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Listen to his words when Barbour starts his re-election spiel

By chance on a recent Friday night, I caught Gov. Haley Barbour part-way through an interview with National Public Broadcasting's veteran Charlie Rose. Barbour's appearance had not been announced locally.

Obviously Barbour was in full re-election campaign mode. He pictured himself as a modern-day miracle worker who left his cushy perch as a top Washington lobbyist to rescue his debt-ridden, litigation-plagued home state and produce booming prosperity. Not to mention his rosy scenario of recovery in the Katrina-ravaged Coast area, thanks to his management.

Good that I ordered a script of the interview from PBS, because in his own words, Barbour fashioned a pitch filled with blatantly misleading statements and falsehoods.

Says Barbour, when he was elected in 2003, "my state had a $720 million budget deficit, and we had to dig out of the worst financial hole in the history of the state." Bosh, humbug.

To begin with, Mississippi law prohibits budget deficits. The Legislature must adopt a budget each year that is balanced, based on estimated general fund revenue, plus special funds used to help out.

During 2003-04, Mississippi, as well as almost every other state, experienced a revenue shortfall - ours was about $300 million - caused by the national recession. Lawmakers in 2004 cut some state agencies, and used one-time money, including the "rainy-day fund" to balance the budget.

The state's worst financial hole? Maybe Barbour hadn't heard of the Great Depression. In 1932 the state treasury was bare and state workers' pay warrants couldn't be cashed. Enactment of the nation's first sales tax (2 cents) pulled the state out of the hole.

And here's Barbour again, telling Rose that the surprise to him after taking office was having to contend with partisanship in the Legislature - "particularly the House of Representatives" and its speaker, Democrat Billy McCoy, said Barbour.

Mind you, this comes from the longtime professional Republican operative, who is the first Mississippi governor to install partisan politics in the Legislature. So much so that he had a staff member monitor House floor debates and send e-mails to Republican members, telling them how to vote. And if a Republican lawmaker voted the wrong way, Barbour went into his district to blast him.

Contrary to Barbour's contention, Speaker McCoy, the combative old hill country Democrat, assured Republicans were well represented on committees. Seven House committees are chaired by Republicans, including such major committees as Insurance, Banking, Public Buildings and Oil and Gas.

Barbour told Rose he not only controlled state spending but funded education "at record levels," adding his mantra: "without raising anybody's taxes."

Rose asks if Mississippi has a sales tax, and Barbour merely replies, "We do," not explaining that the sales tax produces nearly half of state revenue, and that the sales tax on groceries is the highest in the nation.

Nor did Barbour, when asked how many Mississippians have no health care coverage, mention that upwards of 100,000 lost Medicaid coverage because of face-to-face re-registration his administration ordered.

Barbour also brings up what is expected to be a campaign centerpiece: a study of all taxes Mississippians pay, state and federal.

Asked if he will recommend major tax cuts, Barbour says "We will." And asked if that primarily meant "income tax cuts or corporate tax cuts," Barbour ducked and weaved, not giving away his true aim of corporate tax cuts.

"Could a black man be elected governor of Mississippi?" Rose asks. "Sure," Barbour quickly replies. Really?

Remember in 2003 when Democrats nominated a black woman state senator for lieutenant governor? Barbour flooded the state with literature showing Ronnie Musgrove and Barbara Blackmon together. Wonder why?