PHILADELPHIA, Miss.–It’s danger ahead, but Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Atty. Gen. Jim Hood are urging two different bands of caution. For Hood, it’s new ways to commit crimes. For Reeves, it’s political enemies. The state leaders discussed their battles at the Neshoba County Fair Wednesday.
Hood, a Democrat, took the stage just before Reeves. The two were the last on the list for Wednesday’s political speeches.
Hood urged better, or “higher” political discourse in the state’s elections, referring to the recent Senate campaign.
“Political bloggers, like this kid who paid this guy to lie on video, paid him $2,000, they’re the loudest voice out there. And we regular folks are not voicing our opinions strong enough,” said Hood. It was not clear who he was referring to, but blogger Chucky Johnson got involved in the Cohran v. McDaniel campaign after the fact, calling himself an investigative reporter.
Hood said politicians and candidates should act like “ladies and gentlemen”.
As usual, he warned of cyber crime and said his office is fighting it.
He also said he believes that 3D printing could be a bigger source for crime than the internet.
“It’s gonna create problems in a lot of ways. You can make a gun in your home, no serial number, no way to track it.”
When Reeves took the stage he talked about conservative budgeting and eliminating the use of one-time money for budgeting, which he called “faith-based budgeting”.
He also acknowledged that he has political enemies, who will likely show their heads soon as the election year approaches. He said that could include fellow conservatives.
“I’ve never been the favorite of the political elite, but the voters seem to be okay with that,” he said.
Reeves also spoke well of Sen. Giles Ward (R-Louisville), who announced Wednesday that he would not be running. He said that even though Ward supported his opponent in the 2011 election, that he campaigned for Ward anyway.
“You see, Sen. Ward is my kind of public servant. He was never in politics for what’s best for Giles. He served because he wanted to make Mississippi a better place>’
Reeves said it was his goal to make Mississippi the safest state in the nation.
Thursday’s political speeches include Gov. Bryant, Sen. Thad Cochran, candidate Travis Childers, former Gov. William Winter, and a possible visit from some who may be associated with the Tea Party. The South MS Tea Party has made plans to disrupt both Cochran and the governor according to a letter that was posted on yallpolitics.com.
