Steve Brawner
Times Record
Benton, AR, United States
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Past articles by Steve:
Brawner: Ex-legislator crossed the bright red line
I’ve long believed that most legislators, like most people, try to do mostly the right thing most of the time.I still believe it, but it’s → Read More
Brawner: Let’s talk politics – for 2022
Next year’s politics will be dominated in Arkansas by the presidential race, despite Sen. Tom Cotton’s already contested re-election race and several interesting ballot initiatives.It’s in 2022 that the focus will be on Arkansas races. Sen. John Boozman will be up for re-election, and the state’s most prominent statewide officials will be term-limited.It’s early, but let’s speculate.Boozman,… → Read More
Brawner: About that Obamacare ruling ...
How significant was the federal judge’s ruling last week that Obamacare is unconstitutional? We won’t know for another two years, but the bigger question is, what happens in the next 20?The judge ruled in a lawsuit that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court’s original reasoning could no longer stand.Back in 2013, the Supremes ruled the individual… → Read More
Brawner: These three are my Arkansans of the Year
In American democracy, the gap between what is and what should be is often wide. But sometimes the ideal and the real converge, and when they do, → Read More
Brawner: How one video changed a life
How powerful can a short video be? Powerful enough to change a boy’s life — and a family’s.In March 2015, Chrystal and Adam → Read More
Brawner: Beebe defends his fellow governor
Former Govs. Mike Huckabee and Mike Beebe have similar names but different personalities and outlooks, but one area where they agree is this: Being governor is “the best job in the world.”That’s how Huckabee described it during a joint appearance Monday during a 20-year celebration of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Beebe immediately agreed.It was more than a reunion of two former… → Read More
Brawner: Instead of gaining five yards, Congress takes a knee
No, adopting a two-year budget cycle wasn’t going to restore fiscal sanity in Washington, much less make a dent in the $21.85 trillion national → Read More
Brawner: Will you pay higher taxes for highways?
In two years, you’ll probably be asked to vote for higher taxes for Arkansas’ highways, for three reasons.One reason is that highways are → Read More
Brawner: Outsiders again can’t overcome political obstacles
Many voters say they want an outsider alternative to Republicans and Democrats, but in the ballot box they reliably select one of the two insiders. Such → Read More
Brawner: Not much suspense at Republican victory party
The Republican Party of Arkansas’ victory party Tuesday had a crowd, food and beverages, and a rock-and-roll band. One thing it lacked that would → Read More
The caravan, the pipe bomb and the truth
There’s what we know to be true, suspect to be true, want to be true, and don’t care if it’s true. As much as possible, we should strive to make the first three the same, and stay away from the last one. Unfortunately, too often it’s the last three where we make our home. That brings us to two separate news items this week: the caravan and the attempted pipe bombings.Here’s what we know to be… → Read More
Brawner: How I’m voting, and how I could be wrong
Your ballot probably will list five statewide issues, but votes will be counted on only three of them. I’m voting against all three, and I could be wrong on all three.We’re down to three after the Arkansas Supreme Court last week pulled from the ballot Issue 1, which would have limited lawsuit awards and attorney’s fees, and Issue 3, which would have tightened the state’s legislative term… → Read More
Brawner: Bring your ID to vote on IDs
One of the issues on which you’ll be voting this election will be the act of voting itself.Issue 2, referred by the Arkansas Legislature in 2017, → Read More
Brawner: Fort Smith college students Fix the Debt
At the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Friday, more than 220 college students, including sophomore Garrett Spain from Greenwood, tried to do what → Read More
Brawner: That other Supreme Court seat
You’re probably well informed about the Supreme Court seat that’s already been filled, but not so much about the one where you still have a → Read More
Brawner: Who's your daddy? Trump knows it's not him
Say what you want about President Trump, but he’s accomplishing much of what he wants to do. Maybe that's because he grasps a reality in today’s politics: The president is not our daddy.That’s one role presidents have played since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created an activist government during the Great Depression, spoke to Americans through radio fireside chats, and shepherded the… → Read More
Brawner: How a hitchhiker may have saved my life on the highway
I could have died last week picking up a hitchhiker, but not how you might think.She was about 40 years old, and she was sitting outside a gas station → Read More
Brawner: #BetterOffNow, but what about later?
There’s been good news and bad news lately when it comes to the way Congress spends your money (and your children’s and → Read More
Brawner: Head Hog’s must-do list: revenues, wins
The University of Arkansas athletic director has two must-accomplish responsibilities: first, keep the money flowing, and second, keep the fans happy by → Read More
Brawner: Who should represent Arkansas for next 100 years?
What two historical Arkansans are most deserving of one of the state’s highest honors and would best represent it before the nation and world? → Read More