Ellington

Bill Minor writes: "Barbour, the guy who won the governor's job with supposedly unmatched political smarts, made a colossal blunder by pushing through legislation that left thousands of recipients - many of whom voted for him - panicky over losing their present medicine benefits under Medicare. His administration has failed to convince those cut from the state program that they would keep similar medical benefits under his plan. It switches them in September into the federally run Medicare program. They would otherwise be forced to go there in January 2006 if the Medicare reform law is not revised by Congress.

"Protest rallies at the Capitol and around the state, together with news coverage devoted to the Medicaid cutoff, have brought to the attention of Mississippians that Democratic state lawmakers, especially the House, opposed the Medicaid cuts while Republicans backed them. 'This has done more than anything to emphasize the image of what Democrats have always stood for,' said Dowdy as he took over the party chairmanship from Rickey Cole. 'We are the party which looks out for the needs of people, the little people, and Mississippians should be reminded of our core values,' the 60-year-old Dowdy declared."