Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, considered a rising star in Republican politics and a possible future presidential candidate, is obviously a quick study in the meta-GOP game of petty revenge
and restricting access of information to the public (a double play!).
From the alternative Arkansas Times:
It's official. Gov. Mike Huckabee is refusing to provide routine media services to the Arkansas Times. The newspaper has been stricken from the e-mail lists for routine news releases, public scheduling and other items widely disseminated to members of the public and the media.
The Times then quotes Huckabee's spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, on the matter:
We don't consider the Arkansas Times a news organization. By your own definition, you are a journal of politics and culture. As you said, there are hundreds of news outlets in the state and we don't attempt to notify every one of them. The major news organizations are on our e-mail list and that's the way it will continue.
Well, la di da, Ms. Stewart. Petty putdown, well done.
The larger issue, of course, is not missed by the Arkansas Times, which notes: "The governor has decided to punish us for our opinions by withholding a publicly financed service." Yes, taxpayer money goes to fund a press office, which holds a responsibility to keep Arkansas residents informed of the governor's schedule, policy proposals and stands on legislative action. The burden is not on an outlet to "prove" its legitimacy; it's on the governor's office to make sure as many citizens as possible are aware of what their state government is up to.
In my ideal democratic (with a small "d") world, this kind of civic information would be posted on telephone poles and on Laundromat bulletin boards, at MySpace and at bus stops. Whatever it takes. Certainly, any resident, much less an information outlet, would be welcome on an email list.
But then, I guess that's why I'm a Democrat (with a big "d"). I want no part of a party that settles scores with critics with silly little slaps that limit a citizen's access to information. The Republican Party seems riddled from top to bottom, from bench to pitcher's mound, with players more concerned with small-minded vengeance and limited information access than with actual governing, openly and competently.