As expected, Gov. Haley Barbour shrugged off as "election-year politics" the detailed expose' by Bloomberg News Service on how his relatives and his campaign have profited off Katrina recovery money...What puts a highly sensitive stamp on this money is that it was generated by the nation's worst natural disaster, and was intended to help its victims.
Thus it is purely cynical for Barbour to equate as election-year politics the story showing how two of his nephews, his old lobby firm, and his own campaign war chest (to the tune of $45,000) benefited from Katrina money...
A bill to disclose sources of income paid to a blind trust passed the Mississippi House in February, but was killed by Barbour forces in the Senate.
This column and others have questioned whether his so-called blind trust includes a stake in his old lobby firm, Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, from which he said in 2003 he severed connections... Since one of BG&R's clients is tobacco giant P. Lorillard, it could be seen that Barbour, in vetoing the bill to raise Mississippi's pitifully low cigarette tax, was shielding the tobacco industry. Burger points out two of Barbour's ex-partners in BG&R have kicked in $30,000 for his campaign.
Read the rest at The Clarion Ledger
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