Haley Barbour: open mouth, insert foot

Haley Barbour more than likely ended any chance, real or perceived, of his winning the GOP Presidential nomination. This past weekend top Republican 2012 hopefuls gathered in New Orleans for the Southern Leadership Conference. Such visionaries as Palin, Romney and Huckabee were in attendance. Haley, in an interview with CNN while in New Orleans, came to defense of embattled Virgina governor Bob McDonnell. McDonnell is the governor who declared April Confederate History Month with no mention of slavery. He was forced to apologize the next day, so you think Haley would have had a good idea of the fallout nationally his statement was going to make.

See Barbour on CNN.





Eugene Robinson lays Barbour to waste in the Washington Post.

What "doesn't amount to diddly" is the revisionist notion -- which Confederate History Month celebrations perpetuate -- that the Civil War was about something other than slavery. The "lost cause" diehards insist that the treasonous rebellion was a fight over freedom or the Constitution or states' rights. But the "right" that was being fought over was the ability to own human beings, compel their labor, buy and sell them as if they were livestock, exploit them sexually and torture or kill them if they tried to escape.

McDonnell's apology, at least, recognized that slavery was nothing to be proud of. It should be noted, however, that Virginia's previous two governors -- both Democrats -- did not feel the need to proclaim Confederate History Month. McDonnell's original proclamation, before he amended it, seemed designed to appeal to a fringe group for whom the Civil War is still an open question.

This is a free country -- for black people, too, thanks to the defeat of the Confederacy -- and so if some white Southerners want to celebrate the "heritage" of slavery, they are welcome to do so. But while they're entitled to their own set of opinions, they're not entitled to their own set of facts. I'd say that Haley Barbour's studied ignorance was "a bad thing," but that would be a gross understatement.

MS-01 - Nunnelee's primary opponents push Social Security privatization

Will Alan Nunnelee follow the lead of his primary opponents, Henry Ross and Angela McGlowan, and support privatization of Social Security? He is being pressured by the far-right teabagger element of his party, who have some really bat-crap crazy ideas about government, like for instance the privatization of Social Security. George W. Bush tried pushing Social Security privatization through Congress only to see the bill thoroughly rejected by the American people and our Legislative branch. After our recent financial crisis and current recession, one has to wonder how many Americans would have seen their Social Security go up in flames due to the recklessness and lack of regulation of Wall Street? Is that what we want, a crap-shoot with our Social Security?

Supporting this measure might be a winner in the GOP primary for MS-01. The issue is a loser on the federal stage, but hey the teabaggers hate the federal government. This will be interesting to say the least. Our friends at Majority in Mississippi delve in to other positive aspects of the GOP primary developments. As they noted this is a winning issue for the Democrats and distracts from the more toxic issues like the stimulus packages or health care reform.

Majority In Mississippi

Will the MS-01 GOP Primary get bloody?

It is no secret in Mississippi that the NRCC cleared the way for State Senator Alan Nunnelee to run against Travis Childers in Travis's reelection bid for the MS-01 Congressional district. Although Nunnelee is a weak candidate, who comically touts his work on getting "In God We Trust" on a plaque in every classroom as a top legislative accomplishment on the Nunnalee website, Nunnalee has a geographic political advantage of being from Tupelo.

Tupelo is the base area for Childers. If Travis loses badly in the Tupelo area his chances diminish rapidly. Anyone who followed the 2008 race knows how big this dynamic is. The Republicans are willing to run an inadequate candidate for Congress in the race just to possibly win a seat back. Let there be no doubt Nunnalee will be a puppet on a string for the Republican leadership. (it looks they are all are based on the Frum article)

What is interesting is the upstart primary challenge from Fox Newsie Angela McGlowan. McGlowan is a proud teabagger, challenging Nunnelee on his conservative credentials. She has gone as far as suggesting to privatize Social Security, a wingnut's nirvana. This could get interesting in North Mississippi, much to the chagrin of the national GOP leadership.

