Ever seen someone put lipstick on a pig? Watch the video of it here

The latest ad from Mississippi House Republicans is up, and it's got more fibs than a 5 year-old with his hand in a cookie jar.  You can view this pig prettyin' here:

How they mislead on unemployment:

Let's start with those unemployment claims.  The House Republicans in the video are crowing about Mississippi's unemployment numbers.  Sure they are the lowest they've been since 2008, which was right before the lending scandals that wrecked Wall Street and sunk the economy.  But when we take a look at Mississippi's numbers in a bigger context, we see that Mississippi's unemployment numbers have dropped in accordance with the national unemployment numbers:



It's pretty hard to honestly claim credit for something when your numbers are a carbon-copy of the national numbers.  But what about other states?  How did our neighbors do?

Well, Alabama somewhat mirrored the federal employment rebound, but actually had a moment where their unemployment numbers were below the national average.  And that's starting from a point where they were actually worse off than we were after the crash of 2008:




And Arkansas?  They've been under the national average and much better off than us for a long time:




As for Louisiana, I'm sure there were plenty of snide remarks about how their job market was as bad as ours this time last year:


So Republicans can crow all they want, Mississippi is still the worst place in the South to try to find a job.

How they mislead on tax cuts and the budget:

Rep. Jeff Smith (R - Columbus), is seen in the video boasting about tax cuts for small businesses helping to grow the state's economy.  And then Rep. Herb Frierson (R - Poplarville) comes on to say that House Republicans have magically and singlehandedly turned a $587M budget hole into a $410M budget surplus.  Well, the state's economy hasn't grown in response to any state action, as shown above.  But that won't stop the Republicans from trying to claim credit for it, of course.  (What are they going to do after all, thank Obama?!?)  So what gives?

There's really no better way of explaining this than Sarah Miller's piece in the Meridian Star from April of 2014.  Here's a lengthy quote:

Did we really have a surplus in the state budget? It depends on what you mean by surplus. The surplus created by the recent increase in revenue estimates for creation of next year’s budget means that we have had more money than we expected, not more than we need.

While revenues are finally rebounding, they are coming up from a deep trough that caused, among other things, teacher layoffs, reduced per pupil spending at grade schools and high schools, increased college tuition rates, and a dramatic shortage of state troopers.

The revenue surplus is due to understandably conservative revenue estimates that were far below actual revenue collections and spending that was kept largely at recessionary levels. Needs have grown, but state support for education, public safety, and other things that bolster our economy has just recently gotten back up to 2008 levels. Furthermore, providing those services has gotten more expensive, so spending at 2008 levels actually gets us less than it did in 2008.

So what the Republicans are really excited about is using money from the national economic rebound to fund the tax cuts Rep. Smith is talking about instead of rehiring the teachers that were fired in the wake of the Great Recession.

It's funny that Rep. Frierson mentioned there has been a $1B turnaround.  Why is that funny? Because Republicans in the House have also underfunded education by $260M a year for four years.  You do the math.

What have they really been up to for the last four years?

Well aside from getting fat on lobbyist's steak dinners while gutting education, not much, actually.  They did vote to give tax breaks to out-of-state corporations like Wal-mart.  They also refused to allow our federal tax dollars to come back to Mississippi to pay our doctors and nurses so that our hospitals wouldn't go bankrupt.  And they voted to penalize workers who were hurt on the job.  As far as legislative accomplishments go, that's not much to crow about.

Here's how the Mississippi House voted to reject $1B/year in new federal spending

This is the roll call vote in the Mississippi House of Representatives on whether Mississippi should receive an additional $1 billion in federal spending each year at a cost of no more than $65 million to the state budget.

Mississippi House of Representatives vote on receiving $1B in new federal spending

Mississippi's Legislative Special Session is now live:

Watch it here. Feel free to comment below.


EDIT: While they are in committee, please follow along with Cottonmouth's twitter account. Tweets by @cottonmouthMS

EDIT: Map of Health Exchange Map (which counties will be left off from tax credits from federal program) Many thanks to Rep. David Baria for posting this:

***HB 481 passes House, DUI laws would be revamped***

HB 481 has just passed the House 108-8.  If it passes the Senate, this could be a good step forward in easing the draconian restrictions people convicted of DUI face, and in keeping our roadways safe at the same time.  Click here for an earlier post on this bill.

