Jackson Jambalaya

All awful. Lee looks in awe of pennies, which should be abolished as they cost more to make than they are worth. Lee should know this.
Lucien looks implausible when he talks about Pro-Life issues. He is barely beyond a fetus himself.
Lynn Fitch talks about nearly nothing and has a bizarre mid-50's looking blue thing on that makes her look like a deranged housewife.

Watched all 3 two or more times, can't remember anything about 2 of them; but the pennies strikes a chord.

far and away Lee's ad was the best, he looks into the camera and speaks to the listener and not at the masses.
thank you Lee

and it wasn't "cute" with the families and kids. I'm getting sick of cute as everyone emulates Delbert's ads from four years ago. I like them fine but now its almost all of them.

On production: Fitch

On message: Yancey

On being memorable: Yancey

Overall, I think Lee wins hands down.

Lucien tries to fit in a thesis (although all good things to touch on) making none of it memorable. However, he has the funds to make us suffer through it more times than any other candidate.


I'm voting for the penny guy!

Lynn's ad was good but I am more concerned about her and her buddy Jim Hood being in control of the bond issuance for the state.
No to Lynn.
Lee's ad was OK, the youtube video is probably the extent of the coverage you will see, since he can't raise money and spent the rest on his Texas group.
No to Lee.
Lucien's ad was OK also, but I truly think he is the best candidate for the job. Plain and simple, Lucien is smart and we need a good mind in this seat not a good politician.
Lucien wins in the end!

I'm going with July 14, 2011 5:03 PM.

I am getting cynical.

Frankly the best ad I've seen is Lee's face on Hugh Ward with the blacked out tooth and mustache. Very memorable.

And I'm going to take the time to say the "Smear Commercial" against Tate is completely deplorable and in POOR TASTE, FORM. Tate has my vote.

I thought Lee's was the best commercial. JMO, but I think we are fortunate to have three pretty good candidates for the position. I'm for Lee, but I think we will be well served no matter the outcome.

JimAtTheRez

Pennies is nice, but I wanted to see a reprise of the Lee Yancey Rap

Lee's was OK until he said he wouldn't raise taxes. That statement alone tells you a lot. No one should ever promise that, because it just won't, and never will, be true.

Are those Lee's campaign contributions on the table?

That was actually funny. damn funny.

All seriousness aside for now, Lee probably has a good chance of making the runoff. Lucien and Lynn have no bases. Lee has Rankin County and his father is going for the social conservatives in N Mississippi and on the Coast. He also has a network of legislators from the coast and Laurel area helping him as well.

Lynn's problem is she starts out as a little known agency head. No base at all to work with and no strong history of working in the Republican party ala Gregg Harper.

Lucien has same problem but the bond cartel is putting its money behind him and lets face it, he has a ton of money. Commercials are not the best and I question as a non-expert total idiot observer some of strategies used but he's like the Chinese army in the Korean War- so many of them China could afford to screw up. Lucien has so much money raised for this race compared to his opponents and is too smart to become another Marshand Crisler.

Its a race with three unknowns statewide, one has a base even if a small one, its still a base. He can carry that base then its a runoff and if a runoff anything can happen.


Truth is its a hard office to campaign for. Cut spending? Taxes? Abortion? Please. this is the moneyholder for the state. Aside from managing funds and voting on bond commission, there is little the Treasurer does in terms of overall policy compared to other offices. The actual duties of the job are too technical to attract the interest of the average likely voter so you are seeing what you are seeing: candidates trying to differentiate their conservative credentials among Republican voters.

I like that KF, Lee also has Gregg Harper and his staff working like crazy.
I think Lee finishes second and then wins.

Smith has the best. The runoff will be between Lucien and Lynn. Lee yancey has someone on his campaign staff that has a $88,000 contract with Stacey Pickering's office. Looks like Stacey is paying her to work on 3 different campaigns. Check it out on DFA's website - under contracts. She resigned one day and came back days later under contract with the Department of Audit.

