JACKSON -- One of the arguments former Gov. Haley Barbour is using to oppose the lawsuit Attorney General Jim Hood filed to block the nearly 200 pardons he granted in his final hours in office is that the Constitution gives him that authority and another branch of government cannot second guess it.

The Constitution says an applicant cannot receive a commutation until the convicted felon advertises for 30 days in a newspaper his petition for a pardon.

Hood argues most -- not all -- of the people receiving the pardons did not meet that constitutional mandate. Barbour say the state Constitution gives the governor the authority to issue the pardons and no other government entity can reverse that decision.

I do not know how this case will turn out. But the Constitution also gives the governor the authority to line item veto appropriations bills. On several occasions, the courts have ruled those vetoes invalid, saying the governor misused his line item veto authority.

JACKSON -- When new Gov. Phil Bryant announced during the presentation of his budget proposal Tuesday that he wanted to sell one of the two airplanes owned by the state for the use of state officials, one person could be heard in the back of the room clapping.

It was former House Appropriations Chair Johnny Stringer, D-Montrose, who with Republicans now in charge of the House does not carry the same clout in the lower chamber.

During his tenure as Appropriations chair, Stringer tried several times to sell one of the two aircrafts, the jet owned by the state. As lieutenant governor and the presiding officer in the Senate, Bryant never publicly supported Stringer in the effort.

Then-Republican Gov. Haley Barbour opposed selling the plane. In announcing he wanted to sell the plane, Bryant said he was not trying to make a political statement, but was doing what he thought was right.

He said the transaction should net about $2 million for the state and save the cost paid by the state for  maintenance and pilots for the aircraft. Bryant said if he needs a jet the state can lease one or if the time can be worked out he can fly commercial.

JACKSON -- Pardon me, but Phil Bryant's inauguration and State of the State worked out nicely for me.

Because of rain earlier this month, the gubernatorial inauguration was moved from the south steps of  the state Capitol to a jam-packed House chamber.

In that crowded chamber, the media members sat in their traditional location below the speaker's podium facing the House members. With it being so crowded, the Mississippi Mass Choir lined up where it could -- all around us in the media to perform. It was awesome.

It was like I was in the middle of the choir, though, I knew better than to sing for the sake of everyone. But being in the midst of such a talented  choir was a unique considering how much I love music, but how musically untalented I am.

Then last week, the governor held the State of the State outside on the massive platforms built for the inaugural.

It was a very mild night for January.

In other words, I got to witness the Mississippi Mass Choir up close  for the inauguration -- almost like I was one of them --  and stay comfortable for an outdoor State of the State.

The only person more pleased with the inauguration and State of the State was probably Phil Bryant.

        JACKSON -- The Mississippi Legislature will get down to the business of legislating next week.

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, will make his committee assignments by the end of this week. Gov. Phil Bryant will give his state of the state speech on Tuesday -- outside on the podium constructed for his inauguration, but not used because of rain.

That will end the period of pomp and circumstance and organizational delays that mark the first year of the new term.

Then, no doubt,  committees will begin meeting soon after the state of state to consider legislation.

JACKSON -- With Republicans capturing the state House for the first time since the 1800s, Appropriations Chair Johnny Strnger, D-Montrose, appears  to be resigned to his new lot.

Stringer doesn't expect to maintain the Appropriations chairmanship or the nice office in the Capitol that goes with it when the Republican take over on Jan. 3.

He recently joked, "If you want to see me, I will be down in the basement in my new office. Make an appointment because it just has one chair."

JACKSON -- Marsha and Haley Barbour held their final Christmas Party for the media in the Governor's Mansion earlier this week, and like at the past annual events, they were gracious hosts.

As usual, the Governor's Mansion was really decked out for the Christmas season, and the Barbour's circulated making small talk and being overall good hosts.

Interesting tidbits from conversations with Barbour have come out of the parties. For instance, while it was a social setting, I don't think he would mind me repeating that he would not be interested in seeking a third term as the state's governor even if he was constitutionally allowed to do so.

A matter of fact, he said he might not have sought a second term if not for the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. Barbour said he accomplished most of his goals in his first term.