Good work, House members.

House to debate revision of Mississippi's DUI laws in a minute

The next item up on the House calendar is HB 481, which would add a requirement of use of an ignition interlock device by people convicted of DUIs.  This is a pretty good bill.  In short, it would do away with the "hardship" license and replace it with the imposition of an ignition interlock requirement.  Here's how the new license suspensions would work:

DUI 1st offense: 30 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for up to 6 months
DUI 2nd offense: 45 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for 1-2 years
DUI 3rd offense: 45 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for 3-5 years

The other penalties (incarceration, fines, etc.) are not changed by the bill.

Here's why it's a good bill.  Currently, someone convicted of a first DUI can petition the circuit court for a hardship license after completing the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program and the expiration of 30 days from conviction.  That always takes more than 30 days, and leaves the person convicted without transportation until the order is signed.  It also lets someone who has evidenced a drinking problem behind the wheel without any supervision whatsoever.

Worse, someone who gets a second DUI winds up with a license suspension for a year, with no hardship potential whatsoever.  How are they supposed to drive to work?

And even worse than that, a person convicted of a third DUI has his license suspended for 5 years.  How is that person to put his life back together on a suspended license?

***UPDATE*** - It passed.

Annnnnd there' off! The House begins unveiling its legislation.

The first House bills are starting to be filed, nearly 30 days after they showed up in Jackson. Today's filings can be found here.

"This is not the jobs plan Republicans promised us"

The following is from the Mississippi House Democratic Caucus this morning:

Jackson, MS- As House lawmakers near completion of the third week of the 2012 legislative session, Rep. Earle Banks (D-Jackson) has offered a bleak assessment of Republican leadership to date. While committees are yet to consider the first general bill of the session, the Management Committee last week hired an aide to Speaker Philip Gunn for $110,000 a year.

Banks said, “Instead of working on bills to put Mississippians back to work, Republicans have spent $110,000 of taxpayer money on a political operative.” Banks added, “This is not the jobs plan that Republicans promised us during last year’s elections.”

Banks noted, “For the amount of taxpayer money Republicans have spent hiring an ad man, we could have hired three new teachers, paid for a year of tuition for nineteen college students or added at least two new highway patrolmen.”

Nathan Wells, a current partner at Winning Edge Communications and former employee of the Mississippi Republican Party, will be paid $110,000 per year as an aide to the Speaker. During 2011, Mr. Wells played an integral role in the distribution of negative and misleading attack ads on behalf of Republican House candidates.

According to his company’s website:

“Nathan Wells has been directly involved in well over 50 political campaigns. He has adapted his experiences from politics in to successful campaign strategy for all kinds of clients. He has worked with national organizations, financial firms, and restaurants to develop the image and strategy they need to be successful.

Nathan developed his public communication skills as Political Director of the Mississippi Republican Party and later as a statewide campaign manager. His approach is hands on, and he believes that teamwork and clear communication is the key to any successful program.

Nathan is best known for combining old-fashioned grassroots organization and modern campaign communications to any client’s needs, whether political or business.”

###

PRESS NOTES:

A Forward PAC campaign expenditure to Winning Edge Communictations may be viewed at the following:
http://www.sos.ms.gov/CampaignFinanceWebScans/Forward%20Mississippi%20PAC%20(October%2010%202011%20Periodic%20Report)%20October%2011%202011.pdf


Philip Gunn campaign expenditure to Nathan Wells may be viewed at the following:
http://www.sos.ms.gov/CampaignFinanceWebScans/Phillip%20Gunn%20(2010%20Annual%20Report)%20January%2031%202011.pdf

Rep. Charles Busby expenditures to Winning Edge Communications may be viewed at the following:
http://www.sos.ms.gov/CampaignFinanceWebScans/Charles%20H.%20Busby%20(November%201%202011%20PreElection%20Report)%20November%201%202011.pdf

