BENTON COUNTY : Foes’ use of voting history ‘distorted,’ Bisbee asserts
Posted on Saturday, May 17, 2008
ROGERS — Republican candidate for Benton County judge and longtime state Sen. Dave Bisbee said three recent mass mailings are using half-truths to wrongly influence voters on the eve of Tuesday’s primary election.
The mailers, one of which was sent by county judge candidate Bill Adams, are using Senate and House of Representative records to question Bisbee’s character, saying he supports amnesty for illegal aliens, votes against prolife efforts and is quick to raise taxes.
Two of the fliers are from Citizens for an Open and Responsive Government, an anonymous group using late Libertarian Henry Hazlitt as a pseudonym on its Web site, www. bisbeerecord. blogspot. com.
Adams said he is not associated with the group although his mailer includes similar points and pieces of quotes used in the other anti-Bisbee material. Adams’ mailer was sent out Wednesday, he said.
Bisbee said he can’t deny his voting records listed on the mailers, but said the two entities are manipulating the information as well as quotes that appeared in area newspapers by taking them out of context.
“This stuff is so distorted,” he said, shaking his head and laughing.
Bisbee and Adams face Greg Hines, Kevin Harrison and Chris Glass in Tuesday’s primary.
Out of all the claims, Bisbee said that he’s most concerned how people interpret a resolution he wrote in 2005 encouraging Congress to devise a plan to help illegal alien children become naturalized when they turn 18. The resolution was in response to a bill proposed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee that would’ve made illegal aliens who graduate from Arkansas high schools eligible for state-funded college scholarships. Bisbee voted against the bill and wrote the resolution in response.
The resolution meant to address concerns of students who were brought to the United States illegally when they were children. He said those students should be able to come forward and go through an expedited naturalization process without fearing deportation or other consequences. The proposal never said illegal alien children should be granted automatic citizenship when they turn 18, he said. The resolution passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The quote used on Adams ’ flier to support the issue was taken from an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article dated Jan. 12, 2005. The entire quote from the article reads “We need to make these people legal. That’s the way it should be done.... Change their status, but don’t give illegal people scholarships. I mean, what kind of example does that set for our children.” Adams’ flier cuts the quote off after the phrase “Change their status.” Adams said the edited quote does not change the meaning of what Bisbee said.
“At no point should we be rewarding criminals for doing things illegally,” Adams said.
The highlighted pro-life legislation Bisbee voted against was for a “Choose-life” specialty license plate, proceeds for which would have gone toward nonprofit organizations that counsel pregnant women but don’t offer abortion as an option. Bisbee said he has a personal policy to vote against any specialty plate. The license plate bill passed the next session.
Other points on the mailers scrutinized taxes Bisbee voted in favor of, including the bill that became Act 107 in 2003. The bill raised state sales taxes to 6 percent in an effort to allocate more funding to public education after the Arkansas Supreme Court declared the system unconstitutional.
“I’ve served Northwest Arkansas in elected positions for 16 years. Did I all of the sudden go crazy ?” Bisbee said. “I’m a screaming liberal from the East Coast, I guess.” Adams said he stood behind everything on the mailer he sent to voters and acknowledged his own missteps in the past. Adams admitted during the 2006 county judge election that he smoked marijuana sometime in 2000. Adams was running against incumbent County Judge Gary Black, who is not seeking re-election. Adams also confirmed this week that his business, Adams Outfitters, went bankrupt in December 2001. He said an ice storm that year killed the business. Bisbee said he was confident the mailers wouldn’t jeopardize his chances Tuesday. “I don’t know how to respond to things like this,” he said.
To contact this reporter: aotoole@arkansasonline. com
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