Baria is bringing new life to Senate

Sen. David Baria of Bay St. Louis is a much-needed shot in the arm for Senate Democrats. His latest stand comes against Barbour's newest Medicaid proposal.

From this Clarion-Ledger article:

Fourteen Democrats in the Mississippi Senate filed court documents today, arguing that only lawmakers can decide how state programs are funded.

“The circumstance that the legislative process has not yet produced full funding, or that the governor’s preference in the method of funding has been frustrated in the Legislature, does not grant the governor constitutional license to bypass the Legislature and impose his tax plan by executive degree,” State Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, wrote.

The Senate is an unfortunate place for Democrats. It's not that we don't have good Democrats over there. In fact, we have some of the greatest Democrats this state has to offer sitting in the Senate. Some of the smartest, some of the toughest, some of the most seasoned.

It's that they are missing cohesive, strong, visionary, unafraid leadership in the Senate. If they had that, then Democrats would control the Senate right now. After all, there are more Democrats than Republicans, and the Democrats could have voted to change the rules and vest the power normally given to the lieutenant governor in the president pro temp.

Some of those guys over there are beaten down. They've tried and tried to make change, but when they look to some of their colleagues, they get no support. That's the case with many in the Black Caucus, who feel that some of their rural white fellow senators cave on important issues because of fear of political retribution from their home district. Those are legitimate fears, but it's still frustrating to watch.

But Sen. Baria, whose district I would not describe as rural, is proving that he's not scared of standing up and taking a risk for what he knows is right. His district is not an overwhelmingly Democratic district. He could -- and most likely will -- face stiff competition in 2011.

That said, Baria's not acting as someone who fears the future. If his stances mean political retribution is around the corner, I suppose he's preparing for that fight when it comes.

Baria is a man who has seen real tragedy in his life. If you think he's scared of a few partisan hacks calling him names or some weak-as-water colleagues coming down on him, you better reconsider quickly.

Here's hoping that Baria can re-energize some of the old guard Dems in the Senate who once were filled with the same fight as he is showing now.

No Insurance Reform

From Sen. David Baria's Blog:

Senate Insurance Committee Will Not Vote on Insurance Reform
February 15, 2008 - 11:25am — David Baria

The Senate Insurance Committee chairman advised me this week that he will not bring up any Katrina- related insurance bills. This is terrible news for those of us who believed that needed insurance reforms would be passed this year. His reasoning for not bringing any of the 7 bills I have filed to a vote is that he feels they need further study. Lt. Governor Bryant pushed for a shorter session this year which may need to be lengthened if insurance reform needs more study. To the contrary, I believe that 2 1/2 years after Katrina is sufficient time to have studied the problem. Nevertheless, I will continue to dialogue with the chairman in hopes that something can be done to help resolve the insurance crisis we are facing.

Below is a link to an article published in the Clarion-Ledger on this issue.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/NEWS010...

David Baria Blogs On Senate Appointments / The Coast Loses

David Baria's Blog:

It appears that on-the-whole, the Coast did not come out as well as we should have in terms of committee chairmanships. For instance, the longest serving Senator and former President Pro Tempore- Tommy Gollott, was assigned the Chairmanship of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. While this is an important committee for the Gulf Coast, it is not considered to be one of the 6 most important committees. The newly formed committee on Housing has no members from the three coastal counties. The insurance committee does not appear to have any members who ran on the "insurance reform" theme.

Looking at the big picture, all of the important committees are chaired by Republicans, and most committees have a Republican majority. In our system, the victors get the spoils, and as Lt. Gov. Bryant gets to make the appointments, he can appoint anyone he wants regardless of the fact that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Senate. On a less partisan note, my colleagues in the Senate seem to be willing to work with one another. Therefore, I remain optimistic that we will have a productive session.

It's unfortunate to hear that Katrina recovery appears to have taken a back seat to Phil Bryant's partisanship. I had hoped that state leaders would agree and fight for it in Jackson, but again the Coast takes a back seat to the established political players.

Insurance and housing have to be the two biggest Katrina recovery issues and to fail to place advocates for reform and those affected most by the storm on those committees shows ignorance at best.

Good News In The Senate

After a day and a half of testimony, the Judge ruled that Scottie Cuevas' election contest had no merit and dismissed it at about 2 p.m. He can now appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Cuevas was a Senate Democrat who voted like a Republican. He was expected to change parties after the election, but Baria removed that option by beating him in the primary.

Cuevas then raised lots of money with the help of business interests and with the help of Republican attorneys attempted to win by other means. It looks as though the voters choice will stand and David Baria will be a new, strong, progressive voice in the State Senate!

The district is District 46 in South Mississippi.

Republicans Determined To Steal Hancock County Senate Seat

The following e-mail was sent to a who's who of Mississippi industry PACs and Republican donors.

Subject: Scottie Cuevas - It's Not Over

Dear Friends,

You may have wondered about the final outcome of the election in Senate District 46 involving incumbent Scottie Cuevas and David Baria, former head of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association. It's not over, and Scottie needs your assistance. The contested election, where there were numerous irregularities, is in court and Scottie has hired an attorney. He needs your contributions to help pay legal fees. If you made a contribution to Scottie's campaign, now is the time to follow through and get him across the finish line.

