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.

Did Y'all Politics uncover vote-buying by Rep. Jeff Smith? ***Updated***

It's fairly common knowledge that, when running for Speaker, one does not promise committee chairmanships to folks in exchange for votes.  Well, apparently Jeff Smith didn't know that.  Here's what Frank Corder of Y'all Politics recently wrote in a story attacking Rep. Brandon Jones:

I heard that had Rep. Jeff Smith won the Speaker vote in 2007, Smith would have appointed Jackson County representatives Rep. Hank Zuber and Rep. John Reed as House committee chairs. Zuber would have been given the reigns of Transportation and Reed would have chaired Public Health. This would have given Jackson County and the Coast tremendous influence on two vital committees.

I verified this with Rep. Jeff Smith. When asked about this scenario, Smith said, "It is true. John is my best friend in the Legislature and Zuber had paid his dues and deserved a Chair and would have gotten one, just as they both will if I become Speaker this time."

Well, here's the thing.  When you're promising people chairmanships of committees, you put them in a situation where they have a direct pecuniary interest in voting a certain way as a legislator.  That's because committee chairmen get extra salary for the time they have to spend working on issues before their committees.

Of course, there's another problem with what Corder wrote about Jeff Smith.  It's probably not true.  One of the reasons Jeff Smith had trouble getting the votes he needed to become Speaker is because he'd promised everything to everyone.  And what we've got in this Y'all Politics article is another instance of Jeff Smith telling someone who doesn't know any better whatever they want to hear. (The guy is on his third political party this year, after all.)

So allow me to take Frank Corder to school on Jeff Smith for a second.  To begin with, Rep. Zuber was appointed Vice Chair of Transportation by Speaker Billy McCoy in 2004. However, there were four other members of the Transportation committee who were in contention to be Chairman of Transportation under a Jeff Smith speakership: Rep. Bobby Shows (R-Ellisville), Rep. Mark Baker (R-Brandon), Rep. Jerry Turner (R-Baldwyn) and Rep. Mark Formby (R-Picayune). Formby and Shows both had more seniority than Zuber. And the word was all over the state that Shows would get the chair as a result of being one of the (at the time) Democrats who had agreed to vote for Smith. Turner was in the running because northeast Mississippi wanted the chairmanship, since Rep. Bill Miles was retiring and since highways are so important in that part of the state. At the time the Speaker's vote was taken, Shows was the unquestioned frontrunner.

Now let's look at this stuff about the Public Health Committee. First, Corder misspelled Rep. John Read's name (he had it "Reed"). While Read (R-Gautier) was a member of Public Health, the clear frontrunner at the time was Dr. Sid Bondurant (R-Grenada). Once again, Smith was giving it to Bondurant as a Democrat voting for him, and Smith could justify it because Bondurant is a medical doctor. Also in the running was the more senior Bobby Howell (R-Kilmichael), a pharmacist. John Read wasn't getting the Chairmanship of Public Health, period.

Now, this tells us a few things. First, it tells us that Corder didn't know enough about what went down in late 2007 and early 2008 to be writing this piece. Second, Jeff Smith knew that, and thought he could hoodwink Corder into believing this nonsense. Finally, it tells us that Corder doesn't do his homework. Why, you ask? Well, Corder makes the following claim in his piece:

When the legislature convened in January 2007, Jones was a decisive vote that handed McCoy the Speaker's gavel. For his vote, he picked up a vice-chairmanship on the Insurance Committee.

No other Jackson County representatives received any consideration for chairs or vice chairs. Why? Because these true conservatives all supported the conservative choice for Speaker that year - then-Democrat, now Republican Rep. Jeff Smith. (Emphasis mine.)

Well, the aforementioned Rep. Hank Zuber (R-Ocean Springs) was appointed vice chair of Marine Resources in 2008 by Speaker McCoy, which is kind of a big deal on the Gulf Coast. Even better? Jackson County's own Rep. Billy Broomfield was appointed the chairman of Ports, Harbors, and Airports.

***UPDATE 10/24/11 at 9 a.m.*** - It somehow slipped my mind that Rep. Frank Hamilton (R-Hurley) was appointed vice chair of Military Affairs.  So, in actuality, even though Corder claims "No other Jackson County representatives (aside from Rep. Brandon Jones) received any consideration for chairs or vice chairs," we see that, in truth and in fact, of the 6 Jackson County members of the House, only two aren't a chairman or vice chairman. (Reps. John Read and Jeff Guice).  And Read would have a hard time knocking his committee assignments, as he was appointed to the powerful Appropriations committee. Guice is finishing his first term, and is assigned to several committees, including the Select Committee on the Gulf Coast Disaster and Marine Resources.

For the sake of thoroughness, Rep. Deryk Parker (D-Lucedale) has a district (107) that encompasses a portion of northern Jackson County.  I don't count him as a "Jackson County" member, though since he lives in George County.  Rep. Parker is vice chair of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

***BREAKING*** - Ethics Commission going after Republican Rep. Kevin McGee (R-Brandon)

I can now confirm that the Mississippi Ethics Commission has investigated Republican Rep. Kevin McGee (R-Brandon) for potential violations of state ethics laws. Clay Chandler over at the Mississippi Business Journal broke the story just now, although the link to the full story isn't working properly at the moment for some reason.

At issue are reportedly 351 contracts Rep. McGee had with the State for printing work. McGee is President of Service Printers, Inc. Rep. McGee is reportedly represented by two Republican House Speaker hopefuls, Rep. Mark Baker (R-Brandon) and Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus).

There had been a hearing set for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., but that hearing has been postponed.

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.

Republicans against Rep. Jeff Smith?

MajorityInMS.com has an interesting post up about Republicans in the Columbus area going after Rep. Jeff Smith (D-Columbus). Smith is running as a Democrat for office but will seek the Speaker's chair as an independent. Memorably, Smith ran against House Speaker Billy McCoy (D-Rienzi) in 2008. Smith, supported by a handful of Democrats and every Republican, lost a bitter contest by one vote.

Smith's approach to this upcoming Speaker's race is going to be interesting, especially considering that he is unlikely to gain early support of Republican House members. Currently, there appear to be at least two Republican House members looking seriously at a Speaker's run. (More on that in a subsequent post). In order for Smith to have a shot at obtaining the gavel, he will have to pick off at least one member of the McCoy coalition and Republicans will have to fall short of gaining a majority in the House.

In short, Smith has to hope Republicans fail in their ultimate goal: obtaining a majority in the House. So when Smith is going around talking to Republicans, how does the conversation go from Smith's end? "Hey man, I hope you lose so you can vote for me?"

Russ & Margaret, we hardly knew ye...

Representatives Margaret Rogers and Russ Nowell announced that they were switching to the Republican Party today. Of course both of them had been voting with Republicans all along, including votes for Jeff Smith in the Speaker's race. Interestingly, Nowell voted for Smith after giving Speaker Billy McCoy his word that he'd support McCoy, which prevented Nowell from being effective in any way for his district over the last 3 years.

In reality, this is no big deal, as neither held any great power. Reaction from elected Democrats seems to be a collective yawn. Steve Holland, in a comment that typified the mood around the Capitol said, "It's good for them to finally embrace who they are."

Predictably, Majority in Mississippi, a Republican blog, has a post up that fixates on race. But are we surprised by that? Surely not.