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Subscribe to RSSIf he runs for president, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) would present a powerful contrast to President Obama.
While Obama is famously cool and wonkish, Barbour is a gregarious back-slapper; while Obama is tall and lean, Barbour is short and stocky; and while Obama campaigned as an outsider in '08, Barbour -- a former D.C. lobbyist and RNC chairman -- is the classic Washington insider.
The question, however, is whether the white Republican from Mississippi might be too much of a contrast to the nation's first African-American president. Because if he runs -- and if he's the GOP nominee -- race would be an obvious storyline.
And it's a storyline in the Weekly Standard's profile of Barbour.
In interviews Barbour doesn’t have much to say about growing up in the midst of the civil rights revolution. “I just don’t remember it as being that bad,” he said. “I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in ’62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white.”
Did you go? I asked.
“Sure, I was there with some of my friends.”
I asked him why he went out.
“We wanted to hear him speak.”
I asked what King had said that day.
“I don’t really remember. The truth is, we couldn’t hear very well. We were sort of out there on the periphery. We just sat on our cars, watching the girls, talking, doing what boys do. We paid more attention to the girls than to King.”
Liberal-leaning Talking Points Memo also catches Barbour praising Citizens Councils in Mississippi in the profile.
Both Mr. Mott and Mr. Kelly had told me that Yazoo City was perhaps the only municipality in Mississippi that managed to integrate the schools without violence. I asked Haley Barbour why he thought that was so.
“Because the business community wouldn’t stand for it,” he said. “You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you’d lose it. If you had a store, they’d see nobody shopped there. We didn’t have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City.”
While the Citizens Council movement denounced the Klan's violence, it was a group that protested desegregation policies after Brown v. Board of Education.
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That would be comprable to running a beached whale up against a panther! lmao!
Who doesn't love Boss Hog?
Feisty: Both comments made me smile. Funny indeed.
Haley Barbour has absolutely no chance of getting the nomination for POTUS. The fact that FR posts this story says it is a light newsday. In fact the news that he revealed a fondness for a white supremacist group torpedos any chance he had to run. He is reliving his childhood of he 1950's. Times have changed...and he was left behind.
Feisty
Who doesn't love Boss Hog?
Well, There is no comparison. Although President Obama was never a governor, at least he didn't do anything in the Illinois Senate to make Illinois one of America's poorest state, with 21 percent of residents living below the national poverty line poverty like Mississippi.
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/historyprofiles/p/mississippi.htm
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/12/poverty-in-mississip.html
That's funny, Feisty.
Barbour is a smart man and at least speaks in comprehensible sentences but I don't see him winning the nomination. He's too much like Newt Gingrich.
Barbour also skipped by the truth when he claimed there was no discrimination where he went to school. He's around my age so I know that he's painting a picture of wishful thinking rather than reality. On a trip to Arkansas when I was 13 or 14, I saw the "colored" and "white" signs, the discrimination, the separate everything and the poverty.
*crosses fingers*
I hope the GOP are that stupid.
Maybe have him and Palin on a ticket.
As usual....First Read = useless as a news source.
Joe- as ususal, can't tell a news source from a broadcast outlet that proclaims itself to be "the place for politics".
As far as Haley Barbour- why, when I hear or see him, VIckie Lawrence starts playing in my head....
"that's the night that the lights went out in Georgia..."?
When you speak of "Boss Hog" you need to equate Prez. Dude-in-Chief in this category. Lord knows he has created the PORK in the deficit.
Can't Chuckie Todd find something worthwhile to comment on? Geez, who knows the runners for the Republicans?
Whether Barbour could get the republican ticket or not is almost more up to the libs than it is the republicans. Our ridiculous primary system has a way of putting up the most defeatable republicans, not one who we actually want. I'd venture a guess that McCain was the bottom of the primary food chain for most true conservatives but by the time the primaries roll 'round to most of the red states the candidate is all but chosen and the real conservatives are long gone.
For me... It's the theme from Deliverance! lol Hell he could of been Ned Beatty's stand in... ;0)
Dueling banjo's anyone?
And Grimey, please don't be asking me who Ned Beatty is... lmao!
Moon-Pies and a couple or RC's, anyone?
Racist Fiesty, Racist!
Hey, is anyone old enough to remember a comic strip called 'they'll do it every time', and featured a big, old, fat, white guy named 'Senator Snort'? There's yer guy.
(and if you remember Marlin Perkins, I bet you remember this strip....("and a tip of the Hatlo-Hat to..")
Forget about the differences in personalities. One has to look at Barbour's state - it is a disaster - sickest people, largest number of people living below poverity, lowest education statistics, etc. The man who runs our country needs to rise above party politics - something Barbour and several of his friends refuse to do. Please fellow Americans - think before you act. We need leladers who are willing to lead - not just those who will only do what works for them and their party. Too much time has been wasted by the candidates of "No". Write your senators and demand that they pass start, fund the government and do whatever it takes to keep us moving forwarde. If they can't do that, then they should resign. Enough is Enough. And, unless Americans start telling these guys that nothing will change.
