All politics is national

For French Hill in the 2nd district

IF THE central Arkansas race for Congress was only a matter between two very good candidates— two Arkies with legislative experience and serious backgrounds—this would be a much harder call. Because Clarke Tucker is an exceedingly attractive candidate, with an excellent education, legislative experience, Arkansas roots going back generations, and someone with bipartisan instincts.

But that’s not the only thread here. There is a national ingredient. Elections have consequences, as a president named Obama once noted, and the race for the 2nd Congressional District of Arkansas might factor into those consequences.

Does anybody want to see this president impeached—just because his personality rubs most decent people the wrong way? Does the nation need that, even absent provable wrongdoing? Listen to Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic representative from Washington and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. She’s been keeping up with more than two dozen things she’d like to investigate. According to CNN, she said: “I haven’t signed onto anything yet; you know I’ll say that several of us have been really thinking about how we responsibly address the crisis that we have in front of us. And I think that we have to—I don’t think there’s a question of law in terms of knowing that there are significant constitutional impeachable violations that Donald Trump has committed. It seems to me that that part is actually fairly clear, but impeachment is not just about the law, it’s a political process, and in order for it to be successful, the majority party has to sign onto it. There’s no way to move impeachment proceedings forward without the majority.”

The majority could be decided in several swing districts across the nation. The 2nd Congressional District of Arkansas could be one of them.

Does the nation need that? Clarke Tucker said he won’t support Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the House of Representatives. That’s great. But if the Democrats take the House next week, she might not need his permission, or support, to take the gavel. Does the nation need her in charge of the majority in the House? Wasn’t once bad enough?

Here’s what the nation needs: A strong border. A strong economy. Strong alliances. A president making bold decisions. Those aren’t going to happen with a weakened president fighting impeachment and Nancy Pelosi.

Are there reasons to vote for French Hill, and not just against the other party? You bet. French Hill is an exceedingly attractive candidate himself, one with a record of four productive years in Congress.

French Hill’s background is finance and banking, and he understands how the worldwide economy works. Which is why he says tariffs—even this president’s tariffs—could distort the markets. He’s opposed the metal tariffs this president proposed, and told us he doesn’t believe Canada should be punished when the trade adversary is China.

He’s been to the southern border on a number of occasions, and wants what most Americans want: security. He says the Mexican drug cartels have taken over the border and have better surveillence equipment than our border cops. And move not only drugs but people back and forth. And he told us that the cartels are more efficient when using their resources. They don’t have an HR department reviewing their policies, budget wonks warning against overspending or a legislative process to deal with. “They spend whatever they want.” Rep. Hill says American authorities have already nabbed enough fentanyl down there to kill 150 million Americans. The border must be more secure.

French Hill also sponsored legislation near and dear to our inky hearts. Every April 15th, this editorial column is dedicated to repealing the tax code— just taking the thing out behind the barn and killing it with an ax. The blasted code is so complicated that most Americans have to hire somebody to complete their taxes. Americans aren’t opposed to taxes, but why should it be so hard to calculate them? French Hill co-sponsored legislation that would have repealed most of the tax code by 2020, requiring Congress to have a new federal tax system before then. Which is exactly what we’ve proposed for decades now.

Imagine a tax form that you could sign—on penalty of perjury no less!— that you felt confident in submitting.

French Hill also re-established the old Golden Fleece Award, which calls out government agencies for outrageous waste. He’s a reliable vote for regulation reform. And might prove a reliable vote against some of the more over-reaching attempts if there really is a blue wave come Tuesday.

These days, all politics seem to be national. Which is an important reason why we endorse French Hill for re-election to Congress.