Sun Herald off the mark on ballot flap

An opinion piece by Geoff Pender in the Sun Herald misses the mark on the controversy surrounding the attempts by Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to move the Musgrove - Wicker race to the bottom of the ballot. While Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green has ordered a revised ballot, the decision will likely be overturned in favor of the Secretary of State. Pender is apparently a big reader of Y'all Politics and quoted them on the chances of this decision being overturned by the Chamber of Commerce Supreme Court.

Compounding Musgrove's problems on this, Y'all says, is the fact that Barbour has a record of "stomping" Musgrove at the polls and in court and that the judge who ruled in Musgrove's favor at the lower court level "has been overturned more times than a pancake at IHOP."

Pender wrongly asserts that Musgrove is wasting his time and energy fighting this issue. Again he quotes his source Y'all Politics.

I just read an entry on the Y'all Politics blog that sums up my consternation: "Why would Ronnie Musgrove seem poised to die on this particular hill of 'ballot placement'? Who really cares about this? For a candidate that wanted to talk about earmarks and the price of gasoline, his campaign has now irrevocably shifted the news cycle for at least the next 14 days over legal wranglings over ballot placement."

Pender makes light of the idea that being placed at the bottom of the ballot will effect turnout. Why then is the appeal to the Supreme Court being made if it is baseless worry. There will be a major influx of new voters, many of who are coming primarily to vote for Obama. By moving this race to the bottom, the fact is that a percentage of those voters will not find the Musgrove Wicker race. Whatever that percentage is might be enough to keep Ronnie Musgrove at bay.

Musgrove has his knickers in a bunch that the race between him and Wicker will appear - as special elections typically do - near the end of a long ballot in November. He fears "ballot drop-off," that people will get tired of voting before they get to the end or something.

According to Pender special elections have always been place at the bottom of the ballot. The Governor has even made the erroneous claim that Musgrove approved a 2002 ballot that had the special elections at the bottom of the ballot. While it is true there were special elections at the bottom of the 2002 ballot, they were district races which state law orders to be placed at the bottom of the ballot. Also on the ballot in 2002 was the special election for the Court of Appeals, which believe it or not, was placed near the top, in the same section as the other elections for the Court of Appeals.

Jim Hood has both state law and precedence on his side. Will that be enough to sway the Chamber of Commerce Supreme Court? I am not holding my breath.

Clarion Ledger has copy of questionable ballot

Follow this link to the Clarion Ledger to view a sample ballot that lists the special election at the bottom of the ballot.

Sample Ballot

According to an article in this morning's Clarion Ledger, AG Jim Hood asserts that all 82 county election commissioners are required by law to list the disputed race near the top of the ballot. Attorney's representing the Secretary of State and Governor claim that historical precedence allows them to place the race on the ballot below the general elections. Hood contends that while that may have been true in the past, the law changed in 2000.

A ruling by Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tommie Green is expected today. Don't expect that to be the end of it however. Barbour and Hosemann are prepared to appeal to the state's highest court if they don't like the decision. The idea of this being brought in front of a federal court has been tossed around as well.

Circuit Court to rule on ballot-gate

The Supreme Court might have lifted the injunction prevent the distribution of the illegal ballots, but the court will still have their say. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tommie Green is to issue a decision today on whether or not the state has to revise its ballots and redistribute new copies. As of this post I have not heard a decision. Here is the Clarion Ledger,

But it’s not clear whether Judge Tomie Green’s ruling, expected later today, will order a revised ballot to be sent to election commissioners. A sample ballot that places the race near the bottom has been sent to commissioners since the state Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside her order to block it. (...)

(...) “There evidently is something else going on that would make you take a Senate office and put it at the back of the ballot,” Green said.

Hinds County Judge blocks ballot decision

Judge Tommie Green has issued a temporary restraining order to stop the shipment of ballots until a a hearing can be conducted. The law is clear. Federal elections go at the TOP of the ballot. The Mississippi GOP is getting some awful press today, and here is to it getting worse.

From the Clarion Ledger minutes ago:

Pike County Election Commissioner Trudy Berger filed a lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit Court only hours after the commission meeting.

“My client's responsibilities are to the voters and the law is clear. Elections for federal office should be at the top of the ballot. The proposed ballot buries the most prominent election in the state and will cause confusion on Election Day,” said Jackson Attorney Sam Begley, who is representing Berger.

House GOP Adopts New Theme

The House GOP adopted a new slogan (in light of all their recent successes).

"The Change You Deserve."

Sound familiar? If you watch TV, and you saw an ad for a prescription anti-depressant drug Effexor, you may have in fact heard this slogan before.

It was first discovered by a blogger in Minnesota, but here's what Jason Linkins from The Huffington Post had to say about the drug's (and GOP's) side effects.

