Nation’s poorest state spent over $500,000 on Republican governor’s travel

[Harry Hope]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/republican-gov-haley-barbour-mixed-state-business-pleasure/

Monday, December 27th, 2010

Nation’s poorest state spent over $500,000 on governor’s travel

By Eric W. Dolan

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's use of the state's pricey jet plan has mixed state business with pleasure and national politics, according to a Politico review of the jet's flight log.

The poorest state in the nation has spent over $500,000 on the governor's air travel since 2007.

Barbour has used the state's 12-seat Cessna Citation jet plane to travel to fundraisers for himself and other Republican candidates, as well as football games and at least one boxing match, according to the flight logs obtained by Politico.

"What Barbour is doing is that he's playing the system," Lynn Evans, president of the watchdog group Common Cause Mississippi, told Politico.

"He's raising as much money as he can, whenever he can and using the state plane to do it."

The use of jet planes may not be new to Barbour.

Before being elected governor in 2003, Barbour helped found the Barbour Griffith & Rogers lobbying group, which advocated on behalf of the tobacco industry.

The BGR Group is considered one of the top 25 lobbying firms in the nation.

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Critics accuse Gov. Barbour, who has slashed the state's budget, of continuing to live the life of a wealthy lobbyist using taxpayer's dollars.

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Typical Republican hypocrisy

Harry

[RKP5637]

1. Yet they vote him in ... frankly they deserve the people they vote in ... n/t

[gaspee]

12. Agree 100%

THe people of Mississippi don't seem to have a problem living in poverty with shitty education while their governor lives like a king. If they had a problem with it, they wouldn't keep voting for slimeballs.

People get the government 50% +1 deserve. The rest of us get to live with it.

[ladjf]

14. Sounds like the 19th Century plantation system. nt

[hlthe2b]

2. I give you the quintessential "BOSS HOGG"

[LuvNewcastle]

3. We have a Cessna?

If we really need for our governor to have a plane, I think a Cessna is out of our league. A crop duster would be more appropriate.

[Journeyman]

4. Pity was, despite all they spent he kept making his way back! . . .

[Joanne98]

5. Sooner or later you have to blame the voters. Only an idiot would vote for Haley.

[gratuitous]

6. Cheap at twice the price

Apparently, even Mississippi's governor can't stand to be in the state, and will pay any price (well, not him personally, you understand) to get out of there whenever he can.

Is this what you want in a governor, Mississippi? There's nobody more suited to the job in the entire state?

[Initech]

7. Cant wait until he's subjected to the TSA's pat downs.

[WCGreen]

8. Yep, Mississippi voted this crook into office just like Ohio voted

"man of the people" John Kasich into the governors mansion...

[hfojvt]

9. 'cause I'm leaving on a

plane ...

[PBS Poll-435]

10. Put it on Ebay!

:rofl:

[provis99]

11. it's the stupid white people in Mississippi who vote for these clowns.

whites vote 90% for Republicans, because Republicans use code words to insult black Mississippians. That's about it. Frankly, the white voters of Mississippi deserve what they get; I just wish the black voters were represented by sensible people, rather than the idiot governors we usually got. And by the way, Barbour is a renaissance man compared to former caveman governor Kirk Fordice.

[ladjf]

15. These are the descendent's of those who enthusiastically chose

to fight and die to save the property of the slave owners.

I'm from Mississippi but I've never understood their logic.

[prodigals0n]

13. Here in NJ Chris Christie is travelling all over America campaigning for 2012

And he's doing it on the taxpayers' dime while repeatedly claiming New Jersey is broke (although Christie did find it necessary to give millionaires' a tax break) yet Christie has thus far refused to release his travel records in the face of an OPRA request.

In Christie's case the only difference is, it's typical republican hippocrisy.