The Log Cabin Democrat offers up this editorial about the political future of Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. The editorial suggests that Mr. Halter is actually considering a primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
When asked about his interest in perhaps opposing Lincoln, who is seeking a third term to the U.S. Senate next year, Halter did nothing to deflate the trial balloon.
“Stay tuned” was his coy reply.
That’s certainly an interesting reply if it was on topic. But David Kinkade of The Arkansas Project notes that it’s all a misunderstanding. Mr. Halter’s comments were taken out of context.
Back to the original question: Is there a primary challenge on the horizon for the ambitious pol who successfully passed a lottery in Arkansas to fund scholarships for higher education? I’ve speculated enough for now. We’ll see what happens.
UPDATE: I’ve been thinking about this and chatting with a few folks via e-mail this morning. It’s clear that the LCD editorial was based on an inaccurate quote. Yet, when I take a look at the LCD site the article is still there. No retraction, correction or clarification. Interestingly, had Mr. Kinkade, a blogger, not exposed the inaccuracy of the piece (thanks, in part, to help from an anonymous commenter) we might all be talking about Bill Halter for Senate with legitimacy.
I raise this point as a note to all of my newspapers friends that frown on bloggers (Here’s looking at you, John Brummett). Something about glass houses and stones . . .
Oh, heck, I’ll throw a little credit Brummett’s way. He put up a blog post yesterday that pointed us toward the originally reported piece from which the LCD drew the quote (he didn’t provide a link, but I was able to find it). So thanks to him and anonymous commenter Nemo we were able to clarify the matter quickly. No such luck for the LCD’s readers who may have seen the editorial in the print edition and now may think that Halter is gearing up for a primary challenge to Lincoln.
D.
[...] II: More on all this business from Blake’s Think Tank. And be sure to check the comments section below for feedback from Log Cabin Democrat editorialist [...]
If only there was a way the Lt. Gov could clear this up. I can’t think of any possible remedy to this misunderstanding. Maybe one of the two paid PR professionals or the two paid columnists could figure out a way to discover or at least clear up if the Lt. Gov wants to run for the US Senate.
Better idea. Maybe the Lt. Gov could clear it up for himself by saying “I have no plans to run against Blanche Lincoln.” Maybe that would be too cryptic to play in the sticks, but it might resonate within the sophisticated blogosphere.