You are going to hear a lot about the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and a Senate unemployment bill that the House killed today.

Know this: Everything would have been fine had Gov. Barbour accepted federal stimulus money to help the unemployed people of Mississippi during this national recession.

Gov. Barbour thought Democratic leaders in the House would fold, walk away and leave the unemployed to fend for themselves. But that’s not what’s happening. Democrats in the House are fighting for our unemployed.

Now that we’ve reached a boiling point, Gov. Barbour is in full spin mode. He’s released a statement saying the House leadership is to blame for what is going on. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Below, I’ve included a press release from Rep. Rufus Straughter, chairman of the House Labor Committee. Rep. Straughter lays out the facts quite well. Please read it and pass it along.

Then, do me a favor. Call Gov. Barbour and Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Tell them you’re tired of their putting politics before people. Tell them to work with the Democratic leadership to forge a true compromise that provides much needed unemployment benefits to our people.

Gov. Barbour: 601-359-3150
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant: 601-359-3200

Democrats will not step down. This is a fight worth waging. We must protect our most vulnerable citizens, and that includes the hard-working men and women of Mississippi who have lost their jobs and still have families to feed.

Democratically yours,

Sam R. Hall
Executive Director

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN STRAUGHTER

Chairman Rufus Straughter is calling on Governor Haley Barbour and House and Senate Republicans to support Mississippi’s working families instead of playing a dangerous game of national politics with benefits for workers.

The debate stems from House Republicans and the Governor’s refusal to compromise for the State of Mississippi and receive more than $56 million dollars in federal support while ensuring that the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (“MDES”) is reauthorized.

“I question Governor Barbour’s refusal to accept $56.1 million that would support small businesses and 40,000 Mississippi families who are struggling in this recession, especially when the Governor has already spent $832 million in recovery funding,” Chairman Straughter said.

MDES is responsible for administering the state’s Unemployment Insurance program and is required by state law to be reauthorized every two years. If the agency is not reauthorized, the U.S. Department of Labor will take over the collection of unemployment taxes for Mississippi businesses.

“It would be unfortunate if the Governor allows this important state agency to be taken over rather than accept critical resources during the worst recession since the great depression. This money will generate over $120 million in economic activity for our communities by helping Mississippi businesses save and create jobs,” Chairman Straughter said.

If MDES is taken over by the Department of Labor, taxes on businesses will increase to 6.2% per employee, resulting in a $413 million tax bill for Mississippi businesses.

“I am opposed to a tax increase and would like to see our families benefit from the State receiving the $56 million. In fact, these federal funds will not raise taxes on 90 percent of Mississippi businesses for at least four years.

“Unfortunately, House Republicans, with the Governor’s support, decided they would rather kill HB 1346 and risk the reauthorization of this agency than give $56.1 million worth of help to 40,000 Mississippi families,” Straughter said.

HB1346, introduced by Chairman Straughter, was both pro-business and pro-worker. It would have modernized Mississippi’s antiquated employment laws and reauthorized the state agency which administers employment benefits.

Oh well. I’ll try again later…

Several members of the party got to know Mr. Butler over the past few weeks, and we are happy to have him as the newest Democratic member of the Legislature.

Congratulations to Mr. Butler!

The account (@genetaylordem) is relatively young, with only six tweets to date.

I’m not impressed. As an attack offering goes, it is weak. As an innovative means of using social media, it is even weaker. (Here are my personal thoughts on the matter.)

Past that, I’ll say what I said over on my personal blog:

It’s going to take a much more substantial offering to topple someone as popular and well entrenched (not to mention as effective for his constituents) as Congressman Taylor.

After all, Congressman Gene Taylor must be doing something right. Some Democrats are angry at him because of his votes on health care and the stimulus package. Republicans can’t stand him because of his jobs votes and his support of the Democratic majority.

But every two years, the overwhelming majority of is constituents — Democrats and Republicans — return him to Washington because they know he is a voice for the Fourth Congressional District of Mississippi first and foremost. Everything else — especially political considerations — are a distant second to him.

Good luck, Congressman Taylor. We’re happy to have you as our nominee for Congress, and we support you wholeheartedly!

I’ve always thought Michelle Obama was a classy lady, smart and dedicated to her family. You saw all of those traits shine through in her presentation. What you also saw was her genuine approach to making lives better for our nation’s children.

The First Lady is taking on childhood obesity. She’s got a four-pronged approach, which includes commitments from parents, students, schools and food producers.

Here’s what else the First Lady is doing:

• Traveling the nation to inspire students to eat better and exercise
• Pushing for new regulations on school food choices
• Meeting with food manufacturers asking them to use healthier ingredients

Unlike a lot of “health” initiatives we see, Michelle Obama is taking this seriously. She’s not just doing PR tours and starring in clever TV campaigns. She’s trying to back it up with good policy and working directly with the businesses who make our foods.

It’s nice to see an initiative that so many people can get behind. After all, you had Gov. Haley Barbour and First Lady Michelle Obama on the same stage talking positively about the same thing.

Politico got their hands on confidential fundraising presentation, which they promptly review:

In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives.

The presentation explains the Republican fundraising in simple terms.

“What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate…?” it asks.

The answer: “Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.

