Two recent tweets from Mississippi’s Republican governor candidates say it all about who to support in the Aug. 27 runoff.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves posted, “Bill Waller is a nice man. I think he is a good man. He is not a conservative. If you support Obamacare and higher taxes, you are not a conservative. If you never voted in a Republican state primary until your name was on the ballot, you haven’t earned the Republican nomination.”
Waller, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, took a more pragmatic approach, saying, “Mississippi’s roads and bridges are in dire need of repair and improvement. That’s why I put a plan forward on August 1 showing the biggest needs that must be addressed by priority, not by politics. With your vote, I’m ready to go to work to fix our roads and bridges.”
Reeves continues to blindly adopt the age-old tactic in Mississippi politics of trying to “out conservative” his opposition. It’s a pointless and silly game when all of the Republicans running for state office are legitimately conservatives. Waller, for example, is a Baptist deacon, a brigadier general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, practices the “Billy Graham rule,” said during the debate that he’s against issues like abortion and changing the state flag without a voter referendum and supports 2nd Amendment rights. If he’s a closet liberal, he’s done an awfully good job of hiding it during his entire lifetime.
No, the debate here is not between liberal and conservative, as Reeves tries to position it, but rather between the two emerging factions within the Republican Party. There’s the old guard of pro-business community leaders focused on getting things done pitted against the Tea Party faction that just wants to fight ideological battles with little concern for outcomes. I suppose you can clearly see which side I fall on.
Reeves and company have joined the tea party side on many issues, including the gas tax, mainly because they think it will help them get elected. So far in his political career that has worked fine.
But the strategy seemed to backfire in the GOP primary when Waller and state Rep. Robert Foster gained traction by basing their campaign on ideas, including both supporting the concept of raising the use tax on gasoline to pay for highways and bridges. Waller, who got Foster’s endorsement this week, clearly sees the obvious need for more investment into Mississippi’s infrastructure. I would argue that’s a much more conservative position than Reeves’ do-nothing approach.
It’s the opposite of “conserving” to watch idly by as the capital that you’ve invested millions of dollars into — in this case roads and bridges — crumbles because you’re not willing to spend anything to fix it. That’s the equivalent of trying to save money by not changing your car’s oil. Quickly it catches up to you when your engine explodes, and you have far more expenses repairing that than you would have had if you had simply taken the conservative approach of maintaining what you had.
This state’s business leaders, represented by the Mississippi Economic Council, have been clamoring for more money in roads and bridges because they’re smart enough to figure that out. They know the current 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax doesn’t generate enough to keep up the current highways, much less build new ones.
Raising that tax makes sense now when gas prices are low, and the economy is strong. It’s an inherently fair tax, one that conservative hero Ronald Reagan supported increasing when he was president, because those who drive on the roads pay for them. Reeves is banking his campaign on the idea that your average voter can’t figure all that out. But enough people may have hit potholes that they’re willing to try a truly conservative approach of taking care of what you have.
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at (601) 736-2611 or csmith@columbianprogress.com.