Effexor, also known as Venlafaxine, is approved for the treatment "of depression, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder in adults." Its common side effects are very much in keeping with the world the House Republicans have striven to build: nausea, apathy, constipation, fatigue, vertigo, sexual dysfunction, sweating, memory loss, and - and I swear I am not making this up - "electric shock-like sensations also called 'brain zaps.'"

Its less common side effects are equally awesome in their appropriateness.

And when the Food And Drug Administration reviewed the ad copy that included the
tagline, "The change you deserve," it took issue with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Effexor, saying that the company made "unsubstantiated superiority claims." Sounds like the GOP have picked an ironically accurate tagline for their efforts!

Costs of elections

The Daily Journal ran the numbers on how much it is costing the taxpayers of Mississippi to run essentially two special elections. The total- nearly $1 million dollars. Keep in mind when you see these numbers, that Haley Barbour and his attorneys argued that holding a special election for the vacant Senate seat would cost the taxpayers more money (and went against the Mississippi constitution). However, we can go with the constitution, and spend $1 million on the NE Miss race.

The first number is for the special election, the second number is for the runoff.

COUNTIES SPECIAL RUNOFF
Alcorn $20,000 $18,000
Benton $7,700 $7,700
Calhoun $14,000 $14,000
Chickasaw $8,000 $8,000
Choctaw $6,800 $6,800
Clay $10,000 $10,000
DeSoto $35,000 $30,000
Grenada $12,500 $12,000
Itawamba $7,800 $7,800
Lafayette $12,500 $12,000
Lee $65,000 $45,000
Lowndes $25,000 $18,000
Marshall $12,000 $10,000
Monroe $25,000 $25,000
Panola $12,500 $12,500
Pontotoc $21,000 $21,000
Prentiss $9,000 $9,000
Tate $16,500 $16,500
Tippah $10,000 $10,000
Tishomingo $20,000 $15,000
Union $10,000 $10,000
Webster $9,000 $9,000
*Winston Unavailable Unavailable
Yalobusha $17,000 $6,000
TOTAL $386,300 $333,300
Sec of State $130,900 $130,900
GRAND TOTAL $517,200 $464,200
* Winston County had only one precinct.

When journalists are wrong...

I ran across "Voter Info: Who Can Vote April 1" today on the Meridian Star's website.

While generally correct, there is one glaring over-generalization:

That list of citizens who cannot vote is a lot shorter than the list of those who can. People who voted on a Democratic ballot in the March 11 primary cannot vote in the run-off, which is between two Republicans. People who were not registered to vote by the Feb. 9, 2008 deadline are also not allowed to vote in the run-off. There's still time to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election, though. And of course anyone who is not eligible to vote in a regular election, such as a non-resident of Lauderdale County or a convicted felon, will not be able to vote in Lauderdale County April 1 either.

According to the Secretary of State, only the following felonies disenfranchise voters. People deserve their right to vote, and they deserve to have the news reported to them accurately!

Has never been convicted of any crime listed in Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution (murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement, or bigamy).

Republican Activist Court Disenfranchises the Public

The Clarion Ledger

This means that Barbour appointee Roger Wicker will remain Senator until November.

In a 7-2 decision, the court said the state statute was unclear and it was reasonable for the election to be in November instead of March as stated by Attorney General Jim Hood.

The Republican activist court did the job those campaign contributions paid them to. This is what happens when the Republican party and the US Chamber of Commerce buy our Supreme Court elections.

How is it "reasonable" to make voters wait till November to have any say on their new Senator?

Give me a break.

Will Bardwell's analysis of the decision that Barbour appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court

Innovation Starts At College Campuses: Cirino For Southern Miss

Campaigning has gone from simple word of mouth and flyering to sophisticated voter turnout and the sucessful use of social networking sites like Facebook and new media like YouTube.


Melissa Cirino for University of Southern Mississippi Student Government President!


If Your Have Any Interest In Writing For Cotton Mouth Click Here

+ watch for exclusive articles by prominent politicos to appear on Cotton Mouth next week.

Money can buy you judges - if you're big business

Miss. Chief Justice Jim Smith held a press conference yesterday about elected v. appointed judges. Smith, who is up for re-election this year, wants Mississippi to revive a panel from 1993, study the current system, and then have attorneys and businesses nominate and appoint appellate judges.

While there are still too many issues to decide whether we need to reform the current system, there are two immediate problems here.

1. Judges could still be enticed to submit favorable verdicts with the reward being appointments.
2. Businesses have no business being in the courtroom as the judge.

Why is it okay that if you have a whole lot of money, you are suddenly qualified to assess a attorney's abilities and knowledge in regard to law?