I wish, irene..., the voting public would've looked at the state the senator who ran in 2008 came from. That state was, and still is, a major disaster but somehow their representative was given a pass. Funny how you demand now that "the man who runs our country needs to rise above party politics..." when someone else comes into the picture but you feel fine about someone who is "willing to lead" but has demonstrated over and over that he just isn't capable of doing it.
I'm not advocating that you, or anyone else, should vote for Barbour, what I am advocating is, that you and others like you, shouldn't throw rocks since you sit in a very fragile glass house.
all i have to anybody should have to consider before they walk into a voting booth is this:
the country has historically done better in terms of debt, in terms of spending and in terms of jobs under democrats, according to numbers from the cbo and the dept. of labor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms
in addition, republicans have been on the wrong side of every major civil rights movement and they categorically oppose social programs that help maintain a middle class afloat.
and furthermore, before you claim that the blue states are broke, consider that red states are lagging behind in healthcare, education and infrastructure. furthermore, its the red states that are receiving welfare from the federal government, while the blue states are footing the bill.
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2010/02/17/federal-taxes-paidreceived-for-each-state/
All true, zaruski. Well said.
"While the Citizens Council movement denounced the Klan's violence, it was a group that protested desegregation policies after Brown v. Board of Education."
Either you get it or you don't. Barbour clearly doesn't. What can you say about a governor who diverts millions of dollars meant to rebuild hurricane-destroyed homes to port development in Mobile instead.
It's all about big business. The people are just a labor pool.
Feisty
The first comment is to portray Gov Barbour as a racist redneck
and
John
You echo the thought and then call him a panderer to corporate interests. Wasn't the money actually allocated to the state for infrastructure repair and didn't the money to rebuild the port actually saves 1000's of jobs.
Seems like Gov Barbour has s lower unemployment rate then some states, doesn't he?
First Read has no right to compare a white man who might be running for the presidency to a black
man who IS a failure in the presidency. This is the sort of thing that the Dems and their media indulge
in, in advance of elections and other such national events. FR is trying to set the agenda and the
symbolism in the black and white context. Let them go ahead. This is a predominantly capitalist ,
free market based country that has it roots deep in these economic principles, but it appears that
interlopers from the third world, dazzled by its riches are jealous of it, not comprehending that hard,
individual work and stamina with huge success in all or most of its economic realm, started out as
dreams to build a nest of prosperity not to build a nest of collective income distribution. These
interlopers want the easy way out. No, First Read, no interloper from outside whether he or she be
white or black will ever achieve such a status for Capitalist America. It has always failed. Barbour
represent such individual success, Obama represents the negative side of this disaster. The
unemployment problem is Obama's portrait of Progressive policies and he emerges from the belly of
the American Communist Party NOW known as the Democratic Party , which as we see now has
utterly failed America. Do I need to point out such failures? Okay, High Unemployment, a failed
Healthcare, broken promises, huge Tax and Spend, trillions down the drain and a host of others.
i dont think he is a racist. but his comments make it look like he really doesn,t care about minorities either.
juven - What rock did you crawl out from under with your distortion of the facts. It is funny though. I had a good laugh thinking there are actually people out there that believe the BS you just unraveled on this vine. You really couldn't be more wrong about President Obama. He's a product of just the kind of hard work and individual success that you rant about. I think you're just jealous. LOL!!
Robert in Ohio
Feisty
The first comment is to portray Gov Barbour as a racist redneck
Haley Barbour's Affection for the White Supremacist Citizens' Council
Haley Barbour gives these people credit for keeping things calm!
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/12/haley-barbours-affection-for-the-white-supremacist-citizens-council/
================================================
There's also a nice news paper clip there on the link, Robert, stating that the goal of the White Supremacist group was to maintain segregation.
You do realize that beached whales are not usually white and not all panthers are black, don't you? Apparently only liberal minds grasp the description of someone floundering versus the other who is quick and stealthy neither of which has anything to do with race.
Juven- chill.
Your uncle McCarthy has been trying to reach you from the 'other side'......
Equating Barbour to the Supremacist Citizens' Council? Really? What about good ole Robert Byrd, the Grand Poo-bah of the Clan? What a great man, huh?
Oh, that's right, according to former Prez. Billie bob, he was just doing what he had to do to get re-elected.
"Wasn't the money actually allocated to the state for infrastructure repair and didn't the money to rebuild the port actually saves 1000's of jobs."
Ummmm, no.
http://www.jacksonadvocateonline.com/?p=758
safecracker
"Equating Barbour to the Supremacist Citizens' Council? Really? What about good ole Robert Byrd, the Grand Poo-bah of the Clan? What a great man, huh?"