Truth is its a hard office to campaign for. Cut spending? Taxes? Abortion? Please. this is the moneyholder for the state. Aside from managing funds and voting on bond commission, there is little the Treasurer does in terms of overall policy compared to other offices. The actual duties of the job are too technical to attract the interest of the average likely voter so you are seeing what you are seeing: candidates trying to differentiate their conservative credentials among Republican voters.

Sounds like you just made the case for Billy Hewes!!!!!

8:43
I see stress and worry in a post attacking someones staff.

Lynn's little boy is cute - but I'm tired of seeing children in these ads. Nothing they say convinces me to vote for the parent. If anything, they are starting to make me vote against the parent.

Lee's ad is ok. And I'll probably vote for him anyway. But I have to ask, does that position have the power NOT to raise taxes?

Lucien's ad didn't grab my attention like the other two did. I agree with the commenter who said that Lee looking right into the camera was good. I don't recall (from just one viewing) if Lucien ever looked directly to the camera. In short, he didn't convince me of anything.

@ 9:31,

No, the office doesn't have the power not to raise taxes... nor does it have any power over spending as Lee mentions.

As KF put it:
The actual duties of the job are too technical to attract the interest of the average likely voter so you are seeing what you are seeing: candidates trying to differentiate their conservative credentials among Republican voters.

Lucien Smith for me.

KF,
I respectfully disagree about Lee having Rankin County locked up. Keep in mind that Lee is not a native of Rankin County and many people do not know him since he's only been in the Senate 1 term. One issue that I have not seen addressed is the fact that he is in a distant third in fundraising. The folks in his district have not been willing to jump on board financially.

Lee is mentally in line with Rankin County in a way that Lucien and Lynn will and could never be. Sorry, it's just the truth. He is a true, meat and potatoes conservative.

Lee's ad was a well thought eye catcher and brain connect- pennies-treasurer. good concept and one that folks will remember. the other ads tried to cover too much information. Lucien should have done two ads oneof which was soley bio of him. Lee has a grassroots machine and will do well in the top 15 republican counties based on the tracks I have seen.

12:26 I agreed with what you are saying about Lucien. His ad was too long. The problem is that he can't do an ad only on his bio. What would he say? He's not married, has no children, has no real job history other than the job he has had for Gov. Barbour. He is very thin on the bio side, and I would imagine they don't want to point it out.

What's going on with the post in regard to Stcaey Pickering and his employee working for Lee Yancey? Can Pickering do that? Lynn Fitch's ad is the best of the three!

who audits the auditor?

I saw Phil Bryant on a Lucien fundraiser. If he is with Lucien that has got to hurt Lee in Rankin, right?

If Bryant is for Lucient, in my book, that HELPS Lee. Can't stand Bryant.

In 2007 lee was last in $$ and picked to finish last in the primary. he out worked charles porter who apparently will NEVER get over that beating. he's not to be misunderestimated.

Phil Bryant is only for Phil Bryant. He put his name on Lucien's fundraiser, and he also put his name on Lee's fundraiser. It doesn't mean a thing.

Misunderestimated? Is that a word?
Is that you Jesse? Discombobulated.

"Misunderestimated" comes from the 2000 Bush campaign (from the Dept of Strategery, apparently)

I do think that Lee with get a good number of votes in Rankin. However, outside of that his support may be "misoverestimated".
I spoke with a Gregg Harper supporter who attended 2 of Lee's events as a favor to Gregg. He said there was a awkward silence at both and whisperings about the fact that there were less then 20 people at each event.

strategery is important as it relates to strategy.

Ok, I must chime in.

I am convinced Yancey is a force to be reckoned with.

Here is my reasoning.

Over the Fourth, My wife and I took to kids to the coast for a little R&R. Lee Yancey signs greeted us on the way down and were all over the Coast like Yancey was marking his territory.

The following weekend we stopped by my father-in-law's house in Meridian, Yancey signs everywhere.

