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The Magnolia Political Report for January 29, 2002

Magnolia Report 15

Be Sure to Visit the Magnolia Report Headlines for the Latest Mississippi Political News!

Magnolia Report January 29, 2002
(Number 15) - Web Version
www.MagnoliaReport.com

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The Scuttlebutt
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The intense speculation of an Amy Tuck run for governor either against Ronnie Musgrove in the Democratic Primary, or as a Republican after a party switch has dwindled to a whisper. Meanwhile, the state's political noise cranked up on an all but announced run by Haley Barbour for governor as a Republican.

During this time, the new Democratic name floating around to challenge Musgrove is Attorney General Mike Moore. Moore has been at odds with the governor over Medicaid and the tobacco trust fund. Many around the state are sure Moore will run for governor, almost as sure as they were in 1999 right before he decided to run for reelection to Attorney General.

Haley Barbour made the statement that he expects to and believes he should have a primary opponent for governor...if he decides to run. The usual names in Republican circles continue to be Coast businessman Dave Dennis, Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, and Under Secretary of Agriculture Bill Hawks.

The other big Republican name, Phil Bryant, has said, "I may have been born at night, but not last night. I didn't get involved in Republican Politics to run against Haley Barbour." Bryant is not in the race if Barbour is in the race.

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Judicial Elections
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First a correction from the last edition of the Magnolia Report, and even a correction of the correction posted on the web site. Please, as a lawyer might ask, strike the previous report from your record and insert the following description. Here is a more accurate note on the Third Circuit Court Race: A campaign for the Third Circuit Court (Marshall, Benton, Tippah, union, Lafayette, Calhoun, Chickasaw Counties) could heat up if, as expected, another candidate enters the race. Currently, the two qualified candidates are incumbents Henry Lackey (a Fordice Appointee) and Andrew K. Howorth (a recent Musgrove Appointee) who is filling the seat vacated by Robert Kenneth Coleman. Word is, another candidate who wanted the Musgrove appointment that went to Howorth is considering a run. If so, all three candidates would run in a "herd" with the top two vote getters winning the election.

The campaign for Chancery Court in District 18 (Lafayette, Calhoun, Marshall, Tippah, and Benton Counties) has incumbent Glenn Alderson of Oxford and Richard Babb of Ripley both qualified to run for the two judge posts. The other sitting incumbent Norman Gillespie, is not seeking reelection. Ed Roberts of Oxford and Joe Gay of Ripley have also been mentioned as possible candidates for this election.

The race for the three posts in the Third District Chancery Court (DeSoto, Tate, Panola, Yalobusha, Grenada, Montgomery Counties) has increased in competition with one incumbent, Judge Dennis Baker, not seeking reelection. The other incumbents in District Three are Percy Lynchard and Melvin McClure. Newcomers to the race include Charlie Gaines Baker, Adam Pittman, Ted Lucas Smith, and Jimmy Vance.

It appears that State Representative Jep Barbour will not run for the Central District Supreme Court seat occupied by Musgrove appointee James Graves. Other conservative names in the rumor mill include Sam Habeeb, Les Southwick, and Delbert Hosemann. Vicksburg attorney Ceola James has also qualified for this race.

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Hits to Magnolia Report Web Page
January 14 to January 28: 18,136
Since Launch (July 6): 183,714
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Quick Notes
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The Republican State Executive Committee met on January 24 at MSGOP Headquarters to carry out normal party business. Speakers to the SEC included possible gubernatorial candidates Haley Barbour and Dick Hall, as well as Second Congressional District Candidate Clinton B. LeSueur.

Former Senate Minority Leader and 1996 Republican Presidential nominee Bob Dole will be in Hattiesburg today to honor those in the Ageless Heroes Program. Former First Lady Pat Fordice is a champion of this organization created by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi to honor residents 65 or older who represent achievements in six categories: Community Involvement, Creativity, Good Neighbor, Love of Learning, New Beginnings and Vitality.

