Free Republic

With the experiences I had at high school and talking about politics I'm sure keeping it in "History" class is a better idea that talking about it in a random class or hallway. Snip

There are some things that just leap off the page tonight. Obviously, Obama put up a big number. Though probably 70-75 electoral votes were won in states by less than 3%, he turned Florida, Ohio and Iowa blue and Virginia and North Carolina will likely wind up in the blue column. Obama was a gracious winner. McCain was certainly a gracious loser. Speaking of losers, Ronnie Musgrove didn't seem to get the memo. As of this moment, he is trailing 56-44% and by about 120,000 votes with 99% of the precincts reporting. He has still not conceded to Senator Roger...

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Mississippi's voter situation is hard to believe. Places like Madison County have over 123% more registered voters than people over the age of 18. Sue Sautermeister, First District Election Commissioner in Madison County, tried to purge the rolls, but ran into trouble when it was discovered it takes a vote of three of the five election commissioners and the purge cannot take place within 90 days of a federal election. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is the first to admit the situation with voter registration in this state is terrible. "It is terrible," he says. "Combined...

Republican Roger Wicker, appointed to the Senate last year when Trent Lott resigned, has opened an 11-point lead over Democratic challenger Ronnie Musgrove in Mississippi. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll of the state finds Wicker leading his opponent 54% to 43% in the state's special Senate race. At the end of September, Wicker slipped to a two-point advantage over Musgrove. The race was also tight in May and June, but Wicker had begun pulling away over the summer. In August he led 47% to 42%.

Even in an election year that hardly could be worse for Republicans, nobody expected they would be at risk of losing a Senate seat in Mississippi. The state hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since John Stennis’ re-election in 1982, nor has it voted for a Democratic White House candidate in seven presidential elections. ------snip

Please pay attention Roger Wicker and Greg Davis There are many myths in southern culture. One of the latest is the myth of the modern day, "conservative" Mississippi Democrat. Currently, Senator Roger Wicker (R) and Greg Davis are locked into real battles with former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) and Rep. Travis Childers (D), respectively, for federal contests. Let's start this conversation with two basic facts. First, Mississippi is overwhelmingly conservative. That's a given. To even have a prayer (pardon the pun), a Democrat for statewide office must be conservative on God, guns and abortion. That's just a fact. A "true...

-snip- Though Canton is 80 percent black and was once a battleground of the civil rights movement, there is considerable ambivalence here about the chance to elect the nation's first African American president. There's a hardened sense among many in this town of 13,000 that Obama does not know about and could not understand their daily problems. Others know a black man is running but can't quite remember his name. Some are excited by Obama's candidacy but have never voted, cannot recall the last time they went to the polls, or have no idea how or where to register. Even...

When the University of Mississippi hosts the first presidential debate tonight, the two sides of its troubled racial history could converge. The Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan plan to be on campus for the face-off between Republican nominee John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, the first African-American nominee of a major party, according to a Friday report in the university’s student newspaper. University officials haven’t commented. But, since winning the bid as host a year ago, they have used the attention to promote the university’s efforts toward racial reconciliation. The university newspaper, the Daily Mississippian, first reported...

(AP Content not allowed: click on link to view original article) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_mccain_gustav

There’s little change in the race between appointed U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R) and former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D). The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Mississippi found Wicker attracts 47% of the vote, while Musgrove earns support from 42%. Last month, Wicker had a six-point edge. When “leaners” are included, Wicker’s lead expands to nine percentage points, 52% to 43%. That’s the same as last month’s total.

It's a no good, very bad, horrible, terrible day for Musgrove WASHINGTON, DC -- Ronnie Musgrove is having arguably his worst day ever. First, he was named as the public official in the Mississippi Beef Processors Plant case. Then, the most recent defendant in the Beef case pleaded guilty to giving Musgrove a $25,000 "gratuity." News articles are even reporting there may be more action in the Beef case this week. And now, the news is reporting that former trial lawyer Paul Minor -- who gave more than $171,000 to Musgrove's campaigns -- is asking to be freed from jail....

