Name	Haley Barbour
Order	63rd
Office	Governor of Mississippi
Lieutenant	Amy Tuck (2004–08)Phil Bryant (since 2008)
Term start	January 13, 2004
Predecessor	Ronnie Musgrove
Office2	56th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Term start2	1993
Term end2	1997
Predecessor2	Richard Bond
Successor2	Jim Nicholson
Birthname	Haley Reeves Barbour
Birth date	October 22, 1947
Birth place	Yazoo City, Mississippi
Party	Republican
Spouse	Marsha Dickson
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Alma mater	University of Mississippi
Profession	LawyerLobbyist
Religion	Presbyterianism
Signature	Haley Barbour signature.svg }}

Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007. Under Mississippi's term limits, Barbour cannot run again for Governor in 2011 when his term ends.

Before being elected Governor, Barbour "had a long career on the national stage and has been well-known as a Republican operative since the Reagan years." He worked as a lawyer and lobbyist, was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate and also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, during which time the Republicans captured both the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives for the first time since 1954. On June 24, 2009, Barbour was elected the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association, following the resignation of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as its leader.

Early years

Barbour was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he was raised as the youngest of three sons of Grace LeFlore (née Johnson) and Jeptha Fowlkes Barbour, Jr. Barbour is a descendant of Walter Leake, who was Mississippi's third governor as well as a U.S. senator. His father, a lawyer, died when Barbour was two years old.

Barbour attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, but skipped the first semester of his senior year to work on Richard Nixon's 1968 election campaign. At the age of twenty-two, he ran the 1970 census for the state of Mississippi. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1972.

Subsequently, Barbour joined his father's law firm in Yazoo City.

Early political career

Barbour soon became a Republican political operative and moved up the ranks of Republican organizing quickly, running Gerald Ford's 1976 campaign in the Southeast and working on the campaign of John Connally for president in 1980. In 1982 Barbour was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate election in Mississippi, but was defeated by longtime incumbent John C. Stennis, a conservative Democrat, 64% to 36%, despite an endorsement by President Ronald Reagan. During the campaign, the ''New York Times'' reported that a Barbour aide complained about "coons" at a campaign event. Barbour, embarrassed that the comment was overheard by a reporter, told the aide that he would be "reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks" if he continued making racist comments.

Barbour later served as a political aide in the Reagan Administration and worked on the 1988 Presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush.

Lobbying career

Barbour has been described as "one of Washington's all-time mega-lobbyists." He "was a wealthy K Street lobbyist for giant corporations such as RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris, Amgen, Microsoft, United Health, Southern Company, and many others." In 1991, Barbour helped found the lobbying group now known as BGR Group, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, with Ed Rogers, a lawyer who formerly worked in the George H. W. Bush administration. In 1994, Lanny Griffith (also a former Bush administration appointee) joined the firm.

In 1998, ''Fortune'' magazine named Barbour Griffith & Rogers as the second-most-powerful lobbying firm in America. In 2001, after the inauguration of George W. Bush, Fortune named it the most powerful. The firm "is employed by several foreign countries, as well as oil and cigarette companies." Its role in advocating on behalf of the tobacco industry has been particularly prominent. BGR also "lobbied on behalf of the Embassy of Mexico in 2001 to promote a bill related to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the United States, through family connections or job skills, without a requirement that they return to their home country for the requisite 3-10 years. This is what's often referred to as 'amnesty.'" "As part of that work, Barbour's firm arranged meetings and briefings with 'Senators, members of Congress and their staffs, as well as Executive Branch Officials in the White House, National Security Council, State Department, and Immigration & Naturalization Service'. Barbour's firm charged Mexico $35,000 a month, plus expenses."

As of 2010, the firm remains one of DC's top 25, but has seen revenues drop both in 2009 and in 2010. Barbour continues to "collect payments from BGR through a blind trust, which was recently valued at $3.3 million."

RNC chairman

In 1993, Barbour became chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1994, during his tenure as RNC chair, Republicans captured both houses of the United States Congress, taking the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. in 1997, Barbour retired from his position as chairman of the RNC.

Governor of Mississippi

2003 campaign

After two decades in Washington, D.C., Barbour announced his intention to run for governor of Mississippi in 2003. On August 5, 2003, Barbour won the Republican gubernatorial primary over Canton trial attorney Mitch Tyner. Barbour's campaign manager was his nephew Henry Barbour.

During the campaign, a controversy arose when Barbour chose to speak at the Blackhawk Rally, a fundraiser for the Blackhawk "council school" in Blackhawk, Mississippi. Such "council schools", also referred to in Mississippi lexicon as "academies", were established by the White Citizens' Council movement in reaction to the demands for racial integration by the American Civil Rights movement. The Blackhawk rally was hosted by the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a racist organization. A photograph of Barbour with CCC members appeared on the CCC webpage, and some commentators and pundits demanded that Barbour ask for his picture to be removed from the site, but Barbour refused. Barbour stated that "Once you start down the slippery slope of saying, 'That person can't be for me,' then where do you stop? ... I don't care who has my picture. My picture's in the public domain." Barbour's Democratic opponent, then-governor Ronnie Musgrove, declined to be critical, stating that he had also attended Blackhawk rallies in the past, and would have done so that year except for a scheduling conflict. Historically, both Democrats and Republicans have participated in Blackhawk.

Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove in the general election on November 4, 2003, with 53 percent of the vote to Musgrove's 46 percent. Barbour became just the second Republican governor elected in Mississippi since Reconstruction, the first being Kirk Fordice.

Barbour took office in January 2004.

Fiscal matters

Barbour has been praised for translating his lobbying skills into success at winning over a legislature dominated by Democrats. Barbour has called several special legislative sessions to force an issue.

On economic issues, Barbour supports farm subsidies, corporate welfare, and eminent domain. When he took office, the state of Mississippi had run a $709 million budget deficit for the 2004 fiscal year. With bipartisan support, and without raising taxes, Barbour implemented a plan called Operation: Streamline to cut the budget deficit in half. He accomplished this largely by reducing spending on social services, most notably Medicaid; the 2005 budget drastically reduced coverage for 65,000 individuals classified as Poverty-Level Aged and Disabled (PLAD), most of whom qualified for the federal Medicare program, and also significantly limited prescription drug coverage. However, the same budget increased the percent of Medicaid prescriptions that are for generic drugs. In 2005, the state was budgeted to spend a total of $130 million less on Medicaid than in the previous year. This trend continued in the state budget for the 2006 fiscal year. After a long special session, the legislature approved a budget that featured more social service cuts but also increased educational spending. With tax revenues higher than expected during the 2006 fiscal year, due in large part to increased sales tax revenues in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the state achieved its first balanced budget in years. In the 2008 fiscal year budget, for the first time since its enactment in 1997, the state fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Building on a 2002 tort reform bill passed by his predecessor, Barbour also introduced a new tort reform measure that has been described as one of the strictest in the nation. Barbour rarely made a speech during his gubernatorial campaign without mentioning this subject and was able to convert political support into law, overcoming the resistance of House Democratic leaders, who argued that further legislation would disenfranchise people with legitimate complaints against corporations. Barbour then embarked on a "tort tour" to encourage other states to follow Mississippi's lead. "We've gone from being labeled as a judicial hellhole and the center of jackpot justice to a state that now has model legislation," commented Charlie Ross, the chair of the Mississippi Senate's Judiciary Committee.

The effectiveness of Barbour's tort reform efforts has been questioned. According to conservative journalist Timothy Carney, he "touts job growth down in Mississippi under his governing, and some of that is due to tort reform, but some of it is do to rank favoritism and special-interest deals more akin to Obama than Reagan — for instance, subsidies for a biofuels plant."

Hurricane Katrina response

The evacuation order for Hurricane Katrina was issued by local officials more than 24 hours before it hit, and Mississippi activated 750 National Guard troops as of August 29, the day of the hurricane.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi's coast, killing 231 people, devastating the state's $2.7 billion-a-year casino industry and leaving tens of thousands homeless. (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi). Barbour's response was characterized by a concerted effort at evacuation, tough-minded talk on looters and an unwillingness to blame the federal government. His response was likened, favorably, to that of Rudy Giuliani in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Barbour credited the countless government workers who helped southern Mississippi to cope with the hurricane. Barbour was praised by the coast's citizens as a strong leader who can communicate calmly to the public, and provide "a central decision-making point for when things get balled up or go sideways, which they do", as Barbour says.

While the reconstruction process does not dictate how localities should rebuild, Barbour has touted New Urbanist principles in constructing more compact communities. "They have the chance to build some things very differently," he says. "The goal is to build the coast back like it can be, rather than simply like it was."

Barbour has been accused by Bloomberg News of personally profiting from Hurricane Katrina recovery. Barbour is an owner of the parent company of lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers Inc., and he receives a pension and profit-sharing plan benefits from it. The lobbying firm has lobbied the state to give recovery contracts to its clients. Some of the proceeds of the firm's lobbying activities are deposited into Barbour's investment account. According to Barbour's attorney, a blind trust executed in 2004 prevents Barbour knowing the composition of his investments in order to eliminate any conflicts of interest.

Tobacco matters

Barbour's taxation policies have come under scrutiny. The "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids" insinuated that Barbour's lobbying-era affinity with the tobacco industry may also explain his 2006 proposal to dismantle Mississippi's controversial youth-tobacco-prevention program, called The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. The Partnership is a private, nonprofit group that receives $20 million annually and is led by former Attorney General Mike Moore. Moore created the organization when he, representing the State of Mississippi, settled a multi-billion dollar suit with the tobacco industry. According to the lawsuit, the funds were to offset the extra costs incurred by Medicaid while dealing with smoking-related illnesses. Opponents have consistently claimed that Moore uses the organization to further his political ambitions. The Partnership regularly makes huge grants to political organizations such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Many point to additional facts, such as The Partnership not allowing a public audit, which in turn permits the group to have no public accountability of its expenditures of state funds.