Pretty predictable, huh. Say something about one person, and a rightie wants to turn it toward somone else, who is not part of the story.....
Just fulfilling the lefty-movement drive by, just going lefty.
Robert in Ohio
NO. Mississippi has 9.9% unemployment, tenth worst out of 51.
safecracker
"Just fulfilling the lefty-movement drive by, just going lefty."
"I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?? Wha....??
Don't know what you are, but I hope you find yourself.......My retort to the original comment was answered as a lefty would respond - twist the content to spin a truth.
Juven.... The current President, President Obama is not a failure. He is still cleaning up the crap from Bush/Cheney and not doing a bad job - considering he has had the "we will make sure he fails" Republicans to fight from day one. Nice try to blame it on Obama but anyone with a brain knows it isn't true.
I love Mississippi because it's home. But I am constantly trying to understand why, in this day and time, we continue to sit on the bottom of everything good, and on top of everything bad. I begin to look at state politicians and others who tout Mississippi as a wonderful state. It may be for them, because the system works in their favor. But for us who wants more out of life such as our kids not just having a proper education, but one that will propel them to infinite heights, and industry that will put that education to use with comparable pay. Our interstate system lacks ingenuity of those of surrounding states, bar none, and that is only one thing that shows that there's no forethought or effort of ever being a progressive and innovative state. Yes Nissan is here and Toyota is on their way, but it isn't enough. And that development happened many years after Louisiana and even Alabama.
With the disparity of income and the cost of living, It feels to some of us that we've always been in a continuous recession. But what holds all that is wrong with Mississippi can be found in it's flag. The history it represents, the logic for keeping it, and the people who stand for it is why Governor Barbour should never be President Barbour. He represents that flag and all the torment it represents. He speaks of good white heritage when it comes to the flag, and that they shouldn't have their rights infringed upon because of a few that doesn't like it, but the dark wretched inhumane events that were celebrated under it, to him, "it was not that bad." The Mississippi he sees as wonderful, will never be anything but Miz-sip-ii. What proves he's worthy of being President?
I don't think of a hard worker when I think of Gov. Barbour. Back slappers rarely are. I just want a President who is going to govern on behalf of our Nation. I can't get everything I want. But when I do, it's spectacular.
Keep up the hard work Obama Administration. And thanks especially for the hard work you are insisting our Congress do. It's been a while. These accomplishments listed below are not insignificant. It has been a very very productive two years in DC. Thank you!
http://blackwaterdog.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/1506/
1. Create an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes.
2. Increase minority access to capital.
3. Require economic justification for tax changes.
4. Implement “Women Owned Business” contracting program.
5. Change standards for determining broadband access.
6. Establish a credit card bill of rights.
7. Expand loan programs for small businesses.
8. Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
9. Close the “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug plan.
10. Expand the Senior Corps volunteer program.
11. Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.
12. Give tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums.
13. Require large employers to contribute to a national health plan.
14. Require children to have health insurance coverage.
15. Expand eligibility for Medicaid.
16. Expand eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).
17. Require health plans to disclose how much of the premium goes to patient care.
18. Establish an independent health institute to provide accurate and objective information.
19. In non-competitive markets, force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care.
20. Eliminate the higher subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans.
21. Expand funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.
22. Increase funding to expand community based prevention programs.
23. Reinstate executive order to hire an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities within five years.
24. Increase the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals.
25. Fully fund the Veterans Administration.
26. Assure that the Veterans Administration budget is prepared as ‘must-pass’ legislation.
27. Expand the Veterans Administration’s number of “centers of excellence” in specialty care.
28. Appoint a special adviser to the president on violence against women.
29. Fully fund the Violence Against Women Act.
30. Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq.
31. Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq.
32. No permanent bases in Iraq.
33. Send at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan.
34. Strengthen and expand military exchange programs with other countries.
35. Make greater investment in advanced military air technology.
36. End the abuse of supplemental budgets for war.
37. Make U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional on anti-terror efforts.
38. Give a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration.
39. Allocate Homeland Security funding according to risk.
40. Create a real National Infrastructure Protection Plan.
41. Increase funding for local emergency planning.
42. Stand down nuclear forces to be reduced under the Moscow Treaty.
43. Appoint a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security.
44. Initiate a grant and training program for law enforcement to deter cyber crime.
45. Improve relations with Turkey, and its relations with Iraqi Kurds.
46. Launch an international Add Value to Agriculture Initiative (AVTA).
47. Create a rapid response fund for emerging democracies.
48. Grant Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba.
49. Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.