One page, headed “The Evil Empire,” pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.

The document, which two Republican sources said was prepared by the party’s finance staff, comes as Chairman Michael Steele struggles to retain the trust and allegiance of major donors, who can give as much as $30,400 a year to the party.

Now, try to tell me that Republican leaders are more interested in what’s best for Mississippi, America and the voters than they are in what’s best for their own pocketbooks.

H/T @Cogneclecticism

Majority in Mississippi posted about an email sent from the chairman of the Prentiss County Republican Party. From that post:

The e-mail raised the possibility that McGlowan was “a plant for Travis Childers,” adding, “Angela has previously stated that she intended to run a positive campaign focusing on the defeat of Travis Childers. Good advice that she needs to heed.”

He called on her to withdraw from the race if she can not support the eventual GOP nominee. “I, for one, believe McGlowan should run her race in a respectable manner, keep her mouth shut and support the Republican nominee whether it be her, Ross or Nunnelee and if she can’t do this we as a party should demand that she withdraw from this race today,” Gray said.

The Prentiss County Republican said in his email that McGlowan must not have heard of Reagan’s 11th Commandment for Republicans: Do not speak ill of fellow Republicans. This was, ironically, before he suggested that McGlowan keep her mouth shut, demanded that she withdraw from the race and accused her of being a plant by Congressman Childers.

You can read the full email at MIM.

First, let me say that I’m pleased with who we have running for Congress this year. We’ve got three good incumbents and a field of challengers vying for the Democratic nomination in the Third Congressional District.

If we want to be successful, we’re going to need your support! As you read about our candidates below, please consider contributing $10, $25, $100 or $250 to the Mississippi Democratic Party.

Our three incumbent Congressmen have no primary opponents, so we can now turn our focus to preparing for tough general election fights.

Two of our Congressional races are already garnering national attention. Congressman Travis Childers’ re-election bid is considered one of the top 10 races in the nation to watch. And longtime Congressman Gene Taylor has the first serious Republican challengers in many elections.

We don’t want to turn either of these seats over to Republicans. If we do that, our numbers in the House of Representatives could fall to dangerous levels when it comes to deciding whether or not we even see a vote on health care, much less get it passed.

Congressman Bennie Thompson is also facing Republican and Independent challengers. While we feel confident he will return to Washington, we will take nothing for granted. Having Bennie Thompson as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is a valuable asset to Mississippi. I don’t intend to see it lost.

Finally, we have three Democrats vying to face off against Congressman Gregg Harper. I know a lot of people will write this race off as hopeless, but I don’t. Gregg Harper has to prove that he’s done enough for his district to warrant a second term, and serious questions about his votes against jobs and federal funding for road projects in Mississippi will be asked. He needs to be held accountable. Besides, I’ve always liked a good underdog. So we’re going to support our eventual nominee the best we can.

We can’t wait to start getting ready for the November elections. We have to start now! That’s why I’m writing you. I need you to give what you can.

Please contribute $10, $25, $100 or $250 to the Mississippi Democratic Party so we can elect Democratic Congressmen to represent our needs in Washington.

Working together, we can win in November!

Democratically yours,

Jamie Franks
Chairman

Salter explains the reasoning for the bill and the Senate GOP’s desire to kill it in a blog post:

During the tort reform fight, nursing home operators, their lobbyists and the insurance industry begged for damage caps based primarily on the notion that it would enable them to afford liability insurance and give them a ceiling and a floor on damages. It also protected them from “jackpot justice” and irresponsible juries.

But it appears now that a number of nursing homes aren’t carrying sufficient liability insurance even to compensate vulnerable elderly victims or their families up to the $500,000 damage cap. Their strategy is to be underinsured and if the verdict is too large, take bancruptcy.

The House passed House Bill 536 with Republican support. But it’s being killed in the state Senate. Why? Because the nursing home operators, their lobbyists and the insurance industry — some of which supplies some nursing homes with so-called “eroding” policies that really screw nursing home abuse victims by taking the nursing home’s legal fees out of the available liability insurance — are leading the Senate leadership around like obedient lap dogs.

Few things are as clearly right or wrong, but this bill embodies what is right and fair. What the GOP is doing in the Senate embodies just the opposite.

Tuesday is an important day. It is the deadline for the Insurance Committee in the Mississippi Senate to pass the Policy Holders Bill of Rights.

The Policy Holders Bill of Rights is a list of commonsense regulations that protects homeowners from being mistreated by the insurance industry. The great thing about this bill is that it has bipartisan support. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a margin of 108-6.

The problem lies with a few Republican leaders in the Senate, in particular Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and Insurance Committee Chairman Eugene “Buck” Clarke. Both Republicans have indicated that they do not support this bill.

If you look at what happened to insurance policy holders on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, you can see the need for this bill. And it’s not just about people who live in hurricane-prone areas. This bill of rights protects all policy-holders.

Here’s what you can do

Call Lt. Gov. Bryant and Chairman Clarke and ask them to put the bill on the Senate floor for a vote. That’s the fair thing to do.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant: (601) 359-3200
Chairman Eugene “Buck” Clarke: (601) 359-3172

Forward this email to friends and ask them to make calls as well. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Democratically yours,

Sam R. Hall
Executive Director