Karl Oliver COULD care less about the flag

Walking out for a lunch break of the Republican budget debacle, I passed Rep. Karl Oliver's parking space, whose truck license plate proudly displays the Confederate flag. 

So either someone from Karl Oliver's county is illegally parked in Karl Oliver's spot, or Karl Oliver REALLY likes that symbol.

Steven Palazzo, Priorities, and Picking Fights

John Lewis is a hero. He was a hero long before he came to U.S. Congress and he's been a hero since.

And in Mississippi, John Lewis was a hero on May 24, 1961 when he was sent to Parchman for using a white restroom in Jackson.

So, it's a little bit suspect that just as Navy Secretary (and former Mississippi Governor) Ray Mabus announced that Rep. Lewis would be the namesake of a new US military vessel, Mississippi's coastal Congressman Steven Palazzo (R) has introduced an amendment that'd strip Congressman Lewis of that honor.

For his part, Congressman Palazzo insists that this legislation isn't related to Rep. Lewis at all, and wants the Navy to only name ships after those who have served in the military.  The Washington Post reports:

“My amendment has nothing — absolutely zero — to do with John Lewis or any other member of Congress,” Palazzo said in a statement.

Apparently, Palazzo's point of contention has come from recent namings that he sees as too political for his tastes. So I wonder what really pushed him to this point? Was it the USNS Medgar Evers? Or did the USS John Stennis really steam the Mississippi Republican?

Make no mistake. Congressman Lewis fought in battle. Mississippi (and the rest of this country) is better off for it.

 But this is what Congressman Palazzo has decided to do with his time on the hill.

PS: Palazzo's 2016 opponent (Mark Gladney) is a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who understands there's a lot more to be done in Congress than this. You can read more about him here. 

A Month for Confederates, a Week for Hurricane Preparedness

This morning Governor Bryant issued a statement declaring May 23-27th "Hurricane Preparedness Week." From NewsMS:

“Eleven years after Hurricane Katrina, we have vivid memories of that storm and its aftermath,” said Gov. Bryant. “Catastrophic hurricanes do not occur every year, but we must prepare ourselves in such a way that we are prepared for any level of destruction.”

Yes, five days for hurricane preparedness, but thirty for Confederate history. 

But the irony lost on Phil Bryant doesn't stop there, because the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has been urging Speaker Gunn, Lieutenant Reeves, and Governor Bryant to appropriately prepare for quite some time. Last month, the Clarion Ledger reported that Mississippi's "Hurricane Preparedness" hub is operating with 48% of the budget needed to respond to real crises:

In 2006, after Hurricane Katrina hit, State Personnel Board audit showed that in order to handle a similar disaster, the agency would need  $6.1 million.  It was fully funded that year.  

In 2016, the agency was just given a budget of $3.2 million. That's with 16 open federal disasters still in various phases of recovery, including hurricanes Katrina and Isaac, tornadoes from Louisville, Smithville, the Pine Belt, and all around the state on Dec. 23, 2015, as well as the recent flooding from March 9.

So when Governor Bryant reminds you to be prepared, you should take him seriously. 

Because if something happens, he doesn't have a plan to save you. 

Adults in the Room

When you consider the sorts of things that matter to Democrats and Republicans in Mississippi government, it's easy to definitively pick out the adults in the room.

While Punxsutawney Phil Bryant peeked out of his office today looking for the federal government's shadow, he followed the same trodden path of many discredited, discriminatory, Mississippi governors before him, saying:

Because these decisions are better left to the states, and not made at the point of a federal bayonet, Mississippi's public schools should not participate in the president's social experiment.

Perhaps this sort of language keeps Bryant's appetite for "states' rights" satiated, but it's the sort of distraction that has led to the habitual failure to acknowledge the real issues facing our state. It's the sort of attitude that has directly contributed to the collapsing bridges and roadways, failing schools, and dying hospitals.

Now in 2016, Bryant finally has the genetic makeup he prefers in the House and Senate, and his legislative cronies (slash Gubernatorial farm team) Speaker Gunn and Lieutenant Reeves have offered up the economic package they've always wanted:

A complete short on public services, with miscalculations to boot. They had plenty of money for more corporate tax cuts, but not enough for basic functions of our state. And if that's not enough, they didn't even give themselves enough money to fund the stuff they did approve.

