Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Governor-Elect Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to talk about his anticipations for the office of Governor. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

What issues are you trying to be a change agent in during your gubernatorial term?

I would say teen pregnancy and abortion. I have long said that my goal is to end abortion in Mississippi. I still have reporters ask me if I think we can do that. I do.

As Governor, it's very easy to get away from those kinds of issues.

What will we see in the legislature as far as pro-life bills?

I think you're going to see some bills that are introduced very quickly in this early session. 

You will see legislation introduced by the house of Representatives that will work towards that end.

I think you'll see a version of the Personhood Amendment. It may try to clarify some of the difficulties people had with it. 

I think you'll see legislation introduced that will simply identify that child as a person.

Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to talk about Initiative 26 and the presidential campaign. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell us about the opposition to Initiative 26.

What our adversaries do is use the worst possible examples. I had a man ask me the other day, "What if a ten year old got raped?"

I was offended by that question. That you would use the rape of a ten year old girl to win a political battle, which is what he was trying to do.

Do you think the initiative will pass?

I do believe it will be successful.

I believe this is a battle of biblical proportions. I believe Christians need to step out and make their voices heard.

I can tell you, this is a battle where God puts you in a position and says, "Will you stand for me?"

Do you have any pressure on you not to touch this issue?

Every day people will tell me to stay out of this, and stick to the job creation problem.

That's the way the Democrats always try to spin this, is that we have "more important" things to worry about.

I cannot imagine what would be more important than stopping the murder of innocent babies.

If this fails to pass, what could a Republican governor do to work against abortion?

That's why we're working so hard to elect Republican governors throughout the nation.

Republican governors can help pass legislation to make abortions more difficult.

I think that being able to speak out with passion about the lives of those children is crucial.

We could kill a child legally in the United States at 7, 8, 9 months, without a trial or the child being able to defend himself.

What are your thoughts on the presidential race?

It is dangerous to be the front-runner, because the media automatically targets that person.

It astounds me that now that we have a African-American front-runner in the Republican race, you don't hear the media talking about how forward-leaning the GOP is.

The media wants to pick the nominee for the Republican party, and that would be the nominee they think Barack Obama can beat.

And at this point, I think that's Mitt Romney.

Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss the economy and the Mississippi voter initiatives. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

What is the mood of voters right now?

It differs. Of course, jobs are the number one concern. As I talk to people, I see tears in their eyes as they say, "I'm about to lose my job."

This economy is on everyone's mind.

How difficult is it to work with this economy?

We've done a remarkable job in the last ten years. We've brought up the average income for a family by 30%. That makes a huge difference.

The Obama administration appears to be deliberately trying to collapse the free-market system. It's hard to explain ObamaCare any other way.

Mississippi is doing better than most states. We're rated 9th in the nation for manufacturing. We're number one in investing in oil and gas.

Realistically, Mississippi is doing better than a lot of other states. But even with all of that, it suppresses people's willingness to get out and vote.

They feel like the government isn't listening to them.

Tell us about the initiatives on the Mississippi ballot.

Of course, there is the pro-life initiative, the Personhood Amendment. We have got to speak up for the unborn. You're going to hear a lot of arguments from the pro-abortion crowd and Planned Parenthood.

Then there's a property rights issue, eminent domain, whether the government can take your land away and give it to someone else simply because they can pay more taxes.

Then there's a voter ID initiative, that says simply when I go into the voter box to cast my vote, I have to show my identification. That will add security to our vote.

It's critical to pass all three of these.

Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss Mississippi's reaction to Hurricane Katrina in light of recent natural disasters. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

I saw a poll recently saying that people are skeptical of federal money coming in after natural disasters. Did that concern you after Katrina?

I was very concerned about it. You're looking at almost 30 billion dollars along that Gulf Coast after Katrina came through.

What is remarkable to me is that the taxpayers understand that federal dollars cannot fix everything.

Believe me, to see the public finally saying that federal money cannot sold every problem will help conservatives like myself when we have to say no to federal spending.

What were some lessons we learned from that situation?

What you've got to do is have an early response. As a matter of fact, you have to have a plan in place before the disaster hits.

Here in Mississippi we've got contractors, First Responders, relief teams, and emergency communicators .

That first 48 hours are so critical to be able to save lives with search and rescue.

We have learned to not think we can stick it out on our own.

And then to begin the recovery process. You have to have an emergency plan in place.

You have to know how you deal with the lack of food, water, electricity.

I think Mississippi has done a great job with that.

Brain Trust - Phill Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor, Phil Bryant, came on the Matt Friedeman Show to describe how faith and politics intersect, especially in light of recent natural disasters.

 

How important is it that people of faith run for office? 

It's critical, Matt.

 

I don't know how someone can operate in an office like Lieutenant Governor or Governor without faith.

 

You depend on your faith.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've gone to the Lord, and said, 'Help me grasp why this occured.'

 

It personally critical for your wellbeing to have that faith.

 

I have reporters who are shocked when I tell them my goal is to not have any abortion in Mississippi.

 

When you have organization or indivials who try to give you money to influence your decisions, you have to say no.

 

That's all a faith-based position I think you have to have if you're going to serve well in an office like Governor of the state of Mississippi.

How involved are people of faith in natural disasters? 

Oh, it's been amazing, Matt.

 

Just like in Katrina, we've seen churches turning out in record numbers.

 

I'm on the board of the Salvation Army...the reason I became involved with the Salvation Army as my charity of choice is because it's a Christian ministry.

 

My pastor came to me and said, "What can we do." Well the school's closed...so perhaps we can get some WalMart card and let the superintendent distrubute those.

 

We were able to buy 165 of those gift cards.

 

That's the type of thing that has been going on with faith-based groups here in Mississippi.

Is the government doing a better job here with these tornadoes and flood? 

I think so.

 

The one thing people have to understand is that government can't solve all your problems after a disaster...that's where churches come in, Salvation Army, United Way is doing a great job.

 

So we just need to understand that we cannot be totally dependent upon government everytime something occurs.

 

When you live in areas affected by weather, you have responsibilities as does your insurance company.

Are you in contact with officials from other states? 

We do. Just the other day I was talking with the Lt. Gov. of Florida, and she was offering help.

 

We have contracters who are volunteering to help other places.