“Instead, the Senate’s Brotherhood, including the Republican party chairman, proved that power is more important than party.

The little protest staged over the weekend by some Benton County Republicans probably went unnoticed by most in Arkansas, even by most Republicans.

It was a statement of support for one of Benton County’s long-serving Republicans, state Sen. Dave Bisbee of Rogers, and a short shaft for one of his colleagues, Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway.

What happened was that some of the county’s delegates to a Republican state committee meeting in Little Rock, where Gilbert was re-elected as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas, didn’t show.

“A lot of us probably would have tried a little harder to go, but for concerns about whether or not our chairman has the best interest of the state party at heart,” explained Ret Miles, chairman of the Benton County Republican Party, prior to the meeting.