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Haley Barbour

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Haley Barbour
64th Governor of Mississippi
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 13, 2004
LieutenantAmy Tuck
Phil Bryant
Preceded byRonnie Musgrove
56th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In office
1993–1997
Preceded byRichard Bond
Succeeded byJim Nicholson
Personal details
Born (1947-10-22) October 22, 1947 (age 77)
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMarsha Barbour
Residence(s)Yazoo City, Mississippi
Alma materUniversity of Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007.[1] Under Mississippi's term limits, Barbour cannot run again for Governor in 2011 when his term ends.

Before being elected Governor, Barbour worked as a lawyer and lobbyist, was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate and also served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, during which time the Republicans captured both the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives for the first time since 1954. On June 24, 2009, Barbour was elected the new Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, following the resignation of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as its leader.

Early years

Barbour was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he was raised, the youngest of three sons of Grace LeFlore (née Johnson) and Jeptha Fowlkes Barbour, Jr.[2] Barbour is a descendent of Walter Leake, who was Mississippi' s third Governor as well as a US Senator. His father, a lawyer, died when Barbour was two years old. He attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, but skipped the first semester of his senior year to work on Richard Nixon's 1968 election campaign. He never earned a bachelor's degree. At the age of twenty-two, he ran the 1970 census for the state of Mississippi. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1972. Subsequently he joined his father's law firm in Yazoo City.[3]

In 1982 Barbour was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, but was defeated by longtime incumbent John C. Stennis, a conservative Democrat, 64% to 36%. Barbour later served as a political aide in the Reagan White House and worked on the 1988 Presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush.[4]

Lobbying career

In 1991, Barbour helped found the lobbying group now known as BGR Group,[5] a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, with Ed Rogers, a lawyer who formerly worked in the George H. W. Bush administration. In 1994, Lanny Griffith (also a former Bush Administration appointee) joined the firm. In 1998, Fortune magazine named Barbour Griffith & Rogers the second-most-powerful lobbying firm in America.[6] In 2001, after the inauguration of George W. Bush, Fortune named it the most powerful.[7] The firm has had a prominent role in advocating on behalf of the tobacco industry.[8] In 2010, the firm remains one of DC's top 25 but has seen revenues drop both in 2009 and in 2010. [9]

RNC Chairman

In 1993, Barbour became chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1994, during his tenure as RNC chair, Republicans captured both houses of the United States Congress, taking the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years.[10][11] In 1997, Barbour retired from his position as Chairman of the RNC.

2003 campaign

Main article: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2003

After two decades in Washington, D.C., Barbour announced in 2003 his intention to run for governor of Mississippi. On August 5, 2003, he won the Republican gubernatorial primary over Canton trial attorney Mitch Tyner. Barbour's campaign manager was his nephew Henry Barbour.

During the campaign a controversy arose when Barbour chose to speak at the Blackhawk Rally, a fundraiser for the Blackhawk "council school" in Blackhawk, Mississippi. Such "council schools", also referred to in Mississippi lexicon as "academies", were established by the White Citizens' Council movement in reaction to the demands for racial integration by the American Civil Rights movement. The Blackhawk rally was hosted by the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). A photograph of Barbour with CCC members appeared on the CCC webpage, and some commentators and pundits demanded that Barbour ask for his picture to be removed from the site, but Barbour refused. [6] Barbour stated that "Once you start down the slippery slope of saying,'That person can't be for me,' then where do you stop?... I don't care who has my picture. My picture's in the public domain." Barbour's Democratic opponent, Governor Musgrove, declined to be critical, stating that he had also attended Blackhawk rallies in the past, and would have done so that year except for a scheduling conflict.[12] Historically, both Democrats and Republicans have participated in Blackhawk.

Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove in the general election on November 4, 2003, with 53 percent of the vote to Musgrove's 46 percent. Barbour became just the second Republican governor elected in Mississippi since Reconstruction, the first being Kirk Fordice.[13]

2007 re-election

See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2007

Barbour announced on February 8, 2007 that he would seek a second term as Governor of Mississippi. He announced the beginning of his re-election campaign at a series of meetings across the state on February 12, 2007. During his campaign, Barbour signed the Americans for Tax Reform "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed not to institute any new taxes or raise any existing ones.[14]

He defeated Frederick Jones in the Republican primary on August 7 and Democrat John Arthur Eaves, Jr. in the November general election.

Governor Barbour received four notable Democratic endorsements, including Xavier Bishop, Mike Espy, Brad Dye, and Bill Waller.[15] Bill Waller and Brad Dye are conservative Democrats who served as Governor and Lt. Governor of Mississippi. Xavier Bishop is a long-time Democratic activist and the Democratic Mayor of Moss Point. Mike Espy is a former Democratic Congressman from the 2nd District of Mississippi and served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton. He noted Governor Barbour's competency and character as reasons for his endorsement.[16]

Governorship

Haley Barbour with Condoleezza Rice and other Governors

Barbour took office in January 2004.

Barbour vs. The Partnership

Barbour's taxation policies have undergone scrutiny. The "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids" insinuated that Barbour's lobbying-era affinity with the tobacco industry may also explain his 2006 proposal to dismantle Mississippi's controversial youth-tobacco-prevention program, called The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.[17] The Partnership is a private, non-profit group which receives $20 million annually and is led by former Attorney General Mike Moore. Moore created the organization when he, representing the State of Mississippi, settled a multi-billion dollar suit with the tobacco industry. According to the suit, the funds were to offset the extra costs incurred by Medicaid while dealing with smoking related illnesses. Opponents have consistently claimed that Moore uses the organization to further his political ambitions. The Partnership regularly offers up huge grants to political organizations such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Many point to even more facts such as The Partnership not allowing a public audit which in turn permits the group to have no public accountability of its expenditures of state funds.[citation needed] In 2006, Judge Jaye Bradley, the same judge that awarded Moore the annual $20 million in 2000, vacated her previous decision. Bradley claimed she did not decide against The Partnership because of its inability to perform but because she believes that the state legislature is the only body that can legally decide how state funds can be delegated. Following the decision, Barbour stated that it says a lot about Judge Bradley “...that she is a strong enough person to have the gumption to vacate her own order. The only way for the state to spend state funding is for the Legislature to appropriate it through the legislative process."[18]　 After an appeal by Moore, Barbour went on to win a Mississippi Supreme Court battle that prevented the tobacco settlement moneys from funding the program, maintaining that is unconstitutional for a judge to award state proceeds to a private organization. Barbour's lawyer stated The Partnership was "the most blatant diversion of public funds to a private corporation in the history of the state of Mississippi" as The Partnership refuses to allow a state audit of its expenditures of the state's money.[19]

Hurricane Katrina response

See also: Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into Mississippi's coast, killing 231 people,[20] devastating the state's $2.7 billion-a-year casino industry and leaving tens of thousands homeless.[21] (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi). Barbour's response was characterized by a concerted effort at evacuation, tough-minded talk on looters and an unwillingness to blame the federal government.[22] His response was compared, favorably, to that of Rudy Giuliani in the wake of the September 11 attacks.[23][24]

Barbour credited the countless government workers who helped southern Mississippi cope with the hurricane. Barbour was praised by the coast's citizens as a strong leader who can communicate calmly to the public, and provide “a central decision-making point for when things get balled up or go sideways, which they do,” as Barbour says.[25]

While the reconstruction process doesn’t dictate how localities should rebuild, Barbour has touted New Urbanist principles in constructing more compact communities. “They have the chance to build some things very differently,” he says. “The goal is to build the coast back like it can be, rather than simply like it was.”[25]

The evacuation order was issued by local officials more than 24 hours before the hurricane hit, and Mississippi activated 750 National Guard troops as of August 29, the day of the hurricane.[26][27][28]

Other actions in office

Barbour has been praised for translating his lobbying skills into success at winning over a legislature dominated by Democrats. He has called several special legislative sessions to force an issue.[29][30]

