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.

The Failed Phil Bryant Economy

Governor Phil Bryant is out with his latest ad touting his economic record. Don't let Phil Bryant keep lying to you. The Phil Bryant Economy has been a disaster.

On Phil Bryant's watch, there are over 22,000 fewer Mississippians with a job than there were when Phil Bryant and the Republicans took control of state government. In fact, the state's economist has noted the Mississippi's economy went into a recession in 2013 and 2014 and sluggish economic output is projected for 2015. This has been a trend; under the Phil Bryant Economy, most economic reports point to weak economic growth on top of the state's recession. This comes at a time when reports show that the the Phil Bryant Economy is coming up $30 million short of its budget projections while suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

While Phil Bryant and the Republicans talk a big game about the state's economy, remember where they have led and kept the state: at the bottom. Mississippi deserves better than the failed Phil Bryant Economy.

Phil Bryant Wants to Pick Your Legislator

The first round of General Election mail in this year's House races didn't come from a legislative campaign at all. Governor Phil Bryant has offered what appears to be a blanket endorsement of all Republicans running for the House.

Remarkably, these candidates from remote parts of the state all seem to have embraced the same education and business agendas.

Governor Bryant has a rocky history in the endorsement game. In 2013, Bryant endorsed Republican mayoral candidates in cities like Ocean Springs, Tupelo, Meridian, and Starkville; all of Bryant's candidates lost. Just this past summer, Bryant meddled in the special elections for mayor of Biloxi and the open First Congressional District seat. Once again, Bryant's preferred candidates were defeated. Yet, the copy and paste feature on the printing press at Republican headquarters seems to be operating as usual.

More Republican Campaign Emails to State Employees Come Forward

In emails obtained by Cottonmouth, it seems agencies beyond the Rankin County School District have received campaign emails from Republicans without the consent of the recipient. This time, employees of the Mississippi Development Authority have been put on the Republican Party's email list without them signing up for it. As a reminder from previous posts, employees of the Rankin County School District received emails from the Mississippi Republican Party and Governor Phil Bryant dating back to 2012.

Public emails sent in this manner are in likely violation of state law, and the Republicans know it. A major question to consider is whether Republican State Auditor Stacey Pickering will investigate this matter, as this is something his office has standing to review. Pickering has been notified of this situation, but public employees continue to receive emails to which they never subscribed. The public has been denied access to emails between legislative Republican leadership and the Legislative Budget Office regarding language for Initiative 42, while, at the same time, public employees get unsolicited fundraising emails from the Republicans.

UPDATE: Political Emails to State Employees Only Legal for Republicans

In re-reading the e-mails we discovered last week, one disclaimer stood out: PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF PHIL BRYANT. 

Digging through Bryant's campaign finance reports, there is no reference to the Bryant campaign purchasing an email listserv for the Rankin County School District. To the best of our knowledge, public email lists are not available for purchase.

All this raises a question we failed to note in our earlier report: who or what entity gave the Bryant campaign school e-mail addresses for all of Rankin County's teachers?

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

Political Emails to State Employees Only Legal for Republicans

What better way to remind our public school employees that they are underpaid than to receive constant email reminders from Mississippi Republicans?

Governor Phil Bryant, a native of Rankin County, and the Mississippi Republican Party have quite possibly violated state law by sending emails to public employees through a school district email server in Rankin County.

Mississippi Code Section 23-15-871 clearly states that

It shall be unlawful for any employer, or employee having the authority to employ or discharge other employees, to make any statement public or private, or to give out or circulate any report or statement, calculated to intimidate or coerce or otherwise influence any employee as to his vote, and when any such statement has obtained circulation, it shall be the duty of such employer to publicly repudiate it, in the absence of which repudiation the employer shall be deemed by way of ratification to have made it himself...

The prohibitions of this section shall apply to all state, state district, county and county district officers, and to any board or commission and the members thereof by whatever name designated and whether elective or appointive, and to each and every one of those employed by them or any of them. And no state, state district, county or county district officer, or any employee of any of them who directly or indirectly has the control, or in any way the power of control, or who asserts or pretends that he has such power, over the expenditure of any public funds in this state, whatever the purpose or object of said expenditure may be, shall state, suggest or intimate, publicly or privately, or in any manner or form, that any such expenditure shall in any wise depend upon or be influenced by the vote of any person, group of persons, or community or group of communities, whether for or against any candidate or group of candidates at any election.

