Governor Bryant?

The Sun Herald reported today that Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is considering a run for governor in 2011. (Unless Barbour changes the Mississippi Constitution, this is his last term.)

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant told the Sun Herald Thursday he is mulling a run for governor, the same day he held a fundraiser to build his war chest for future campaigns.

Bryant said he had not made any firm decision yet about whether to seek re-election as lieutenant governor or to run for governor, but he was certainly considering seeking higher office.

He said keeping revenue in his political account is vital, so Bryant was to hold a fundraiser at a Biloxi home Thursday where attendees would pay $250 a couple, he said. The funds could be used for either his reelection or, if he so chooses, a bid to become governor when Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, an ally of Bryant's, finishes his last term, which would officially end in early 2012 following the 2011 elections.

"I haven't made that decision yet," Bryant said. "The one thing you never try to do is look three years into the future and decide but the one thing I do know is whether I am running for re-election or decide to run for governor it is going to take a lot of money to do so. I don't like to try to wait until the last minute."

We have all been speculating on what he might do in 2011, so it's not surprising to see his comments.

Several employees of the state auditor's office (former and current) have made rumblings about the mess Bryant made while auditor. It will be interesting to see if Pickering can clean up the mess before 2011 since it will come back to haunt Bryant if he runs for governor.

Hood will not defend Medicaid suit

This will be called partisan politics. Everything that comes from the AG is called partisan politics. You want to know why? Because he's "the last man standing" among statewide Democrats.

First, the issue at hand: Hood's decision not to represent the state against claims that Gov. Barbour's latest Medicaid plan is in someway improper.

Hood's reasoning is sound:

"Due to the specific issues involved in this case, we would not be able to raise defenses that could conflict with the powers of my other two clients — the legislative and judicial branches,” Hood said.

Hood's office does not represent Gov. Barbour. He represents the state as a whole. And it must be his office's opinion that if he represented the governor -- that would be the executive branch -- then he would be doing a disservice to the Legislature or the courts -- that would be the legislative and judicial branches, accordingly.

Now, on to another tidbit.

If you look at the 2007 elections, you'll notice an interesting point: Jim Hood won more votes than any other candidate running. Here's a ranking of statewide vote-getters:

1. AG Hood: 440,017
2. Treasurer Reeves: 436,833
3. Lt. Gov. Bryant: 431,747
4. Gov. Barbour: 430,807
5. SOS Hosemann: 425,228
6. Insurance Comm. Chaney: 414,718
7. Auditor Pickering: 399,279
8. Ag Comm. Spell: 371,191

From where I'm sitting, I see a man who is admired for doing the right thing, for being tough and for not being scared to make tough calls.

I also see a GOP attack machine that is dead set on making sure he doesn't win re-election in 2011, or better yet, beating ol' Phil for the top spot.

Bryant's special session idea not very popular

House Speaker Billy McCoy is saying no thanks to Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant's idea of a special session.

From this DJ article:

"Why call a special session in October?" McCoy asked in a prepared statement. "Simply wait two months and we'll be back in regular session at no additional costs."

It gets better over at the C-L, where McCoy drops this line:

"Seems like (Bryant) is fast moving into the governor's position. ... But he's not governor yet," McCoy, D-Rienzi, said, referring to widespread speculation that Bryant will seek the office in 2011.

Even some of Bryant's top supporters are less than enthusiastic about the idea:

Sen. Terry Brown, R-Columbus, said, "If I'm called, I'll show up. But we've been in enough special sessions already."

Now that it is clear that some sort of tobacco tax is likely, the fight will be centered on what how to use the money:

Bryant told reporters that a debate over what to do with the revenue could be postponed until January. But an argument over how much to tax tobacco also appears likely.

State Rep. George Flaggs, a Democrat who has authored several bills to increase tobacco taxes, said he'll push for a $1 hike and split the revenue to pay for Medicaid and services in the general budget. Flaggs' last bill would have hiked the tax by 44 cents.

But Bryant's spokesman said the lieutenant governor disagrees with using a tobacco tax hike as part of a long-term funding solution to Medicaid.

Why would Bryant compromise when he can try to get everything his way?

Another tobacco tax prediction

There's one other prediction I wanted to share with you about the tobacco tax, but I felt it was important enough to warrant a separate post from the one on the lt. gov. urging a special session.

