Last week, Mississippi lawmakers finally stumbled into the 21st century and decided that adults—yes, grown-ups—should be allowed to buy wine online.
A round of applause for Senators Michel, Blackmon, England, and DeLano, who convinced their colleagues that Mississippians should be allowed to do something they do in almost every other state. Until now, if you wanted a bottle of wine, you had to head to the store and buy only what the Alcoholic Beverage Control board had approved. But don’t uncork the champagne just yet. This bill only just squeaked through the Senate, with 21 so- called “conservative” senators clutching their pearls and trying to smother it in its crib. Why, you ask? What possible reason would any politician have to stop you buying wine online? I do wonder if anyone at the legislature was wined and dined - probably both - by lobbyists for wine distributors who'd rather not compete with online retailers. That it took years to pass something this basic should alarm every conservative in our state. That so many “conservatives” were ready to leap to the defense of various vested interests is depressing. How many lobbyist-funded dinners does it take to kill good conservative policy? Right this minute there are still lots of great conservative bills alive in the 2025 legislature. But if it is this hard to let people buy Merlot online, what hope is there for the big stuff? School choice? Cutting red tape? Eliminating DEI? The good news is that right now there are still lots of great conservative bills alive in the 2025 legislature. Good conservative lawmakers could still achieve great conservative wins this session.
The House has a plan to eliminate the income tax — imagine keeping more of your own money; radical, I know. Having passed their bill HB 1, the House has decided to hold off passing any legislation from the Senate until the Senate actually does something to eliminate the income tax. Another excellent conservative proposal is HB1435, which would allow public to public school choice. Approved by the House, it is currently being considered by a committee in the Senate. It’s a similar story with HB 922, authored by the awesome Representatives Zuber and Creekmore. This bill would repeal a lot of the red tape that prevents new health care providers operating in our state. Both the House and the Senate have approved different bills to combat DEI. Again, this is something every conservative should not hesitate to support. If our lawmakers were to complete the passage of these bills, it would be a vintage year for liberty in our state. But the danger is that these bills, like efforts to restore the ballot initiative, are quietly garroted in a back room at the Capitol. For years, we have seen solid conservative policies get “killed in committee.” Don’t be fooled about what that means. When a bill “dies in committee,” it’s not a natural death. The committee chairman didn’t misplace it under a stack of memos — it was knifed, Julius Caesar-style. Only instead of togas, it’s cheap suits and lobbyist cash. The next couple of weeks will be critical. As with the online wine bill, we could see good conservative lawmakers pass good conservative laws. If they do, they deserve a medal—or at least a decent glass of Cabernet. Or it could be that those Governor Tate Reeves calls “the Coalition of the Status Quo”, once again kill off the chance of change. I will be sure to keep you updated about the progress of each of these critical conservative policies, and let you know who supports them, and who, if anyone, fails to support them. Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and author of this post. MCPP sponsored this post.
8 comments:
I have been a loyal Republican conservative for 50 years. I am now retired. I paid every penny of the state income tax I owed for all those years. Now I am being told to support a "tax swap" that will raise my taxes is a good "conservative" idea. I have yet to see ANYTHING that even remotely convinces me that the House bill is fiscally responsible and won't lead to higher and higher taxes down the line. If the Dems can come up with some candidates that aren't bat____ crazy more and more people will be willing to listen in the future.....mark my words.
Outside of some conservative writers and about a dozen politicians, I've not found five people who believe eliminating the income tax is a good idea. It sounds appealing on the surface but it will eventually mean all other taxes will increase. At best it's a tax swap no matter which bill ultimately gets passed.
If our surplus is so large then let's spend the money on infrastructure, improving state services, giving state employees a raise (and not just teachers) or repairing PERS.
Agreed, 12:37! Property taxes will go up. Eventually, this will mean that less land will be owned by individuals (small farmers, homeowners, etc.), and more will be owned by giant corporate interests (which are less affected by taxes, if not totally immune to the effects of taxes). Whether or not they realize it, Mississippi's politicians and astroturfers are working in the service of giant interests (many of them FOREIGN).
Close the ABC warehouse in G’stadt! Hard to get warehouse workers there because Tater don’t pay squat. To make up for the low pay, what can’t “be stole” gets consumed by the guys that make minimum wage. Then too, the state only has one warehouse where ALL the wine and spirits are shipped out from. Now, that’s great if you own a store in Madison or Canton. Not so great if you are in Ocean Springs or Tupelo. Those are long trips. And you are having to pay warehouse workers plus benefits (including PERS). Private Prisons don’t make much sense to me but neither does a State Owned Whiskey Wholesale operation.
Privatize Alcohol - just like it is for beer.
Let me add that I have talked to dozens of lifelong Republicans besides myself who start their conversation with, "I'm a lifelong GOP voter, but I didn't vote for this (insert insanity, chaos, lie, charades, billionaire BS, etc etc etc.)
Another idea from Morons whizzing down the middle class' back and swearing it''s raining, but it's also "the GOLDEN AGE"........ Insanity reigns in DC and MS Capitol.
I have never been ashamed to be an American before now. This country is lost and will never return to its former glory. Trump, Elon and the Republican killed it. Who cares about some utterly unimportant issues when the country is on fire?
LMAO at all the unhinged and likely schizophrenic Redditors who come on here and claim they are “Lifelong republicans” when Trump won in a landslide and painted this country MAGA RED from coast to coast. The majority wanted this. I’ve never been more proud! Watching VP JD Vance and President Trump taking turns bitch-slapping that corrupt little rat from Kiev made me proud. Now he can go home and finally restore democracy in Ukraine by having open elections. Watch how fast the Ukrainian people replace him with someone like Viktor Yanukovych who will bend the knee to Trump and Vance. And the Trump/Vance CIA can’t stage another coup against Yanukovych like Obama/Biden did in 2014.
Another MCPP hit piece on those that are not backing school choice. Keep your eye on the ball. MCPP is really just a lobbyist.
Post a Comment