Former Republican congressman and media personality John Kasich met with about 25 Republican legislators on Tuesday January 15 at the Mississippi Republican Party Headquarters in Jackson. He encouraged them to hold firm to Republican principles of a sound fiscal government and described the vision of his organization the New Century Project (NCP). This nationwide grassroots organization is designed to help conservative Republican county and legislative candidates. While in town he also spoke at two fundraisers for the NCP. National commentators speculate Kasich to be high on the list for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. The events were organized by Gregg Harper, State Chairman for the NCP. Harper also serves as Chairman of the Rankin County Republican Party.

Harper had a busy January with Kasich's visit AND the 13th Annual Banquet of the Rankin County Republican Executive Committee, held on January 21 at the Jackson Hilton. Remarks were made by State Auditor Phil Bryant, Congressman Chip Pickering, and the keynote speaker Haley Barbour. Barbour almost is certain to run for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2003. It was noted that in his campaign against John C. Stennis for Senate in 1982, other than his home county of Yazoo, Barbour carried one other county: Rankin County. Among guests recognized at the event was Former Governor Kirk Fordice who received somewhat of a standing ovation. Bryant and Barbour both thanked Fordice and applauded his term as governor, clearly contrasting it with the current administration of Governor Ronnie Musgrove.

Speaking of the last Democrat to beat Barbour, New Stage Theatre in Jackson will present "A Gentleman from Mississippi," the David Dallas critically acclaimed show about the late Senator John C. Stennis. For details on the nine performance February run, contact 601-948-3531.

Sandy Ellard, head of Mississippi Right to Life, organized a fundraiser for Democrat Congressman Ronnie Shows at Hal and Mals in Jackson last week. Shows has made several "pro-life" statements in the past few days including calling citizens to respect the sanctity of life and asking President George W. Bush to withhold taxpayer dollars from the United Nations Population Fund.

Two of Mississippi's minor parties have announced candidates for the 2002 Campaign. For Congress, the Libertarian Party is running Harold Taylor in the First District, Will Chipman in the Second District (he also ran in 2000), Brad McDonald in the new Third District, and state party chairman Wayne Parker in the new Fourth District (he, too ran in for this same position in 2000). Meanwhile, perennial candidate Shawn O'Hara has qualified to run against Republican Thad Cochran for the US Senate on the Reform Party ticket.

Mississippi Educational Television denied the request by Republican Party State Chairman Jim Herring for equal time following the State of the State Address by Governor Ronnie Musgrove. Herring released a statement saying in part, "We are extremely disappointed that Mississippi ETV has denied our request for balanced coverage of the Governor's speech. It seems to me that an organization that depends on government funding and public support should be open to providing fair access for citizens with differing political views. Apparently that is not the case with Mississippi ETV."

Mississippi Republican Party National Committeeman Mike Retzer played an important role at the RNC's Winter Meeting. When former Christian Coalition leader, now Georgia State Republican Chairman Ralph Reed, declined to nominate President Bush's choice of Lewis M. Eisenberg as Republican National Finance Chairman, GOP leadership turned to Retzer to make the nomination. Eisenberg has been criticized by the conservative wing of the party as too liberal. The Washington Times quoted Retzer, "Lew Eisenberg has an outstanding record of raising money for Republican candidates and the Republican Party." He continued saying, "it's the proper role for liberals in our party to raise money to support the goals and achievements of the conservative wing of the party. As Haley Barbour used to tell me, this is the party of the big tent."

A CNN/Time Magazine article at allpolitics.com on January 21 titled "All aboard the U.S.S. Pork!" criticized Senator Trent Lott and Congressman Gene Taylor for a plan to have the US Navy purchase for use some cruise ships being built in Pascagoula. The article says, "Republican Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi came up with a plan to solve this pork-barrel mess: more pork barrel. Taylor wants the U.S. Navy, already strapped for cash trying to keep its dwindling fleet of 320 warships afloat, to spend several hundred million dollars to buy the cruise ships. Taylor got language added to the 2002 defense bill suggesting the Navy finish the vessels and put them out to sea as a morale booster for troops. The clause reads that the sea service should consider buying vessels "under construction in a U.S. shipyard" for leisure use, housing or a command ship. Though it doesn't mention the ships in Pascagoula, they're the only ones that fit the bill." The article notes that Pascagoula is the hometown of Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott. What the article failed to mention is that Taylor is a Democrat, not a Republican.