To add insult to injury, Republicans have the nerve to ask for money from these hard working women and men even though Mississippi's public school employees are among the worst-paid in the country.

Interestingly, it was House Education Committee Chairman and Rankin County Republican John Moore who authored House Bill 449 this year which would have created criminal penalties for teachers and school personnel who engage in political activity while at work.

Republican Party Endorses Inadequate and Inefficient Public Education

It was bound to happen. For years, Mississippi Republicans have worked tirelessly to undermine public education in the state. Now, they have finally put their party's stamp of approval on it.

Early today, the Mississippi Republican Party Central Committee - not to be confused with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China - voted unanimously to endorse the Mississippi Republican Party's opposition to public education. Some familiar faces are on this committee: Governor Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, House Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Clinton), and House Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden (R-Meridian).

If you recall during this year's legislative session, Gunn and Reeves rushed alternative ballot language through the legislature without any hearings or public input while threatening their rank-and-file Republicans to vote for it. Their goal: confuse the voters. During this session, Gov. Bryant pushed his private school voucher bill which will pull resources away from public schools. At the same time, Speaker Gunn has been at the beck and call of the Bomgar Caucus, an association of deep-pocketed interests that spent tens of thousands of dollars to defeat pro-public education Republican legislators in the August primaries. Just last week, Bryant and Hosemann voted to put their political talking points on the November ballot by putting misleading language before the voters. This intentionally-confusing language, mind you, was pushed by Reeves and Snowden through the Legislative Budget Office. The public has been refused access to the communication between these offices because they chose to not be transparent. Let's not forget that time Rep. Herb Frierson (R-Poplarville) threw out his scare tactics of frightening state agencies that if the state fully support public education, their agencies would see massive budget cuts - possibly leading to huge layoffs.

All these political players and all these moves have been a part of the Republicans' masterful strategy of deliberately weakening Mississippi's public education system.

Republicans can talk about how proud they are about continuing to not fully support public education and that Mississippi still pays its public school teachers less than their counterparts across the South. The truth remains that you can either be a Republican or support public education, but you cannot do both. The Republican Party's vote today proves it.

Phil Bryant Sets Up Dangerous Situation

The United States Supreme Court will soon rule whether it is permissible for Mississippians to receive a tax credit in order to help pay for their health insurance. This is a case with huge implications for tens of thousands of Mississippians who risk losing their health care coverage. The person caring the least about this is Republican Governor Phil Bryant.

As of March 2015, over 75,000 Mississippians receive a tax credit to help pay their health insurance costs. This could all be in jeopardy if the Supreme Court rules against the tax credits. The backup plan from Republicans is nonexistent.

Republican Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney once worked to build a state-based insurance marketplace, but the stubbornness of Phil Bryant killed Chaney's proposal. Thus, Bryant's poor decisions have led us to this precarious (and avoidable) position.

House Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) and Governor Bryant,
likely not talking about helping Mississippians get health insurance

For Phil Bryant and the Republicans, it has never been about the Mississippians that are being helped by having health insurance. To them, it is all about making a political statement despite the fact that we have a higher uninsured rate than the national average. Phil Bryant and his Republican Party have done everything within their power to make sure thousands of Mississippians have no health insurance coverage.

Commissioner Chaney summed up the shortsighted, politics-only views of Phil Bryant with this quote:

“He’s got a pretty good approval rating, and he doesn’t have a real strong opponent,” Mr. Chaney said. “So he’s just not worried.”

Democrats + Public Education = Greater Support

Republicans must be feeling the heat from public education supporters on the campaign trail. Given the Republicans' shortchanging of Mississippi's public education system, it makes perfect sense.

Take a journey with me to 2011, the most recent year where Democrats had leverage in the appropriations process, to see for yourself which party truly supports public education and which does not. 

In 2011, the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed its Department of Education appropriations bill funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) to the tune of $1,835,713,885. Republican leaders such as now-Speaker Philip Gunn, now-Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden, and now-House Education Committee Chairman John Moore were among a small number of members who joined their Tea Party colleagues (the Tea Party used to be a thing) and voted against higher levels of public education funding passed by the Democratic leadership.

Meanwhile, in the Phil Bryant-led Senate, Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to cut education funding to $1,754,374,491, a proposal roughly 4.5 percent lower than the Democratic plan.

The final product hammered out between House Democrats, Phil Bryant's Senate Republicans, and Haley Barbour resulted in funding MAEP at $1,808,129,050 - an amount closer to the Democratic position than the Republicans'. In short: Democrats' negotiating strength led to more support for public education funding than would have passed under the Republicans.

