Haley Barbour, former head of the Republican National Committe and now Republican candidate for governor of his native Mississippi, is the focus of this post by Josh Marshall. It deals with Barbour's links to a company called New Bridge Strategies, that was set up to consult with businesses interested in doing business in the New Iraq.
Specifically, according to its Web site, "Its activities will seek to expedite the creation of free and fair markets and new economic growth in Iraq, consistent with the policies of the Bush Administration." As Marshall explains, this has all the outward appearances of crony capitalism at its worst.
Our all-volunteer military draws its soldiers disproportionately from the South. Some small towns in Mississippi have had their entire police forces called up into active duty, because many of them were serving in the reserves. Soldiers from Mississippi are being killed in the Iraq War.
And Haley Barbour wants to be Governor of Mississippi to cut the already inadequate public services in the state, while he positions himself to rake in the bucks from war profiteering. If Democratic Governor Ronnie Musgrave doesn't make an issue out of that in his tough race for re-election, you have to wonder how much he really wants to hold on to the governorship.
And while Haley Barbour and his Republican cronies look for ways to siphon profits out of war, Mississippi is taking a huge hit due to the national recession. Mississippi needs jobs and good public services. Haley Barbour and his Enron Republican cronies in Washington will not provide money to even maintain public services in the state, because the core of their domestic program is to provide huge tax cuts for the very wealthiest.
Is this what Barbour and his party expect Mississippians to die for in Iraq?
2 comments:
Well said!!
Well said!!
Post a Comment