History Repeating Itself With Herb Rule

Doubtless by now you have read about Democratic 2nd District Congressional Candidate Herb Rule’s arrest for DWI in Fayetteville last night.  He insists he “was not drunk” and vows to fight what he calls “trumped up charges.”

“I was not drunk. I was in complete control of my faculties. I will fight the charges vigorously and will win. The arrest was without cause and I refused the breathalyzer and blood test as permitted by law,” said Rule in a statement from his campaign.

Here we go again.

As I reported last month, Rule was stopped and charged with DWI and refusal to submit to a chemical test.  Rule disputed the report as “inaccurate” but declined to say how.  His campaign issued an over-the-top press release claiming that the post was full of “lies.”

He has still not clarified what is a lie, but I have learned a bit more about his 2010 charge that could shed some light on his denial today.

In 2010, the city of Rogers prosecuted the case originally and partially won the charge in district court.  According to Rogers city attorney Ben Lipscomb, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence on the DWI charge as Rule had not been administered a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer, but he did find Rule guilty on the charge of failure to submit.

Rule appealed this decision and the Rogers city attorney decided not to fight the appeal.  According to Lipscomb, their office decided that Rule had already  incurred more in legal costs than the possible conviction would have imposed, so they decided not to fight Rule’s appeal.

I also have obtained the video and audio of Rule’s 2010 arrest and have not found anything in this file that disputes my original report. My line is still open for Rule or his campaign to tell me which part of my report they believe to be a lie.

But it seems to me, history is certainly repeating itself today.