31. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

State Snapshot

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SHARING A LAUGH — Prior to a Tuesday night debate at MSU, state agriculture and commerce commissioner candidates (from left) Leslie Riley Jr., Lester Spell and Rickey Cole shared a laugh backstage at the university’s McComas Hall theater. Spell is the Republican incumbent, while Riley and Cole are candidates of the Constitutional and Democratic parties, respectively. Sponsored by the student Stennis-Montgomery Association, the debate drew an audience of approximately 260.  (Oct 24, 2007 Photo by Kristen Hines)

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30. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Mississippi Prayer Warriors is a non partisan Christian political web site. They sent me a questionare a few weeks back. They posted this today :

http://mississippiprayerwarriors.org/lesriley.html

Leslie Riley, Jr. Speaks with MPW

1) How does faith play a role in shaping your views, platforms, and voting practices?
It plays the central and dominant role.
At the beginning of the Great Commission, Jesus Christ declares :”ALL authority in heaven & on earth has been given to me” and Romans 13 tells us that “all authority comes from God.”

Government is a God-ordained institution. Those who would govern should do so in the fear of the Lord and giving due dilligence to govern within the parameters God has given the civil magistrate. ( This is even tru for unbelievers — Psalm 2).
This is even more for a sinner who has been saved by the grace & mercy of Christ. The way we live affects the reputation of our Saviour. Beyond that, Jesus Christ is not only our Saviour, but our Lord. If the way we think & live — not only in the realm of politics, but in our families, our communities, our workplaces, should be under the — should be changed if we have truly been transformed from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His Son.

As far as my platform goes. I would encourage you to go to read the Constitution Party platform which is the most distinctively, unappologetically Christian platform you will find. My general views on politics and the Christian in a nutshell can be found in this peice I wrote after the 2006 Congressional elections — before I decided to run for Ag Com.

2) Do believe that your constituency see you as a leader of faith?
I would hope so, but I would be much more concerned that my Lord would see me as a faithful servant & child.

3) How could our organization pray for you specifically?
Pray for protection for me & my family and that we would be granted wisdom, discernment, boldness, & humility.

4) What upcoming issues do you see as particularly requiring a faith-based decision?
If you will see my first answer, I think it will basically answer this question as well.

Rev. R.J. Rushdoony once said : “All ideas are inherently religious”. By this he meant that a person’s understanding of the nature of God, the nature of man, and the relationship between the two will determine what you belive about everything else.

In light of the fact that God’s Word says “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof ” and other such claims of Supreme, undivided, Sovreign authority, there is no square milimeter of creation that is outside of His rule. We cannot, therefore, separate & compartmentalize issues. Our faith governs our views on ALL issues.
This does not mean that we attach Christian words and phraseology to everything we do, but rather we live out our faith in the way we make decisions and the decisions that we make. ( James 2)

I certainly covet your prayers.
Thanks for the opportunity,

Leslie Riley

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30. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Six months ago no one thought we would get over 1-2%. Now a Republican site is guessing that I’ll get 20%. We are gaining ground, keep putting the word out.

http://rightofmississippi.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/2007-mississippi-statewide-election-predictions/

2007 Mississippi Statewide Election Predictions
Right of Mississippi 2007 Predictions:

This is on record 7 days out, we have carefully studied all of these campaigns for nearly a year now and this is our best guess on the final outcome.

Governor: VERY SAFE GOP

Haley Barbour: 58.4%

John Arthur Eaves Jr: 41.6%

Lt. Gov: SAFE GOP

Phil Bryant: 56.1%

Jamie Franks: 43.9%

SOS: SAFE GOP

Delbert Hosemann: 55.9%

Rob Smith: 44.1%

Attorney General: SAFE DEM

Jim Hood: 55.3%

Al Hopkins: 44.7%

State Treasurer: VERY SAFE GOP

Tate Reeves: 60.1%

Shawn O’Hara: 39.9%

State Auditor: TOO CLOSE TO CALL/LEAN GOP

Stacey Pickering: 51.8%

Mike Sumrall: 48.2%

Insurance Commissioner: TOO CLOSE TO CALL/SLIGHT LEAN DEM

Gary Anderson: 51.0%

Mike Chaney: 49.0%

Commissioner of Agriculture: TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Lester Spell: 40.4%

Rickey Cole: 39.5%

Les Riley: 20.1%

The 3 of us here at ROM personally called through our address books and got responses from about 50 voters, hardly a random sample but it helped us please feel free to discuss and disagree, things could change in the next week and we will show updates if we make them. Make your own scorecard and we can compare in a week.

