AlterPolitics New Post

Bill Halter is NOT the Progressive Hope!

by on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 3:26 pm EDT in Politics

Bill Halter’s fantasy of being a progressive belongs on Fantasy Island along with Ricardo Montabaln. In fact, when it’s all said and done, Bill Halter will be Ann Coulter’s new favorite Democrat now that Harold Ford, Jr. is not running for the Senate.

This is not the post of some blogger who is passionate. I am an Arkansan, a liberal, and a former candidate for Lt. Governor against Bill Halter. I have watched ever since 2006, when this millionaire moved back to my state after 25 years and enacted an essential corporate takeover of the Lt. Governor’s office. He bought “credibility” and bought the office after four Democrats, including myself, had spent 9 months criss-crossing the state, talking to the voters, earning voter support. The difference in that election is Halter had $1 million and the rest of us, even though three were legislators, had not raised nearly a third of that amount. He dominated the airwaves and won a low-voter primary runoff against a less-than-stellar conservative Democrat.

In the General Election, Bill Halter supported a gay parent foster ban and opposed marriage equality. Oh, but you know about the speech right, in 2008? One speech, an activist does not make. If Bill Halter is such a supporter of GLBT Rights, why has he ignored numerous calls of assistance to speak out against anti-equality bills in the State Senate or has supported cuts in HIV-AIDs Funding for the Arkansas AIDs Foundation?

In an interview with John McCardle, Bill Halter has back-tracked on EFCA as well as a Public Option.

Come on seriously.

Look, I considered a primary challenge to Blanche Lincoln. All the oxygen in my bid was sucked up by Halter and his ability to buy a command presence. If he was a true progressive, I would support him, but Bill Halter is the single most self-serving individual in American politics today. He’s bad news and will become part of the problem in Washington, D.C., not the solution.

Don’t Drink the KOOL-AID, Progressives. Research, vet, and talk to people in the home states about these progressive wunderkids before you donate your money and our community’s support.

One last thing….why is it Bill Clinton and Wesley Clark, whom Halter claims are his strongest benefactors, not supporting Halter and not even speaking out in his defense? I think thats rather telling, don’t you think?