Ethics?

Boy, if there was ever an expert speaker on the subject of Ethics, it's our friend Jamie Franks Jr.
In a story in the Sun-Herald this morning, Mr. Franks decided to educate us on Ethics, and how it applies to the Mississippi Legislature. Apparently it's not okay for there to be backroom deals in government! This sure comes as a shock to me and others who thought it was okay.

No, the comedy (and remember, we like the funny!) is in the details. See, Mr. Franks knows all about backroom deals. He and the Attorney General both, in fact. See, back in 2003, Mr. Franks was running for re-election. He was opposed, both in the primary and in the general election. He ended up spending about $125,000 on his re-election, as opposed to his Republican opponent, a teacher, who spent about $24,000. Now, as a champion of the little man, he should appreciate the fact that he'd gotten a run for his money by an extreme underdog, winning about 53-47. After all, Mr. Franks is a multi-millionaire; his current campaign chest, according to www.magnoliareport.com, had over $600,000 cash-on-hand, while raising only about a third of that.

Of course, for some folks, winning ain't enough. It's kind of the Conan strategy: Not only must you win, you must crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women. No, Mr. Franks alerted the Secretary of State's office to "campaign finance irregularities" in the Martin campaign. He'd been told of this by "a concerned constituent." The comedy of *that* actually happening notwithstanding, the SoS referred the matter to the Attorney General (at the time, Mike Moore) for investigation.

Fast forward: Mr. Martin is indicted (not in Lee County, where he resides, mind you, but in Hinds), processed, and spends an afternoon in jail before being bonded. Yes, that's right: The champion of the little man helped put a schoolteacher in jail.

Now, here's the extra funny: Only 81 members of the state legislature committed the same "crime" as Mr. Martin! And Mr. Martin is the only person since 1991 prosecuted for the "crime!" Somehow, these offenses escaped Mr. Clark, Mr. Hood and Mr. Moore's notice. Thankfully, they have Sheriff Franks to watch their back and alert them to serious offenses. Somewhere, Theodore Bilbo is applauding this latter-day Inspector Cluseau. Now, if he could only get that court summons to bin Laden and Dr. Zawhiri...

Mr. Martin, of course, was never seriously prosecuted after his appearance on the Paul Gallo show, in which he and his attorney named the names of state legislators "guilty" of the same "crime." He paid a $300 civil fine to the SoS. That, my friends, might have been the most expensive $300 ever spent. Mr. Hood, who once proclaimed that "anyone making less than $200,000 a year should vote Democrat," claimed the prosecution wasn't political. He backed off the prosecution just weeks later, like Samson shorn of his locks (and what impressive locks he has!).

Maybe one day we'll get into his association with Bill Wheeler and its relation to "backroom deals." But this post has gone on long enough.

Ethics talk from Jamie Franks Jr. is like getting sex advice from the Pope. Neither one of them has any experience with what they're talking about.