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30. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Sid Salter is the political columnist/ editor for the Clarion Ledger & his column is published statewide. Mr. Salter has been very fair & balanced in its coverage of the Ag race. The most recent entry in his blog is no exception ( Salter’s blog post below) . . . let’s just hope he’s wrong about the 5 to 8% and we even get in excess of the 20 % that Right of Mississippi ( a Conservative Republican site) is guessing. We can still win. Keep working !
( the post about the Ag Com race is about half way down the page)

http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/ssalter/sidblog.html

Les Riley may well decide the Ag Commissioner’s race

While most of the attention has been on incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell and his Democratic challenger Rickey Cole, the fact is that the deciding factor in that race may be Constitution Party candidate Les Riley.

Riley, who is a legitimate candidate with the ability to run the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, is not your average third party or fringe candidate. Riley is working hard, campaigning across a wide area with limited resources and has a following.

Superior resources and incumbency should be enough to re-elect Spell. But Spell’s consistent policy of throwing fellow Republicans, state legislators, Mississippi State University and anyone else he can under the bus by blaming them for the failed Mississippi Beef Processors plant will make it hard for a lot of Republicans to vote for Spell. There are a significant number of Republicans telling me they just can’t vote for him.

That leaves them in the position of either voting for Cole, a staunch Democrat, or for Riley. I think a lot of frustrated Republicans may park their vote with Riley.

That could put Spell shy of winning a 50 percent plus one vote majority needed to win and throw the vote into the Democrat-controlled House, which will almost certainly elect Cole.

If Riley can take from 5 to 8 percent of the vote, Spell will be in trouble.

Posted in Lester Spell, Rickey Cole, Beef Plant, Constitution Party, 3rd Parties, Riley for Agriculture Campaign, Media Coverage, Mississippi Politics | Print | No Comments »

30. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Statewide Voter Gude Answers

Please forward to everyone in Mississippi who you know who is interested in making an informed vote in this election.

The Clarion Ledger & League of Women Voters published their voter’s guide this past Sunday ( Oct. 28). In additon to the short profiles that went out with the paper, longer, detailed Q&A’s were done with all statewide candidates & published here :http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPECIAL02&template=vg

My particular comments are here :
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/SPECIAL02/71026054/1224

Also, if you have not watched the videos of all statewide candidates, please watch & forward. Myself & my Democrat & Republican opponents are at the bottom.http://www.etv.state.ms.us/televisio…ates/index.htm

Posted in Lester Spell, Rickey Cole, Constitution Party, Media Coverage, Riley for Agriculture Campaign, Mississippi Politics | Print | No Comments »

30. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Statewide Radio Interview Thursday.

This Thursday ( Nov. 1) I will be interviewed on the Gallo program on Supertalk from 7:30 to 8:00. This is a statewide drive time program and has the largest audience of any radio program by far. If you do not know what your local affiliate, is you can click here & scroll about half way down the page.

