Return Hill to House
I am submitting this letter on behalf of my very good friend, French Hill, who, as many know, is running for re-election to the United States Congress from the 2nd District of Arkansas.
I have known the Hill family for over 60 years, as French Hill's great-grandfather, J.W. Hill, was a pioneer in Eureka Springs in its early history during the 1880s when it was the second-largest city in Arkansas. Mr. Hill made quite a name for himself in the livery, transport and carriage business. My grandfather, former Congressman Claude Fuller, and family were next-door neighbors to the Hills, and Mr. Hill's son, J.W. Hill Jr. graduated from high school here in 1912. J.W. Hill also had the first telephone business in Eureka Springs and Carroll County.
The Hill family then moved to Little Rock, and eventually formed the Hill, Crawford & Lanford Bond Firm, one of the most prestigious and successful bond firms in the state of Arkansas.
I have known French Hill for almost 40 years, and not only is he a successful businessman (we need more successful businessmen in Congress), but he is also a fine, knowledgeable gentleman with a wide range of experience in government and the private sector, and has made an excellent congressman. If French Hill is not returned to Congress, it will be a great loss for the people of the 2nd District, the state of Arkansas, and America.
JOHN FULLER CROSS
Eureka Springs
On opposing Pelosi
I was in Maine several weeks ago when I saw a TV ad for an incumbent Republican congressman which was essentially a duplicate of a French Hill ad that alleges that the challenger is an ally of Nancy Pelosi. This, to me, confirms that Republicans across the nation are running against her rather than their actual opponents. Although I admire Pelosi's accomplishments, I think that she could have assured the Democrats' winning of the House by announcing that she would not be a candidate for speaker of the House. This indicates that, like other politicians, her personal ambition supersedes her concern for her party.
French Hill now says that he supports insurance of people with pre-existing conditions after Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed. He doesn't mention that such coverage without the ACA individual mandate will be prohibitively expensive for many Americans. Incidentally, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, Josh Hawley, says that he supports forcing insurance companies to provide the above coverage but, as the state's attorney general, he is part of a lawsuit to declare the ACA, with such protections, unconstitutional.
A recent column in this paper asserted that Donald Trump's approval rating among blacks has increased, which the writer claimed could make a difference in the 2020 presidential election. Perhaps the Republican efforts for minority voter suppression won't yield the benefits they anticipated.
On Issue 4: If casinos are so good for a state's economy, how is it that Arkansans can still say "thank God for Mississippi"?
On Issue 5: Harry Truman said of Republicans: "They favor a minimum wage--the smaller the minimum the better."
ED CHESS
Little Rock
Save the Democrats
How interesting the letters page has been lately. So many writers urging us regular people to vote for Democrats. Why we should vote for people who have promised to work against the policies that we prefer they don't bother to explain. Perhaps not all of us voted for Trump, but we darn sure didn't vote for Hillary, neither.
Of course, the large majority of these writers have been paragons of virtue. One shining paragon of civility calls Republicans "troublesome critters." I'd wait for these previous letter-writers to rush in crying, "Civility!" but I don't really feel like growing a beard waiting for that to happen.
I wasn't really impressed with the sober thinking, judicious inquiry, and complete lack of hysterics that were on display by Democrats at the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. You know, the kind of "adults in the room" behavior that they promise to bring to Washington once you vote them back into power.
When one political party moves (or, in the Democrats' case, feverishly rushes) too far to one extreme, the only thing that can be done is to let them embrace and hold their new extreme positions and vote against those positions. The quicker and more completely they are ushered out of power, the quicker the more extreme positions will be purged from the party, and the quicker they will adapt more moderate and sane positions. So it only makes sense to vote a straight Republican ticket in order to save the Democrat Party.
LONNIE HILL
Fayetteville
To make things better
After carefully researching the candidates and their positions, I am voting Democratic for the governor and congressional seat this year. Here's why.
The stock market may be booming for rich folks (although lately that's not the case), and there may be employers looking to hire, but too many jobs don't offer any benefits or a living wage. I know lots of people who work more than one job, or who work one but live in fear that medical expenses will tip them into bankruptcy. French Hill voted for tax cuts for the rich and against health care, and besides that he runs negative ads that say things that aren't true, so I will cast my vote for Clarke Tucker.
The Republicans in our Legislature, led by our governor, voted to deprive thousands of the poorest Arkansans of health-care assistance unless they both work and report their work. They have to submit that report using a computer or cell phone connected to the Internet, and the system reportedly doesn't work at all for 10 hours each day! Republicans want to make getting health care and voting as difficult as possible. Jared Henderson supports better access to health care and voting, as well as better education and assistance to small business. Clarke and Jared are looking to the future, not taking us backwards.
I hope you'll join me and vote for the candidates who want to make things better.
BARBARA RANEY
North Little Rock
Set a good example
My dad was a disabled veteran from World War II and I saw firsthand my mother raise four of us kids by herself in the '50s and '60s long before a single-parent household was in the dictionary.
When she was in her 80s and the casinos came to Mississippi, often her church van full of seniors would stop by one just to look around. Once I asked her jokingly if she put any money in the slots, and she said no. I pulled $20 out of my pocket and told her the next time they swung by a casino to spend it on the slots and not worry if she didn't win.
I'll never forget her telling me, "I don't have a problem putting money in a slot machine, but if one of my friends sees me doing it, they may think it's OK for them to do, and if that friend ends up with a gambling problem, I would feel really bad."
My mother always cared about setting a good example. Fast-forward to 2018 and we have a president who couldn't care less about the terrible example he sets for our young people.
Please vote for you want to make a change for the better.
GEORGE McINTOSH
Leslie
Editorial on 11/05/2018