DCCC Release on McGlowan and Nunnelee for March 3

If this all the Mississippi GOP have, they are screwed

I wandered over to Y'all Politics tonight to what our right wing friends were up to. I expected to see mass pandemonium over there, considering their presidential candidate's implosion while Barack Obama looks like he is already President in the Middle East and Europe. Much to my disappointment no such luck in that regard. Digging deeper I find this submitted by the Mississippi GOP in response to Howard Dean coming to town. This post is from July 17.

I like Y'all Politics and this is not a slight on them. I would have posted it too, had I been in their shoes. But as far as the Mississippi GOP goes, this is pure comedy.

The Mississippi Republican Party joins Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Franks and U.S. Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove in welcoming their leader, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to Jackson on Friday.

"I'm thrilled that Howard Dean is coming to Mississippi. We wish he would come more often," Mississippi Republican Party Chairman-Elect Brad White said. "As a matter of fact, if he would like to stay for remainder of the election, we'll be happy to find him a place to stay."

Dean, known for his northeastern liberal views and disparaging comments about the South, will pass through the state on a cross-country voter registration effort for State Parties.

I love the "northeastern liberal views" part. You readers know it is your duty as a southerner to hate people from the northeastern United States, or at least that is what these jokers say. John Kennedy carried Mississippi. Bobby had no chance. Why the difference you ask? The Civil Rights Act, conceived by JFK and realized by LBJ gave birth to Richard Nixon's racially divisive, but winning "Southern Strategy" we still see, albeit in its waning days. It's nice to see our state GOP brain trust still thinks this form of divisive rhetoric, designed to summon our past demons as well as our current mistrust, is a solid message to attack Howard Dean. "You can't trust him, he is Yankee, and he is a liberal."

"When you look behind the curtain of the Mississippi Democratic Party that Ronnie Musgrove and Chairman Jamie Franks try to portray, you find that it is Howard Dean pulling the strings," White said. “They try to claim they are different and independent, but the national Democrats are running Ronnie Musgrove’s campaign, and when Howard Dean rides the Obama bus into town, is the Mississippi Democratic leadership hopping on board to get their orders.”

While Dean is selling his liberal brand of snake oil to the crowd in Jackson tomorrow, conservative U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker will be touring McNeely Plastics in Clinton, Mississippi, talking about job creation while receiving the endorsement of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association. Wicker’s event is open to the press.

Howard Dean has the Mississippi Democratic Party in the palm of his hand. He is the puppet master. If you believe that I have some ocean front property in Tippah County for sale, on the cheap. Spoken like a backwoods fire and brimstone preacher, the GOP press release characterizes Chairman Dean's politics as "snake oil". Please tell me you have something more to offer the voters of Mississippi, suffering from high gas prices, joblessness, the housing crisis, delayed or withheld Katrina reconstruction, and the loss of loved ones in the Middle East, than taunting that your opposition is selling "snake oil". Very weak.

Below are just a few past comments regarding Howard Dean and his questionable views on the South:

Dean In 2003: "White folks in the South who drive pick-up trucks with Confederate flag decals in the back ought to be voting with us, not them because their kids don't have health insurance, either, and their kids need better schools, too!" (CNN's "Crossfire," 2/21/03)

Howard Dean is dead on. The folks you see driving around with the rebel flags displayed are by far the working class, rural white voters who would benefit greatly by having access to health care, better schools, and affordable college for their children. The GOP has used racial fears to "enslave" this voting group using their own fears to serve as the shackles. These folks voted in high numbers for George W. Bush. What did he do for them? Besides reducing their access to grant money available for college, sending their children to war, increasing their share of the tax burden, taking away their ability to file for bankruptcy in most cases, or keeping minimum wage down until being forced by a Democratic Congress to raise it, I can't think of much he did for the rural working man in Mississippi.

This is just the first half of the post, read the rest at Y'all Poltics.

5th Circuit overturns Voter ID ruling

According to the Clarion Ledger, the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals has overturned an earlier court decision that would force Mississippians to register by political party and to show identification when voting.

From the CL:

The New Orleans court said Pepper’s ruling spawned a free-for-all on appeal.

The court noted the Democratic Party had appealed the mandatory photo ID requirement. The GOP appealed on grounds that Pepper’s order brought Republicans into a lawsuit they did not support. And attorneys for the Mississippi NAACP opposed the voter ID and re-registration portions of Pepper’s order.

