Arkansas Democrats rely on political newcomers
Paul Spencer teaches politics and government to high school students in Little Rock and for the past several years led a group that’s pushed for stricter ethics rules and campaign finance limits. He’s never held elected office or appeared on the ballot, but he’s now hoping to retake a central Arkansas congressional seat in what had been a reliably Democratic district.
Spencer faces a steep challenge in trying to win the 2nd Congressional District seat, as does a nonprofit executive running for the 3rd District seat in northwest Arkansas as well as a “semi-retired” rancher and farmer campaigning for the 1st District in the eastern part of the state. None of the three Democratic congressional hopefuls have ever held elected office before. It shows the difficulty Democrats may have in finding well-known candidates in a state where Republicans hold a firm grip on the top offices, but also is a sign that dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s agenda could draw candidates from outside the party’s traditional bench.
“This is going to be the great litmus test of American democracy,” Spencer said. “If the people are ready for a change from the status quo, maybe they are ready to start choosing people from their community. That’s the way the system was set up in the first place under our constitution.”
From Spencer’s Official Website:
CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS
Elections that reflect the will of the people are paramount to upholding the integrity of a representative democracy. We must begin by acknowledging some basic truths:
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Although non-human entities such as corporations, labor unions, etc., enjoy certain protections under law, they do not possess the same rights that are Constitutionally guaranteed to actual human persons in our electoral system.•
Money spent on campaigns should not be equated with the political speech rights of actual humans.This campaign operates under these core values and as such will only accept contributions from actual people.
HEALTHCARE
Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. Despite their divisions, Americans agree we need to fix our broken healthcare system. Compared to the other major nations of the world, we spend the most money on healthcare, yet we have a shorter average life expectancy to show for it. We must join the rest of the developed world and expand access to high quality healthcare to every citizen regardless of age or income. Universal coverage through a Medicare For All program will guarantee cost-effective healthcare to all citizens. We owe it to our future generations and to our country’s economic stability to fight for healthcare for all Americans.