Haley Barbour
Encyclopedia
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American
Republican
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. Under Mississippi's term limits, Barbour cannot seek reelection in 2011.
Before being elected Governor, Barbour "had a long career on the national stage and has been well-known as a Republican operative since the Reagan
years." He 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.
, where he was raised as the youngest of three sons of Grace LeFlore (née Johnson) and Jeptha Fowlkes Barbour, Jr. Barbour is a descendant of Walter Leake
, who was Mississippi's third governor as well as a U.S. senator. His father, a lawyer
, died when Barbour was two years old.
Barbour 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. 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, Barbour joined his father's law firm in Yazoo City.
's 1976 campaign in the Southeast and working on the campaign of John Connally
for president in 1980. In 1982 Barbour was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate election in Mississippi
, but was defeated by longtime incumbent John C. Stennis
, a conservative Democrat, 64% to 36%, despite an endorsement by President Ronald Reagan
. During the campaign, the New York Times reported that a Barbour aide complained about "coon
s" at a campaign event. Barbour, embarrassed that the comment was overheard by a reporter, told the aide that he would be "reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks" if he continued making racist comments.
Barbour later served as a political aide in the Reagan Administration and worked on the 1988 Presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush
.
's all-time mega-lobbyists
." He "was a wealthy K Street
lobbyist for giant corporations such as RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris
, Amgen
, Microsoft
, United Health, Southern Company
, and many others." In 1991, Barbour helped found the lobbying group now known as BGR Group, 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 as the second-most-powerful lobbying firm in America. In 2001, after the inauguration of George W. Bush
, Fortune named it the most powerful. The firm "is employed by several foreign countries, as well as oil and cigarette companies." Its role in advocating on behalf of the tobacco industry has been particularly prominent. BGR also "lobbied on behalf of the Embassy of Mexico in 2001 to promote a bill related to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
in the United States, through family connections or job skills, without a requirement that they return to their home country for the requisite 3-10 years. This is what's often referred to as 'amnesty
.'" "As part of that work, Barbour's firm arranged meetings and briefings with 'Senators, members of Congress and their staffs, as well as Executive Branch Officials in the White House, National Security Council, State Department, and Immigration & Naturalization Service'. Barbour's firm charged Mexico $35,000 a month, plus expenses."
As of 2010, the firm remains one of DC's top 25, but has seen revenues drop both in 2009 and in 2010. Barbour continues to "collect payments from BGR through a blind trust, which was recently valued at $3.3 million."
. 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. in 1997, Barbour retired from his position as chairman of the RNC.
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 racist organization. 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. 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, then-governor Ronnie 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. 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
.
Barbour took office in January 2004.
Writing for Reason
magazine in February 2011, Damon Root expressed the opinion that Barbour supports farm subsidies
, corporate welfare
, and eminent domain
. When he 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. 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 percentage 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. 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. 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. In the 2008 fiscal year budget, for the first time since its enactment in 1997, the state fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
Building on a 2002 tort reform
bill passed by his predecessor, Barbour also introduced a new tort reform measure that has been described as one of the strictest in the nation. 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. 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," commented Charlie Ross, the chair of the Mississippi Senate's Judiciary Committee.
The effectiveness of Barbour's tort reform efforts has been questioned. According to conservative journalist Timothy Carney, he "touts job growth down in Mississippi under his governing, and some of that is due to tort reform, but some of it is do to rank favoritism and special-interest deals more akin to Obama than Reagan — for instance, subsidies for a biofuels plant."
was issued by local officials more than 24 hours before it hit, and Mississippi activated 750 National Guard
troops as of August 29, the day of the hurricane.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi's coast, killing 231 people, devastating the state's $2.7 billion-a-year casino
industry and leaving tens of thousands homeless. (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. His response was likened, favorably, to that of Rudy Giuliani
in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Barbour credited the countless government workers who helped southern Mississippi to 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.
While the reconstruction process does not 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."