Republicans will try to minimize the increase by speaking in percentages, not raw dollars and cents, when discussing by how much to increase the tobacco tax.

The state's current tobacco tax stands at 18 cents per pack.

Republicans will want to raise that 100 percent or 200 percent. All big numbers. All sounding quite impressive to the voters.

But don't be fooled. At even 200 percent, we're talking just a 36-cent increase. That's a drop in the bucket. It would barely generate enough tax dollars to be beneficial to the state.

Democrats have to talk in cents, never percentages. Never percentages. Listen to me, never percentages. Because 50 cents might be 277 percent, and a dollar might be 555 percent, but it's still just 50 cents or a dollar.

People grasp 50 cents. People grasp a dollar. People are OK with 50 cents and a dollar.

People will get scared at 277 percent -- and really scared at 555 percent -- compared to 100 percent.

Bet that Gov. Barbour is not going to just cave on this tax. He'll try to bog it down in the House because "Democrats are greedy and want a 300 percent increase instead of just a 100 percent increase".

OK. Predictions done. I'm taking off my big red swami hat now.

Will Phil Bryant hijack the tobacco tax?

No one is better than Republicans at "if you can't beat them, join them" politics.

And so, it comes as no suprise that Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is calling for an October special session to discuss a tobacco tax.

Here's my prediction if we in fact do get a tobacco tax passed in October:

1. The House will have to settle for a much lower increase than will be beneficial to the state, but they'll still be able to claim victory in forcing Barbour to sign one.
2. Barbour will sign the tobacco tax because it is so low that it won't really hurt his buddies at the tobacco companies.
3. The bill will come with no spending ties, and then during the regular session Bryant and the Senate will pass a bill that diverts the tobacco tax increase to pay for rising tuition costs.
4. Bryant will walk away with all the credit because he called the special session and recommended that the increase be passed and he recommended that it go toward tuition, which gives him the education plank for his gubernatorial run.

But here's another scenario, where the Republicans do what they do best, which is confuse the hell out of the general public to the point that the voters think they are trying to accomplish something when in fact they are doing nothing more than playing "gotcha politics".

The scenario:

1. Bryant and the Senate propose a miniscule tobacco tax increase, floating inflated numbers on increased revenue for the state and hypothetical uses for this money, such as offsetting tuition increases.
2. The House refuses to cave because they know the value of this tax increase, and if they pass a 25-cent increase now, they'll never get the modest -- much less ample -- increase that will actually benefit the state.
3. The GOP spin machine will go full force talking about how Democrats are obstructing the path to a cigarette tax that everyone -- including good ol' Bryant -- wants. The GOP will accuse Democrats of being the reason for the state not being able to provide relief for Medicaid or higher tuition.
4. Bryant will have his education plank for his gubernatorial run.

Granted, I may be reading too much into the tution thing. It probably is unrelated to the tobacco tax plan. But little reason exists for Bryant's not wanting to decide how the tax will be spent in October except for they want to spend it in an area that will be more politically beneficial to them.

College tuition instead of health care fits that bill, folks...

Haley Barbour, the ball is in your court

In a game of political chess played out in downtown Jackson, House Democrats came out smelling like roses. As you are well aware a special session has been called by Haley Barbour to deal with the $90 million budget shortfall in Medicaid. Haley Barbour's lackey Phil Bryant blocked consideration of tobacco taxes for the special session, because the governor did not list tobacco taxes as an agenda item. Raising the hospital tax is the only solution on the table to make up the Medicaid shortfall in the special session. Haley is threatening to make deep cuts in Medicaid to make up for the $90 million shortfall.

What the Democrats in the House did today was beyond genius. The budgetary year starts July 1. The $90 million will not come into play until next spring.

Before leaving, the Democrat-controlled House voted Friday, largely along party lines, to tell Republican Gov. Haley Barbour not to make any cuts in the program until at least February.

That is right! It is up to you Haley Barbour. The money is there to make it until next session. Will you make the deep cuts you have promised and throw Aunt May out of the nursing home? Will you make those deep cuts and deny the poor child living in HUD housing an opportunity for medical treatment? The ball is in your court Governor. Let us see the real Haley Barbour.

