What is it about up-and-coming Arkansas politicians? Surely they can't have all gone through military training, Special Forces at that, going on to serve in post 9/11 wars.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that maybe this Trent Garner fella served with Senator Tom Cotton overseas, and was thus rewarded with the job of being a field rep for the state's junior senator. We're told it didn't happen that way. Trent Garner just came back home, took off the uniform, and began serving the public in Senator Cotton's office without having taken orders from Capt. Cotton in the various deserts American forces now find themselves in, fighting for their lives and country. Maybe it's the whole birds-of-a-feather thing.
Trent Garner is running for state Senate down in District 27, 'round 'bout Union County environs. Which might have double the normal population on weekends these deer-hunting days, like any other southern Arkansas county.
The young man (he's 32) says his major focus, if elected, would be helping bring jobs to southern Arkansas, which could always use more industry, but especially these days. Just down the road in Magnolia, Amfuel has announced it's closing up shop there. Can anybody in southern Arkansas imagine Magnolia without Amfuel? How many generations have put their kids through college working in that factory?
Mr. Garner criticizes his opponent, the incumbent, for once saying south Arkansas can't get the bigger factories: "With that kind of attitude," Trent Garner says, "that we can't create thousands of jobs down here, we are never going to get that next super project in south Arkansas."
Trent Garner presents himself as a conservative's conservative, wanting smaller, more efficient government, and being pro-life and pro-gun. But mostly he wants to talk about another kind of work. That is, putting people to it:
"You give somebody a good paying job, you solve 90 percent of their problems." You know, he may be onto something.
We wouldn't call going from the military to the Ledge a promotion. But it will be a change. (A lot more talk at supper.) Trent Garner says he's served his country already, now he wants to serve his state. Let's give him a chance.
Editorial on 10/28/2016