When Barbour took office, the state of Mississippi had run a $709 million budget deficit for the 2004 fiscal year. With bipartisan support, and without raising taxes, Barbour implemented a plan called Operation: Streamline to cut the budget deficit in half.[31] He accomplished this largely by reducing spending on social services, most notably Medicaid; the 2005 budget drastically reduced coverage for 65,000 individuals classified as Poverty-Level Aged and Disabled (PLAD), most of whom qualified for the federal Medicare program, and also significantly limited prescription drug coverage. However, the same budget increased the percent of Medicaid prescriptions that are for generic drugs. In 2005, the state was budgeted to spend a total of $130 million less on Medicaid than in the previous year.[32][33] This trend continued in the state budget for the 2006 fiscal year. After a long special session, the legislature approved a budget that featured more social service cuts but also increased educational spending.[34] With tax revenues higher than expected during the 2006 fiscal year, due in large part to increased sales tax revenues in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the state achieved its first balanced budget in years.[35] In the 2008 fiscal year budget, for the first time since its enactment in 1997, the state fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.[36][37]

Building on a 2002 tort reform bill passed by his predecessor,[38] Barbour also introduced a new tort reform measure that has been described as one of the strictest in the nation.[25] Barbour rarely made a speech during his gubernatorial campaign without mentioning this subject and was able to convert political support into law, overcoming the resistance of House Democratic leaders, who argued that further legislation would disenfranchise people with legitimate complaints against corporations.[39][40] Barbour then embarked on a "tort tour" to encourage other states to follow Mississippi’s lead. "We’ve gone from being labeled as a judicial hellhole and the center of jackpot justice to a state that now has model legislation," says Charlie Ross (R), the chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee.[41]

Barbour strongly identifies as pro-life and has worked with Republicans and conservative Democrats to tighten abortion laws in Mississippi, including enacting parental consent laws and bans on late term abortions and state funding for elective abortions. Mississippi has one of the lowest abortion rates of any state in the United States.[42]

Recent activities

In April 2009 Barbour joined a conservative policy group to discuss Republican policies in town hall meetings. The group also includes former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Senator John McCain.[43]

In 2009 Barbour was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin.

On June 24, 2009, Barbour assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, succeeding South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. On October 29, 2009, Barbour endorsed Texas Governor Rick Perry for the Texas Republican gubernatorial nomination.[44]

On March 3, 2010, Barbour and his wife participated in events with First Lady Michelle Obama, promoting the Let's Move! anti-obesity campaign.

On April 11, 2010, during a CNN airing, the host Crowley asked if it had been insensitive for the Virginia Governor to omit mentioning slavery in a proposed recognition of Confederate History Month. Barbour replied, "To me, it's a sort of feeling that it's a nit, that it is not significant, that it's not a -- it's trying to make a big deal out of something doesn't amount to diddly".[45] Barbour continued on CNN, “I don’t know what you would say about slavery...but anybody that thinks that you have to explain to people that slavery is a bad thing, I think that goes without saying”.[46]

Criticisms

Barbour has been accused of personally profiting from Hurricane Katrina recovery.[47] Barbour is an owner of the parent company of lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers Inc., and he receives a pension and profit-sharing plan benefits from it.[47] The lobbying firm has lobbied the state to give recovery contracts to its clients.[47] Some of the proceeds of the firm's lobbying activities are deposited into Barbour's investment account.[47] According to Barbour's attorney, a blind trust executed in 2004 prevents Barbour knowing the composition of his investments in order to eliminate any conflicts of interest.[47]

Barbour has also received criticism from some Democrats for his refusal to approve a bill to increase the cigarette tax and decrease the grocery tax passed the state House of Representatives during his first term as governor. Mississippi currently has the third-lowest cigarette tax and the highest grocery tax—while being the poorest state in the country. Barbour stated that the lack of revenue generated after the tax swap would quite possibly result in bankrupting the state government which was already fragile due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The House of Representatives could produce no figures to dispute this assertion. Also, in his successful 2004 campaign, Barbour ran on the platform that he would veto any tax increase.[48] In May 2009, Governor Barbour followed the State Tax Commission's recommendation and signed into law the state's first increase since 1985, from 18 cents to 68 cents per pack. The tax is estimated to generate more than $113 million for the year that begins July 1, 2009.[49]

