From the Tuesday, September 30th Clarion-Ledger letters page, entitled “More than ‘little bit’ of tort reform now:”
I’m amazed at the comments of Ben Puckett (“The best we can buy? Part II,” Sept. 21). He said he contributed money to [elected as a Democrat, recently turned Republican, recently drug up the battle flag, general traitor Lt. Governor] Amy Tuck because she worked to get the “little bit” of tort reform in last year’s multi-million dollar special session, and because he was worried about “anti-business” legislation.
The “little bit” of tort reform has radically changed Mississippi’s legal landscape and is exactly what Puckett and his comrades were clamoring for. The Pucketts’ hefty gift was $15,000, more than many Mississippians make in a year.
And who proposes “anti-business” legislation all those Green Party members we don’t have in the state House?
Puckett, like many of us, has forgotten about what matters most: Mississippi. What about integrity? What about what’s best for the future of our state? What happened to caring about Mississippi, instead of just caring about your pocketbook?
Gorjus
Jackson
You guys deserve what you got, supporting Amy Tuck. She always struck me as a two-bit hack and a pretty lame politician. Just because she was a “democrat” you guys towed the fucking party line. Half of the Dems you guys support are pathetic. There are other ways, whether Southern liberals choose to support them or not.
Hell, the Democratic party these days is pretty pathetic, so what am I going on about? Joe Lieberman? Terry MacAuliffe? Jesus Christ, these guys suck.
Oh, and Jesse Jackson is a terrible civil rights leader. Going after the Barbershop? Piffle.
I think that you may have the impression that people in Mississippi actually get out and vote. Very few who make under $15,000 a year do, and even a smaller amount of that number have any idea as to what tort reform is all about. I have a hard time understanding it myself. (I place the blame on insurance companies, but that is another rant all together…)
I think we should just blame Ole Miss. For everything.
so your suggestion for the last decade was to…? lie down? do nothing? pick none of the above? we may not like all of what we have in front of us, but that is hardly an excuse to do nothing. furthermore, we have a right to be upset when someone changes their stripes. sorry. maybe i wouldn’t be bothered if i’d sat back and done nothing. then i wouldn’t be worried about being betrayed, even by a two bit hack.
wow, sniping from the ivory tower. i wish i knew how fun that was, but i guess since i live in mississippi i have to deal with reality—in black and white.
did amy tuck do things and say things i didn’t like in ‘99? absolutely. did she shift gradually from her earlier position as pro-choice as the campaign went on? yes she did.
and did me & jp! escort her to naacp functions and black churches? yes we did. was there an open an honest dialogue between blacks and white? yep. was a prominent black state senator by her side at all times, to try to work for ALL of mississippi, and not just the whites?
yes. i’ve long said, and long believed, that the only difference between most southern democrats and southern republicans is that A SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT WILL HUG A BLACK PERSON. amy tuck did that—and she earned my trust.
and then she quit. do i regret working for her? no. we would have been worse off with her republican rival, bill hawks. am i now going to work my guts off for her democratic rival, senator barbara blackmon, black as coal?
yes i am. why? because i’m a democratic and we can do better. is blackmon the best candidate? hell, no! but in the REAL WORLD we have to make compromises and agreements. in the real world we have friction, and disagreements, and sometimes you can CHANGE A WHOLE OPINION in a car ride from here to the burger king. is that scary?
hell yeah. i have a pal that works for a (prominent) judge—who comes in a says “reverse or affirm, kid?” does the amorphousness of her position, or the theoretical lunacy of her boss, means she packs it in?
hell no. we’re here to make a difference—i’m not amy tuck, but maybe i can influence her, fight her, work her to my advantage. it’s great thinking in a vaccuum—that’s where ideals come from. but real life is a little more complicated. if you want to deal in absolutes you can play video games and join the green party.
otherwise, show up with your shin-guards on.
the fucking day that Joe “i can’t make a JEW get excited about me” fucking lieberman IS the democratic party is the day i call it quits. that guy isn’t the fucking democrats. his campaign staff isn’t even that into him. i know, i work with em.
