As the dragon and his beast wreak havoc at the national and international levels, political spats in Mississippi seem mild. Interestingly, the ones making news are all Republican on Republican.

 

Gov. Tate Reeves recently lashed out at Republican Sen. Jeremy England for passing an early voting bill through his committee. “Congratulations to Senator England,” Reeves posted on Facebook. “He has earned his MVP award for the Mississippi Democratic Party.”

 

Sen. England responded, “I consider Governor Tate Reeves a friend. And as a friend, I would think he would know better than to try and bully me. I do not tolerate bullies.” England also pointed out that the Republican National Committee supported early voting during the last election with then RNC co-chair Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, advocating early voting. Trump voted early himself and encouraged it when he stayed on script while blasting it when he strayed off script.

 

This occurred as State Auditor Shad White continued bashing Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, a potential opponent in the 2027 governor’s race. “Delbert Hosemann and his lackeys will stop at nothing to destroy the Auditor’s office,” White exclaimed after Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins offered a committee amendment to cut White’s budget by $2 million. Wiggins’ amendment failed.

 

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson and state Rep. Missy McGee, both Republicans, got in a spat over a House proposal to move a cellphone tower from Welty library property to the state fair grounds. “Hopefully the Senate will be able to see through this and stop this brazen move by Jackson,” Gipson said, claiming taxpayers would have to foot the bill. McGee, who sponsored the House bill, responded. “The bill does not require the taxpayers to fund the project. You would think Andy, being a corporate attorney, could more accurately read a bill.”

 

Even Speaker Jason White seemed to take a shot at Hosemann and his “lackeys” over seeming inaction on the House’s big tax cut proposal. “We have Republican leaders in all three places, the Governor’s Mansion, the House, and the Senate,” he said. “The answer can’t be, we’re looking at it in a small group behind a closed door.” He added, “it’s frustrating for us to try to move something this big, and at the other end of the building, they just refuse to engage.”

 

Days later after Hosemann announced the Senate’s cautious tax cut plan, White eased off saying, “I am glad they have a plan. I hope we can start moving down the road comparing their ideas and the House ideas.”

 

Mild spats could escalate as Washington havoc inundates Mississippi and positions on tax cuts harden.

 

Crawford is the author of “A Republican’s Lament: Mississippi Needs Good Government Conservatives.”