This is another example of Democrats putting their money where their mouths are while Republicans accept less support for public education and call it a success. We now find ourselves in an election year where Republicans like Speaker Gunn and Greg Snowden champion education spending while they have voted against greater support for public education. One could say that the flip flopping by Gunn and Snowden constitutes being "full of it." As has been stated, "You can be a Republican in Mississippi, or you can support education, but you can't do both."

Gov. Bryant would ask for your prayers for this law enforcement officer during this difficult time

It takes a lot to get me blogging nowadays, but this did it.  Last weekend, in the wake of the horrific and terrifying deaths of two Hattiesburg Police Department officers, Gov. Phil Bryant decided to weigh in on how society should view law enforcement officers.  The entire op-ed is an embarrassment to our state for many reasons, but a major failing is in Gov. Bryant's overly-simplistic view of the world.  To him, it's all Saturday morning spaghetti westerns, where the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. Life simply doesn't afford anyone who's lived it the possibility to maintain such an illusion, unfortunately.  And to be clear, Gov. Bryant doesn't believe that either. How could he in the wake of his appointees repeatedly heading off to the federal penitentiary?  He's just writing that way because he thinks you think like that.

But in keeping with his entreaties to blindly stand by our law enforcement officers as they go after the bad guys, I'm sure that Gov. Bryant would ask you to keep Mr. Andre' Kennedy in your thoughts and prayers.  Mr. Kennedy is currently being charged with capital murder (which is a whole other issue altogether), kidnapping, and armed robbery after he allegedly joined another man in robbing and terrorizing a Jackson doctor at his home this past weekend.  Prior to his arrest, Mr. Kennedy had been working hard to keep us safe under the most extreme conditions as a prison guard for the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

*Personal note - I'm sure some of you will react to this post by saying that I'm not supportive of law enforcement. Incorrect. Pointing out that our governor's composition wouldn't garner a C+ in a junior high social studies class is being disrespectful and unsupportive of our governor, not of our law enforcement officers. I personally know and deeply care for a good number of our law enforcement officers.  I care for them so much, in fact, that I find it important enough to set my law practice and family life aside for 45 minutes to write about the way we should not view interactions between police and society. I hope that you'll honestly join me in pondering the ways in which we foster an atmosphere of violence and distrust between law enforcement officers and citizens, especially nonwhite and poorer citizens, and how we can unravel it.

Reckless Republican Investments Not Paying Off

Nearly four years into his term as governor, Phil Bryant keeps incorrectly talking a big game about the state of Mississippi's economic growth. The fact still remains that there are nearly 46,000 Mississippians who have lost their jobs since Phil Bryant and the Republicans have been in charge. As Phil Bryant has said when jobs are lost on his watch: "there's nothing more that could have been done."

All the chest thumping from the Republicans about being pro-jobs is still not passing muster. Chief Executive Magazine noted that Mississippi ranks at the low end of its measures for being a place where businesses want to set up shop. According to their findings, which we have been highlighting for some time, the Phil Bryant economy has very high unemployment compared to the rest of the country and slow GDP growth.

While they whistle past the graveyard, this report flies in the face at what Phil Bryant and his Republicans have been spouting over the past few years. While the Phil Bryant Republicans continue to shortchange public education and paying teachers far less than they are worth, the state's economy continues to suffer.

We know the Republicans are not into supporting public education. Again, we see they are not into supporting efforts to improve Mississippi's economy. Mississippi's reckless Republicans are in over their heads.

Republicans Want An Issue and Offer No Solution

If you need another example of how the Republicans have no idea what they are doing on education policy, let's take a look at what they were up to today. Having had his feelings hurt by Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Governor Phil Bryant retreated to the warm embrace of his talk radio protectors. During this morning's interview, Bryant discussed why he vetoed a bill which would have established a study committee to review our state's education standards which have been on the books since Republican Haley Barbour was governor.

Phil Bryant opposes our current education standards which challenge students to learn new math and reading skills and wants them to be replaced, but he has provided no examples of what he would like to see instead. This is one of those instances of wanting an issue to fight about and campaign on rather than offering a solution. Bryant even admitted there is no agreement between him and his fellow Republicans on what to do, proving once again that they have no idea what they're doing.