50. Establish an Energy Partnership for the Americas.
51. Expand the Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers.
52. Release presidential records.
53. Require new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
54. Provide affordable, high-quality child care.
55. Recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession.
56. Reduce subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers.
57. Encourage water-conservation efforts in the West.
58. Increase funding for national parks and forests.
59. Increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
60. Expand Pell grants for low-income students.
61. Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires.
62. Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.
63. Restore funding to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
64. Reform mandatory minimum sentences.
65. Fully fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
66. Establish ‘Promise Neighborhoods’ for areas of concentrated poverty.
67. Create an artist corps for schools.
68. Add another Space Shuttle flight.
69. Increase spending to prepare for longer space missions.
70. Establish school programs to highlight space and science achievements.
71. Establish special crime programs for the New Orleans area.
72. Rebuild schools in New Orleans.
73. Fund a major expansion of AmeriCorps.
74. Appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer.
75. Provide grants to early-career researchers.
76. Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear.
77. Create a national declassification center.
78. Create new financial regulations.
79. Increase funding for land-grant colleges.
80. Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees.
81. Sign health care bill into law by the end of the first term.
82. Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud.
83. Raise fuel economy standards.
84. Invest in all types of alternative energy.
85. Enact tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.
86. Create a ‘Green Vet Initiative’ to promote environmental jobs for veterans.
87. Create job training programs for clean technologies.
88. Require states to provide incentives for utilities to reduce energy consumption.
89. Invest in public transportation.
90. Equalize tax breaks for driving and public transit.
91. Double federal spending for research on clean fuels.
92. Increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency.
93. Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
94. Reverse restrictions on stem cell research.
95. End Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Wow! Pat, that is quite a list you have there. BTW, congratulations on those Patriots in the victory over the Packers.
I think you missed one buddy...
Kick Obama out of office...
Hi Ron, this list isn't mine. I cut and pasted it from BlackwaterDog's website. Her site is quite a contrast from all the immaturity going on on the left. I'm like her - I see the positives in this Administration, of which there are many. The negatives? More than enough people are willing to quote them on an hourly basis. Each day it's something different. But it's a small minority. People without any agenda can see the good. People with an agenda? No.
Evidently the latest from the the left (his base-lol) is that President Obama had nothing to do with DADT passing. All the credit goes to Congress they say. So evidently they believe President McCain would have passed it with THIS Congress. Makes.zero.sense.
The Patriots? Yikes. Lol.
Captain: By all means, vote him out. Who's next? Romney? Palin? Bloomberg? Who wants a wonk as a President? It's so - what's the word? Uninspiring? Meanwhile, he'll keep working. He's not someone who gives up because he doesn't get all he wants.
So, go for it.
What a great list, Pat from Boston! It's too bad the conservatives aren't able to read it
forrestoak, Bush did that. Remember Iraq? Short memory.
bankrupting the US? Were you asleep when Bush was doubling the size of our national debt? When Bush got us into the worst economic crisis since the depression? Do you even have a clue that if Obama didn't spend a ton of money stimulating the economy, we would be in a very deep depression right now?
Wow. Evidently someone saw the photos and such that BWD was posting & went ahead and made a video of them.
Two years. This is the man we elected. And this is the President we got -
Wow.
http://blackwaterdog.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/if-one-voice-can-change-a-room/
And republicans claim President Obama has done nothing!
Forrestoak. Spin won't work, President Obama inherited a bankrupt country thanks to Bush 43 and his GOP helpers!
Oh, don't you worry, we acknowledge that Obama's done plenty. Where we differ is on whether that is good or bad for the country.
And on the seventh day he rested. And unemployment was 9.8%. Great list Pat. Where's the one where he pulled the neighbor's cat out of the tree?
Pat- An impressive list to be sure. ESPECIALLY when you consider all the roadblocks tossed in his way every step of the way.
Yep- I think I know who has the power to be re-elected in two more years. Tough noogies, Righties.
ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA
As the Senate prepares to vote on the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ OFA volunteers have done everything in their power to tip the balance. Tens of thousands of committed supporters have directed their energy toward calling their senators, and hundreds of thousands have added their name to urge the repeal of this discriminatory law.
Newly-elected Republican Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois is among those senators who, over the past few weeks, have suggested that he may be open to supporting repeal. In an effort to advance those ends, OFA volunteers yesterday delivered to Sen. Kirk’s Washington office 28,000 petition signatures from Illinois residents urging his support for repealing DADT. According to Huffington Post:
Pat, on OfA, I know you believe the story- but I do not.
In 2009, they could not even get up a decent showing for a blood drive. It was supposed to take place over the Fourth of July weekend, and serve the dual purpose of filling the blood banks, and showing the level of support for HCR.
It flopped.
So, I do believe that you believe it, but I would do a little more investigating, if I were you.
By the way, I am sure you know how glad I am that DADT has been repealed. Now, let's get it implemented!
