As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Wilbur Mills was
long in the thick of things, including the creation of Medicare 40
years ago, and Sen. J. William Fulbright’s influence in foreign
affairs, especially during the Vietnam war, made him an international
symbol of high-toned dissent. But that was way back, and even then it
was rare for twomembers of the Arkansas congressional delegation to be
so prominently engaged with the same great issue at the same time, and
to be so widely and earnestly censured, as were Sen. Blanche Lincoln
and Rep. Mike Ross in the fight over health-care reform. For all they
did, and didn’t, they’re the Arkansas Times’ of the Year for 2009.

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Ross, a leader of a conservative Democratic faction known as the
Blue Dogs, negotiated with President Obama and congressional leaders,
but wound up voting against the House version of health-care reform,
calling it “fiscally irresponsible.” The bill passed anyway.

Lincoln was a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which wrote
the original version of the Senate’s bill. That bill was revised many
times but it resembled the original when Lincoln cast one of the 60
votes needed for Senate approval. She said the bill was imperfect, but
“a vast improvement over the status quo.” She was among a small group
of senators who worked out an alternative to the divisive
“public-option” provision.

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The two versions of reform must be reconciled by the two houses
before final passage. Very likely, a government-run health insurance
program ? authorized in the House version but absent from the Senate
version ? will be absent from the final bill.  Both Ross and Lincoln
opposed the “public option,” as did insurance companies and right-wing
Republicans. Liberal Democrats were loudly dissatisfied with the two
Arkansans.

Ross has generally pleased conservatives, and there are many of them
in the Fourth Congressional District. Lincoln seems to have pleased
hardly anybody on health care, and has been maligned left and right by
columnists, bloggers and authors of letters to the editor:

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“Blanche Lincoln does not deserve to be re-elected. Again and again
she has proved that she cares more about the interests of corporations
than she does about the well-being of Arkansans. She fought for a
giveaway to drug companies, but worked for the insurance companies to
kill the public option. She’s happy to advocate for eliminating the
estate tax for the wealthiest Americans, but doesn’t believe working
Arkansans should have the right to unionize for better pay and
benefits. …  ”

“Thanks to Sen. Blanche Lincoln for helping to ruin Christmas and
endanger the nation if this horrific health care monstrosity isn’t
stopped. Maybe she’s happy that she supported the sick leftist,
progressive radicalism of Barack Obama and his Chicago thugs, but her
constituents are not. Of course, that means nothing to her now, since
she and the rest of her arrogant Democratic goons have clearly
demonstrated that they could care less what the American people think,
but it may make a big difference come election time.”

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Lincoln is regularly threatened with political ruin for being too
liberal. And for being too conservative. One is reminded of the
Arkansas Supreme Court throwing an initiative off the ballot for being
excessively long, and unacceptably short.

Both Ross and Lincoln are up for re-election. Ross is said to be
safe, Lincoln otherwise. The national Republican Party plans a major
campaign against her, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state’s
largest newspaper, has already opened fire. The notorious Karl Rove
recently gave money to an Arkansas politician seeking the Republican
Senate nomination.

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Lincolnians have not been asleep. In the last week of December,
after the Senate health-care vote had finally been taken, the Lincoln
camp was sending out e-mail solicitations for funds almost daily,
signed by Lincoln’s campaign manager, Steve Patterson, or her husband,
Steve Lincoln, or by former President Bill Clinton or by Lincoln
herself:

“We have a really important FEC [Federal Elections Commission]
deadline coming up on December 31st, and I could really use your help,”
she wrote. “As I am sure you have heard, the national Republicans have
put a target on my back and I expect one of the toughest campaigns of
my life. They will be looking at my 2009 fundraising totals to
determine whether I have the support I need to win. A contribution from
you today ? even $5 or more ? can make all the difference.”

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Little Rock is the government media center of Arkansas. Pundits and
politicians in Pulaski County sometimes overlook and underrate
politicians from the outlands of East Arkansas. Before the passage of
federal civil rights laws empowered the area’s large black population,
rich planters chose the area’s public officials, including the
congressman. Those officials were uniformly conservative ? even
segregationist, as long as it was legal.

