What an honor …

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor O ne of the first great sarcastic quips I can remember comes from the TV series “MASH” back in the late ’70s or early ’80s. In one episode, the insufferable Maj.

Frank Burns manages to get himself a Purple Heart for some minor “injury” or something. And in response, the quick-witted Capt. Hawkeye Pierce tells him, “Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.”

Fast-forward a few decades and on an episode of the animated series “Family Guy,” the show’s mom character Lois Griffin is being all high-and-mighty after some silly accomplishment and her son Chris chides, “Is it lonely up there on your pedestal?”

Great lines, both. And they both come to mind as I consider the news that our esteemed governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the recent recipient of a Governor of the Year Award. Now, normally, I’m very happy to see someone from Arkansas recognized on a national level for something, especially since I reckon most of the rest of the country holds The Natural State with little to no regard.

But I guess we did earn a blue ribbon for our hospitality during the recent solar eclipse frenzy, so we’ve got that going for us.

Anyway, Sanders was apparently just the best governor in the whole country in 2023, which is pretty impressive considering it was her first year in office – an office for which she had zero similar experience and for which she received constant criticism due to things like the controversial LEARNS Act, pushing several anti-progressive agenda items through the legislature and, of course, that fancy $20,000 podium that everyone keeps talking about. Sanders received the award at the Arkansas Policy Recognition Dinner on April 18.

But man, a rookie governor being Governor of the Year.

Pretty impressive indeed. That’s like a rookie call-up winning the Major League Baseball MVP. Or perhaps to really reiterate my point, it would be like a high school quarterback winning the Major League Baseball MVP.

So, once I saw the headline, I had to read the article.

“Governor of the Year,” huh? So, who, exactly made this decision? What prestigious board or committee or blue-ribbon panel of experts looks at the accomplishments of the governors of all 50 states, saw what Sarah Huckabee Sanders had done over the past year and said, “Her! That’s our Governor of the Year.”

Now, let me pause here and explain that I understand that awards, in and of themselves, are a little silly. Like, the Oscars have a “Best Picture” award each year. You’re telling me that that one movie (whichever movie it is that year) was “better” than every other movie made that year?

To quote another TV show, Sure, Jan.” I myself have won some awards. In high school, I was a two-time recipient of the “Most Prolific Artist” award in the Marion High School Art Show. Pretty cool, but even then I understood that “most prolific” just meant that I did the “most” art, not really the “best” art.

So, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was Governor of the Year according to … the Foundation for Government Accountability.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaa …..!

No, wait, really? Yes, a group that touts its watchdog status when it comes to keeping our government accountable to the public un-ironically held up Governor Sanders as a paragon of the transparency of our elected officials.

This is the same Sarah Huckabee Sanders who stalled and hem-hawed about how a $5,000 lectern magically cost the taxpayers of Arkansas $19,000. This is the same Sarah Huckabee Sanders who has pushed at every opportunity (along with her fellow GOP state legislators) to enact laws limiting the ability to create and pass voter-led initiatives.

This is the same Sarah Huckabee Sanders who literally has reduced government accountability through gutting the state’s Freedom of Information Act so that her activities can better be kept under wraps. And my wife thinks my “World’s Greatest Lover” t-shirt is dubious …

It’s really pretty crazy if you think about it.

If you look at what the Foundation for Government Accountability’s other agenda items, you’ll see that they are the driving voice in the repeal of child labor laws, curtailing welfare benefits, blocking Medicaid services and other ultra-conservative initiatives. And guess who has spent her time in office pushing those very same ideas on the people of Arkansas? If you guessed Governor of the Year Sarah Huckabee Sanders, congratulations. You are correct.

You should give yourself an award …