Okay, I admit it won't do any good. It was a complete waste of time, I'm sure. One of his flunkies, probably some 20 year old intern, will read the first three sentences and hit "delete". Still, I couldn't help it. I've watched people all over America march and agitate and fight for common decency in my state, and felt very humbled and grateful for their efforts. And then, Haley Barbour, an overfed, pompous and ultimately clueless white guy who presides over a state so troubled that it's literally third world in some important categories, decided to throw in his less than two cents worth about my state, Wisconsin. And so I snapped, and wrote the damn letter.
For over two weeks, my state capitol, Madison, has been the scene of some of the worst things that can happen in American politics, and some of the best. We've seen ridiculous, disrespectful, and anti-democratic behavior by Republican members of my state legislature, and we've seen utter imperiousness by a rookie governor who has taken the word "sociopath" to a new level. That's the bad part. Simultaneously, we've seen the entire liberal and progressive community nationwide rally around our teachers, our law enforcement community, and our snow plow drivers in a desperate effort to retain some level of decency in a state that I had always believed didn't really need outside help to retain its inherent decency. It's all been infuriating, gratifying, and humbling, a combination of emotions that's a bit difficult to experience all at once.
Scott Walker, our contemptible weasel of a governor, denounced everyone who isn't from here but sought to help us as outside agitators. Yeah, he really said that. Same thing Ross Barnett, Orval Faubus and George Wallace called civil rights leaders back in the day.
So then, Haley Barbour, speaking of idiotic Southern governors, appeared on Meet the Press. Mississippi is a beautiful state; interesting history, nice people, great music, great food. But then again, I don't have to live there, earn a living there, or feed a family there. Everyone who knows anything about Mississippi knows it suffers from intractable poverty and privation among many of citizens. But alas, Mississippi also has suffered from a tragic lack of politicians with the power, will, and ability to make a dent in the problems that make Mississippi either last or nearly last in...well, practically everything that matters.
But despite all that, despite Scott Walker sniveling about out of state people, despite his whining even about Obama's moderate comments, Governor Haley Barbour (R-50th In Everything) thought it'd be okay to comment.
So without further ado, the letter, soon to be ignored by its recipient:
Governor Barbour:
I see where you appeared on NBC yesterday and made a few comments about the union-related controversy which recently has arisen in my state, Wisconsin. Given that Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, has denounced out of state participants in the debate, has denounced out of state protesters such as fire fighters and police officers from Chicago or Michigan as "outside agitators", and has even criticized the rather mild comments made by the President of the United States, even though almost six million of the President's constituents live in Wisconsin, I wonder by what right do you comment on issues affecting Wisconsin? I'm sure that Governor Walker, rank hypocrite that he is, welcomed your comments out of one side of his mouth while denouncing the President's comments out of the other side of his mouth, but most of the rest of us have no time for you or your interference in our affairs.
Your state is utterly dissimilar from mine, and yet you presume to advise us on our course of action. I can't even think of two states with less in common than Wisconsin and Mississippi, and I've traveled to your state frequently as a tourist. I've driven through Mississippi; and I've seen first-hand that you have problems of your own. Your state is 48th, 49th, or 50th in the US in practically every statistical category that measures the difference between human prosperity and human misery. You're near or at the bottom in per capita income, in educational statistics such as literacy and standardized test scores, and in health care. From infant mortality rates to all the way to life expectancy rates, Mississippi is either dead last or close to it. Cradle to grave; Mississippi is bottom of the barrel. And you would tell us what to do?
Clearly, you have plenty of work to do in Jackson. Why don't you just keep quiet and tend to the weeds in your own backyard?
Again, I know I shouldn't have done it. And I'm sorry if any Mississippi citizens who may read this are annoyed; I really do enjoy your state. From the Natchez Trace, but only as far south as Tupelo (so far), to that cool little bookstore at the corner of the courthouse square in Oxford, to the casino at Lula, to the battlefield at Vicksburg, to the beaches at Biloxi and Gulfport, I've been there, smiled there, ate barbecue there, and left mountains of cash there. But your politics shouldn't go any further north than just south of Memphis, and I felt like someone ought to at least say so to your governor, who's nearly as dreadful as mine.