ArkDems Radio Report

I’m Michael John Gray, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. When I’m Little Rock, I’m a five minute drive away from at least 3 hospitals no matter where I am in the city. That is a luxury most Arkansans don’t have. If you live in Little Rock, or any other major urban area, you probably take this for granted. If you’re in a car accident, or suffer a heart attack or stroke, you can be in the hospital in fewer than ten minutes. But in Woodruff County where I’m from, you’re at least...

Tom Cotton doesn’t think you should worry about money in politics. In an interview on NPR’s 1A, a constituent asked him a fair question, “Do you believe that the huge ever increasing money needed to run a viable campaign for congress or senate has had a corrupting influence on government? His response was “No, I don’t. We spend much less in this country on politics than we spend on potato chips or toothpaste. Often times as you see in the Democratic presidential primary, financial...

Josh Mahony, born and raised in El Dorado and currently living in Fayetteville, is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020. He's running against Tom Cotton. In this conversation, Josh talks about growing up in a farming family in Union County, and how this has shaped his career and his political views. Along with being head of his own natural resource company, he's been heavily involved with several nonprofits, including the Ozark Literacy Council and the Arkansas Single Parent...

As Arkansans, we know all about tough times and hard work. But right now our farmers, the backbone of this state, are being hurt by decisions made in Washington D.C. about tariffs and a trade war. Farmers know all about uncertainty and having to manage the cards that life, whether it’s life, or weather, and a lot of the times we are just one flood, one drought, or one natural disaster away from a real crisis. We put our homes, our cars, our land, and many times everything our family owns up...

The past few days we’ve been honoring the teachers in our lives, and in the lives of our kids, for Teacher Appreciation Week. It’s getting close to summertime, and it’s important that we take a moment to thank all the people who have dedicated their time to making our schools and our communities better. We all know how much of a difference a good teacher can make. We’ve all had those people in our lives, people whose example sticks with you. A good teacher isn’t hard to spot. A good...

Arkansans are going to have their plates full in the next election. There are more than 20 candidates running for President. That’s a lot of names, and a lot of positions and issues we’ll have to try and sort through. It’ll be tough to do, but it’s important that we make the time to study the issues, to learn what each candidate is promising, and to question them, to see if they can really deliver. The future of our country depends on it, and Arkansas can play a good role in this. Our...

I’m Michael John Gray, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas It’s getting close to that time of year where people are heading to graduations, then heading toward their futures. Some of them have, or at least think they have, a pretty clear idea of what lays ahead, and what they want their life to become. Some of them, and some of us, know that life’s paths aren’t always so easy to see, or so easy to follow. But imagine for a moment, that you followed all the right steps. You went...

I’m Michael John Gray, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. Arkansans spend a lot of time in conversation, we all do it whether it be in the grocery store, in the coffee shop, or on the bleachers at a football game and we talk about what we’d do different and what we’re not happy with in the world. A lot of times we complain about things we see locally. Like being in line at a grocery store and seeing someone buy things that aren’t necessarily healthy, and people using food stamps...

Blanche Lincoln holds the distinction of becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. She entered the upper chamber after two terms in the U.S. House. Lincoln rose to be chair of the powerful Senate Agriculture committee. Take a listen to a conversation with Sen. Lincoln, who was the keynote speaker at the annual Jimmie Lou Fisher - Lottie Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock. Support the show (https://secure.actblue.com/donate/arkdemspodcast)

I grew up in east Arkansas, out in the Delta. And for me, just like just about anybody whose family goes back any amount of time in Arkansas, we are descendants of people who fought in the Confederacy. Our state flag has a special commemoration, designating the blue star at the top of the white diamond for the state’s time in the Confederacy. That was put there in the 1920’s. It wasn’t by accident, it happened at the height of KKK influence in this state. Our children see that star, some...

Arkansans work hard, and we don’t ask for much. It’s just not in our nature to be asking for handouts, or to take them. But we don’t mind giving someone a hand up. We expect for each one of us to earn his or her keep. That’s a good thing. It’s good we know the value of hard work. It’s good we know that we all need to be responsible, and able to provide for ourselves and our families. But sometimes, and we’ve seen in this in Arkansas more than many states, people just don’t get the pay that...

We do have some public pre-K programs in many parts of the state now. But all too often there simply isn’t enough room to let every child in. And that’s not okay. It’s a problem when there isn’t enough room in our public school programs to let all of Arkansas’s children in pre-K. That’s not a problem fixed in the classroom or a problem fixed in a district. That’s a problem fixed in Little Rock, at the state Capitol. About 10 years ago Arkansas took a big step, under Democratic Governor...

When you’re talking about the very roads that let us take our crops to market, that take our children to school, and that take our loved ones to the nearest hospital, you’re talking about more than just concrete and cement. You’re talking about livelihoods, and quality of life. I’m a farmer, I’m a father, I need these roads just like you do. It’s one of the reasons I think this state will come together on a funding solution. A good road affects all of us, no matter our job or status in...