Jackson Jambalaya

I thought republicans believed in an open transparent government.

Just following President Elect Trunps rhetoric and lead. Get accustomed to going with the flow. Be careful what we asked for. I am conservative and now having regrets.

Same peeps who gladly purchased Thad Cochran's re-election.

Expand a bit on this "House Management Committee" and what contracts they enter into. And who is on it that voted to approve something such as this?

Wait a minute!! Is this the same legislative leadership that raked state agencies over the coals about contracts?? Oh, I forgot. The usual legislative motto of "everyone must follow the rules except us" applies to our vaunted legislative leadership. What makes the legislature so special that they can be exempt from open records and open meetings laws? What does our media not hammer on this lack of transparency on a constant basis?? Thanks KF, at least someone in the media world recognizes the hypocrisy of Phillip and Tate.

All of the money in the state is the taxpayers money, and ALL of it should be publicly available for review. That includes Phil Bryant's buddy over at SuperTalk and all of the contracts with MDOT, MDHS, and on down the list. Please stop wasting our money, and paying over priced contracts and shady deals for crap we don't need.

This is unacceptable.

"Who do these people think they are?"

Why, it's the governance the good folks of Mississippi want and deserve, of course!

From yesterday forward, I expect to assume that Steve Bannon is pulling the strings for anything the Republicans do. The gall of the HMC in doing this after the GOP pilloried Clinton for being too secretive. And so many good people voted for Trump while saying that once he is in office he will be the soul of gravitas. Then why is Bannon there beside him at all times, like a Rasputin?

I fear that we are about to find out what American Fascism looks like, and the lasting damage it can do. America First!

Burke and others, this is a document from the MS state legislature, not the US house...

Still unacceptable though.

Damn 3:08, you've latched on to something here. I am sure that you're theory is correct - that Steve Bannon is the one that is influencing state legislator groups in their every move. He is, after all, that all powerful!

I'm sure in 2018 they will manage to blame it on Obama. And you guys will swallow it right down.

Enjoy your RyanCare!

I'm a Republican and donor to one of the members of this committee. He's got some explaining to do, because this is ridiculous. Conservatives stand for good, open government and as little of it as possible. This runs counter to all of that.

The Bannon wails and cries are hilarious. Keep 'em coming. The liberal agenda is in tatters!

those damn demo... Oh, wait.

This IS the MS Republican Party. They talk out of both sides of their mouths. This is the same Party that refuses campaign finance reform. Everyone must follow the same rules! Shame on them. I'll never vote Republican again. Such hypocrites!

This doesn't look good, but blaming Trump and Bannon is a bit asinine. Trump can't make any changes until January. This is all on State of Mississippi Government!

Soetoro has been blaming GeoW for 8 years PP. Please gain some perspective.

Let's not make this partisan. The legislative shell game has been in place for decades which means both democrats and republicans endorse it (particularly when they are in power). This is a governance problem with one branch of state government exempting itself from the same laws that it imposes on the other branches. They need to answer the question as to why they are so special as to not warrant scrutiny by the people that pay their salaries and expenses (including secret contracts).

Sure there is a difference in a republican and a democrat. Keep telling yourself that. If you really believe it you should not be allowed to vote. If it is a politician it is crooked. Which party they belong to does not matter. All that matters is if they can still convince some fools that their party is different. They are lucky, there is no shortage of fools.

This is a Tater and Philly G. issue, can't blame this one on Trump. Poor Bryant will go down as a very weak Governor.

Yeah, 5:08 and 5:26, same computer, and to an extent I agree. However in Mississippi the Republicans have long been in charge and things like this continue to occur. This is a Republican leap toward the future. In this case like most others, you gotta Vance with the one that brought you. FYI I am a republican and could not be more disappointed. That said, I am still gonna work to "make America graet again".

Yeah, 5:08 and 5:26, same computer, and to an extent I agree. However in Mississippi the Republicans have long been in charge and things like this continue to occur. This is a Republican leap toward the future. In this case like most others, you gotta Vance with the one that brought you. FYI I am a republican and could not be more disappointed. That said, I am still gonna work to "make America graet again".

House committee makes education formula contract secret

"A month after Mississippi lawmakers approved the $250,000 hire of a New Jersey-based nonprofit to reevaluate the state’s education formula, Mississippi’s House Management Committee has voted to keep those contracts secret from the public."

