Drug Dealers for Lagasse (and other Republicans)

At a Republican campaign rally in Hancock County today, Republicans Phil Bryant, Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn, Reps. Timmy Ladner and Mark Formby, and party chairman Joe Nosef stood next to their candidate for House District 122, Mickey Lagasse.

Rallies like this are pretty common - firing up the crowd, taking pictures, handing out stickers. What stood out about this event is where it was being held. The Republican rally took place at the business of Gary Wayne Necaise of Hancock County; Mr. Necaise (mugshot below) has had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

Mickey Lagasse

In 2013, Mr. Necaise - a Lagasse supporter - was arrested with dozens of others (some of which were children) in a massive Hancock County drug bust in where Necaise was charged with the sale of a controlled substance. Such substances, mind you, are responsible for tens of thousands of Americans' deaths each year - now causing more deaths than vehicle accidents. 

That is now all water under the bridge as Republican candidates hold hands with Necaise in a strong show of party unity.

Mississippi Republicans: A Local Party Revolt

Last month, we touched a little bit on Phil Bryant's failed endorsement of Windy Swetman, after FoFo Gilich walloped Swetman in the May 12th Special Election for Biloxi mayor.

It seems as though the dust hasn't settled down in Harrison County; if anything, things are just getting started. We received some interesting documents that show quite a tiff between Harrison County Republican Committee and Joe Nosef, adding to the validity of rumblings we've heard that the MSGOP chair might be getting warm.

Below you'll find 3 documents.

The first is from Frank Genzer, chair of the HCRP Executive committee. Tense...is one way you might describe the letter to Chairman Nosef, as Genzer lays out a frustrated line of questioning about endorsement validity and authorization.

Harrison County Republican Executive Committee Letter to State Party 

Attached along with the letter include Chairman Nosef's abundantly exaggerative endorsement of Windy Swetman, and challenge of FoFo Gilich's Republican bona fides.

Mississippi Republican Party - Swetman Endorsement 

At heart, these two show just how averse the state leadership was to Gilich's candidacy, but if the first two documents are the shot, here's your chaser -- a letter from Nosef thanking Gilich for his "loyal support of the Mississippi Republican Party," proclaiming his support "make[s] [their] work at the Mississippi Republican Party possible."

Mississippi Republican Party - Thank You, Gilich 

Essentially -- Mayor Gilich donated to his own opposition campaign. That's got to feel great.

The Mississippi Republican Party: They'll take your money, but what will they do with it?

Did Rep. Bobby Moak have an advance copy of Phil Bryant's 2015 State of the State? Of course not, but it sure seemed that way.

Gov. Phil Bryant gave his 2015 State of the State address Wednesday night, but on Tuesday, House Democratic Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) issued a press release calling the shots on what Bryant would say:

"It will be more empty promises to fund education, some tripe about silver shovel awards in hard-to-find magazines, a little hot air about inflated job numbers and made-up business rankings," Moak said.

So Moak predicted 5 things Bryant would say on Tuesday, a full 24 hours before the State of the State.  For those keeping score at home, those five things were:

1. Empty promises to fund education,
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef responded Tuesday afternoon by playing the outrage card, and issued the following response:

"While, unfortunately, it is typical to see empty rhetoric from the minority Democrat party whining and attacking our governor, it is quite humorous to see them criticize a speech that is 24 hours away from being made."

And then Phil Bryant gave his speech Wednesday.

This line came not 90 seconds in:

"According to Area Development magazine, Mississippi ranks in the top ten states in the nation for economic development."

Right out of the gate, Moak hit two with one line! Made-up business rankings AND a hard-to-find magazine in one sentence!

That line was then followed up closely by:

"For the third year in a row, we have been awarded a Silver Shovel...."

Boom! Moak's got three!

So here's where we are now, barely two minutes into the speech:

1. Empty promises to fund education
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

Then Bryant moved on to jobs, and strained the limits of credulity with the following:

"According to our State Economist, Mississippi added 8,800 more jobs in 2014 than in 2013. Projected real personal income growth in Mississippi during 2015 is expected to be 3.9 percent. We also know that personal income buys even more in Mississippi than it would in other states because of our low cost of living. The Tax Foundation has found income in Mississippi goes 16 percent further than the national average. So for every $100 in income, a Mississippian would make $116 compared to other states. So many new employees who move to Mississippi get a raise. If they move here from Washington, D.C., they could get around a 40 percent raise. Obviously, we would need to retrain most of them."

