Gunn addresses runoff; Bryant downplays GOP split

Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn took to the podium at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday and said he was not going to ignore the "the 800-pound gorilla under the pavilion, the divide that appears to exist in the Republican Party over the U.S. Senate race."

Gunn then showed the most political courage of any speaker at the fair as he told the crowd of approximately 2,000 mostly conservative Mississippians that a political party is a lot like a marriage, "where people with common ideas and common values come together."

Gunn was the only Republican leader to address the divide in his comments. Gov. Phil Bryant — who gave a trademark God, country and Mississippi speech at the 125th Neshoba County Fair — all but ignored the Senate race. He only acknowledged U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran toward the end of his time on the stage as he discussed economic development.

"Thank you for leading this nation forward," Bryant said to Cochran as he turned to the state's senior senator, who stayed on stage after his speech and sat behind Bryant.

That Bryant did not mention the Senate race and gave only a passing acknowledgment of Cochran did not go unnoticed, largely because Cochran spoke just before Bryant with a small number of protestors scattered in and around the pavilion.

Tea party activists from south Mississippi showed up carrying signs that read "Betrayed" and "184,000 voters alienated." A small group of protestors sitting nearly front-and-center of the pavilion wore red duct tape over their mouths as a silent protest while Cochran spoke.

Save for a couple of protestors from the side of the pavilion yelling for Cochran to be quiet or to get off the stage and Cochran supporters yelling for the group of protestors in front to sit down at the beginning of his speech, the scenario was uneventful.

In an interview later in the afternoon, Bryant complimented Gunn's speech and call for healing of the GOP split but said he doesn't believe the rift is permanent or all that serious.

"I guess I've been around this party long enough to realize this is not a crisis," Bryant said.

Bryant also said that "Chris McDaniel will have to decide at some point if he would like to challenge" the primary election results.

"If there were any irregularities, we want to know about them — by we, I mean the Republican Party," Bryant said. "I hope if there's a challenge it comes sooner rather than later."

Bryant said he has not spoken with McDaniel but has made the offer to do so.

Troops to Texas?

In the afternoon interview, Bryant also downplayed comments he made about sending Mississippi National Guard troops to Texas to help with the immigration border crisis there.

During his speech, Bryant relished talking about immigration reform, saying that he has been working to stop illegal immigration.

Bryant said he called Texas Gov. Rick Perry about what Mississippi could do to help.

"I know it seems a little radical that the Mississippi National Guard" would be sent to help secure the border in Texas, Bryant said, but he told Perry he wanted to help if he could.

"Texas can take care of Texas," Perry told Bryant, but Bryant said the Texas governor wanted the people of Mississippi to know he appreciated the gesture.

After his speech, Bryant said he called Perry after 4th District Rep. Steven Palazzo talked about sending Mississippi guardsmen to the Texas border so Perry wouldn't be caught by surprise.

"I thought (Palazzo's comments were) a little bit surprising, and that was not something I had contemplated, being realistic, sending our people to the border."

Not happy with jobs

Bryant said Mississippi isn't at the bottom when it comes to economic development, despite a disappointing unemployment number released last month.

Bryant touted the state's ranking from Area Development Magazine. Mississippi was one of 20 states to receive the Silver Shovel award.

"We did it because we broke more ground than almost any other state in the nation," Bryant said.

The governor said he already has a couple of those shovels hanging in his office, but so far the gold shovel has eluded him.

"I want one of those before I leave office," he said with a defiant smile.

Bryant talked about many of his recent stops where businesses were expanding or relocating, starting with Weyerhaeuser located near here. Bryant was on hand July 21 for the announcement that the company would invest $57 million to expand its mill.

He also singled out Uncle Ben's rice.

"That's right. Uncle Ben's rice is in two locations — Bolton, Canada, and Greenville, Mississippi," he boasted.

But the governor admitted the June unemployment rate of 7.9 was disappointing. He reiterated the goal he announced at the fair last year of getting the rate to 7.5 percent.

Bryant seems to welcome the growth in the job force, heralding back to his first State of the State address when he said, "I want every Mississippian who wants a job to have one."

Bryant said, "I've amended that. Even if they don't want a job, I want them to have one."

Abortion law fight

The governor also discussed the recent ruling by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the injunction against Mississippi's law requiring any doctor performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The law would essentially shut down the state's only abortion clinic.

"Some of the bills that we have passed were not constitutional in their minds. That's OK. We're going to appeal that. We're going all the way to the United States Supreme Court," Bryant said.

One of Bryant's more controversial pushes has been to end teen pregnancy, advocating for abstinence-only education programs in schools.

Critics say that abstinence-only education programs won't work because they ignore helping teens who are already sexually active.

But Bryant argues that his plan is working. He cited recent statistics from the Mississippi Department of Health that show teen pregnancy rates have dropped 10.3 percent since he took office.

He said preliminary numbers for 2013 show the drop from 2011 will reach 15 percent.

Contact Sam R. Hall at srhall@jackson.gannett.com. Contact Geoff Pender at (601) 961-7266 or gpender@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @samrhall and @GeoffPender on Twitter.

What they said

Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith

Visitors to the Mississippi State Fair in October will see $1 million in improvements to restrooms on the fairgrounds, Hyde-Smith said.

"No taxpayers' money was used," she said.

Hyde-Smith said her office secured $1 million in private funds for the restroom improvements. Hyde-Smith also said improvements have been made to restrooms in the Mississippi Coliseum, including making them compliant with the American Disabilities Act.

In addition to talking about restroom improvements, Hyde-Smith said that the Mississippi Department of Agriculture now has apps for the state fair, the farmers market and the Dixie National Rodeo.

State Treasurer Lynn Fitch

Fitch said her office will focus on helping state residents learn about fiscal responsibilities.

"I need your help; we need to change the financial culture," she said.

Fitch said a recent study showed the average household in Mississippi has $50,000 in credit debt and more than 60 percent have no savings.

Fitch said her office is starting a program this fall called TEAM, which stands for Treasurer Education About Money.

The program will start in high schools across the state, Fitch said.

— Compiled by Jimmie E. Gates, Geoff Pender and Sam R. Hall