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Political Web
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The Matt Friedeman Show web page InTheFight.com has a new feature, The Friedeman Report. Currently distributed to about 300 families by e-mail and read on the web page, this report features conservative commentary and features, and is heavy on state political news.

The Magnolia Report Candidates Page lists state legislators who maintain web pages apart from their government provided pages. A new listing to this group is Senator Mike Chaney from Vicksburg. Visit SenatorChaney.com for his cyber office.

WWW.MississippiPolicy.org is the new web page for the Mississippi Family Council. In addition to publications, social statistics, commentary and background on the organization, is a legislative summary which gives a status report of some of the issues being watched by the MFC.

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Magnolia Report Note
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In addition to the dozen or so state newspapers covering the probable run of Haley Barbour for governor in 2003, the Washington Times ran a feature story on the subject on January 13. Among those quoted for the piece was the editor of MagnoliaReport.com, Brian Perry.

A recent e-mail to the Magnolia Report titled, "Fourteen Day Deadline Is Up!" accused the Clarion Ledger of sitting on the Musgrove-Ole Miss recruiting violation story. When asked why the Magnolia Report hasn't yet published it, we replied that we didn't file an open records request. While certainly a fun political news story, the Ole Misgrove incident has not yet resurfaced, as far as we hear. Any news out there?

Several e-mails have come in asking about the Magnolia Report polls. The service we used changed their policies and we are exploring new options. The polls will return as soon as the details are cleared up.

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Magnolia Report Images
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Burns Strider, former press director for Congressman Ronnie Shows and now Southern Regional Communications Director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is a new father with the birth of William Fereday Strider.

The official announcement:
Born: 6:55 p.m. on January 22, 2002
Weight: 8 lbs, 13 ounces
Length: 21 inches
Party: Democratic
Mother: Exhausted
Father: Numb
Grandparents: Exhilarated

See a picture of young Strider with Grandma Strider on the Magnolia Report Images Page in the Features Section. Also currently on the Images Page, see Paul Ott and Ole Blue with a bumper sticker touting them as a ticket for state office.

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E-Bytes
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Republican Legislators

"The GOP, paltry in numbers that they are, are quietly considering caucusing. This would, of course, be their doom - in the short term. But add a few House members and a few Senate members and - voila! - you could see some six or so switches from the Dems and, suddenly, there is a major transformation of State politics....there are House members (none too few Dems) grumbling over the Speaker of the House. Some think it may well be time for a coup. Stay tuned." --The Friedeman Report: InTheFight.com, January 24, 2002

"[John] Kasich believes these issues, in addition to being philosophically correct, are politically smart. 'To be a majority party in the South, and to be a majority party in Washington, we have to stick to our guns,' Kasich continued, 'I've never seen a candidate defeated because he cut taxes.' --Brian Perry: Madison County Journal, January 24, 2002

Voter ID

"I'm working to bring together legislators who have been divided in the past on voter identification. I'm optimistic that the Legislature will address a number of important election reforms this year, and voter identification should be one of them." -Eric Clark: Press Release, January 25, 2002

"Secretary of State Eric Clark is pushing for a compromise plan that would require voter identification of sorts in Mississippi. It's good to see Clark, who has generally been unenthusiastic about voter ID, coming around, but his solution overcomplicates what could be a simple process." -Editorial: Greenwood Commonwealth, January 28, 2002

Medicaid and the Budget

"Attorney General Mike Moore is accusing Gov. Ronnie Musgrove of breaking a state law by ignoring a Medicaid budget shortfall the last several months.....'It's too serious a situation for some of the silly games that are being played to be played,' Moore said in an interview Wednesday. -Associated Press, January 24, 2002