Don't be shocked if the legislature also decides that it needs to hire some consultants to see if Kemper Clean Coal needs some additional taxpayer subsidies to keep it's bidness profitable.

With all due respect 3:44, this is the Republican Party. I have read comment after comment on here talking about this mythic Republican Party that has never existed. These are the ones elected and they aren't any different now than they were at the beginning. And it won't matter. They know that. They know there is absolutely zero they can do that will cause them to not get reelected. The old "run government like a business" nonsense these types love to throw out, is just that, nonsense. None of them could survive in the real world where actual performance matters. As long as they can keep mouthing platitudes and passing "hurt the gays, blacks, muslims, more guns for all" legislation they know they have nothing to fear by the electorate. It's the "bright,shiny bead" theory. Granted, no one was supposed to see this (Great work, KF) but they know you won't care come voting time.

Given that this is a House committee, I'm struggling to see the Tate connection. Then again, y'all somehow linked this to Trump, so I guess no association is too far of a stretch. SMH

Damn KF. Wasn't it you that tried to get copies of travel authorizations, travel expenditures, etc from the House Management Committee several years ago and got told that they were not public records? That was under the old regime and their existing rules at the time. This is nothing new - same procedure, just this time they put it in writing and the disgruntled new head of the Democratic caucus in the House (self-annointed, I might note) decided to try to make an issue out of it.

To be fair, Rep Jay Hughes was not a member back in those days, when this very policy was SOP.

@ 7:50--

So your argument is 'nothing's changed so it's alright'?

Bullshit.

If it involves public dollars, then it shouldn't be a secret. Period. Full stop.

You can't see very well if you can't see a Tate connection. He and his cronies are neck deep in this secretive legislative end run. And the irony is that he is the one that introduced the term transparency to the conversation when first elected. But, like all politicians, he thinks transparency only applies to everyone else in government. He expects the dumb masses to trust him. And, they do. i don't. If Tate is truly for transparency, then he should publicly demand that this entire process be opened up. Of course, he will not do that. He is chicken sh!t like the rest of the legislature.

The only Steve in D.C. Involved with anything in the Ms. Leg. is Steve Guyton not Steven Bannon get a hobby Burke

But did any of y'all send in emails or planning to attend Thursday's Q and A session to talk about changes the legislature has decided on and already paid for?

Every person on this thread complaining about this development should be talking to their legislator ASAP. We're enabling this corruption by not holding them accountable. We're their constituents and they work for us!

They don't work for you....keep chasing your tails "MS Republicans"

Not one of you diarrhea-mouthed chatter-boxes has said the first thing about any contract let by this body. Not one. And it's because you have no knowledge of it.

What types of contracts are they? Are they perhaps related to ongoing industrial development (read secret) negotiations? Are they things that need to remain off the radar while sensitive negotiations are ongoing?

Do we really need to signal all our moves during the letting of sensitive contracts? Why are they sensitive? Ask the important questions before leaping off the ledge of partisan politics. This committee has existed for generations with the same policy.

Who among you/us knows what the function or contracts are that this 'House Management Committee' supposedly deals with. Or for that matter, what the role of this committee is and who they are, specifically. Shouldn't we at least first examine those things before we start crapping all over our cage?

Some of you obviously get a raging hard-on any time you can spew forth about Feel, Tater and Gunner....or for that matter, any Republican.

So they give tax breaks to new businesses locating, but the DOR rips open existing businesses on audits. Did the lawmakers forget that an existing business is as important as a new business? How about a tax incentive for existing since we are emerging from the Great Recession that BO was in charge of. Our state leaders really do a terrible job... both parties!

@11/15, 2:54. You are correct. State agencies should be held accountable and be transparent. Remember, if you are a state employee and get terminated it becomes a personel matter and those records are not open to you and I. Such as the case where the MDOT employees last year were caught buying and hauling beer in an MDOT low enforcement vehicle. You work for the state you can get away with murder.

So Phil and Tate did this....let the theft and cronyism begin in ....3.....2....1!

And nobody will Care enough to vote to make a difference until their ox gets gored.....

So welcome to your new reality....R policy will be real and it will be final.

