The debate between gubernatorial candidates Ronnie Musgrove and Haley Barbour on campus Monday night exemplified the negative attitude of their campaigns. It is incredible to watch two well-qualified candidates walk on stage, shake hands and commence attacking each other on personal grounds rather than discussing the relevant issues in a professional manner.
Musgrove gave the first opening speech. He thanked the sponsors and listed “school and jobs” as his two main “priorities for the state of Mississippi.” Then he called his opponent a “lobbyist who is running an expensive, negative campaign.”
Initially, Barbour gave a comparatively mild response to Musgrove’s accusations. When he gave his opening speech, he took a more subtle approach by saying that “Mississippi is not reaching its potential.” Despite his negative ad campaign, he started on the right foot in the debate by sticking to the appropriate issues.
Regarding the question of education, Barbour quoted the millions cut from university and community college budgets. He said that the shortcomings are because “we need to set priorities and control spending.” He blamed government agencies under Musgrove’s supervision for overspending their budgets by “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Musgrove contended that Barbour was “not shooting straight with the people of Mississippi.” He claimed that no agency can overspend its budget because it is illegal, and the state Legislature was responsible for making the cuts. This was the first of several accusations of dishonesty made by both candidates during the debate.
Then Musgrove made an offhand reference to Barbour making “his money from NAFTA, drug companies and tobacco companies.” He said that Barbour made “$35,000 a month” from NAFTA and that he had lobbied for it in Washington.
Barbour obviously did not lobby for NAFTA in Washington because he was working as the chairman of the Republican National Committee, not a lobbying firm, when Bill Clinton signed the law in 1993.
However, Barbour was misleading in the role he played regarding NAFTA. According to of The Clarion-Ledger, though he did not exactly lobby for it, he did make comments supporting it before it became a law. And his lobbying firm worked to help implement certain aspects of NAFTA afterward.
He did not want Mississippians to be aware that he believes in the benefits of NAFTA because he knows that, as Musgrove pointed out, “41,000 Mississippians lost jobs to Mexico” because of it.
Both of the candidates questioned each other’s credibility. Several times during his refutations of Barbour, Musgrove said, “you ought to be ashamed, Haley,” causing the audience to burst out in laughter. These accomplished, experienced politicians who should be capable of intelligent discourse resorted to childish, unprofessional behavior to make their points.
Even when the mediators asked the candidates to list two good things and elaborate on how each other would make good governors for Mississippi, they failed to comply.
Musgrove said Barbour is “smart and financially successful” but that he could not say whether these qualities would make him a good governor. Barbour responded that “Ronnie is bright and hardworking,” but ended on the note that “we don’t have to be last” in the state of Mississippi because of unproductive leadership.
Neither answered the question of how the other candidate would make a good governor. Instead, they turned it into an opportunity to take one more cheap shot at each other.
Mississippi taxpayers have a right to view debates that cover relevant issues. Voters should come away from it with a better idea of how the candidates would function in the office for which they are campaigning. The debate should establish the candidates’ positions on issues in contrast with each other. This can be accomplished without inaccurate, disrespectful attacks on each other.
Katherine Story is a junior history and Spanish major. She can be reached at [email protected].