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Accountability initiative, referendum, and recall term limits

“Deceptive” Charge “Misleading”

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Many politicians serve as powerful arguments for term limits. Arkansas State Senator Jon Woods rivals the best.

Sen. Woods (R-Springdale) and State Rep. Warwick Sabin (D-Little Rock) authored a 22-page, 7,000-word constitutional amendment on this November’s ballot. They say Issue 3 is about ethics and transparency.

You decide.

Woods and Sabin threw together various ethics provisions and then stuck in a gutting of term limits. Their ballot title reads it is “establishing term limits” — without bothering to inform voters that it doubles how long legislators can stay in the Senate and more than doubles the House limit — to a whopping 16 years!

This week, Arkansas Term Limits debuted TV ads alerting the public to the scam, charging that legislators have “pursued a campaign of silence . . . letting the deceptive ballot title do their work,” so that “when Arkansas voters go to the polls there will be no mention of the doubling of term[s].”

The unrepentant Sen. Woods says that it is “misleading” to call his Issue 3 deceptive. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that, after asking if Woods’s ballot language wasn’t indeed deceptive: “Woods said he doesn’t know.”

The senator’s response to the Arkansas GOP Convention’s nearly unanimous resolution against Issue 3? “You just have a couple of nuts that got together on a Saturday that were out of touch with Arkansans and passed a silly resolution that in no way reflects the point of view of all Republicans in Arkansas.”

Perhaps Democratic politicians are smarter. Democratic co-author Sabin is nowhere to be found in news coverage of Issue 3, likely hiding under his bed.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

7 replies on ““Deceptive” Charge “Misleading””

So where is the Attorney General?

Isn’t the Attorney General supposed to make sure misleading ballots don’t make it to election?

Thanks for shedding more light on Issue 3! This ballot issue masquerades as an “ethics” bill when it’s truly UNethical. Both Sabin & Woods have higher political aspirations; they’d fit in well with DC’s power-grabbers.

Rick — The politicians from AG to and through the legislature seem in on the scam. And the state courts look the other way. It’s up to the people — as always.

This bill is a Trojan horse! It is exactly the opposite of what it proposes. This bill is not intended to limit term limits; but to extend them. Please people if Arkansas – study the issue!! Do not be fooled. Then let’s bite these fools out!

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