Pat, Boston, MA
While he voted against a DADT repeal in the House last May, he had previously had a strong record on gay rights, voting to ban job discrimination on the basis of orientation
I noticed that Pat. Here's hoping he flips again...
He also voted to obstruct a bill that would provide medical care to 9/11 rescue workers who became ill after inhaling toxic fumes and smoke maneuvering around Ground Zero. (TheNew York Times called it "one of the most shameful days in the modern history of the Senate.") Here's his rationale, via WBEZ:
http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/content/2010/12/10/sen-kirk-joins-gop-filibuster-brigade
Yes a very good list indeed, but one that will get no action by any republicrap in office. As for Mr Barbour, this clown is so far from any OTHER political office that it is laughable. A Governor that exudes racism, a back slapper with "sugar plums" in his eyes because "he has paid his dews" doing the hard work of lying to his state and anyone else he encounters. Such a great state to govern, Mississippi, a very good state with exceptionally warm and generous people that have been hijacked by manipulators and a "Governor" that has allowed "his" state to be the worst state in the union in so many categories that I do not have the space to list them all. Haley Barbour is a loser, he has no chance of anything but demanding graft and praise, HE WILL GET NONE HERE!
Add up those 95 points and the bottom line is a huge increase in government involvement in our lives which is precisely the problem that those of you that think these are accomplishments do not understand. The very same 95 points you call accomplishments I call a failure.
Pat - good list - great post!!!
words - no doubt you would. Without the spending we would have spiraled into a devastating depression but, I'm sure that would be just fine with you.
"Add up those 95 points and the bottom line is a huge increase in government involvement in our lives which is precisely the problem that those of you that think these are accomplishments do not understand. The very same 95 points you call accomplishments I call a failure."
No surprise there. We're quite used to the fact that the right will generally say the sky is red if we should say that the sky is blue. They are not able to understand that consumer protections can be good for us, patient's bill of rights could be good for us, etc. They are unable to see that most of what has been accomplished is intended to protect ordinary people from the greed and corruption that is rampant in corporations and how they tend to deal with ordinary people. Perhaps they enjoy getting steamrollered by those with the power to do so? No, they are too paranoid and fearful that the government is going to do that because they have no real faith in our constitution and the protections that are afforded to us by it. So, I'll say it again, the sky is blue and things are looking up.
Pat,
Essentially what you are saying is that the current administration has added layers of federal governmental intrusion, expanded the cost of running said federal government and tried its best to implement wholesale wealth redistribution.
The main flaw in your thinking, and that of your brethren, is that you seem to believe the aforementioned programs are good for all; in all actuality they are not. Many of the items you cite are a component of a zero some equation. If you give to one you must take away from another. While you may think it is laudable to take from those who actually work and/or earn, there are many that would tend to disagree.
Wouldn't it be better to develop a system whereby merit is rewarded and wealth is truly created rather than just redistributing said existing wealth based on some arbitrary definition of 'fair'? As well, rather than deigning or anointing special classes of people that should get special governmental treatment and benefits, how about a system whereby equal access is granted to all that earn the privilege of opportunity?
Ah, but wealth is already being redistributed...from the middle class to the top 2% at an unprecedented rate.
And btw, the economy is NOT a zero sum game. The more people who are actually CONSUMERS in the market, the bigger the market becomes through multiplier effect of those wages. When fewer and fewer people have money to participate beyond buying essentials and more of the money is tied up by people who just put it in the bank (especially in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands) that slows the economy. That's where we are now.
John,
I never stated that the economy as a whole is a 'zero sum game'. however, the federal budget at any given moment is. further, my intent, as flesh out by my choice of words, "Many of the items you cite are a component of a zero some equation.", is that many of the individual items listed are.
As an example I would cite item #2; there is a finite amount of investment capital at any given time, by creating set asides for minorities the capital must be withheld or taken from others. Those others, in fact, might even have a better use for that capital thereby creating greater benefit for society as a whole. Rather than the government intervening why not let the capital flow to where it wants? Generally the better ideas come with the least encumbered flow of capital.
If you consider earning a form of redistribution then maybe the top 2% are benefiting from redistribution; however anybody and everybody has the opportunity to earn their way into the top 2%. There is no governmental body that get to declare who is and isn't eligible.
Beyond that I must question what your perception of what constitutes the 2%. So many conjure up images of 'Daddy Warbucks' riding around in the back of a limo puffing away at a cigar and yet they are sadly mistaken. With the top 2% bracket being between 230,000 and $250,000 per year there are many who only live a 'middle class' existence on that kind of income. I would suggest you examine the demographics of many metropolitan regions and see what the pay scales and costs of living really are.
In NYC for example a teacher with 20 years of experience make above 100K. Hypothetically let us assume she is married to a 20 year veteran of the NYC police dept; with his overtime he can reasonably earn $135K thereby putting their income withing the 'top 2%'. Do you see them fitting within your concept of this ethereal 2%?
