Who I am: Where I stand

Welcome to the Kennedy for Attorney General blog site. My name is Rebekah J. Kennedy, and I want to be your Attorney General!
WHO I AM: I was born and raised in Arkansas in the Foothills of the Ozarks near Greers Ferry Lake between Heber Springs and Conway. My parent raised me with a strong sense of right and wrong, including the fundamental wisdom that compassion, justice and integrity are the highest moral values. As attorney general, I will strive every day to bring these values of Compassion, Justice and Integrity to Arkansas law enforcement and all other aspects of my job as the State's attorney.
I have been told by a few cynics that Arkansas is "too Conservative", that as a Green I should give up on Arkansas, that if I want to advance my career as a progressive politician, I should move to Oregon or Washington State. To me, however, that is not an option. Let the people of Oregon bring positive change to Oregon. I am an Arkansan. I want Arkansas to prosper. I feel fortunate to have been born in Arkansas. Arkansas is a beautiful state filled with strong, practical, honest, giving, hard working people. For too long this great state has suffered misgovernment and poverty which her people do not deserve. Far too many young Arkansans give in to the pressure to leave Arkansas to find good, high-paying jobs. It's time Arkansas had a government that lives up to it's motto, a government in which "the People Rule", not a hand full of friends and relatives of powerful politicians and business interests.
WHERE I STAND: The People of Arkansas deserve to know where I stand on issues that matter to them. Here, briefly, are my positions on a few of those issues. For more information on issues that matter to you, email me at rebekah.kennedy@gmail.com.
Abolish the Death Penalty Now!: I support the total abolition of the death penalty in Arkansas. The death penalty is cruel and unnecessary. It is also irreversible. In the last two decades, dozens of death row inmates have been exonerated due to new testing of DNA evidence. Yet, it is important to remember that most murders leave no DNA from the killer at the crime scene. Therefore, new DNA techniques do not end the threat of wrongful convictions, they only cast light on a problem that remains very real. Until we have perfect justice, we should not allow the state to impose infinite punishment!
Other moral and practical considerations demand the abolition of the death penalty as well. Death penalty litigation is a drain on tax payers dollars without a corresponding benefit to the taxpayer. A sentence of life without parole has equal deterrent effect and restraining power with the added advantage of being partially reversible if a mistake is discovered. The death penalty is unfairly and arbitrarily applied. The death penalty is not being applied only in the cases of the most heinous crimes or the strongest proof of guilt. The two factors most closely correlated to a sentence of death are the race of the victim (usually white) and the income of the offender (usually poor). The principle of limited government demands abolition of the death penalty. Law isn't only about what people deserve, it is about the balance of power between the individual and the government. In a democracy, the people should have the power to create or destroy the government, not the other way round.
Protect our Environment: Arkansas is a beautiful state, home to some of the cleanest air on the planet and the cleanest river in America, the Buffalo National River. But, even in Arkansas there are serious environmental challenges that need to be addressed, and state government has done little to address them. Despite the beauty of the Buffalo, which is protected by the Federal Government, other rivers and waterways in the Ozarks and throughout Arkansas are being polluted with unhealthy levels of phosphorous and other chemicals. This pollution is a result of irresponsible agricultural methods forced upon Arkansas farmers by large poultry companies who refuse to take responsibility for the environmental damage they profit from. Although Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has bravely stood up to these poultry giants, defending water quality for the people of his state through litigation to force Tyson and others to clean up there mess, Arkansas official have sided against the people and for big polluters who’s political support they need. As attorney general, I will stand up for the people and protect out natural environment from polluting companies through litigation, legislation and enforcement of existing laws.
Marriage & Family: Equal Rights for all: Marriage is a fundamental right of human beings. It is not a right that the state grants, rather it is a right that the state has a duty to recognize and protect. The marriages of same sex partner should be legally recognized and treated with equal dignity and respect to that accorded heterosexual marriages. That includes the right to adopt children, including step-parent adoptions. Discrimination against same sex couples in the area of foster care is a foolish waste of a precious resource: responsible adults willing to care for children in need. This issue is not about whether children are better off with a mother and a father or with two mothers. The real question is, when a child already has two mothers and no father, is that child better off living in a state that respects and protects his family or in a state that oppresses and discriminates against them?
Prison & Jail Reform: Arkansas prisons and jails are notoriously unsafe, overcrowded and underfunded. This leads to conditions that are inhumane and unacceptable. As Attorney General, I will work with the Department of Corrections and the County Governments to make sure these situations are corrected. When the government takes away someone's ability to protect themselves and meet their own needs, even for the purpose of well deserved punishment, the government must take responsibility to protecting and caring for that person's basic needs. This includes adequately addressing needs for medical care, education and job training. It also includes protecting prisoners from exploitation for slave labor and medical experiments by forprofit corporations. If the state sees fit to punish a man through forced labor, the fruits of that labor should go to the prisoner, his victims, his family or the state, not to GAP Jeans.
Fair Taxes: Arkansas sales taxes are too high! Too much of our state budget is financed on the backs of the poor. The wealthy are not doing their part. I fully support Green Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Lendall's plan to get rid of the tax on food and medicine and replace it with other revenue sources. First and foremost, those sources must include a modest inheritance tax on large estates, adding a new upper income tax bracket, so that citizens making $40,000 a year are not taxed at the same rate as Don Tyson and Helen Walton, and severance taxes to make sure all Arkansas citizens share in the irreplaceable wealth that is being extracted from our state in the form of oil and gas.