Paul Gallo is out & the guest hosts will be Conservative Republicans Nick Walters & Hays Dent. Plan on listening & calling in if you can (888)-808-8637

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24. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting has loaded the videos of all statewide candidates on their web site. Myself & my Democrat & Republican opponents are at the bottom.

http://www.etv.state.ms.us/televisio…ates/index.htm

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24. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Ag Commissioner hopefuls Square off

Starkville Daily News

http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/content/view/23936/60/

By KELLY DANIELS
Starkville Daily News

Both opponents of incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell said during a debate Tuesday night that he was obligated to take at least some of the blame for the failure of Mississippi Beef Processors plant and the loss of $55 million in taxpayer dollars.
With the position of agricultural commissioner up for grabs on Nov. 6, Spell, a Republican, and challengers Rickey Cole, a Democrat, and Constitution Party candidate Leslie Riley, disagreements and answers to touchy issues during a debate on the Mississippi State University campus last night - one being the beef plant.
WTVA-TV news anchor Craig Ford, one of two media panelists, asked Spell, “Looking back what else could you have done to better scrutinize the project during the development process and not at the very least share some of the blame for what happened?”
Without taking at least some of the blame, Spell, who has been agriculture commissioner since 199 6, said that he was not the only member of the board that oversaw the project.
“A lot of criticism has been made at the level of committees, but I ask you to remember that the (Mississippi) Land, Water and Timber (Resources) Board has 14 members,” said Spell.
Riley offered an answer of what he would do in a similar situation.
“I will not run out and take credit for every good thing that happens in the state,” said Riley. “I don’t think Dr. Spell is the sole problem for what’s going on, but I think we’re in a big mess right now.”
Riley added that he would take the blame for any future messes.
Cole said that Spell should shoulder some of the blame.
“But he hasn’t even taken one-fourteenth of the blame,” said Cole, referring to the 14-member Land, Water and Timber Resources Board that initially pushed the project.
“The beef plant was never a good idea that failed in its execution,” said Cole.
“The beef plant was a fundamentally flawed idea. It was doomed to failure from day one.”
Cole sited an unspecified 2001 MSU study on the beef plant, in which the “perfect scenario” for the plant’s success showed only a 2.5 percent profit at best.
Riley added to Cole’s comments drawing from his experience in the private sector.
“If you lose $55 million, it’s the CEO who takes the blame,” said Riley.
Spell’s rebuttal was a redefinition of the problem, which he said was the oversight and management of the project.

Food safety and illegal immigrants

One question to Riley addressed a statement on his campaign Web site regarding removal of illegal aliens from food processing plants where potential contamination situations exist.
“As Dr. Spell mentioned in his opening statement, food safety is the key component of this business. In Alabama they have a they had an outbreak of tuberculosis,” said Riley. “We had tuberculosis wiped out.”  
Riley attributed the outbreak to 152 unaccounted for food workers of a p oultry plant.
Cole’s answer was for stronger enforcement of illegal immigration laws from the federal government.
Spell had the same answer, yet disagreed aloud with a statement Cole made to the Hattiesburg American concerning illegal workers.
The Oct. 11 edition of the Hattiesburg American quotes Cole saying, “I don’t believe any right-thinking government official in this country would tell employers we’re coming to fine you today for hiring illegal aliens and we’re going to shut your operation down. … The economy would grind to a halt.”
Spell said he disagreed with that philosophy.
“It is a problem when you talk about  health issues, particularly those people that sneak across the borders,” said Spell. “I think what we really ought to do is insist that Congress enforce the laws that we have on the books.”
Spell continued his argument remembering the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
“We are very susceptible not only these acts, but acts of germ warfare and chemical warfare and I think we’d do a better job if we already enforce the laws that we have,” said Spell.

Eliminating the
commissioner’s job

Starkville Daily News Editor Brian Hawkins, the other panelist, asked Spell what his thoughts were on the elimination of the commissioner’s position and shifting the Agriculture Department’s duties to the state’s two and-grant universities — MSU and Alcorn State — or to the Mississippi Development Authority.
Spell said the agriculture business draws in more than $6 billion each year and needs support from a full-time state department.
“We have one out of four jobs directly related to agriculture,” said Spell. “Nobody else provides the support for our small farmers and our young farmers.”
Spell added that agriculture was far too large of an industry to be divided among other state agencies.
“We build grocery stores,” said Spell.
 ”By the way, I led the fight to ban Chinese catfish that was contam inated.”
Riley also said that the position shouldn’t be eliminated. However, he added that editorialists who would like to get rid of the department would really like to have the money spent by the department be distributed elsewhere, instead of having taxes lowered.
“They don’t want to get rid of $19 million that the agriculture department is spending every year and put it back in their pocket,” said Riley. “If that was something they were talking about doing, my more Libertarian leanings might be swayed to go in that direction.
“What  they want is to send it over to the wise folks over in the legislature and spend it on something else.”
“Well, it’s not going to happen,” Cole answered. “I’ve met a lot of people in these campaign trails who really don’t know what this job does.”
Cole said that when he is elected that people will not only know “what the job does,” but they will wonder what they will do without it.
Tuesday’s debate at MSU was sponsored by the Stennis-Montgomery Association.  

