SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS TOUTS PROPOSAL TO MAKE CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY A FLOATING, TOURING EXHIBIT
SANDERS: “EASY TO POP THAT BUILDING RIGHT OFF ITS SUPPORTS.”
By Dr. Fred Potato
Radio Free Ozarks Editor
March 10th, 2022
Speaking at the monthly luncheon of the Little Rock Chapter of the Arkansas Young Republicans, Gubernatorial Candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders hailed a developing Metroplan proposal to promote Arkansas around the country and the world by turning the main exhibition building of the Clinton Presidential Library into a floating, touring exhibit.
“I was surprised to learn that one of the original design considerations of the…Library was the ability for the main building to pivot, to track with the sun,” Sanders told the group while holding up a printed version of the proposal. “This was apparently dropped at some point to reduce costs. But many of those design features remain, and with God’s will and a little help by the hand of man we can actually completely uproot it and promote Arkansas to Bangladesh or who knows by moving that thing out of here.”
Sanders, the featured guest at the mask-free luncheon held in the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Little Rock, projected and described several slides from the unpublished Metroplan proposal. Radio Free Ozarks was allowed to watch Sanders’ presentation, on the condition that it not be photographed or video-recorded because the proposal was not ready for final release. Radio Free Ozarks later obtained two partial images that had been posted on “dark web” social media.
The first slide was a side-view line diagram showing the 20,000 square feet main Exhibition Building being moved on temporary rails and shoring approximately 500 feet to the north to a waiting assemblage of barges and tugboats in the Arkansas River. “I think the placement of the museum was divine intervention,” Sanders said, “Right at the edge of the river. Easy to pop that building right off its supports. The I-30 Crossing project will limit access for years. We would be so foolish if we didn’t consider the possibilities to promote our great state to the world while building a new boulevard to the airport. Heck, that building looks like it’s ready to get out of here.” The slide bore the logo of North Little Rock’s Garvey planning firm. Other parts of the Clinton Presidential Park, such as the Archives Building and the Choctaw Station building were labeled and apparently shown as staying in place, but with a “?” caption on top of each.
The second slide was a composite of three computer-rendered images, the first image showing the now-floating five-story Exhibition Building moving through a set of locks at the Panama Canal, with width measurements indicating a tight fit. The second and third images showed a rendering of the floating Exhibition Building moored next to a Nordic fishing village and an Asian fishing village, respectively. One of the captions read “Sri Lanka or Detroit?” and the other read “Cleveland or Wherever”. The overall composite slide showed the Metroplan logo and the words “Not Final” in red text. “With this brilliant plan we can send this museum on tour around the world. Perhaps permanently?” Sanders said while smiling, generating several shouts of approval from the audience.
The third slide showed a rendering of the Exhibition Building on top of a motorized barge, moving through a canal towards a larger body of water. “That building looks awesome, headed out to sea,” Sanders enthused. The slide included the Metroplan logo and the words “Not Final” in red text, and captions, in black text, reading “Path Out to Sea” and “Caution: Barge Will Be Top Heavy.” No cost or schedule information was presented, but in wrapping up her presentation Sanders noted “There’s a few issues to iron out with the National Archives, but we will be ready to move quickly on this project no later than January 2025.”
“As your Governor, I will do everything I can to make this bold proposal a reality,” Sanders concluded. “I offer you a reading from the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 20, Verse 7. ‘Then I said unto them, cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ I thank you for inviting me today, and I will pray that…” Amid a loud standing ovation, the end of Sanders’ closing remarks could not be heard.
In the official business portion of the luncheon, a motion was made to rename the Arkansas Young Republicans as the “Trump Youth Militia,” effective January 1, 2023. A brief debate about the costs of reprinting membership cards and reordering branded merchandise was ended when a cheesecake dessert was served. With that, the motion was tabled on a voice vote for a consideration at a later date. This Radio Free Ozarks reporter was not offered dessert.
SHS photo attributions: Gage Skidmore (modified) CC BY-SA 2.0