Republican candidate Dorothy Wilcox expenditures to Winning Edge Communications may be viewed at the following:
http://www.sos.ms.gov/CampaignFinanceWebScans/Friends%20of%20Dorothy%20Wilcox%20(November%201%202011%20PreElection%20Report)%20October%2031%202011.pdf

Winning Edge homepage: http://winningedgellc.com/

Speaker Gunn hires political operative as assistant...at a taxpayer cost of $110,000

Granting a 30 year-old political ad man with a salary commensurate with a circuit court judge, Speaker Gunn, through his Management Committee, has hired an assistant.  This $110,000 a year hire comes at a time when the State budget is in dire straits, and drastic cuts are expected to be made to all state programs, from education to health care to transportation.

But hey, at least Speaker Gunn will have someone in a nice suit to write his press releases.  For what it's worth, there was no such aide for Speaker McCoy.

The party of small government, indeed.

House and Senate video feeds are dead *UPDATE - Repaired as of 11:30 p.m.*

For some reason, the live video feeds of the House and Senate are not working.  Hopefully this will be repaired sooner rather than later.  (That would be a task for the new Management committees, I guess.)

The Way of the Gunn: the post-Barbour era is officially underway

If Republican Speaker nominee Rep. Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) assumes the speakership in January, he’ll have the thinnest legislative record of any person to have ever reached such heights.  Gunn hasn't taken the podium many times during his legislative tenure, and the few times he has, he’s been careful to avoid potentially hostile questions and offered performances that capitol observers deemed “not ready for prime time.” He hasn’t chaired a committee, nor has he vice-chaired a committee.  Heck, there’s not even a portion of the Mississippi Code that has been passed into law that bore Gunn’s name on the top of the bill.  So what makes him the choice of the handful of Republican legislators who voted for him over Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus) and Rep. Herb Frierson (R-Poplarville)?

It's likely that Gunn's ability to take orders was the characteristic that made him the pick of party insiders.  While his leadership style and ability remain unknown, Gunn has proven to be an unwavering foot soldier. Every time Governor Babour called on select House members to stake out an unpopular position, Gunn was there. Notable examples include voting to keep poisonous Chinese toys in Mississippi, voting with the Governor on eminent domain, and voting with the Governor to block funds to the state Wind Pool.

While Rep. Smith and Rep. Frierson are both long on legislative experience and are widely considered to be shrewd operators in the House chamber, those qualities matter less when you’re not asking the Speaker to make big decisions. With Gunn, party leaders and friendly special interests assume the Speaker’s seat by proxy. That formula, more than anything, explains why newly minted representatives and doting special interests tipped the scales in Gunn’s favor over Frierson and his coalition of seasoned legislators. With Republicans in control of the executive branch and the Senate, insiders needed an obedient peacetime consigliere, not a candidate determined to make the House relevant.

Under this new dynamic, the next four years will be intriguing.  Haley Barbour succeeded in developing and implementing a top-down style of leadership that worked as long as he was the man in charge. With Barbour gone, it will be interesting to see if this model is sustainable. It’s not likely that Bryant will be a neat fit for this role as he has, to this point, demonstrated chronic uncertainty on major policy initiatives and on more than one occasion lost control of his own caucus in the Senate (see Redistricting 2011). It’s too early to tell if Tate Reeves will be able to assume the reigns, but even if this is eventually the case it will take time. This leadership vacuum leaves a gaping hole that party leaders and groups like the Mississippi Manufacturing Association will likely exploit for the foreseeable future. Again, under these terms, selecting a party guy to oversee day-to-day operations in the House makes sense.

It is telling, though, that Philip Gunn has ascended despite the bubbling controversy at Morrison Heights. Why, in these early stages of newfound Republican control, do you trust a virtually unknown quantity with a potential legal problem? After all, Gunn isn’t the only member of that body who has demonstrated steadfast obedience to his party.

