Well, You Want Differences?

If you want to know what separates Jamie Franks Jr from Phil Bryant, Sid Salter, you don't have to ask Phil. I've got your one-stop shop of differences.

Jamie Franks Jr is a plaintiff's attorney, one who's made a fortune off of lawsuits, including suing people who operate businesses within sight of his home. I can name off a few, in case you don't know them (I guess you've been a little to busy to call F. G. Wiygul, the superintendent of Itawamba County Schools). I may be wrong but Phil Bryant, who is not a self-styled champion of education, has never sued Fair View Junior High.

You could of course also call the owners of Mooreville One Stop, another lawsuit victim of Mr. Franks. The store operates within sight of his quite-large front yard. There's a friend of the little man if ever there was one.

He can claim to be for tort reform and to have put his name on it; but at the end of the day, he still made the motion to kill the bill before it could come up to a vote. I'm sure one day we'll look back and see it as an inspiration to John Forbes Kerry in 2004.

Nothing says "I support seniors" like suing the Amvets. This is, of course, not an organization made up of Gulf War and Grenada veterans.

I see that with the end of Primary Season, the CL has made the decision to label Mr. Franks a 'small businessman.' I'd sure love to know when he mowed his last lawn-or his own, in fact. He wasn't very good at being a 'small businessman' since he routinely didn't do work he'd contracted. Heck, Mr. Franks can't even pay people for work they did on his house. I know life must be tough for him and his $2,000,000 home.

There are others; the suit that made him his fortune, of course, was the Fen-Phen suit. I suppose there are other ways to make drugs cheaper, but I'm sure suing companies never causes an increase in price. The price tag of that one was $14 billion to Wyeth; that is approximately four times what the company's four best-selling products take in annually. I'm sure that didn't raise drug prices at all, though.

I find it hard to believe that a man who counts cigar manufacturer Swisher International as a contributor is truly interested in people's health and grocery taxes. Nor do I find it believable that a man who claims to be more pious than the Pope continually takes funds from the casino industry, or from beer manufacturers. If he was paying attention in Sunday school, he'd remember the Church of God of Prophecy frowns on both.

Jeremy Martin. Where's that name in your column, Sid? The people of Mississippi deserve for you to put in print what was done to that man, by any and all accounts a smear and a railroading. And I'm not just talking about the arrest and trial; I'm talking about the campaign button ban at Lee County Schools, directed at Mr. Martin's supporters (most of whom can't vote! That's the worst part of it!). I'm talking about Johnny Green going around the Hebron community in Lee County telling the residents that Mr. Martin wasn't a 'real teacher' (I wonder if Mr. Green has ever checked the resume's and licenses of some of his 'real teachers' in Lee County). I'm talking about the strategically placed rumors that Mr. Martin engaged in the love that dare not speak its name.

I'm talking about the inane criticisms from Mr. Franks throughout that campaign: That kid's too young (Mr. Martin was 24 when he ran for office; Mr. Franks, as he'll tell anyone who will listen, was 22 when he was elected). That kid lives with his parents (uh, so did you when you were basically handed the seat by Bill Wheeler-and Mr. Martin had been at college and teaching for the previous four years). That kid's never had a real job (didja ever think that at 22 you'd had one? And I thought you liked teachers?)

Of course, when Mr. Martin's supporters poked back-going to Mr. Franks' first election statement that 'the last thing we need in Jackson is another lawyer'-he cried foul like a little kid who got his binky taken away, and ran to his good buddy Attorney General Samson to protect him from Mean Old Jeremy. So much for that cultivated cultured image (the expensive car, suits, cufflinks, shoes, home)-or was it the brawlin' tough guy (I'll whip your ass)? I forget.

Jamie Franks Jr is a hypocrite. He's the worst kind of politician. I don't know anything personal about Phil Bryant, but he can't be any worse than this. Jamie Franks Jr makes me want to puke every time I think about him. Unfortunately, the masses aren't being informed about this. All they get are the generic statements of 'staying on message,' 'effective campaigner,' 'blue collar working man,' and the other schtick that the media gets from their Jamie Franks handouts. If they were interested, they'd've followed up on some of the things we've discussed here at the Tank. Unfortunately, either they're too lazy to do some investigating outside of their offices (I guess it's too hot) or too busy setting the type for November's endorsement.