By setting Mississippi on the chaotic course he wants, Governor Bryant is hurting Mississippi in the fast-paced competition for better jobs. As a reminder, Mississippi still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. It makes no sense to withdraw from the education standards that have been in place for years just to win a political argument while, at the same time, the standards seem to be working fine. If we were to make a flowchart of how Phil Bryant and the Republicans make education policy, it would probably look something like this:

1. "We like skools."
2. "Wait, we don't want skools doing that."
3. Yell about it
4. Shrug shoulders 
5. Demand something
6. Offer no solutions 
7. Pass bills that hurt Mississippi's chances of being competitive in a global economy
8. Demand something else when Phil Bryant has another bad idea
9. Offer no solutions, again
10. Tate Reeves blames Philip Gunn who blames Tate Reeves who blames Phil Bryant
11. Teachers and students get caught in the political crossfire
12. Somehow declare victory

What Phil Bryant and the Republicans are doing is confusing teachers by trying to change the rules and making Mississippi school children less competitive than their counterparts in states across the country. Phil Bryant and the Republicans do not care. As long as they can claim a political win, that is good enough for them. As we have noted previously, when it comes to public education in Mississippi, Phil Bryant and the Republicans just aren't into you.

GOP tax cut would cost more than effort to save hospitals

For years now, Gov. Phil Bryant (R - Mississippi) has refused to adopt the new method of reimbursing hospitals for care provided to those without insurance and unable to pay.  This has driven a good number of our Mississippi hospitals to the brink of closure, and some straight into bankruptcy.  The reason he always gives is "we can't afford it."

Well, here's a comparison of the cost of the tax cut plan before the House today and the costs associated with the new method of hospital reimbursement:

2016
Tax Cut: $12.3M
Hospital Reimbursement: $29M

2017
Tax Cut: $56.2M
Hospital Reimbursement: $94M

2018
Tax Cut: $108.6M
Hospital Reimbursement: $108M

2019
Tax Cut: $166.8
Hospital Reimbursement: $124M

2020
Tax Cut: $233.7M
Hospital Reimbursement: $167M

Total cost from 2016-2020:
Tax Cut: $577.6M
Hospital Reimbursement: $522M

(Source: Lt. Governor’s office tax cut data and  “An Economic Analysis of the State and Local Impact

of Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi” David Becker and Michael Morrisey, November 2013)

Now, I may be a graduate of our chronically underfunded Mississippi public schools, but even I can understand when I'm being sold a bill of goods.

Another Reminder on the Failed Bryant Economy

If you need one more reminder about the failures of the Phil Bryant economy, check out the numbers from the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trust. The numbers show that on Phil Bryant's watch, the state is enduring the worst job creation record in the country. Despite all the tax giveaways to Phil Bryant's buddies with the promise of more jobs and prosperity, Mississippi remains on the bottom thanks to a lousy return on investment on Phil Bryant's part. 

Furthermore, the state of Kansas (which has been the template for tax policy by our Republican-led legislature) has one of the worst job creation records in the country. The Kansas model was the framework for Speaker Gunn's income tax bill which recently passed the Republican-led House. Leave it to Phil Bryant and his Republican yes-men to follow economic policies that are not working here and across the country. 

Phil Bryant in Public Relations Crisis Mode

Knowing that his boat is taking on water in the fallout over the IHL Board of Trustee's decision to not renew the contract of University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones, Governor Phil Bryant retreated to the warm safety of his friends in talk radio this morning to deny any knowledge or involvement over the matter.

What Phil Bryant did not mention during his interview is that while he may or may not have personal relationships with all members of the IHL Board of Trustees, he is close with IHL Commissioner Jim Borsig. Borsig, in an interview with the Daily Mississippian this past weekend, suggested "as far as (he) know(s)" there was no "direct or indirect involvement" by Governor Bryant over Dan Jones's contract, claiming that the role of the IHL is to keep gubernatorial involvement out of the IHL... that is unless you want to become Commissioner of the IHL.

Gov. Phil Bryant, asked... about the possibility of the appointment (of Jim Borsig), said he would be “well satisfied” if Borsig was named. “Dr. Borsig is someone that I have known for 20 years,” Bryant told The Associated Press. “He is doing a great job at the W, but I think he is well-qualified for the position of commissioner.”

According to the Associated Press last month,

The College Board named Mississippi University for Women President Jim Borsig as Mississippi’s new higher education commissioner Thursday, bypassing a more extensive search.

Before becoming president of MUW in 2012, Borsig was the College Board’s assistant commissioner for governmental relations, making the move something of a homecoming. Maximizing state dollars and keeping friendly relations with lawmakers are among top priorities for the leader of Mississippi’s eight public universities.