Barbour has been accused by Bloomberg News
of personally profiting from Hurricane Katrina
recovery. 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. The lobbying firm has lobbied the state to give recovery contracts to its clients. Some of the proceeds of the firm's lobbying activities are deposited into Barbour's investment account. 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
.
while dealing with smoking-related illnesses. Opponents have consistently claimed that Moore uses the organization to further his political ambitions. The Partnership regularly makes huge grants to political organizations such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Many point to additional 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.
In 2006, Judge Jaye Bradley, the same judge who 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."
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 it 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.
Barbour has also received criticism from some Mississippi Democrats for his refusal to approve a bill to increase the cigarette tax
and decrease the grocery tax passed by the Mississippi 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. He 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.
In May 2009, 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.
and has worked with Republicans and conservative Democrats to tighten abortion
laws in Mississippi that include enacting parental consent laws and bans on late-term abortions and state funding for elective abortions. Mississippi has historically had one of the lowest abortion rates of any state in the United States, with only two facilities in the state performing abortions openly and legally in the last decade.
"Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed not to institute any new taxes or raise any existing ones.
Barbour defeated Frederick Jones in the Republican primary on August 7 and Democrat John Arthur Eaves, Jr.
in the November general election.
In 2006, he refused to pardon Clyde Kennard, an African-American civil rights pioneer who was found to have been falsely convicted of burglary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
in 1960.
During an April 11, 2010, appearance on CNN
, host Candy Crowley
asked if it had been insensitive for Virginia
Governor Bob McDonnell
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." Barbour continued, "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."
In December 2010, Barbour was interviewed by The Weekly Standard
magazine. Asked about coming of age in Yazoo City
during the civil rights era, he told the interviewer regarding growing up there, "I just don't remember it as being that bad." Barbour then credited the White Citizens' Council
for keeping the KKK
out of Yazoo City and ensuring the peaceful integration of its schools. Barbour dismissed comparisons between the White Citizens' Councils and the KKK, and referred to the Councils as "an organization of town leaders". Barbour continued in his defense of the Councils, saying, "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." Barbour's statement did not address the role of the white supremacist
group in publicly naming and blacklisting individuals who petitioned for educational integration and how it used political pressure and violence to force African-American residents to move.
This led to a considerable outcry in which critics such as Rachel Maddow
accused Barbour of whitewashing
history. In response to criticism, Barbour issued a statement declaring Citizens' Councils to be "indefensible."
In what some have speculated was an attempt at damage control
just days after the interview, Barbour suspended the prison sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott
, two African American
women who received life sentences resulting from a 1993 mugging in which the two women stole $11. Barbour has denied that there was any connection between the suspension of the Scott sisters' prison sentence and the controversy surrounding his Weekly Standard interview. Jamie Scott suffered from kidney failure
while in prison, and requires a donated organ
, which her sister Gladys has offered to do. Barbour's decision to release the Scott sisters, however, is contingent upon the promised organ donation by Gladys Scott, which critics have argued amounts to coercion
and raises questions of medical ethics
.
s 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.
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
.
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.
On March 3, 2010, Barbour and his wife participated in events with First Lady
Michelle Obama
, promoting the Let's Move!
anti-obesity campaign.
In March 2011, Barbour drew criticism for his role in allowing the release of a convicted killer eight years into a 20-year sentence. In prior years, Barbour had used his powers as governor to release five other killers.
. 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." In preparation for a potential run, Barbour is not avoiding his K Street past, stating forthrightly "I'm a lobbyist."
Many commentators have been skeptical of Barbour's chances in 2012. David Broder of The Washington Post
wrote that "several others would have to stumble before he could get a serious consideration." Statistician Nate Silver
argued that "Barbour may have difficulty appealing to voters outside the South, especially after his recent comments about the civil rights era." Salon.com
has noted that "Barbour has some serious baggage ... he's lobbied on behalf of the Mexican government for amnesty. There's also the issue of his freighted racial history, and whatever pragmatic concerns it raises for November-minded Republicans." Timothy Carney, reflecting on Barbour's history as a lobbyist, concluded: "If the Tea Party still has some wind, it's hard to see how Barbour gets anywhere near the GOP nomination." On April 25, 2011, Barbour announced that he will not run for President in 2012.
poll found that Barbour has a 70% approval rating in Mississippi.