Haley Barbour: My way or the poor people get it

Refusing to budge an inch on his insistence of raising hospital taxes, and more noticeably in his resistance to increase tobacco taxes, Haley Barbour is threatening to cut Medicaid by $375 million if the House does not capitulate to his demands. Speaker Billy McCoy has already brought compromise to the table, but the governor stands firm in his defense of big tobacco. So much for the sick, poor, elderly, and disabled on Medicaid, if Haley does not get his way you are out of luck. He would rather cut your benefits than raise taxes on tobacco.

The Commercial Dispatch had this to say,

The state Legislature resumes its special session Thursday to try resolving a Medicaid-funding stalemate that Republican Gov. Haley Barbour says will force him to make painful health care budget cuts next week if the Democratic-dominated House doesn’t agree to his demand for a hospital tax.Barbour and Senate President Phil Bryant say the compromise-seeking House must pass the Republican-led Senate’s tax bill or else see hospitals lose $375 million in Medicaid payments.

Spineless Phil Bryant, who should show his independence from the governor's office and get a solution passed, has proven to be another Barbour clone.

“I will not compromise the bill the Senate has passed for political purposes,” said Bryant, who’s also lieutenant governor and Barbour’s chief ally.

If the governor and his lackey don't get their way, the poor people of Mississippi are going to suffer.

Greenwood Commonwealth: Playing Chicken With Medicaid

The Greenwood Commonwealth gets it right in their editorial Saturday on the state's looming Medicaid crisis. Haley Barbour has issues with raising the very low tobacco tax no matter what is at stake. As The Commonwealth points out let us not forget that Haley Barbour was a big time lobbyist for the tobacco industry. The Greenwood based paper also laid a large share of the blame at the feet of Phil Bryant, who has proven to be ineffectual at getting both sides to come to a solution.

One is the Haley Barbour point of view. Barbour wants to shore up a $90 million shortfall in the program that provides health care for the needy with a hospital tax, and, as of now, it’s his way or no way.

Another is the majority House Democratic view advocated by Speaker Billy McCoy. They want to raise Mississippi’s relatively low tax on cigarettes to fund at least part of the deficit, something Barbour, the former tobacco lobbyist, has resisted since he’s been in office.

There is more:

Not to be lost in all of this, too, is an apparent lack of leadership on the part of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to craft any sort of solution that both sides can accept.

Haley is using the poor folks of Mississippi as a political football. As the Commonwealth points out, if cuts are made Barbour will try and blame Speaker McCoy and House Democrats.

Medicaid compromise needed

Our state's Medicaid program is in deep trouble due to a $90 million budget shortfall. A special session has been called to get something done or cuts will have to be made to this crucial program. Medicaid helps provide some level of health care to roughly one quarter of our population. This is a very serious issue to a lot of good people in this state.

Governor Haley Barbour has proposed to fill the gap with a per-bed tax on hospitals. This cost will ultimately be passed on to the patients. The Senate passed a bill that is in line with the governor. The House passed a bill that would use funds from a proposed increase in the tobacco tax to make budgetary ends meet. The governor has threatened to make severe cuts to Medicaid if his plan is not used.

Speaker Billy McCoy and House lawmakers have offered a compromise that would meet the governor in the middle. Meanwhile Haley Barbour has tried to paint McCoy as being an obstructionist. That seems funny to me, since the House has been willing to compromise, but not the governor.

The one issue presenting the greatest challenge is a $90 million deficit in the Division of Medicaid, which provides health care for about 600,000 elderly, disabled and poor pregnant women and children.

The governor has said he will begin making cuts in the health care agency when the fiscal year begins on July 1 if the Legislature does not pass a $167.25 per bed, per day tax on hospitals based on their patient count in 2006.

The Senate has passed the plan. The House leadership prefers a hike in the cigarette tax, though it has offered a partial hospital tax/cigarette tax compromise.

In Sunday's Daily Journal key House Democrats offered hope that Lt. Governor Phil Bryant will break with the Governor and come to a compromise.

"I think the lieutenant governor is poised to do good things," said House Public Health Committee Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville. "...It would take courage, independence and a spirit of compromise.

"But I think he has it in him." ...

...Senate Public Health Committee Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said Bryant already has broken with the governor on this issue. Early on, Barbour proposed placing a gross revenue assessment on the hospitals.