First off, ain't nobody moving here right now, Governor. Our very meager population growth is attributable to births outpacing deaths, not folks chomping at the bit to move to Mississippi.  In fact, take a look at the maps over at New Geography.  The only folks moving into Mississippi in any number are running south from Memphis.

Second, it's cute how you claim 8,800 new jobs in Mississippi last year while ignoring that we've lost 41,000 since you came on the scene as Lt. Governor in 2007.  But I'm getting away from the point.  Moak now has his fourth prediction, inflated jobs numbers, come true.

Let's move on to empty promises to fund education, the first prediction Moak made and the last one still alive. Gov. Bryant, take it away:

Now let's spend a moment on the reality of education funding. The Education Week Research Center ranks Mississippi as 19th in the nation for state expenditures on K-12 education as a percentage of state taxable resources. No less authority than the U.S. Department of Education lists our state as number twelve in the nation for school expenditures as a percentage of the state's gross domestic product.

Sorry, I'm going to interrupt right here to point something out. If Person A takes home $2,400.00 a month, and spends $1,000 a month on housing, Person A spends 41.6% of his income on housing.  If Person B makes $7,000 a month, and spends $2,000 a month on housing, Person B spends 28.5% of her income on housing.  Does that mean Person B cares more about housing than Person A?  Of course not. So Gov. Bryant, quit trying to tell us that those stats mean anything. Even with my Mississippi public school education, I can see through that.

But back to Bryant's speech:

My Executive Budget Recommendation increases MAEP funding by $53 million over the current year. Under my recommendation MAEP funding will reach nearly $2.2 billion or a 2.5 percent annual increase. Funding for K-12 overall will reach $2.5 billion. It includes $41 million for the second year of a $100 million teacher pay raise and $15 million for more reading coaches to assist in the literacy program within the Third Grade Gate. I believe most of us want to fund reforms in education that work and make certain the money goes to the classroom.

You notice what Bryant didn't say? He didn't say that his recommendation is to adequately fund education. He just said he's going to recommend an increase, but not even to the level we've already decided is merely adequate (MAEP). So he made it sound like he's going to fund education fully, even when he admittedly isn't.  And if you look at the speech, he's wasn't even that enthused about it.  He was more excited about signing a tax cut (any tax cut!) and how he put "In God We Trust" on the state seal.

And there it is, Moak hit every single prediction:

1. Empty promises to fund education
2. Tripe about silver shovel awards
3. Hard-to-find magazines
4. Inflated job numbers
5. Made-up business rankings

Wonder how Nosef feels about his quote now?  A bit silly, perhaps?

Mississippi Republicans Supporting Tax Dishonesty

Mississippi Republicans are jumping into a Jackson city council race where the preferred candidate of state Republican chairman Joe Nosef has serious baggage.

Ashby Foote, a candidate for city council, whose race is managed by state Sen. Sally Doty (R-Brookhaven), has tax liens in the ballpark of $75,000! The liens date back to 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2010 - most occurring before the recession. The liens are based on profit; no one pays $75,000 in taxes if they lose money. Mr. Foote is trying to deceive the voters of Jackson with made-up stories, but you and I know he's not telling the truth.

You and I pay our taxes like honest citizens, but candidate Ashby Foote thumbs his nose at the law while the Republican Party cheers him on.

The Republicans want Jackson voters to cast a ballot for a candidate who doesn't feel it's necessary to pay his taxes or be forthcoming about these serious issues. This is a poor example of individual responsibility and fiscal conservatism. Jackson deserves better than Ashby Foote's dishonesty.

Change in Command Coming to Mississippi GOP?

Sources within Republican ranks are reporting that Governor Phil Bryant is sending his former chief of staff and former Cochran campaign manager, Kirk Sims, to be the new executive director for the Mississippi Republican Party.