.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007. Under Mississippi's term limits, Barbour cannot seek reelection in 2011.
Before being elected Governor, Barbour "had a long career on the national stage and has been well-known as a Republican operative since the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
years." He worked as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and lobbyist, was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate and also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
from 1993 to 1997, during which time the Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
captured both the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for the first time since 1954. On June 24, 2009, Barbour was elected the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
, following the resignation of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
Governor Mark Sanford
Mark Sanford
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician from South Carolina, who was the 115th Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011....
as its leader.
Early years
Barbour was born in Yazoo City, MississippiYazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
, where he was raised as the youngest of three sons of Grace LeFlore (née Johnson) and Jeptha Fowlkes Barbour, Jr. Barbour is a descendant of Walter Leake
Walter Leake
Walter Leake served as a United States Senator from Mississippi and as Governor of Mississippi .He was the first Governor of Mississippi to die in office...
, who was Mississippi's third governor as well as a U.S. senator. His father, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, died when Barbour was two years old.
Barbour attended the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in Oxford
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
fraternity, but skipped the first semester of his senior year to work on Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's 1968 election campaign. At the age of twenty-two, he ran the 1970 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
for the state of Mississippi. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi School of Law
University of Mississippi School of Law
The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law opened in 1854 and is the fourth-oldest state-supported law school in the country...
, receiving a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) degree in 1972.
Subsequently, Barbour joined his father's law firm in Yazoo City.
Early political career
Barbour soon became a Republican political operative and moved up the ranks of Republican organizing quickly, running Gerald FordGerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
's 1976 campaign in the Southeast and working on the campaign of John Connally
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...
for president in 1980. In 1982 Barbour was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate election in Mississippi
United States Senate election in Mississippi, 1982
The 1982 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1982. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John C. Stennis won re-election to his seventh term.-Republican:...
, but was defeated by longtime incumbent John C. Stennis
John C. Stennis
John Cornelius Stennis was a U.S. Senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a Democrat who served in the Senate for over 41 years, becoming its most senior member by his retirement.- Early life :...
, a conservative Democrat, 64% to 36%, despite an endorsement by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. During the campaign, the New York Times reported that a Barbour aide complained about "coon
Coon
Coon may refer to:* Coon, a racial slur used in the United States to refer to black people* Coon, an abbreviation for fur from raccoons and racoon dogs* Coön , a Trojan warrior who fought in the Trojan War...
s" at a campaign event. Barbour, embarrassed that the comment was overheard by a reporter, told the aide that he would be "reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks" if he continued making racist comments.
Barbour later served as a political aide in the Reagan Administration and worked on the 1988 Presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
Lobbying career
Barbour has been described as "one of WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
's all-time mega-lobbyists
Lobbying in the United States
Lobbying in the United States targets the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures. Lobbyists may also represent their clients' or organizations' interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. Lobby...
." He "was a wealthy K Street
K Street
K Street can refer to:* K Street , a street located in Washington, D.C.** By metonymy, the U.S. lobbying industry, many of whose firms have offices on this street* K Street Project, a lobbying effort by the Republican Party...
lobbyist for giant corporations such as RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris
Philip Morris
- Philip/Phillip Morris :*Altria Group, conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the 19th century tobacconist**Philip Morris USA, tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group...
, Amgen
Amgen
Amgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, United Health, Southern Company
Southern Company
Southern Company is a public utility holding company of primarily electric utilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world and the...
, and many others." In 1991, Barbour helped found the lobbying group now known as BGR Group, a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-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
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine named Barbour Griffith & Rogers as the second-most-powerful lobbying firm in America. In 2001, after the inauguration of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Fortune named it the most powerful. The firm "is employed by several foreign countries, as well as oil and cigarette companies." Its role in advocating on behalf of the tobacco industry has been particularly prominent. BGR also "lobbied on behalf of the Embassy of Mexico in 2001 to promote a bill related to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
in the United States, through family connections or job skills, without a requirement that they return to their home country for the requisite 3-10 years. This is what's often referred to as 'amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
.'" "As part of that work, Barbour's firm arranged meetings and briefings with 'Senators, members of Congress and their staffs, as well as Executive Branch Officials in the White House, National Security Council, State Department, and Immigration & Naturalization Service'. Barbour's firm charged Mexico $35,000 a month, plus expenses."