Appointed U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R), seeking to win the job for a full term, has opened a modest lead over former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D). The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Mississippi found Wicker attracts 48% of the vote, while Musgrove earns support from 42%. When “leaners” are included, Wicker’s lead expands to nine percentage points, 52% to 43%. These latest numbers represent a significant in the race. A month ago, Wicker held a statistically insignificant one-percentage point lead. The month before, Musgrove held an equally insignificant one-point lead.

TICKET CHOICE SEARCH With the nomination for the Republican solidifying mightily, Sen. John McCain has asked his senior advisers to begin pulling together short lists for Vice Presidential choices. At the top of list, according to one senior adviser: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. "There are others that need to be on that list, but you have to believe the Haley is a frontrunner," says the adviser, who knows both McCain and Barbour well. Barbour would be one name that puts many conservatives at a bit more ease, one of the criteria McCain understands he must meet, according to another adviser:...

Mississippi’s appointed U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R) finds himself in a very tight election battle to win the job on his own. University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato has noted that this will be a “real political battle” which is “a rarity in a state that’s usually red as red can be.” The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race finds a pure toss-up--former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) attracts 47% of the vote while Wicker earns 46%.

Conservatives rationalized on May 13 when Republicans lost their third consecutive special Congressional election, in the supposedly safe 1st District of Mississippi. After all, they said, the victorious Democratic candidate Travis Childers, sounded more conservative during the campaign than his losing Republican candidate. He was a county official, a good old boy who the voters figured would be an independent conservative vote in the House as one of the Blue Dog Democrats. But once in Washington, he drank the Democratic leadership’s Kool Aid. In the first 13 House roll calls contested along partisan lines after Childers took his seat in...

Just one week after Democrats picked up Sen. Roger Wicker's (R-Miss.) former House seat in northeast Mississippi, the party's Senate campaign committee released a new poll showing Wicker trailing former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) in November's special election Senate race. The poll shows Musgrove leading Wicker 48 to 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup. Musgrove holds a 57 percent favorability rating, while 30 percent of voters view him unfavorably. Wicker also sports high approval ratings, but is less known throughout the state - which is partially attributable for his polling deficit.

GRENADA, Miss. (AP) - State Rep. Sidney Bondurant of Grenada has switched to the Republican Party. He was elected in 2003 and 2007 as a conservative Democrat in House District 24 in Grenada, Calhoun and Yalobusha counties. Bondurant, 61, is a physician. He said he decided to change parties after talking with his family and friends. He said Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and others encouraged him to make the leap. This past January, Bondurant supported conservative Democrat Jeff Smith of Columbus as Smith tried unsuccessfully to unseat populist Democrat Billy McCoy as speaker of the 122-member House.

House GOP leaders have taken the blame for last week’s devastating loss in Mississippi, but in some Republican circles the real culprit is former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss). Lott created the House opening by opting to leave Congress late last year before tougher lobbying restrictions went into effect. After his departure, Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was appointed to serve out Lott’s unexpired term, which created the need for the special election to fill Wicker’s seat. Republicans were irked that Lott would retire early just to serve his own financial interests. But that’s only the tip of the anger iceberg for...

Regardless of your political persuasion, this from a man who wants to be our president, is WELL worth the read. U.S. Senator John McCain delivered the following remarks during the first stop of his "Service to America" tour in Meridian, Mississippi: Thank you. It's good to be back in Meridian. As you might know, I was once a flight instructor here at the air field named for my grandfather during my long past and misspent youth. And it's always good to be in Mississippi, which you could call my ancestral home. Generations of McCains were born and raised in Carroll...

I am not an expert on campaign strategy, but I know a losing game plan when I see one. The Republican Party’s strategy in a series of special House elections this year has been to tie Democratic candidates to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. How’s that working? Three straight losses, all in congressional districts President Bush carried easily in 2004. Some strategy. John McCain may well win the presidential election, but at the congressional and grassroots level, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the GOP in a more severe state of disarray. The worst result yet has come from the...

2008-05-14) — An ebullient Sen. John McCain told a crowd of supporters today that the Republican loss of a Mississippi Congressional seat Tuesday bodes well for his presidential hopes in November. “Travis Childers, who beat the Republican in Mississippi, ran as a conservative Democrat and will now join the liberal Democrat coalition in the House,” said the presumptive Republican nominee. “What does that signal if not the triumph of the McCain strategy?”

