Jackson Free Press

Todd and I made the mistake of watching the evening news last night. The attack ads were just plain horrifying. The one that disgusted me the most was Al and Haley's ad about Hood being "corrupt." This is such a twisting of the truth, as we've reported repeatedly, that those two men ought to be run out of this state for telling such vicious lies and slandering another human being. Haley and the GOP machine will. stop. at. nothing. The Clarion-Ledger, amazingly, is seeing through the ruse (although they did everything they could to help this machine get its power in the past). In their endorsement of Hood today, they write:

Hopkins says he wants to restore integrity to the office, as if it has been lost, and his ads smear the incumbent as "corrupt" and "unethical." For the basis of these charges, he points to the MCI case where Hood contracted out the lawsuit to private attorneys that ultimately resulted in the state winning a $110 million judgment, instead of the $3 million the state was considering seeking. Hopkins points to the $14 million, additionally, that the court awarded the private lawyers as having been lost to taxpayers.

Huh? The state won $107 million more than it sought since Hood contracted it out, and Hopkins complains?

No, he lies. More from the CL:

First, it should be noted that Hood has done nothing illegal, or unethical, or anything that his predecessors haven't done. It should also be remembered that it was this money that paid the $55 million taxpayers lost in the failed beef plant. Otherwise, it would have been taken from schools or roads or health or even prompted a tax hike.

Hood has been aggressive in pursuing criminal state charges in that case, as well.

What else has Hopkins brought up to speak for himself? Not much. Rather than putting forth a vision for Mississippi, he has focused on attacking Hood.

Previous Comments

ID

115370

Comment

Jim Hood is about the only candidate for any office that I don't feel dirty after watching his commercials. I will vote on Nov. 6 just to vote for him, if nothing else. I'm tired of all the crap too. I'd much rather hear about what each candidate will bring to the table, rather than the whole "vote for me because the other guy is BAD" tactic. It is sooo tired. And I am too.

Author

andi

Date

2007-11-02T09:06:25-06:00

ID

115371

Comment

I know; we said the same thing last night, Andi. He needed to point out that Hopkins was lying about all those years of experience on a military court that never sat, but beyond that it seems that he has concentrated on running on his record, which is very strong, despite efforts of the political-peanut gallery to turn his successes into failures. They really do think Mississippians are stupid. You wonder if the state's Dems will learn anything if he is the only Dem to win statewide office? Probably not.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-11-02T09:25:25-06:00

ID

115372

Comment

One of the frames in this entire election that drives me crazy is the idea that lawyers aren't in business along with others and, in particular, that the GOP feels totally free to attack trial attorneys (including those who return taxpayer money to the citizens) while letting *government lobbyists* sit around pretending to be small businessmen. I appreciate the Clarion-Ledger calling Hopkins on that ad, which, for me, is the most disconcerting and disappointing ad of the cycle. It makes Hopkins appear to be very much a fringe candidate with nothing to say for himself. Oh, and Al is a trial attorney doing product liability, mass torts, malpractice and employment litigation. Nothing particularly wrong with that IMHO, but it's interesting that he hasn't been demonized by the Republicans and the Chamber of Commerce because of it. He's even got part of his website in Spanish. (Actually, I guess it's the Democrats running for office in Mississippi who would be more likely to disown him for that.) If Al does get Jim Hood "fired" then maybe Al's firm can represent Hood in the wrongful termination suit. ;-)

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2007-11-02T09:36:05-06:00

ID

115373

Comment

Right, the idea that the Barbour all-lobbying-all-the-time administration, of all people, are going after ethics violations is downright laughable. And there is no ethical problem with Hood's action. One has never been shown; it's just lies and rhetoric. The funniest part is that Republicans, if they were intellectually honest, would LOVE what Hood did with outside attorneys, who recouped millions and was paid directly by the company—without costing the taxpayers a dime. And if they don't like that he the attorney then contributed to Hood's campaign, then go pass all that campaign finance reform that Barbour won't stand for because it hurts his own cronyism. There is also a rumor out there that Hopkins has worked as a high-priced defense attorney of drug dealers. If that is true, it doesn't turn me off—everyone deserves a defense—but it does make him sound like a hypocrite. Hopkins is definitely coming across as the bitterest pill in a campaign season filled with bitter pills. He's making Hood look better as a result.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-11-02T09:44:13-06:00

ID

115374

Comment

I watch the news almost daily, so I've been sick of attack ads a looooooong time ago. Could they for once focus on issues and what they can bring to the table? Please! Stop slinging mud. You're getting my clothes dirty.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-11-02T09:47:23-06:00

ID

115375

Comment

You wonder if the state's Dems will learn anything if he is the only Dem to win statewide office? You would hope that they would learn, but I'm not holding my breath. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing pans out.

Author

andi

Date

2007-11-02T10:03:04-06:00

ID

115376

Comment

Mississippi has a state Democratic party?

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-11-02T16:01:46-06:00

ID

115377

Comment

Mississippi Democrats can learn? :D Considering the State Republican party seems to be led from DC, I can't help but think we really have no choice come next tuesday.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-11-03T13:12:20-06:00