As of 2010, the firm remains one of DC's top 25, but has seen revenues drop both in 2009 and in 2010. Barbour continues to "collect payments from BGR through a blind trust, which was recently valued at $3.3 million."
RNC chairman
In 1993, Barbour became chairman of the Republican National CommitteeRepublican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
. In 1994, during his tenure as RNC chair, Republicans captured both houses of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, taking the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for the first time in forty years. in 1997, Barbour retired from his position as chairman of the RNC.
2003 campaign
After two decades in Washington, D.C., Barbour announced his intention to run for governor of Mississippi in 2003. On August 5, 2003, Barbour 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
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
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
Council of Conservative Citizens
The Council of Conservative Citizens is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white nationalism, and white separatism...
(CCC), a racist organization. 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. 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
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
opponent, then-governor Ronnie 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. Historically, both Democrats and Republicans have participated in Blackhawk.
Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove
Ronnie Musgrove
David Ronald "Ronnie" Musgrove is an American politician who was the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from January 16, 1996 to January 11, 2000 and the 62nd Governor of Mississippi from January 11, 2000 to January 13, 2004 of the U.S. state of Mississippi. He was recently defeated by...
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
Kirk Fordice
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Mississippi. He was the 61st Governor of Mississippi from January 14, 1992, until January 11, 2000.-Biography:...
.
Barbour took office in January 2004.
Fiscal matters
Barbour has been praised for translating his lobbying skills into success at winning over a legislature dominated by Democrats. Barbour has called several special legislative sessions to force an issue.Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
magazine in February 2011, Damon Root expressed the opinion that Barbour supports farm subsidies
Agricultural subsidy
An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities...
, corporate welfare
Corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a pejorative term describing a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment on corporations or selected corporations. The term compares corporate subsidies and welfare payments to the poor, and implies that corporations are much less...
, and eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
. When he 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. He accomplished this largely by reducing spending on social services, most notably Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
; 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
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
program, and also significantly limited prescription drug coverage. However, the same budget increased the percentage 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. 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. 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. In the 2008 fiscal year budget, for the first time since its enactment in 1997, the state fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
Building on a 2002 tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
bill passed by his predecessor, Barbour also introduced a new tort reform measure that has been described as one of the strictest in the nation. 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. 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," commented Charlie Ross, the chair of the Mississippi Senate's Judiciary Committee.
The effectiveness of Barbour's tort reform efforts has been questioned. According to conservative journalist Timothy Carney, he "touts job growth down in Mississippi under his governing, and some of that is due to tort reform, but some of it is do to rank favoritism and special-interest deals more akin to Obama than Reagan — for instance, subsidies for a biofuels plant."
Hurricane Katrina response
The evacuation order for Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
was issued by local officials more than 24 hours before it hit, and Mississippi activated 750 National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
troops as of August 29, the day of the hurricane.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi's coast, killing 231 people, devastating the state's $2.7 billion-a-year casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
industry and leaving tens of thousands homeless. (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi
Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the afternoon of August 28, 2005,beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began travelling up the entire state, only slowing from...
). Barbour's response was characterized by a concerted effort at evacuation, tough-minded talk on looters and an unwillingness to blame the federal government. His response was likened, favorably, to that of Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Barbour credited the countless government workers who helped southern Mississippi to 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.
While the reconstruction process does not dictate how localities should rebuild, Barbour has touted New Urbanist
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
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."
Barbour has been accused by Bloomberg News
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
of personally profiting from Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
recovery. Barbour is an owner of the parent company of lobbying
Lobbying in the United States
Lobbying in the United States targets the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures. Lobbyists may also represent their clients' or organizations' interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. Lobby...
firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers Inc., and he receives a pension and profit-sharing plan benefits from it. The lobbying firm has lobbied the state to give recovery contracts to its clients. Some of the proceeds of the firm's lobbying activities are deposited into Barbour's investment account. According to Barbour's attorney, a blind trust
Blind trust
A blind trust is a trust in which the fiduciaries, namely the trustees or those who have been given power of attorney, have full discretion over the assets, and the trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust and no right to intervene in their handling...
executed in 2004 prevents Barbour knowing the composition of his investments in order to eliminate any conflicts of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
.
