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Bizarro NAFTA logic

Sid Salter often reminds me of George Will: Clearly, he has a good mind, which shows up sometimes in his columns, but he's so busy using it to shill for the GOP that it's hard to remember that sometimes. Case in point: His Sunday column apologizing for Haley Barbour's hands-on role in NAFTA implementation—which led directly to the loss of so many Mississippi jobs. The point of the column is to remind voters that NAFTA was signed into law by a Democrat — duh. Who doesn't know that one of the Democrats' biggest sell-outs to the GOP in recent years was NAFTA? This is a major black mark on Clinton's record, and the main reason I first started turning against "New Democrats" (other reasons soon piled up). But, the point here and now in Mississippi, is whether we should elect a governor who is the CEO of a D.C. lobbying firm that handled much of the NAFTA implementation, not to mention helped push for it, despite warnings that it would take away jobs back in his home state? The closest he could come to tying Musgrove to NAFTA is his membership in the party who agreed to come on board the train being conducted, in part, by Haley Barbour. That's really weak. It's not like Musgrove is a poster-boy Democrat, after all. He can easily argue that NAFTA is one of the many issues that he takes umbrage with national Dems over. This one's a pitifully obvious shill.

Sid Salter on Haley Barbour

In the Sept. 13 issue of National Journal: "I think (Barbour's) been successful in changing his image from someone who just showed up on Crossfire to a guy who rolled up his sleeves, went out into rural Mississippi, shook hands, and sweated through his shirt," said Sid Salter, a political columnist with The Clarion-Ledger, in Jackson, Miss.

Wesley Clark for President?

Salon reports today: "On Wednesday Clark officially declared himself a Democrat, telling CNN that if he ran for president, he'd seek the Democratic nomination. 'It's a party that stands for internationalism. It's a party that stands for ordinary men and women,' Clark said. 'It's a party that stands for fair play and equity and justice and common sense and reasonable dialogue.' He told the network he hadn't made up his mind to run but added, 'I'm closer to working my way through it.'"

[Ladd] No More Wink-Wink Politics

Waaaa-powwww, right in the kisser! So, what was that loud explosion that hit the middle of last week? Certainly, it could have been me letting out 42 years of pent-up frustration at yet another act of stupidity by an elected official in Mississippi.

"How to Lose the Intelligent Vote, Part I"

Things are looking so positive in Mississippi. State Democrats chose the most qualified candidate for state treasurer regardless of race. Dialogue has started to happen about intelligent issues. There are signs that more progressive voters may turn out to the polls this November. Then: wha-powww, right in the kisser! Dear Gov. Musgrove: Your invitation to bring Alabama's "10 commendments" monument to the Capitol is a silly political ploy that may well lose you more votes than it gains (say, like this one). You are smart enough to know that the reason the First Amendment contains an anti-Establishment clause is in order that the Freedom of Religion can exist and be enforced. By pretending otherwise, and courting the vote of that conservative rural chick in Kemper County, you are insulting the intelligence and thumbing your nose at the support of many, many potential voters in Mississippi who understand that not allowing religious monuments in government spaces will help afford them their religious freedom. You are certainly doing *nothing* to help increase turnout among those who are so frustrated with the lack of a choice in political candidates. You don't play politics with the U.S. Constitution, not if you care about what's in it, or the people you serve. You should be ashamed. Furthermore, it's actions such as these that, in the long run, tarnish the reputation of our state and encourage our bright, young people to go live somewhere else where thinking and intelligence isn't ridiculed and mocked by our political candidates out to pander for some quick and easy votes. We deserve better. (I'm not even addressing Barbour's pander here; he's a member of the Grand Old Panderer party, so it's expected.)

Mayor Johnson's ‘State of the City' Address

In its entirety: State of the City Address, Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr., August 26, 2003, 5:30 p.m., Union Station

Dillon Celebrates Women's Equality Day

Gubernatorial Sherman Lee Dillon sent around a statement saluting Women's Equality Day. It reads: "Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate, Sherman Lee Dillon is fed up. As the father of four daughters and the grandfather to three granddaughters, Sherman Lee thinks it is time for Mississippians to heed the rights of our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts -- all women. August 27 is Women's Equality Day. Sherman Lee thinks that it is not enough that women have had suffrage for eighty-three years. More must done to honor women and ensure equality.

Howard Dean jumps to a 21-point lead in N.H.

Building on his incredible momentum, presidential candidate Howard Dean jumped to a 21-point lead over Kerry in New Hampshire, drawing a wide range of support, from liberal to moderate, men and women. The other candidates are in the single digits. This support is coming after a remarkable "Sleepless" tour of the last several days, with Dean raising $1 million on the Internet. See his Blog for America to get in the know about one of the most grass-roots campaigns we've seen in a long time.

[Talk] Social Republicans

Aug. 21, 2003—Barbara Blackmon's race might hurt her chance at the lieutenant governor's post this November, but it might help put fellow Democrat Ronnie Musgrove back into the governor's mansion. That was one of the messages at the Aug. 11 Stennis Institute Capitol press corps luncheon at Hal and Mal's in downtown Jackson where two political scientists, one black and one white, predicted what is in store.

Important Correction About Run-Offs

In the issue of the JFP out today, we said you could vote in the run-offs on Tuesday ONLY IF you voted in the Aug. 5 primary. The secretary of state's office called immediately to call our attention to the mistake: *You can vote in the run-off* even if you didn't vote in the primary, but you do have to vote for the same party (I suppose, unless you didn't vote at all; then you can take your pick).

Amy Tuck Revives State Flag Issue

Whoa. How should we read this interesting turn of events? Does Ms. Tuck believe it will be politically expedient to have a rebel flag debate as part of her race against Ms. Blackmon? It seems rather desperate. One thing, though: This story is rather odd: Is she just answering a question about the flag? Or did she bring it up herself? It seems like an important piece of missing information.

Green Party of MS Says Stop Buying Public Offices

(Aug. 16, 2003, press release) The Green Party of Mississippi announces its support for a new project called "White House for Sale" which tracks the special-interest contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign and analyzes the record of favoritism, conflicts-of-interest and influence peddling related to those contributions. The project is sponsored by Public Citizen, a national, nonprofit public interest organization with 140,000 members, which focuses on returning the power of government to the voters and taxpayers.

Gary Anderson confident about run-off

Gary Anderson, who could become the first African-American elected to state office since Reconstruction, told the Mississippi Link that he is confident about the Aug. 26 run-off with Rob Smith, who is white. "When I looked at the numbers we carried counties all over the state. Our voting strength was not in any one area of the state, but all across the state," Anderson said. "Smith had a very narrow margin even in his own county. We had big numbers everywhere, even in rural Mississippi."

Barbour Denies NAFTA Charge

(Aug. 14, 2003, press release from Musgrove campaign) (Jackson, MS) Haley Barbour is trying to deny his involvement with NAFTA and to minimize the scope of his work for the Republic of Mexico. Unfortunately for Barbour, his public record is very clear on these issues. Haley says in 2003: He did not lobby for NAFTA Fact: Haley Barbour himself said at the time that he helped pass NAFTA. Fact: Over 41,000 Mississippi jobs were lost due to NAFTA (Economic Policy Institute)

Electronic Voting Easily Hacked?

The Washington Post reports that many states are backing away from electronic voting machines: "Since being released two weeks ago, the [Johns] Hopkins report has sent shock waves across the country. Some states have backed away from purchasing any kind of electronic voting machine, despite a new federal law that has created a gold rush by allocating billions to buy the machines and requiring all states, as well as the District of Columbia, to replace antiquated voting equipment by 2006."

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