In September 2008, some Democrats accused Barbour of trying to influence the outcome of the 2008 Senate race by placing the candidates at the bottom of the ballot. Since Mississippi electoral law mandates the placing of federal elections at the top of the ballot, Barbour was ordered by a circuit court to comply with the ballot laws.[50]

In September 2010, Barbour stated "the people who led the change of parties in the South ... was my generation. My generation who went to integrated schools. I went to integrated college -- never thought twice about it."


Ethics group named Barbour one of America's worst governors

In its April 2010 report, the ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Barbour one of 11 "worst governors" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Barbours' term as governor.[51][52][53] Some of Barbour's ethics lapses cited by the watchdog include:

  • Allegedly laundered campaign contributions
  • Refused to accept federal stimulus funds to expand unemployment insurance
  • Used his position to enrich himself and his family members[54]

Future plans

Since he visited Iowa in 2009, there has been speculation that Barbour may run for president in 2012.[55] An advisor of Barbour stated, "When he surveys what most Republicans consider to be a weak field, he sees no reason he couldn’t easily beat them. He’s a better strategist and fundraiser than any other candidate currently considering running — and just as good on television and in debates..."[56]

Public image

Barbour maintains positive approval ratings in his state. A July 2010 Rasmussen Reports poll found that Haley has a 70% approval rating in Mississippi.[57]

21% of GOP voters would least like to see Barbour win the party nomination in 2012.[58][failed verification]

