All Eyes On The First

Stimulus II being played by both sides

2010-08-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Congressman Travis Childers voted for what has been termed the second Stimulus. Childers has spoken about how it will save so many teachers jobs in Mississippi. He has really been preaching education and how this federal funding will help the school systems throughout the state, especially in North Mississippi. He held an education summit with a small closed group in DeSoto County and talked about education being essential to moving Mississippi forward in his campaign kickoff. The Commercial Appeal quotes Childers, “"Education is the best 'jobs program' we can offer our younger generations, especially during today's tough times," Childers said. "I was proud (Tuesday) to vote to save and create an estimated 2,000 education jobs in Mississippi and provide our children with the resources they need to succeed." Nunnelee’s camp has used the Stimulus vote against Childers, continuing the sentiment of small government and less spending that has put the Republicans in the driver seat for 2010. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal gets insight from that side. “Our congressman claims to be looking out for the children of north Mississippi,” said Nunnelee spokesman Morgan Baldwin. “How, then, can he justify mortgaging their future on massive spending bills that have failed to live up to their promise of creating jobs?”

For a while it seemed all the news I was reading was on Nunnlee, finally Childers is starting to make waves in the campaign. His first video came out and really plays to why people in the district like him. Check it out and see what you think. My Issue with the video is that Childers claims to be against big government spending. He voted for both Stimulus I and II.

Childers Campaign Gears Up

2010-08-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

On July 31st at Northeast Mississippi Community College, Congressman Travis Childers kicked off his campaign for reelection as 1st District Representative. Here are the links to his speech Part I and Part 2. I must say that if I would have just watched part 1 of the video, I would have been pleased and excited about Childers campaign start, but part 2 consist of Childers calling Nunnelee out on several issues and how he does not want to get into partisan politics. I guess if I were Childers I would want to stay out of partisan politics as well. My favorite quote from his speech was very early on, when he says that the people of North Mississippi are not concerned with left and right, but up and down.

Both the Childers and Nunnelee camp have gone back and forth on whether or not Childers requested 1st Lady Michelle Obama to campaign for Congressman Childers in the 1st District. From what I can tell, the latest release was that the 1st Lady was requested for the constituents, not for political reasons.

Neshoba County Fair

2010-07-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made the trip from Starkville and Mississippi State's campus to the Neshoba County Fair. As you drive into the country you feel yourself going back in time. It's like Mississippi hasn't changed in decades. I parked in a pasture across the road and stood in awe for a moment at the entrance. To know the speeches that have been made, the campaigns announced, the rumors spread about Mississippi Politics right past the edifice that proclaims the name, "Neshoba County Fair."

I went mainly to hear what Sen. Alan Nunnelee had to say about the race, but a trip to the fair is not just buisness, so I feel I must tell you about my whole day. The first people I talked to were Dr. Marty Wiseman and Dr. Ed Davis. It is an adventure to follow them because everybody at the fair knows them. I luckily ran into Steve Guyton-a man that has guided me to where I am today, and another man that literally knows everybody that has anything to do with Mississippi Politics-a true legend. I stopped by my good friends Kayla and Allison McCarver's cabin. Then I ran into a whole Mississippi State crew that loves politics almost as much as I do: John Morgan Hughes, Nathan Upchurch, Whitney Donald, Laura Speed, and the list goes on. I realize that as I write this paragraph, it is more for my pleasure than for the reader, but let me explain. As the McCarvers told me, this is EXACTLY what the fair is about, and what Mississippi is about, just enjoying each other's company. After all the chat's we ate at State Auditor Stacy Pickering's family BBQ. Laney Grantham asked me to come and it was a real treat. That is another thing that the great state of Mississippi is about-good food!

On to the subject of my writings, the first district race. It was not as big a topic at the fair as I would have thought, but the strongest presence by far was by the Nunnelee camp. I do not believe I saw one piece of Childers' campaign material. I realize the fair is right leaning, and the fair is not in the first district, so I can understand this for sure. I am pretty sure all of the candidates made it to the podium except Congressman Childers-given he is working as a Congressman in DC. Nunnelee blew his opportunity to speak out of the water, he said all the right things and never stumbled. To sum up his speech, he told the crowd that we could make history together, that we can stop the Federal Government from infringing on our rights, that we can make the government a servent of the people again. He then went more specifically into policy, stopping the borrowing, sanctitiy of life, reapealing Obamacare, secure the border, down with terorism. All things that the conservative fair goers-and Nunnelee supporters taking up the front third of the pavilion. He spoke multiple times about firing Pelosi with a masive sign in front reading the same. He ended by using a series of questions that really are summed up, are you better off now that when this Congress took office.