There also were briefs filed by the attorney general, the governor and the secretary of state.

“The state is divided ... We will put the parties out of their litigation misery,” wrote Chief Judge Edith H. Jones.Jones said if the Democratic Party had taken steps to keep non-Democrats out of its primaries and been stopped, then the party would have had grounds to sue.

“It is certainly conceivable, for instance, that the party’s mere public announcement of its intent to challenge suspected non-Democrat voters would discourage raiding attempts,” wrote Jones.

However, Jones said whether state law permits party raiding could only be determined if the Democrats tried to stop someone it viewed as a non-Democrat from voting in its primaries.

Jones said the “open-ended nature of the dispute” led Pepper to propose a political remedy.

“When MSDP actually decides to adopt a closed primary, and when the implementation of state law has a demonstrated impact on the conduct of primary elections, a justifiable case or controversy will exist,” the 5th Circuit said.

Landrum Introduces A Soft Line Of Attack On His Opponents In This Ad

In an advertisement that costs this much money do know that every word was selected carefully and they chose to introduce a contrast.

"I'm not a lawyer, politician or a bureaucrat."

He's opening his line of contrast with the other strong contenders for the Republican nomination.

Greg Harper is an attorney. Charlie Ross recently ran for Lt. Governor and was a state senator (politician). John Rounsaville has worked as State Director of the USDA Rural Development Agency (bureaucrat).

"He has a lot of experience in life that doesn't come from a political career..."

I think his folks know that Ross should be considered the leader in this race. So he's focusing on how he's different from him without using his name.

In YouTube you "tag" videos with words so that when people search for those words they find that video. This video's tags include "Charlie," "Ross," "Greg," and "Harper."

Big (total) Money Republicans (and smaller money Democrats)

Wow. Republicans continue to raise and spend substantially more than the Democrats. I'll be doing a cost breakdown right after the election to break down cost per vote for each candidate. Watch for it.

Where Barbour's Money Is Going (The Mississippi Republican Party)

I've commented several times that I was curious how Barbour was spending so much money without appearing to be on TV any more than John Eaves.

Well, I've found two big pieces.

1. Mississippi Republican Party

From 7/30/07 to 9/17/07 the Haley Barbour campaign listed disbursements from the campaign to the Mississippi Republican Party of $1,750,000.00. That has paid for a lot of direct mail (see below) and for ads attacking Democrats running for Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and House Leadership. He wants to makeover all of state government in his own image.

Ads by the Mississippi Republican Party attacking Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor Jamie Franks have added up to $325,000 plus the Mississippi Republican Party transfered $35,000 in cash to his account for a total of $360,000 in assistance.

2. Direct Mail (paid for by Mississippi Republican Party)

While attempting to appear above the fray in his TV ads (with one exception) Barbour's money at the Mississippi Republican Party has purchased a lot of direct mailings attacking John Eaves from several angles. It's a reasonable strategy; appear cool and non-threatened in mass media and go hard negative in targeted media. If anyone will send me a scan I'd be happy to put them up.

Don't Tell Me The Republicans Don't Fear Franks

The State Republican Party has spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads attacking Jamie Franks.

The Republican State Leadership Committee has now purchased 440,000 of advertising against Jamie Franks.

It's not inconceivable to think that by the end of this campaign that Phil Bryant will have been the beneficiary of over one million dollars in independent expenditures.

Do you think the Republicans are sure of their man's re-election?

Do you think Bryant really has that double digit lead they happily fed Republican partisans?

I think it's clear that the race is close and Republicans are scared. The question is will burying Franks in negative advertising work?