"At a time when we need health care so badly, it is unconscionable someone wants to slash money going to health care. It won't be Ronnie Musgrove. It won't be this administration.'" -Governor Ronnie Musgrove: Daily Journal, January 25, 2002

"I think the governor has been watching too many Harry Potter movies. He's trying to pull too many rabbits out of the hat. I saw no request to reduce government growth. There's a bigger reliance on the federal government to balance the budget. That's a bad move." - Senator Mike Chaney: Clarion Ledger, January 26

"We ought to be cheering about the Medicaid deficit. Even though it seems difficult now, it is the exactly the kind of investment Mississippi should be making." -David Hampton: Clarion Ledger, January 27

"Financially, our state government is ill. And, rightly or wrongly, much of the blame for that sits squarely on the shoulders of Gov. Ronnie Musgrove." -Editorial: Natchez Democrat, January 27, 2002

"If something isn't done, the Medicaid fund is going to be flat broke by the end of February." --Representative Bobby Shows: Laurel Leader Call, January 29, 2002

Tort Reform Debate

"Yes, the Legislature should correct these runaway judiciary acts, but they are mostly lawyers themselves. Sort of like asking someone to circumcise themselves. They just won't ever figure out how to do it. With the lawyers having all that tobacco money, I don't see much hope of reining them in. Shame or ethical integrity doesn't seem to affect many of them." --Dr. John Hey: Letter to the Editor, Greenwood Commonwealth, January 17, 2002

"We try to defend freedom in Mississippi, using much of our time and money to do so. We generally follow Proverbs 21:13. It says, 'He who fails to hear the cry of the poor, will cry himself and not be heard.' -Trial Lawyer Stanford : Letter to the Editor, Clarion Ledger, January 24, 2002

"Special interest groups are using the time-honored and tried method of influencing public policy through the dissemination of misinformation and by the use of a sympathetic lobby, the doctors. Few, if any, of the reforms proposed will have any direct influence on lawsuits against doctors. Rather, those "reforms" will impede the ability of the average citizen to raise complaints or sue those represented by the special interests. If successful, it would be special interests' gain and John Q. Public's loss." -- Rep Ed Blackmon: Clarion Ledger, January 27, 2002

"Tort reform is needed, in general, because of the inefficiencies, increased transaction costs and perverse incentives caused by an increasingly litigious society. Tort reform is even more essential in an industry crucial to the care and the protection of those least able to protect or care for themselves." - Report from the Stennis Institute: Clarion Ledger, January 28, 2002

Irony

"If a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, seated in the chamber, suddenly starts choking and turning blue, it's likely other members will holler either "Jim!" or "Chester!" That's because Rep. Jim Barnett, D-Brookhaven, and Rep. Chester Masterson, R-Vicksburg, are medical doctors. And, so far as I can tell, they're the only two medical doctors in the Legislature. If, however, a member of the House or Senate suddenly realizes a pill just taken was a Propulsid, there are many names to holler to file the obligatory lawsuit. "Ed!" "Linda!" "Hob!" Indeed, just about every other seat in both legislative chambers contains a lawyer - and some of them are actually big-time specialists in suing for damages." - Charlie Mitchell: Vicksburg Post, January 22, 2002

"State Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, complaining of chest pain, was rushed from the Capitol by ambulance and admitted Tuesday for tests at the University of Mississippi Medical Center." -Clarion Ledger, January 23, 2002.

"Senate Juvenile Justice Chairman Johnnie Walls, D-Greenville, has been hospitalized in his hometown after complaining of chest pains, officials say." -Associated Press, January 25, 2002

Race for 2003

"If Mr. Moore and Mr. Barbour were to be heads up in the general election, that sir would be about the biggest contest we ever saw in Mississippi. In all truth it would be bigger than the Egg Bowl, bigger than Archie Manning, even bigger than bourbon. Larger, and not just on the scale of Mississippi large. It would be the biggest election for governor in the whole-wide country. You can just about see 'em now, toe to toe, Haley in his best good ol' boy, rip-'em-up, Yazoo City, take-no-prisoners style. You will see clips of him and President Reagan, Haley in the GOP glory days, right there elbow to elbow with the conservative giants when they walked the earth. Oh, it'll be good. Then there is Mr. Moore, rock-star pretty, magnetic in his appeal to the ladyfolk, but not unmanly either. The very epitome of the New South poster boy, handsome, articulate, cool in every way." -"The Swamp Fox" comments to Stan Tiner: Sun Herald, January 25, 2002

