MS-SEN: Daily Happenings
ex-GOV Musgrave (D) likely in; election date controversy brewing
By Adam C Posted in 2008 — Comments (14) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Most information from Hotline ($). Democrats will likely have a major candidate in the race either Moore or Musgrove.
Ex-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D), ex-Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. (D) and ex-Ag. Sec./ex-Rep. Mike Espy (D) "expressed interest in pursuing the seat." Ex-AG Mike Moore (D) "also is considering a campaign."
It appears likely that conservative Rep. Taylor (D-04) will keep his very R friendly House seat.
A controversy between GOV Barbour's (R) office and AG Hood's (D) office is starting to bubble over when the election will be scheduled if Lott retires before the end of the year (which is likely):
Hood said 11/27 he "expects the governor to follow the law" and set an election within 100 days, if Sen. Trent Lott (R) resigns before the end of the year. "Hood said state law is clear that if the resignation comes in a year with no general election, then a special election will be set within 100 days." He said since MS's general election already has been held this year, Barbour is obligated to set the special election within 100 days if Lott resigns in Dec. Hood: "I have to follow the letter of the law."
The Democratic Secretary of State Eric Clark agrees with the GOV, but this may eventually go to court.
There also seems to be some whispers about GOV Barbour appointing Mike Espy (D) who endorsed Barbour this year and would switch parties to get the appointment. Espy served as a Congressman in MS-02 from 1986-1992 and then as the first black Secretary of Agriculture under President Clinton. The Espy family is well known in MS and is fairly conservative. Barbour as a former RNC chair may think about national implications in his selection and appointing the first black Republican senator since Edward Brooke in 1978. Espy would be an unusual pick, but his cross party endorsement last year was an unusual occurrence as well. And MS has the highest proportion of black residents in the nation (37%) and has never had a black Senator.
Part of Espy's endorsement of Barbour this year:
First of all he called me. He called me and asked me for my support personally and you may overlook that, you might laugh at that, but it’s very important in the state as diverse as ours to know that the Governor knows he has to reach out to bring support over to his side. If I might say particularly to those of us who happen to be African Americans and I am proud of that. The second reason is really that the Espy family and the Barbour family have known each other in Yazoo City, we’re from Yazoo City, he’s my homeboy. We have worked together for generations. So I am here representing my family and saying that we are standing with Governor Barbour. But you can wipe those two reasons away and just focus on the third reason. And the third reason that I am doing it is actually the most important reason that any incumbent ought to be reelected to any office and that’s the fact that he’s done a good job.
I still think that first line has a lot of meaning and should be read by as many R strategists as possible.
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Mississippi in fact had 2 black Senators in the Reconstruction period - Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce. So Espy would not be the first black Mississippi Senator.
Now, is Espy a conservative Democrat or a Conservative? I understand that there is a sizeable black population in Mississippi, but that doesn't mean we should pick anybody just to have a black Senator. Honestly, Mississippi is not a state where we should have to endure more squish Senators.
And I don't think an Espy appointment would make for happy Republicans in Mississippi. Plenty of Republicans endorsed the Governor and supported his re-election. Why are we giving the seat to a Democrat (even if he is willing to call himself a Republican?
I agree that more Republicans should reach out to black politicians and community leaders to seek support, but appointing Espy to win black votes smacks of the same illogic peddled by the President during immigration reform: "if we do them a favor they'll vote for us."
If we're going to play affirmative action with this seat, give it to Amy Tuck - at least she switched parties 4 years ago and won an election as a Republican. And she's a woman - and there are lot of women in Mississippi too.
and I don't know enough about Espy to pontificate about his conservatism, but I did want to pass along the chatter.
Also, thanks for pointing out the reconstruction Senators... although they were elected under odd circumstances.
I will note that a Sen. Espy would be able to reach out (and be symbolic) to black voters in a way many conservative black Rs (like Clarence Thomas) can't. Is he the best choice? I dunno.
Would showing the country that a black Republican can win in MS startle much of the MSM? Yup.
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ALL Senators in the period around 1870, whether from North or South were "elected" oddly. It was the era of legislative election - pre-17th amendment. I understand you were talking about the military occupation - put note that Mississippi didn't have ANY representation in Congress until 1870 - five years after the end of the war.