References

  1. ^ "Haley Barbour". The Washington Times. November 7, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-14. [dead link]
  2. ^ http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/barbour.html
  3. ^ USA Today Campaign 2004 Mississippi Governor Retrieved May 10, 2007
  4. ^ Dewan, Shaila. The New York Times http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/b/haley_barbour/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-04. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ Barbour, Griffith & Rodgers website
  6. ^ Time-Warner article on Barbour, Griffith & Rogers
  7. ^ Fortune magazine naming Barbour, Griffith & Rogers most powerful lobbying firm in America
  8. ^ Big Tobacco's 1997 Congressional Lobbying
  9. ^ "Top 25 Lobbying Shops Bring In $227.5 Million" RollCall, July 21, 2010
  10. ^ Wayne, Leslie (1997-07-25). "No Dice, Haley". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  11. ^ Wayne, Leslie (1997-07-27). "Democrats Get to Scrutinize G.O.P. Asian Connection". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  12. ^ Barbour won't ask CCC to take photo off Web site
  13. ^ List of Mississippi Governors: Definition and Links by Encyclopedian.com
  14. ^ 'No Tax' Pledge Signers Win in Mississippi and Kentucky - by John Skorburg - The Heartland Institute
  15. ^ MS-Gov: Haley Barbour Wins Endorsement of Prominent Dems | Redstate
  16. ^ "Text of Haley Barbour's Endorsement Ceremony". Y'All Politics. Jackson New Media. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  17. ^ Gov. Barbour’s Proposal Would Destroy One of Nation’s Best Tobacco Prevention Programs, Help Big Tobacco At the Expense of Mississippi’s Kids
  18. ^ No Moore Partnership?　June 8, 2006
  19. ^ Tobacco Wars
  20. ^ "Four Bodies Found Since Dec. 21; Katrina Death Toll Now 1,326". Archived from the original on 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  21. ^ Governor: Worse than Camille
  22. ^ Science Daily article on Barbour's reaction to Hurricane Katrina
  23. ^ WJLA.com article on Katrina reaction
  24. ^ Opinionjournal.com article on Katrina reaction
  25. ^ a b c "Steady in a Storm: Reassuring and rebuilding Mississippi after Katrina". Public Officials of the Year 2006. Congressional Quarterly. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  26. ^ Defenselink.mil report on National Guard activation
  27. ^ Homelandresponse.org report
  28. ^ Washington Post article on National Guard reaction
  29. ^ "Highlights of 2004 Legislative Session" (Press release). Mississippi House of Representatives Information Office. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  30. ^ "Highlights of 2005 Legislative Session" (Press release). Mississippi House of Representatives Information Office. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  31. ^ Kanengiser, Andy (2004-01-29). "Gov. calls for cost-cutting". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2007-07-16. [dead link]
  32. ^ Berry, Pamela (2004-03-04). "Medicaid bill goes to Senate". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2007-07-16. [dead link]
  33. ^ Dewan, Shaila (2005-07-02). "In Mississippi, Soaring Costs Force Deep Medicaid Cuts". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  34. ^ Pender, Geoff (2005-05-31). "Mississippi lawmakers pass $4.6 million (sic) state budget". The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi). Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  35. ^ "Highlights of 2006 Legislative Session" (Press release). Mississippi House of Representatives Information Office. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  36. ^ "A Win for Mississippi". Rural School and Community Trust. 2005-05-01. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  37. ^ "End of the 2007 Regular Legislative Session Reports" (Press release). Mississippi Department of Education. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  38. ^ Sawyer, Patrice (2002-12-04). "Gov. signs business tort reform bill". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  39. ^ Ladd, Donna; Stauffer, Todd (2004-07-25). "Face-Off: The Battle for 'Tort Reform'". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  40. ^ Ladd, Donna (2004-07-25). "Tort Reform: Myths and Realities". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  41. ^ Steady in a Storm: Reassuring and rebuilding Mississippi after Katrina
  42. ^ http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/mississippi.html
  43. ^ Associated Press (2009-04-30). "GOP launches policy group outside RNC". AP. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  44. ^ Associated Press (October 29, 2009). "Perry gets Barbour's endorsement". The Dallas Morning News.
  45. ^ Nill, Andrea (2010-04-11). "Mississippi Gov. Barbour Thinks Slavery Omission 'Doesn't Matter For Diddly'". Think Progress. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  46. ^ Robinson, Eugene (2008-09-12). "The Confederacy Isn't Something to Be Proud Of". Truth Dig. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  47. ^ a b c d e "Mississippi Governor Barbour Held Stock in Parent of Lobby Firm". Bloomberg L.P. 2008-08-29.
  48. ^ Nossiter, Adam (2007-03-07). "Powerful Governor Stands His Ground, Again, on Food Tax". The New York Times.
  49. ^ Mississippi: Barbour Signs Cigarette Tax. Associated Press. 13 May 2009.
  50. ^ Decio, Maria (2008-09-14). "Senate race one of the closest in U.S". The Sun Herald. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) [dead link]
  51. ^ (Press release). {{cite press release}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  52. ^ Vogel, Ed (2010-04-21). "Gibbons named on list of worst governors". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
  53. ^ "Scandals Land Gibbons On 'Worst Governors' List". KVVU-TV (Fox 5, Las Vegas). 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2010-05-05. {{cite news}}: |first2= missing |last2= (help); |first= has generic name (help); |first= missing |last= (help); Missing pipe in: |first2= (help); Missing pipe in: |first= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ "Crew's Worst Governors". Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved 2010-05-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  55. ^ "Barbour To Iowa". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  56. ^ The most powerful Republican in politics - Politico.com.
  57. ^ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_state_surveys/mississippi/70_in_mississippi_approve_of_job_barbour_is_doing_as_governor
  58. ^ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2012/palin_at_the_top_and_bottom_for_gop_voters_in_2012
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Mississippi
since January 13, 2004 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
none
 Republican nominee for United States Senator from Mississippi
(Class 1)
1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Republican National Committee
1993–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Mississippi
2003, 2007 		Succeeded by
most recent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States order of precedence
In Mississippi 		Succeeded by
Mayors of Mississippi cities (if present)
followed by Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Preceded by United States order of precedence
Outside Mississippi 		Succeeded by

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