Bryant, Bryan said, rejected that proposal because of concerns the plan would result in the bankruptcy of some small hospitals.

Expect a lot of rhetoric out of the governor's office blaming Speaker McCoy and House Democrats for obstructing his plan. The real question is, which side offers compromise and which side offers the sound and fury of hot air?

Governor's Statement

Below is Governor Barbour's statement on signing SB 2988. This bill, which many to the far right, including JT & Dave and Phil Bryant, have applauded, is causing serious headaches in the business community. The Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA) has been aggressively fighting this bill and the heavy, and sometimes racist, remarks and actions against immigrants in recent weeks.

Is it too much, too little? Is Barbour going to pay for this in the business community?

STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR
ON SENATE BILL 2988

MARCH 17, 2008

“Today, I have signed into law SB 2988, a bill designed to discourage illegal immigration in Mississippi by creating new penalties for hiring illegal immigrants. I appreciate the efforts of Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant and others in the House and Senate who have worked so hard on this issue.

Any employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien should be held accountable, and that is the goal of SB 2988. While I have signed this legislation into law, I have serious concerns about specific provisions of the bill that could have unintended negative consequences. I urge the Legislature to make the necessary technical changes to ensure this bill will have the intended effect.

Senate Bill 2988 mandates that employers utilize the federal E-Verify program administered by the Department of Homeland Security. I am concerned about andating the E-Verify system as the sole source from which an employer in Mississippi can verify a potential employee’s eligibility, especially since the federal government itself has said E-Verify is not a reliable system. According to a 2006 Report prepared for the United States Department of Homeland Security: “The accuracy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) database used for verification has improved substantially since the start of the Basic Pilot program. However, further improvements are needed, especially if the Web Basic Pilot becomes a mandated national program – improvements that USCIS personnel report are currently underway. Most importantly, the database used for verification is still not sufficiently up to date to meet the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) requirements for accurate verification, especially for naturalized citizens. USCIS accommodates this problem by providing for manual review that is time consuming and can lead to discrimination against work-authorized foreign-born persons during the period that the verification is ongoing, especially naturalized citizens.” Mississippi’s economy is growing; we have record employment. We don’t want American citizens or others legally here to lose jobs because the verification system is technologically flawed. I urge the Legislature to add other reliable verification systems beyond E-Verify to confirm the hiring eligibility of potential employees.

The requirement to use E-Verify to determine the eligibility of potential new employees is phased-in, depending on the businesses’ number of employees. Smaller businesses are not required to use the federal program until July 1, 2011; however, SB 2988 establishes employers’ use of E-Verify as an absolute defense against suits brought by a former employee, as it should. But the bill does not make plain that the smaller employers are immune from these private suits until the mandate to use E-Verify goes into effect for employers in their size category. It should be made plain that small employers are exempt from and will be held harmless from the private litigation referred to in Section 2(4)(e) until such time as they are required to use the E-Verify system under the statue’s timetable in Section 2(7).


Also, while the intent of SB 2988 is to hold employers accountable for their actions, the term “employing entity” is used in certain places without being defined. I ask the Legislature to clarify that an “employing entity” in this bill is the entity that is the employer of the employee found to be an illegal immigrant.

Employers are understandably concerned when government applies new regulations to their businesses, especially when these new regulations provide for powerful penalties, even including loss of current contracts or of a license to do business in our state. Employers, therefore, can be expected to be very cautious in hiring with the sword of these penalties hanging over their heads.

It is, therefore, very important that the law be written clearly and be interpreted predictably. SB 2988 falls short of that standard, and it also limits compliance to a system of verification that even its provider, the U.S. Government, says is insufficiently reliable.

I look forward to working with the Legislature this session to make these greatly needed technical amendments.”

Medicaid bill in Senate committee

Just an FYI- the Medicaid bill (HB1013) that provides the much-needed funding for the poor, elderly, and disabled of our state, is currently in the Senate Public Health & Welfare committee and the Finance committee.

Our ever-so-faithful-to-Barbour Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant, has double-referred this bill, which we know usually means the end for a piece of legislation. However, the Communities for a Clean Bill of Health are asking everyone to call Phil Bryant about this bill, which will fund Medicaid by increasing the cigarette tax by $1.