Meeting in closed session, trustees chose Borsig to succeed Commissioner Hank Bounds, who is leaving in April to become president of the University of Nebraska.

Board President Aubrey Patterson of Tupelo indicated in January that the board could bypass an interim commissioner and an extensive search, in part to bring a successor aboard before Bounds leaves. Under a 2013 board policy, members can choose a new commissioner or university president without using the traditional process of open advertisement for applicants and interview committees.

Let's make sure we have the story right. First, the IHL Board decides searching for an IHL Commissioner is a lot of work so Jim Borsig is nominated for the job without a candidate search for other applicants. Then, Phil Bryant publicly supported the IHL hiring Jim Borsig as its commissioner. After that, Borsig transitions into the office, and weeks later Dan Jones finds out he will lose his job. Just today, Phil Bryant said that he does not meddle in the affairs of the IHL Board just weeks after doing the oppose by supporting Borsig for IHL Commissioner. Sources are reporting that late last week, Jim Borsig spoke with Governor Bryant to discuss the Dan Jones contract matter.

Phil Bryant hasn't taken responsibility for the roughly 66,000 Mississippi jobs lost while he has been governor, and no one should be surprised that he would deny involvement in one more Mississippian losing his job.

The University of Mississippi, including the Medical Center, is one of the largest employers in the state of Mississippi. For years, Bryant has talked about how "pro-jobs" he is. When one of the state's largest employers is about to lose its chief executive officer, I find it stunning that no one would notify the governor or his staff that this was about to occur, especially when the Board admits that the debate to not renew Dr. Jones's contract had been ongoing for months.

It's taken several days to figure out how best to describe this whole mess, and it can be summed up with two words: power grab.

Was it the income taxes?

Despite over a year of economic courtship, a $1.2B plant is not coming to Mississippi, but has decided to pack up its "office" and head to Louisiana.

According to the Mississippi Business Journal, American Specialty Alloys would have produced 2,000 construction jobs followed with 450 to 650 jobs paying an average of $85,000 a year.

Governor Phil Bryant's good friend Governor Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development undercut whatever bill of goods the Mississippi Development Authority was offering. And since MDA basically operates in secret, we may never know if it was the deal, or if it was our education and healthcare systems that scared them off.

While Louisiana is no high-ranker in education and healthcare scores, they do consistently outrank Mississippi, including actual funding of public schools. And, last I checked, Louisiana hasn't passed a bill to eliminate over $1 billion of income from their state's annual budget.

But, MS GOP Chairman Joe Nosef and the Governor, they've got this.

Phil Bryant: Hard to Run on His Record

Last week, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vicki Slater addressed her supporters at the state Capitol to launch her campaign. During her remarks, Slater noted that the state of Mississippi continues to suffer under the failed leadership of Governor Phil Bryant and the Republican-controlled legislature.

In response to Vicki Slater's campaign announcement, the Bryant campaign tried to paint a rosy picture about the state's employment figures saying that "governor will run for re-election on accomplishments such as reducing unemployment." If Phil Bryant's record on employment is something to run on, his campaign is in for a bad year.

Here are the facts: when Phil Bryant became governor in January 2012, Mississippi had 1,196,910 persons employed. As of December 2014, that number was down to 1,155,328. That's 41,528 fewer Mississippians working today than when Phil Bryant took office. To put that in perspective, it would be the equivalent of nearly everyone in Pike County being unemployed. That's not all. The state's labor force has shrunk by just over 77,000 workers. Where are the jobs, Phil?

Phil Bryant and the Republican Party can prattle all they want about how "pro-jobs" they are, but that would not be true. The campaigns are just getting underway, and Phil Bryant and the Republicans are going to have a very tough time running on their records.

 

A Democratic Challenger to Phil Bryant Emerges

Today, Vicki Slater announced her candidacy to be Mississippi's next governor. With a powerful indictment of Phil Bryant's policy blunders, Slater laid out the dire need for new leadership and new direction for our state. Be sure to check out her whole speech below. 

_______

ANNOUNCEMENT OF GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE VICKI SLATER

Mississippi State Capitol

Thank you for coming. My name is Vicki Slater and I am here today to announce my candidacy for the Office of Governor of the Great State of Mississippi.

With me today is my husband Scott.  We have a blended family of six children, four children in law (soon to be five children in law), and we have been blessed with six grandchildren so far.

Today we start the difficult but incredibly important work of saving our beloved state of Mississippi from the forces that are wrecking it. I stand here to ask every citizen of this state to join in that work. Together we can build the Mississippi we all deserve. Today we start to write a new future for our state.

