Bobby Harrison with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal has an interesting column on Gov. Barbour’s approach to legislative politics
Here’s the gist of what Harrison is saying:
People should not be upset with Gov. Haley Barbour for exerting his influence in the legislative process.
That is what governors are supposed to do. That is why they run for office. The fact that Barbour probably does it better than any other governor in history is no reason to be mad at him.
People can be mad at him over the positions he takes, his philosophical stands, but not because he uses his influence in the legislative process to get his way.
For years, it has been argued that the Mississippi Constitution sets up a system where the Legislature is strong and the governor is weak. But that certainly has not been the case under Barbour. He has turned that axiom upside down. It will be interesting to see if the dynamics that have existed under Barbour remain in effect for future governors.
A few thoughts come to mind:
- Bobby is right. Haley Barbour is doing what a governor is supposed to do: Influence the Legislature to further his agenda. That’s the role of just about any governor in any state.
- Haley Barbour is a political genius. I’ve said that many times. I’ve not met too many people (Democrats, Republicans or Inedependents) who disagree.
- Haley Barbour has had more legislative success than just about any other governor in our state’s history.
But those observations speak nothing to the real truth about Gov. Barbour and his administration.
Here are a few more thoughts to consider:
- Gov. Barbour has built his Republican “coalition” out of fear. Stories abound about the consequences of any Republican who dares get in his way.
- Gov. Barbour has done nothing to try and build a consensus in the Legislature. He has rebuffed just about every Democratic compromise ever offered him.
- Gov. Barbour has wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars to exert his influence through the calling of special sessions. Why? Because he didn’t get his way the first time, and he can brow-beat legislators better in a special session where he controls the agenda rather than in a regular session where each chamber’s leadership controls the agenda.
- Gov. Barbour’s approach to governance — especially budgetary matters — is to put faith in businesses, corporations and a wealthy few instead of in the people, their needs and their abilities to create a stronger state through their hard work.
The governor’s legacy may well be his work in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, but that would be a disservice to any serious historian. Once the initial shock was over, when we went about the hard work of rebuilding, Gov. Barbour focused on rebuilding businesses, not homes. He has helped divert federal money for home rebuilding to economic development projects that existed before Hurricane Katrina. And while the casinos are operating, many of the people who once called the Mississippi Gulf Coast home have been forced to relocated to other places.
And what of the governor’s record on unemployment, job retraining, health care and public education? No governor has worked so stringently to defund these areas. He can wrap it in the cloak of “fiscal responsibility”, but there is nothing responsible about turning down federal stimulus money that would have helped the unemployed train for new jobs, kicking well deserving people off of their health care plan and forcing them to buy more expensive private plans (where they could afford to do so) or taking away money from schools that are already struggling to meet the demands of their area.
Yes, Gov. Barbour is a political mastermind. Yes, he’s been able to lead the Republicans in the Legislature around by their noses. And yes, he’s had more legislative success than just about any governor in our state’s history.
If only he’d set out to do what was best for the State of Mississippi instead of blindly following some outdated political doctrine designed to enrich his supporters, raise his political profile and position him for greater success once he leaves office.
In short, if only he’s used his powers for good instead of wasting them on selfish pursuits.
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