For those unfamiliar with Sims, he served as Governor Bryant's chief of staff before leading Cochran's 2014 Senate primary. After Cochran's near defeat in the June 3 Republican Primary, the decision was made to not keep Sims on Cochran's campaign staff. On top of that, he is the son-in-law of U.S. Senator Roger Wicker.

What should outrage Tea Party supporters is that Bryant's rumored handpicked executive director, along with Chairman Joe Nosef, have done everything they can to diminish and discredit the U.S. Senate campaign of Chris McDaniel.

Furthermore, the Haley Barbour establishment and their big-money donors should be frightened that Bryant is permitting the person who nearly lost Cochran his re-election to be the next executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party.

Stay tuned as rumored staffing hire develops.

More thoughts: I am puzzled why Phil Bryant is allegedly sending Kirk to work for the state party and rather than hiring Kirk to run his re-election campaign for governor. Perhaps Kirk did such a poor job that not even Bryant wants him on his own campaign staff.

Chris McDaniel's radio show comments, poor choice of friends shake up the MSGOP Senate primary

National media began to run with old clips of Chris McDaniel's "The Right Side" radio program over the past week, and the stuff they've released isn't pretty.

• The Wall Street Journal hits McDaniel on his "mamacita" comments
• Buzzfeed posts McDaniel's comments on the libertarian platform ("free hookers and blow for everybody")
• Buzzfeed again unveils new McDaniel comments, this time on Muslims, homosexuals, and poverty

Other media outlets began publishing the comments, and Thad Cochran's camp immediately piled on, emailing supporters links to those posts.  MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef then made some comments on MSNBC about Chris McDaniel being the keynote speaker for an event put on by an avowed white supremacist.  That, in turn, lead the Mississippi Tea Party to demand Joe Nosef resign his chairmanship.  

Ain't this fun?

Moving Voter Registration into the Late 20th Century

A soon-to-be introduced bill by state Sen. David Blount (D-Jackson) opens another voter registration avenue by allowing persons to submit an online voter registration form. Bear in mind that mail-in voter registration forms have been accepted for many years now. According to an article from the Clarion-Ledger, Blount believes that there are enough safeguards in place to make online registration an extension of methods that already exist rather than setting up a new infrastructure. That hasn't stopped critics from jumping on board.

State Republican Chairman, and guy who insists his tweets be re-tweeted, Joe Nosef noted his skepticism that such online forms could be problematic. Because Obamacare, of course. Nosef seems to be off-message in his criticism. The sitting Secretary of State is a fellow Republican, mind you. Breaking the Republican Party's 11th Commandment by insinuating that Secretary Hosemann's office cannot effectively manage online voter registration is puzzling.

Speaking of Hosemann, the Secretary noted his hesitance because of possible security issues. Perhaps Hosemann does not realize what online forms his office processes. For example, businesses file online annual reports, LLC filings are submitted online, and lobbyists file their reports online through the Secretary of State's office. The infrastructure and data security is already in place yet the resistance remains.

So here's the deal: either Hosemann does not know that his office already accepts online forms for other transactions or he should simply admit that he does not want to make the voting process more efficient. His pet Voter ID project is already being implemented so that should alleviate his concerns, but much like his paranoid Republican base, that remains to be seen.

Season's Greetings: Long-Term Unemployment Benefits Expiring

In this season of family, charity, and self-reflection, it is important to remember those among us who are still struggling financially. Tomorrow, long-term unemployment benefits are set to expire for 13,400 Mississippians. 37,600 Mississippians could lose their benefits during 2014 and over 1,400 of our fellow citizens may lose their jobs as a result of the expiration of benefits.

Some may ask why these folks don't just go out and get a job. Seems simple enough. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Mississippi's unemployment rate now stands at 8.3 percent, the highest of any other Southern state. Our unemployment rate has remained over 8 percent since January 2009. From June 2013 to November 2013, our state's labor force has decreased by roughly 24,000. A more worrisome statistic is that during this same time period, our state's education and health care sectors grew by about 1 percent.