In 2006, Judge Jaye Bradley, the same judge who awarded Moore the annual $20 million in 2000, vacated her previous decision. Bradley claimed she did not decide against The Partnership because of its inability to perform but because she believes that the state legislature is the only body that can legally decide how state funds can be delegated. Following the decision, Barbour stated that it says a lot about Judge Bradley "...that she is a strong enough person to have the gumption to vacate her own order. The only way for the state to spend state funding is for the Legislature to appropriate it through the legislative process."

After an appeal by Moore, Barbour went on to win a Mississippi Supreme Court battle that prevented the tobacco settlement moneys from funding the program, maintaining that it is unconstitutional for a judge to award state proceeds to a private organization. Barbour's lawyer stated The Partnership was "the most blatant diversion of public funds to a private corporation in the history of the state of Mississippi" as The Partnership refuses to allow a state audit of its expenditures of the state's money.

Barbour has also received criticism from some Mississippi Democrats for his refusal to approve a bill to increase the cigarette tax and decrease the grocery tax passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives during his first term as governor. Mississippi currently has the third-lowest cigarette tax and the highest grocery tax—while being the poorest state in the country. He stated that the lack of revenue generated after the tax swap would quite possibly result in bankrupting the state government, which was already fragile due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The House of Representatives could produce no figures to dispute this assertion. Also, in his successful 2004 campaign, Barbour ran on the platform that he would veto any tax increase.

In May 2009, Barbour followed the State Tax Commission's recommendation and signed into law the state's first increase since 1985, from 18 cents to 68 cents per pack. The tax is estimated to generate more than $113 million for the year that begins July 1, 2009.

Social issues

Barbour strongly identifies himself as pro-life and has worked with Republicans and conservative Democrats to tighten abortion laws in Mississippi that include enacting parental consent laws and bans on late-term abortions and state funding for elective abortions. Mississippi has historically had one of the lowest abortion rates of any state in the United States, with only two facilities in the state performing abortions openly and legally in the last decade.

2007 re-election

Barbour announced on February 8, 2007, that he would seek a second term as Governor of Mississippi. Barbour announced the beginning of his re-election campaign at a series of meetings across the state on February 12, 2007. During his campaign, Barbour signed the Americans for Tax Reform "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed not to institute any new taxes or raise any existing ones.

Barbour defeated Frederick Jones in the Republican primary on August 7 and Democrat John Arthur Eaves, Jr. in the November general election.

Race and integration

Barbour has faced considerable "in-state criticism for his approach to racial issues". Mississippi state Representative Willie Perkins has "compared Barbour to the southern Democrats who preceded him", saying: "As far as I'm concerned, he has never done anything as a governor or a citizen to distinguish himself from the old Democrats who fought tooth and nail to preserve segregation."

In 2006, he refused to pardon Clyde Kennard, an African-American civil rights pioneer who was found to have been falsely convicted of burglary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1960.

During an April 11, 2010, appearance on CNN, host Candy Crowley asked if it had been insensitive for Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to omit mentioning slavery in a proposed recognition of Confederate History Month. Barbour replied, "To me, it's a sort of feeling that it's a nit, that it is not significant, that it's not a—it's trying to make a big deal out of something doesn't amount to diddly." Barbour continued, "I don't know what you would say about slavery ... but anybody that thinks that you have to explain to people that slavery is a bad thing, I think that goes without saying."

In December 2010, Barbour was interviewed by ''The Weekly Standard '' magazine. Asked about coming of age in Yazoo City during the civil rights era, he told the interviewer regarding growing up there, "I just don't remember it as being that bad." Barbour then credited the White Citizens' Council for keeping the KKK out of Yazoo City and ensuring the peaceful integration of its schools. Barbour dismissed comparisons between the White Citizens' Councils and the KKK, and referred to the Councils as "an organization of town leaders". Barbour continued in his defense of the Councils, saying, "In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you'd lose it. If you had a store, they'd see nobody shopped there. We didn't have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City." Barbour's statement did not address the role of the white supremacist group in publicly naming and blacklisting individuals who petitioned for educational integration and how it used political pressure and violence to force African-American residents to move. This led to a considerable outcry in which critics such as Rachel Maddow accused Barbour of whitewashing history. In response to criticism, Barbour issued a statement declaring Citizens' Councils to be "indefensible."

