Best Mississippi Statewide Public Official and Why?

[lamarrebel]

Ok...here's another topic: Which statewide elected public official in Mississippi does the best job as relates to overall job performance? I am including both U.S. Senators and the eight statewide officials from Governor down to Insurance Commissioner. I might come back with a worst official after this one is finished with the same choices.

[lamarrebel]

three votes? Is that the best we can do?? This whips the West Hattiesburg Mayoral vote for apathy.

[just-Wynn]

Wynn is not on this list. Wynn wants to know why, Wynn is not on the list. :police:

[lamarrebel]

My post is best Statewide elected officials -- Gene Taylor represents only the 4th Congressional District (not statewide) and Chief Wynn, illusions of grandeur aside, hasn't been elected to anything.

As I stated in a letter to editor in the Hattiesburg American last fall, Taylor, IMO is an irrelevant backbencher with relatively little respect from members of either party. On one hand he votes to impeach Bill Clinton, and on another says that while George W. Bush was chasing girls at Yale, Gen. Wes Clark was chasing the Vietcong. After 14 years in Congress, Sonny Montgomery became chairman of the House Veterans Affairs committe, after 8 years in Congress Trent Lott became Minority Whip (the No. 2 Republican in the House) -- Gene Taylor, who isn't the ranking Democrat on any committee, simply hasn't lived up to that legacy of leadership.

[itzme]

I remember the days when Thad Cochran was 4th District Rep. This was during the days of Ellis Bodron, Lt Gov Charles Sullivan I remember that year I was a mere 13 or 14 years old. . . I was out passing out flyers, bumper stickers and church fans. Bodron facinated me (as a child) for being a blind man whose handicap did nothing more that push him to excellence. Charles Sullivan, gave each person he met the confidance that was needed to run the State of Mississippi. (Unfortunatly he lost). I knew, even as a child, that Thad Cochran was a man of integrity, hope and genuine care for the people he represented. He proved that MANY times to me, my family and friends. Nothing has changed.... to this day Cochran has held, to his best knowledge, the best interest of his Mississippians. He has not embaressed us, he has kept hi mouth shut when he needed to, he has represented himself as a TRUE Southern Gentleman. Hvae I agreed to everything he has done? NO! BUt I knopw what he has done is what he thinks is in the best interest for US . . . not himself! MY VOTE? Thad Cochran

[wilebill]

Gene Taylor is the independently thinking equivilant of Sen. John McCain. Like McCain, Gene puts the people ahead of the party line. I asked him why he did'nt switch to GOP. He said he didn't want to sell his soul. He was offered big money to switch but would have been expected to follow the leader, even into hell. I have carried a GOP card since Reagan, but they are getting too damn pushy and egocentric. The dems party line is even nuttier. I long for a total ban on soft money politicing, and a viable third party choice, somewhere between the current party fanatics. I can't see either party looking out for the majority of Americans, the so-called middle class, the worker bees, if you will.

Dang, Hawkeye, I knew I liked you for some reason, now I know!

[wilebill]

I remember the days when Thad Cochran was 4th District Rep.
<snip>

Hvae I agreed to everything he has done? NO! BUt I knopw what he has done is what he thinks is in the best interest for US . . . not himself! MY VOTE? Thad Cochran

You just reminded me of why I like Mr. Cochran, too.

I vote for him.

[lamarrebel]

Thad Cochran has been a very good U.S. Senator, but in spite of Trent Lott's Strom Thurmond remarks, he has been the most effective Mississippian to ever go to Washington and I had to vote for him. He was the first Southerner elected to the position of minority whip in the House back in the 1980s. Once moviing over to the Senate, he was elected Majority Whip and then Majority leader all less than ten years after becoming a Senator, beating Cochran by a margin of like 44-9. Even though he is no longer Majority leader, Trent still wields enormous clout, and we certainly need to send him back for another six years.

[jmack]

What does an attorney and an honest business man have in common?

Answer: Absolutly nothing.:smt102

[TigerJack]

doggone Jmack u takin this a little to far
Ole Tiger gone have to handle up on u!

[jmack]

I'm just tired of attorneys on tv, newspapers, billboards etc... recruiting people to file law suits on precription drugs, nursing homes etc.. These people are sick or in bad health to begin with and they are being encouraged to file suit. I hope you aren't one of those type attorneys Tigerjack.

