Poachers for Mangold

Last week, federal prosecutors in Alaska charged a number of Mississippians with illegally hunting and killing animals in a federal preserve. Among those charged was Charles Dixon of Brookhaven. According to the District Attorney's press release

Charles W. Dixon... is charged with two counts of violating the Lacey Act and one count of criminal forfeiture which seeks forfeiture of a STOLQuest SQ-4 aircraft.  As a basis for forfeiture of the aircraft it is alleged that Charles W. Dixon used the aircraft in the illegal outfitting, guiding and transporting operation, in addition to using the aircraft to transport unlawfully taken game taken by Clark W. Dixon and others.

Who is Charles Dixon? When he is not using his plane to transport dead animals that may have been killed in violation of federal law, Dixon plays host to a revolving door of Republican officials and wannabes.

In June, Charles Dixon hosted a fundraiser for Republican House candidate Vince Mangold; Mangold is challenging House Democratic Leader Bobby Moak of Bogue Chitto. At this fundraiser for Mangold were Governor Phil Bryant, House Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Clinton), Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith, Sen. Sally Doty (R-Brookhaven), and Rep. Becky Currie (R-Brookhaven). 

A couple questions as we head into the week: How many Mississippi Republican elected officials joined Mr. Dixon on the alleged illegal hunt? Why are Rep. Becky Currie's eyes closed in roughly half the pictures taken of her?

Commissioner Hyde-Smith, Governor Bryant, Bette Dixon, and Charles Dixon

Vince Mangold is standing between Bryant and Secretary Hosemann

Bryant Continues "Kiss of Death" Tour

On May 12th, I wrote about an recognizable trend emerging from Bryant endorsements: He's a big fan of losers.

He's so good at picking the wrong guy that one of our commenters even suggested that Bryant might just hang up his hat in the prediction game, instead of eating it.

Alas, this turned out not to be the case, as our esteemed Governor's "kiss of death" tour rolls on. Today, Bryant announced his support that should surprise everyone. The headline should read as follows:

Republican Governor Opposes Democratic Caucus Leader!

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT.

For his part, Rep. Moak -- who always takes his elections and constituents seriously -- took this shockwave in stride, saying:

Of the governor's endorsement of his opponent, Moak said, "I guess I'll be in the same position as FoFo Gilich in Biloxi this year and the other five candidates whose opponents the governor endorsed in 2013 in Hattiesburg, Oxford, Meridian, Starkville and Ocean Springs," referring to mayoral races where Bryant's endorsed candidates lost.

Moak said: "When the governor of the state sends out an email saying he opposes a lowly legislator, I would say our strategy (to retake the House) must be working ... Maybe he wants to look at some constable races, too."

This round goes to Moak.

What Did Gunn Say?

During yesterday's debate over the Initiative 42 alternative, House Speaker Philip Gunn interrupted the remarks of House Democratic Leader Bobby Moak and Rep. Steve Holland when these two mentioned that they heard speculation that the Speaker may have applied stronger-than-normal pressure upon Republicans to pass their bill. There were nearly a dozen Republicans who were prepared to defeat the alternative language. Only two Republicans ended up voting against the bill. Upset that no one can keep a secret, Gunn wanted to know from Moak and Holland who has been talking to the press and other members.

Here are the questions that we should be asking instead: what did Philip Gunn say to his fellow Republicans? Which members did Gunn, Greg Snowden, and House staff have contact with about this bill, and what was said during the conversation? Did the Speaker, in any way, shape, or form have contact with an individual or others to discuss funding opposition to fellow Republicans who voted no?

The Speaker claims to be a man of high integrity so for him to maintain that standard, he should come forward and explain what was said - or not said - to his caucus members prior to the vote. Gunn said his job as Speaker is to maintain decorum; here is his chance. The best way to get the story right is to get it from the source.

Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) and Speaker Philip Gunn (R - Clinton) team up to kill pardon hearings

Two days ago, I mentioned that Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) raised a point of order in an attempt to kill the Baria-Moak Amendment on SB 2195.  The Baria-Moak Amendment would require a public hearing before a pardon could be granted.  Had such a law been in place prior to former Governor Haley Barbour's Pardonpalooza in January, the public would have at least been aware that a large number of people were seeking relief from Barbour.

Pending amendment would require public hearing before pardons can be granted

Rep. David Baria (D - Bay St. Louis) and Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) have offered an amendment to the Parole Board extension legislation that would require a public hearing before any pardon may be granted.  It will be interesting to see how the vote goes.  The amendment is being debating at this moment.

Republicans are hiding the truth on immigration reform efforts

In Sunday's Clarion-Ledger, the leader of a group called "MFIRE" (Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement) had a letter to the editor that tried to blame immigration issues on House Democrats, specifically Rep. Bobby Moak of Bogue Chitto. Specifically, the letter says:

An effort was made this past legislative session to strengthen SB 2988 in Mississippi's "Arizona Style" enforcement bill by "requiring" the attorney general to enforce our E-Verify law. Unfortunately, House Democrats who have routinely worked against enforcement changed the sanctions against employers to monetary fines - specifically prohibited by federal statute. This amendment was handled by Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, one of Speaker Billy McCoy's lieutenants. Either they didn't know the law or this unlawful fine was the Democrat leadership's way to kill the bill.

The letter, of course, doesn't reveal what legislation Rep. Moak amended, presumably because that would lead to someone doing a little research on the issue.