Get ready....your lives are different....the pot is boiling

Hillarious that this might be compared to Trump when it's the current federal regime that operates in secrecy, excluding the senate and the house and nobody knows which new law has been signed by the magic pen until the day after.

But, as was posted above, several times, this has been the situation with this 'branch' of gubment for decades, most of that time under democrat control.

Mississippi Republicans take a play right out of the Kenyan's secrecy handbook.

4:52, great point. They should definitely be allowed to spend our money in secret so they can give tax breaks to some business that will go belly-up after the taxpayers subsidize it for a few years.

I am so sick (and tired) of government giving advantages to its preferred parties. I don't care if it's the welfare queens of the 80s or the new-age industrial robber barons of the 90s or the illegal aliens of the 00s. If giving tax breaks is such a damn good idea to stimulate an economy and generate jobs why won't they just do it for EVERYBODY? Well, that's easy to understand actually. A political type cannot reap a benefit by doing the right thing for everybody--only by being able to point out the specific law written to the donor for whom it was written.

4:52, spare me. I'm sick of government hiding decisions how to spend my money simply because I'm too stupid to understand or can't be trusted. If the decision made for the polity has to be kept secret then it probably involves subject matter that doesn't need to be handled by a state government in the first place.

7:04

Keep at the Kenyan and watch as your taxes enrich the pols.....but you do get the last laugh....or....do you as they walk away with your money while you giggle, spittle, and generally play the gullible spoil?

Well y'all returned Thad to the Senate so you have absolutely nothing to complain about.

"I am conservative and now having regrets."

Sure you are, 2:31. Sure you are. Five days after the vote counting and two months before the man takes office, you're 'already having regrets'? Right on.

If you're 'conservative' you're not having regrets. In fact you would be pumped with anticipation. But, you lie.

Nothing but smoke and mirrors by those who try to make this a partisan issue. Bottom line is that Gunn and Reeves are chicken sh!t hypocrits who want us to trust them (although they don't trust anyone else). Are we really going to stand by and let them do government business in secret? It appears we are.

House Management Committee:
Greg Snowden, Chairman; Angela Cockerham, Vice-Chairman
Members: Richard Bennett; C. Scott Bounds; Chris Brown; Larry Byrd; John W. Hines, Sr.; Willie J. Perkins, Sr.; Ray Rogers; Jerry R. Turner

Link to House Committees and Responsibilities:
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/htms/h_rules.pdf

It has been my experience that our Legislative Leaders do not even understand most of the rules/policies they pass and DEFINATELY do not have to abide by them.

Im as far right / Republican as they come and this stunt is total bullshit - Im not a Jerry Mitchell fan and I dont ever agree with Jay Hughes but please turn both of them wide open on this horse hockey

I had to seriously quit reading the comments because the stupidity made me sad. Pay attention people. This is the STATE OF MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, not the US House of Representatives. Natural selection needs to hurry the hell up with some of you.

It's hard to accept opinions from those who offer them anonymously so I'm not doing so.
Charlie Stogner here and one who became active in the Mississippi GOP in 1962 when most of those active around me were idealistic and believed if we could ever elect Republicans to political office in the state we would be able to bring in the types that put 'service to mankind' above 'self-service'. Sadly it appears today we have far too many offices, especially legislative, filled by persons claiming to be Republicans but who seem to conduct themselves in the style of the 'good ole boy', buddy system, self promoting manner of how Democrats ran things in the 50-80 era.

Shame on them but more shame on us that we elect and then re-elect these selfish characters. It's time for term limits and the election of persons who are willing and want to 'make the system work', not 'work the system'.

Too many of our GOP leaders (why we let them I can't understand)serve mainly to fatten their own pocketbooks, enlarge already inflated egos and take actions that insult the people of the state.

We blew in in 2015 when we re-elected GOP officials who had broken the cardinal rule of not playing a role on behalf of individual candidates in party primaries. There's even talk of Gov. Bryant, Johnny-come-lately, to the Trump movement as getting some political appointment and GOP state chair Noe Nossef being considered for national GOP chair. Save me please. Both these individuals actively, aggressively, fought the overwhelming majority of state Republicans in the Cochran/McDaniel race, this year's GOP presidential primary and used brute force to keep those attending this year's state GOP convention from gaining any positions in the party.

And now a legislature with a GOP majority makes this move. WOW!! What Gall.