In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers beat out Republican candidate Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, by a 54%-46% margin, a spread that several Republican strategists on Capitol Hill characterized as a startling wake-up call for a party in dire straits. Voters cast ballots for the fourth time in three months for the seat, vacated when Republican Roger Wicker was appointed to fill the remainder of Senator Trent Lott's term. After winning the...

CNN just reported Childers beat Davis. Dick Cheney campaigned for the Republican candidate in that district. GOP ran commercials tying Democrat to Obama and Reverend Wright. Thrid straight special Election where long held GOP seat is lost. This in MISSISSIPPI. WOW! This is not good news by any means.

The Democrat Party resorted to handing out handbills linking Mayor Greg Davis, the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives (MS-01), to supporting a leader of the KKK. The DCCC was caught distributing handbills and flyers that accused Greg Davis of supporting a KKK leader. This action by the DCCC will escape press coverage on election day. It is a last minute surprise to motivate core Democrat supporters without press scrutiny. This ad could have been posted weeks ago but it wasn't because of the embarassment that would have resulted. A copy of the handbill can be seen at Yallpolitics.com.

The 1st Congressional District, the northernmost in the most culturally Southern state, has given the nation William Faulkner and Elvis Presley, and next Tuesday will have a special congressional election that will test the Republican hope that Barack Obama and his former pastor can be the basis of a Republican strategy to nationalize congressional races to the disadvantage of Democrats. A Senate seat also could be affected by the cascading consequences of Republican Sen. Trent Lott's December resignation. Republican Gov. Haley Barbour replaced him with 1st District Rep. Roger Wicker, who this November will be on the ballot seeking election...

Cheney to appear in 'get out the vote' rally at the Desoto Civic Center SOUTHAVEN - White House officials confirmed Friday that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will make a campaign stop on behalf of 1st U.S. Congressional candidate Greg Davis May 12, the eve of the run-off election with Democrat Travis Childers. "We can confirm the vice president will be attending a get out the vote rally for Greg Davis," Jamie Breland, spokesperson in the White House Press Office of Vice President Dick Cheney, said Friday. Tentative arrangements call for Cheney to appear with Davis in an afternoon rally...

May 1, 2008– Former Presidential candidate and Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be attending a “Meet and Greet” for Greg Davis, candidate for Congress in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Governor Huckabee is in town to endorse Greg Davis and to ensure that the residents of the district come out and support Davis’ bid for Congress. With the special election runoff on May 13, Governor Huckabee will meet with Greg Davis and his supporters this Saturday, May 3rd at 9:45AM at Joe Joe’s Espresso & Café in Tupelo, MS. Davis stated “I’m honored to welcome Governor Huckabee to Mississippi. He...

Video link of the new ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdgQBGnhHw Is Barack Obama Really THIS Unpopular? I wrote yesterday about Travis Childers, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Mississippi's first Congressional District. Childer's Republican opponent has been airing an ad that points out that Childers has received support from Barack Obama. In what seems a desperate attempt to preserve his general election chances, Childers has cut a stunning new ad: Childers describes the association with Barack Obama as an attack. Is that what's in store for the likely Democratic presidential candidate from other Democrats in targeted districts? It's going to make for an...

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday said that he is too conservative to be John McCain's running mate but that the Arizona senator's maverick reputation will help him in an election in which moderates and independents will be more important than in recent years. Mr. Barbour also urged Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, not to name his pick for vice president until after the Democrats' convention, when he can draw the sharpest distinction between the parties. Mr. McCain will depend on "persuasion" to snare independents and disgruntled Democrats on Nov. 4, unlike George W. Bush in the 2000 and...

Watch this news report on MS-1 special election, it's hilarious. Obama is rapidly becoming democratic candidates' nightmare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE1oN4bYjyg

In the first two advertisements of their kind, Republicans seeking an advantage in a Mississippi special election are invoking Barack Obama in arguing that a Democratic Congressional candidate is too liberal for his district. That flies in the face of what has been conventional wisdom for months among national Democratic strategists who have not publicly taken sides in the presidential contest; many privately express more hope in Obama's potential coattails than in rival Hillary Clinton's. But while Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have made appearances in Republican advertisements before, the GOP is now taking on Obama, reflecting both...

Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sPeQ2mKRro The Republican candidate in a special election to fill an unexpectedly contested seat in a conservative Mississippi congressional district is using recent controversies surrounding Senator Barack Obama to tar his Democratic rival. A television ad from Southaven Mayor Greg Davis tells viewers that his Democratic rival, Travis Childers, a realtor and Prentiss County official, has accepted the endorsement of "liberal Barack Obama." Then, with Childers' face beside footage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, it says, "When Obama's pastor cursed America, blaming us for 9/11, Childers said nothing." Then: "When Obama ridiculed rural folks for clinging to guns and...

Thank you. It's good to be back in Meridian. As you might know, I was once a flight instructor here at the air field named for my grandfather during my long past and misspent youth. And it's always good to be in Mississippi, which you could call my ancestral home. Generations of McCains were born and raised in Carroll County, on land that had been in our family since 1848. The last McCain to live on the property, which the family called Teoc, was my grandfather's brother, Joe McCain. I spent a couple summers here as a young boy, and...

As expected, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has won the Mississippi Democratic primary over New York Senator Hillary Clinton, according to the Associated Press. The A.P.'s numbers show Obama coasting to victory over Clinton, who on Monday had already turned her attention to the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Heading into Tuesday's primary, Obama led Clinton in the overall delegate count, 1,591-1,467, with 33 delegates up for grabs in Mississippi. Obama spent the first half of the day in Mississippi before also moving on to Pennsylvania. On Tuesday he asked Clinton to drop Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro from her campaign for saying the...

Barack Obama won the Mississippi Democratic primary Tuesday, FOX News projects, giving him an expected but vital victory as he tries to fracture the momentum Hillary Clinton picked up with her wins one week earlier. John McCain won on the GOP side, but the Arizona senator has already locked down the nomination and faced no major rivals Tuesday. Polls consistently showed that Obama was favored to win in Mississippi. The state’s sizable black electorate was poised to give him a big boost, as it has in other southern states like Georgia and South Carolina. Mississippi offers 33 delegates.

Mississippi goes to the primary polls today, and the question will be whether Barack Obama can regain his momentum after three losses last week. He has already begun his effort to find his footing, accusing Hillary Clinton of the heinous crime of acting Republican. Republicans who have been on the receiving end of the Clinton machine will have a laugh at that assertion: Barack Obama continued to go after Hillary Clinton this evening, accusing her of using “Republican tactics” against him.“When in the midst of a campaign you decide to throw the kitchen sink at your opponent because you’re behind,”...

Barack Obama has overwhelming support in the few polls conducted in Mississippi. The latest, by InsiderAdvantage, puts him at +17% and suggests that he will have "a solid win" today. This poll and all of Mississippi's polls were weighted to reflect the expected demographics of voters in the state as a whole. That is, the pollsters adjusted the numbers to account for age, race, and gender. All three categories are important predictors of voting behavior, particularly in this primary contest. But the pollsters forgot one important thing: not all districts are demographically equal. That omission may cause Obama to lose...

Obama Campaign's Negative Tactics in Stark Contrast to Real Solutions Presented by Hillary in Visits with Mississippians Jackson, MS - Mississippi for Hillary campaign co-chairs State Representative George Flaggs and former State Senator Gloria Williamson today decried the negative tone of Sen. Obama’s campaign in Mississippi, in contrast to the real solutions Hillary has offered the people of Mississippi in her visits to the state. "I'm supporting Hillary because her campaign is based on providing solutions to the many challenges facing the working men and women of Mississippi," said State Representative George Flaggs, Mississippi for Hillary campaign co-chair. "This is...

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to backpedal Friday from comments she made in October suggesting Mississippi was a backward place for women's progress. Speaking to radio station WJZD-FM in Gulfport, Miss., the former first lady said the comments she made about the state in the run up to the Iowa caucuses "were not exactly what I said," even though they came directly from an interview she gave to the Des Moines Register in October. Clinton was on a campaign swing through Mississippi before Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary. The newspaper quoted the New York senator discussing Iowa and Mississippi...

