Shad White is no Ray Mabus, but there are some similarities.
Even White, the current Republican state auditor, admitted as much the other day in an op-ed newspaper column in which he lambasted Mabus, the former Democratic state auditor and governor, for implying he is a racist.
White wrote that “on paper” he and Mabus have “a lot in common. We both grew up in small towns, both went to the University of Mississippi followed by Harvard Law School, both served in the military, and both of us have been state auditor.”
White could have added, but didn’t, that he and Mabus were the two most aggressive of the past five state auditors in uncovering corruption in the handling of public funds.
The thrust of his column, though, was about what led to Mabus implying that White is a racist — which White denies, pointing out that his wife’s parents came to the U.S. from India.
Mabus’ comments came after White had stated in response to some comments from Jackson’s mayor that “if we wanted to address the root causes of poverty, community leaders should do three things. They should encourage every child to 1) finish high school, 2) get a full-time job and 3) wait until age 21 before getting married and having children.”
White’s argument — with which I agree — is supported by research from the Brookings Institution.
In his column, White quoted Dr. Ron Haskins, a Ph.D. of Developmental Psychology at Brookings, who said, “Our research shows that of American adults who followed these three simple rules, only about 2% are in poverty and nearly 75% have joined the middle class.”
White noted that when he cited Haskins’ research, Mabus said, “(You) could have said ‘at least be born white and we’ll to do’ (sic). He was applauded by a chorus of woke keyboard warriors on social media.”
Mabus, after being defeated for a second term as governor by Republican Kirk Fordice in 1991, has served in national Democratic administrations as ambassador to Saudi Arabia when Bill Clinton was president and as Navy secretary under Barack Obama.
Although he is a player in national Democratic politics, he no longer has the clout he had in Mississippi in the mid-1980s when his reputation as a tough, corruption-fighting state auditor helped propel him into the governor's office.
I can’t help but wonder if White also aspires to higher political office. Two of the past five auditors — Mabus and Phil Bryant — have later been governor. Could there be a third?
Thinking of Mabus reminds me of an event in 1989 when he was governor. It was at the “Sportsman’s Paradise” a few miles west of Loyd Star in Lincoln County, where there was a large tract of fenced in land for fox hunts.
The late Clem Nettles, then a state representative from Pike County, hosted a fox hunt attended by the governor and more than 30 legislators, including Mike Mills, who later became a federal judge, and Robert Clark, the first Black Mississippi legislator since Reconstruction.
Clark, unlike many of the attendees, was a serious fox hunter and brought along some hounds to the event.
Mills obviously knew something about the sport, because he could talk the talk.
Nettles also invited outdoors editor Ernest Herndon and I. When I recently traded e-mails with Ernest, he encapsulated the event this way:
“I remember it vividly. Ray Mabus showed up in brand-new straight-out-of-the-box camo jumpsuit and boots. Mike Mills was smoking primo cigars which he shared. One of Clem’s hunting club buddies caused a scene because he hadn’t been invited. Ate one of the biggest steaks I ever saw, covered the plate and then some.”
I don’t know if Shad White has ever been fox hunting. I don’t know him personally, but somehow I don’t feature him fitting in at one any better than Ray Mabus.
And I don’t necessarily recommend it for politicking, since it didn’t help Mabus get re-elected. But it’s a lot of fun.
