Since the beginning of campaigns, political opponents have taken shots at each other. Some rely on name-calling and insults. Others focus on voting records, transparency, or conflicts of interest. And whenever a candidate can’t defend their record on the merits, they default to the same tired tactic: scream “LIAR!”
We’re watching that play out again this election cycle.
First, establishment-aligned special interest groups flooded voters with expensive mailers that were obviously false. Instead of debating the actual voting records or policy positions of State Senator Bryan King or State Senator Ron Caldwell, they simply made things up. The goal was clear — scare voters and hope they wouldn’t notice the lies. It didn’t work. King and Caldwell were both re-elected.
The irony is impossible to miss. The same establishment voices who melt down when someone publishes the voting record of their preferred candidate are the ones who insist everyone else is lying. Put a legislator’s votes on a mailer — with citations to the state legislative website — and they scream “LIAR!” if it threatens their preferred candidate. Point out who funds their campaigns and what interests that money represents, and suddenly you’re “attacking fellow Republicans.” They don’t want to explain the bad votes. They don’t want to explain the money. They just want the criticism to stop.
Screaming “liar” is the favorite refuge of politicians who cannot or will not defend their voting records, their actions, or their campaign donors.
And now we’re seeing the same pattern in the Republican runoff for Arkansas Secretary of State between Bryan Norris and State Senator Kim Hammer. Norris — the outsider — finished first in the primary. The political establishment is panicking.
Back in 2025, Conduit News published an article comparing Senator Hammer’s voting record to the Arkansas Republican Party platform. https://conduitnews.com/2025/10/08/sen-kim-hammer-ignoring-the-party-platform/ The piece simply quoted public votes and the Arkansas Republican platform language. Nothing more. Voters have been sharing it on social media to educate others. In response, elected officials and government insiders have flooded the comments screaming “LIAR!” — not because the votes were misrepresented, but because they don’t want those votes discussed. They don’t attempt to explain the votes. They don’t argue nuance. They just attack the messenger.
Meanwhile, those same voices are silent about the text messages and mass text blasts from Hammer and his allies that make blatantly false claims about Bryan Norris.
Recently, Conduit News highlighted Hammer’s past legislative efforts to create a new special police force within the Secretary of State’s office to interfere with citizen petition initiatives. https://conduitnews.com/2026/03/16/sen-hammer-wants-special-police-force-to-stop-citizen-petition-initiatives-in-secretary-of-states-office-but-not-apply-to-legislature-initiatives/
Again, the establishment cried “lies,” even though the legislation is a matter of public record and a hearing on the bill was recorded and online for anyone to watch.
Then came the resurfaced 2024 news article about Senator Hammer’s wife seeking to hire her family’s sign company to make signs for the school district where she served on the school board. When others shared the article, the political establishment erupted. The Benton County School Board President used some carefully crafted language claiming the reporting “isn’t entirely correct,” while simultaneously confirming the underlying facts. Senator Hammer portrayed his wife as a victim under attack (as if she was being physically beaten or having rocks thrown at her face) and offered a long explanation of why the arrangement was supposedly fine — but never claimed it didn’t happen.
You can defend your actions. You can argue they were justified. But you can’t say the event happened and also call people liars for saying it happened.
Senator Hammer appears ready to use the same playbook throughout this runoff: portray himself as the victim, avoid defending his votes or his actions, and, without proof, shout “LIAR!” at anyone who brings up inconvenient facts. It’s a strategy designed to silence scrutiny, not answer it.
