In state after state, voters are taking out their frustrations on the political establishment — and no place reflects the depth and diversity of their ire better than Arkansas. Unions, corporate interests and insurgent candidates all are hoping to ride high here on the mad-as-heck tide.
In the home state of former President Bill Clinton, as elsewhere, party leaders and structures are being bypassed — undermined, in some cases — by free-agent candidates who declare their independence from the establishment, even as they align themselves with special interests.
"This is an election like no other," says Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, a union-backed candidate who has forced Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a June 8 runoff. "The game is changing."
He should know.
Halter defied Arkansas' wait-your-turn tradition and jumped into the primary against Lincoln, a 16-year veteran of Congress who is backed by President Barack Obama, Clinton and much of the state's political establishment. That left Halter with one ally inside the Democratic family (and, even then, from outside Arkansas): organized labor.
Looking to punish Lincoln for her less-than-perfect labor record — and put other moderate Democrats on notice — unions pumped a staggering $5 million into a campaign against her.
While prohibited by law from coordinating with Halter, unions bought anti-Lincoln ads and used mail and phone banks to boost his candidacy. Labor officials suggest they may spend an additional $5 million on the runoff.
[The unions are blowing $10 million on this campaign alone, even while they're lobbying in Washington to get a taxpayer bailout of their grossly-underfunded pensions -- Editor]
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