Answer: When big business financed your campaign! Smith's campaign finance report from 2000 is filled with contributions from businesses and business PAC's. And when the U.S. Chamber has vowed to launch independent expenditure campaigns wherever they are needed this year- up to $60M- it is no wonder business has such an influence on who our judges are.

Victory For Mississippi And Democrats / Will It Last?

Daily Kos:
We've won the first round in the war over scheduling Mississippi's special election to replace Senator Trent Lott:

A Hinds County Circuit judge ruled today that Gov. Haley Barbour exceeded his constitutional authority by setting the special election to replace former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott for November.

DeLaughter heard about an hour of arguments Monday in the dispute between state Attorney General Jim Hood and Barbour.

Barbour had intended to schedule the special election in November, no doubt because a year of incumbency and a presidential election on the same day (which would no doubt go strongly for the Republican in Mississippi) would help his chosen, GOP Representative Senator Roger Wicker.

Mississippi law mandates that special elections be held within 90 days of a vacancy, except in years in which a statewide election occurs. The vacancy technically occurred in 2007, but after the statewide election had been held; therein lies the controversy.

For the time being, however, the courts have ruled against Barbour:

In his order, DeLaughter said the election should be held "within 90 days of the governor's Dec. 20, 2007 proclamation of writ of election...on or before March 19, 2008.

Hood cited Mississippi Code 23-15-855, which applies to U.S. senator vacancies. He and Barbour have differing interpretations of that statute.

....

As this post later points out this case will likely go to The Mississippi Supreme Court that is stacked with Republicans. Many of those judges were placed there with help from the partisan Republican US Chamber of Commerce. We'll see how the law fares there, but for today we can celebrate.

Cost Per Vote and Votes Per Ad Iowa Style

Left in Alabama:

I poked around a little bit with good ol' Google and dug this up. Obama spent $9 million on about 11000 ad spots. Edwards spent $3.2 million on 3700 ads.
Clinton spent about $7.2 million on about 8000 TV ads. Huckabee spent $1.4 million on 1800 ads. Romney spent $7 million for 8500 ads. Thompson spent $1.1 million for 1100 ads.

So, in advertising costs alone, Obama spent about $99 per vote. Edwards spent about $45 per vote. Clinton spent about $104 per vote. Huckabee spent about $36 per vote. Romney spent about $246 per vote. Thompson spent about $74 per vote.

More fun with a calculator - Obama got 8.26 votes per ad. Edwards got 19.38 votes per ad. Clinton got 8.66 votes per ad. Huckabee got 21.53 votes per ad. Romney got 3.35 votes per ad. Thompson got 13.47 votes per ad.

Good job Hearding Old Cats at Left in Alabama!

Democrats' Opinion on Senate Election

From a Press Release:

Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, issued the following statement today concerning the upcoming special election for U.S. Senate and the importance of electing a Democrat.

“We believe that Mississippians, like residents across the rest of the nation, want to elect U.S. senators who will be a part of the majority. It’s important for Mississippi voters to elect a Democrat to this key position because Democrats are the majority party.

“That way our senator will have a seat at the table in Washington and be able to participate in decisions surrounding such important issues as national security, health care, economic development and continued recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

“The Mississippi Democratic Party will field a strong, high-profile candidate who will win this important U.S. Senate seat and work hard to improve the lives of every resident in Mississippi and across this nation.

“The state party also supports the complaint Attorney General Jim Hood filed today in Hinds County Circuit Court, asking the court to enforce state law that requires the governor to call a special election for this U.S. Senate seat within 90 days of appointing an interim senator. Doing so will ensure Mississippians are represented in Washington by someone of their choice as soon as possible.

“Mississippians are dissatisfied with the direction our country is headed and it’s clear they want change. But unfortunately Roger Wicker only offers more of the Washington status quo. Voters should be given the opportunity to decide as soon as possible if they want to endorse Wicker’s status quo record or endorse new leadership that will deliver the change Mississippi is demanding.”

Yep. Democrats look to be the Majority in both houses of Congress for many years to come. A seat at the table would be helpful indeed. Wicker has been nothing short of a blind partisan; not a trait that will help Mississippi in the near future.

PS. I'm Back. (Pictures and video from my trip will follow in a week or so.) Don't be shy.

Why Are Republicans Afraid Of A Fair Fight?

The following is a guest post by Renick Taylor:

Trent Lott will serve less than 12 months into his current term. Lott had been making noise about not running in 06 and retiring. Then something changed his mind and he ran again sailing to victory.

Meanwhile, Chip Pickering MS Third District Congressman, decides not to seek reelection citing “future opportunities”. Pickering has long been considered as a replacement for either Cochran or Lott. Pickering’s retirement was shocking news at the time but it makes more sense after the Lott retirement announcement.