As Rep. Dirk Dedeaux, author of the bill, said, "This isn't made-up." There is a dire funding crisis for Medicaid this year.

Call your senator (and Phil Bryant) today and tell them to get this bill out of committee and on to the floor!

Click here to see which Senators are on which committee.

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...

Xenophobia at the Capitol

JT and Dave, two talk radio personalities, had an all-call to the Capitol yesterday to show support for several anti-immigrant bills floating in the legislature this year. Wearing bright yellow stickers that said "STOP ILLEGALS," they listened to their fearless leader, Phil Bryant (a favorite of JT and Dave) and trolled the halls of the Capitol.

From Clarion Ledger article (visit the website for photos):

"This is a homeland security issue, a jobs issue, an education issue," Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said after speaking to a group of more than 100 Mississippians at the Capitol on Tuesday.

The group urged lawmakers to consider the legislation. Addressing illegal immigration was one of Bryant's campaign promises.

Jerry Jones of Sandhill, who wore a "STOP ILLEGALS" sticker in the crowd, said she's "not aware of an influx" but that "it's only a matter of time."

"We have to get a handle on this, or eventually it is going to collapse the nation," said Bryant, who as state auditor had audits conducted to gauge the effect on taxpayers.

"We have to get a handle on this, or eventually it is going to collapse the nation," said Bryant, who as state auditor had audits conducted to gauge the effect on taxpayers.

From the Sun-Herald:

Several people said they went to the anti-immigration rally because they're worried about the security of the country. Among them was Charity Hohm-Whaley of Vicksburg, a nurse who said she believes people who slipped across the border are now filling the Mississippi schools and getting taxpayer-subsidized health care.

"We want our legislators to know we want them to stand up for us, not for the illegals," said Hohm-Whaley, who brought her four home-schooled children to the Capitol for their civics lesson. She and the children - ages 16, 13, 11 and 6 - wore the yellow stickers, as did a baby doll her youngest daughter pushed in a toy stroller.

Derrick Johnson, state president of the NAACP, leaned against the scrolled iron balustrade of the Capitol's fourth floor and shook his head as dozens of people - all white - walked past him wearing the large yellow stickers with the slogan: "Stop Illegals."

"I can't help but think that 40 years ago, those stickers would have said, 'Stop n-----s,' " Johnson told a reporter and a small group of people.

Scuttlebutt

Right-wing fishwrap The American Spectator speculates that our ever-lovin' Guv'nah is at the top of the list of potential VP picks for the Republican ticket in the upcoming presidential election.

According to the Prowler:

A Veep From Mississippi
By The Prowler
Published 2/11/2008 12:08:40 AM

TICKET CHOICE SEARCH
With the nomination for the Republican solidifying mightily, Sen. John McCain has asked his senior advisers to begin pulling together short lists for Vice Presidential choices. At the top of list, according to one senior adviser: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. "There are others that need to be on that list, but you have to believe the Haley is a frontrunner," says the adviser, who knows both McCain and Barbour well.

Barbour would be one name that puts many conservatives at a bit more ease, one of the criteria McCain understands he must meet, according to another adviser: "Another would be geographic balance, and Barbour takes care of that, too."

I'm all about sending Haley along on his merry way, but not if it would mean Governor Bryant. (hold on- I'm getting the dry heaves. okay, better) Does anybody have any insight into Mississippi's succession rules? I know that if it comes down to it, Haley will just do whatever the hell Haley wants to do. But which laws will he be breaking? Inquiring minds want to know. Me, too.

Update: According to indefatigable blogger and informational wellspring Steve Rankin, we would indeed get ~shudder~ Governor Bryant. According to Mississippi law, if the Governor dies or leaves office, the Lieutenant Governor serves out the remainder of his term. There is no special election.

So, either Haley doesn't run for Veep and stays in Mississippi, or Belt Buckle Phil is the Governor for the next three and a half years.

Um, Monty, I'd like to pick Door Number Three.......

Update Dos: Haley poo-poo's the idea. Not very convincingly.

Charlie Ross For Congress First TV Ad "Jessica's Law"

Hat tip to Y'all Politics

Oldies, but goodies:
Charlie Ross' first Lt. Gov. Ad
Ross: "Crickets"
Ross: "Flip Flop Phil"
Bryant: "Sorry Charlie"
Brant: "(Ross) Has Nothing To Offer"

DHS: This is what you're worried about

According to the big press conference outside the Capitol yesterday morning, the Mississippi Department of Human Services has a new mission: protecting marriage.

