No shame for Sarah

   Loftis

In case you missed the news, state auditors recently announced that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office might have violated several state laws in the now-infamous purchase of a custom-made lectern at a cost of $19,000.

The auditors’ findings have been turned over to a prosecutor, who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges in the matter.

Our governor — who, by the way, refused to speak with auditors about the lectern purchase — responded to the audit’s findings by saying that it had cleared her and her office of any wrongdoing. At the same time, she declared it a “flawed audit.” And she doubled down on her defiance by posting what can only be described as a hype video to her social media account. The video, set to a Jay-Z song, ends by challenging those upset about the lectern to “come and take it.”

That’s how the governor responded to an audit that was referred to prosecutors for consideration of criminal charges. That’s how low we’ve sunk.

Mrs. Sanders’ attitude since she took office has been one of condescension, haughtiness and disdain. She’ll do as she damn well pleases, she seems to be saying, and us lowly citizens should not bother her with pesky questions about what she does with our money.

All that would be bad enough if we had a decent legislature, but the sad truth is we simply don’t. There are some men and women in the state House and Senate who want to do right by the citizens of Arkansas, but they are far outnumbered by their colleagues who only want to stay in Sarah’s good graces. If that means looking the other way while public funds are spent in a way that is clearly questionable — at least — then so be it. If it means rushing to the governor’s defense after the audit findings are announced, that’s just part of the job.

Sadly, what those legislators are doing is the politically expedient thing. You do what the governor wants, or you face the consequences.

The people of Arkansas are being taken for a ride by a governor who sees her job as nothing more than an all-expense-paid ticket to higher office. And many of them just don’t seem to care. No wonder Sarah thinks she can get away with anything. She’s probably right.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com.