The American Spectator

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What a poor attempt at damage control by Gov. Huckabee's national campaign manager. After two tries, he still can't get it right.

What Mr. Saltsman fails to acknowledge, or even understand, is that the Parole Board members involved in the decision to re-hear the parole request (and reverse their initial vote) stated that they were put under direct pressure by the former governor (as well as his prison liaison, Butch Reeves) to release Wayne Dumond. Those members included board chairman Leroy Brownlee, Ermer Pondexter, Dr. Charles Chastain, and Deborah Springer Suttlar.

As payback for the re-vote, Brownlee was reappointed to the board by Huckabee According to the Arkansas Times, board member Suttlar noted that just prior to Huckabee's appearance before the board, the board had voted 4-1 against Dumond's parole. After Huckabee's board appearance, her colleagues largely reversed themselves, voting 4-1 for Dumond's release.

"Why did all the votes change?" Suttlar asked. "The board members knew the governor's position. And Huckabee knows what influence a governor has over a board. Who's going to turn down a governor?"

And that's not all. Again, according to the Times, Gov. Huckabee announced his intention to commute Wayne Dumond's sentence to time served prior to the board's re-hearing. The governor and his staff were unprepared for the public outcry that followed his announcement that he was likely to free Dumond.

Under state law, the governor had to wait at least 30 days -- but not more than 120 -- after his clemency announcement to allow the public, legislators, prosecutors, and other interested parties to present their views before he made a final decision. As it turned out, the board voted four days before the deadline to parole Dumond, sparing Huckabee from the decision.

p>Essentially, the Parole Board saved Gov. Huckabee from a major political embarrassment, and a potentially career-ending decision. br> -- Owen H. Carneal, Jr. br> Yorktown, Virginia /p>

The very first time I heard the story of Wayne Dumond was back in the mid- to late-nineties when Rush Limbaugh was lamenting his plight.

Mr. Limbaugh recounted the story of how Dumond had been hogtied and castrated by a deputy sheriff. In vivid detail, Mr. Limbaugh described how the sheriff placed Dumond's (well, you know) into a jar of formaldehyde for prominent display on his desk.

My distinct recollection is that Mr. Limbaugh was coming to the defense of Dumond. In fact, Mr. Limbaugh used the Dumond story to illustrate the excesses of the Clinton machine.

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