Haley Barbour ethically challenged?

Haley Barbour ethically challenged? Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, a Washington, D.C., based watchdog group, thinks so. Barbour has been named to their America's Worst Governors report. Barbour is charged with nepotism, laundering of campaign finance contributions and turning down federal unemployment assistance in a state with double digit unemployment.

I still can't understand how easily Haley turns his back on the people of Mississippi who are hurting. Much like the Southern Baptist sheep who vote him and his ilk into office, he does not give a tinker's damn about the poor folks.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government - Haley Barbour

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government - America's Worst Governors

Haley Barbour (R-MS) was elected governor of Mississippi in 2003, and reelected in 2007. Under the state’s term limits law, he cannot run for reelection in 2011.

Charges:

• Allegedly laundered campaign contributions
• Refused to accept federal stimulus funds to expand unemployment insurance
• Used his position to enrich himself and his family members

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: Y'all Politics spread GOP lies... again, shocker

Y'all Politics has an article up about how the Health Care Reform bill will have the IRS enforcing the Health Care Reform insurance mandates, all the while blaming Travis Childers for a bill he did not vote for, although I wish he would have. Hey Travis, you know you are in Washington when you get blamed for the passage did not vote for.

Why, Travis, why?


In light of Rep. Childers' strong opposition to repealing the president's healthcare takeover, the Nunnelee campaign will today begin highlighting various provisions of the bill and asking why the congressman wants them to remain law.

Obamacare will establish an un-American "individual mandate," forcing North Mississippians to buy health insurance or face a huge fine enforced by the IRS:

Y'all Politics

While this all sounds scary, it just so happens to not be true. This type if dishonesty has been standard operating procedure for the GOP lately. Repeat a lie until your face turns blue, and hopefully enough fools will think it is true. Death panels, socialism, blah, blah, blah...

Fortunately there are independent non-partisan groups that do fact checking, such as FactCheck.org. Let us see what they have to say about the IRS agents, and for that fact the integrity of Y'all Politics.

Q: Will the IRS hire 16,500 new agents to enforce the health care law?

A: No. The law requires the IRS mostly to hand out tax credits, not collect penalties. The claim of 16,500 new agents stems from a partisan analysis based on guesswork and false assumptions, and compounded by outright misrepresentation.

That pretty much sums it up, but if you still have doubts watch this video.

Hey Y'all Politics and Alan Nunnelee; newsflash, you cannot debate a lie.

More on Ballot-gate

In a letter from Jim Hood to the Governor, the Attorney General clearly lays out the state law that requires special elections to be place on the ballot in the same area as general elections of the same kind.

Here is the original law from 1972:

Miss Code Ann. Section 23-15-833(1972) of the Election Code states that, "In those years when the regular special election day shall occur on the same day as the general election, the names of candidates in any special election and the general election shall be placed on the same ballot, but shall be clearly distinguished as general election candidates or special election candidates."


In 2000, Miss. Code Ann Section 23-15-367(1972) was amended to require:

(2) The titles for the various offices shall be listed in the following order

(a) Candidates for national office;
(b) Candidates for statewide office;
(c) Candidates for state district office;
(d) Candidates for legislative office;
(e) Candidates for countywide office;
(f) Candidates for county district office

Notice there is no provision as amended for special elections to be placed at the bottom of the ballot.

Republicans Like Haley Hypocritically Attack Ronnie On Jobs

When Haley Barbour decided to take up a hobby and ran for governor in 2003 he spent a lot of time and money attacking Ronnie Musgrove's record on jobs.

Vicksburg Post Editor Charlie Mitchell:

The Republican Party has rolled out a litany against Musgrove’s term as governor from 2000 until 2004. It’s their standard, moderately distorted stuff: Net loss of 37,000 jobs...

Well the facts show differently:



When Musgrove left office the number of total employeed was 1,085 less and the percentage unemployeed was actually better/lower than when he started. This reality is quite a bit different from the 37,000 number they throw around.

