Why is he still there?

NO NEWS can be bad news, too. Today’s example: Mark Darr is still lieutenant governor of Arkansas-despite continued revelations about his combination of fecklessness and arrogance in office.

Thanks to the ever useful Freedom of Information Act, the state now knows of a conversation between our lieutenant governor with a senior auditing officer, Andy Babbitt, back in November. That’s when questions were raised about how much of the taxpayers’ money Mr. Darr may have been improperly collecting, disclosing or both.

According to Mr. Babbitt’s report, and there’s no reason to doubt it, our lieutenant governor informed him that there’s no constitutional amendment that says he “has to be screwed . . .”

Charming. Add vulgarity to fecklessness and arrogance to the list of distinguishing marks to be found in our lieutenant governor’s political profile, which is starting to look like that portrait of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde’s novel, the one that had to be hidden away. But it didn’t stay hidden, any more than Mark Darr’s expense accounts could be.

At last report from an investigator with the state’s ethics commission, our lite-gov has spent some $44,000in campaign and public funds without properly accounting for it, and run up 12 violations of the law in doing so. Even he felt compelled to file an ethics complaint against himself.

All of which leads to the inescapable conclusion that our lieutenant governor shouldn’t be lieutenant governor any longer.

Mark Darr should have resigned as the state’s lieutenant governor after this scandal first broke-just out of respect for the state’s taxpayers. And simple decency. But he’s still holding on to the office he’s so abused. It’s not enough that he’s been an embarrassment in public office; now he threatens to become a continuing embarrassment. As long as he stays lieutenant governor.

If he hasn’t resigned as the state’s No. 2 officeholder by the time the Legislature convenes next month, that would be the ideal time to begin impeachment proceedings-and to complete them. They needn’t take long, not with all this evidence.

The case for kicking Mark Darr out of office becomes stronger every day he remains in it. The man needs to go. If only to save Arkansas-and Mark Darr himself-any further embarrassment. He needs to be stopped before he spends more. Of the taxpayers’ money.