What the letter is referring to is SB 2179, which was the god-awful legislation that would have put monetary fines on law enforcement officials, mayors, supervisors, and aldermen who didn't "effectively" enforce anti-immigrant laws. This was a hot topic during the legislative session, and is covered in depth here, here, here, and here. In short, Rep. Moak's amendment took the fines against local officials and put them on the businesses who employ illegal immigrants in the first place. And guess what? House Republicans agreed. Republicans voted almost uniformly for Moak's amendment. Which, I guess, makes it a bipartisan amendment.

The letter goes on to say:

Don't let your incumbent Democrat come home and tell you how conservative they are when their first vote will be to elect a speaker like Rep. Moak who has been a part of the coalition that has stopped significant legislation.

To be accurate, I guess the letter should be rewritten to say:

Don't let your incumbent Democrat legislator come home and tell you how conservative they are when their first vote will be to elect a speaker like Rep. Moak, Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus), Rep. Phillip Gunn (R-Clinton), Rep. Sid Bondurant (R-Grenada), or Rep. Mark Baker (R-Brandon), who has have been a part of the coalition that has stopped significant wrongheaded legislation.

MSGOP releases proposed redistricting plans for both chambers (finally)

So the MSGOP released a plan yesterday when they attached it to their response to the Order setting the May 10th hearing.  That's roughly 60 days after plans were first released, and somewhere around 120 days after census data was released.  So, yeah, that's timely.

MSGOP House Plan Map

MSGOP House Plan Components Report

MSGOP Senate Plan Map

MSGOP Senate Plan Components Report

The MSGOP is pushing these map as preferable because it has only 1% population deviation.  The problem is, these maps are a drastic departure from current lines, and will cause widespread voter confusion.  Furthermore, there has been no public input in the formulation of these maps, nor has there been legislative consideration.

There are a couple of pairings of House incumbents that stand out quickly in the MSGOP plan:

• Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) and Becky Currie (R-Brookhaven)
• Mark Baker (R-Brandon) and Kevin McGee (R-Brandon)
• Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) and Bobby Howell (R-Kilmichael)

Moak vs. Currie? That's the GOP trying to take out a Democratic front runner in the Speaker's race should Speaker McCoy not run again.

Baker vs. McGee?  This is a very interesting pairing, as the MSGOP is pitting two incumbent Republicans against one another.  There are two possible reasons for this.  First, Baker has been more willing to work towards a redistricting compromise than some Republicans may like, and this is could be payback.  Second, the MSGOP belongs to Haley Barbour, a member of the old line Delta Republican faction (Clarke Reed's line).  Across the divide from that faction is Billy Powell's Rankin County power base.  Throwing Rankin County Republicans to the wolves wouldn't be of great discomfort to Barbour's Republicans, who tend to be less stridently socially conservative than Rankin County Republicans.

Reynolds vs. Howell? This is clearly a shot at Rep. Tommy Reynolds, who chaired the redistricting process in the House.

More as I find 'em...

P.S. - John Diez (or Diaz, as it's spelled both ways in the MSGOP Response to the Order Setting Hearing), was hired by the MSGOP some time ago.  He's a consultant with Magellan Strategies BR, Inc., and he's the guy who drew these lines.  

And now a word from Rep. Bobby Moak

The Truth About Redistricting

By Rep. Bobby Moak

If you want to know why Republicans are really upset about the House redistricting plan, if you want to know the truth, all you have to do is turn to the comments of Arnie Hederman, the chairman of the Mississippi GOP.

No sooner had the House unveiled what the new districts would look like, he released this statement: “The Democrats in the Mississippi House released their redistricting proposal yesterday, an unfair plan that happens to severely limit our ability to elect a Republican Speaker in 2012.”

Despite what Governor Barbour and his allies are saying about the House plan, despite all of their misplaced comments about deviations and splits and compactness, the Republicans are upset that our plan does not gerrymander the district lines to specifically help them.

The House plan is fair to everyone, and that is what is so thoroughly unnerving to the Republicans. Our plan doesn’t tilt the balance of power one way or the other. Arnie Hederman is upset because our plan doesn’t give him a leg up before the elections.

Here’s the other piece of behind-the-scenes news about redistricting this year. There appears to be a conflict between the GOP members of the Legislature and the activists in the party organization.

The members, to their credit, want to avoid two elections, want to avoid forcing the taxpayers to pay for an additional election cycle as well as the cost of unnecessary (and expensive) redistricting litigation. The Republican activists could care less about forcing that burden on the taxpayers.

It is for this very reason that House Republican members were a part of the process. Almost all of them drew the districts they wanted. They recognize the same thing we Democrats do: in these tough budget times, the last thing the state needs to do is pay for an additional election for legislators and pay for a bunch of expensive lawyers to fight about what the district lines should look like.

But Arnie Hederman and his party operatives will do whatever it takes to elect a Republican speaker. And if it costs taxpayers millions of dollars, so be it.

I will end with one other nugget of truth that you’ll never hear from Mr. Hederman. Almost all of the rural white districts that sent Democrats to the House in 2003 and 2007 also voted for Haley Barbour during those two elections. Voters in an overwhelming majority of these districts split their vote between a Republican governor and a Democratic state representative.

What really upsets the Republican Party is that a lot of voters like the idea of a balanced state government, a government where Democrats and Republicans have to work together, where compromise is preferable to one-party rule. Because the plan approved by the House preserves that balance, because it did not gerrymander the district lines to ensure the election of a Republican speaker, the GOP is complaining.

Winston Churchill once said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” This is an effort to get the pants on what really happened in the House last week.