I'd written earlier that former Rep. Rick Green of Van Buren, beaten by Sen. Bruce "Fireball" Holland of Greenwood in a close and bitter Republican Senate primary, intended to vote for Holland's Democratic opponent, Rep. Tracy Pennartz of Fort Smith.
He's taken that a step further now with a formal endorsement:
“You learn a lot about other candidates when you run against them, even candidates within your own political party,” said Green. “In my primary race against Holland, I learned that truth and integrity mattered little with him and that throwing a fellow Republican under the bus was nothing that Holland would stop short of to win the race.”“I had some hint of Holland’s character early on when I observed his flagrant disrespect for the law by fleeing law enforcement during a high speed chase that endangered many lives in the River Valley. I saw Holland go to the floor of the State Senate and ask for forgiveness but just days later switch from the apology to fighting the charges. He carried this defiance out for over a year, at the taxpayer’s expense, only to finally pleading guilty the day before the appeal trial and probable jail time was reached," states Green.
Green said, “I have run several tough political campaigns in my lifetime and some of which I have won and some which I have lost. Never have I been in a race where my opponent set out to discredit my record in public service, my marriage, and my integrity as Holland did in our race for the Republican nomination for State Senate in May.”
"For those of you have known me over the years, you know that doing the politically correct thing ranks far down my list of priorities which begins with doing the right thing. I believe that if we had more public servants who believed this way we would see far less gridlock and more focus on serving the people who elected us," acknowledges Green.
The Republican Party expects reflexive voter approval in this part of the state, no matter how poor the candidate (Holland being a good illustration). A Pennartz win would be a small upset, but not stunning given her strong campaign, Holland's non-existent record, a decent part of the district from Pennartz's home area and, now, a full endorsement from a well-liked Republican (except Green is not well-liked by the fire-breathing Tea Partyers who aim to enforce lockstep radical extremism on the Arkansas legislature.)