Sunday, September 8, 2019

Bill Crawford: What Matters to Voters?

What issues will matter most to voters when choosing Mississippi’s next governor?


Republican nominee Tate Reeves wants to convince voters that his opponent is a tax and spend, anti-Trump liberal. Democratic nominee Jim Hood wants to convince voters that his opponent is a self-serving politician who cares more about corporate cronies than average Mississippians.

It’s going to be that kind of race, with lots of money spent trying to convince voters what’s wrong with the other guy.

But are these negative issues the ones that matter most?

As Sid Salter pointed out, Reeves successfully framed Bill Waller as “too liberal” to take him down in the Republican primary runoff. Salter expects Reeves to “double down” on that same theme against Hood. Indeed, Reeves started out his campaign blasting Hood and only focused on Waller when the runoff became a reality.

While that tactic helped Reeves win the runoff, Waller’s more positive campaign on substantive issues garnered 46% of the vote. Will Reeves’ “too liberal” gambit bring those voters to his side in November?


As Reeves emphasized, Waller’s focus on fixing roads and bridges, increasing teacher pay, and saving hospitals are many of the key issues pushed by Hood. If a lot of Waller Republican voters care most about these issues and go with Hood, Reeves could be in trouble in November. Indeed, early polls showed Hood beating Reeves.

Or will President Donald Trump favoring Reeves be the biggest issue for Mississippi voters? There is no doubt Trump will endorse Reeves. The only question is how many Trump visits and Trump family visits to Mississippi will occur over the next two months.

In this vein, Reeves will try to nationalize the race by highlighting his support for Trump and his policies and playing on Mississippi disdain for national liberals.

In contrast, Hood will try to keep the focus local by using his faith-based oratory to highlight issues important to working men and women and playing on Mississippi esteem for pro-life values.

Indeed, the values issue could be in play too. During the primary Reeves emphasized his support for “Mississippi values” as a key theme. Hood emphasizes Christian values and regularly blends Bible verses into his comments.

Underlying all these issues is one key contrast that has defined these candidates over their careers. Few have been more pro-business than Reeves. Few have been more pro-consumer than Hood. Reeves talks about business opportunity while Hood talks about opportunities for working men and women. Reeves has championed business tax cuts and de-regulation. Hood has championed workplace safety and children’s issues and has proposed cutting sales taxes on groceries.

Then, there is this issue as highlighted by Wyatt Emmerich. “If you hate golf, you probably aren't going to be good at it,” he wrote. “It's as though some Republicans hate government. As a result, they aren't very good at it. Cut, cut, cut may have been good medicine after 120 years of Democratic reign, but the anti-government tilt is tipping too far.

“We need a good, competitive two-party system in Mississippi. This one-party domination deal is for the birds. It allows the entrenched party to loaf.”

Will voters choose Hood, the Democrat, to re-balance government or stick with Reeves, the Republican, to keep things as they are?

Lots of issues for voters to consider.

Crawford is a syndicate columnist from Meridian.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

No state, no state, is as dominated by maintaining the status quo or looking back to the past as Mississippi. At this point, it's the basis of the Bryant-Reeves regime and it has a very good chance to win. Change is scary.

Anonymous said...

12:08 PM—“looking back to the past”—-JJ’s Primos article was totally out of line, uncalled for. It is media coverage such as that that retards MS.
“Change is scary”—- as proven by JJ, the media, local & national, will not let MS progress. MS is the national “whipping boy”. Everybody has to have a minority to beat upon. MS is poor & defenseless. One would think all these do good liberals would help MS as they have rallied for other minorities.

Anonymous said...

I see it as EXACT OPPOSITE—Waller people r the one afraid of change/bein out of control—they’re afraid of Tate cause he’s a TOTAL wild card to them

Anonymous said...

I'll vote for Hood if he gets better hair. That bouffant hairdo with too much hair spray just doesn't do anything for me.

Anonymous said...

Hearing some Republicans are voting for Hood because they are tired of the Republican establishment handpicking the candidates.

Anonymous said...

I am going to vote for Reeves because I don't believe Hood will go against the nation Dem party line. The Dems spend all their time in Congress trying to hurt and impeach Pres Trump. The Dems want more power to force Socialist ideas. Free Medicare for everyone...NEVER....it is not free. Ask someone who is on Medicare. It is far from free.

Anonymous said...

That's odd 8:17 because the establishment was backing the Waller insurgency.

Anonymous said...

The premise of the article is accurate. We tend to vote emotionally. That's what got Lynn Fitch where she is today. Never mind that she's totally unqualified for the office, it was her push to identify herself as Pro-Trump and her opponent at Anti-Flag that pushed her ahead. Pro-Trump and a smiling female captured both the male and female vote. Nothing else mattered.

Likewise, the money spent by 'Reeves' to paint Hood as Pro-Pelosi and Anti-Trump will put him in the mansion. Emotionalism at its worst.

And JJ can continue his march to paint most of us as anti-Jackson racists while demanding the dismantling of PERS and when things get really slow...he can toss in a few more racist things from fifty years ago to stoke the fire. Gotta keep the natives restless.

Anonymous said...

1:05 pm You miss entirely that Mississippi's defensiveness and refusal to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and sincerely act to correct those mistakes is the problem. Excuses and blame shifting just don't replace " We really messed up and will make sure we don't make the same mistakes again".

Not only that, this site is rife with comments that confirm the same attitudes and mythical justifications ( even the FBI couldn't find evidence that Martin Luther King was a communist with years of wire taps and plants) but that old canard found it's way into a comment here), but those who hold on to that foolishness feel very comfortable that they will not be censured or ostracized for airing their vile views. " We were fighting communism" is an attempt to justify " We didn't want blacks to vote or improve their lot in life".

And, between bashing ideas to prosper that have succeeded elsewhere simply because you don't like the person or the person's party that embraced it first and airing every negative thought you have about any person, place or thing in Mississippi , you hurt Mississippi.

Why should anyone come to Mississippi when Mississippians don't tout their state and are quick to criticize everything? Who wants to live in such a negatively charged atmosphere? Who wants to overcome that when other places have a " can do" attitude?

Try focusing on investigating the ideas before you sound off. Accept that people you don't like might be right every now and again about something or know something you don't. Think before you speak or write.

You don't kill negative perceptions by feeding them.

There are plenty of good people with good attitudes trying to make positive changes, but it's clear to outsiders in short order that the those who have profited from the corrupt power structure do not want to risk change. And, it doesn't take much to see that those who have tried to come here get blasted enough to make any profits mediocre compared to how their competitors are doing even in Alabama or Louisiana. Might as well go to a third world country where ignorance and politicians with a hand out will at least get you cheap labor.





Anonymous said...

9:30; You sorta bounced around the atmosphere with that post.

I have no information on whether MLK was a commie, but historical accounts are replete with the fact that he was a womanizer and had multiple liaisons waiting wherever he arrived by plane, train or automobile. And people like you worship him to this day. I don't. His advance crew was comparable to the secret service when a president is scheduled to arrive next week.

Anonymous said...

10:18 your comprehension skills are not up to par...9:30 made perfect sense to me.

Anonymous said...

10:18 Stack the morality of Martin Luther King against 90% of the presidents of this country and MLK has as much right to his place in history as any of them. MLK was investigated and infiltrated as an "enemy" of this country by the FBI and all they found or could materialize was small potatoes. Let some of the nation's political heroes of the past face that same pressure and their reputations would crack. Find something else to crap on.

Anonymous said...

Our next Governor should promote poverty tourism. It's turning a profit in former Soviet block countries.


Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.