In what some have speculated was an attempt at damage control just days after the interview, Barbour suspended the prison sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott, two African American women who received life sentences resulting from a 1993 mugging in which the two women stole $11. Barbour has denied that there was any connection between the suspension of the Scott sisters' prison sentence and the controversy surrounding his ''Weekly Standard'' interview. Jamie Scott suffered from kidney failure while in prison, and requires a donated organ, which her sister Gladys has offered to do. Barbour's decision to release the Scott sisters, however, is contingent upon the promised organ donation by Gladys Scott, which critics have argued amounts to coercion and raises questions of medical ethics.

Other second term activities

In September 2008, some Democrats accused Barbour of trying to influence the outcome of the 2008 Senate race by placing the candidates at the bottom of the ballot. Since Mississippi electoral law mandates the placing of federal elections at the top of the ballot, Barbour was ordered by a circuit court to comply with the ballot laws.

In April 2009, Barbour joined a conservative policy group to discuss Republican policies in town hall meetings. The group also includes former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Senator John McCain.

On June 24, 2009, Barbour assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, succeeding South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. On October 29, 2009, Barbour endorsed Texas Governor Rick Perry for the Texas Republican gubernatorial nomination.

On March 3, 2010, Barbour and his wife participated in events with First Lady Michelle Obama, promoting the Let's Move! anti-obesity campaign.

In March 2011, Barbour drew criticism for his role in allowing the release of a convicted killer eight years into a 20-year sentence. In prior years, Barbour had used his powers as governor to release five other killers.

Possible 2012 presidential campaign

Since he visited Iowa in 2009, there has been speculation that Barbour may run for the Republican nomination for U.S. President in 2012. An advisor of Barbour stated, "When he surveys what most Republicans consider to be a weak field, he sees no reason he couldn't easily beat them. He's a better strategist and fundraiser than any other candidate currently considering running—and just as good on television and in debates." In preparation for a potential run, Barbour is not avoiding his K Street past, stating forthrightly "I'm a lobbyist."

Many commentators have been skeptical of Barbour's chances in 2012. David Broder of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that "several others would have to stumble before he could get a serious consideration." Statistician Nate Silver argued that "Barbour may have difficulty appealing to voters outside the South, especially after his recent comments about the civil rights era." ''Salon.com'' has noted that "Barbour has some serious baggage ... he's lobbied on behalf of the Mexican government for amnesty. There's also the issue of his freighted racial history, and whatever pragmatic concerns it raises for November-minded Republicans." Timothy Carney, reflecting on Barbour's history as a lobbyist, concluded: "If the Tea Party still has some wind, it's hard to see how Barbour gets anywhere near the GOP nomination." On April 25, 2011, Barbour announced that he will not run for President in 2012.

Public image

Barbour maintains positive approval ratings in his state. A July 2010 Rasmussen Reports poll found that Barbour has a 70% approval rating in Mississippi.

Awards and honors

In 2009, Barbour was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin.

References

External links

Mississippi Office of the Governor Haley Barbour ''official state site''

Haley Barbour for Governor ''official campaign site''

Profile from SourceWatch

Barbour tests waters in Iowa from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March 2011

|- |- |- |- |- }} |-

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American lobbyists Category:American Presbyterians Category:Bush Pioneers Category:Federal Emergency Management Agency critics Category:Governors of Mississippi Category:Mississippi lawyers Category:Mississippi Republicans Category:People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Category:Republican National Committee chairmen Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States Category:University of Mississippi alumni

ar:هايلي باربر bg:Хейли Барбър da:Haley Barbour de:Haley Barbour es:Haley Barbour fr:Haley Barbour la:Haley Barbour nl:Haley Barbour no:Haley Barbour pt:Haley Barbour ru:Барбур, Хейли simple:Haley Barbour sh:Haley Barbour fi:Haley Barbour sv:Haley Barbour vi:Haley Barbour

name	Laura Ingraham
birth date
birth place	Glastonbury, Connecticut, U.S.
residence	Washington, D.C.
nationality	American
education	Dartmouth College University of Virginia School of Law
occupation	Radio personality
religion	Roman Catholic
website	lauraingraham.com
footnotes	}}

Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1964) is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Laura Ingraham Show'', airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network. ''The Laura Ingraham Show'' is ranked eighth among most-listened-to talk radio programs, with an average 5.5 million weekly listeners.

Career

Ingraham grew up in a middle-class family in Glastonbury, Connecticut and graduated from Glastonbury High School, in 1981.

Ingraham earned a bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College, in 1985, and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Virginia School of Law, in 1991. As a Dartmouth undergraduate, she was a staff member of the independent conservative newspaper, ''The Dartmouth Review''. In her senior year, she was the newspaper's editor-in-chief, its first female editor. She wrote a few controversial articles during her tenure, such as a piece characterizing a campus gay rights group as "cheerleaders for latent campus Sodomites". She also secretly tape recorded the organization's meetings, and sent copies to the participants' parents. Jeffrey Hart, the faculty adviser for ''The Dartmouth Review'', described Ingraham as having "the most extreme antihomosexual views imaginable," and noted that "she went so far as to avoid a local eatery where she feared the waiters were homosexual and might touch her silverware or spit on her food, exposing her to AIDS." In 1997, Ingraham wrote an essay in the ''Washington Post'' in which she stated that she changed her views after witnessing "the dignity, fidelity and courage" with which her gay brother Curtis and his late companion coped with AIDS. She said she now understands why gays need protection and regrets her "callous rhetoric."

