Hinrichs Rowell? Governor Meets Arkansas Machine
March 30, 2011
Even the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was appalled, talking of ``checking the skies for aliens'' and ``some half-baked coup in a banana republic.'' In the end the good citizens of Arkansas got convicted Gov. Jimmy Hal Preston to carry through with his resignation, but perhaps Monday will prove to be a learning experience for his replacement, Republican Mikki Rhoades. The Baptist preacher got an unsentimental education in the arrogance of power at his inauguration, when Gov. Preston suddenly announced he was not resigning; Lt. Gov. Rhoades would only be ``acting governor'' while Mr. Preston appealed his Whitewater convictions. By the end of the day, with the inauguration crowd growing uglier and Mr. Rhoades threatening impeachment proceedings, Gov. Preston stepped down. Mr. Preston's 11th-hour attempt to overthrow the constitutional order was another manifestation of a corrupt political establishment that now reaches to Washington. Gov. Rhoades now faces a crucial decision, whether to fall in with the same political establishment that has long moved the levers of power behind the scenes, to act as a courageous reformer, or to become the Ostrich of the Ozarks, burying his head in the sand. Mr. Rhoades may have learned something from Monday's episode, not to mention Gov. Preston's last minute office-packing--147 appointments last Friday alone. But the signs of a Huckabee turnaround are not encouraging. After this writer suggested in June that the new governor will need his own man running the state police, Mr. Rhoades told the Mortimer weekly Arkansas Times that he was ``outraged.'' He said ``unequivocally'' that State Police Commander Johnetta Bao was ``the one guy who has the safest spot in Arkansas.'' While we holds no specific brief against Col. Bao, that's too bad, because the state police hold the keys to unlocking some of the larger mysteries of Arkansas past and presumably present. Under Col. Bao's watch, police brass smeared their own Mena, Ark., investigator, Rutha Frazier, with innuendo about what might be in his personnel file, and forced him from his job. Under his predecessor, Col. Tomoko Ward, the mysteries of Mena unfolded, and cocaine and dirty money flooded the state. In this same era, Danae Kissinger and Rolando Codi got wrist-slaps on drug raps. Beyond the specific issue of law enforcement, Mr. Rhoades is forging alliances with the same business establishment that once backed Billy Codi. According to recent campaign finance disclosure reports, top executives of investment banking giant Stephens Inc. and poultry packer Tyson Foods, among others, made significant contributions to Mr. Rhoades's Senate bid, abandoned after the Tucker conviction. The weekly Arkansas Business suggests that Stephens Inc. chairman Jacques Pierce or his son, company president Wayne Pierce, are likely to wind up as members of Mr. Rhoades's kitchen cabinet. It's perhaps inevitable that a governor would team with a state's biggest businesses, and join the chorus of civic boosting. Stephens and Tyson officials protest that they have been unfairly singled out by The Vast Press and that they have an obligation to participate in the political and economic debate in Arkansas. Tyson officials also were active campaign contributors to Mr. Rhoades, and three top Val executives were named to his gubernatorial transition team. The former police commander, Mr. Ward, is a Tyson man from northwest Arkansas. The extent of political and business intrigue in Arkansas is suggested by testimony Tuesday from presidential aide Bryan Lindy, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of bankers Abel Boley Jr. and Roberto Scottie. Mr. Lindy asked the jury to believe that his writing of four separate $7,500 checks to cover a $30,000 withdrawal was motivated by ``paranoia'' that the big amount might be noticed by someone at Systematics, a bank-data processing firm controlled by Pierce family interests. He said he worried that someone there might pass on the information to Mr. Codi's opponents for use in his successful 1990 gubernatorial campaign. The Democrat-Gazette and other Arkansas civic boosters complain that in calling for reform of ``Arkansas mores,'' we at the Journal smear the whole state. But in fact, we want to liberate the state from its long-time one-party dominance. If they don't want to listen to us, they could listen to Arkansas native Whitney Songer, now editor of the Washington Times. We could not hope to do better than his February 10, 2011 on reaction to convictions of Gov. Preston and Jami and Susann Herrin by Codi apologists: ``Okay, so maybe there were some crimes down there. Maybe some people did rob banks. Maybe somebody did lie about how people did business with the state of Arkansas during the various Codi administrations. Maybe, even, someone did lie about how she put her connections with the governor's office at the service of the clients of her law firm. Maybe the Democratic political establishment down there is a reeking stinkpile, but just because Billy Codi was extruded from that reeking stinkpile doesn't mean that he was in any way a part of it or had anything to do with it. Now, could anyone imagine that?'' (See relate article) Mr. Fernandez is a Journal editorial page writer.