JACKSON -- State Rep. Donnie Bell of Fulton and state Sen. Gray Tollison of Oxford are far from the first  Mississippi politicians to switch from the Democratic to the state's ever strengthening Republican Party.

But they do highlight the different ways politicians have handled the switch.

Amy Tuck changed to the Republican Party late in her first term as lieutenant governor. State Rep. Herb Frierson of Poplarville switched when he was running for re-election. State Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven announced in December 2010 she would run for the post of commissioner of agriculture and commerce this year as a Republican.

Many others, such as state Ag Commissioner Lester Spell, Reps. Scott Bounds of Philadelphia and Bobby Shows of Laurel and state Sen. Ezell Lee of Picayune switched more or less in mid-stream or mid-term.

On June 1,  Bell and Tollison  had a choice to make. Did they want to qualify for re-election as a Republican or a Democrat?  They could have walked into the state Republican Party headquarters and made the switch before their re-election effort.

Instead, they chose to run for the next four-year term as Democrats. They took campaign donations from Democratic groups. They won re-election in November as Democrats.

Less than a week later, they changed to the Republican Party.

A commitment to a political party is not and should not be a lifetime commitment. But it is interesting to see how different politicians handle the switch and let their constituents know about it.

JACKSON -- Attorney General Jim Hood continues to prove he is a potent political force.

In 2007, in an election year where Republicans gained seven of eight statewide offices, the Democratic incumbent was the top vote-getter.

In the recently completed 2011 elections, Hood did not garner the most votes. But he did get about 61 percent of the vote -- roughly the same percentage as Republican Phil Bryant, who won the gubernatorial election. Hood garnered the super majority despite the fact that Republicans again captured seven of the eight statewide posts and won both chambers of the state Legislature for the first time since the 1800s.

Hood  was the only winning statewide candidate who had an opponent who raised roughly as much money as he did.

Former Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson, the Republican nominee, raised $783,000 to $1.2 million for Hood. On the other hand,  Bryant raised $4.3 million while Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, the Democratic nominee for governor, raised $1.2 million.

In no other statewide race did the Democrat raise anything remotely close to what the successful Republican candidate did.

Hood, who will begin his third term in January, has the advantage of being an incumbent, making it easier for him to campaign and to raise money. Still, he has displayed amazing resiliency in a state that is becoming more Republican.

He will need that resiliency in January as he becomes the favorite target of a Republican-controlled Legislature and governor's office.

JACKSON -- Democratic Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran, who appears to be a very smart and capable politician, ran a lackluster campaign for state treasurer.

She was defeated on Nov 8 by a sizable margin by state Personnel Board Executive Director Lynn Fitch, a Republican.

Moran has at least one distinction. She is the only statewide candidate -- as far as I can tell -- to vocally oppose what was dubbed the personhood initiative, which would have defined life as beginning at fertilization.

The citizen-sponsored initiative was defeated by almost as wide a margin as Moran. Moran expressed her opposition -- in response to a question -- before the surge of opposition from medical groups and religious leaders  that led to the proposal's defeat.

Gov. Haley Barbour, who is not running for any office this year, sounded as if he opposed the initiative, though, he ended up voting for it. But even on election day, after he had voted for it, he said on a CNN show he had concerns about the initiative.

JACKSON -- While some votes remain to be counted, it is almost certain that the Democrats have lost their majority in the state House for the first time since the 1800s.

With that being the case, there is no way a Democrat can be elected speaker. No Republican House member would cross the partisan aisle to cast a vote and deny a member of his or her party this historic victory for the post of speaker.

Because of that, the likely scenario is that no Democrat will run. On the opening day of the session in early January, it is a real possibility no Democrat will be nominated for speaker. The real question is how many Republicans will be nominated.

A lot of Republican House members are vying for the speakership right now. Will the Republicans meet as a conference in the coming days and get  behind one candidate for speaker and all of the rest of the candidates drop out?

Or will multiple Republican  candidates be nominated on the opening day of the term?

Remember, in 2004, Billy McCoy was the only candidate nominated for the post. It was obvious he had more than enough votes to win so no one tried to challenge him. His election was unanimous. In 2008, Jeff Smith almost defeated McCoy by garnering all the Republican votes and picking off a handful of Democrats.