In the late 1980s, Ingraham worked as a speechwriter in the Ronald Reagan administration for the Domestic Policy advisor. She also briefly served as editor of ''The Prospect'', the magazine issued by Concerned Alumni of Princeton. After law school, in 1991, she served as a law clerk for Judge Ralph K. Winter, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York and subsequently clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She then worked as an attorney at the New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Ingraham has had two stints as a cable television host. In the late 1990s, she became a CBS commentator and hosted the MSNBC program ''Watch It!'' Several years later, Ingraham began openly campaigning for another cable television show on her radio program. She finally got her wish in 2008, when Fox News Channel gave her a three-week trial run for a new show entitled ''Just In''. She appeared on a 1995 cover of ''The New York Times Magazine'' for an article about rising young conservatives, in which she joked about subjugating Third World countries.

She also appeared on the August 3, 2010, episode of ''The Colbert Report'', where Stephen Colbert implied that she had integrated "hideous, hackneyed racial stereotypes" into her book ''The Obama Diaries''. In reply, she suggested that a word Colbert had previously used to label her, banshee, which is of Irish origin, also contained racial overtones, suggesting that it may be offensive to Native Americans. Her latest book is titled Of Thee I Zing and was released on July 12th, 2011.

Radio show host

Ingraham launched ''The Laura Ingraham Show'' in April 2001, which is heard on 306 stations and on XM Satellite Radio. The show was originally syndicated by Infinity's (now CBS's) Westwood One, but is now syndicated by Talk Radio Network. Ingraham is also the official guest host of ''The O'Reilly Factor'' on Fox News Channel and a weekly contributor with her segment, "The Ingraham Angle."

In one of her most famous incidents, on Election Day 2006 Ingraham encouraged listeners to jam the phone line of a toll-free Democratic Party service for reporting voting problems. No tangible consequences came of it. In 2008, Laura Ingraham was rated as the No. 6 radio show host in America, by ''Talkers Magazine''. She was as high as No. 5, in the past, according to the same publication.

Ingraham is represented by the Executive Speakers Bureau, of Memphis, Tennessee, and receives between $20,000-$30,000 per appearance.

Books

''The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places'', first published June 2000, while the author was a talk show host on MSNBC, was updated and reissued in paperback December 25, 2005. It analyzes and reinterprets Hillary Clinton as a faux feminist, whose "liberal feminism has created a culture that rewards dependency, encourages fragmentation, undermines families, and celebrates victimhood".

''Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN Are Subverting America'', published October 25, 2003, decries liberal "elites" in politics, the media, academia, arts and entertainment, business, and international organizations, on behalf of "disrespected" Middle Americans, whom the author praises as "the kind of people who are the lifeblood of healthy democratic societies".

''Power to the People'', a ''New York Times'' number one best seller, published September 11, 2007, focuses on what Ingraham calls the "pornification" of America and stresses the importance of popular participation in culture, promoting conservative values in family life, education and patriotism.

''The Obama Diaries'', a ''New York Times'' number one best seller, published July 13, 2010. The book is a fictional collection of diary entries purportedly made by Barack Obama, which the author uses satirically to criticize Mr. Obama, his family and his administration.

''Of Thee I Zing'', a ''New York Times'' best seller, published July 12, 2011. The book is a collection of humorous anecdotes meant to point out the decline of American culture, from muffin tops to body shots.

Personal

Ingraham was once engaged to conservative author and fellow Dartmouth alumnus Dinesh D'Souza. She also has dated former New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli.

She had become estranged from her brother, Curtis, for number of years, but they reconciled as young adults. On February 23, 1997, she had an op-ed published in the ''Washington Post'' where she spoke of her maturing:

"In the ten years since I learned my brother Curtis was gay my views and rhetoric about homosexuality have been tempered, because I have seen him and his companion Richard lead their lives with dignity, fidelity and courage."

In April 2005, she announced that she was engaged to businessman James V. Reyes, with a wedding planned in May or June 2005. On April 26, 2005, she announced that she had undergone breast cancer surgery. On May 11, 2005, Ingraham told listeners that her engagement to Reyes was canceled, citing issues regarding her diagnosis with breast cancer. Despite the breakup, she maintained that the two remain good friends and had told listeners, in 2006, that she was in good health.

She is a convert to Catholicism. In May 2008, Ingraham adopted a young girl from Guatemala, whom she has named Maria Caroline. In July 2009 she adopted a 13-month-old boy, Michael Dmitri, from Russia.

