GOP SENATE FAILS TO PROTECT FLAG

In another sterling example of ineptitude, the Republican controlled U.S. Senate failed to advance a constitutional amendment banning flag desecration by one vote. Yes, one lousy vote. If they can’t protect sacred symbols of Americana from being defiled by left-wing radicals, can they protect us from terrorists? It makes you wonder.

34% OF MISSISSIPPI CONSERVATIVES DISAPPROVE OF BUSH

SurveyUSA realeased its statewide poll rankings for President Bush June 12 which documents the substantial errosion of support among conservatives for the President. The poll also documents the President’s slide among White voters as well with 34% also disapproving. Numbers like that do not augur well for a Bush backer like Haley Barbour continuing in his role as the President’s number emulator-in-chief in Mississippi politics.

KERRY EMBRACES JIM WEBB

From Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia : “Jim Webb is George Allen’ s worst nightmare: a war hero and a Reagan appointee who holds moderate positions…Allen tries to project a Reagan aura, but Webb already has it…Allen fears Webb. And he ought to. Webb has some conservative positions and a conservative background in some ways, but he is staunchly anti-Iraq War. He’s got military and intellectual credentials that make George Allen wilt.” -Yeah that what they said about John Kerry against George Bush. If the democrats go on the offense against Allen’s record and defeat him, others like John McCain will sure be next. It is clear democrat leaders will challenge potential GOP presidential candidates when they can. George Allen may be in trouble and its time he recognize it. The Democrat Senate Campaign Committee is targeting this race and national democrat leaders are going to raise big money as the embrace of John Kerry demonstrates.

ADVICE TO AMY TUCK: WATCH LUCY BAXLEY

Amy Tuck has a trailblazer to follow in seeking the Governorship in Mississippi, Alabama Lieutenent Governor Lucy Baxley. The Democratic Lieutenent Governor is running on a very centrist platform that acknowledges her rural roots and her pride in where she comes from. Amy would do well to emulate the Alabama Lieutenent Governor in that respect because both women have much in common. Lucy will not win however, because the Republican Governor of Alabama is not a right wing corporate whore like the one Mississippians have. He understands tax fairness for middle income people and tried to enact it against the wishes of a radical right wing base. He is brave for that and should be re-elected.

TUCK RAISES $324,000 IN 2005, FOR WHAT?

LT. Governor Amy Tuck is constitutionally barred from running for another term as Lt. Governor so what is she running for? She’s either running for Secretary of State, Auditor, or Governor. Take your pick y’all. Let’s hope a sister doesn’t want to go backwards and bide her time. Let’s hope she intends to do what it’s been looking like all along, she’s distanced herself away from Barbour so she might be able to challenge him on a populist platform of eliminating the highest ciggarette tax in the nation and providing common sense, conservative, pro business leadership for the people of Mississippi. If she plays her cards right and announces for some other office, she can always switch back to Governor later. While she has the gavel of the Senate in hand, she needs to use it to gather the resources to challenge Haley. The $324,000 in her coffers come from the following sources:

Top Contributors
Total $

MOUNGER, W D
$8,000
BELLSOUTH
$8,000
HALEYS PAC
$5,000
CLEVELAND, V M
$5,000
AMERICAN INSURANCE ASSOC/AIA
$4,000
ENTERGY/ENPAC
$3,000
MISSISSIPPI DENTAL ASSOC
$3,000
MISSISSIPPI POWER COMPANY
$3,000
MISSISSIPPI ACRE CMTE
$3,000
MISSISSIPPI TITLE PLEDGE ASSOC/MTPA
$3,000
CAPITAL RESOURCES
$2,734
CANIZARO, JOSEPH C
$2,500
ANDERSON, RUSSELL SCOTT
$2,000
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
$2,000
STONE, WILLIAM E
$2,000
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
$2,000
EXXON MOBIL
$2,000
FISHER, TRUDY D
$2,000
US SMOKELESS TOBACCO CO/USSTC
$2,000
MISSISSIPPI ASSOC FOR HOME CARE
$2,000

Allen hits snag on the way to White House: Jim Webb

Virginia Senator George Allen encountered a slight snag on the way to the White House last night, a real opponent in the form of former Reagan assistant secretary of defense, Jim Webb. The decorated Vietnam veteran and best selling novelist will be Allen’s opponent in his re-election bid to the Senate and will be quite a handful, or so it seems now with the Administration’s Iraq policy unpopular and under intense fire. So much for hoarding cash for a Presidential run. It’s gonna be a real race to watch now. If Allen has any realistic hopes for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he’ll have to convincingly dispatch Webb with better than 56% of the vote or his boredom in the Senate will continue.

TRIUMPH OF THE WASHINGTON LOBBYISTS

It should be genuinely disturbing when a pair of Washington lobbyists can spread their poison in Republican primaries as former Congressman and washington lobbyists Brian Bilbray of California and Luther Strange of Alabama have done over better qualifed mainstream conservative candidates. This is a trend that I hope does not continue. The politics of influence peddling is poison at the ballot box this year and will lead to massive defeats if all incumbants are tarred with it. Republicans need to make their primaries uninhabitable for these special interest flacks for greed.