Charlie Mitchell points out Republican amnesia in apparently forgetting to "point out that the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, might have had something to do with the U.S. economy tanking" including that of Mississippi in the middle of Musgrove's term.

Contrast that with post Musgrove Mississippi after Katrina where billions of federal tax dollars have employeed countless in Mississippi and have bailed out a state government that would have faced major shortfalls.

After the so called responsible Republican stewardship you'd expect far better from a state government led by Republican Haley Barbour.

But that simply isn't the case.

Employment Unemployment Unemployment Rate

1,234,837       76,722                 5.8%  January 2000 (Musgrove Day 1)

1,233,752        74,350                 5.7%  January 2004 (Musgrove Final Day)

1,235,366         92,143                6.9%  June 2008 (Barbour Present)


Post Musgrove total employment is barely up while the total unemployed has skyrocketed increasing by nearly 18 thousand.

Republicans want you to believe that Ronnie Musgrove was a bad steward of Mississippi's economy, but he did better with far, far less.

Union Bosses Making a Comeback?

I know John blogged about this a few weeks back, but I wanted to add to it.

If you've been listening to the radio or watching TV in Mississippi the past few weeks, you may get the impression that union bosses are making a comeback. According to Mississippians for Employee Freedom, the latest Republican group to make a splash down here, Ronnie Musgrove is trying to take away your right to vote through big bad union bosses.




That's at least what I heard the first time- as I'm sure many people did.

It's ludicrous to think that "union bosses" are going to take over Mississippi politics. The real culprits are the faceless groups that pump millions of dollars into our state with commercials filled with misinformation like these airing right now.

Just as an FYI to this Employee Freedom group, since apparently they missed something major in their commercial: Ronnie Musgrove is not our current Senator, and though we want him to get elected in November, our current Senator is Roger Wicker, and he's the one who votes on behalf of our state (like when he voted against raising the pay for troops a few weeks ago).

Just another ridiculous stunt...

Haley Barbour: "Not in my state" ... of denial

NPR had a segment today on the Neshoba County Fair, and in specific the Senate race between Roger Wicker and Ronnie Musgrove. You can read the full text here.

Our governor had this to say when asked about the state of the Republican brand in Mississippi.

Gov. Haley Barbour, has been campaigning for Wicker. He says the GOP is not taking anything for granted. Asked if the Republican brand was losing favor in the Deep South, he said, "Not in my state."

Haley is starting to sound like Baghdad Bob. The GOP just lost a ruby red congressional seat in the first of a series of blunders by Mr. Blind Trust himself. Mississippi now boasts 3 Democrats and 1 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. Barack Obama has Mississippi in play, whether Barbour wants to admit it or not. Musgrove is ahead of schedule. These polls are based on past voter models, and do not account for the inflated black vote totals that are going to happen. Get ready Haley, here we come.

Ignorance is bliss in the GOP

Obama takes the gloves off...

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!

New York Times: Republican troubles

I am not one to gloat but, in this case I can't help it. The gold standard of journalism, The New York Times, described the level of panic in the GOP. It is every man for himself...

But Mr. McCain’s advisers said the Mississippi race underlined his intention to distance himself as much as possible from Congressional Republicans. Mr. McCain has already been openly critical of some of President Bush’s strategies.

The level of distress was evident in remarks by senior party officials throughout the day.

OK, so McCain is going to distance himself from Bush and the Republicans in Congress? That sounds as lonely as the Maytag repairman, and achievable as perpetual motion. Do you think for one minute the DNC or Barack Obama is going to let him get too far from Bush? He has already bought into the big two, the Bush tax cuts and the endless war in Iraq. The American public will see the truth...




And here is one while our people suffered during Katrina. This picture shot on 8/29/05.




Republican Representative Tom Davis of Virgina had this to say,

“They are canaries in the coal mine, warning of far greater losses in the fall, if steps are not taken to remedy the current climate,” Mr. Davis said in a memorandum. “The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than it was in 2006.”