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19. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

The Coast’s biggest daily newspaper — the Sun Herald — had an article about the Ag Commissioner’s race today ( below). They published a very balanced piece.

The artilce is below. If you get a chance, e-mail the author and thank him for his fair coverage and send a letter to the editor in support of my campaign ( reference the article & it is more likely to get published).

http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/167637.html

3 vying for Dept. of Agriculture post
Commissioner works with farmers in state
By MICHAEL A. BELL
mbell@sunherald.com

With the title of “Mr. Agriculture” comes a responsibility to protect consumers from harmful imported foods, promote Mississippi’s economic vitality across the globe and help local farmers grow and promote their crops.

The three candidates running for Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner - Democrat Rickey Cole, Republican Lester Spell and independent Paul “Les” Riley - all say they are up for the challenge.

Cole, president of Mississippi Policy Forum, said he is running because he feels the state is neglecting farmers like him. The Ovett man spent 15 years growing greens and selling them to markets across the Gulf Coast; he wants more incentives and tax breaks for dairy farmers, along with more money for farming research.

“I meet farmers all the time who are working at public jobs that they hate because they couldn’t see a way to make a living,” he said.

Spell, a retired veterinarian from Richland who’s held the commissioner spot since 1995, has a platform that includes protecting consumers from tainted imported foods. He says his staff in June detected illegal substances in catfish imported from China before it reached local markets.

“Food safety is very important to us,” he said. “We take it very, very seriously.”

Spell also is quick to note under his leadership the number of farms across the state has climbed more than 2 percent, while the majority of other states report losses.

Riley, with the Constitution Party, has a platform based on removing the state’s dependence on big government.

“I think we need to be much more humble in our approach that we think government can solve all our problems,” he said.

The Pontotoc salesman has actively voiced his devout Christian faith and staunch conservative views throughout his campaign.

After its support of several failed programs, including the beef plant in Oakland, Riley wants to see the Department of Agriculture’s budget cut and the money returned to the taxpayers.

Both Riley and Cole said the failed Spell-approved beef plant in Oakland cost taxpayers $55 million and a loss of 400 jobs.

Spell said the decision was made for the betterment of the state. If the plant were a success, it would have created hundreds of jobs and industry sales of more than $140 million.

Whoever does come out on top in the commissioner race on Nov. 6 will monitor petroleum quality, while likely continuing a push for alternative fuel research and development.

Cole said he’s recently pulled into a number of gas stations across the state and spotted outdated inspection stickers on the gas pumps. Spell, however, said he’s traveled to a number of the pumps Cole pointed out, and he claims many of the convenience stores quit selling gas years ago or were closed.

Riley wants more focus on alternative fuel research.

“We need to move towards a more decentralized system using alternative crops, such as sorghum,” he said. “This would return more dollars to the farms and give more control to local economies, rather than the big oil, big government model we have now.”

Meet the candidatesHere are the three candidates running for Commissioner of Agriculture & Commerce:

Rickey L. Cole, of Ovett

Political party: Democrat.

Current occupation: President, Mississippi Policy Forum.

Highest educational degree: Attended Mississippi State University.

Personal: 40 years old, married, one child.

Why I’m running: “Mississippi agriculture is our largest industry, but millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on poorly planned agricultural development projects like the failed cull-cow plant.”

Lester Spell, of Richland

Political party: Republican.

Current occupation: Commissioner of Agriculture, 1996 to present.