I heard all I thought, and was more than impressed with Sen. Nunnelee's appearance. I stopped by their cabin before and after and spoke to several of the family members, everyone seemed in good spirits, everything is just now getting geared up. Before I left I went by Sid Salter's cabin, one of my professors Whit Waide described Salter as the man of the fair. He knows all and watches over all.

As Blake Jeter told me today, the Neshoba County Fair makes you proud to be from Mississippi.

Opportunities Present Themselves

2010-07-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be my last day as an official staff member at the Stennis Institute of Government. I have worked here for a little over 2 years so it is sad to leave, but I am very excited about what the future holds. I will be starting at Ole Miss Law on the 18th of August. For my last official assignment I have been given the chance to travel to the euphoria of Mississippi Politics, the Neshoba County Fair, to hear Sen. Nunnelee and the other first district candidates. Unfortunately the Congressional session does not allow Congressman Childers-or any of the other incumbents to make it.

I hope being in the middle of the fair, I can bring some unique insight. If you have never been to the fair, I highly recommend it.

Another Endorsement-this one for Nunnelee

2010-07-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

State Senator Alan Nunnelee was endorsed yesterday by The Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors (MABC). The group represents almost 70,000 workers throughout the state. This is one of the first big endorsements that Nunnelee will need to keep up his momentum from his second quarter fundraising.
Speaking of second quarter fundraising-Brad Morris of the Childers camp released a statement claiming that Nunnelee's number's were inflated and that some would have to go back. Childers still has a bigger fund in the bank over Nunnelee, but I guess the heat of the summer is getting to both sides.
This coming Wednesday will be one of the hottest days on the campaign trail as both candidates will be speaking at the world famous Neshoba County Fair. I hope to be there, as it is part of being a Mississippian!

National or Local

2010-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

The Alan Nunnelee and Travis Childers race is really starting to heat up. There is a glaring difference in the two campaigns. Sen. Alan Nunnelee wants to make it a race on the National scale, while Congressman Travis Childers would love to make sure it stays completely about the area between Tishomingo and DeSoto counties.

The Daily Journal had an article a few days ago presenting Nancy Pelosi as the ‘political boogeyman.’ Nunnelee is portraying her as just that, and he knows that her name strikes a negative cord with most 1st district voters. He keeps reiterating the fact that a vote for Childers is a vote for Pelosi as the House leadership.

As much as Childers will try to distance himself from the national party, he is still stuck with that fact. So, on the other side, Childers keeps pushing the fact that he is an independent voice, and does what is best for north Mississippi. He keeps a sign on his desk that reads, ‘North Mississippi Comes First.’

The people from Senatobia to Lowndes County understand both of these perspectives. It is not just about the national politics and it is not just about north Mississippi. This race will significantly impact both.

In other news:

Quarterly fundraising reports just came in and Nunnelee beat Childers this quarter. No telling how much this race is going to cost. Both parties will be pipelining funds for their perspective candidates, so the more on hand the better. Thought for the day: Wish that money could go to improve some of the infrastructure around our district.

Put one more on the wall for Childers.. More Cowbell?

2010-07-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Recently The U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented Travis Childers with the Spirit of Enterprise Award. The Daily Corinthian article, http://www.dailycorinthian.com/view/full_story/8567755/article-U-S--Chamber-of-Commerce-recognizes-Childers?instance=secondary_story_right_bottom, gives several quotes and an in-depth look at what the award means. The Alliance, a pro business group located in Corinth, was there to support the Congressman as well. Though this is not an official endorsement, it certainly shows that Childers is a pro-buisness candidate. This is not to say that Nunnelee is not a pro-business candidate. This is another trait that our two candidates share. They are both small business owners. They are both known as pro-business. It is just very interesting that a Republican leaning group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gives Childers such an award for his voting record in a battleground district like the Mississippi 1st.