Activism

Code Red Rally

On December 8, 2009, Ingraham broadcast her support of a rally protesting the 2009 health care reform bill that was to be held in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Capitol on December 15, 2009.

See also

List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

References

External links

Laura Ingraham at NNDB

Photos of Ingraham in Iraq, February 2006, at LauraIngraham.com

Category:1964 births Category:American anti-communists Category:American anti–illegal immigration activists Category:American lawyers Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:Commentators Category:Connecticut Republicans Category:Conservatism in the United States Category:Dartmouth College alumni Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Category:Living people Category:People from Glastonbury, Connecticut Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni

ar:لورا انغرام de:Laura Ingraham et:Laura Ingraham es:Laura Ingraham pl:Laura Ingraham simple:Laura Ingraham sh:Laura Ingraham yi:לארע אינגרעהעם

Name	Herman Cain
Office	Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Term start	1995
Term end	1996
Predecessor	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Successor	A. Drue Jennings
Office2	Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Term start2	1992
Term end2	1994
Predecessor2	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Successor2	A. Drue Jennings
Birth date	December 13, 1945
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee, US
Residence	Sandy Springs, Georgia, US
Occupation	BusinessmanRadio hostColumnist
Party	Republican
Spouse	Gloria Cain
Children	Melanie Cain and Vincent Cain
Religion	National Baptist
Alma mater	Morehouse College (B.A.)Purdue University (M.S.)
Website	hermancain.com }}

Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American businessman, politician, columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Before his business and economics career he worked as a mathematician in ballistics for the United States Navy. Cain's newspaper column is distributed by North Star Writers Group. He lives in the Atlanta suburbs, where he also serves as a minister at Antioch Baptist Church North.

In January 2011, Cain announced he had formed an exploratory committee for a potential presidential campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, and on May 21, 2011, Cain officially announced his candidacy.

Background

Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 13, 1945, the son of Lenora (née Davis) and Luther Cain, Jr. His mother was a cleaner and his father was a chauffeur. He was raised in Georgia. He graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and received a Master of Science degree in computer science from Purdue University in 1971, while he was also working full-time in ballistics for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Cain has authored four books: ''Leadership is Common Sense'' (1997), ''Speak as a Leader'' (1999), ''CEO of SELF'' (October 2001), and ''They Think You're Stupid'' (May 2005). He also authored an article titled "The Intangibles of Implementation" in the technical journal ''Interfaces'' (Vol. 9, No. 5, 1979, pp. 144-147), published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

Business career

After completing his master's degree from Purdue, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for The Coca-Cola Company as a business analyst. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury where he rose to the position of Vice President by the early 1980s. He left his executive post to work for Burger King – a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time – managing 400 stores in the Philadelphia area. Under Cain's leadership, his region went from the least profitable for Burger King to the most profitable in three years. This prompted Pillsbury to appoint him President and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, another of their then-subsidiaries. Within 14 months, Cain had returned Godfather's to profitability. In 1988, Cain and a group of investors bought Godfather's from Pillsbury. Cain continued as CEO until 1996, when he resigned to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association – a trade group and lobby organization for the restaurant industry – where he had previously been chairman concurrently with his role at Godfather's.

Cain became a member of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992 and served as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996, when he resigned to become active in national politics. Cain was a 1996 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award.

Cain was on the board of directors of Aquila, Inc. from 1992 to 2008, and also served as a board member for Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO, Inc.

Media work

Cain serves as a commentator for Fox Business; he is also a syndicated columnist distributed by the North Star Writers Group. Until February 2011, Cain hosted ''The Herman Cain Show'' on Atlanta talk radio station News Talk 750 WSB, a Cox Radio affiliate. In 2009, Cain founded "Hermanator's Intelligent Thinkers Movement" (HITM), aimed at organizing 100,000 activists in every congressional district in the United States in support of a strong national defense, the FairTax, tax cuts, energy independence, capping government spending, and restructuring Social Security.

Political activities

Role in the defeat of the Clinton health care plan

Cain publicly opposed the 1993/1994 health care plan of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. As president-elect of the National Restaurant Association, he challenged Bill Clinton on the costs of the employer mandate contained within the bill and criticizing its effect on small businesses. Cain has been described as one of the primary "saboteurs" of the plan: :The Clintons would later blame "Harry and Louise," the fictional couple in the ads aired by the insurance industry, for undermining health reform. But the real saboteurs are named Herman and John. Herman Cain is the president of Godfather's Pizza and president-elect of the National Restaurant Association. An articulate black entrepreneur, Cain transformed the debate when he challenged Clinton at a town meeting in Kansas City, Mo., last April. Cain asked the president what he was supposed to say to the workers he would have to lay off because of the cost of the "employer mandate." Clinton responded that there would be plenty of subsidies for small businessmen, but Cain persisted. "Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate," he told the president. "In the competitive marketplace it simply doesn't work that way." Joshua Green of ''The Atlantic'' has called Cain's exchange with Clinton his "auspicious debut on the national political stage."