"I don't even know if I am running for governor. ... If I do decide to run, my campaign will be about why I should be governor, not why somebody else should not be governor." --Haley Barbour: Daily Journal, January 23, 2002

"I expect to have a primary. I ought to have a primary. I don't expect anybody to let me just have this and I think that's healthy for the Republican Party." -Haley Barbour: Commercial Appeal, January 23, 2002.

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Upcoming Events
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==January 29 (Tuesday)==
**Mississippi Leadership Forum Meeting**
Clarion Hotel, Downtown Jackson, MS
11:30am-1:00pm
Speaker: Andrew LeFevre from ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)
Topic: Education
Meal Cost: $20
RSVP by Thursday, January 24th to Nick Walters at nick@nickwalters.org
**Hinds and Rankin County Republican Parties**
State of the Union Address Party
Steam Room Grille, Jackson: 8PM
Appetizers and soft drinks provided; cash bar available.
RSVP to Sandra Massey at the MS Republican Party at 601-948-5191
==January 31 (Thursday)==
Annual Periodic Report Deadline
All PACs, Campaigns, Candidates
5:00 pm: Secretary of State's Office
==February 18 (Monday)==
DeSoto County Republican Party's "President's Day" Dinner
7:00pm at the DeSoto Civic Center on I-55 in Southaven
Guest Speaker: Haley Barbour
==February 18-22==
MSU College Democrats: Annual Democratic Pride Week
Details: 662-325-1724
==February 25 (Monday)==
MSU College Democrats: Beans and Greens
Bost Extension Center, MSU: 6PM
$10 adults; $5 students; $2 children
Details: 662-325-1724
==February 27 (Wednesday)==
Mississippi Federation of Republican Women Legislative Day
and No Child Left Behind Program
State Capitol at 9AM - Lunch at Clarion Hotel, Jackson at Noon
==March 1 (Friday)==
Congressional Campaign Filing Deadline
==March 9 (Saturday)==
**"The Soiree" Gala Democratic Fundraiser**
Hilton Hotel: Jackson, Mississippi
Formal Attire
**Mississippi Young Democrats State Convention: Jackson**
==March 22-24==
Mississippi Republican Women Federation State Convention
Grand Casino Oasis Hotel - Gulfport, Mississippi
Convention Registration Early $100.00 - After March 7, 2002 Late $120.00

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Final Words - Gomer Musgrove and Ronnie Pyle
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"The great contradiction in the life of Pvt. Gomer Pyle, USMC, was that while every word spoken was in the befuddled nasal twang of a Mayberry country boy, he sang in the rich operatic baritone of Jim Nabors. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's high-pitched voice lends itself to comparisons to Gomer - as do his actions on occasion - and never was that similarity more obvious than in his State of the State address Wednesday at the Capitol. It was simply Gomerian....Musgrove delivered his speech like Jim Nabors sings - powerfully and with drama. But the substance of it - or rather the lack of substance of it - was pure, unadulterated Gomer. Nice melody, but what were those lyrics again, Governor?" -Sid Salter: Clarion Ledger, January 20, 2002

"Just when Gov. Ronnie Musgrove begins to gain some gubernatorial traction on real problems like economic development, the state budget and redistricting, his inner Gomer assaults him - yearning to be politically clueless, slow-witted and free. Shazam!" -Sid Salter: Clarion Ledger, December 5, 2001

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Magnolia Political Report, 2002
Brian Perry, Editor
www.magnoliareport.com
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© Magnolia Political Report 2002 • PO Box 24233 Jackson, Mississippi 39225
FAX 601.355.7885 • scoop@magnoliareport.com
Brian Perry, Editor