Harrison County Democrats held a caucus on Saturday, and nobody showed up. The good weather, said party chairman Andrew "FoFo" Gilich, was partly to blame. "It was a nice day. It was probably hard to break away," he said, referring to family activities. The caucus is held every four years, he said, and has two goals: to elect delegates for the county's Executive Committee, which oversees elections for a four year term, and to elect county delegates for conventions. Local delegates help select national delegates for the Democratic National Convention, set for August in Denver.

Sen. Thad Cochran has shifted his support to Sen. John McCain for president. Cochran made the announcement in a statement Thursday after his first choice, former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the Republican race. Mississippi's other senator, Roger Wicker, a Republican, had endorsed former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson, who has also withdrawn from the race. Wicker has not announced his support for another candidate. GOP Cong. Chip Pickering endorsed McCain last year. Cong. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, has endorsed fellow Democrat, Barack Obama for president.

Mitt Romney claimed the endorsement today of a veteran US senator from the Deep South, Thad Cochran of Mississippi. "At this moment our nation faces unprecedented challenges, and Governor Romney has the experience, vision and values needed to strengthen our country for future generations," Cochran said in a statement issued by the Romney campaign. "Governor Romney is a man of outstanding judgment and strong character." The backing from Cochran, the sixth sitting Republican senator to join Romney's team, should help Romney build his case that he has national appeal in the GOP.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has endorsed Mitt Romney's bid for the White House and says he would welcome an opportunity to help the Republican "implement his conservative vision'' if elected. "It is an honor to join Governor Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office,'' Cochran said in a statement released by the Romney campaign and confirmed by Cochran's office. "At this moment our nation faces unprecedented challenges, and Governor Romney has the experience, vision and values needed to strengthen our country for future generations,'' Cochran said in the statement. "Governor Romney is a man...

Standing inside the Mississippi State Capitol Rotunda, a cluster of conservative Christian leaders voiced their support for Republican candidate Fred Thompson, praising his “fortitude” of character. “[Former] Senator Thompson’s pursuit of the presidency is not ego-driven … and [he] does not attempt to re-invent himself or change his language depending on his audience,” Reverend Phillip Knight said, adding, “It appears to me, the only candidate that can act, isn’t.” Knight and Dr. Benny Tate, founders of the Wesleyan Center for Strategic Studies, promise the endorsements of 100 conservative Methodist pastors in the coming days. … “We don’t need a leader...

Republican presidential candidate, Fred Thompson made his second stop through the magnolia state in less than a month Friday. He picked up an endorsement for a conservative Methodist group, the Wesleyan Center for Strategic Studies. Fred Thompson says he's the same person whether he's in the deep south or out west. His "tell it like it is" demeanor showed itself at the most recent GOP debate. But it's that same resolve the Wesleyan Center founders say is the reason they chose to endorse him. "He is just not Fred '08, he is Fred everyday," said Reverend Phillip Knight, Wesleyan Center...

Standing inside the Mississippi State Capitol Rotunda, a cluster of conservative Christian leaders voiced their support for Republican candidate Fred Thompson, praising his “fortitude” of character. “[Former] Senator Thompson’s pursuit of the presidency is not ego-driven … and [he] does not attempt to re-invent himself or change his language depending on his audience,” Reverend Phillip Knight said, adding, “It appears to me, the only candidate that can act, isn’t.” Knight and Dr. Benny Tate, founders of the Wesleyan Center for Strategic Studies, promise the endorsements of 100 conservative Methodist pastors in the coming days. They also say they have been...

Cannot be posted due to copyright issues: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS/71119048

Presidential candidate Fred Thompson will be a special guest at a tribute dinner for state Republican Party Chairman Jim Herring on Nov. 19 at the Jackson Hilton on County Line Road. Thompson will join Herring and other state GOP leaders at the event beginning with a 5:30 p.m. reception. The dinner is being hosted by the Mississippi Republican Elected Officials Association. When he considers the position of the Republican Party in Mississippi, Herring thinks the hard work in the past is paying huge dividends in the present. "The most satisfying part of it is seeing your organization grow and prosper,...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/NEWS/709160373 Cannot be posted due to copyright issues.