Jackson Free Press

It is telling that Haley Barbour was not in the state of Mississippi when he decided to call a special session this past weekend in a gambit to force the Mississippi House to pass Barbour's favored fix for Medicaid's 2005 funding woes this year. Because he couldn't make it back to the state in time, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck signed the order to open the session.

This nugget speaks to a larger problem that we have with Mr. Barbour at this time in his tenure, one that is made more evident by his success over the weekend in compelling the House to sign off on raiding the Tobacco Trust Fund in order to fill the gap in Medicaid funding.

Our problem is this ... Haley Barbour does not appear to want to govern the state of Mississippi.

As far as we can tell, the use of a special session during a regular session of the Mississippi Legislature is unprecedented. And Gov. Barbour seems to have been successful in his maneuver—the special session forced the hand of House leaders who thought they were going home for the weekend after reaching an impasse with Senate negotiators, who, in lock-step with the governor, refuse to consider raising a tax or a fee to pay for the 2005 Medicaid gap and future financial shortfalls.

Barbour pulled off a brilliant political tactic in order to serve his ideology—by calling a special session, he forced the Legislature to stay in session until it came up with a solution to this single issue. Using his stranglehold on the Senate, he opted not to negotiate further with the House on the issue of a cigarette tax increase. The one-time Tobacco Fund fix is in place.

Barbour is a smart tactician and a savvy political operative—and he's acting like it. And that's our problem with him.

Sitting with his coven of ideologues somewhere in his adopted hometown of Washington, D.C.—perhaps in the Caucus Room, the steakhouse on 9th Street NW in which he maintains ownership—Barbour wires his directive back to the hinterland. (We don't know if he was reading it from the back of a cocktail napkin or not.)

Is this successful and clever political operative, Haley Barbour, really here to govern the state?

Barbour's strategy seems straighforward—he's here to serve the ideology of his backers and benefactors at any cost. That means there is no room for negotiation on issues such as increasing the cigarette tax in Mississippi in order to fund Medicaid, despite the support of a majority of Mississippians. And Mississippi desperately needs the revenues to shore up its promises to elderly and indigent citizens. To Mr. Barbour, there is something more important than those citizens—his commitment not to raise taxes. Particularly taxes, it appears, on the tobacco industry.

Mr. Barbour was one of the most successful lobbyists in the history of Washington up until the day he took office—his firm, Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, still bears his name—presumably so that he can return when his sabbatical in Mississippi is over.

The fact that Mr. Barbour may one day again manage a client list that includes multiple tobacco and pharmaceutical companies should be more cause for concern now that we've witnessed two legislative sessions of his reign. Barbour is a fantastic lobbyist—uncompromising and unprecedented in his service to his business clients and their goals.

It seems that if he can accomplish de-funding of government and the de-fanging its regulatory capacity, he will have earned the legacy that he seeks along with, presumably, the adulation of the people with whom he most often breaks bread.

Is being the governor of Mississippi as important to Mr. Barbour as being a successful political operative in the service of pharmaceutical companies, tobacco companies and corporate welfare recipients?

So far, Barbour's management strategy is one we're growing familiar with from the GOP—borrow and spend. To pay for Medicaid, Barbour is unwilling to raise Mississippi's extremely low cigarette tax; instead, he'll take money out of the Tobacco Trust Fund's principal. (We're only supposed to be spending the interest from that fund—hence the name trust fund.)

The bill's "compromise" is that it will pay back the trust fund out of Mississippi's general "rainy day" coffers. Apparently, the Senate and the governor see only blue skies on Mississippi's budgetary horizon.

As the famous line goes in When Harry Met Sally, "We'd like some of what they're having."

Barbour's strategy is smart, it's savvy—but it's not sensible. It's not conservative, it's not fiscally responsible, and it's not good stewardship. It's the work of a political operative, not a governor.

We challenge Mr. Barbour to spend more time behind his desk in Mississippi, so that he might have occasion to read the nameplate on that desk and see if—perhaps starting right now—he might want to take on that job.

Previous Comments

ID

69753

Comment

Sorry it's taken me so long to get in here and tell you that this editorial is square on the nailhead! "And Mississippi desperately needs the revenues to shore up its promises to elderly and indigent citizens. To Mr. Barbour, there is something more important than those citizensóhis commitment not to raise taxes. Particularly taxes, it appears, on the tobacco industry." A person has to wonder who he's working for - the people of Mississippi or the people who sell cigarettes. And you're right on how much time he actually spends in Mississippi - every time we are in the midst of a crisis, it seems that he's out-of-state and issuing statements from some other locale. No wonder he had to have a new airplane, out of the taxpayers' pocketbook. Looks as if even the expensive renovation of the Governor's mansion didn't bring it up to the style with which he's become accustomed. "We challenge Mr. Barbour to spend more time behind his desk in Mississippi, so that he might have occasion to read the nameplate on that desk and see ifóperhaps starting right nowóhe might want to take on that job." I have a better idea (and one that's just about as likely to happen). Let's just give him one last ride in that new airplane - right back to Washington. We all know that's where his heart and mind are; time to stop the charade. On a more serious note, it really steams me that the state can pay to fix up his accomodations, buy a new airplane, and, I assume, pay the expenses for his constant junkets here and there, but we can't pay for public education and we can't take care of our old folks and children. Do you have any idea what it costs in fuel and maintenance on an airplane like that, not to mention paying for hotel bills and food for Barbour and whatever entourage goes with him? I have a small inkling, but I would surely like to know more. I remember when Mississippi was outraged at former governors traveling too much at state expense. What happened? Does Barbour get a free pass? And if so, why?

Author

C.W.

Date

2005-03-20T09:12:47-06:00