One year as the old order was crumbling, a young and largely unknown
lawyer from Osceola named Bill Alexander was elected to represent the
First Congressional District. He commenced voting the national
Democratic Party line; his predecessors had bragged of their
independence from it. Central Arkansas experts were nonplussed by the
anomalous newcomer. “He just sprang up like a dahlia,” one said. A new
kind of politics in East Arkansas had indeed flowered. The voices of
black and low-income voters were beginning to be heard.

Still, Alexander was so far out of step with the power structure of
East Arkansas, that people wondered how he could hold on to the
congressional seat. Finally, he lost it, but not to an old-style East
Arkansas politician. It was another dahlia that did the trick.

Blanche Lambert grew up in Helena, a seventh-generation Arkansan, as
she likes to say, and a member of a prominent farming family. Unlike a
Bill Clinton or a David Pryor, she wasn’t infected by politics while
still in grade school. When she graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s
College in Lynchburg, Va., “I thought I wanted to go into nursing,” but
she decided to go to Washington and work for a year before going back
to school. She found a job with the congressman from her district. That
was Bill Alexander. It proved to be a bad hire, from Alexander’s
standpoint.

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While working in Washington, “I got enamored with my country and my
government,” Lincoln says. “I thought it was amazing how the system
worked. I thought about being a lobbyist for my state, and I asked ‘How
do you do that?’ ”  A friend suggested she run for Congress instead.
“So I did” ? against her former boss. Was that race especially bitter
because of the former relationship? “I tried for it not to be,” she
says.

She didn’t use Hattie Caraway as a role model, although she
frequently refers to the former senator these days. Caraway, also from
East Arkansas (Jonesboro), was the first woman elected to the U.S.
Senate, earning that distinction in 1932.

“I didn’t know about Hattie Caraway growing up,” Lincoln says. “It’s amazing that I didn’t, but I didn’t. “

The young Lambert attended the Episcopal Church and had a nice
personality, according to a long-time and politically knowledgeable
acquaintance. He never expected her to run for Congress, though ? many
Episcopalians with nice personalities don’t ? and he told his wife, a
Lincoln supporter, “Blanche doesn’t have a chance.” It was her first
political race.

But Alexander was a little flighty, and even some of his supporters
may have been put off by his unapologetic loyalty to the national
Democratic Party. And, “Blanche got out and worked real hard, and she
had some really outstanding volunteers, mostly women who weren’t
usually involved in political races.” Refined, upper-class women can do
a lot when they work up a glow. Arkansas has seen that more than once.
Family connections helped too. “Her mom and dad had a lot of friends.
Her uncle drove her around the congressional district.”

She was elected in 1992 and re-elected in 1994, by which time she
was using her married name, Lincoln. Her husband is a doctor. She
didn’t seek re-election in 1996. She was pregnant at the time, and
subsequently gave birth to twin sons.

By now, she’d convinced the skeptics of her electability. Nobody was
surprised that she ran for the Senate when Dale Bumpers retired in
1998. She won fairly easily, and at 38 she was the youngest woman ever
elected senator. But she didn’t convert Little Rock liberals, some of
whom believed she was too light for a Senate seat, and certainly too
light to succeed the sainted Bumpers. She beat a couple of Little Rock
lawyers who were more highly regarded by the liberal and legal
communities, of which there’s considerable overlap. In those circles,
and still to some extent, Lincoln was regarded as a plantation
princess, certain to uphold the views of the rich, white, conservative
establishment.

Which she’s done a good bit of. Elected to a second term in 2004,
without serious opposition, she’s generally popular with conservative
groups like the Farm Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. She opposes
the estate tax, paid only by the super-rich, and  organized labor’s
bill that would make it easier to unionize workers. Recently named
chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the first woman to hold
that office, she’ll be turning to the Farm Bureau again for support and
direction.