GOP SENATE FAILS TO "PROTECT" MARRIAGE

For the second time in a year, the Republican controlled Senate failed to “protect” marriage as we now know it. The impotent Senate, led by a group of hamhanded incompetents, couldn’t even enshrine in our constitution for all time the concept that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. If they can’t accomplish this simple task, can they protect us from islamic terror groups and win the war in Iraq? It’s enough to make you wonder. I know this gang can shoot, as evidenced by the marksmanship of the Vice President, but can they shoot straight with the American People?

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS REJECT ROY MOORE EXTREMISM

In a breath of fresh air, Alabama Republicans rejected the hard right christian coalition extremism of Judge Roy Moore, God’s self appointed and annointed advocate and savior. Apparently, Governor Riley’s leadership isn’t so bad after all. Being a moderate pro-business cconservative that can manipulate the levers of government to operate efficiently in a crisis like Katrina is a good selling point to most Alabamians. Mississippi would do well to tear a page from the same hymnal and defeat Haley Barbour next year with a good moderate conservative like Amy Tuck. The holier than thou extremism of Roy Moore, Fob James, and Ralph Reed is going to take a tumble this year. Good Riddance.

Anatomy of Espy Defeat

Complete 2nd District results The Associated Press
Attala 21 of 21 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,130 – 52 percent Chuck Espy 1,026 – 47 percentDorothy Benford 21 – 1 percent

Bolivar 28 of 28 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 3,383 – 61 percent Chuck Espy 2,114 – 38 percent Dorothy Benford 29 – 1 percent

Carroll 14 of 14 precincts – 100 percent

Chuck Espy 967 – 52 percent
x-Bennie Thompson (i) 859 – 46 percent Dorothy Benford 26 – 1 percent

Claiborne 21 of 21 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,743 – 83 percent Chuck Espy 342 – 16 percent Dorothy Benford 8 – 0 percent

Coahoma 19 of 19 precincts – 100 percent

Chuck Espy 2,237 – 52 percent x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,054 – 48 percent Dorothy Benford 26 – 1 percent

Copiah 20 of 20 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,296 – 61 percent Chuck Espy 1,396 – 37 percent Dorothy Benford 47 – 1 percent

Hinds 105 of 105 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 19,312 – 71 percent Chuck Espy 7,576 – 28 percent
Dorothy Benford 174 – 1 percent

Holmes 17 of 17 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,686 – 74 percent Chuck Espy 946 – 26 percent Dorothy Benford 22 – 1 percent

Humphreys 13 of 13 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,252 – 65 percent Chuck Espy 656 – 34 percent Dorothy Benford 8 – 0 percent

Issaquena 5 of 5 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 251 – 62 percent Chuck Espy 151 – 37 percent Dorothy Benford 4 – 1 percent

Jefferson 16 of 16 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,181 – 69 percent Chuck Espy 515 – 30 percent Dorothy Benford 6 – 0 percent

Leake 11 of 11 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 622 – 57 percent Chuck Espy 455 – 42 percent Dorothy Benford 16 – 1 percent

Leflore 19 of 19 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,087 – 71 percent Chuck Espy 836 – 28 percent Dorothy Benford 13 – 0 percent

Madison20 of 20 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,792 – 79 percent
Chuck Espy 459 – 20 percent Dorothy Benford 14 – 1 percent

Montgomery24 of 24 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,040 – 67 percent Chuck Espy 494 – 32 percent Dorothy Benford 22 – 1 percent

Quitman 11 of 11 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 965 – 67 percent Chuck Espy 442 – 31 percent Dorothy Benford 25 – 2 percent

Sharkey 10 of 10 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 805 – 64 percent Chuck Espy 457 – 36 percent Dorothy Benford 1 – 0 percent

Sunflower 18 of 18 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,427 – 63 percent Chuck Espy 1,394 – 36 percent Dorothy Benford 27 – 1 percent

Tallahatchie 22 of 22 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,372 – 70 percent Chuck Espy 568 – 29 percent Dorothy Benford 25 – 1 percent

Tunica 11 of 11 precincts – 100 percent

Chuck Espy 756 – 62 percent x-Bennie Thompson (i) 461 – 38 percent Dorothy Benford 9 – 1 percent

Warren 22 of 22 precincts – 100 percent

Chuck Espy 2,635 – 51 percent x-Bennie Thompson (i) 2,504 – 48 percent Dorothy Benford 52 – 1 percent

Washington 20 of 20 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 4,480 – 68 percent Chuck Espy 2,036 – 31 percent Dorothy Benford 41 – 1 percent

Yazoo 27 of 27 precincts – 100 percent

Chuck Espy 1,693 – 53 percent x-Bennie Thompson (i) 1,472 – 46 percent Dorothy Benford 27 – 1 percent

Totals 494 of 494 precincts – 100 percent

x-Bennie Thompson (i) 56,174 – 65 percent Chuck Espy 30,151 – 35 percent Dorothy Benford 643 – 1 percent

This defeat by Thompson of Espy is to borrow a phrase from the dramatically eloquent Barbara Jordan, ” whole, complete and total.”