By STEVE BRAWNER
This month marks the 30-year anniversary of the day Arkansas faced a constitutional crisis – when, for several hours, it wasn’t clear who its governor was.
July 15, 1996, was already going to be a momentous day in Arkansas history. Then-Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee would become the state’s third Republican governor since Reconstruction.
This was happening because then-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker had been convicted on May 28 of felony mail fraud and conspiracy charges. The charges were related to Kenneth Starr’s investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Whitewater investment. The Clintons never faced charges. After Tucker’s conviction, he announced he was resigning.
Rex Nelson, now an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette senior editor and then Huckabee’s communications director, has been writing about the day in a series of columns that are worth reading.
The swearing-in ceremony was planned for 2 p.m. Everything was ready to go. Legislators had assembled, and Huckabee’s supporters were at the Capitol.
Five minutes before the ceremony was to begin, Tucker called Huckabee to say he had changed his mind. Instead, he would temporarily relinquish his office while remaining governor.
His change of heart occurred after it had come to light that one of his jurors had married a man for whom Tucker had denied commutation during the trial. He expected a hearing on the matter. If a court set aside the verdict, there would be no need for him to resign.
As Nelson wrote, Huckabee was stunned by the change of plans. He told Tucker that he had included no conditions in his resignation. He reminded Tucker that staff members working for both men had made major life changes in preparation of the handover.
Tucker said he would call back. In that subsequent phone call, he held firm that he was not leaving office. He then wrote a statement saying he would give up his duties but remain as governor pending the hearing. He would resign if a court sustained the verdict.
The Republican Huckabee received a standing ovation from the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature when he addressed them not long afterwards. As quoted by Nelson, he started his speech by jokingly asking, “Is there something going on here this afternoon I need to know about?”
He then met with legislative leaders, who agreed Tucker had to go. That afternoon in a televised statewide address, Huckabee said he was ready to call lawmakers into special session to consider impeachment.
Tucker relented that evening. The swearing-in ceremony occurred. Tucker apologized the next day to Huckabee and to the state.
Huckabee served 10 years as governor and now is U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Tucker’s appeals were unsuccessful, although he never served prison time for his convictions. He received a liver transplant later that year. As reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he said in 2014 that he had been impaired by his health and that he was “still sorry” about his actions.
Huckabee has been generous in his comments. After Tucker died last year, the Democrat-Gazette quoted him saying that one bad day should not mar his lifetime of service. Their daughters, now-Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sarah Tucker, were Little Rock Central High classmates who ran for office as a “Huck and Tuck” joint ticket at the summer Girls State program.
The tumultuous day occurred when Democrats dominated Arkansas politics and the Legislature. Nevertheless, they rallied around Huckabee, the Republican, to oust their own party’s governor.
Would a dominant party act in a similar fashion in similar circumstances these days?
It’s impossible to say, but times definitely have changed. The political and philosophical differences between Republicans and Democrats have widened. Furthermore, in 1996 there was no social media, which today exaggerates partisan differences and inflames partisan passions.
Today, the two parties and their supporters often see each other not only as opponents, but as enemies to defeat at all costs, including at the cost of their own convictions.
That’s dangerous. When we believe the other side is evil, it becomes easier to justify our own side’s failings, and to support almost anyone as long as they have the right letter beside their name.
The state’s constitutional crisis on July 15, 1996, worked out fine because everyone ultimately did the right thing. Huckabee ably led. Legislative Democrats put their state above their party’s temporary hold on power. (It’s all temporary.) Even Tucker rightly pulled back from the brink.
How will future constitutional crises work out? It will depend on people doing the right thing, and whether or not there are enough of them.
It always does.
Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 24 news outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.
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