But overall, she’s justified in calling herself a moderate. She’s
supported a good many social welfare programs ? such as better
education, nutrition and health care for low-income families ? and from
time to time she calls special attention to her efforts to benefit
women and children. She’s usually a progressive vote on abortion. A
member of the liberal do-good lobby, one who doesn’t endorse candidates
openly, says “Given that she’s in a tough election fight in a
conservative state, I think she’s been pretty good.” Consumer advocacy
groups like the AARP have run ads praising her.

Americans for Democratic Action, as solid a liberal group as there
is, rates the members of Congress every year on how often they vote on
the liberal side. Lincoln always scores fairly high. A recent ADA
survey showed her and Rep. Marion Berry of the First District with the
most liberal voting records in the six-member Arkansas congressional
delegation. Janine Parry, an assistant professor of political science
and director of the Arkansas Poll at the University of Arkansas in
Fayetteville, points out that in 5 of the 6 full years that Lincoln and
Mark Pryor have served together in the Senate, Lincoln has had the
higher ADA score. But in Arkansas liberal circles, Lincoln is reviled
far more than Pryor. The voting records of Pryor and Lincoln, both
centrist Democrats, are much alike, but Pryor has a higher approval
rating among both Democrats (66 per cent to 61 percent) and among
Republicans (43 percent to 34 percent). The liberals like him better
and the conservatives hate her worse.

“I think there’s a gender element here,” Parry says, “but it’s hard
to prove.” She says that 29 percent of women disapprove of Lincoln, but
40 percent of men do. “The theme I see most often coming from her
office ? that she’s moderate, thoughtful, independent ? doesn’t seem to
be catching hold among men. Instead it comes across as wishy-washy,
confused or unprincipled. You could argue that being in the middle [on
health care] is a pretty sophisticated position. Look at where
Arkansans are. You could interpret her actions as being a good steward
of what Arkansans want.”

That’s Ross’ position, Parry said, and he stands up to national
Democratic leaders in defending it, just as Lincoln has done. “But he
seems to be seen as an independent leader, and she seems to be seen as
a scaredy-cat, and to me they seem to be taking the same actions.” She
observes that people refer to Lincoln by her first name. “They don’t
call Ross ‘Mike’. ”

Hal Bass, a professor of political science at Ouachita Baptist
University in Arkadelphia, was asked about genderism. “I wouldn’t
completely discount it, but I wouldn’t give undue attention to it
either.” That Lincoln is referred to by her first name may be an
advantage, he said. “I think there is a tradition in Arkansas that we
identify and appreciate candidates by their first name.” Not being on a
first-name basis with the electorate is a problem for all the announced
Republican challengers to Lincoln, Bass said, and one reason that he’s
not greatly impressed by polls purporting to show Lincoln in deep
trouble. (Another reason is that he’s never impressed by polls taken
this early in a campaign.)

“I think we’re at a time when there’s a lot of general
dissatisfaction with the governing process, and she’s been a very
visible, pivotal figure in the health care debate,” Bass said.  “Right
now, the polls are registering dissatisfaction with the current state
of affairs as much as dissatisfaction with Blanche.” As for Lincoln
being criticized more than Pryor, Bass says that she’s in a more
exposed position ? up for re-election ? and she doesn’t have the
reserve of good will to fall back on that Pryor has. Pryor’s father,
David, is a former senator and governor. There are probably people who
think they’re still voting for him.

“I don’t see any Republican or Democrat on the horizon who has the
connection with Arkansas voters to prevail over Lincoln in 2010,” Bass
said. “Right now, it’s Blanche or an ideal challenger. But there is no
ideal challenger. When she gets against a real candidate, she’ll look a
lot better.”

That’s an opinion shared by state Sen. John Paul Capps of Searcy,
who ran his first race 50 years ago. Being chairman of the Senate
Agriculture Committee is hugely important in a state like Arkansas,
Capps said, and Lincoln should talk about it a lot. (She will.) “Most
of the people who say she’s in trouble are people who don’t like her. I
think she’s not nearly as vulnerable as they think. Especially when she
starts spending millions, and she’ll have it to spend.”

