House Rankings Vary Widely; Suspect Of CFC 'Punishments'

GOP STRONGEST MEMBERS ABSENT FROM ‘TOP’, OTHERS BANISHED TO ‘THE BOTTOM’

This week, I will again pick up the published rankings of the ultra-conservative state legislative rankings of the Conduit For Commerce, a nom de plume of the often radical Conduit For Action group, a wider range of political pay-back emerges.

As the CFC recently ranked the 100 members in the Arkansas House of Representatives -- one can expect even wilder and more drastic legislative rankings as opposed to the 35 members of the Arkansas State Senate.

The numbers and rankings the group published did inspire a lot of debate within the state Republican Party and certainly among legislators themselves.

So how exactly did the CFC with their rankings place State Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, at No. 48? She is the first Democrat listed and ahead of 25 members of the GOP that rank below Rep. Flowers.

The ranking given Rep. Flowers was minus 22.

Am I kidding you?

Nope, not at all, according to the CFC rankings.

When one sees the CFC ranked such members as the Speaker of the House, State Rep. Jeremy Gilliam, R-Judsonia; Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville; Rep. Rebecca Petty, R-Rogers; Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren and others lower than the minus 22 ranking given Rep. Flowers, you have to wonder about the methodology?

After talking with a few House Republicans, there is a clear consensus about the CFC and its intent.

Most think the organization, begun by former state Rep.Dan Greenberg, now of the Arkansas Institute, did a good analysis back then. Most believe Conduit started out as a good organization, but they have lost their way.

Some even go as far as swearing that Conduit's principle players are not respected or listened to by most in the Legislature.

Others simply say the statistical methods Conduit used are seriously flawed.

One simple way to look at the rankings is how "high" some legislators who are known for slipping out of the Chamber or voting "present" on controversial votes seem to thrive in this poll.

But enough about methodology, how does the House minority leader and yes, the current leader of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, state Rep. Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, ranked at 56 with a negative score of minus 48 -- outrank 17 other GOP members -- including the Governor's uncle -- State Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette.

State Rep. Hendren, by the way, at No. 64 on the CFC list, is just two spots ahead of legendary Civic Rights Attorney and State Rep. John W. Walker, D-Little Rock, at No. 66.

The last ranking GOP member on the CFC list at No. 84 (out of 89 on their list) was State Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville.

Rep. Douglas, no doubt, is being punished by the CFC for his unwavering support for better highway funding via a public bill to ask the voters to approve using a sale tax on the price of gasoline for a stable reliable source of revenue.

Douglas has a negative score of the CFC at 134. There are five Democrats ranked below Douglas.

The lowest of the low, and perhaps one of the most admired members of the entire House, state Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith, has a score of minus 207. If I was Rep. McGill, I would wear that ranking like a badge of honor.

The CFC, remember from its own posting says, "... scoring of votes by Conduit for Commerce (CFC) is not an exact science, as some bills have a greater impact on Arkansas if passed. Likewise, only bills which reflect the focus and mission of CFC are taken into account when deriving these rankings."

The CFC says it looks for outcomes that:

  • Reduce the size of government.
  • Reduce dependency on government.
  • Reduce spending by the government.

While at the outset, any group of any political stripe, wishing to "rank" or prepare a "Best or Worst" list will always, it seems, be straying off the mark.

History shows such lists are seldom beneficial, useful or even correct in understanding the men and women of our state who labor within the designs of political parties to form Arkansas' statues and laws.

MAYLON RICE IS A FORMER JOURNALIST WHO WORKED FOR SEVERAL NORTHWEST ARKANSAS PUBLICATIONS. HE CAN BE REACHED VIA EMAIL AT [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.

Editorial on 08/02/2017