The spoils system turns thuggish

More than governors Mike Beebe, a Democrat, and Mike Huckabee, a Republican, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has moved to stock state government with political supporters and soulmates. A losing Republican candidate or former party functionary needs work? Hutchinson has installed them high and low, no previous experience necessary.

No big deal. Government runs most days on autopilot through its permanent staff. A new agency director can do as much or as little as she chooses, delegating operational duties to deputies and maybe just occasionally dipping into business to change the stationery or order new furniture or change a building's architectural features.

But there's a discipline and even a brutality to the Republican control that beats previous administrations (and Mike Huckabee was not exactly known for a generous spirit.)

You see it particularly at the legislature. Just last week, Republican state Rep. Bob Ballinger moved to kill a $153,897 contract between the state Department of Workforce Service and the Arkansas AFL-CIO. The contract has existed for 38 years. It helps dislocated workers return to work.

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