Perhaps this is the first real sign that Barbour's legacy on the Mississippi Republican Party was personal and not institutional.  Changing course early in the game isn’t easy, but Barbour excelled at acting decisively to prevent potential political pitfalls-even when those pitfalls were two or three moves down the line. He also wasn’t given to blind allegiance to individuals who hadn’t proven themselves, particularly when his party had skin in the game. With Barbour on his way out, there simply isn't anyone left with the chops or stomach to pull off a switch. The folks who made Gunn the Republican candidate are calling the shots, and the Republicans who voted for Frierson know that that one vote of separation at their caucus in November is as good as thirty today. Gunn may not be ready for prime time, but the folks holding the strings are guessing he won’t have to be.

So here we are: the adult has left the room and the Tea Party/Republicans are running the show. Let the fun begin.

Gunn instructs church officials to keep quiet about sex abuse, claims “priest privilege”

Lost in many of the news articles hailing Philip Gunn’s triumphal entry as Speaker of the House are the sex abuse allegations leveled at Gunn’s former minister, John Langworthy.  In the months following the arrest of the former Morrison Heights Baptist Church music minister, Gunn has served as the church’s attorney, spokesperson, and elder.  This would seem enough hats for a man who is also mounting a speaker’s campaign but last week, Gunn added another, clergyman. 

In an article published Tuesday and updated over the weekend, Ross Adams of WJTV reported that Gunn has instructed elders at the Clinton, Mississippi church not to discuss what they learned during a recent church initiated interview with Langworthy.  When asked if this was the proper course of action for a person who has championed mandatory reporting of all alleged sexual abuse, Gunn bristled, “What I’m telling you is that the elders are bound by privilege under the law there’s a legal privilege that attaches.”

The privilege Gunn is referring to comes from Mississippi Rule of Evidence 505 which is otherwise known as the “Priest-Penitent Privilege”.  The heart of the rule is found in subsection b which reads, “A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose and prevent another from disclosing a confidential communication by the person to a clergyman in his professional character as a spiritual adviser.” 

The first problem with Gunn’s invocation of this rule is that the rules of evidence deal with the admission of items at trial and should not be used to shield individuals from providing information to the proper authorities when a child has been victimized or is in danger.  Second, by his comments, Gunn has effectively elevated his, and his fellow elder’s, status to that of “clergyman”. 

The Rules of Evidence define “clergyman” as “a minister, priest, rabbi or other similar functionary of a church, religious organization, or religious denomination”.  The comment section provides further guidance for determining whether a person should be considered a clergyman.  It says in part, “It is fair to say that the term refers to clergy who are regularly engaged in activities of established denominations.  It is not broad enough to include all sorts of ‘self-denominated ministers’”.  Webster’s defines “clergyman” as “a member of the clergy”.

Mississippi courts have addressed the question of whether communications to elders or deacons fall under the protections of 505.  In a 2007 case, Banks v. State, an inmate claimed the privilege for conversations he had with a church deacon who participated in prison ministry.  The Mississippi Supreme Court concluded that the deacon was “not acting in the role of minister within the plain meaning of the rule”.

Towards the end of the WJTV story, Adams reports that the Hinds County District Attorney’s office is considering issuing a subpoena to compel Gunn and others to disclose the details of their private discussions with Langworthy.  Given Gunn's improper application of 505 in criminal investigations and the narrow application of the privilege to members of the clergy, here’s betting that the court agrees that this conversation and any others that the accused might have had with self-denominated ministers at Morrison Heights warrant review.

What is it with Republicans named Phil insulting the electorate?

We all remember right before the election when Gov.-elect Phil Bryant (R) said that if the Personhood Amendment failed, then "Satan wins." Of course, Personhood failed the following day 58%-42%.

Well, now presumed Speaker nominee Rep. Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) says the following with respect to Attorney General Jim Hood's (D) reelection:

"I really don't know what people were thinking," Gunn said. "I don't know why they would vote for him, to be honest."

That's quite a gutsy statement to make about someone who just won with 61% of the vote. It's also very insulting to the 30% of Republicans who voted for Hood this time around.  Rep. Gunn, maybe they think Jim Hood is a good Attorney General.  That's certainly an explanation, isn't it?

