Tea Party candidate touts family values, which is rich, because...

Some of you may remember Tea Party candidate Jerrerico Chambers, who is running against longtime Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston). If the name doesn't ring a bell, I'll fill you in below. But anyway, Chambers recently sent out the following:

Jerrerico Chambers flyer

It's typical Tea Party stuff, and Chambers of course says he's going to "work to preserve family values."

So, who is this Jerrerico Chambers guy? Well, you may remember...say...THIS from his Facebook account. Family values, indeed. What say ye, Tea Partiers?

(Here's the original post on Chambers from back in July, for those who missed it.)

MSGOP releases proposed redistricting plans for both chambers (finally)

So the MSGOP released a plan yesterday when they attached it to their response to the Order setting the May 10th hearing.  That's roughly 60 days after plans were first released, and somewhere around 120 days after census data was released.  So, yeah, that's timely.

MSGOP House Plan Map

MSGOP House Plan Components Report

MSGOP Senate Plan Map

MSGOP Senate Plan Components Report

The MSGOP is pushing these map as preferable because it has only 1% population deviation.  The problem is, these maps are a drastic departure from current lines, and will cause widespread voter confusion.  Furthermore, there has been no public input in the formulation of these maps, nor has there been legislative consideration.

There are a couple of pairings of House incumbents that stand out quickly in the MSGOP plan:

• Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) and Becky Currie (R-Brookhaven)
• Mark Baker (R-Brandon) and Kevin McGee (R-Brandon)
• Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) and Bobby Howell (R-Kilmichael)

Moak vs. Currie? That's the GOP trying to take out a Democratic front runner in the Speaker's race should Speaker McCoy not run again.

Baker vs. McGee?  This is a very interesting pairing, as the MSGOP is pitting two incumbent Republicans against one another.  There are two possible reasons for this.  First, Baker has been more willing to work towards a redistricting compromise than some Republicans may like, and this is could be payback.  Second, the MSGOP belongs to Haley Barbour, a member of the old line Delta Republican faction (Clarke Reed's line).  Across the divide from that faction is Billy Powell's Rankin County power base.  Throwing Rankin County Republicans to the wolves wouldn't be of great discomfort to Barbour's Republicans, who tend to be less stridently socially conservative than Rankin County Republicans.

Reynolds vs. Howell? This is clearly a shot at Rep. Tommy Reynolds, who chaired the redistricting process in the House.

More as I find 'em...

P.S. - John Diez (or Diaz, as it's spelled both ways in the MSGOP Response to the Order Setting Hearing), was hired by the MSGOP some time ago.  He's a consultant with Magellan Strategies BR, Inc., and he's the guy who drew these lines.  

Rep. Tommy Reynolds: Republicans asked us to protect Rep. Russ Nowell, and we complied

In an affidavit filed as an exhibit to the House Election Committee's Response to the Order setting the hearing in NAACP v. Haley Barbour, et al, Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) discusses some of the behind-the-scenes dealings that led to the creation of House Consensus Plans 1 and 2, otherwise known as the Joint Committee House redistricting plans.

The most interesting part to me? Republicans asked that party-switcher Rep. Russ Nowell (R-Louisville) be protected, and he was.  Instead of collapsing his district, Rep. Mary Ann Stevens (D-West) was thrown into Rep. Ferr Smith's (D-Carthage) district.

There are also some pretty strong rebuttals to oft-repeated Republican complaints regarding drawing challengers out of districts and splitting municipalities.  (One instance of that's already been noted here.)

Read the affidavit for yourself here:

Reynolds Affidavit

Sen. Terry Burton asks Haley Barbour to call special session on redistricting

In a very interesting move, Sen. Terry Burton (R-Newton), the Chairman of the Joint Redistricting Committee, wrote Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday and asked him to call a special session to focus on redistricting.  Burton says he believes he and Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston), the Vice-Chair of the Joint Redistricting Committee, can reach a compromise that will avoid having the federal three judge panel draw the lines.  Read the letter for yourself below:

Sen. Terry Burton's letter to Gov. Haley Barbour

*Scribd, which hosts the pdfs for this blog, has been slow to process new uploads this afternoon for some unknown reason.  If the link leads you to a page that says the document isn't available or is still processing, check back soon.

New filings by the House Elections Committee, AG Jim Hood, and the NAACP in the redistricting lawsuit

These were filed yesterday:

Response of House Elections Committee in Opposition to the Motion of the Mississippi Republican Party to Appoint Expert (Exhibit A) - Strong arguments here. Along the lines of Sen. Burton's Response in Opposition from the other day, except from the House side. The exhibit attached to the Response is an affidavit from Rep. Tommy Reynolds that helps explain the process.

Attorney General Jim Hood's Motion to Adopt 2011 Legislative Plans as Interim Remedy for 2011 Elections Only

NAACP's Motion for an Order Directing the Mississippi AG to Submit the 2011 House and Senate Plans Passed by Each Chamber to the US AG for Section 5 Review (Exhibits 1, 2, and 3) - Here's something interesting. If the Court issues the order prayed for in this motion, it will mean that the Court is strongly considering instituting the 2011 legislative plans as an interim remedy. This is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Clarion-Ledger editorial again weighs in on redistricting, and where the legislative process currently stands

Today's Clarion-Ledger has an editorial on redistricting, which I believe fairly sums up the situation. In it, they say that Republicans want the courts to draw new maps (true) and that Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) prevented the Senate from voting on a compromise plan sent over by the House late in the session (also true). Here's the money quote:

So, out of this whole dysfunctional, partisan mess, (Rep. Tommy) Reynolds and (Sen. Terry) Burton are attempting to salvage an agreement.