Thanks to Jay Hughes for this! He is being punished for being a watchdog for the taxpayers. We need to promote him.

Grow up people. They are all politicians and all are crooked. While you people sit behind a screen pecking out your comments they are stealing you blind.
It isn't the democrats and it isn't the republicans. It is all politicians. You people try to defend your party for doing exactly the same thing the other party does. It sure has been working great. That is for the politicians. The people, not so great.
Maybe the politicians are right. The people are not smart enough to make decisions.

Great information, Stogner. Your claim to be a Republican has been a joke for years. You have attempted to get state jobs and appointments to feather your own nest and your "television empire", but because people know you and your background they have all been wise enough to pass on the opportunity. Your campaign to be chairman of the party decades ago was left at the front door as you had NO support or votes - not even yours since you weren't even elected as a delegate from your own county. Now your trying to keep up the same old discredited argument about the 2014 McDaniel fiasco carries about as much weight as your television enterprises. And there is no such 'cardinal rule' about individuals playing a part in primaries - please find that rule and where it has ever existed. Ain't there. And never has been.

Come back soon - you are always good for a laugh

Frankly, the legislative leadership has not defense for this ridiculous effort to shield government business from the public eye. It is amusing that the clarion ledger doesn't press them with a simple question, "Why do you need to do your work in secret when you require all other state and local government entities to do their work in public?" Assuredly, they will not have a valid response. Everyone should call his/her legislator and ask the same question.

Not having a valid response might limit a politician to a 30 minute speech. No where in the 30 minutes would they ever come even close to the subject of the question. It would still satisfy their party members.
Has anyone ever heard a politician answer any question they were asked?

@12:15,
Well Hayes, at least Mr. Stogner had the guts to identify himself.

I have a question please - where were the Democrats when this was passed? If it's being done by the Republicans then why weren't the Democrats out there screaming and hollering into every microphone they could locate to get everyone's attention. Where was the news conference in front of the steps in the Legislature. Why do Mississippians have to have Kingfish tell us about this?

Thank you Kingfish for keeping the ordinary voting Mississippian apprised of what's going on, because goodness the rest of the media won't.

Is this whole topic something to turn over to Mike Hurst at the Mississippi Institute of Justice?

Is there any benefit to the state or to constituents by not revealing contracts? I cannot imagine a situation where this is good.

Even if they needed secrecy for say, 6 months, then open to the public. Does not seem right.

So...to recap: Stogner had the balls to identify himself. Well, hell; So did Ernest T. Bass. Both are good for a laugh but equally irrelevant.

I don't understand why they should be allowed to hide their documents and meetings when other agencies in other branches enjoy no such exemption. The irony, is that Reeves is always blowing smoke about transparency. I have a call in to my representative and senator for an explanation of the justification for secrecy among legislators.

I saw an interview with Holland on six o'clock news tonight. Mr Holland feels the only important thing for us (voters, citizens, taxpayers) to know is how much the contract will cost and what they are suppose to do (contractor). Details are really none of our concern.

It is terrible to go through life fat, stupid and drunk.

Everybody is ready to jump on this as hiding shit. Actually, you've got it backwards. Up until this policy was adopted, members couldn't get this information - all that was available to members and to the public was the amount, the vendor. The details of contracts from the House was left in the Management Committee. This new policy is opening up of the process. Baby steps, yes. But still steps. (See 7:27 about Holland, a member of the old guard, and the way they did it when he and his buddy Billy was in charge.)

fat, stupid, and drunk describes virtually all of our legislators (dem & rep).

Well, I am willing to concede that not every legislator is drunk and fat.

so because the prior party in control operated in secret, the current party in control should be able to operate in secret. under that scenario, only one group loses....the people. Excellent logic my friend.

"It is terrible to go through life fat, stupid and drunk."

Imagine that combination plus pigeon-toed and selling caskets. You can't make this shit up.