They might seriously need to bolt the upstairs windows down at the NRCC, RNC, and NRSC to prevent a tragedy.

Greg Davis and the GOP don't get it (surprised? didn't think so)

While perusing the internets for fallout from the MS-01 shocker last Tuesday, one theme has emerged that I did not foresee. For starters I live in central Mississippi (MS-03, Chip Pickering yuck!) so I do not get to see all of the advertising for MS-01. Time after time ,columnist after columnist, whether local or national, have commented on the diminishing returns on the negative ads being run by the Davis campaign.

for example:

from the Commercial Appeal:

If Southaven Mayor Greg Davis was left wondering Wednesday morning how is he now facing yet another run-off in his continuing quest to fill Mississippi's First Congressional District seat, he need only look to the advisers who convinced him to freely spend precious campaign dollars for negative, attacking television advertising.

From the Washington Post:

The message to Republicans could not be more plain: At a time when the public has soured on President Bush and the GOP, the old appeals are just not enough. To have a chance, Republican candidates have to expand their reach and reframe their message.

From the Daily Journal:

If that sounds familiar, it's because something of the same strategy - minus the Rev. Wright clip - is under way in the 1st District congressional race as Greg Davis and the Republican Party try to tarnish Democratic candidate Travis Childers, the leader in last Tuesday's special election balloting, with the Obama brush. Unable to tag Childers himself as an out-of-touch liberal since his position on the hot-button social issues is uniformly conservative, the Republicans instead are aggressively advancing the premise that just by being a Democratic member of Congress Childers will advance the liberal cause which, Davis says, is counter to "Mississippi moral values."

From Real Clear Politics:

Republicans blamed Davis' poor showing on a bitter GOP primary.

Trent Lott starts to draw Republican pension

Trent Lott, now retired from his Senate seat, has embarked on what I call the Republican Fat-Cat pension plan. The Republican Fat-Cat pension plan is pretty simple. Spend your elected career advancing the interests of big donors (AKA big business) and when you retire you get on the pension plan. The Republican Fat-Cat retirement plan involves A) a fat paycheck on K Street as a lobbyist for the same corporations you shilled for on the Senate floor,or B) a high paying position in the industrial-military complex with some retired colonel who sells his country out on TV for dole. Trent opted for plan A.

Plan A required Trent to leave in a rush. He had good reason. New law effective on Jan 1, 2008 would have required the good Senator to wait 2 years after leaving office before entering the lobbying business (Republican Fat-Cat pension plan). Way to long to wait for this kind of bread. Good to see he joins John Breaux, a former DINO (Democrat In Name Only). Breaux's record is to the right of just about any Dem on capital hill in the last 20 years. As I said DINO.

Now there is this fine news from the AP and reaction from the Clarion Ledger.

At the time, Lott said he sought another term to continue his work on Capitol Hill on behalf of Mississippians struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Much work remained for Mississippi to recover and rebuild from Katrina when Lott stepped down.

The longtime Republican lawmaker left politics to become a partner in a Washington lobbying firm with former Sen. John Breaux, D-La.

Now comes word that Lott is converting $1.2 million left in the Senate campaign fund into a political action committee that will help solidify his influence on Capitol Hill in his new career as a lobbyist.

A former Lott staff member said the move came so Lott could increase the amount of money he gives to candidates. Individuals and individual campaign committees may contribute no more than $2,300 to a federal candidate each election. But the PAC limit is $5,000.

What Lott is doing is legal, but rather unseemly.

Experts: Recession - We are in Deep Doo-Doo

The word is grim out of the economist circles. New reports have big names like Greenspan forecasting dark days ahead. In a new article on Salon, there is downright doom and gloom talk from several economists. Here is a sample:

Consider the following extraordinary commentary: Alan Greenspan saying, "The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war." Former Reagan economic advisor Martin Feldstein saying, "Could this become the worst recession we have seen in the postwar period? I think the answer is yes."

Things are not looking good as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted:

Paul Krugman writing that the current situation "looks increasingly like one of history's great financial crises."

