postalnews blog

Beyond his cameo role in the Bush 2000 ‘election’ saga, USPS Board of Governors nominee Mickey Barnett is best known in New Mexico as a lobbyist and GOP power broker. One of his big clients has been the payday loan industry, which hired him to oppose regulations that could have limited such abusive practices as triple-digit interest rates. Another client is an Indian tribe (sound familiar?) which he helped in its fight against a union organizing effort. He also works for Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison operator. Barnett led the list of lobbyists in an Albuquerque Journal story in January 2005 entitled “Gambling Industry Is N.M.’s 800-Pound Gorilla“. To be fair, it should be noted that Barnett’s influence peddling has not been entirely ideological. He was quite happy to take money from organizations that favored legalizing marijuana until GOP big wigs suggested it was just a little bit embarrassing for an RNC member to be seen shilling for dope smokers.

Barnett’s lobbying may have cost him as post as GOP National Committee member from New Mexico in 2004. According to a story in the Albuquerque Journal, George Buffet, the small businessman who defeated him, “…campaigned, in part, by criticizing Barnett’s lobbying work… Buffett says the national committeeman should not be involved in lobbying because it creates a conflict of interest… ‘fundamentally, people don’t believe politics should be for sale.’”

Prior to being ousted from his RNC seat, Barnett was described by former New Mexico GOP chair Ramsay Gorham as “ruthlessly vindictive against any legislator who votes against his drug or gambling clients.” Gorham also suggested that in New Mexico, “The Republicans will never become the majority party as long as Mickey Barnett is in office”.