But another well seasoned Arkansas politician says, “If I knew Bill
Halter, I’d tell him this is his opportunity.” (The lieutenant governor
has been mentioned as a possible Democratic opponent for Lincoln.) The
politician remembered when Bill McCuen beat First District congressman
Beryl Anthony in the Democratic primary of  1992, and then lost in the
general election to Jay Dickey. Anthony’s loss in the primary surprised
many, “But that was Beryl’s time to go. That could happen here to
Blanche.”

Health-care reform has roused the electorate more than any other issue in U.S. Rep. Mike Ross’s political career.

“I had an Arkadelphia town hall meeting that drew 500 people. A year
earlier, it might have drawn 25. I’ve never seen people so worried, so
scared, so angry as they are now.”

Ross hears their worry, their fear, their anger about as keenly as
anyone. “My statements and my votes reflect the overwhelming majority
of my constituents,” he says, and if someone suggests that he should
just do what’s right on health reform or global warming, regardless of
public opinion in the Fourth Congressional District, he replies, “My
job is to go to Washington and represent the people of my district.”

Evidently the people appreciate it. Like all congressmen, he’s up
for re-election this year, but political observers don’t expect a
serious opponent. A challenge in the Fourth District would be difficult
even if Ross weren’t so popular. The 29-county district is huge, and
likely to grow larger, because of population shifts within the state.
Still thought of as “South Arkansas,” the Fourth District now extends
up the western boundary of the state to within 50 miles of Fort Smith.
Booneville is in the Fourth District, and so is Mount Magazine. But
there’s no major media center in the district. To reach the voters, a
candidate has to buy expensive TV time in Little Rock and out-of-state.

Fortunately, giving the people what they want usually doesn’t
require Ross to give up what he wants. He is, he says, “the go-to guy”
for the National Rifle Association in the House. (Affable, he’s not as
scary as you’d expect a go-to guy for the NRA to be.) “I’m an avid
outdoorsman, a hunter, a fisherman. I’m opposed to gun control. That’s
who I am, that’s how I was raised.” A goodly number of other
congressional Democrats were raised the same way, he says. Though
national Democrats once advocated gun control, “There are 65 pro-gun
Democrats in Congress today. You haven’t seen any anti-gun legislation
being pushed by the leadership in this Congress, and I expect you will
not.”

He voted against a cap-and-trade bill favored by environmentalists
and opposed by industry. A Lion Oil Company executive testified the
bill would eliminate 1,200 jobs in El Dorado, making Ross’ vote easy
for him. “I think global warming is real, but we have to be careful we
don’t export our jobs to foreign countries.” He has his own energy
bill, calling for more drilling in the U.S. and heavy investment in
alternative-energy sources such as biomass. The bill has not attracted
wide support.

Unlike Lincoln, who presents herself as a moderate beset by
extremists from both sides, Ross can openly call himself a
conservative, albeit one who often supports progressive positions.
He’ll talk about standing up to Nancy Pelosi on behalf of his
constituents, but he’ll also admit that he can do so without risk of
reprisal from the Democratic leadership.

The leadership understands conservative districts, he said, and the
Blue Dogs frequently vote with the leadership to pass progressive
legislation ? raising the minimum wage, for example, and expanding
health care for children. “Those things wouldn’t have been possible
without the 52 conservative Democrats in the Blue Dog Coalition.” To
those in both parties who say he should be a Republican, he responds
“I’ve been a Democrat all my life.” His heroes have always been
Democrats. When bad weather grounded Lincoln’s airplane the day before
the election in 2004, Ross ? who was unopposed ? spoke for her at at El
Dorado and Texarkana.

That sort of thing doesn’t placate liberal groups such as
Boldprogressives.org, which is soliciting contributions online to buy
anti-Ross ads in the Fourth District. Boldprogressives calls Ross “a
top Blue Dog who Keith Olbermann featured for selling out to his
insurance contributors.”