I realize that many would fear a meritocracy but all the current administration's wealth redistribution plans do is creates mediocrity.
nny, investment capital isn't even an issue at this point. Financial institutions and other businesses are sitting on TWO TRILLION DOLLARS of unused capital. It's lack of demand causing our problems. After 30 years of stagnant income the middle class can no longer afford to be the engine of the economy it once was.
As far as that 2% proportion of the economy, it's how the tax code is set up so it's a convenient benchmark. A far question would seem to be, however, that if the top 2% in income isn't rich then where do you set that bar? The top 1%? The vast bulk of all games in the top tax bracket have been in that top 1%, so I'll take that game.
Incidentally, in 1999 the median household income in NYC was $43,393. Hardly a top 2% wage. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651000.html The pay range of school teachers in the state of New York is $43K-$95K. http://www.teachersalaryinfo.com/average-teacher-salary-new-york.html Undoubtedly the best paying jobs for teachers in New York will be in the city, but your example is seriously skewed toward the story you want to tell.
I do believe in a meritocracy. I'm paid more than my employees for a reason. It's a deck that's deliberately stacked in favor of those who need it least that I'm against.
" "
100 % the truth this administration has been on point, getting thing done, Making the racist John McCain, John Baehner and Mitch McConnell look like the azz hole there are
Todays Headlines and Why Is Frist Read Promoting This Guy?
Is This Really “Responsible” Reporting Knowing The Interview The Gov Had yesterday that is making headlines today?
The American People Deserve More Than A Ratings Bonanza! You Are Dealing With American Lives!
Republican Presidential Candidate
Governor Haley Barbour Praises Segregationist Citizens Counsel Movement
Barbour Praises Civil Rights-Era White Supremacist Citizens Councils
Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), a potential Republican presidential candidate, has an interesting perspective on the tumults of the civil rights era that swept through his Deep South state.
As Barbour recalls it in a new profile in The Weekly Standard, things weren't so bad in his hometown of Yazoo City, which took until 1970 to integrate its schools (though the final event itself is said to have gone on peacefully).
For example, Barbour says that there was no problem of Ku Klux Klan activity in the town -- thanks to the Citizens Council movement, an organization that was founded on the basis of resistance to integration and the promotion of white supremacy.
"You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK," said Barbour. "Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders.
In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you'd lose it.
If you had a store, they'd see nobody shopped there. We didn't have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City."
The White Citizens Council movement was founded in Mississippi in 1954, shortly after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregated public schools, and was dedicated to political activities opposing civil rights -- notably boycotts of pro-civil rights individuals in Barbour's hometown, as opposed to Barbour's recollection of actions against the Klan.
It was distinguished from the Klan by the public self-identification of its members, and its image of suits and ties as opposed to white robes and nooses.
What's more, Barbour says, he himself once went to see a speech by Martin Luther King in 1962 -- though he and his friends were paying more attention to the girls.
In interviews Barbour doesn't have much to say about growing up in the midst of the civil rights revolution. "I just don't remember it as being that bad," he said. "I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in '62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white."
Did you go? I asked.
"Sure, I was there with some of my friends."
I asked him why he went out.
"We wanted to hear him speak."
I asked what King had said that day.
"I don't really remember. The truth is, we couldn't hear very well. We were sort of out there on the periphery. We just sat on our cars, watching the girls, talking, doing what boys do. We paid more attention to the girls than to King
June, Fl
It seems like you and I are on the same page. Here's another one.
Miss. gov says Confederacy flap not worth 'diddly'
Barbour said he was not aware of any complaints that the holiday was offensive.
"I don't really see what to say about slavery, but anybody that thinks that you have to explain to some people that slavery is a bad thing, I think that goes without saying," Barbour said.
http://www.thegrio.com/politics/miss-gov-says-confederacy-flap-not-worth-diddly.php
Why Haley Barbour Defends the Citizens Councils---- http://www.slate.com/BLOGS/blogs/weigel/archive/2010/12/20/Why-Haley-Barbour-Defends-the-Citizens-Councils.aspx
Politicians' Links to the Council of Conservative Citizens http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/fall/communing-with-the-council# Nuff Said!!
92. Increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Giving more money to the EPA to fabricate "studies" to support more government take over of our economy is an "accomplishment?"
Curious...
Everyone claims to be an expert on Global Warming / Climate Change but on any other scientific question we correctly claim that we don't know.
Curious...
http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Science-shouldn-t-be-clouded-by-politics-908566.php
Have you ever read an MSDS or been exposed to toxic materials? Yes, the right says get rid of the EPA, that way we can all work in jobs where cancer or lung disease causing substances require no protection for workers. This takes care of two other problems, we will eliminate the need for medicaid and social security since we'll all die young anyway. The right wing sure uses logic.