The connection to Trump and Bannon is the shared point of view and the shared M.O. The same people that voted for Trump and Bannon are these guys and voted for these guys. You trust them, I don't.
I don't have to wait to know what they will do, I bothered to learn what they have done.
And, you've been led to believe that one party steals from the rich and gives to the poor and the other steals from the poor and gives to the rich . But, none of you see yourselves as the " poor". Even if you are a multi millionaire, you aren't as rich as you think. That's the mistake. How someone steals your money becomes irrelevant once it's gone.
The common factor is that any money they can get from the average taxpayer by any means goes to their friends and supporters.
Turning us against each other over nonsense simply allows them to steal from us and make it legal while we are fighting amongst ourselves and are not paying attention.
But, the way Bannon and Trump and Ivanka's husband's family and Guiliani after he left office have stolen money ought to scare everybody as it makes " pay to play" and enriching one's self from public speaking look benign.
And, for the math challenged, what you aren't going to be paying in personal income tax, you will pay that and more in sales tax, state and local tax and having everything cost much , much more as monopolies increase and competition disappears and you are less, not more able, to challenge power as it goes into the hands of a few.
Did you not hear Putin say that Russia is a democracy? There's your new democracy...the control of the flow of information, the use of courts and law to take down your adversaries, and money in the hands of the criminal oligarchs.
It's just history repeating itself. But, you like history which blames " evil" characters not socio-economic and political history. You don't read about how the evil come to power and what they do to solidify their power. That's too complicated.
But, hey, maybe some of you will have a skill or provide a service that the oligarchs need. Just be satisfied with the crumbs they throw.

@6:32 AM Russia is putting out some great porn. You just might benefit by trying some.

"The same people that voted for Trump and Bannon are these guys and voted for these guys."

Once 6:32 established that as the basis for all that followed, nothing else in the post was credible or relevant.

A weak or factless underlying premise can torpedo the longest and must inane of theories.

Personally, I'm for Transparent Tate!!

Am I the only one that is taken aback by Deputy Fife's over the top involvement in the appeals court election? That whole things smells bad. Is this guy going to recuse himself for cases involving the state of Miss?

Stogner again: It seems my comments must have stimulated some criticism and of course this should or could lead to some meaningful discourse. I take the, what seems to be comparison to Ernest T. Bass, as a compliment. Of course we need a good laugh, a laugh at ourselves to have allowed our Mississippi GOP to become close to being a copy of 'year's ago Democrat behavior. And as far as 'irrelevant', well irrelevant as to what? I would think my comments are relevant to the subject of the legislative action in this thread.
Since "Stog Fan" seems ashamed to share his identify so I can guess it's probably one of two people who where around when I tried to run for GOP state chairman, doing so as a matter of principle because I wanted to draw attention to how the party was too tightly controlled by some few insiders. Incidentally this same thing happened at our 2016 state convention. As to my attempting to get state jobs, anyone that knows me at all should be aware I have long tried to make it known I do not want a government job; do not want to be on the government payroll. As far as my "television empire", sadly my nationwide network of local cable television programming channels is far from being any 'empire'.
But if you want to identify yourself, perhaps leave this public arena and take if private via email or in person, I'd welcome the opportunity of defending my opinions on where we need to make some changes in our state GOP party.
Cardinal Rule: Well I've long been under the impression that party officers and elected party officials were to not try to impose their personal choice of candidate in party primaries but instead be prepared to get 100 percent behind our party nominees.

No public official regardless of party should be immune from working in the open public eye. Not Tate, not Phillip, not Jim, nor anyone.

Charlie, you are one of those long winded politicians that we do not need. If you have something to say spit it out. Talking without saying anything is going to be outdated.

Well, anonymous, I need some help. I thought I was 'getting to the point' on those comments I post. If you're so inclined to find fault with me personally, "man up" (whoops that may not be politically correct today), identify yourself, come forward and let's have a genuine, in-depth, discussion.

I think I'm safe in saying you either don't know me at all or are very limited in what you know of me, my political, civic and business experiences over the past 55 years.

Come out from behind the curtain. I think we need to have some serious discussion on how our elected GOP officials and some party officers perform.

6:30, you did not have to tell us you are a politician. Your post showed us that. Lots of words and nothing really said. That is politician talk.

half of the posts here have nothing to do with good governance. instead everyone prefers to argue politics. i don't give a rats ass which party is in control, government should be transparent. just because the past leader was a cheating piece of sh!t, doesn't provide justification for the current leader to be a cheating piece of sh!t.

9:53, you are very mistaken. A cheating piece of shit of their party is different than a cheating piece of shit from the other party. Everyone knows that being a member of the same party changes it completely.