Mike Huckabee in Speaking for Myself, by Sarah Huckabee Sanders
On Civil Rights:
Barring blacks from Little Rock High wrong; we renounce it
A 5-minute drive from the Governor's Mansion is Little Rock Central High School. On September 23, 1957, nine African American students--who later became known as the Little Rock Nine--attempted to enter the halls of Central High, following the Supreme
Court's landmark "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision of 1954, ruling against segregation in public schools. Forty years later, as a student at Central High, I stood on the front steps and cheered alongside thousands of students, parents, and
dignitaries from around the world as President Bill Clinton and my dad, Governor Mike Huckabee, helped open up the door of Central High for the Little Rock Nine--the same doors that were previously closed to them because they were black.
My dad addressed the crowd and said, "What happened here forty years ago was simply wrong. It was evil and we renounce it. We've come to confront the pain of the past, to celebrate the perseverance of some very courageous people."
Source: Speaking for Myself, by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, p. 31-33
Sep 8, 2020
On Crime:
Executions are hardest decision because they can't be undone
My dad went on to oversee seventeen executions over his career, more than any governor in the state's history, mainly because the Supreme Court had lifted the prohibition of capital punishment and many of those cases fell on his desk.
When I think back to those dark, painful days, I remember how each decision weighed painfully on my dad.
I was just a kid, and our home--the governor's mansion--was put on lockdown as each death row inmate was administered a lethal injection.
My dad often said that executions were the hardest decisions he made as governor because it's the one thing you can never undo.
Source: Speaking for Myself, by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, p.28
Sep 8, 2020
On Principles & Values:
1996: Reached out to Dems amid AR constitutional crisis
Governor Jim Guy Tucker spent his final days [before resigning] making sure my dad knew he wasn't welcome in the state capitol. We sat in my dad's lieutenant governor office waiting to receive Tucker's resignation letter making it official.
We definitely weren't prepared when Tucker--five minutes prior to his resignation--informed my dad that he had changed his mind and not officially step down after all. Tucker said that the Arkansas law stating that a convicted felon could not serve as
a governor was vague, so he'd wait out a court hearing on his appeal. My dad said, "this is unacceptable. The law is clear. I'll be taking over as governor today." He set the receiver down and an Arkansas constitutional crisis began. Two men were
claiming to be governor.
My dad acted quickly. He first called on friends of Governor Tucker's in the heavily Democratic state legislature and implored them to go to Tucker and tell him to do the right thing and resign. To our surprise, many agreed.
Source: Speaking for Myself, by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, p. 19-21
Sep 8, 2020
Page last updated: Oct 09, 2021