So, today, when Legislative Democrats reached out to Governor Bryant to call a special session directed at solving our devastating mental health crisis, we can all imagine that none of them held their breath. But that doesn't mean they aren't right for doing it, and it doesn't mean they don't deserve a round of applause.

Because at least someone is acting like an adult.

Mississippi Republican Introduces Separate But Equal Flag Bill

From WAPT: 

Republican House Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden is proposing that the state have two flags: one with the Confederate emblem, which currently represents Mississippi, and another flag without the emblem.

Yes, you read this correctly. A leader in the Republican legislature is introducing a bill to fly two flags at the same time, acknowledging that our current confederate battle flag is offensive, but not enough to take it down.

So instead, Snowden reached back into history for a compromise. Separate but equal flags will have to do.

A State of the State that doesn’t add up

Regardless of how many times you say something, it does not make that statement true – even if you say it to the entire legislature, media and citizens of the state.

In his 2016 State of the State address, Governor Phil Bryant said the following:
“We now face a new year where I am able to inform the people and the duly elected members of the House and Senate – the state of the state in Mississippi is sound.”

Of course, he had to immediately brush off the fact that revenue projections were not met this year causing mid-year budget cuts along with a raiding of the rainy day fund. And revenue projections for next year are already down. Add to this the jobless rate INCREASING from 6% to 6.4% in the month of December (and still remaining much higher than the national rate of 5%). Even the Republican legislature’s best friend ALEC said our economy is terrible (though not the worst) ranking us 41st out of 50 on whatever arbitrary scale they produced.

ALEC is not the only group to give us a poor ranking on our economy, and Education Week is not the only group to name us 49th in the country for our abysmal education system. And while we might be “sound” because we have more money than is necessary in our rainy day fund for the future lack of revenue, nothing has improved in the lives or everyday Mississippians in the last four years – not benefits, not access to healthcare, not education, not job opportunities. It would be unfair to say pay hasn’t increased – from 2010 to 2014 the median household income did increase $273, allowing us to maintain our spot at 50th in the nation.

New Champion for Public Education?

Rep. Jay Hughes, the Freshman Representative from Oxford, has made a splash at the start of this session doing something truly outrageous...keeping his promise.

Hughes was one of the bright spots for Democrats this November, and his platform that resonated in Lafayette County was a simple one: "It All Starts With Education."

Just today, Hughes began by calling out Republican House Leadership and Governor Bryant on MPB, and by the end of the evening his response to the State of the State was gathering major steam on social media. If you haven't seen it yet, you can check it out here:

What To Expect: Republicans Fighting the Unarmed Union Army

This is Part 4 of a series this week of what to expect from the Mississippi Legislature this session.

Republican leadership in Mississippi and the rest of the country has a deep fear of unions. Leaders in our state have been doing everything they can to prevent them from forming (i.e. the Nissan plant in Canton), and around the country, they’ve been taking every opportunity to destroy and destabilize unions. It’s not that they fear some sort of criminal element developing from unions – what they fear is their friends not making every possible cent off the backs of hard working Mississippians. 

But an interesting article in the Washington Post in December highlighted the not only the day-to-day issues families in low-wage manufacturing jobs are facing, but the clearly laid out tactic of corporations to capitalize on the unskilled and poorly educated workforce in the South. 

These companies go to rural areas with staggeringly high unemployment rates and make promises of pay and good fortune. Of course, the state has to offer insane incentive packages that clearly benefit the company and not the state or workers.

And what happens when these promises and pay don’t materialize, and people working 40 hours a week at a manufacturing job have to live on welfare or lose their job if they become injured or are really never hired by the company because they’ve been employed through a temp agency for a full-time job? 

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

We’ve seen it for years at the Nissan plant in Canton, and the Washington Post article highlights the issues facing other rural areas. But, people are taking a stand. They want to be paid a good wage to earn their two cars and a boat. I’m sure Republicans will do everything they can to prevent it, but when the National Labor Relations Board calls you out for violations, your company is not on the right path. 