Please contact Dick Wilcox at BIPEC 601-000-0000 or 0000000@bipec.org: about contributing to the effort to assist Sen. Cuevas with this election challenge.

Steve Simmons
Director of Government Affairs
Mississippi State Medical Association
601.000.0000 Office
601.000.0000 Cell
601.000.0000 Fax

Yep, these are major REPUBLICAN groups raising money for supposedly Democratic Senator Scottie Cuevas. This is why I supported Baria in the primary. Cuevas doesn't vote like a Democrat AND this seems to confirm the rumor that he was intending to switch to the Republican party had he won re-election.

You may have noticed that I redacted most contact info. Many people treat that as private so I will rarely print anything other than official office numbers or official e-mails as I would hope others would do for me.

Also if you are interested in helping the true Democrat and primary victor David Baria you can contact me for more information.

The Sun Herald Reports On Republican Perry's Meddling in South Mississippi

Our Original Post On The Possible Challenge

A prominent Republican has been on the coast helping Democratic state Sen. Scottie Cuevas prepare for a possible challenge of a primary in which Cuevas' opponent was declared the winner by 36 votes.
The actions by Hinds County GOP chairman Pete Perry demonstrate the importance to Gov. Haley Barbour of holding onto an ally in the 52-member state Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority and often rely on Cuevas and other conservative Democrats to push the Republican governor's agenda.

Cuevas said Thursday that he "most probably" will challenge the primary results.

"That's what we're looking at," Cuevas said. "It's nothing we just want to run in and say, 'Hey, we're filing a challenge.' We want to make sure we have our ducks in a row."

Baria said he thinks it's unusual for Cuevas to have chosen Perry to help re-examine ballot boxes. Pete Perry was in charge of the Hinds County Republican primary on Aug. 7, and there were complaints about the GOP not having people to work in some precincts early that day.

"It seems very ironic that he's down here criticizing the election that our local election officials ran," Baria said of Pete Perry.

The Sun Herald Article

Republican Pete Perry Examines DEMOCRATIC Primary In HANCOCK County?

Look who's surfaced in Hancock County -- Pete Perry the Hinds County Republican Chair who had to defend his complete failure as an elections official in the August 7 primary on every news outlet in Central Mississippi. What's he doing in Hancock? He is examining the ballot boxes in the DEMOCRATIC primary where David Baria beat Scottie Cuevas by about 30 votes.

That's right -- the father of Haley Barbour's policy director Jim Perry is down on the Coast representing a Democratic candidate!

It definitely looks like the Barbour machine had different plans for Senate District 46. Rumors were that Cuevas had promised a party switch to match his voting patterns after he won. Only he didn't win. Now Barbour has sent one of his henchmen down there to screw things up as bad as he did in Hinds County.

Word from the Coast is that nothing untoward has been found, although Perry has behaved badly.

David Baria is a fine, smart and strong man who conducted an honorable campaign. It's no wonder that Barbour and friends don't want him in the Senate and will pull every hat trick they can to keep him away from the capitol.

David Baria For State Senate TV Ad

David Baria is a Democrat running in the Democratic primary against incumbent Scottie Cuevas. Cuevas has sold out his district to business interests before and Democrats can do better by choosing a man who will fight for them, David Baria

Scottie Cuevas S-46 is a Democrat In Name Only

Voter ID has long been a Republican wedge issue used to attack Democrats.

Though the right to vote is expressly enumerated, Republicans in many states have pushed for mandatory photo ID to vote.

Mandatory photo ID has been proven to cut legitimate voter turnout.

It also unnecessarily brings up the specter of poll taxes and purposeful voter suppression in the minds of many older Mississippians.

Scottie Cuevas supports Voter ID laws as proven by his yes vote on Senate Bill 2067 in 2005.

More recently the State Senate faced the decision whether to keep our sales tax (the highest in the nation) where it is OR cut it in half and make up the difference in state revenues by increasing the cigarette tax. This would have both saved people money on food and helped people quit smoking leading to a lower public burden.

One of the key votes on the tobacco tax/grocery tax swap occurred on January 6, 2006, when the Senate (with Amy Tuck pushing it) passed SB 2310 by a margin of 36-15. Cuevas was one of the 15 NO votes and was one of only TWO Democrats who voted against the bill. The vote to override the governor's veto of this bill took place on March 22, 2006, which failed by 28-22 (they needed 2/3's). Cuevas was one of the 22 no votes. After the Senate failed to override the governor's veto of this bill, Tuck came back with another bill, specifically designed to address the concerns of he cities (with regard to the sales tax distribution). That bill passed the Senate on March 3, 2006 by a margin of 28-19, and again Cuevas voted NO.

In addition he has done unDemocratic things like vote to "delete the poverty level aged and disabled (PLAD) category from those individuals eligible for Medicaid assistance" (2004 SB 1434) and voted against teaching civil rights in public schools (2006 SB 2718).

Thankfully Senate District 46 voters have a strong Democratic choice in David Baria who will make a fine State Senator and advocate for Mississippi's Gulf Coast.