Younger voters in Arkansas might need to be told this, and older voters might need no reminder: There is no state law that says the governor of this state--Republican or Democrat--must be named Mike. It only seems that way. Which does give an advantage to the Democrat on the ballot this year.
It should also be noted that Mike Ross has brought some good ideas to this gubernatorial campaign, along with a respectable record as a member of that almost extinct species in Congress, the Blue Dog Democrats.
How we miss those Blue Dogs, who gave the two-party system some variety and flexibility, and even balance. Moderation can prove mighty useful in the Governor's Mansion, too. For an example, you needn't look any further than its current occupant.
But as Arkansas' legislature gradually turns red, and then redder, isn't it time to give the state a Republican governor to go along with a Republican legislature? And see what that kind of team can do for the state?
For too many one-party years, the Democratic Party had a stranglehold on the executive and legislative branches of state government. Let's see what the other party can do if given a real chance to make Arkansas a land of opportunity again.
Asa Hutchinson--or Asa! as he was known in an earlier campaign or two--seems much more the Happy Warrior this time out. While his honorable opponent has come off as just a tad angry, or at least annoyed, in their debates. And yet Asa (everybody calls him Asa by now) didn't allow himself to fume. He kept his calm. And calm isn't a bad characteristic to have when a state is looking for a governor in these more than slightly hysterical times. (Ebola! The Koch Brothers! Illegal Immigrants!) A calm, unshakable, thoughtful, governor might be just what Arkansas needs just now. Or any time.
Speaking of calm, some of us are old enough to remember April of 1985, and the way Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Attorney, handled that CSA bunch up in Arkansas' hills. If faulty memory serves, CSA stood for (1) The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord, and (2) white supremacy. That was back when Asa was one of the youngest U.S. Attorneys in the country, and also one of the calmest and most professional. He proved it by negotiating an end to the stand-off between the CSA's crazies and the feds, who had tried to arrest the group's leader, one James Ellison.
The successful end to the armed siege of the CSA was typical of Asa Hutchinson--typical of his patience and professionalism, his effectiveness and moderation. Not a shot fired, not a martyr created, not even much of a memory of that "crisis" is left, so well was it defused. Wonderful thing, calm. As any state that had to go through the Little Rock Crisis of 1957 and its attendant demagogues, notably Orval Faubus, and Jim Johnson, should appreciate. And recognize and reward.
Compare the crisis that wasn't one in 1985 to what happened not 10 years later when a U.S. attorney general in the Clinton administration--her name was Janet Reno--approved the order to raid the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. It began with her approval and ended in fiery death. Correction: deaths. Eighty-six of them, including little children.
Some of us would prefer to go with Asa Hutchinson's calm, deliberate approach. It works better. And it's safer--for everybody.
Asa Hutchinson is a respected veteran of public service, having served with competence and conscience in a succession of federal offices that call for a combination of legal and political skills. He's been an undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security and a director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, both of which still need all the conscience and competence they can get after some of the debacles they've been responsible for. He's also investigated some of the unseemly methods--we'd call it torture--used against terrorists and those suspected of being one, and has done so in the finest, most impartial manner, with only justice as his goal.
Did we mention that Asa was also a congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, and as such fought the growing meth menace and corruption wherever it showed itself--from local law enforcement to the White House? Yes, all considered, he's ready to be governor.
If elected, Asa Hutchinson says he hopes to reduce the state's income taxes on those who need it reduced most--people earning between $20,000 and $75,000 a year. Which would help a lot of families in this still-recovering economy.
He's also pro-charter schools. The Asa Hutchinson for Governor website says the Hutchinsons sent their kids to public, private and parochial schools--and at one point home-schooled them, too. Talk about school choice, the Hutchinsons have lived it.
Mr. Hutchinson seems to see things the way a lot of his fellow Arkansans do: He's pro-life, believes marriage is between a man and a woman, and thinks government has grown too big and intrusive. And certainly too expensive. On our tax dollars.
As for the Private Option, Arkansas' version of Obamacare, once again Asa is pretty much in line with the rest of the state: He says he doesn't like this administration's Affordable Care Act, and wishes it could be repealed and a better system installed, but that Arkansas was given only a few choices under Obamacare and ended up with this mixed and mixed-up public, private and ever changing Private Option. So we'll probably have to live with it. At least for now. Which is better than just endlessly grousing about it to no purpose. As we said, he's a calm, patient, practical leader.
Asa Hutchinson says he considers the Private Option a pilot project--which can be ended. Maybe. Or more likely not. We'll see--we'll all see . . . including whoever is elected governor of Arkansas this Tuesday. Whatever changes can or should be made where the Private Option is concerned, it'd be easier to make those changes if the state had a Republican governor working with a Republican legislature, rather than feuding with it.
Our outgoing governor--in more than one sense of that word--has been a good one. Some say he might even go down as one of the best the state has ever had. We'll leave that judgment to old Clio, muse of history, who is known to take her sweet time rendering judgments. But this much is clear: Mike Beebe's party is on the decline in Arkansas, and increasingly out of ideas. It's time to give the Republicans a shot.
And that's why, Gentle Voter, we endorse Asa Hutchinson for governor today. Or maybe we should just say Asa--because if he's elected governor it wouldn't do to call him by his first name any longer. As an ancient sage once advised: "Love creative work, do not seek domination over others, and avoid intimacy with the ruling authorities."
Editorial on 10/31/2014