All along we were under the impression that Governor Bryant wanted to be known as the health care governor. A recent study showed that an expansion of Medicaid could produce over 20,000 jobs and inject over $1 billion into the state. The response from Bryant goes something like this: No way do I want to create health care jobs to Mississippi. I'm more than happy to give hardworking Mississippians' tax dollars to my fellow Republican governors in North Dakota and Iowa who expanded Medicaid and have unemployment rates of 2.6 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

While Tea Party cheerleaders like GOP Chairman Joe Nosef and Bryant sing "Happy Days are Here Again," the direction of our labor force is going in the wrong direction. Bryant will stop the presses to announce a job created in the state, but he understandably goes radio silent when job losses occur.

It seems the Republican agenda can be boiled down to this: You have to vote for our party so you can find out what's in it.

Mississippi's Bond Rating Downgraded to "Negative"

Last night, Geoff Pender at the Clarion Ledger reported that Mississippi's bond rating has been downgraded from "stable" to "negative." 

You don't have to know much about economics to understand that a "negative" rating for Mississippi is not good for the state, yet just two years into complete Republican control of Mississippi's government, here we are.

And this is just a warning. According to Pender, Fitch Ratings (no relation to State Treasurer Lynn Fitch), things could be worse, and quickly if we don't turn ourselves around:

While the agency did not drop the state’s credit rating from AA+, it warned, “The rating may be lowered if the state is unable to consistently fund ongoing operations without relying on one-time revenue sources, if there is weakness in the economy that diverges from the national trend, or if funding for pension liabilities weakens.” A drop in credit rating would cost the state millions in interest rates for general obligation bonds, and can be a turnoff for major economic development projects.

Fitch cites "volatile" industries,  "above average liabilities," and the usual suspects of high poverty/low employment as the chief concern causing the downgrade.

Perhaps the most telling statements come from the Republican leadership's own mouths. When asked about the rating, Lieutenant Governor Reeves said, "...there has not been the political will to do anything about it. I don’t know if that is changing or not..."

On the State Legislative side, Speaker Gunn had a similar pitch to Pender:

“We cannot declare (the recession) is over. We may have seen the bottom and stopped going down, but it’s gradual growth. One economist I heard said it could be 2018 before we see substantial improvement.”

This might be a good time to remind you of MSGOP chairman Joe Nosef's August 28th interview with the Clarion Ledger:

Unlike the nation here in Mississippi the economy is strong. Mississippi's economy totaled more than $100 billion for the first time. Since taking office, Phil has announced the creation of 7,298 new jobs and more than $1.1 billion in private sector investment to date. Have announced 4,659 of those jobs in 2013. 2012: 2,674 new jobs (plus 400 retained jobs), $455,560,000 in company investment. White taxes and regulations are going up in Washington, the Governor has taken both of those in opposite direction. Obviously though there is much more to do and progress to make. I think he thinks about that all the time and I talked to him this morning about some projects he is excited about.

So who owns this problem?

Bad News for Job Creation:

It was a no good, very bad day for "job creation" across the state (and especially for families in North Mississippi) yesterday, when Furniture Brands announced a manufacturing plant closure that will cost Mississippi 1,400 jobs. According to the Clarion Ledger, the plants in Belden and Saltillo will be closing as quickly as October, which will make for a tough autumn for hard-working Mississippians.

The disappointing truth is this: Despite the fact that Governor Bryant has made a point to individually count jobs (one by one) in his State of the State addresses, he won't be found near this one.

And 1,400 families in North Mississippi won't be comforted by those counts either. Governor Bryant  has chosen to use the working people of this state to make cheap political points -- He now must own his failure.

The chest thumping doesn't stop with the governor (though the buck certainly does). Joe Nosef has framed the Mississippi economy as the MSGOP's signature "accomplishment." In his August 28th  Clarion-Ledger web interview, Nosef wrote:

Unlike the nation here in Mississippi the economy is strong. Mississippi's economy totaled more than $100 billion for the first time. Since taking office, Phil has announced the creation of 7,298 new jobs and more than $1.1 billion in private sector investment to date. Have announced 4,659 of those jobs in 2013. 2012: 2,674 new jobs (plus 400 retained jobs), $455,560,000 in company investment. White taxes and regulations are going up in Washington, the Governor has taken both of those in opposite direction. Obviously though there is much more to do and progress to make. I think he thinks about that all the time and I talked to him this morning about some projects he is excited about.

And a recent graphic was created and pushed by the MSGOP touting the state's economic rankings.