Lott’s retirement also sheds light on why so much out of state money flowed into the Barbour campaign for Governor, Barbour had to be reelected to be there to appoint a Republican (Pickering?) to Lott’s Senate seat. The new Republican Senator (Pickering?) can run his first election as an incumbent.

Why not just have a fair election over Lott’s senate seat? The people of Mississippi were not allowed to vote for a new Senator. Instead of voting we have shady backroom appointments.

Shame on Senator Lott for going along with this ploy. All Mississippians were tricked by him into thinking he would serve out his term or at least serve until a successor is chosen. Lott should have retired properly and let a fair election take place.

I’m very disappointed that this kind of election subversion can occur in Mississippi. Cochran was making noise about retirement before his next election as well. Perhaps after Mississippi reelects Thad Cochran in 08 he can suddenly retire and Barbour can appoint himself as Senator, another fair election could be averted by the Republicans.

Ouch (or)

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To*

- I fully expected losses in the races for Governor, Lt. Governor, Treasurer, Auditor, and Secretary of State. It was clear that in those races the Republicans was ahead far in advance of the election.

- I also fully expected Jim Hood's win and still don't understand why they spent all that money even after it was clear that he would still win. I'm glad he won with a lead better than any other statewide race with the exception of Treasurer where even I voted for the Republican. (Indereformocrat Shawn O'Hara needs help, not a position of responsibility.)

- The heart-breakers were for the positions of Commissioner of Insurance and Commissioner of Agriculture. Gary Anderson looked behind, but polling did not show the hidden bias that once again robbed him of a position he was better suited for than his opponent. I thought that the Agriculture race would go to House and after having placed all blame on the legislature and Mississippi State University Lester would find his defeat there. It looks like there too the Democrat goes down in defeat.

That leaves the unenviable position of 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat statewide. I think it's fair to say that Mississippi Democrats have hit the bottom of the curve with successes in the Senate and not losing seats in the House (or possibly one, I'm not sure).

*Subtitle recommended by my father.

Faggert: Keep the Flag, Keep the Governor

The Associated Press:

Earl Faggert, the leader of a heritage group that fought to keep a Confederate emblem on the Mississippi flag, is now on the payroll of Gov. Haley Barbour’s re-election campaign.

A finance report filed this month shows the Barbour campaign had paid Faggert $7,651 through Sept. 30.

Faggert said he is a longtime supporter of Barbour and particularly admires the governor’s work in the state’s Katrina recovery.

In a statewide election in April 2001, Mississippians voted nearly 2-to-1 to keep the Confederate battle flag in the design of the state flag. Faggert was chairman of the Mississippi Heritage Political Action Committee, a group that campaigned to keep the Confederate symbol — a blue X with 13 white stars, atop a red field.

The Confederate battle flag has been part of the state flag since 1894. In May 2000, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that flag had lacked official status since 1906, when state laws were updated and the flag design was not described in statute.

I'd always assumed that the folks trying to turn out "heritage" voters were closely connected with the Barbour campaigns. This doesn't prove anything, but it comes awfully close. In other news Barbour says he wants 20% of the black vote. I'll make a prediction right now. He doesn't.

Text of The Letter Sent To Mr. Riley

The letter Mr. Paul Leslie Riley received concerning the challenge to his candidacy:

Dear Mr. Riley:

This letter will serve as official notice that serious issues have arisen as to your qualifications as the Mississippi Constitution Party nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, a matter which will be subject to formal review by the State Board of Election Commissioners (hereafter "Board").

You declared on your March 1, 2007 candidate qualifying papers that you are a legal resident of Pontotoc County. However, it appears from records maintained by the Circuit Clerk of Pontotoc County that you are not a qualified elector of that county. A finding that you are not a qualified elector of that county could result in your disqualification from being on the November 2007 General Election ballot.

As noted earlier, you are hereby notified that the Board will meet Tuesday, September 11, 2007 to review the issue of your qualifications to serve as a candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, as well as to approve the official sample ballot for the November 6, 2007 General Election. The meeting will be held at 1:30 pm on the 19th floor of the Walter Sellers Building. You may attend the meeting and will be given five (5) minutes to address the Board. Furthermore, you may submit a written response in support of your candidacy, as well as provide any supporting documentation by filing that with Secretary of State at the above-referenced address. You are requested to provide such a written response by no later than the close of business on Monday, September 10, 2007.

Please contact me at (###) ###-#### if you have any questions regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Willie C. Allen
Director of Elections Administration

The quote I found strangest was this:

You may attend the meeting and will be given five (5) minutes to address the Board.

They are saying they may kick him off the ballot (a man who has lived in the state his entire life) due to a technicallity and he "may" attend the meeting?

Lester Spell, this is low, down, dirty, and desperate and shows the low opinion you have of your own re-election chances.