkhunter you might want to learn the correct use of your and you're before calling me out. You are also wrong about shoe in; the correct term is shoo in. Look it up brain surgeon.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 5, 2013 at 5:27 p.m.
inquire your lack of understanding is unbelievable. I have no rules on how far anyone gets to go back. I know you sure as hell don't; remind us again about Romney back in the 60's killing that person over in France or wherever. You are the queen of accusations from things in the past that were not proven (but only about conservatives), and then you love to complain about the right saying anything. You are the biggest hypocrite these pages have ever seen.
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ELKHUNTER says... January 5, 2013 at 6:46 p.m.
According to the dictionary it can correctly be spelled both ways.
But you are a "shoo in" for douchebag of the year.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 5, 2013 at 7:16 p.m.
So after being dumb enough to use "your" in the wrong context while calling me out about grammar you prove me right? Wow you really are smart there elkie boy
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inquire says... January 5, 2013 at 8:52 p.m.
If someone can remember that I wrote about Romney's accident in France, they should be able to remember to do a web search and learn something. Daily Kos post of July 17, 2012 is a good place to start, but there is a lot of information out there. There is a lot of discrepancy between Romney's account of the accident and the area from accounts of eye witnesses. There is evidence of a cover up by trying to use a picture of someone else for the priest that they tried to frame as a drunk. Some people would far rather slander the messenger than just do some reading.
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mkm157 says... January 5, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
Just hand the Koch idiots and that ignorant mouth piece in NW Arkansas the keys to the state. It is a very sad day in the state when the only choices are idiots like Asa and Dustin. Both parties are just a disgrace Intellectually. It was his nephew that is the crook that we are saddled with in the Arkansas Senate.
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Packman says... January 6, 2013 at 10:23 a.m.
Hey inquire - Bless your heart.
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inquire says... January 6, 2013 at 10:36 a.m.
Using the oldest southern dig doesn't stand up to being able to produce facts.
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Populist says... January 6, 2013 at 10:41 a.m.
Everybody calm down. We probably are going to see some fresh faces in Arkansas politics. The only possible retread who can win this is Bill Halter. McDaniel is not going to win the democratic primary. Asa has never won a statewide election and will not unless he can moderate his positions. The next governor will be the person who offers the best plan for improving the Arkansas economy and that will involve improving education.
Inquire,
It is just not true that where there is smoke there is fire. Unless something can be proven, it should not be used to smear a person. In politics, both parties engage in slander and innuendo to accomplish their aims. I truthfully don't think that there is much dirt on Asa. While there is plenty of dirt on Romney, I don't think that he was at fault in the accident in France. Anyway, let's now leave Romney alone; it's like beating a dead horse. His own party has turned on him.
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inquire says... January 6, 2013 at 10:51 a.m.
Go ahead and try to control the discussion. I don't give a damn, if that's the way you run things in Maryland. Nothing can change the facts that are out there about Mena, regardless of how much Asa was or was not involved. Just last night I read government documents and statements from past government officials, including an IRS criminal investigator, an AR state police investigator, a DEA agent, and US Rep. Bill Alexander about how they were told to back off the investigation, now it was interfered with and stopped cold every time. When an ASP investigator is ordered to not do anything about drugs coming into the Mena airport, yet no federal bust ever happens and all investigations are thwarted, something was happening. A pox on all of you.
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Populist says... January 6, 2013 at 2:37 p.m.
Inquire,
What are your citations? I do not pretend to be an expert on Mena, but I do recollect the conspiracy theorist people. I talked to one once, and he asked if I was somehow involved in Mena. The guy was a nut.
There are drugs throughout America. Is every US attorney to be held for all illegal drug activity in his district? I have no doubt that many people high up look the other way with respect to illegal drug activity, and I will listen to any evidence you have, but I want specific, hard evidence from credible source--innuendo and rumors are not acceptable. What did Bill Alexander say and what are his sources? I've learned from experience to look at any political statements carefully. Too many hacks in both parties are only to happy to bend the truth when it fits their political purposes.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 6, 2013 at 4:29 p.m.
Inquire you cannot really be wasting your life reading crap you proclaim can you? I think I probably know you. You would have been the crabby woman complaining about everything when you were in Safeway when I worked there in Fort Smith. You have actually now gone to attacking your own in Populist.
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Packman says... January 6, 2013 at 5:03 p.m.
Hey inquire - Double bless your heart. Alas, making you look silly is like playing basketball with Danny DeVito. It's easy to block his shot, but you feel bad about it because it's so easy. Exactly what kind of mischief do you suspect happened decades ago involving the Mena airport, and would you kindly furnish the sworn statements, depositions, or other legally recognized sources that support your suspicions?
Obviously, you have made some terrible choices in your life that are now manifesting as irrational thought and personal envy of severe magnitude. It would be easy to believe whatevever medical condition you claim that costs so much in treatment is for things going on between your ears. But, please, please, please keep participating in these forums. People like you, aimee, djigoo, BillSmith, and others help illustrate the looney left beyond imagination. Wait, inquire, hear that? It's an airplane overhead headed to Mena to deliver a load of fool's gold. Better hurry so you can be first in line.
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Populist says... January 6, 2013 at 7 p.m.
Packman,
Easy on Inquire. This is the first time that I think that she has been wrong. We should all be careful of the news sources we read and the motivations behind the stories. This is very true of those who worship faux news. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I do try to base my opinions on facts. Those rightwingers who now want to praise me were hurling all sorts of insults at me when I pointed out that Romney's budget numbers did not add up and that he had not been forthcoming on his financial information.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 6, 2013 at 7:51 p.m.