Seems like the workers are getting the short end of that "business" thing.

We expect the Mississippi Republican Party to update their numbers to honestly reflect reality soon.

Hold your breath.

99 Shades of Crazy: Joe Nosef melts down on Twitter in wake of electoral devastation

Suggested audio accompaniment to this post:


Last night, as the polls were closing and the bad news was mounting for Mississippi Republicans, MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef lashed out at the Mississippi Democratic Trust and the Mississippi Democratic Party, the two organizations that just cleaned his electoral clock:

joenosef @MSDemTrust @MSDemocrat shows how far y'all have fallen to be giddy about tonight; get a candidate for Gov, LG, SOS, auditor, us senate ... 6/4/13 10:49 PM

joenosef @MSDemTrust @MSDemocrat also might want to find one for treasurer, insurance comm, AG comm, congress in 1, 3 & 4 ... 6/4/13 10:51 PM

joenosef @MSDemTrust @MSDemocrat while you're at it add all transportation commissioners and 2 PSC, not to mention your 0-3 supreme ct last year 6/4/13 10:53 PM

It's pretty funny that Nosef spent the latter part of last night trying to poo-poo the results, as his organization spent time last week talking about how important they were.  Don't believe me?  Check out the email from the MSGOP I've embedded below, entitled "Less than a week away".  In it, the MSGOP prominently features four videos.  Videos for Republican mayoral candidates John McKay, Cheri Barry, Dan Moreland, and Fred Pitts, each of whom lost yesterday.  Heck, there wasn't even one of them close to winning.  Here's the email where the MSGOP asks for monetary help in these "vital" races:

Less Than a Week Away

Joe Nosef goes on C-L live chat; apparently caught Bryant's foot-in-mouth disease

So, MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef was on the Clarion-Ledger live chat this afternoon when an interesting thing happened.  His sister, an apparent Democrat, sent in a question:

1:14

Comment From Courtney  Joe, a quick question from your little sister (literally). What is the Republican party doing to attract young voters who are genuinely concerned about social issues but also tend to lean fiscally conservative. I know many people my age (29) who would consider voting Republican but for the party's stance on certain social issues.

1:14	Geoff Pender:  Cool, a question from your sister!

1:14	Joe Nosef:  First of all, Courtney, you were supposed to use another name and ask a much easier question like "why am i so great."

1:15	Geoff Pender:  Doesn't sound like she got the memo, Joe. Is your sister, gasp, a Democrat?

1:16

Joe Nosef:  To answer your question, we are working on that. I think the main thing is to stop chasing shiny objections on issues that aren't the main ones like the economy. The other thing is we have to quit letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. If someone doesn't agree on one or two social issues but is with us on most everything else we have to realize we want those people in the party.

"Shiny objections?!?" "Issues that aren't the main ones?" You mean silly little things like Personhood, women's issues, civil rights, and equal pay? Or education, transportation, and healthcare?

Jeez. What a bad couple of days for Mississippi Republicans.

Mississippians for Republican Redistricting

A group of longtime Republicans have begun calling themselves "Mississippians for Fair Redistricting." In a press release issued February 3, 2011, the group named only three members: Jim Herring, Joe Nosef, and Jeanne Luckey.

Let's take a look at who each of these people are.

Jim Herring - Former Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, "Chairmen of the Chairmen" of the Republican National Committee, and two-time Fordice appointee to open state positions. (Bio here.)

Joe Nosef - Former Chief Counsel to and campaign manager for Gov. Haley Barbour, former Chief of Staff for Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, board member of the Marsha Barbour Community Center, and member of the Hinds County Republican Executive Committee. (Bio here.)

Jeanne Luckey - Current and former National Committeewoman for the Mississippi Republican Party, Vice-chair of the Mississippi Republican Party, member of the Jackson County Republican Executive Committee and the Ocean Springs Republican Municipal Committee, Chair of the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women, and board member of the National Federation of Republican Women. (Bio here.)

In their release, they say they want the Legislature to adhere to "common sense principles" as the new district lines are drawn in response to last week's 2010 census numbers. Don't be surprised if members of this group make their presence known through state-funded SuperTalk radio and attempt to pass themselves off as nonpartisan.