Tobacco matters
Barbour's taxation policies have come under 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. The Partnership is a private, nonprofit group that 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 lawsuit, the funds were to offset the extra costs incurred by MedicaidMedicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
while dealing with smoking-related illnesses. Opponents have consistently claimed that Moore uses the organization to further his political ambitions. The Partnership regularly makes huge grants to political organizations such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Many point to additional 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.
In 2006, Judge Jaye Bradley, the same judge who 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."
After an appeal by Moore, Barbour went on to win a Mississippi Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Mississippi
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was created in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817. Initially it was known as the "High Court of Errors and Appeals." The Court is an appellate court, as...
battle that prevented the tobacco settlement moneys from funding the program, maintaining that it 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.
Barbour has also received criticism from some Mississippi Democrats for his refusal to approve a bill to increase the cigarette tax
Cigarette taxes in the United States
In the United States cigarettes are taxed at both the federal and state levels, in addition to any state and local sales taxes and local cigarette-specific taxes. Cigarette taxation has appeared throughout American history and still presents itself prominently today. Overall public health officials...
and decrease the grocery tax passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives
Mississippi House of Representatives
The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi....
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. He stated that the lack of revenue generated after the tax swap
Tax shift
Tax shift or Tax swap is a change in taxation that eliminates or reduces one or several taxes and establishes or increases others while keeping the overall revenue the same...
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.
In May 2009, 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.
Social issues
Barbour strongly identifies himself as pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
and has worked with Republicans and conservative Democrats to tighten abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
laws in Mississippi that include enacting parental consent laws and bans on late-term abortions and state funding for elective abortions. Mississippi has historically had one of the lowest abortion rates of any state in the United States, with only two facilities in the state performing abortions openly and legally in the last decade.
2007 re-election
Barbour announced on February 8, 2007, that he would seek a second term as Governor of Mississippi. Barbour 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 ReformAmericans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
"Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed not to institute any new taxes or raise any existing ones.
Barbour defeated Frederick Jones in the Republican primary on August 7 and Democrat John Arthur Eaves, Jr.
John Arthur Eaves
John Arthur Eaves, Jr. is a personal injury lawyer who was the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 2007 general election for Governor of Mississippi.-Career:...
in the November general election.
Race and integration
Barbour has faced considerable "in-state criticism for his approach to racial issues". Mississippi state Representative Willie Perkins has "compared Barbour to the southern Democrats who preceded him", saying: "As far as I'm concerned, he has never done anything as a governor or a citizen to distinguish himself from the old Democrats who fought tooth and nail to preserve segregation."In 2006, he refused to pardon Clyde Kennard, an African-American civil rights pioneer who was found to have been falsely convicted of burglary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
in 1960.
During an April 11, 2010, appearance on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, host Candy Crowley
Candy Crowley
Candy Alt Crowley is a CNN anchor and Chief Political Correspondent, specializing in U.S. presidential, gubernatorial, and Senate elections. She is based in CNN's Washington bureau, and hosted Inside Politics in place of Judy Woodruff before the show was replaced with The Situation Room. Crowley...
asked if it had been insensitive for Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
Governor Bob McDonnell
Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell is an American politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006...
to omit mentioning slavery in a proposed recognition of Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month is a month annually designated by six state governments in the Southern United States for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the history of the Confederate States of America...
. 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." Barbour continued, "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."
In December 2010, Barbour was interviewed by The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
magazine. Asked about coming of age in Yazoo City
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
during the civil rights era, he told the interviewer regarding growing up there, "I just don't remember it as being that bad." Barbour then credited the White Citizens' Council
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
for keeping the KKK
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
out of Yazoo City and ensuring the peaceful integration of its schools. Barbour dismissed comparisons between the White Citizens' Councils and the KKK, and referred to the Councils as "an organization of town leaders". Barbour continued in his defense of the Councils, saying, "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." Barbour's statement did not address the role of the white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
group in publicly naming and blacklisting individuals who petitioned for educational integration and how it used political pressure and violence to force African-American residents to move.