[TigerJack]

Jmack ole Tiger tends to agree with you
I am old fashioned, must be weak in front of the jury
if you have to advertise

[lamarrebel]

I am not a fan of mass advertising attorneys either. I do some small time advertising in the phone book (less than 1/4 page, not 2 page) and other such media, but these billboard hogging, TV used car salesmen wannabees, are a insult to our profession. Almost three years ago, when reading the Lamar County election results at Supreme Court Justice Jess Dickinson's victory party I said to roaring applause, "too many members of our profession have put making a killing ahead of making a difference, and it is giving all of us a black eye," and I still feel that way today.

Unfortunately, with First Amendment considerations, there is only so much is terms of regulating lawyer advertising that can be done. Thus, we have to deal with the likes of Shane Langston, Richard Schwartz, John Arthur Eaves, Deakle/Couch and other such ilk.

[HubCityMan1912]

RE: Hawkeye and itzme comments re Gene Taylor/3rd Party and Thad Cochran, respectively: HubCityMan sez: A bigtime "DITTO"! Well said fellow citizens! (Although I voted for Trent Lott in this poll.)

[wilebill]

Thus, we have to deal with the likes of Shane Langston, Richard Schwartz, John Arthur Eaves, Deakle/Couch and other such ilk.

I skint my knuckles fixing the drain on my sink. Does that qualify for "hurt working on the water"?

:-D

[lamarrebel]

I am not saying that there aren't times that Gene Taylor does things that makes me smile (voting to impeach Clinton, for example). But, I believe that his fence straddling lessens his effectiveness in Washington, and as a district we are cheated as a result. Simply put, his record of leadership and accomplishments does not compare to Jamie Whitten, Sonny Montgomery, William Colmer, Trent Lott or Thad Cochran. Even last year, Trent Lott was complaining of having to "carry the water" for Gene. South Mississippi can do better.

I promise you that if Larkin Smith had lived, he would be doing a lot more for this district today as a senior Republican member of Congress than Gene Taylor has ever done. I wish Gene would run (and lose) in '08 when Senator Cochran will likely retire, so that we can retake his seat.

[lamarrebel]

I skint my knuckles fixing the drain on my sink. Does that qualify for "hurt working on the water"?

:-D

sadly enough, before tort reform it probably did qualify....lol

[TigerJack]

Tort Reform or Snort Reform

[lamarrebel]

I hate to say it, but tort reformers were on the winning side of that issue. Otherwise, we'd still have Chuck McRae (or Larry Buffington), instead of Jess Dickinson on the State Supreme Court, Kenny Griffis wouldn't have beaten Judge Jim Brantley. About the only place where a candidate who was perceived as being pro-plaintiff in 2002 who won was Bob Helfrich, who basically won b/c ppl were tired of Dicky McKenzie. Helfrich hasn't even turned out to be that way. Since then the defeats of Ronnie Musgrove, Barbara Blackmon and John Kerry say even more about the Mississippi electorate's pulse on tort reform.

The glory days of ambulance chasing personal injury/mass tort lawyers in this state is over and for sake of economic growth in our state, it is a very good thing.

[jmack]

The glory days of ambulance chasing personal injury/mass tort lawyers in this state is over and for sake of economic growth in our state, it is a very good thing.

Personal injury cases are over in our state?
I can't turn on the TV without "ONE CALL, THATS ALL".

[lamarrebel]

No, of course personal injury cases are not over, and I'm not even suggesting that they should be. Certainly, people should be compensated for their injuries, and in outrageous cases there should be limited punitive damgaes. What I am saying is that the days of outrageous jury awards in places like Jefferson County, which were giving our state a big time black eye in terms of economic development and job growth, and wanton venue/judge shopping are over. Other than the questionable Applebee's verdict (that suit was filed before tort reform took effect and so the new laws didn't control that suit), I haven't heard of any crazy civil verdicts in a long time. As a result of this, and the excellent leadership of Haley Barbour and his MDA director Leland Speed, companies are going to give Mississippi a very close look, if not begin flocking here.

Tort reform was necessary, both for the economic health of our state, and for the dignity of our profession.