“Mississippi State University” was printed on at least six signs somewhere on stage for Monday night’s debate. Perhaps Gov. Ronnie Musgrove put them there to help Haley Barbour recognize that he could travel this far north of Yazoo City and still be in Mississippi.
Haley Barbour is nothing but an outsider, you know.
Musgrove opened the evening by reminding the crowd that Barbour spent the “last 20 years in Washington, D.C.” Musgrove closed the evening the same way, claiming that Barbour was no more than a “Washington, D.C., lobbyist who will work for them.”
Even the Musgrove camp’s post-debate press release headlined, “Washington Lobbyist Haley Barbour …”
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is right when he says Haley Barbour is a Washington insider. The fact is undeniable. Barbour has served as CEO of one of the nation’s top lobbying firms. He was director of the White House Office of Political Affairs under Ronald Reagan. He also played a major role in George W. Bush’s 2000 election.
Last month the president even stopped by our state to give a speech at a $1,000-a-plate campaign event for Barbour. This was more than just a stop to campaign for a fellow Republican. “I know him well,” Bush said of Barbour in his speech.
Barbour definitely has friends in the highest of places, and we Mississippians should be wary of this, according to Musgrove. “This race is not about who’s got the most political friends in Washington,” he said, as quoted in The Clarion-Ledger.
So Barbour knows Washington well. Big deal. Almost 40 percent of our state budget comes from the federal government. Having ties in Washington doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Having ties to Washington is a concern in major state elections. Our national senators and representatives spend much time there on behalf of our state.
Washington isn’t an entirely nasty place and Musgrove knows it. Our gubernatorial race is an example of politics as usual.
Politics are all about 1) picking your party’s man, then 2) figuring out the best way to characterize the other candidate as inept for the job. And when you’re desperate enough, you can even say, “My opponent shouldn’t have this job because he has too much experience in the field.”
The logic doesn’t make sense: We shouldn’t vote for Barbour to be the head politician of our state government because he’s spent a lot of time in a place where all that goes on is government work and politics?
With this type of logic, Barbour could claim that Musgrove shouldn’t be elected governor because he’s been governor before.
It’s been a long time since I’ve visited our nation’s capital. I don’t recall running into any evil Washington insiders while there. Perhaps they were all in their offices, plotting new schemes to sham the public.
I did run into then-Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. Maybe he was visiting 1275 Pennsylvania Ave., location of Barbour, Griffith and Roger, Inc. Maybe it was during this trip that Musgrove uncovered all of Barbour’s evil NAFTA ties.
For someone who’s out of touch with Mississippi, Barbour received noticeably louder applause during the evening’s introductions. It must be that he’s using some slick Washington pull-the-wool-over-their-eyes shenanigan.
“Haley, I suppose that’s how you get votes in Washington, D.C.,” Musgrove said later that evening. Maybe Musgrove should learn a few of those tricks himself, if he’s to receive the loudest applause on Nov. 4.
Michael Stewart is a senior philosophy and religion major. He can be reached at [email protected].