PHILADELPHIA — The harness racetrack stands still. Kettles that injected the tangy aroma of salted peanuts into the air this past week have been dismantled. Even the fabled cabin porches are empty, except for boxes of household goods waiting to be carried to a car or camper.

The 2006 edition of the Neshoba County Fair is now history.

But along with the jubilation of cabin porch laughter and conversation into the wee hours of the night, the just-concluded fair left at least one political issue smoldering — as Gov. Haley Barbour stood firm in his opposition to raising Mississippi’s cigarette tax.

Barbour’s camp thwarted efforts during the last legislative session to tie an increase in the state’s cigarette tax — the second-lowest in the nation — to a reduction in the state’s grocery tax.

“We’d have bankrupted the state,” Barbour said, defending his opposition to the dual proposal. “We haven’t seen a deal yet that’s been revenue-neutral.”

Yet even if presented as a separate measure with no change in the grocery tax, Barbour told The Meridian Star during a special “On the Porch with the Governor” session, he would still refuse to boost the cigarette tax.

When asked to explain his stance, the governor likened himself to “the little Dutch boy” with his finger in the dam, trying to hold back the floodwaters.

“I feel if they raise the cigarette tax, they’d raise five more taxes before the ink runs dry,” he said.

While Barbour was giving smokers a reprieve, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck used part of her time at Neshoba to decry what she described as a tax “imbalance” in Mississippi — and called for an immediate increase in the cigarette tax.

To Tuck, raising the cigarette tax simply makes sense: “It will save lives. It will hold down the cost of health care in the future. And it will prevent young people from becoming addicted to cigarettes.”

Tuck vowed to try and resurrect a package that would simultaneously increase the cigarette tax, and lower what she called “one of the highest sales taxes on groceries” in the nation, during her final year in office.

Tuck was not alone in opposing Barbour on the cigarette tax during Neshoba’s political stumpfest.

In a raucous speech, maverick State Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, slammed the governor for vetoing two separate bills that would have hiked the cigarette tax while lowering the grocery tax.

“The first version would have eliminated a sales tax on groceries over a nine-year period,” she explained. “Additionally, the current tax rate on cigarettes of 18 cents per pack ultimately would have been increased to one dollar per pack by July 1, 2007.”

Williamson expressed particular annoyance that the governor vetoed the Legislature’s compromise bill — a package that would have raised the cigarette tax by 80 cents, and reduced the grocery tax by half.

“And yes, the governor vetoed this one also,” Williamson said, emphasizing her frustration to a largely agreeable audience.

By her calculations, Williamson maintains that the state would ultimately save money with a package that both raises the cigarette tax and lowers the grocery tax. The reason: Medical costs associated with treating smokers would decrease — presuming the tax boost on cigarettes deters smokers from lighting up.

“I could not vote against the opportunity to help the people of Mississippi save money on groceries, and potentially reduce smoking,” Williamson said.

At Hillbillies Convenience Store in Pine Springs, a pack of Marlboro Lights was selling for $3.48 on Saturday, tax included.

Despite the relatively low cost of cigarettes as compared to other states, Wayne Smith, whose family owns the store, said he still gets complaints from smokers about the price.

“I hear it all the time, especially when they’re trying to jump the cigarettes up a dollar,” Smith said.

Smith doubts that raising the cigarette tax will make much difference to smokers, himself included.

“A smoker’s addicted to them. That’s just the way it is,” he said. Smith speculated that smokers in dire financial circumstances would simply switch to generic brands if a cigarette tax hike eventually takes effect.

The American Cancer Society’s Jackson office hopes that its souvenir fans — among the goodies generously dispersed this past week at Neshoba — will have the last word.

Emblazoned with the statement, “I’m a fan of saving lives and saving money,” they ask the public to “support the $1 per pack cigarette tax increase.”

Whether a cigarette tax hike is successful in Mississippi’s upcoming legislative session remains to be seen. What is certain is that any such measure will have the difficult task of making an end-run around a governor determined to fight it.