And while it would indeed be nice to see a black Republican in the Senate (for that matter we could use some in the House), I don't think we should be willing to take anybody that walks in the room. I don't mind a "convert" but at least let's find one that's shown a more conservative voting record.
On a separate note - can anybody tell me why Gene Taylor is still a Democrat (other than the fact that he gets to be in the majority now)? Why didn't he jump ship long ago - seems like he's on the conservative side of things on everything of any importance.
that illegally installed "representatives" from the occupying forces of the Northern Aggression don't count? :)
But seriously, I find the suggestion of Espy to be the sort of pandering I have come to associate with the so-called professional Republicans who run these campaigns. It looks good if:
1) all you are concerned about is winning the seat and not how governing works afterward
2) you assume all voters are rubes who can't see you don't give a **** about what they think.
They should stick with principled Republicans who will advance the Republican agenda and the rest will sort itself out.
I agree with the previous poster that Amy Tuck who is also conservative and a pro-life woman would be a "safer" pick in some regards.
A Republican Espy in Mississippi would win handily though against any other Democrat.
Oz
Read my most recent story, "Amy Tuck for MS Senator" on First Cut Politics
I looked at Espy's ACU ratings for a few years during his House tenure, and I'm not impressed. He regularly scored under 30. That's a liberal. So unless somebody can point me to some later work that indicates he is more uniformly conservative than he was when he was in Congress, my opinion is that this would be the worst pick. Espy looks like he would join the "squish caucus" with Snowe, Collins, Smith, Specter and their ilk.
If this were Vermont and Gov. Douglas were making an appointment I'd be happy to take a conservative-ish Democrat convert to fill the seat. I don't think we need to make such a compromise in Mississippi. And I would anticipate that Espy would face a challenge in any Republican primary. If Espy wants this kind of "reward" then Barbour should appoint him to some Cabinet office and he should build a record as a Republican, pushing at least some conservative policies.
Here's a 1989 NYT article on him (when he was a D Rep and not thinking about being an R):
He is a reliable supporter of civil rights, voting rights and sanctions against South Africa, but also backs the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes. He invokes the memory of Fannie Lou Hamer, the Mississippi civil rights leader, but also appears in an advertisement for the National Rifle Associaonon This is real-life politics, bridge-building in the Deep South, the 35-year-old Democrat says. This is representing your district, when your district is half black and half white, receptive to a Democratic economic message but steeped in conservative values, different from that of any other member of the Congressional Black Caucus....
He talked one recent afternoon of the importance of issues like gun control and school prayer in the South, of conservative attitudes among blacks and whites alike. It is a lesson that Democrats outside the region need to recognize, he said.
He was also the first black Congressman in MS post-reconstruction (that adds to the symbolism of a party switch for sure).
Now that I've done all that research, I should note that this article says Espy does not intend to run. So it would not only take Barbour picking him, but Barbour convincing him. That seems unlikely.
Eh, Back to Tuck.
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One a former and one a present Democrat? One too dumb to pass the bar exam and the other a prime example of the "corruption" of the Clinton era? You gotta be kidding me.
I certainly am not saying - nor do I think anybody else is saying - that the only choices are Tuck or Espy. My comment was basically to say, that if we're going to get all "affirmative action" in our choice on the seat, I'd rather see us go with the woman who, being pro-life, decided to switch parties 4 years ago and who subsequently won a statewide election as a Republican, than the african-american who might switch parties solely to get the seat, and who has shown little inclination to push a Republican agenda across the board (we certainly don't need any more Senators who believe in "Democratic economic policies."
Personally, I'm guessing that Gov. Barbour could find someone better than either Tuck or Espy - but we'd probably have to accept that the choice will be a white male. Seems like the "buzz" is about getting someone who is not at least one of those (white and male) to fill the seat.
but I do have an honest question here. Could a black Republican lose votes because of his race? If so, would it be enough to actually fall to a strong challenge from a Democrat?
I don't know and I'm really not assuming an answer and the question is asked in ignorance, but as a matter of practicality I had to ask.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men."
I can hardly believe it a black Senator who of course will have the R after his name being picked to represent MS. The liberals must be dying.
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