For you right wingers and Bulldogs out there the increasingly popular Congressman Marsha Blackburn, the only Mississippi State Alumni in Congress, spent some time with Nunnelee this past week. Blackburn has always been so kind to me when I traveled to DC and when our Stennis-Montgomery Association traveled to the District for our annual trip. Mississippi State Bulldogs have been eyeing at a chance to get one of their own in the House from Mississippi. We will see how much this ways in. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal recently wrote an article on the Bully Bloc, a political action committee dedicated to electing MSU alumni and supporters to public office. http://nems360.com/view/full_story/7995974/article--Bully-Bloc--organizes-for-political-muscle?instance=home_news_right

Catching Up... In More Ways Than One

2010-07-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my absence from the blog for the past week, I was on a little vacation. I hope everyone’s Independence Day was great. No HUGE news broke on this race while I was gone, but I hope to get everyone caught up.

The most interesting article I have read in the past week was from Cilliza of The Washington Post. He ranks the MS-01 race as 8th most likely seat to change hands in the November elections. Here is the link http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/the-line/the-most-important-number-in-t.html.

Childers received another right wing endorsement from the National Right to Life, an anti-abortion group. According to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal his endorsement came with a 100% pro-life rating. Nunelee’s campaign responded by saying that Nunnelee has been pro-life for his career and will support a pro-life speaker of the House. http://nems360.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Anti-abortion+group+backs+Childers+for+1st+District%20&id=8069330&instance=secondary_stories_left_column. This endorsement along with the NRA endorsement might give some numbers back to Childers in the polls.

Both of the candidates were at the Jacinto courthouse in rural Alcorn county for a political speaking this past weekend, I hope to speak to locals in attendence soon to get the feel from the crowd.

As I speak with people throughout the district, I cannot find a consensus. This race is still a toss-up in my mind. Nobody wants to say anything negative about the other. All people want to know is who is going to win. I cannot tell them. It is going to be a fun few months.

Ring the Bell

2010-06-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

The waves from Pickwick Lake’s choppy waters are starting to spread throughout the district as the first true blows are coming from both of the contenders for the MS-01 House Seat. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported that at his fundraiser Childers announced to the crowd that “You'll have someone who has been an independent voice in Washington," he said about himself. "Or you will have someone who has turned his back on school teachers and school children - someone who has not supported the mentally ill every time he had an opportunity to help them,” and “No one, especially Alan Nunnelee, is going to outwork Travis Childers in this campaign,"

Read more:NEMS360.com - Childers tells supporters he s ready for campaign fight

Of course a Nunnelee supporter claimed that Childer’s must be nervous to be attacking Nunnelee. I enjoy reading and writing about these two candidates, and as much as I respect both of them, I hope this doesn’t become ugly. It could go either way, and I do not believe that either candidate wants to personally start throwing mud.

I mentioned in my last post that Childers had introduced a bill to lighten the gun laws in DC. Y’all Politics reported that DC Vote, a group dedicated to getting congressional representation in congress, has been protesting Childers because of the bill. They even placed an ad in the Daily Journal. I love the fact that a bunch of people from DC telling North Mississippians that Childers is TOO pro-gun actually helps him. They seem to be confused. I saw on Yall Politics that the group said they are not anti-gun, they just want him to worry about Northeast Mississippi, I see there point there.

So how is the Nunnelee camp responding to the NRA endorsement, and the DC vote dilemma, Nunnelee’s camp claims that he will not only be pro-gun, but vote for a pro-gun speaker-touché .

The Issue That Cannot be Debated in Mississippi

2010-06-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

In Northeastern Mississippi-our beloved first district-there are several issues that most of us agree on. One of those is the right to bear arms. There is no doubt in my mind that most of the trucks I pass as I drive through Tishomingo or Union counties have some form of hunting rifle and most have a pistol as well. We all believe what the Constitution of the United States of America says. The second amendment states clearly that we have the right to carry guns. From the time we can handle a .22 we are taught how to handle it with care, how to clean it, where NOT to point the barrel, and have a great deal of pride in the knowledge we obtain.
Therefore, our representative to the United States Congress should share our passion. Luckily both Childers and Nunnelee have fantastic records when looking at the 2nd Amendment. Yall Politics and majorityinms blogs have written about the NRA’s incumbent friendly policy, and Nunnelee released a statement expecting the endorsement to go Childers way, but also showed that he was pro-gun, citing his membership in the NRA and a letter of thanks from them. The NRA made their endorsement official today http://www.nems360.com/view/full_story/8002636/article-UPDATE--NRA-endorses-Childers--re-election?instance=home_news_2nd_left
Another interesting turn to the story that I saw when I started writing, these two men are extremely similar.
Childers has supported a couple of crucial gun bills, recently co-sponsoring a bill that would end gun registration and allow AK-47s in DC. Speaks volumes to good ole boys back in Prentiss county right?
Nunnelee would be quick to remind voters that the leaders in Childers party are quite the allies of the NRA that Childers is. I don’t see Pelosi or Reid signing on with that kind of bill. Anyway, just trying to keep things equal, and give something to think about.