93. Lethis dog pee on a *gasp* BUSH!
Madison?? Are you saying the EPA has been fabricating studies under Pres. Obama , Bush, Clinton, Bush and Reagan???? And all those Presidents, not to mention the whistle blowers, have never been ABLE TO CATCH THEM??? LMAO!!! Somebody is gonna send a black communist to your house to hide under your bed!!! The Republican party is FUJLL of people like you who deny science in favor of politics!!
The only statements PROVEN to have been faked were the ones claiming the air at Ground Zero was fit to breathe. Now THOUSANDS of first responders are suffering respiratory problems, but as far as Conservatives are concerned that's their problem. Tax breaks for foreign corporations are more important.
Hello out there. All other issues aside, take a look at what Haley Barbour has done for the economy in the State of Mississippi as compared to his liberal predecessor. Also, take a look at Katrina. The damage in Mississippi makes that in New Orleans look like a simple thunderstorm. He was at the forefront to get Mississippi back running. Among the GOP hopefuls, he's the best. You can't hide from that. Heck, Obama is becoming more conservative day by day. Besides, he doesn't stand a snowballs chance down under of getting re-elected.
Dream on, jspe
jspe
Hello out there. All other issues aside, take a look at what Haley Barbour has done for the economy in the State of Mississippi as compared to his liberal predecessor. Also, take a look at Katrina. The damage in Mississippi makes that in New Orleans look like a simple thunderstorm.
The last I heard Mississippi was the second at the bottom of the list in poverty.
He was at the forefront to get Mississippi back running. Among the GOP hopefuls, he's the best. You can't hide from that. Heck, Obama is becoming more conservative day by day. Besides, he doesn't stand a snowballs chance down under of getting re-elected.
President Obama has done more for America in 2 yrs than any GOP HAS DONE SINCE FDR.
GOPers do nothing for the people unless they are rich and will be benefactors for them.
Barnours "liberal predecessor"??????????
jspe-in your dreams!
This is said from a typical white perspective. It all depends on where you are on the hill when sh*t starts rolling down. Whenever you think about civil rights and that era you really have to place yourself in the people who were oppressed shoes. Barbour doesnt do that. And he is correct it just wasn't that bad for him.
A Fat Bigot from Mississippi. Not much contrast!!!!
Classy Chuck. Tell me did you bother to brush your teeth today?
Yea and Verrily you speak the truth, Chuck. Toothbrushing or not.
Kevin, Bigot's don't deserve class! Why is it today Bigot shy away from admitting what they are??? I remember years ago Bigot primarily in the South were proud to be racist and bigot's. Now they want to call themselves Conservatives and all these other nice terms. I try to call them like I see em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Pat. Way too much bitching about Obama from the left. We on the left need to tell everyone about the accomplishments (see above list) of this administration, and then think how scary things would be if the Repubs (Party of NO) were still in charge
Here's a contrast I'm sure he doesn't want to see promoted: Barbour, former KKK; Obama, black man.
I would seriously question anyone NOT from MS and surrounding states who supported him.
Feisty, Beverly, et al... You folks are such exciting reads. Same old, same old day after day. Being a liberal progressive is so, so boring isn't it?! Which conservative should we pounce on today? Thank God that you're in the minority albeit a loud, noisy and so boring one!
I think the Party of No would be boring.....no this and no that and then go back to doing nothing! That's the world of Party of No.
jogger70
Feisty, Beverly, et al... You folks are such exciting reads. Same old, same old day after day. Being a liberal progressive is so, so boring isn't it?! Which conservative should we pounce on today? Thank God that you're in the minority albeit a loud, noisy and so boring one!
That would be you, jogger, simply because the predicate of your subject is in disagreement.
What do you expect from this circle jerk of a liberal crowd. They have miserable lives with unimportant jobs while just laying around waiting for the next entitlement. The only one missing today is retired and injured Navy someone or other. It's a real eclectic group of people that contribute so much to our society.
....speaking of keepiong it classy...
Speaking of not knowing how to spell...................every post.
So I can't type. Call a cop.
BarBour is a good old boy ...he doesn't have a chance...the people are wise to the religious cult members to ... The 1958 thinking in 2010..hes a another McCain /McConnell....its just a bad choice for America
***************** Hillary 2012 Join US write her in !!!!!*****************
Hillary will be a good candidate against obama. She would get the nomination, but lose to a good GOP candidate not affiliated with the ruling GOP elite. Billie Bob would be fun to see inthe WH though. He could be in charge of Intern Relationships.
Why these stupid items on who will run? Too early.....heck, we still have the lame-duckers in charge. Keep the boys and girls in session over the holidays Harry!
Sounds as if Fiesty and Beverly from Chicago are being a bit racist about a gentleman from the South, over a news article from somone with nothing else to write about.
