EXPOSING MARK DUVALL
by Richard Wilbourn
MS Tea Party
Cleaning House: Exposing Liberals in the House of Representatives
BY: THE MISSISSIPPI TEA PARTY
Deep-Fried Liberal Leadership
For 8 years Billy McCoy and his liberal and tone deaf lieutenants have controlled the Mississippi House of Representatives. Mississippians need new leadership that will bring respect, dignity, and integrity back to the House. Voters in House District 19, which covers parts of Lee, Itawamba, and Tishomingo Counties, have the opportunity to help restore those qualities to the Mississippi House by voting Mantachie’s Mark DuVall out of office.
DuVall made headlines earlier this year when he pushed a bill mandating that, by law, the University of Mississippi would bear the nickname “Ole Miss Rebels,” its mascot would be “Colonel Rebel,” and its band would play “Dixie” and “From Dixie with Love” at all football and basketball games. He defended the bill on Sports Talk radio claiming he was representing the priorities of his constituents just as he would for issues such as “public health or transportation.” He could not see how “Colonel Rebel” was “any more controversial than any other colonel in the South,” and justified the bill on the basis that Colonel Reb is “the leader of the Rebel Nation the same as Colonel Sanders is the leader of fried chicken.” He steadfastly maintained there is “nothing offensive at all” about chanting, “the South shall rise again.” You can listen to the recording of this interview at: https://yall.rndr.tech/images/MarkDuvall012411.mp3
If Colonel Sanders is the leader of fried chicken, DuVall must be his second in command. Considering Mississippi’s economic challenges, its failing educational system, and its lackluster national reputation, if the most important thing our representatives have to do is introduce bills concerning football mascots, perhaps Mississippi deserve to be last in nearly every category in the nation! Unfortunately, not only did District 19’s elected representative waste valuable political capital on this issue, he made the whole district look insensitive and foolish in the process.
Weak on Crime and Child Protection
When the Chairman of the Mississippi Democrat Party says you stand for “California Values,” questions your resolve to fight crime and drugs, and accuses you of not being sufficiently pro-life, you know you are a liberal. That is exactly what DuVall’s primary opponent, Jamie Franks, claimed in a radio interview. See http://majorityinms.com/2011/07/25/jamie-franks-mark-duvall-had-stood-up-for-california-values/. With a voting record like DuVall’s, Franks’ charge is devastatingly accurate.
In 2009 the House considered HB 1415. This bill would have mandated that DNA from aborted fetuses delivered by girls 13 years old and under be retained for the purpose of documenting possible sex crimes. Of course, pro-abortion advocates were incensed. With the bill stuck in committee, its sponsor launched a petition effort to pull it out of committee so that the full House might consider it. DuVall voted with liberal Democrats to table that motion, killing the bill.
In the 2011 session there were several other attempts to protect children that died in the Committee on which DuVall serves. They were:
• H.B. 45 – A bill to strengthen penalties for indecent exposure
• H.B. 227 – A bill to strengthen penalties for sexual offenses against minors
• H.B. 656 – A bill that would make it a felony to transport a minor to another state to receive an abortion without the consent of the parents
But DuVall most clearly exposed his true colors when it came time to vote on 2011 HB 195, which criminalized certain “lewd and lascivious acts or obscene electronic communication regarding minors under 16.” In the roll call vote, DuVall was the only member of the entire Democrat controlled House to vote against its passage. Of course, when DuVall realized he was singing in a choir of one, he switched his vote, allowing the bill to pass the House without the stigma of his lone dissenting ballot.
Give Me Your Money, and I’ll Spend It All
DuVall has made sure your hard earned tax dollars fully fund our government largess. His campaign Facebook page touts his chief “accomplishments” as protecting government services and government workers. Specifically he boasts of “minimizing the cuts to Education, Mental Health, Medicaid, State Parks, and many other … state services…” Of course, before he could set about working on these “accomplishments”, he attempted to substantially increase his own paycheck!
Just weeks after taking office in 2008, DuVall voted for HB 259 which would have increased his and other legislators’ pay by 50%! That’s a nifty trick. Get elected in November in the midst of a recession; get sworn-in in January in the midst of a recession; and vote yourself a 50% pay raise in February in the midst of a recession. Thankfully, the Senate rejected this raise.
Later that same year, DuVall actually voted to suspend the “98% rule” for budgeting so that the Legislature could budget 100% of projected revenue (HB 763). The common sense 98% rule is the primary means of enforcing the State’s constitutional balanced budget requirement. It limits spending to 98% of projected revenues in any calendar quarter. Of course, nothing prohibits the State from spending the extra 2% that was held back if at the end of the quarter revenue projections prove accurate. However, if revenues fall short of projections, as was the case in nearly every quarter between 2006 and 2009, the State may be forced to raise taxes or make draconian budget cuts. DuVall’s vote was irresponsible at best and intended to force a tax increase at worst.
In the Tank for ObamaCare
DuVall has also defended the disastrous Federal power grab commonly known as ObamaCare. In a procedural maneuver, he voted against even allowing a debate and vote on House Resolution 17, which sought to restrict ObamaCare’s implementation in Mississippi. The resolution provided that Mississippians cannot be forced to purchase unwanted services from the Federal government, and further that we have the right to choose whether to pay for our healthcare directly or through insurance. The fact that DuVall didn’t even want the resolution debated indicates that he believes we should be forced to participate in the federal government’s healthcare system and that it is dangerous for Mississippi citizens to have the option to pay their healthcare provider directly or to buy private health insurance. As the enormous costs of ObamaCare become more apparent and new reports of its disastrous economic impact continue to surface, it is manifestly evident that the real danger to Mississippians lies in an overreaching government.
Standing with Billy McCoy, a Diehard Liberal
In the 2007 elections, District 19 supported Haley Barbour with 54% of its vote. Yet, DuVall’s very first vote after being elected was to re-elect one of the most liberal men in the State, Billy McCoy, to again be Speaker of the House. DuVall’s vote was not trivial, as McCoy won re-election by only two votes. Neither was his vote simply a vote along party lines, as he had the option of supporting then Democrat candidate Jeff Smith, as 13 other Democrats decided to do. Instead, DuVall voted with the most liberal of the liberals to keep a diehard partisan liberal in control of the House. You can bet that if re-elected, DuVall will support one of the equally liberal candidates for Speaker, such as Bobby Moak or Cecil Brown. That means that four more years of Mark DuVall could mean four more years of a liberal House agenda, liberal committee chairs, and more of the dirty back room politics that characterized McCoy’s eight years as Speaker.
Vote for Change, Not Second Chances
Considering his performance in his first term, DuVall’s best re-election strategy is to plead for a second chance. His campaign Facebook page promises that he “will learn from [his] mistakes.” Mississippi can ill afford any more mistakes of the magnitude of DuVall’s legislative gaffes. He is clearly unsuited to provide the effective, conservative leadership the Mississippi House so badly needs. Voters in District 19 can vote for positive change by voting DuVall out of office in November.
Magnolia Tribune