Let’s be clear about something. The problems we have are not the fault of Mississippi’s people, they are the fault of Mississippi’s failed leadership.

There can be no argument that government is morally obligated to keep its citizens safe, educate its children, look out for those who cannot look out for themselves, and be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.

I am running for Governor because Phil Bryant has miserably failed to meet those obligations. I promise you all that I will not fail.

When he took office, Phil Bryant single-handedly shut down an insurance exchange that had been created by Republicans and funded by our tax dollars. Phil Bryant and the Republicans in the Legislature turned away nine billion dollars in Medicaid expansion money and every year they send hundreds of millions of our tax dollars away – saving lives in other states, sustaining hospitals in other states, while working Mississippians go without healthcare and doors to rural hospitals slam shut. In healthcare, Phil Bryant has failed us.

To the parents out there who are working hard to make ends meet, but have no health insurance, I will not fail you, and together Mississippians will thrive.

Since the day Phil Bryant became Governor, America has created over 8,000,000 new jobs. But Mississippi has lost over 40,000 jobs. We have the highest unemployment rate of any state in the country. On jobs, Phil Bryant has failed us.

To the moms and dads out there who are working while raising children, and to those who stay at home to care for your children, to the small business owners out there working 80 hours a week, to those out there looking every day for the chance to work, and to those out there working for the minimum wage without a raise in years, I will not fail you, and together Mississippians will succeed.

Governor William Winter told us 30 years ago that the road out of the poorhouse runs in front of the school house. Public education has been the ladder into the middle class for millions of Americans, and public school teachers have held that ladder. But Phil Bryant and the Republicans are sawing through the rungs. They brag about how fat they have made the State Rainy Day Fund with money that should have, by law, gone to our schools. That is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Phil Bryant and the Republicans have simply – and illegally – refused to fund education in our state. Underfunding our schools not only hurts teachers and schoolchildren. It hurts everyone when local governments have to raise property taxes to make up for the shortfall, if they can. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, high insurance rates for homeowners are making ownership an impossibility. Add higher property taxes and the dream of home ownership is all but erased for Gulf Coast families. When families cannot maintain home ownership, communities and businesses fail. With Mississippi now 50^th in education and 50^th in business environment, Phil Bryant has failed us on education.

To the parents worried about what the future holds for children with a last-place education, to the teachers buying pencils and books out of their own paychecks, to the homeowners facing spiraling property taxes, I will not fail you.

I have spent most of my career as an attorney and small business owner fighting corruption at the highest levels of government in this State. Does corruption exist in Mississippi? Yes. Can the people get justice from a corrupt government? No.

Recently we have seen corruption abound in the Department of Marine Resources on the Coast, and the prison kickback scandal involving no-bid contracts, and threats made against legislators who would not tow the Republican party line. It’s unacceptable. Corruption wastes taxpayers’ money and deprives Mississippians of justice and jobs.

Why did we have to wait for the Federal government to expose the corruption? Why didn’t Phil Bryant dig it out when he was State Auditor, Lt Governor or Governor?  On stewardship of the public trust, Phil Bryant has failed us.

I want to say something in particular to young voters: Back when Governor Bryant and I were in school, our teachers never had to dip into their pockets to help fund the classroom, and college was fully affordable. When folks got out of school, they could find jobs that supported a family.

Your fathers and mothers and others before you got better than you are getting now. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The government is funded with your tax dollars, too. There is nothing wrong with voting for better health, better wages, better education, better jobs for yourselves. It is our government, it is our money, and it is the tradition of America that Americans work in partnership with our government for the good of all of us.

That is why it why we say ours is a government of, by and for the people. You don’t deserve any less than what the rest of America gets and you should not accept less. Don’t accept it for even one more day!

I am running to be your Governor because time is of the essence. The time is now to have our money work for us, the time is now to put Mississippi children, families and businesses first, the time is now to save lives. We have waited for leadership too long, and we know it will not come from Phil Bryant.

Mississippians are the greatest, most generous, most spiritual, most talented people in the greatest country on the face of the Earth. It is simply wrong for us to be held back, to be held down, by failed leaders, corruption and selfish politics. That starts to change right here, today.

Today is the day. Today is the day we proudly step forward and begin working together to get Mississippi back in the game and for all of us to win. Together, we will not fail.

Thank you. God bless you, God bless the United States of America and God bless the great state of Mississippi.

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?