This led to a considerable outcry in which critics such as Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...
accused Barbour of whitewashing
Whitewash (censorship)
To whitewash is a metaphor meaning to gloss over or cover up vices, crimes or scandals or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data. It is especially used in the context of corporations, governments or other organizations.- Etymology :Its first...
history. In response to criticism, Barbour issued a statement declaring Citizens' Councils to be "indefensible."
In what some have speculated was an attempt at damage control
Spin (public relations)
In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
just days after the interview, Barbour suspended the prison sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott
Scott sisters
Jamie and Gladys Scott, often referred to as the Scott sisters, were convicted of orchestrating a 1993 armed robbery in Forest, Mississippi...
, two African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
women who received life sentences resulting from a 1993 mugging in which the two women stole $11. Barbour has denied that there was any connection between the suspension of the Scott sisters' prison sentence and the controversy surrounding his Weekly Standard interview. Jamie Scott suffered from kidney failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
while in prison, and requires a donated organ
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
, which her sister Gladys has offered to do. Barbour's decision to release the Scott sisters, however, is contingent upon the promised organ donation by Gladys Scott, which critics have argued amounts to coercion
Coercion
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...
and raises questions of medical ethics
Medical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
.
Other second term activities
In September 2008, some DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
s accused Barbour of trying to influence the outcome of the 2008 Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
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
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
to comply with the ballot laws.
In April 2009, Barbour joined a conservative policy group to discuss Republican policies in town hall meetings. The group also includes former Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Governor Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, former Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, and Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
On June 24, 2009, Barbour assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
, succeeding South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford
Mark Sanford
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician from South Carolina, who was the 115th Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011....
. On October 29, 2009, Barbour endorsed Texas Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
for the Texas Republican gubernatorial nomination.
On March 3, 2010, Barbour and his wife participated in events with First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
, promoting the Let's Move!
Let's Move!
Let's Move! is a campaign to end childhood obesity in the United States. The campaign was started by First Lady Michelle Obama. The initiative has the goal of "solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight."The...
anti-obesity campaign.
In March 2011, Barbour drew criticism for his role in allowing the release of a convicted killer eight years into a 20-year sentence. In prior years, Barbour had used his powers as governor to release five other killers.
Possible 2012 presidential campaign
Since he visited Iowa in 2009, there has been speculation that Barbour may run for the Republican nomination for U.S. President in 2012Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012
The 2012 Republican presidential primaries are the selection processes in which voters of the Republican Party will choose their nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. The primary contest began with a fairly wide field, and is the first presidential primary...
. 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." In preparation for a potential run, Barbour is not avoiding his K Street past, stating forthrightly "I'm a lobbyist."
Many commentators have been skeptical of Barbour's chances in 2012. David Broder of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote that "several others would have to stumble before he could get a serious consideration." Statistician Nate Silver
Nate Silver
Nathaniel Read "Nate" Silver is an American statistician, psephologist, and writer. Silver first gained public recognition for developing PECOTA, a system for forecasting the performance and career development of Major League Baseball players, which he sold to and then managed for Baseball...
argued that "Barbour may have difficulty appealing to voters outside the South, especially after his recent comments about the civil rights era." Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
has noted that "Barbour has some serious baggage ... he's lobbied on behalf of the Mexican government for amnesty. There's also the issue of his freighted racial history, and whatever pragmatic concerns it raises for November-minded Republicans." Timothy Carney, reflecting on Barbour's history as a lobbyist, concluded: "If the Tea Party still has some wind, it's hard to see how Barbour gets anywhere near the GOP nomination." On April 25, 2011, Barbour announced that he will not run for President in 2012.
Public image
Barbour maintains positive approval ratings in his state. A July 2010 Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
poll found that Barbour has a 70% approval rating in Mississippi.
Awards and honors
In 2009, Barbour was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
External links
- Mississippi Office of the Governor Haley Barbour official state site
- Haley Barbour for Governor official campaign site
- Profile from SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- Barbour tests waters in Iowa from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March 2011
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