A second Republican governor–Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas–has vetoed a bill designed to protect children from so-called transgender “treatments,” including chemical and physical castration. Hutchinson, like South Dakota Governor Kristi Loem, claims that the legislation was too sweeping. Arkansas’s legislature overruled Hutchinson’s veto, effectively banning transition surgery for minors under the age of 18. Many suspect that Hutchinson’s veto had a lot to do with corporate interests threatening to leave the state. As Rod Dreher put it:
Gov. Hutchinson is another Republican mandarin who betrays the people who elected him. I’m so glad the Arkansas legislature, in overriding Hutchinson’s veto, remembered that its duty is to the people of Arkansas, not Walmart, Tyson, and Dillards. Back in 2015, Gov. Hutchinson cited the request of his son Seth in explaining why he would not sign a bill that would have strengthened religious liberty in Arkansas. Seth Hutchinson is a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Back then, it was more important for Asa Hutchinson to serve the interests of his socialist son than the interest of Arkansas Christians. He hasn’t changed a bit. I’m sick of this kind of Republican.
For some reason, Hutchinson decided it was a good idea to go on Tucker Carlson’s show to defend himself. He got destroyed. Tucker tore him apart and exposed the total bankruptcy of this kind of “conservatism.” Please do take a few minutes and watch the whole thing:
