News

Barbour, Carroll Bash Jackson With Old Statistics

"Jackson is one of the 10 most dangerous cities in America." How often are you hearing that jingle right now? From Haley Barbour. From Hinds County D.A. candidate Wilson Carroll. From The Clarion-Ledger. From your co-workers. From your Aunt Lula in Kemper County who won't visit you. Scared to death yet? Don't start packing your bags, though. Read the fine print first. With a little careful sleuthing, you'll discover that crime is dropping steadily and dramatically in the city since a spike early this year, and felonies are nearing their lowest level in over 20 years, despite what the challengers have to tell you.

Just In: Stacking the Deck: 72 Legislative Candidates Sign "Lawsuit" Pledge

The October 2003 newsletter of Mississippians for Economic Progress, a group set up by industry groups, to limit lawsuits in the state, says that 72 legislative candidates in the state have signed a detailed pledge in support of further regulating the rights of citizens to bring lawsuits, and protecting businesses from liability claims. The candidates, if elected, pledge to support industry and the position of Barbour/Tuck that much more "reform" is needed in the state to help industry. The same forces, however, are not pledging to also look at potential reforms possibly needed on the insurance side of the aisle, or supporting hearings to find out whether insurance reform is also needed to help both citizens and doctors. (Click for full list.)

JUST IN: Dem, GOP Heads Address Voter Intimidation

From Chairman Cole, Democratic Party:

The following letters were sent by Democrat Party Chairman Rickey Cole and Republican Chairman Jim Herring to Secretary of State Eric Clark in response to Secretary Clark's memorandum to Circuit Clerks and Election Commissioners regarding voter intimidation.

JUST IN: Voting Irregularities Reported

Secretary of State Eric Clark just faxed this letter to Attorney General Mike Moore and U.S. Attorneys Jim Greenlee and Dunn Lampton, warning of potential violations of election laws.

Punkvoter sez youth should vote in 2004

CNN reports that 'Punkvoter' founder (and NOFX lead singer) Mike Burkett is trying to unify the youth vote. "So many millions of people don't feel like their vote has any meaning," says Burkett. "There is no reason why younger people can't be a unified force."

Secretary of State Predicts Average Turn-out

STATEMENT TODAY: Secretary of State Eric Clark today predicted that voter turnout in Tuesday's General Election will be up slightly from the last gubernatorial election and anticipates 775,000 ballots will be cast in races from Governor to Supervisor to Coroner. "I encourage every Mississippian to vote in this important election," Clark said. "On Tuesday, voters will decide who will run our state and county governments for the next four years. We will hire the people who write our laws, set our taxes, and pave our roads. In order to choose the best people, it's important that Mississippians get out and vote."

JFP Endorses Musgrove, Blackmon, Peterson, full slate

To determine our candidate choices, the JFP editorial board looked at the record, watched the campaign (focusing on issues, not rhetoric) and talked to many of the candidates whom our readers will vote for on Nov. 4. We also talked to many Jacksonians about the issues that matter to them. To the best of our ability, we have tried to match the candidates to the concerns of our readers. To that end, we offer you the following slate of endorsements, with several highlighted with explanations.

JFP Questionnaire posted for Justice Court candidate Nicki Martinson Boland

See her PoliticsBlog page to read full answers.

Kudos to Salter's Anderson column

Every now and then, Sid Salter hits with a column. Yesterday told it like it is about the immensely qualified Gary Anderson -- and just why Mississippians might not elected the superior candidate: "Simply put, Gary Anderson is better qualified by education and prior job experience to hit the ground running as Marshall Bennett's successor than is Tate Reeves. Anderson has literally worked his way up through state government and is deserving of a promotion. ... The question unanswered at this point is whether a majority of Mississippi voters can consider Anderson purely and squarely on his experience and qualifications in making their decision — or will race rule once again as the lowest common denominator in Mississippi politics."

Clarion-Ledger Endorses Musgrove, Tuck

So, here's a riddle: Why of the top four candidates' distasteful (at best) campaign tactics -- Musgrove ("poisoning"), Barbour and Tuck (race-pandering), Blackmon (abortion affidavit) -- would the Clarion-Ledger only call out Blackmon's campaign tactics? Were they really worse than Tuck's belated endorsement of the rebel flag?

Former FBI Agent Eyes AG Post

The GOP candidate for attorney general talked to the Jackson Free Press in his offices in Ridgeland. This is the full transcript of the interview.

I Can Fix It

Attorney Wilson Carroll Wants to 'Fix' the D.A.'s Office

Wilson Carroll wants badly to be the next district attorney in Hinds County. As a result, the Harvard and Ole Miss graduate is going on the offensive against incumbent Faye Peterson. In a recent interview in a Phelps Dunbar conference room, private attorney Carroll blamed Peterson's three years in office for the backlog of cases—much of which she, indeed, inherited—in the Hinds County judicial system.

Poet looking for reasons people don't vote ...

Pass it on: Poet looking for reasons people don't vote for big traveling project .... I just got this e-mail:

Gannett's Hattiesburg-American Refuses to "Hold Nose" for Lt. Gov

Note that the Hattiesburg-American wrote an entire non-endorsement without a single actual issue mentioned -- the entire column is based on the performance of the two women during the campaign. This must be the WORST example of horse-race logic I've ever seen. Certainly, it's vital that we examine how they ran their campaigns, but issues (jobs, education, health care) are relevant, too. Now I'm waiting to see if the H-A refuses to endorse in the governor's race (especially Barbour) based on the same horse-race logic -- or do such standards just apply to the women in the race? Lordy be.

Hattiesburg American Endorses Hood, Anderson, Brown

Gannett's Hattiesburg paper today endorsed Jim Hood for AG and Gary Anderson for treasurer, among others.

Perception vs. Reality: JFP Coverage of Jackson Crime

C-L Endorses Carroll, Predictably

Blackmon-Tuck Clash in Debate

Is it just me, or does it seem like a weird question to ask two candidates for a major office to waste time asking candidates if they can say something nice about each other? I wonder if the moderator would ask a man the same question? "Now, Mr. Barbour, don't you have something sweet to say about Mr. Musgrove, now?" Very odd. Seems like that space could have been filled with discussion about some major issue or another.

Barbour supporting NAFTA, on tape

The Governor issued the following statement

Musgrove revealed old TV footage yesterday showing that Haley Barbour, indeed, supported NAFTA (as if this is in doubt, but Barbour denies it). The statement: "In Mississippi, Barbour tries to cover up his efforts to pass NAFTA, but tape from Barbour,s years in Washington tells a different story Musgrove asks Congress to pass legislation to keep Mississippi jobs from going to China. ... (Jackson, MS) Governor Ronnie Musgrove held a press conference this afternoon to talk about Haley Barbour's involvement in the passage of NAFTA. The Musgrove campaign showed a Haley Barbour on C-SPAN talking about working to pass NAFTA and flatly saying "we supported [Clinton] on NAFTA." After NAFTA passed, Barbour held a press conference. During that press conference, when he was asked about trade issues, Barbour launched into a discussion of the passage of NAFTA. He said, "we did what we said we were going to do" What he was referring to was, of course, supplying to votes necessary to pass NAFTA — which he was absolutely successful in doing. Barbour was so proud of this success that he called it a "real, bright light" of that year. Recently, Barbour has tried to cover up his efforts to pass NAFTA, calling the suggestion that he was involved "silly." But tens of thousands of Mississippi jobs moving to other countries is not "silly." Neither are Barbour's efforts to pass NAFTA. Because Mississippi jobs, especially in the furniture industry in Northeast Mississippi, are being threatened by China, Governor Musgrove has expressed his support for S. 1586. This bill, which is co-sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), would authorize tariffs of 27.5% on goods imported, directly or indirectly, from China into the United States. Senator Dole said: "Many of North Carolina's economic woes related to manufacturing can be summed up in one word. One word. And I know you know what it is: China." (News Observer, Dole blames China for NC trade woes, October 14, 2003). Haley Barbour hasn,t proposed any solution to the China problem - he only wants to investigate the issue. The time has come to do more than investigate. It,s time to take action to save Mississippi jobs.

Friedeman: GOP Will Sweep Tuesday

Ultra-conservative columnist Matt Friedeman argues today in the Clarion-Ledger that next Tuesday will be a sweep for the Republican Party. You have to give the guy points for forthrightness: "We say we want a so-called "color-blind" society but based on election results, blacks apparently also choose, in large measure, to vote as a block for one political party. In a state that is moving toward the other political party, it seems a bit disingenuous to cry racism when people have a problem with you and your party affiliation. Only a matter of race? By their platform and public pronouncements, Democrats nationally are the party of the homosexual agenda, gun control, abortion rights, the welfare state, big government and higher taxes. If your race votes nine out of 10 times for people pushing that agenda, don't be surprised when voters associate that agenda with the color of your skin."

The Rev. Ed King

June 18, 1963: Just six days after Medgar Evers had been assassinated in Jackson, white civil rights fighters Ed King and John Salter lay unconscious in Salter's blue 1961 Rambler on Hanging Moss Road—victims of what official police records called a traffic accident. "The accident destroyed the foundation of what we were trying to do; Medgar was dead and we were unconscious," King told me.

Horse Race Politics—Whose Fault?

OK, here's a riddle: Why would political candidates talk about issues when the medium reporting them (the media) won't report them in any detail? The Clarion-Ledger today had a report saying that Mississippians want "more details and less rhetoric." Yes, I blame the candidates -- and have regularly on this blog -- for not talking more about issues. But we also have to examine the media's role here: how many publications and TV stations are running in-depth reports on the candidates' issues, fact-checking their statements, turning them inside out? Instead, they're covering the "horse race," as we call it in the journalism industry. That is, they covering the fight, the insults, the jabs back and forth. I guarantee that if reporters would try to sit down more with the candidates and ask them real questions, rather than simply seek out sound bites, then at least of the candidates would respond (at least the ones who have something to say). Worse, the quest for so-call "objectivity" means that if one candidate doesn't want to talk in-depth, the media outlet will shy away from real coverage of the other one in an attempt to seem "fair and balanced." This was a serious problem in the last presidential election and, I believe, why most Americans didn't know the established meaning of "compassionate conservatism" (nothing to do with bipartisanship or moderation) before the election. We talk a lot about how to avoid horce race coverage in journalism school, and then the reporters go to news outlets that tell them to cover the horse race. It's a vicious cycle.

‘Mr. Washington Goes to Mississippi'

The Sunday New York Times Magazine is featuring Haley Barbour in a lengthy profile by Pulitzer nominee Nicholas Dawidoff. An excerpt: "While Barbour denies race-baiting, Winter says that Barbour's mention of the ticket is 'a nuanced racist message,' and Hodding Carter, president of the Knight Foundation and former editor of The Delta Democrat Times, says that Barbour's reference to liberals and tickets 'is simply code for n*gger-lover, integrationist, supporter of all the changes they've hated since 1964.' To Robert Haws, chairman of the history department at the University of Mississippi, the election has become a referendum on progress. 'If the subtle way Haley Barbour's using race is rejected by a Musgrove victory, then we may be into a genuine new era of Mississippi politics. I don't know why a middle-class white Mississippian would vote for Haley Barbour when he doesn't represent their interests at all, but race is still deep here.'" There's much more in the story.

Transcript of Tuck fund-raising letter on her JFP candidate page

Amy Tuck has not responded to requests for interviews or returned her voter questionnaire, but you can read the Sept. 11 fund-raising letter that is posted in its entirely on her candidate page on the JFP Politics blog.

Musgrove page updated on JFP Politics blog

The Musgrove page now contains a full interview, largely focusing on education and "tort reform," that the JFP did with the governor in August. We will also be updated this page with pertinent links to media stories and press releases between now and the election.

Full transcript of Blackmon interview now on JFP Politics Blog

Read Blackmon quotes not included in the cover story: "We can say 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life,' but in the end it is what is about the best interests of those unwanted children who come into the world. What are we going to do to assist those families for those children to have opportunities to become healthy, productive citizens? I do know that the God that I serve says that the only sin that one is not forgiven for is blasphemy. If someone has to make a heart-wrenching decision to terminate a pregnancy, that is a personal decision they must make with prayer and God. As a Christian, I do believe in eternal life, so those individuals who have to make that decision, that soul, that spirit lives forever. If that is not true, then those who profess to be Christians do not believe in a resurrected Christ." (Blackmon)

Barbour and the CofCC story taking off

Note that a number of national political blogs are talking about the Council of Conservative Citizens' endorsement of Barbour, and his picture on the racist group's site that first surfaced on the JFP Web site. Go see the links to the national blog chat, as well as the original posting on Haley Barbour's page on our site at:

Anna Barber

What little girl hasn't dreamed of being a princess? Anna Barber, a 20-year-old member of the Gena Band of Choctaw Indians in Gena, La., not only had that dream, but she was actually crowned princess when she was 15.

Animal House Politics

Good Lord: Do we have a bunch of children running these campaigns? The state Republican Party has launched this silly anti-Musgrove Web site, registered to the state College Republicans at 415 Yazoo Street. (The site doesn't contain any links; only quotes lifted from longer media stories.) If these boys aren't careful, they're going to convince me to vote for Musgrove, yet, even in the wake of that "10 Commandments" mess.

Salter Defends Barbour, Again

OK, here's a riddle? Why should it possibly matter that a potential governor of the state went off to Washington once and helped sell out the state's jobs and economy to corporate interests that wanted to move outside the country, and take jobs with them? It's about integrity, stupid! And about whether the candidate is serious when he says that he cares, really cares about the state of Mississippi and its people, including the ones who lost jobs due to NAFTA. Salter is apparently worried enough that this issue is going to derail his candidate, as it probably should, that he wrote again today about why NAFTA doesn't possibly matter to Barbour's candidacy. Then, he complains at the end of the column that Musgrove couldn't produce "the first scintilla of evidence" to prove that he didn't once support NAFTA (but Salter doesn't produce "the first scintilla of evidence" that says he did). And he manages to argue, without logic, that both elephants and donkeys in Washington supported NAFTA in those dark days—which I would agree is a huge black mark against Clinton's so-called legacy, which is shot anyhow—and, therefore somehow, that means that Barbour is off the hook for making money trying to push the NAFTA agenda on both parties back then. Please. Of course this issue matters to Mississippians (and is certainly more relevant than either Tuck or Blackmon's take on abortion). The fact is, if Barbour was willing to sell his state out then to national and international (and personal financial) interests, what happens when/if he's in office here? Let me guess: He leads the charge to stop "lawsuit abuse" on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ah. There's another charge for Real Mississippi.

Ellington