Battle of two minds

Mark Darr obviously was of two minds, one prevailing temporarily last Tuesday, and the other prevailing permanently Friday.

So let’s presume to take a little trip through both.

His first mind spoke to him this way: Yes, I made errors and was wrong. But, darn it, it’s not serious thievery and I could be given a hall pass to make amends except for this meanness and hyperpartisanship that are at work against me. The best thing I can do is stay strong and take a stand against this criminalization of political misstep. To resign would be to concede to that criminalization, even encourage those in my party who tell me they resent what’s being done to me and will counterattack some Democrat for retribution.

His second mind told him as follows: Resignation is the practical thing. It would save the state the nonsense of a distracting impeachment proceeding and trial. It would relieve those of my party of whatever burden my predicament places on them. What I should do is put my own interests aside and gracefully bow out. I should do so with a statement declaring my innocence of any impeachable offense, couching my resignation as a personal sacrifice for the sake of our state, and decrying this politics of personal destruction.

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So what caused the lieutenant governor to navigate from the first mind of Tuesday to the second mind of Friday?

I think he mostly wanted at first to be defiant, if only for a while. I think his defiance was directed both toward Democrats and those headliners of his own party, meaning the state GOP’s five delegates in Washington, who called by joint statement for his resignation the day after his ethics settlement.

Darr told people that he had no respect for a blatantly self-serving move such as that of John Boozman, Steve Womack, Tim Griffin, Rick Crawford and Tom Cotton. They didn’t even wait to hear his side. He made clear that he would accept no advice from any of those five.

I suspect Darr knew all along that his mind progression was inevitable. But he was vitally and deftly nudged toward the second mind. That came in friendly and sympathizing conversations with Senate President Pro Tem Michael Lamoureux, House Speaker Davy Carter and likely Republican gubernatorial nominee Asa Hutchinson.

Yes, Hutchinson, who initially called for Darr to remain in office until and unless criminal charges were filed, called the lieutenant governor Thursday. I imagine the conversation wound around to the best interests of the state and Darr’s family in light of the wholly unpleasant prospect of certain impeachment by the House and a trial in the Senate.

I had been alerted to look for a possible Darr resignation Thursday evening. But then I was told he’d gotten his back up again.

The first mind was making a last stand.

Twenty-four hours later, after the 6 p.m. newscasts had signed off, Darr issued a statement relating basically his second mind. He allowed himself a little continued defiance, saying he was tendering his resignation to the people, not any politician.

Presumably he needs to give formal notice to Gov. Mike Beebe, whom he does not like, because Beebe must declare the vacancy and tend, or not tend, to a special election.

That’s the question now: Must we go through a $2 million special statewide election to install for less than a year a spacetaker in an utterly pointless office that ought to abolished?

As it happened, Lamoureux had spoken with Beebe hours before Darr’s resignation to suggest that, in the budget-only legislative session beginning Feb. 10, the Legislature extend the agenda to include a bill saying that no special election would be required to fill a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office occurring within 12 months of a general election.

Beebe said he might go along if the Legislature could lock down the votes pre-emptively and not burden the fiscal session with any distracting folderol.

There could be distracting folderol. State Democratic Party Chairman Vince Insalaco advocates a special election. That’s for political, not meritorious, reasons. The likely Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in the general election, John Burkhalter, has a lot of money and might be able to win the special election and run as an incumbent in the general.

The two announced Republican candidates for lieutenant governor in the general election are state legislators-Reps. Charlie Collins and Andy Mayberry-and law prohibits sitting legislators from running in special elections for lieutenant governor.

My best solution is to abolish the office, but that requires a constitutional amendment.

My fallback preference in the interim is to pass the bill Lamoureux touts, even if not having a lieutenant governor would make Lamoureux, as Senate president, the first ascendant in case of gubernatorial vacancy.

I don’t think that’s even remotely a part of his thinking or motivation. I just had to mention it.

A couple of million public dollars is a lot to spend for a pointless office and a Democratic advantage.

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John Brummett’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at brummett.arkansasonline.com, or his @johnbrummett Twitter feed.

Editorial, Pages 15 on 01/14/2014

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