For French Hill

In the GOP primary March 1

It's a measure of an incumbent, or any candidate for political office for that matter, when even his opposition doesn't have much to say in opposition. These days, what an oddity!

Contrast this to the last election French Hill was a part of. The congressional campaign for the Second District of Arkansas was a mess in 2014--with one side tossing all of the mud. French Hill survived that, won the election, and has been an outstanding U.S. representative for central Arkansas. He deserves to get through this primary and on to the November election.

On the last day to file for this primary on March 1, the papers interviewed his current opponent, and the Democrat on the ballot come November. Neither offered criticism of Congressman Hill. For what criticism could they offer?

Congressman Hill had the necessary experience to be a congressman years before he became a congressman: senior policy adviser for President Bush 41, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, senior adviser to a governor of Arkansas named Huckabee, founder of Delta Trust & Bank in Little Rock. He never was a reality TV candidate who relied more on celebrity than policy. (Here, the nation's presidential race comes immediately to mind.) And now that he's been in Congress for a term, he's even more in the know. He serves on the House Committee on Financial Services (where a banker's knowledge comes in handy), among others. And is a member of more congressional caucuses than we have room to list here.

During his short time in office, French Hill has voted to get rid of that ban on oil exports, defund Planned Parenthood, rein in certain government regulation, and hold Veterans Affairs accountable after the most recent scandals.

But there's something more, something deeper, than his politics. We've always found the man thoughtful, reasonable, fair . . . and knowledgeable about both public and private business. Even during the nastiness from the Democrat in the last election, French Hill never did take the bait or get into the mud with his opponent. Instead, he pointed to what was false and called it what it was. And most of the time he didn't even do that--he let others point out the misleading ads instead. Maybe that's another sign of a true gentleman.

For goodness sakes, the man has a Facebook page, and his first rule for visitors who'd like to post on it is . . . Be Nice.

French Hill has proven himself a conscientious, sensible congressman--and, no, Gentle Reader, that isn't an oxymoron. Or shouldn't be. His time in office these past two years makes him an exception among all those headline-grabbing pols who at one time or another thought it would be just dandy to risk defaulting on the national debt. Thankfully, the hotheads didn't get their way.

There's something about being in the opposition, especially in opposition to this president, that makes some Republicans apoplectic, which is rarely healthy. What's needed instead are fewer Donald Trumps and more French Hills and John Boozmans and Bruce Westermans . . . and name your favorite member of Arkansas' delegation.

If French Hill is an exception, he's an exception that needs to become the rule.

He deserves to be on the ballot come November--again.

Editorial on 02/05/2016

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