Don't forget those other southern gents: Clinton and Byrd.
safecracker
Equating Barbour to the Supremacist Citizens' Council? Really? What about good ole Robert Byrd, the Grand Poo-bah of the Clan? What a great man, huh?
Always bringing up Byrd but always forgetting to mention how Mr Byrd publicly admitted the error of his ways and genuinely revealed his change of heart and soul with legislation. Whats has Barbour done except to pay the usual Republican non-answer lip service to his devouted shallow minded followers.
Now Frank you should know by now they never let a fact get in the way of one of their rants... ;0)
Interesting that someone who has cracker as part of their identity is sooo touchy when it comes to race...
It only took him thirty or so years to get around to it.
WOW...I didn't realize regret & forgiveness had an expiration date!
Who EVER would of guessed? lmao
Safecracker is an issue Fiesty? It is not a reference to being southron, just a profession. But then again, you must get your little narrow minded slur into conversation with anyone who disagrees with you.
Easy, there safecracker. Y' gonna bring out the spelling police.
Frank H. Typical right wing half truth!
FRank H........ I almost forgot this:
“He wasn’t a Klansman long enough to get his sheet broke in,” said Travis Pierce, national membership director for the Ku Klux Klan, LLC, one of several groups that uses the KKK name. “It’s much ado about nothing.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/01/kkk-defends-the-late-sen-robert-byrd-he-wasnt-a-klansman-long-enough-to-get-his-sheet-broke-in/#ixzz18rKDWyuz
Yet ANOTHER right wing lie busted!!!!!
Now why would the Tea Party dominated Republican Party nominate a former DC lobbyist and Republican Party big-wig when they're all about the little people grass roots all-american amateur politicans like Sarah Palin? Wow...That's the choices they have?...Gosh...Obama chances look a little better...
I am prejudiced, I think HB should should have to use a double instead of a twin bed sheet.
Barlow-1919963
I am prejudiced, I think HB should should have to use a double instead of a twin bed sheet.
Me too; I'd prefer him laying on a bed of hay in a barn eating Hot Pockets and Twinkies. And his fat @ss bathes in the Potomac River since a bath tub probably won't accommodate him.
Haley rewrote US History and we believe it as he says there were no slaves and blacks came to the US by way of Ellis Island and had all the rights every American had. He said he was born and raised in old Miss. and never saw racism or discrimination but does remember Dr. King visiting. Haley loves minorities and feel they should vote for him as the next President. Wow keekp them dumb and they will follow. Looks like Sarah has company. I saw a man hanging froma tree while visiting Miss. as people enjoyed a picnic around the hanging man who looked somewhat gray is scary. But all those deaths and means nothing as we were in the Twilight Zone. Racism are so good they lie so well many really believe them. Just think the more uneducated Americans we have the more Haley's story will be real. At lease Rand Paul has the right idea by ending the Department of Education and all Federal Programs and no more money to stop drugs.
What a load of manure! I LIVED in Yazoo City. The schools are still for the most part separated. Why? Cause all the white folks send their kids to a private school a mile down the road from the public. Just drive by the public schools in Yazoo City, then go by the private one and tell me to MY FACE that they are integrated over there cause I'll laugh in yours.
The first thing I would want to ask Barbour is why are there defacto segregated schools in his state! A few months ago, a federal judge ordered a school district in MS to STOP IT!
Barbour is the guy who took a million dollars from the Saudi Prince, who is an Islamic Extremists, and now your telling me he is considered running for the Presidency?? Wow, I had better get fitted for my Burka!! I guess you can fool some of the people all of the time!!
Haley Barbour is Mississippi governor who redirected $65 million in funds earmarked to rebuild low-income housing after Katrina - with the approval of 43 - to build a casino. If you are keeping score, that is BIG BUSINESS 1, American citizens 0.
Does anybody know what happened to those thousands of displaced Americans? Which bridge are they living under today? Or did the ex-RNC Chairman have them bused somewhere else, a place that puts people first and profits last?
Just wondering. How do republicans dispose of all those inconvenient poor people?
To answer your last question....They Can't!!! The rich get richer & poor get poorer!!! The NAZI GOP party will NOT be happy untill people are fighting in the streets for food!!! Then WILL blame it on the Democracts!!! JUST WAIT AND SEE!!!!
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And furthermore:
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I really mean that.
Some contrast. One's white, one's black, but they're both republicans.
He's an overfed, right wing oink-er, who is dumber, more racist, and more ignorant than Palin.(I can't believe I just wrote that compliment to Fat Albert Barbour ). Talk about a heartbeat away from the presidency? If he gets the nomination, and wins the Presidency, pray for the nation that he doesn't pick Caribou Barbie. If that scenario happens, then just pull the chain and flush America down the drain. The flow will run to China. We don't need the southeast anyway for this country to be successful.