The weekend prior, I became familiar with his campaign because a young lad came and dropped some literature off at my door.

Here is the icing on the cake and what prompted me to write something. TODAY, I received a voicemail from a young lady urging me to vote for Lee Yancey.

If Yancey is willing to work that hard for my vote, he has it. If this is the tactic he is using statewide, I see the election being decided August 2nd.

The only candidate from Corinth to the Coast with signage.

Yes but let's not kid ourselves, Lee may not have raised enough to purchase TV air time. Therefore, he's spending most of his funds on signs. From Secretary of State's office, July 8th- Cash on Hand:

Lucien Smith - $464,398.09
Lynn Fitch - $201,318.30
Lee Yancey - $98,646.49

7:13
Thats all you got!!
Just count em BABY

People are going to wise up over the next two weeks that Lucien is just another kid who has put up to this task by his backers. Bond firms and attorneys who financially benefit from these transactions to the tune of millions of taxpayer dollars. They will profit from him enormously, at our expense.

7:13,

Why don't you ask the ole snake oil salesman with the bad hair don't, Charles Porter, how did all that money and the ads worked for him. Lee Yancey beat his ass on the streets with 0 ads for Senate. Charles is still not over it today and he probably cries himself to sleep. I see him putting out Smith signs. How JV of Charles. Lee will win this seat because he has worked smarter and harder with less and will prove once again that money does not always win.

Kind of like what Connors did to Pernfors and his career at Wimbledon. or Vijah Amitraj. or Patrick McEnroe

Not sure whether KF wanted us to rate the ads or the candidates, so I'll do both. Understand that Lynn is a friend of mine - our kids have been going to school together since fourth grade, and she's going to get my vote. However, looking at the ads as objectively as I can, I think Lynn's ad is the best because she seems more natural in front of the camera. Lee's a little nervous and Lucien could be unaware that the camera is rolling for all I know. None of the ads have anything to do with the duties of the Treasurer, but are meant to make us feel good about the candidates and not much more. Sadly, that's what decides a lot of voters these days.

Rating the candidates, even if I'd never met Lynn I'd have to say that she is the most experienced by far and the best qualified for the job. I'm getting tired of people saying that she is a RINO or is cozy with Hood. Neither is true. She worked at the AG's office before Hood was ever there because it was the best job for her at the time, not because she embraced the Democrat platform. She has had to feed her family like the rest of us, and politics didn't have anything to do with it. She will be just as "conservative" as either of the other candidates. Haley appointed her to her current position because she was the best qualified candidate, and he wouldn't have put her there if she was a Hood loving RINO like some of you seem to think. I like Lee and wish him well, but he hasn't indicated any depth of knowledge of the job. He's working hard and has a good bunch of Baptists that are supporting him, but I don't think he beats Lynn up north. Lucien is painfully obvious in his hiding of biographical information, and it's hard for me to believe that someone without any more time on earth - or out of school - is better qualified for the job than either of the other two candidates. Money is great, and I'm sure he'll buy a lot of votes because of the relative obscurity of a down ticket race, but you still have to be a good candidate and he's just not there yet. I'm sure his future is bright, but someone who won't even disclose on his web site where and when he went to college and law school is not ready for statewide office.

I find it very frustrating and more than a little sad to see comments like some of the ones above, though. Voting for Lee because he has more signs? Voting for Lucien because he's raised more money? What does any of that have to do with the job? The best thing we can do for our state and country is make an attempt to cast an informed vote. If you like Lee because of his Senate experience and Baptist background, fine. If you like Lucien because he's smart or because he spent a year working as a staff attorney in the Barbour administration, fine. Do your homework and make an informed choice - don't count signs and TV commercials. Bill Billingsley

It doesn't matter if you have known a candidate all their life of if your children have known theirs on a first name basis; or if you can personally vouch for the contenet in their heart. If the voter dosen't buy what they are selling, it just will not happen.