Populist you really ask Packman to go easy on inquire when she throws accusations like she is the expert than says A POX ON ALL OF YOU? I really believe now she actually has mental problems. I thought before she was just some unhappy old hag but now I'm convinced she is unstable. inquire you need to seek some professional help.
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inquire says... January 6, 2013 at 8:44 p.m.
www(dot)serendipity(dot)li/cia/larry1(dot)html
prorev(dot)com/wwduncan(dot)htm
www(dot)rigorousintuition(dot)ca/board2/viewtopic(dot)php?+=9479&p=256874
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/mena(dot)php
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/alexander_says_irs_blocked_probe(dot)html
Mara Leveritt Internet Archive Wayback Machine documents
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/crimes_of_mena(dot)html
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/Rancho?MENA/alexander_alleges_coverup(dot)html
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/TATUM/tatum(dot)html
www(dot)ratical(dot)org/ratville/JFK/crimesOfMena(dot)html
www(dot)idfiles(dot)com/menacoverup(dot)html
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kinggeorge says... January 6, 2013 at 8:53 p.m.
McDaniel is the perfect choice for a politician if you consider the fact that he sleeps around with women other than his wife, is a liberal Democrat, and a lawyer. He may be in the 98% of lawyers that give the other lawyers a bad name. It will be a dark day if he gets to be governor. I say put him back out to lawyering so he can rip off insurance companies and chase ambulances.
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BillSmith says... January 6, 2013 at 9:03 p.m.
Gaitor,UsTillThinkICare,Packman........ After all the blather the facts are the liberals had rather be able to walk down in any alley in America, meet someone and say "Hi Brother hows' it going" as oppeosed to the conservatives checking out the color of their skin, the slant of their eyes, their accent, their length of their hair, the car they drive, the neighborhood they live in, the clothes they wear, before speaking to them. This is the real culture wars in America today.
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T6 says... January 6, 2013 at 9:28 p.m.
Populist.... I think it was you, who was poking fun at right wing sites that said Obama would try for a third term or something to that effect. Well here you go. How this for ya? You Libs might learn a thing or two from those right wing sites if you'd give them a chance.
~
H.J.Res.15 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.
113th Congress (2013-2014) Overview: House Joint Resolution
Sponsor: Rep. Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY-15] (Introduced 01/04/2013)
Cosponsors: 0
Latest Action: 01/04/2013 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Major Recorded Votes: There are no Roll Call votes for this bill
Status of Legislation:
This bill has the status {.Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
beta.congress. gov/bill/113th-congress/house-joint-resolution/15/text
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inquire says... January 6, 2013 at 10:19 p.m.
books(dot)google(dot)com/books?id=Z1AaddjrJkC&pg=PR28&lpg=PR28&dq=bill+alexander+investigation+of+mena+airport&source=bl&ots=rK36Gix5el&sig=j0fJs
www(dot)skeptictank(dot)org/files//cia-drug/ag62688a(dot)htm
www(dot)beyondweird(dot)com/conspiracy/cn07-06(dot)html
www(dot)apnewsarchive(dot)com/1991/Contras-Drug-Smuggling-Questions-Remain-About-Arkansas-Airport/id-1711d13b6681269fddf0a8412b5f7
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/let_to_gov_clinton_1-26-89(dot)html
whatreallyhappened(dot)com/RANCHO/POLITICA/MENA/rep_alexander_pressures_reagan(dot)html
www(dot)idfiles(dot)com/myst(dot)htm
www(dot)idfiles(dot)com/duncan(dot)htm
"The Crimes of a President" by Joel Bainerman, p.266 "When Bill Alexander, a Democratic congressman from Arkansas, asked the General Accounting Office in Congress to investigate government involvement in the activities at Mena, he was told the National Security Counsel instructed other White House Agencies not to cooperate with the investigation."
From p.274....In "In These Times (Feb. 12, 1992), Bill Alexander says "I have never seen a white wash job like what has been executed in this case. There has been a conspiracy of the greatest magnitude that has not been prosecuted."
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Populist says... January 7, 2013 at 6:50 a.m.
Inquire,
With the exception of Mara Leveritt, these are not reputable journalists. Mara Leveritt's article basically just talks about some of the rumors of conspiracy, which also involve Clinton. I believe these allegations first surfaced during the 1990 race between Asa and Winston Bryant. Bill Alexander, a fellow Democrat, added fuel to the fire by asking for an investigation. These rumors resurfaced in 1992 and involved a conspiracy involving Clinton and Asa. No respectable journalist has ever produced any hard evidence implicating Clinton or Asa regarding this matter. There will be other ways for the libs to attack Asa. This dog won't hunt. (I find it ludicrous though that some of the rightwingers who believe the most ridiculous theories about Obama being a secret Muslim or being born in Kenya, now want to impose high journalistic standards on dirt on their Republican candidates.) Why don't we limit our discussions to news from reputable news sources, who by the way often get things wrong anyway?
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Packman says... January 8, 2013 at 4:34 p.m.
Hey inquire - Triple bless your heart. All that work and still not a single legitimate source (as recognized by the Rule of Law). That plane's about to land - you better hurry..... Also, regarding the oldest southern dig, I believe that would be: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
Hey BillSmith - WTF?
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... January 8, 2013 at 8:12 p.m.
inquire subscribes to the old theory that if you say it enough it must be true.
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