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...