1996 Senior Advisor of Dole/Kemp Campaign

Cain was a senior economic advisor to the Dole/Kemp presidential campaign in 1996.

2000 presidential campaign

Cain briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000; he says it was more about making political statements than winning the nomination. "George W. Bush was the chosen one, he had the campaign DNA that followers look for." However, Cain went on to state, "I believe that I had a better message and I believe that I was the better messenger."

2004 U.S. Senate candidacy

In 2004, Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, pursuing the seat that came open with the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller. Cain sought the Republican nomination, facing congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins in the primary. Cain and Collins both hoped to deny Isakson a majority on primary day in order to force him into a runoff. Collins tried to paint Cain as a moderate, citing Cain's support for affirmative action programs, while Cain argued that he was a conservative, noting that he opposed the legality of abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Cain finished second in the primary with 26.2% of the vote, ahead of Collins, who won 20.6%, but because Isakson won 53.2% of the vote, Isakson was able to avoid a runoff.

2012 presidential candidacy

In 2010, "Cain addressed more than 40 Tea Party rallies, hit all the early presidential states, and became a YouTube sensation." In April, he teased the audience at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference about his being a possible 2012 presidential candidate by saying that there may be a "dark horse candidate." On September 24, 2010, Cain announced that he was considering a run for president in 2012 on the Republican Party ticket. "In December, he was the surprise choice for 2012 GOP nominee in a reader poll on the conservative Web site RedState.com, narrowly edging out [Sarah] Palin."

Cain announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee on January 12, 2011 on the Fox News Channel program ''Your World with Neil Cavuto''.

Cain supports a non-federally subsidized efficient economic stimulus, saying: "We could grow this economy faster if we had bolder, more direct stimulus policies," criticizing President Barack Obama's stimulus plan as simply a "spending bill" instead of meaningful stimulus through permanent tax cuts.

In February 2011, Cain addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Ed Morrisey of the conservative website Hot Air said he "stole the show" and that some attendees were moved to tears by the speech. In contrast, liberal website AlterNet accused Cain of pandering to white conservatives and referred to him and other black conservatives as "garbage pail kids". Cain called the news website's attacks racist and condemned its "shameful behavior".

A number of comments made by Cain regarding his attitudes towards Muslim people have caused controversy. He has stated that he was "uncomfortable" when he found that the surgeon operating on his liver and colon cancer was Muslim, later explaining "based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them". Following a number of such comments, he was asked in March 2011 if he would feel comfortable appointing a Muslim to his administration or as a Judge. Cain said "No, I will not ... There's this creeping attempt, there's this attempt, to gradually ease Shariah Law, and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government" and he went on to cite court cases in Oklahoma and New Jersey as evidence. He was criticized for this remark by conservatives at Grover Norquist's weekly Wednesday Gatherings, one of whom called the remark "frightening." Cain's statement was also criticized as "bigotry" and "muslim bashing" from CAIR, whose spokesperson stated "It would be laughable if it weren't having such a negative impact on the lives of Muslim Americans". Cain opposed the building of an Islamic Center for a Muslim community at a site in Tennessee, claiming that it was "an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion" and "just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws". Defending himself against the suggestion that this would be bigotry or discrimination during an interview with Chris Wallace, he defended his position, saying "I'm willing to take a harder look at people who might be terrorists, that's what I'm saying".

In an interview with Bloomberg view, Cain argued that he is a 'black American' rather than an 'African American' on account of being able to trace his ancestors within the US, describing Barack Obama as "more of an international...look, he was raised in Kenya, his mother was white from Kansas and her family had an influence on him, it’s true, but his dad was Kenyan". Interviewer Jeffrey Goldberg pointed out that Obama had spent 4 years of his childhood abroad, and that it was in Indonesia – not Kenya, at which point Cain revised his claim.

On May 5, 2011 Fox News presented a presidential campaign debate. Cain was one of five potential candidates who participated. (The others were Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum as the higher-profile candidates declined Fox's invitation.) Cain was declared the winner by pollster Frank Luntz after a show of hands among 29 debate witnesses who were chosen by Fox to act as a post-performance focus group.

On June 3, 2011, an Insider-Advantage poll showed Cain leading the field of Republican primary candidates among Georgia Republicans. A July 2011 Zogby poll showed Cain in second place nationally, with 18% of the vote, behind Michele Bachmann and ahead of Romney.

Political positions

Personal life

Religious involvement

Cain is an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, which he joined at the age of 10. The church is part of the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Cancer

In 2006, Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in both his colon and his liver. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy following the diagnosis, and has since reported that he is cancer-free.

Race

Cain has shared first-hand accounts of racial discrimination. In a YouTube video uploaded by his campaign, he describes the experience of sitting behind the white/black demarcation on buses. He also talks about the experience of taking turns with his brother, standing watch as each took a drink from the "white" side of a segregated water fountain in a department store.