That is exactly what is happening, with more than a little help from other legislators of both parties. The editorial goes on to call on Speaker Billy McCoy (D-Rienzi) to approve whatever compromise Reynolds and Burton work out, and for Lt. Gov. Bryant to allow a vote. All indications are that Speaker McCoy is all for the compromise maps that are floating around right now, and that Lt. Gov. Bryant may be ready to fold his tent on this issue. We shall see.

Some say that Gov. Haley Barbour has to first agree to call a special session. I don't see Gov. Barbour as being willing to stand in the way if an agreement is reached. It just doesn't pay any dividends for him politically to do so.

As a side note, it is interesting that fiercely partisan Republicans are attacking the heck out of Sen. Terry Burton (R-Newton) right now as he attempts to work out a compromise.

Just for kicks, Profiles in Redistricting Courage #4

Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon)

Yesterday on the floor of the House, Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) spoke again about the process he went through as chairman of the House Apportionment and Elections Committee in drawing the House redistricting plan. During that speech, he referenced taking the time to come in on a snow day and sit down with 4 Republican House members to help them draw their districts. He even related that one of them drew their district in crayon. What he wouldn't say, however, is who the 4 Republican legislators were.

This morning, Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon) went on state-funded SuperTalk radio and attacked Rep. Reynolds relentlessly over redistricting and his floor speech. Well, guess what? Rep. John Moore was one of the 4 Republican legislators Rep. Reynolds met with on that fateful snow day. In fact, Rep. John Moore spent that snow day with Rep. Reynolds splitting up Brandon.  Not sure if he was the one who used the crayon, but I bet we can find out.

Can you imagine the fun we're going to have once discovery begins in the federal court?

A look back at the House redistricting vote

Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston)

Now that the House has approved its redistricting plan, it's time to look back at what happened, what didn't happen, and what it all means.

What happened

Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) displayed absolute mastery of the legislative and redistricting process.  Responsible for creating a map that would satisfy the Department of Justice, incumbents of both parties, election commissioners, and municipal officials across Mississippi, Rep. Reynolds managed to pull it off with characteristic poise.  Undoubtedly, Hercules faced an easier task at the Augean stables.  

So how did he do it?  Well, he worked with incumbent Republicans to ensure that they'd be on-board with the plan when it came out.  Take, for instance, Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson), the House Republican Floor Leader.  Rep. Denny's district added the wealthy Eastover neighborhood and dropped a Ridgeland box that was trending Democratic, essentially insulating him from challenge.  This pattern was repeated across Mississippi.  Republicans outside of the House called it "packing." Republicans inside the House called it "insurance."

Results of a Republican straw poll before the vote Friday showed that they had only 20 votes in opposition to the House plan.  In response, new MSGOP Executive Director Arnie Hederman and Rep. Mark Baker (D-Brandon) attempted to enforce party discipline on the Republican side of the chamber.  That's awfully hard to do when you're asking your members to vote against a plan they really like.  Nevertheless, the MSGOP threatened Republican members with a loss of support in their reelection bids if they voted for the House plan.  Four Republicans bucked their party, and that ensured the plan's success.  It also allowed the 29 House Republicans in favor of the plan to cover their rear with the MSGOP.  In short, they "took one for the team."

 

What didn't happen

The Republican Party never offered an alternative House plan.  There had been predictions Friday that the House Republicans would offer an alternative, and that they had 63 votes for it.  Ultimately, those predictions were way off-base.  Despite what Yallpolitics.com's Friday headline "YP BREAKING - Republicans hold strong against Billy McCoy redistricting plan in the House" might lead you to believe, no Republican even rose to speak against the House plan. And Saturday morning, the Republicans didn't even have enough opposition to the plan to cause a roll call vote.

Friday, MSGOP Executive Director Arnie Hederman called on folks across the state to light up the Capitol switchboard, call talk radio, and wear out the internet in opposition to the House plan.  He wasn't alone, as his request was repeated ad infinitum by party operatives online.  Turns out, Mississippians had a hard time getting worked up over what was clearly a partisan political game.  The Republican battle cry never took root in the throats of House Republicans, let alone everyday Mississippians, and the fight ended with a whimper, not a bang.

Here's a photo of the less-than-impressive Republican turnout in the gallery this morning as the House was to begin discussing the motion to reconsider:

4's a crowd?

What it all means

As Haley Barbour turns his attention to a presidential bid, the party discipline he instituted is already beginning to fade away.  In what was their first glimpse of what life will be like post-Haley, 

Mississippi Republicans can't be happy.  

All eyes are now on the Senate, where Phil Bryant is trying to safely navigate the waters.  If he reveals his own Senate plan in opposition to the Senate plan drawn by the committee he appointed, he'll lose whatever high ground he gained himself by appointing a bipartisan committee.  And if Bryant delays the process at all, he'll force two elections, which won't exactly make him Mr. Popularity heading into a contested GOP primary.

In the end, it's leaders like Rep. Reynolds that keep Republicans flummoxed in the House.  Even Majority in Mississippi reported word from a Republican strategist that Rep. Reynolds had "outfoxed" House Republicans on redistricting.  The institutional knowledge in the House belongs to Democrats, and it showed with this.  Reynolds pitted the interests of House Republicans against the wants of the MSGOP, and it was a masterstroke.

***Updated at 9:30 p.m. on 3/6/11 to clarify that it wasn't Majority in Mississippi that used the term "outfoxed." Instead, MIM simply reported what it had been told.***