Dean and Clark. that’s the party. that’s where its at in reality…with a little jessie rubbed on top.
Hey, sorry guys, but the truth fucking hurts and I understand politics just fine, thank you very much. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be changed for the better and it doesn’t mean that half-assed candidates shouldn’t be put up for a vote just because their Democrats. We can change this. We can do better in the South. I’m thinking about running for city council when I get old enough just for the hell of it and I won’t fucking compromise. I have nothing to lose. You should run, Gorjus…and so should you, JP, but you shouldn’t end up like Tuck or any of the turncoat yellow dogs out there. Idealism doesn’t have to be absent from politics and it can exist outside of a vacuum. I don’t buy compromise when it’s a fucking excuse.
And Clark is the old Democratic party. Sorry, but it’s true. Dean is the new Democratic party. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party IS the party of Lieberman et al., and strangely enough it’s especially this way in the South. Look at Zell Miller from here in Georgia! Look at half of our legislators! Republicans in sheep’s clothing. Don’t tell me about the fucking REAL WORLD. Tell me about affecting REAL CHANGE. Your arguments are basically arguments from tradition: this is the way it is, sure it can get better but it requires compromise, go vote Green Party you damned “idealist.” What the hell is that about? I never said I was going to desert the Democratic Party, but when you see someone who’s half-assed from the get-go and softening their positions, I’m saying you better run the other way and find someone better. We can all do better than the Joe Liebermans, Amy Tucks, and Zell Millers of the world. We need to work harder to find the better candidates.
Oh, and the Dems are pretty pathetic these days. It’s all whining with no agenda.
And Jesse Jackson still sucks.
And what the hell does that statement about you living in Mississippi mean about your having to deal with reality? It’s not like Georgia is some glorious paradise, some oasis in the backward South. Athens is unique but still half very conservative, and Atlanta is in race denial and could give a shit about anything but big business. The rest of the state is par for the course. I deal with plenty of reality around these parts.
i believe we meant political realities. dealing with POLITICAL realities in MS (or GA). are you saying you deal with those? i’m curious what yer up to. there are 2 ways you can be in politics w/o compromise (here) and that is to be a republican or to be defeated.
that doesn’t mean your ideals have to crumble with any poll. what it means is that you have to make decisions about what is a priority. you talk about amy tuck. you don’t talk about Mike Moore.
You say Clark is the OLD and Dean is the NEW? PLEASE!! they are virtually identical in their views. they are the two MOST alike.
as for doing something…getting involved. changing things. well, i am. every day. that is my JOB. i protect people’s right to vote. that is my job. i make sure citizens aren’t denied the right to vote. i AM in the middle of it.
I never accused you guys of not being in the thick of it. I’m just saying that I never trusted Amy Tuck and others…Mike Moore I like. I admit I forgot about him…so, sorry. And Clark is the OLD Democratic party because the Clinton fans and Terry MacAuliffe et al. were practically sucking each other’s dicks they were so happy about him entering the race. Then everyone promptly attacked Howard Dean at every turn. Dean is working outside of the party; Clark is working from within. It’s not about views so much as where the support is coming from. I like both guys, to be honest, and I think Clark is eminently electable if he can get his facts straight on the war and stuff.
i just don’t know what i think about dean. i LIKE him a lot. i think he’s no more liberal than clark but he’s seen that way by everyone in the world (including him) and that bothers me. i’m not sure that the USA has elected a liberal in the last 100 years (JFK’s election was rigged, i don’t count it!;) heh). is it time? is it not time for a liberal? see, like i said, i get the same views with clark and i don’t have to deal with those 2 previously mentioned BS questions.
its hard to support him over clark b/c of it. dean does have the best tshirts tho. i like the oval design.