Highest educational degree: Doctor of veterinary medicine, Auburn University, 1968.

Personal: 64 years old, widowed, two children.

Why I’m running: “I want to continue my successful efforts that have increased farming opportunities, developed new products and markets for our farmers, and have provided fresh Mississippi-grown products for consumers.”

Paul “Les” Riley, of Pontotoc

Political party: Constitution.

Current occupation: Salesman, Aberdeen RV, four years; small-business owner, Abby’s Grace Originals, five years; runs small farm.

Highest educational degree: Attended Christian Brothers College and Northwest Community College.

Personal: 40 years old, married, nine children.

Why I’m running: “Mississippi needed a visionary, conservative alternative to the two Democrats that we running for Ag Commissioner. I will work to create an environment that is conducive to profitability of farms - small and large; to young people going into farming; to communities becoming more independent & prosperous through agricultural & bottom-up development, and show that having a clean environment, healthy food, and an economy that is growing is not dependant upon big government, cheap, illegal, immigrant labor, or a culture where cities and farms are at odds.”

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11. October 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

I was recently asked a very good question about my statements regarding country of origin labeling. I thought the answer was worth posting here for clarification.

The question asked was :

If I may ask you a question about your political philosophy in this regard … you are a conservative … you believe in limited government involvement (or what some would call deregulation) … this is more government regulation … why are you not against this philosophically …?

I am a libertarian … we share a lot of the same political leaning supposedly … if you are insisting that there are good laws that should be enforced … and meat safety is one IMHO …

My reply :
I will try to start with the philosophical & then deal with the specifics.

While I have leanings that could fit into the categories of Libertarian & paleo-Conservative, we live in a time when these labels are not quite as easy to fit into as they recently would have been.

Generally speaking I am somewhat Jeffersonian ( localism, Agrarianism, decentralization, & limited government) with a heavy dose of John Calvin’s view of human nature & spheres of authority as the foundation.

I am not opposed to government to the degree that the most doctrinaire libertarian would be because I believe that this tends towards anarchy which always leads to further tyranny.

How does all this philosophy relate to COOL laws ?

1) We cannot say that all regulation is unconstitutional because the Constitution gives the federal government the authority to regulate interstate commerce, trade, and currency.
But I think the Founders view ( and the correct view) is towards very little regulation & government involvement in the economy or free enterprise.
To quote Jefferson : “Government should prevent men from doing one another harm and otherwise leave them to regulate their own affairs”.
2) We cannot say that the state of Mississippi is not allowed to have any regulatory authority because the States clearly reserved broad powers for themselves in the Constitution ( 9th & 10th Amendments particularly).
** That being said, my tendency is still towards more freedom/ less government. I think this is one of the building blocks of our system of government; it is the most moral position; and it is the position that provides the most opportunity for prosperity. **

I do have a concern — and I frankly have not come to a clear answer in my own mind on this — that private centralization can be just as dangerous as government centralization.

Big Government & Big Business are not enemies, they are friends. And both are enemies of the family, of liberty, of our culture, of small business, and of free enterprise. Socialism & Communism gives government control of the economy and ultimately everything else. The Statism of & trend towards centralization of government in our country is a step down towards socialism .
Fascism leaves ownership of private property in the hands of the private sector but the government controls & manipulates it. ( and those in power give favors to their friends/ punish their enemies). Corporatism & the trend towards centralization in business is a step towards fascism.

As far as the even more specific of this law goes.

I do not think requiring country of origin labeling is out-of-bounds — particularly not if it is done at the state/ local level. As one who has worked in super market management ( at the store and corporate level) the expense to the food industry for compliance is miniscule to the point of almost being non-existent.

For a libertarian-leaning conservative like me, here is where the rubbber meets the road.
The law does not forbid the sale of foreign meat by packers & retailers. It does not forbid the purchase of foreign meat by consumers. People still have as much freedom as they did before, but they are informed and can make choices.

Hope this clears things up. But this may not be at all what you are looking for . . . Let me know if you have anymore questions

Leslie Riley

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