Honorary degrees

Cain is the recipient of eight honorary degrees from Creighton, Johnson & Wales, Morehouse College, Nebraska, New York City Technical College, Purdue, Suffolk University, and Tougaloo College.

References

External links

Herman Cain, President 2012 official campaign website

Column archives at the North Star Writers Group

Profile at ''Forbes''

Watch Herman Cain Battle Bill Clinton on Health Care, Joshua Green, ''The Atlantic'', January 2011, with Profile

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cs:Herman Cain de:Herman Cain fa:هرمان کاین fo:Herman Cain hsb:Herman Cain ja:ハーマン・ケイン no:Herman Cain simple:Herman Cain sv:Herman Cain

:''This article is about the U.S. sociopolitical commentator. For other people with a similar name, see Brian Fisher (disambiguation).''

name	Bryan Fischer
birth date
birth place	United States
occupation	Conservative radio host, blogger, political activist
spouse	Debbie Fischer
children	Two }}

Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issues Analysis for the American Family Association (AFA), hosting the talk radio program ''Focal Point'' on American Family Radio and posting on the AFA-run blog ''Rightly Concerned''.

He is a supporter of conservative causes, such as the right to life and opposition to national health care, and has been active in city and state politics. Fischer has been sharply criticized for his written and verbal attacks on Native Americans, African Americans, Muslims, gays and Hispanics. Fischer's divisive comments were cited by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in explaining the hate group designation they gave to the AFA in November 2010.

Biography

Fischer has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Stanford University, and holds a graduate degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Fischer served at the of Cole Community Church in Boise, Idaho and founded the Cole Center for Biblical Studies and was the church's director for thirteen years. Fischer then founded Community Church of the Valley and was senior pastor for twelve years. Before joining the board of directors of American Family Association, Fischer was also executive director of Idaho Values Alliance.

In 2004, he co-founded the Keep the Commandments Coalition, a group dedicated to keeping a Ten Commandments monument in Julia Davis Park in Boise, Idaho. From 2000 to 2005, he served as a commissioner for the city's Park and Recreation Department.

Positions

Islam

In response to the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, Fischer wrote that the government should "stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military. The reason is simple: the more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security." Since then, he has advocated for the forced removal of all Muslims from the United States, writing that "simple Judeo-Christian compassion dictates a restriction and repatriation policy with regard to Muslim immigration into the U.S." Fischer has also claimed that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution applies only to Christian Americans, and not to practitioners of other religions such as Islam and Judaism.

In August 2010, Fischer opposed the construction of the Muslim-supported Park51 community center near the World Trade Center site, calling it a mosque and saying that the building signified a "subversive ideology". He stated that "Muslims cannot claim religious freedom protections under the First Amendment." Fischer has called for a halt in the construction of all American mosques, saying, "Permits, in my judgment, should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government."

Homosexuality

Fischer believes that Adolf Hitler and members of the Nazi Party were open homosexuals. In writing about a planned repeal of the United States Army's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in May 2010, Fischer wrote on his blog that, "Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler [sic], and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews." As evidence, he cited ''Hitler's Secret: The Double Life of a Dictator'', written by German historian Lothar Machtan.

Other comments

In his November 9, 2010, blog entry, he commented on a fatal attack by a grizzly bear, noting the potential danger of people living in proximity to bear populations saying, "If it’s a choice between grizzlies and humans, the grizzlies have to go." He expresses his opinion that, according to the Bible, communities which experience losses of life or livestock due to wild predators are "under a curse".

On November 15, 2010, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta was decorated with the Medal of Honor for saving members of his squad during an ambush by Afghan insurgents. Although Giunta killed one of the insurgents during the action, Fischer complained that the Medal had undergone a "feminization", and that it was being awarded only to soldiers who saved lives, to the exclusion of those who killed enemies. Fischer wrote, "So the question is this: when are we going to start awarding the Medal of Honor once again for soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night?" In a follow-up post, Fischer wrote that "the God of the Bible clearly honors those who show valor and gallantry in waging aggressive war in a just cause against the enemies of freedom, even while inflicting massive casualties in the process. What I’m saying is that it’s time we started imitating God’s example again." He added that Christianity is "not a religion of pacifism".

Hate group designation

In November 2010, the SPLC changed their listing of the AFA from a group that used hate speech to the more serious one of being designated a hate group. The SPLC's Mark Potok said that the AFA's "propagation of known falsehoods and demonizing propaganda" was the basis for the change. Fischer's anti-gay comments were given as an example by SPLC in support of the hate group designation.

References

External links

American Family Association

Category:Year of birth unknown Category:American bloggers Category:American evangelicals Category:American Family Association Category:Christian fundamentalists Category:New Right (United States) Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Living people Category:Writers of blogs about home and family Category:1951 births Category:People from Boise, Idaho Category:American talk radio hosts Category:People from Mississippi