Rep. Brandon Jones' dad weighs in on Charles Busby's slime

Rep. Brandon Jones (D-Pascagoula) benefits from having one of the most highly-respected members of the Pascagoula community for his father. Charles Busby, an Alabama businessman running to oust Rep. Jones from the House, has unleashed some rather vicious lies about Rep. Jones as Busby sees the race slipping away.

That got under Rep. Jones' father's skin, and the elder Jones sent out an email response today taking the bark off of Busby for his slimeball tactics. Here it is:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your friendship and support over the years.

As you know, our son, Brandon, is running for reelection to continue to represent District 111 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. It has been wonderful to see many of you as we have campaigned across the district.

While much of the campaign has been exciting, Mary and I have been utterly appalled at the willingness of Brandon's opponent to assault the character of our son. Although Brandon told us months ago to be “prayed up” because he expected a ruthless campaign, he understated the negativity that has followed.

In one of the latest mail assaults, Brandon has been accused of not doing everything he can to protect Mississippi’s children. In a year of outrageous attacks, this may be the most outrageous one of them all. Brandon is the father of two children and I can assure you that he will do whatever it takes to protect his children and yours. He has been a champion for children throughout his time in the legislature, authoring laws to protect young people from internet predators and working to include children in Mississippi’s domestic violence statutes. In fact, the bill in question actually refers to a measure that Brandon spoke out against because ministers and doctors were concerned that it would have prevented them from counseling vulnerable young women in their time of need.

Although they have handled themselves beautifully in recent days, I know that these false attacks have hurt Laurie and Brandon and I am thankful that their impressionable children are too young to comprehend the lies being told about their wonderful father.

When Brandon ran for office, we were warned that his would be a tough and mine-filled journey. This campaign has been all of that and more. Even so, in recent days Brandon has demonstrated those characteristics that have made him such an effective leader in Jackson. Despite the negativity, Brandon has been campaigning hard, listening to voters, and trying to turn the conversation back to those things that inspired him to run in the first place like lowering insurance costs, protecting families, and creating jobs for Jackson County.

As a father, I’m angered and appalled at the irresponsible false attacks aimed at my son. As a constituent of House District 111, I am proud of our representative and more convinced than ever that he is the leader we need.

In these final days of the campaign, I urge you to talk to your friends and family about voting for Brandon on Tuesday. With your help, we can send a clear message that we want to keep honest and effective leadership working for us in Jackson.

Thank you for your time,

Ed Jones

Sen. David Baria responds to new false attack ad from Dorothy Wilcox

Yet again, Dorothy Wilcox is attacking David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis) falsely through the mail. Here's Baria's response:

In her latest mailer Dorothy Wilcox hits a new low with a trifecta of misrepresentations regarding my business and legal careers, and campaign fundraising. In fact, aside from getting my name right there is little else in the mail piece that is true.

She alleges that I "profited" from Katrina. Like everyone, I was overwhelmed by the devastation of Katrina and wanted to help us get back on our feet as quickly as possible. I did start two companies in the months following Katrina, and like any small business owner I wanted these businesses to be successful. However, I can assure you that I made significantly less money during the four years that I ran a demolition company than I would have made practicing law--and, contrary to Mrs. Wilcox's insinuations, I have never made millions practicing law.

Dorothy Wilcox says that I "gouged" a client in my legal practice. The legal case Dorothy references in her mail piece was one in which I represented a Minister who had been denied workers compensation for an on-the-job injury. Surely Dorothy didn't even bother to read the case or she would have known that she has misrepresented the entire matter. I assure you that Reverend Cook had no complaints about my representation in his case.

Mrs. Wilcox also says that I spent $14,000 playing golf at "ritzy golf clubs" (like the Bridges in Bay St. Louis). Everyone knows that I have held a golf tournament for the last three years at a local course. I have been blessed to have over 200 golfers play in those tournaments. Each year I receive a bill for the rounds of golf and the food we serve to the golfers. Because of the great participation we have had, I have been able to give $8,000 to local charities from tournament proceeds. As all of my friends who have ever played golf with me can attest, I am way too bad a golfer to be accused of having spent that kind of money on my own golf game.