Dewey Phil Bryant and Republicans Play Fast and Loose with the Facts

First Republican ad distorting the truth for Dewey Phil Bryant:


Franks' campaign responds with the facts:

Ad Watch: Anti-Franks Ad, #1

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks is a personal injury trial lawyer who tried to stop tort reform."(Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: Co-Authored Tort Reform Bill in 2004. On June 2, 2004, the House passed (92-24) HB 13, co-authored by Jamie Franks, a tort reform bill. The legislation imposed non-economic caps, caps on punitive damages, protected innocent sellers of defective products and implemented several liability restrictions. (NFIB, Jun. 2, 2004)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks has given thousands of dollars to liberals like John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bennie Thompson who don't share our values." (Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: Total amount contributed to the above candidates: $2250. $1,000 to Bennie Thompson in 2006. $1,000 to John Kerry in 2004. $250 to Al Gore in 1999. (Center for Responsive Politics)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted for millions in new taxes. And high taxes hurt families and cost jobs." (Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: On Feb. 9, 2005, the House PASSED HB 1409. The bill provided for new fees to be charged by state agencies for services provided, not a tax increase on individual taxpayers or businesses as the ad implies. (Ironically, the first fee increase in the bill was for the State Auditor's Office. Phil Bryant continuously cites the low fees he is allowed to charge as the reason his office is drastically behind in audits performed.) The bill died in Senate committee. Jamie Franks voted AYE. (BIPEC Legislative Scorecard, 2005; MS House, HB 1409, 2005)

Second Republican ad playing loose with the truth for Dewey Phil Bryant:


Franks' campaign responds again with the facts:

Ad Watch: Anti-Franks Ad, #2

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted against a comprehensive voter ID program to clean up election fraud." (Anti-Franks Ad, #2)

FACT: On May 19, 2004, the House PASSED HB 1 on third reading. Jamie Franks voted "aye" for initial passage.

Jamie Franks has supported voter ID legislation. On Apr. 13, 2004; the House PASSED (92-28) HB 1827. The bill required voters to present identification listed in the Help America Vote Act, but exempted persons 65 or older. Jamie Franks voted "aye." (House Journal, Apr. 13, 2004, p. 870; Clarion Ledger, Apr. 14, 2004)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted against tax cuts for small business that helped create new jobs." (Anti-Franks Ad, # 2)

FACT: SB 2480 (2005, Regular Session) would have simply prevented a planned increase, not raise taxes as the ad claims. SB2480 was signed into law on 3/23 by Governor Haley Barbour.

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted for the beef plant boondoggle that cost taxpayers 55 million dollars" (Anti-Franks Ad, # 2)

FACT: Along with nearly every other Legislator, Jamie Franks voted to allow the Land, Water and Timber Resources Board to fund projects to promote agriculture in Mississippi. One of those projects was Mississippi Beef Processors. The State Auditor knew in April of 2002 about a fraudulent project invoice in excess of $3,800 forged by the CEO of the Beef Plant. If Phil Bryant had done his job and reported the CEO at that time, no further funds possibly would have been allocated to the project.

The Legislature provided $50,000 to Bryant to fund what they thought would be Bryant's professional oversight of all Board projects. Over the next two years, Bryant only spent $10,000 of the allocation, and never provided the Legislature with reports that warned of the project's massive problems. As the only state official with the authority to account for the taxpayers' money, Bryant simply did not do his job. Had the Legislature known what he knew, the outcome could have been vastly different. And Bryant's thirst for the spotlight insured that others who had a criminal role in the debacle will never be prosecuted because he announced an investigation the day before the Attorney General was set to wire an informant in hopes of netting other perpetrators.

Jamie Franks Responds To Republican Attacks

The Republican Party has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Jamie Franks statewide.

He faces Dewey Phil Bryant on November 6th.

Republicans Attack And Use A Standard Template

Republicans attack and if they weren't statewide (I think) I'd think they were joking.

If Republicans want to attack Democrats what do they say regardless of the candidate?

1. He's liberal
2. He'll raise taxes
3. He likes lawyers

All attacks generally are tied together with a line saying something to the effect of he's not like us. Well if you've seen any ads like that, watching this will leave you feeling deja vu all over again.



What Franks says:

From his pamphlet.

Phil Bryant And Republican Party Go On TV

Phil Bryant has a new Biographical Spot up paid for by his campaign.

The Mississippi Republican Party has up an ad attacking Jamie Franks.

I'll get video to you as soon as I have it and my analysis will come once I've seen the ads.