Another stench out of Jonesboro, AR. i.e. Senate District 21, vacant due to criminal corruption…a microcosm of Arkansas politics.                October 14, 2013

The subject of the rant is Radius Baker, Superintendent of Valley View School District.

Superintendent Baker is no virgin in politics (a school superintendent). If elected to the state senate he will be in the company of any number of self-serving active government employees, retired government employees and those who have businesses dependent on government, resulting in a packed Arkansas state legislature, both Houses for decades.

Baker is cocked to become a full time shill for the National Education Assoc. & the Arkansas Educational Assoc. while picking up another taxpayer subsidized check.

 If Baker succeeds in winning the District 21 Senate seat election he will add to the already burgeoning self-servicing in the Arkansas Legislature. Baker offers no apologies for his disregard of his position & his obligation to the students & citizens of Valley View in his chase for the Senate seat. If elected he becomes another double-dipper. The real crime in Baker’s candidacy is his utter disregard for his academic responsibilities. At the same time he is stealing from Arkansas taxpayers, not only money but more importantly, the trust parents in the Valley View District have in him to lead & educate, and also those who are funding his professional endeavors.

1.    On average government school employees sign contracts for about 186 days per year.
2.    On average state legislators spend in the neighborhood of 150 days in yearly sessions, in addition to any number of meetings, which factor to more than 6 months per year in legislative activities.
3.    Baker should understand that his government school contractual obligation of at least 186 days is almost identical to the number of days absent from said obligations to the Valley View school district. How then can Baker & the Valley View school board justify retaining him in any capacity, much less the Superintendent of the schools?
4.    Is the Valley View School Board going to continue to pay his contractual salary or any other financial remuneration, if he is elected?
5.    Or is the plan, if elected, he then retires and becomes an active lobbyist for the NEA and AEA in the legislature? Surely no one in Jonesboro believes this government employee/operative will represent any modicum of middleclass taxpayers’ concerns.

Not one cry from the Governor, the legislature, or any other faction in the state pertaining to Baker’s proposed academic theft and ethical violations.  As previously mentioned the Ark. State Legislature is packed with active and retired government employees, individuals whose businesses are dependent on government and all are there principally for financial considerations and expansion of state government and the unconstitutional government employee unions.

To verify the claim the state government is packed, all that is needed is to briefly profile the very district in which Baker is seeking a Senate seat.

Initially there were 7 candidates seeking the District 21 senate seat…4 Democrats & 3 Republicans. Two of the candidates were termed out Democrats who obviously are addicted to government. They were Ray Kidd & Gene Roebuck.   Then there is Radius Baker, the subject of this screed.  Out of the 4 Democrats only one appears not to be steeped in government politics…Steve Rockwell.

On the Republican side there is Dan Sullivan who runs a business named Ascent Children’s Health Services, wholly dependent on Medicaid. A quote or so by Sullivan leaves no doubt he’s a BIG government man, e.g. “Neither a proponent or opponent of the private option”.  Sullivan as reported, has made contributions to Democrats, including Gov. Beebe, and follows that up by saying “that’s the way we do business”.  What business? Sullivan has also been in the taxpayer trough as a school Principal where he suspended an 8 year old for 3 days for pointing a breaded chicken finger at a teacher and saying Pow…sounds like Sullivan has a problem with the 2nd Amendment! Sullivan’s statement “that’s the way we do business” is extremely troubling, indicating that he is philosophically bankrupt.  Unfortunately the precise blueprint that the Arkansas Legislature uses as their Bible.

Former candidate Chad Niell borrowed $100,000 from himself for the campaign, therefore who do you think he would represent knowing the fact that his business is also dependent on government—jails, prisons, etc.

 The 3rd GOP candidate is a gentleman by the name of John Cooper who has no government affiliations and is retired from AT&T.

Out of the seven, who do you believe would represent middleclass Arkansans? Individuals who are employed by the government, retired from the government or owners of businesses dependent on government who have vested interests in the all-powerful Government Protection Racket, e.g. NEA, AEA, & a host of government unions.

 It is incumbent on citizens to understand the motives of candidates for public office, i.e. which will be public servants or which self-servants.  

Joe McCutchen
Fort Smith

P.S. Out of the seven Dist. 21 candidates only two are not inextricably tied to the government protection racket.

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