Finally, in a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Dorothy Wilcox has raised 99.9% of her campaign cash from PACS, but says it's wrong for me to have taken PAC money over the last 4 years. In fact, her mailer is paid for by a PAC! More importantly, most of my contributors are local individuals and businesses. Whereas, Mrs. Wilcox has only a single contributor from Hancock County. I am very thankful that I was fortunate enough to have raised a decent amount of money over the last four years. If I had not it would have been impossible to have run this campaign against someone as well-financed as Dorothy Wilcox.

For whatever reason, Mrs. Wilcox has chosen to campaign in the way that she has. That is her choice, but she does not offer solutions to the issues affecting Hancock County or a plan to better the problems we face. I assure you that I am focused on bettering Hancock County and dealing with the issues that matter to us.

Wilcox's approach is the lowest form of campaigning. (Here's another post on ANOTHER negative mailer Wilcox has sent.)

Control of the House after next Tuesday

Brett over at Majority in Mississippi is as about as knowledgeable a Republican you'll find in Mississippi political circles. He's got a post up today discussing the possibility of a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, and it's fairly well on point, although I think he's giving Republicans a better chance of taking the House than is realistic. (He says 50/50, essentially.)

The way I see it, Republicans have a very steep hill to climb, and I think the reality of the situation is that they can't pull it off. Republicans would need to sweep virtually all of their targets, and I don't see that happening. They're coming strong after Rep. Brandon Jones (D-Pascagoula), and I've heard him called their "number 1 target." The problem there is that Jones is exceptionally well-liked in his district. He has been a rock for Pascagoula, and I don't see them voting him out in favor of Alabama businessman Charles Busby. Busby whiffed when he tried to go negative, and Jones' fundraisers have had some very impressive hosts from a cross-section of the Pascagoula political spectrum. In addition, Jones' strong spiritual background (Masters in Divinity from Wake Forest) and involvement in his church make him a popular guy amongst traditional Republican voters.

Another target the Republicans are aiming for is Sen. David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis), who is switching over to the House. Baria is running against Dorothy Wilcox for retiring House Speaker Pro Tempore J.P. Compretta's seat. Compretta, a Democrat, has served District 122 for 32 years, and is a beloved figure in his hometown. Compretta has endorsed Baria, which is huge. Additionally, Baria has served the voters of District 122 well for the last 4 years, and is a popular figure there. Baria is also a lion on insurance issues, and as a result was chosen to be on the Board of United Policyholders, an organization focused on insurance fairness and availability. In an area that is more focused on insurance policyholder issues than anywhere else, having a Representative on the right side of those issues is a big deal to voters.

On the Republican side, there are around 10 incumbent Republicans who face the very real possibility of defeat, meaning that any seats Republicans gain from Democrats will likely be offset by the loss of Republican incumbents.

The way I see it, Republicans may wind up with a net gain of 1-2 seats, which will leave them 7-8 votes shy of the majority in the House. If you'll recall, in 2007, Republicans were just as hungry to win control of the House and were unable to do so, even with the enormously popular Haley Barbour heading their ticket. Phil Bryant is nowhere near as popular as Barbour was, and the initiatives on this year's ballot will bring out voters from both camps equally.

Gov. Barbour in 2009: Look at cutting PERS benefits

Here's an interesting find from a loyal reader. In his FY2011 Budget Letter, Gov. Haley Barbour said the following:

To ensure pension sustainability, consideration should be given to modifying the current benefit structure, including accrual rates and automatic cost­ of­ living adjustments, for current and prospective state employees.

Still think Republicans won't decimate PERS if they gain control of the House? Mighty big gamble to take there....

A brief note on Republican semantics about PERS

Republicans, justifiably terrified that voters will find out what they intend to do to the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), are running around telling folks that Democrats are using "scare tactics" to get folks to vote against them.  Well, here's the thing:

Some things in this world are scary. When a guy pulls a gun on you and demands your money, that's scary. When a rattlesnake shakes its tail, that's scary. When Republicans look for ways to give your retirement money over to Wall Street, that's scary.

I can't help but think of President Harry S Truman's famous words as House Republicans complain about Democrats using "scare tactics" when informing the voters about Republican intentions for PERS: "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell."

