It's a common enough assumption: There is no more honor among political parties than there is among thieves. And yet Crawford County's Republican committee has given the lie to that hoary assumption. It's just told voters there to refuse their support to a couple of really rotten apples in its party's basket:
One of them, Wade Lewis, is running for county judge despite his criminal record while the other, Michael Sanderson, has announced for sheriff. Together they make the perfect ticket since Nixon-Agnew ran together: Crook and Crook.
Who says vultures of a feather don't flock together? But here's a Republican county committee that isn't having any of it. To sum up its stance: "These are not the kind of candidates we want representing the Republican Party."
Our two-party system depends on each to work as it should, but there is a difference between party loyalty and cooperation with these types. Letters to both these more than dubious candidates have already gone out, and a news release is to follow. That's about the strongest action a county committee can take in this state, and it's more than justified. It's minimal.
The county prosecutor has also been notified--so he, too, can take whatever action is necessary in these more than embarrassing circumstances. The mills of justice may move slowly but, once put into action, they can grind exceeding fine. As these two miscreants may yet discover. Some of us can hardly wait.
This state's Constitution (Article V, Section 9) is anything but ambivalent on the subject: "No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in the state." That certainly applies to you, Messrs. Lewis and Sanderson, complete with your undeniable criminal records. In short, be gone. Arkansas already has had its fill of crooks in high places and low--and is in no need of more.
Editorial on 01/20/2016