By Jason Tolbert
Political capital is perhaps the most valuable commodity of any politician or elected official. It usually comes about through time, trust, and careful attention to the way one is perceived by the public.
Arguably no one in the state of Arkansas has built up more of this valuable asset than Gov. Mike Beebe. However, like most items of great worth, political capital is not lightly spent. These past couple of weeks we may have seen a glimpse as to how Beebe may or may not spend his well earned capital during the next election cycle.
The governor’s popularity is so high that it leaves many pundits scratching their heads and has Republican strategists baffled. A recent poll commissioned by the Arkansas News Bureau showed that 56 percent of Arkansans had a favorable view of Beebe while only 7 percent had an unfavorable view. This was far and away the best number of anyone polled, including Coach Bobby Petrino.
Although a full analysis of how he does this would probably require a series of columns, part of it lies in his careful use of his political capital. Beebe weighs his words carefully and plays his cards close to the vest.
This popularity and prudent use of his influence will make this commodity perhaps the most precious resource for Arkansas Democrats this next election cycle. Candidates will seek to distance themselves as far as possible from President Obama and the national Democratic Party and cloak themselves in the down home Arkansas values of Mike Beebe politics. The question is how far Beebe will go.
In 2008, a non-election year for him, Beebe was not afraid to roll up his sleeves and pitch in. Two notable races where he made numerous appearances and personal endorsements were in Joe White’s state senate race in Conway and Scott Smith’s state representative race in Bryant. However, both of these Democratic candidates were soundly defeated. While Beebe is certainly not to blame, he may be reluctant to repeat this next time around.
We also can learn something from Beebe’s handling of the state Legislature, where he likes to play it safe. A couple of weeks ago he warned legislators to avoid the partisanship of Washington politics.
“So what’s the downside of a two-party system? You get too much of that partisan ideology that overrides the ability of people to work together for common ground and common good,” said Beebe.
Beebe hinted at this again in his speech to a joint session of the Arkansas General Assembly when it opened last week for it first fiscal session.
“I would never ever overreach,” Beebe told legislators. “At the risk of immodesty, I don’t think there has ever been a governor, or will ever be a governor, who appreciates, understands, and respects the legislative branch more than I do. Whatever we do going forward, I want us to remember that.”
Although no one has yet announced, Gov. Beebe will no doubt have an opponent this year and his own campaign on which to focus. I suspect he will be saving most of that coveted political capital to spend on his own re-election.
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Jason Tolbert is an accountant and conservative political blogger. His blog — The Tolbert Report — is linked at ArkansasNews.com. His e-mail is jason@TolbertReport.com.