10:51 Well said

12:22-"He (Yancey) is a true, meat and potatoes conservative."

Bullshit. Lee Yancey is a true, meat-and-potatoes religious huckster. Former lobbyist for the Mississippi Baptist Tribal Elders. The only thing sleazier than a church with a lobbyist, is a lobbyist for a church.

Yancey didn't win his Senate seat by outworking his opponent. He won the seat because his fellow Mullahs in the al-Pinelaki sect dominate the voting rolls in the district.

This time around, he's again got the Talibaptist machine in high gear. He gushed at the Wildmon endorsement, and is now crowing about being endorsed by Mississippi Right-to-Life. Apparently his first order of business as Treasurer will be to overrule Roe v. Wade by refusing to issue any state bonds for the construction of new abortion clinics.

Everything this guy does is aimed at kissing the asses of the lowest common intellectual denominator in the Republican primary: braindead Mississippi Baptists.

That's not the behavior of a true conservative. A true conservative doesn't pimp out God like a 5-dollar crack whore to get votes. A true conservative likewise doesn't inject irrelevant issues like abortion into a Treasurer's race. A true conservative doesn't lie to the electorate by falsely implying that the office has the ability to raise taxes.

Lee Yancey isn't a conservative. He's just another religous con man with a surplus of hair gel, using the name of God to run a hustle.

And this Lucien Smith guy is only slightly better than Lee Swaggart. Better only because he worked for Governor Barbour, and likely picked up at least a few good skills from his boss (by osmosis, if nothing else).

Being on Barbour's staff is a major plus in my book. The Governor is a great leader, and doesn't hire idiots. But then Smith goes and f--ks it up by mentioning abortion. Either he doesn't know the difference between Mississippi Treasurer and the US Supreme Court, or he's trying to cozy up to the religious idiots. He's wasting his time there, as Lee Swaggart already has that voting block in the bag.

On his website he goes so far as to state he "firmly believes government must protect...family values that are the bedrock of our society." I can't figure out what's more ridiculous: a guy who's not married hawking "family values," or a so-called conservative who thinks government has any business worrying about the "family values" of its citizens.

And most ridiculous of all is that he is talking about any of this irrelevant crap in a race for State Treasurer.

Wow, Crowley, bitter much? Process of elimination, I'm guessing you must be a fan of Lynn Fitch cutting "govment" spending...? Rant all you want; everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion & vote. The truth is that they don't come any finer than Lee Yancey.

Way to go Crowley, I like the Lee Swaggert name.

1:59am: "they don't come any finer than Lee Yancey."

If by "they," you mean people who use God's name to scam votes, then I won't argue with you on that point.

You don't dispute the fact that he's (1) name-dropping God to get himself elected, (2) injecting irrelevant bullshit like abortion and "family values" into the Treasurer's race, (3) intentionally creating the false impression that the Treasurer has the power to raise or lower taxes.

Yeah, real fine Christian fella ya'll got there.

As to your comments re: Lynn Fitch, I know very little about her. What I do know is that I can't find any evidence that she's God-pimping, talking about abortion, or advocating the government's involvement in citizens' "family values."

Had she engaged in the same tactics as Lee Swaggart and that other idiot, then you would have seen a similar rant as to Ms. Fitch.

Curt Crowley, you are one classy guy. Glad you are not supporting my candidate of choice.

"I can't figure out what's more ridiculous: a guy who's not married hawking "family values,""

This made me laugh. So true.

As someone who attended the Lee Yancey fundraiser with Gregg Harper, there were more than twenty people there. More like 21 (including Stacey's staffer, who is working as Lee's fundraiser). Maybe the problem is that he should hire a new fundraiser, because he is a good candidate.

I wonder if Curt is related to Alister.

Stacey Pickering has all but come out and endorsed Lee Yancey & Tad Campbellor he has a contract worker (former employee)who is paid $88,000 a year working on their campaigns. What about it KF -check it out if you don't believe it!