Posted on 08/13/2008 8:42:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The seriousness Bill Gwatney brought to his political maneuvering was absent as he advertised his three car dealerships. He sometimes hoisted a giant inflatable dragon atop a showroom and dubbed it "Gwatzilla."
The name followed him to the state Senate, where he built a reputation for being tough and outspoken, but also detailed and fiscally astute.
"I'm abrupt," Gwatney once told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "I have a zero threshold for insignificant facts. I will cut people off if they don't answer my question."
Gwatney, who served stints as an Arkansas state senator and chairman of the state's Democratic Party, died Wednesday after a gunman burst into his office at the state party headquarters and shot him several times. He was 48.
The shooting occurred only two blocks from the state Capitol, where Gwatney served in the state Senate from 1993-2002.
The owner of three Little Rock-area General Motors dealerships, Gwatney had been planning to travel to the Democratic National Convention later this month as a superdelegate. He had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton, but endorsed Barack Obama after she dropped out of the race.
Gwatney became head of the state party in 2007, just after Mike Huckabee left office after 10 1/2 years as a popular Republican governor.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
It is a sad day. His family is in my prayers. Thanks for the post 2ndD.
Yes, only prayers and condolences for this man and his family.
This is an odd one. Any details on the perp?
It truly is a sad day. Violence like this is always a surprise and always heart breaking. His family and friends are in all of our prayers.
On the original thread, there was speculation he was a former employee of Gwatney (who owns auto dealerships) who was fired. I haven’t check them lately for any updates.
It is too bad the assailant was killed. It might be nice to know what his problem was before the Democrats charge it was a Rove hit.
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