Don't forget Captain Obvious had something to add:

Even George Bush concedes that we face "challenging times,"

Well Mr. President, maybe if you did not continue the principles of Reagan conservatism we would not be in such financial dire straights. You know the kind of conservatism that does not curb spending, only reallocates it from social programs and infrastructure building to defense and wars. Hell you even started a war and cut taxes at the same time. Only thing is the tax cuts really only helped those you affectionately called "my base".

I think a post outlining the failures of modern republican policy is in order. If this recession is as bad as liberals, scratch that, economists like Alan Greenspan say, we can thank the same party that gave us the great depression.

New Gallup Polls

I promise I won't bore you with national polls on a regularly basis, but these polls add fuel to the Democratic Party "hope fire" we have going on Cotton Mouth. These are new Gallup polls released today.

Pres' 08 - Mar 13 ------ Obama 48%, Clinton 46%
Gallup
Pres' 08 - Mar 13 ------ Obama (D) 46%, McCain (R) 44%
Gallup
Pres' 08 - Mar 13 ------ Clinton (D) 47%, McCain (R) 45%
Gallup


Very positive news if you are a Democrat. Both of our fantastic candidates are ahead, although well within the margin of error.

Republican Education Games

The Republicans in the House are playing political games and using the teacher pay raise as their political football as explained in the editorial of Monday’s Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. It is no secret to those who follow the politics of public education that Haley and his minions will do anything to thwart investing in the human capital of our state. Whether it be by a coup attempt for the Speaker of the House, concentrated support in races to remove public education supporters (see Rep. Cecil Brown), or by hyper-partisan politics in both chambers, the GOP in Mississippi has been a persistent and toxic foe of education. If you don’t believe that ask Hank Bounds (State Superintendent, Cecil Brown (House Education Committee Chair) or Claude Hartley (State Board of Education Chairman) what they think of Republican politics related to education in Mississippi.

The House already passed a three percent pay raise for teachers included in their big education funding bill that also met legislated education funding requirements as well as some proposed education funding requirements. The House is majority Democrat if you are wondering why there was success for pro-education legislation. While the funding bill was still in the House, an amendment to strip the teacher pay raise from the funding bill was thankfully defeated. The bill passed with support of all but 26 legislators. While this waits for conference with the Senate, the Republicans made a political move that must be understood by the public for what it really is.

A new bill to give teachers a five percent raise was brought forth by the same Republicans who opposed the three percent raise in the original bill. The educators only called for a three percent raise, why the change of heart? The opposition cited other departmental costs such as Medicaid as reason for not supporting the first bill. But now with House approved tobacco tax, the money is there for a monster raise according to the House Republicans. Oh, the irony is unreal. These are the same “pro-teacher raise’ folks who voted against the tobacco tax, the very instrument they propose to use to pay for their escalated raise. Funny, they were not in the teachers’ corner until it became politically advantageous. The five percent raise will likely be shot down in conference, but either way the Republicans can now try to crack the teacher lobby by saying, “but we voted against the first bill, so we could pass a bigger one but they killed it”. The key here is the instrument of funding. Had the Republicans really wanted to give a teacher pay raise (they did not), then they would have supported the tobacco tax. Never mind we have the most regressive tax structure of the 50 states as shown by independent research, but that is a discussion for a different day.

On a personal level what was embarrassing to me was the vote of my old hometown representatives back in Tupelo – Lee County. I had the advantage of attending Tupelo Public Schools who have always been not only a state leader but noticed nationally for their fine schools. I don’t know of another town in Mississippi that has so prospered in large part to a strong community commitment to public education. Tupelo was the only major town not to have a private school until recently to my knowledge, creating a true community school. The children of the wealthy Tupelo families like the Reed’s, Dodge’s, and Hancock’s all went to public schools along side the Smith’s, Wilson’s, and Jones’s. We had two longtime representatives who were not only education supporters and education advocates, but education leaders in Jackson, with Democrats Eloise Scott and Tim Ford. Unfortunately they have been replaced by Laurel and Hardy, otherwise known as Republicans Jerry Turner and Brian Aldridge. To see both representatives from Lee County to vote against the initial pay raise is mind boggling, embarrassing, and downright stupid. Just as sad as their stance is that of their supporters, the business leaders of Lee County who obviously are not worried about the skills of their labor force, and are unwilling to recognize the benefits they have gained from having a strong public school system.