Well, welcome to Hell, guys. Thank Haley for the ride.

Legislative Republicans say they'll protect PERS and the 13th check; don't be fooled

The PERS support group Honor Your Promise released an email today in response to the Republican statement yesterday that they'll protect the 13th check. In short, the Republicans pledge that they won't make any changes to the yearly PERS cost of living adjustment, commonly referred to as "the 13th check." Well, here's the problem. A bunch of those same Republicans have already voted against protecting PERS.

I'm sure that these Republicans will go against the recommendations of Governor Barbour's Study Commission. I'm absolutely positive. After all, they never do what Gov. Barbour tells them to do, ever. Enough sarcasm. Here's the Honor Your Promise email with the names of the Republicans who voted against protecting PERS once already:

Yesterday several state legislators issued a joint press release pledging not to eliminate the 13th check. However, nineteen of the lawmakers taking the “pledge” actually voted against the PERS system in 2009. A Constitutional Amendment to protect PERS from political influence (HR 31) passed the House of Representatives despite opposition from these lawmakers. The following legislators should explain their flip flop to retirees and PERS members and their families. 

House Republican Leader Rep. Mark Baker (R-Brandon)
Republican Conference Chair Rep. Philip Gunn (R-Clinton)
Republican Floor Leader Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson)
Rep. Sid Bondurant (R-Grenada)
Rep. Gary Chism (R-Columbus)
Rep. Ted Mayhall (R-Southaven)
Rep. Scott Bounds (R-Philadelphia)
Rep. Bobby Howell (R-Kilmichael)
Rep. Alex Monsour (R-Vicksburg)
Rep. Rita Martinson (R-Madison)
Rep. Jim Ellington (R-Raymond)
Rep. Greg Snowden (R-Meridian)
Rep. Bobby Shows (R-Ellisville)
Rep. Becky Currie (R-Brookhaven)
Rep. Sam Mims (R-McComb)
Rep. Harvey Fillingane (R-Sumrall)
Rep. Larry Byrd (R-Petal)
Rep. Herb Frierson (R-Poplarville)
Rep. Frank Hamilton (R-Hurley)

 You want to know what's worse?  Rep. Mark Baker, Rep. Philip Gunn, and Rep. Sid Bondurant all have aspirations (Gunn may even have a PAC, more on that to come) to become Speaker of the House should Republicans gain the majority of seats in the House next month.  A House Speaker that's already voted against protecting PERS?  That's not a scare tactic...that's just plain scary.

Sen. David Baria's campaign for House off to a good start

State Sen. David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis) is off to a strong start in his efforts to replace retiring House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. J.P. Compretta (D-Bay St. Louis). He had an excellent turnout for his annual golf tournament fundraiser earlier this month, and had several hundred folks show up for his campaign kickoff event on September 10th. Over this past weekend, Baria announced that he'd been endorsed by the Mississippi Police Benevolent Association. That's an impressive beginning to what in all likelihood will be a successful campaign. Baria has spent the last four years working hard for his district on issues that matter, such as insurance affordability. Consider him a safe bet to win Compretta's vacant seat this November.

Would a Republican-controlled House finish off our justice system?

Philip Thomas has an excellent post up about the possible effects of a Republican-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives on Mississippi's justice system. Most readers of this blog know how dramatically the legal market in Mississippi nosedived after tort reform in the early 2000's. Now Republican Gubernatorial nominee Phil Bryant has designs on taking it even further, into a "loser pays" system.

I'm sure a good number of folks in the defense bar will no doubt support Republican candidates for the House, and their staff will as well, no matter how detrimental such support may be to their own interests. Why is it detrimental? Well, a "loser pays" system would all but shut the courthouse doors to people without enormous sums of money. That means dramatically fewer lawsuits, and therefore, less work for defense attorneys. Less work for defense attorneys means less defense firms, less demand for paralegals, clerical jobs, and office real estate. The spiral is plainly evident, and we even have recent history as a guide. Philip's done a great job laying all of this out at his blog, and I strongly suggest you head over there to read his work.