All About the Polls

2010-06-15T14:18:00.001-07:00

Well the Terrance Group-a Republican polling group-did some work in the first district and discovered that Nunnelee had an 8 point lead on Travis Childers. National Journal and Real Clear Politics reported that the poll had a +/- of around 5, but still, for a very Conservative district, and the political waters churning the way they are, things are not looking as good for Childers as they were with his last campaign.

If you have ever been around the Political Science Department at Mississippi State you know who Dr. Shaffer is. In class he always gave us a voting model. There are 3 aspects to a vote, party, issue, and candidate. It will be interesting to see which candidate wins each battle. Nunnelee has the edge on party and issues (right now). Childers just has a way of getting votes. People love the guy.

United Front

2010-06-14T13:11:00.001-07:00

It did not take long for both of Nunnelee’s opponents in the Republican primary to endorse him. Ross and Nunnelee appeared together as Ross gave his full support and McGlowan sent an email to her supporters giving her support. This makes the race the fight America wanted to see two unified fronts, Republican vs. Democrat, Right vs. Left. The problem is how far left is Democrat Childers? Those on the right would argue that he is farther left than a Congressman from the first district should be, while the Childers camp urges one to look at his voting record.

Dr. Marty Wiseman was quoted in a Clarion Ledger article this past week discussing how the Nunnelee camp will note that a vote for Childers is a vote for Pelosi, and as close to the middle Childers is for his party, it is true. Yall Politics touched on this topic as well.

Know your Candidates

2010-06-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

The past few days I have read articles from Washington, D.C. to Washington County, Mississippi about the first district race between State Sen. Alan Nunnelee and U.S. Congressman Travis Childers. There are several reason's that I wanted to write about this race, but one of them is because both of these men have such great character. I have been around both of them and they are both truly good people, (we all seem to be in the first district anyway).

For the next couple of days I will give a brief biography for both of the candidates, but today I want to write about meeting them personally.

I met Nunnelee my Freshman year of Mississippi State in the Junction. His daughter Emily introduced us and we talked for a while about the upcoming game, and how much of a difference the new Junction had made to the Bulldogs. To this day we share our love for the Maroon and White when we talk. I have seen Nunnelee several times since then, and it always seems to be associated with Mississippi State.

I met Childers while interning in DC. The Mississippi interns take pictures with the delegation, or the one's willing to do it. Congressman Childers brought me into his office and we talked about Iuka, our mutual friends there, Pickwick lake, and all other things associated with the area surrounding Woodall Mountain. The chairs we sat in where from Jamie Whitten's office in his time on the Hill.

These are two men from North Mississippi that truly care about our district, yes their politics are a little different, but I hope you noticed that in our meetings, politics was not talked about. In North Mississippi, it is about the candidate.

Baseball and Politics

2010-06-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last night first base umpire Joyce missed a call that would have given Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game, one of historic significance. All eyes on first base today, all eyes will be on Mississippi's first district until November.
Two days ago State Senator Alan Nunnelee won the Republican primary and with it the opportunity to face Democratic incumbent Travis Childers for the 1st District of Mississippi Congressional seat. This has long been talked about among state and nationwide politicos as one of the most interesting races of 2010. From here to November I believe that we will see a knockdown drag out contest between the two.
I am from Iuka, MS, as far Northeast as you can go in the Magnolia State. So I have a unique interest and perspective on this race. There are so many factors that culminate in the race between Childers and Nunnelee. On the one hand, the 1st is a very conservative district. We are also known for voting for the person not the party. Congressman Childers has had a fairly conservative voting record, but many would say, including challenger Senator Nunnelee, that he has voted for and with Speaker of the House Pelosi.
This blog will be a place for me to inform anyone willing to read it about the first district race, I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do!