They'd screw us over more competently, that's what. Be careful what you wish for...

"Delbert Hosemann"

"The state attorney general's office explained that this is illegal, but Barbour didn't care."

illegal....smillegal. the repukes don't care about illegal. it's all about whether it's right for the party!

orange

I wonder what would happen if Republicans spent half the energy on governing and creating an effective policy agenda as they did disenfranchisement and ballot games.

1) That would subvert the whole "government is bad" meme.

2) Most of them don't know how.

Amen.

Look what's happening in WI with current Repub. JB Van Hollen's attempts to purge the voting rolls--wants to file suit 6 weeks before election.

See http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/09/19/van_hollen_could_be_.php

He's obviously in cahoots with Republican political hacks. Makes me believe there really is a vast right-wing conspiracy...

Laws are for the "little people." It just goes to prove the old adage - repubs know how to win election but they don't know how to govern.

I'm here in MS - let me tell you this was twenty different kinds of stupid.

If anyone is interested in the various flavors of stupidity this thing dredged up, read the reader comments on the story here in the local press: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880918052

Near? Sounds like there's wiggle room. Hell, 6 inches is "near" isn't it? Guy stands 6 inches away from you he's pretty damned near to you. Where would that put it on the ballot?

"I wonder what would happen if Republicans spent half the energy on governing and creating an effective policy agenda as they did disenfranchisement and ballot games."

They'd all get booted out of office once voters saw what they really wanted to do. Incompetence and corruption can be ignored by the faithful, but once people saw the impact of their rhetoric, the Republican Party would die. Even as it is, they're terribly unpopular for even trying to fulfill their agenda.

Conservativism dies a little each time they put the rubber to the road. Were they to really go through with it, even Reagan's ghost couldn't resurrect it. And their leaders know that better than anyone.

Funny thing about those repukes, They claim that govurmnt is bad, bad, bad....but they are wiling to lie, cheat, steal, ad nauseum to become the guvment that they so despise. Such self-hatred is pathological. No wonder when they are in charge the rest of us suffer so (projection and sublimation anyone?). How often do the repukes actually make govment smaller, more efficient, transparent, and fiscally responsible? They run as conservatives on a platform totally divorced from reality, another sign of pathology. So that's it then, repukes are, generally, mentally ill. That explains a lot.

It would be a lot more honest of them to simply say here's what we stand for but if they did that they'd never get elected. So, by nature they are constantly scheming to cover up their real intentions. It probably never crossed their minds that in the long run people, I mean even stupid people, would figure it out for themselves. But hey, we still have November coming up so I might be entirely wrong on this one.

This requires more attention- according to Kos- the S.Ct. of MISS essentially suggested that the ballot ought to be changed but that they did not have any authority to enforce the law enacted by the legislature. Think about it. Is this Southern jurisprudence? Where the executive is essentailly a dictator, who, at his or her own volition, may decide to comply or not to comply with the wishes of the legilature or the courts? Is this how Huey Long become so powerful in LA? Is the Deep South in the business of electing mini-dictators? Where are the Feds in all of this? Let me repeat: the Court did not order Barbour to change the ballot. He probably felt it was the better political course at this time, but in other situations?

"Mr. Davis previously was head of the Homeownership Alliance, a coalition of banks and housing industry interests led by Fannie and Freddie to stave off regulations."

"while his campaign manager, Rick Davis, lobbied to help Fannie and Freddie steer clear of additional federal regulations (which, obviously, would have been pretty helpful in retrospect)."

McSHAME has no SHAME! He's saying that Obama
didn't back his bill on F&F, and yet, his
campaign manager was ALSO on the other side of McSHAME.

This is pot calling kettle black, except that each side of the equation is the SAME POT!

The majority of the SC but not unanimously?

Why do I feel that there are corrupt judges on that SC? Yeah, more GOP judges "legislating from the bench."

How reptilianly republican.

Happy day, Barbour "decided" to follow the law on the ballot--must be he's convinced they can Diebold the election so it won't matter. Makes me proud of my country to know that governors/presidents/candidates can decide whether or not it's convenient to follow the law or obey a subpoena.

I wonder what would happen if Republicans spent half the energy on governing and creating an effective policy agenda as they did on disenfranchisement and ballot games.

Modern GOP theory, clearly, sees gaining power as not as a means to an end, but as the end in and of itself.

Mayberry Machiavellis, anyone?

-Z

As a Mississippian, let me say how shocked and surprised I am by Haley "Boss Hogg" Barbour backing down on this. The reason the Court decision was not unanimous was not that conservatives voted to support Barbour's position but that the liberal justices didn't think the opinion went far enough. The actual holding of the opinion was that Barbour was required by law to put the senatorial race at the top of the ballot but that the Mississippi Judiciary had no power to order him to do so prior to the election and could only rule on the legality of the decision after the vote. I fully expected Barbour to seize on this language, keep the ballot as it was, and let the Democrats sue him after it was too late to do any good.

"...I wonder what would happen...".
You mean actually have a political party that was interested in governing?
Silly Steve, governing is for kids!

Ticket placement, schmicket placement. They got some real sh!t for yo a$$ come election day!