Yes- despite everything else that needs to be addressed in Mississippi, DHS's top priority is marriage.

From WLBT:

You may not think the state government can legislate marriage or parenthood, but at a rally Thursday morning on the steps of the State Capitol, state leaders say strengthening the marriage covenant in today's society will make Mississippi better for everyone.

Pastor D. L. Govan and his wife, Helen, counsel couples on parenting and marriage, and they know a thing or two on both subjects. The Govans have eight children and 15 grandchildren after 58 years of marriage. Their idea of healthy marriage starts with communication.

"They need to have as many meals together as possible without television. They need to spend quality private time with their children. They need to converse as a family," said Govan.

2006 was the first year in the state's history more children were born to out of wedlock mothers than two parent homes. Don Taylor, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, hopes this healthy marriage rally will be the beginning of a turn around in Mississippi.

"A child born to a mother with a college degree is three and a half times more likely to be poor than one born to a married mother with only a high school education," Taylor said. "Eighty percent of our poor would escape poverty if they were married."

The state would be economically better as well.

"This is not about morality it's about holding together society," said Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant.

I'm not sure if Taylor's statistics come from Dr. Dobson or not, but there definitely seems to be a bias in his argument that men solve all the financial problems in a relationship. Maybe the problem might be that women with a college education are still paid significanlty less than their male counterparts in the same job. Of DHS's 10 Most Wanted for Failure to Pay Child Support, 9 out of 10 are men.

Our government could be spending their time in a much better fashion than preaching morals to us.

Hypocrisy Thy Name Is Phil Bryant

Phil Bryant hearts cheap Chinese celebratory products.

Will Bardwell makes quite a catch:


Some of the great comments:

Can we get Jamie Franks to come yell at us about this? I'd like that. His speaking style was a cross between enthusiasm and a law school butt chewing. - Sterling

China is Phil Bryant's fresh breath manna. - Allen

Check it out!

McCoy Rewards Loyalty And Civility And Republicans Cry Foul?

Republicans and conservative (read anti-Speaker McCoy) editorial boards have attacked Speaker Billy McCoy for choosing only Democrats to be committee chairmen in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Their anger is somewhat irrational.

At the beginning of his last term he appointed Republicans as committee heads and opened up leadership to Democrats who were clearly not his allies. An example was that he appointed Representative Jeff Smith as chairman of the Judiciary B Committee even though they did not always agree. That same Jeff Smith then ran against Speaker McCoy and now has been stripped of that Chairmanship.

Republicans and a few cowards who call themselves Democrats because they want to hold onto their offices, but find far more in common with the Republicans, are the ones who brought the dreaded "partisanship" to the House.

When they complain about not getting positions it is important to remember that Republicans announced that they would vote as a block to remove all power from Speaker Billy McCoy. When they failed did they really expect everything to go back to how it was before? That's ridiculous.

They pout and point out that Lt. Governor Phil Bryant appointed a couple Democratic committee heads. That's true, but Democrats, unlike Republicans in the House, make up the majority in the Senate and could have in theory stripped him of all power. Playing nice made sense and he still stacked the committees so that Republicans still control them. Sometimes all that is needed in politics is the appearance of bipartisanship.

When Republicans complain loudly that they're are being oppressed and that their views aren't being heard, please point out their lunacy. They control 7 of 8 statewide offices. They control the Senate Committees. They control the vast majority of the propaganda press. Plus Governor Haley Barbour can (and certainly will) veto anything Democrats pass that he does not like.

Speaker Billy McCoy did place some Republicans in leadership positions. Those Republicans like Hank Zuber of Ocean Springs have been reasonable and haven't gone around boasting about how they'd vanquish the Speaker. They haven't betrayed their values and still Speaker McCoy gave them leadership positions.

Civility is important and so is loyalty. Speaker Billy McCoy has rewarded both.

Phil Bryant At Governor Haley Barbour's Inauguration (VIDEO)

"The Almighty has placed His hand upon this man (Barbour) to lead Mississippi." - Lt. Governor Phil Bryant


*I apologize for the shakiness. I should have a tripod soon.

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.