What may prove to be even more interesting in these labor and wage issues, as well as development of new jobs, is how it ties in to all these promised tax breaks to businesses, which Republican leadership swears we can 1) afford, 2) will produce more jobs and better pay for Mississippians. But, I wonder what Wal-Mart will do with it’s newly saved inventory tax dollars – will they hire more workers, pay them better, or offer everyone health insurance? Or, will they pocket it and continue raking in the profits?

Casting lots with loaded dice

With the legislature reconvening in Jackson this week, we will finally get an answer to one of the biggest question marks of the 2015 cycle, as the House will decide whether to seat incumbent Rep. Bo Eaton or his Republican challenger Mark Tullos. In case you haven't been keeping up with state house races or high-stakes games of pick-up sticks, we wanted to give you a quick timeline of events leading up to this decision.

November 4 : The morning after the election, it appeared that Tullos had bested Eaton by the slimmest of margins. Six votes separated the Republican from Eaton, and it looked like the longtime representative was going to be another casualty in a not-so-great night for Democratic incumbents.

November 12: "It ain't over 'til it's over." The week after the election, Smith County finished counting the remaining affidavit ballots; of the twelve that were counted, three went to Tullos and nine went to Eaton, bringing the two candidates to a tie at 4,589 votes each. In much the same manner the Apostles chose who would succeed Judas Iscariot, state law dictates that in the case of a tie, the election "shall be determined by lot."

(Side note: If we have to use a Biblical example for determining the race, I would much rather go with the Solomon route: we say we're going to cut the district in half and give each candidate one piece, and whoever objects is obviously the true representative.)

Tullos was quoted as saying, "I'm not going to agree to a coin flip. I don't want to bet my future on the flip of a coin." Luckily for Tullos, it would not be a coin flip that determined his future; instead, the candidates would draw straws to determine the winner.

November 20: Much like King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, Bo Eaton pulled the long, green straw from the bag and officially won the seat in a ceremony overseen by both Governor Phil Bryant and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann. Tullos was in attendance. The law--as weird as it was--had been followed, and the race was over.

November 21: Never mind. Tullos was fine with drawing straws until he lost; I guess he didn't realize how close it would be to a coin toss. Since the House of Representatives has the authority to seat its own members, a committee appointed by Speaker Philip Gunn would decide the winner.

The law had been followed every step of the way, and Bryant and Hosemann both signed off on it. Surely, the panel would be fair and listen to both sides before making an informed, non-partisan decision. Right?

This image was added to the official roster of the Mississippi House of Representatives before the session began but was taken down because, you know, he hasn't actually won yet. For now, Bo Eaton is still officially the representative of House District 79. If this is any indication of Gunn and Co.'s plans, though, it is unlikely he'll be in the legislature for long. 

What To Expect: Mississippi Roads and Bridges Falling Through the Cracks and Potholes

This is Part 3 of a series this week highlighting what to expect from the Mississippi Legislature this session.

For the past few years, legislative leaders and business leaders have been sounding the alarm at the deteriorating condition of Mississippi’s infrastructure. Article after article has highlighted the problems with our extensive network of state highways and bridges. It’s so bad that PEER is recommending an official chain of command to alert bus drivers and school districts of faulty bridges.

Last year seemed to be the year – this was it – the Mississippi Economic Council pounded the war drum and called on their legislative friends to make this happen. But, when Republicans realized they were going to have to raise the gas tax… gasp… during an election year… plans were curtailed to letting MEC has a study committee.

While many study committees become a place where ideas go to die, MEC has in fact “studied” the issue, and they are looking at the legislature to make it happen this year. Their plan includes making people who use the roads pay for the roads – in other words – a regressive increase in the gas tax. 

If this all comes to fruition through a gas tax increase (or some other tax or fee because there just isn’t money lying around to fix all the infrastructure needs), Republicans will have to vote for it. There will be no way to politically manipulate the situation as in year’s past and force the Democrats and safe Republicans to vote for it and then assault them in mail pieces come election time. 

In the meantime, safe driving. Watch for other cars, watch for animals, and watch for falling bridges.