Perhaps Ross understands his constituents so well because he’s so
often among them. His wife and two children live in the family home at
Prescott fulltime. He has a small apartment in Washington, but “After
the last vote each week, I’m on a plane back to Arkansas. I wake up in
Prescott as many days as I wake up in Washington.”

He grew up in and around Prescott. His parents were public-school
educators and taught him the importance of public service, he says.
When he was 10 or 11, he heard Gov. Dale Bumpers speak at the opening
of a stretch of Interstate 30. It made a big impression. He joined the
Young Democrats while attending UALR, and at 19 or 20 attended another
speech by Bumpers, who was then a senator. He sent a note telling
Bumpers of his own political ambitions. Bumpers replied with a
handwritten note of encouragement that now hangs on the wall of Ross’
office in Washington.

In 1981 and ’82, he was a driver for Bill Clinton, who was seeking
to make a political comeback against Gov. Frank White, and succeeded.
After college, he and his wife, a pharmacist, owned a pharmacy. He
served a term on the Nevada County Quorum Court, and worked for
then-Lt. Gov. Winston Bryant for a time. (Bryant would later lose a
Senate race to Blanche Lincoln.) When a state Senate seat opened up in
1990, he ran for it, becoming the youngest member of that body at the
age of 29. People who knew him then remember him as somewhat immature
but generally well-intentioned, and diligent in tending to
constituents. No high school graduate, no 50-year matrimonial veteran,
went uncongratulated in Ross’ district. He was never a leader of the
Senate, but he was a member of the Mike Beebe faction, aka “the White
Hats,” then at war with the Nick Wilson faction, and his choice of
sides won him favorable notice from everyone except the Wilson gang.
Term limits caught him after 10 years, and he ran for the U.S. House.
To the surprise of some who’d known him in the Senate, he won,
defeating the Republican Dickey. At the moment, it appears he can hold
the seat as long as he wants.

Some say that he’ll one day run for governor or senator. He says, “I
have no plan except to ask the people of the Fourth District to
re-elect me in 2010.”

At press time, Congress hadn’t yet approved a compromise health-care
bill, though it was expected to shortly. Lincoln expects that the
compromise won’t include the public option, and therefore she’ll be
able to vote for the bill. Other senators feel as she does, she said,
and “Both the majority leader of the Senate and the speaker of the
House know about the delicate balance in the Senate,” where there are
no votes to spare.

Ross, asked if he would support a health-care bill without the
government option, was noncommittal. “I’m withholding judgment until we
actually have a final bill,” he said. “Then I’ll read it and make a
decision.” An unscientific poll on the congressman’s website found
respondents opposed to the Senate bill even without the government
option, he said. 

The pressure brought on by the health-care legislation remains
intense. At one point, Lincoln’s office phones crashed from the volume
of calls, and both she and Ross have dealt with unruly town hall
meetings. But she finesses the question of whether health care will be
the decisive issue in her re-election campaign. “I’m accountable for
all the choices I make,” she says. Health care, energy, agriculture,
education ? “I work on all of them.”

Commentators continue to say that Lincoln is in grave danger of
losing her seat to a Republican, and Lincoln-bashing remains a popular
sport. Lately, her home-state critics have been griping that some
senators got special deals for their states in return for their
health-care votes, but Lincoln and Pryor got nothing for Arkansas.

Lincoln gives a statesman’s response: “Arkansans didn’t send me to
Washington to be a horse trader. I think this [health-care reform] is
good policy for Arkansas and for the country. I was disappointed by
some of the things that were put in the bill. But you have to continue
to fight for the things that are good.”

A few Internet carpers have even criticized Lincoln’s conspicuous
East Arkansas accent, suggesting that she exaggerates it for political
effect back home. “People that have known me all my life know that I
talk this way,” she says, and for someone to say otherwise is
“comical.” She’d be happy to fight the campaign on that issue. 

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