There was a time when I voted for Republicans and no other party. Later I saw that they cared nothing for the middle class or the lower class. They taxed both of these groups heavily while letting the rich go free.

The world watched as President Bush and his cronies did nothing while thousands suffered in the hot weather after Katrina hit New Orleans. Those suffering people were without sufficient food and water for three days. Many of them were sick and without medication.

When Haley Barbour became governor of Mississippi, his idea of balancing the budget was to take thousands of Mississippians off the Medicaid program. This is the Republican Party running true to form, and this is a cruel way to treat people who helped to put Barbour in office. I believe all Republicans holding office in Mississippi are part of the overall problem and should be voted out of office.

One of Barbour’s supporters is Mike Espy, the former Secretary of Agriculture under Bill Clinton. Because of violations by Mr. Espy, he was relieved of that position and sent home. He became a disgrace to Mississippi. I am glad to see Mr. Espy support Gov. Barbour. It is true that birds of a feather flock together. Ole Haley has a flock of born losers.

For years Ole Haley was a lobbyist for the tobacco companies. When it came time to vote on raising taxes on tobacco or lowering taxes on groceries, Barbour voted not to raise the tobacco tax. He was not looking out for the people of Mississippi. This alone should be sufficient to vote him out of office.

I believe John Arthur Eaves will do a great job in moving Mississippi forward. He will work to reduce sales tax on groceries, and I believe he will work for all the people, not just one group.

Barthel Waggoner, Ph.D.

Natchez resident