Draft Haley Gains Momentum

The RNC is polling to see just how racist and sexist they can get during this election season without crossing the line. Seriously.

From Politico:

The Republican National Committee has commissioned polling and focus groups to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved. The secretive effort underscores the enormous risk senior GOP operatives see for a party often criticized for its insensitivity to minorities in campaigns dating back to the 1960s.

I say FULL SPEED AHEAD!! Set the controls for the heart of the sun and go down swinging, baby! Goldwater would be so proud.

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.

Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, GOP

The avalanche of scandals on the right is starting to resemble a celeb starlet flameout. After 7+ years of Bush and Cheney, it may be time for the Republican Party to go to rehab.

From Politico:

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), a certified public accountant, had pushed for months for an internal audit of the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to GOP members, but the committee’s treasurer at the time was reluctant.

Finally, at a recent meeting, the now former NRCC treasurer, Christopher J. Ward, relented, giving Conaway what was supposed to be an official internal audit from 2006. That document was a fake, the GOP members said. Even the letterhead on which it was sent was a forgery.

Revelations about the falsified document touched off an unfolding scandal that has rocked the NRCC and spurred a criminal investigation by the FBI into the committee’s accounting procedures.

Fearing the fallout from the discovery, the NRCC informed its principal lender, Wachovia, of potential accounting problems. Wachovia, which declined comment Thursday, had lent the committee $9 million in 2006, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Knowing the bank was required by law to notify federal investigators of any “suspicious activity,” the NRCC also alerted the FBI, Republican insiders confirmed.

Maybe the Libertarians can stage an intervention. Somebody needs to pull them back from the abyss.

Not a coincidence

Shortly after Haley shows up on Fox News (also known as Faux News), the Draft Haley website appears.

http://www.drafthaley.com/

I missed the appearance on Fox, and I can't find it online, but here is a piece of Robert Novak's commentary on it.

Gov. Haley Barbour went on Fox News Channel as primary returns came in Tuesday night and suggested the time was near to stop the contest and accept McCain as the winner.

...Barbour was following the GOP tradition of closing ranks once it becomes obvious who will be nominated.

So, who wants to draft Haley back to Washington?

Republican Leadership Appoint Wicker To Seat On Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees?!? What?!?

The Democrats Respond.

From a press release:

Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate formally announced interim Sen. Roger Wicker’s committee assignments today – including a seat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

But with Wicker’s history of voting against veterans, his assignment on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee is surprising and troublesome.

“Sen. Wicker has proven time and again that Mississippians can’t trust him to look after our nation’s and our state’s veterans,” Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, said today.

“How can anyone think that Wicker, who has consistently voted against veterans’ health care, should be given the responsibility of caring for our servicemen and women? Wicker is clearly the wrong person for this important job and wrong for the U.S. Senate.”

Roger Wicker’s votes against veterans

While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Wicker voted at least 12 times against additional funding for veterans health care. Here are the votes and links where available:

• Vote No. 1050, Nov. 6, 2007

• Vote No. 87, March 17, 2005

• Vote No. 82, March 17, 2005

• Vote No. 17, Jan. 29, 2003

• Vote No. 473, Nov. 13, 2002

• Vote No. 296, July 30, 2001

• Vote No. 843, Dec. 7, 1995

• Vote No. 829, Nov. 29, 1995

• House Appropriations Committee Markup, May 10, 2006

• House Appropriations Committee Markup, July 22, 2004

• House Appropriations Committee Markup, July 21, 2003

• House Appropriations Committee Markup, July 30, 1999



Also check out our earlier post on Wicker and veterans HERE