Ellington

Bill Minor writes that Democrats didn't lose in the state as big as Republicans would like to pretend: "In the wake of the Republican mini-earthquake that hit the state Nov. 4, not just a few Democrats were wondering if their party can survive in Mississippi. That question arose after Kirk Fordice sent shock waves through Democrats in 1991, and some said it heralded a mass conversion to the state GOP in the 90s. It didn't happen. Republicans got a momentary uptick, but by the end of the decade, Mississippi Democrats, unlike those in several other Southern states, still had a decided majority in the Legislature and held virtually all state offices."

Previous Comments

ID

136489

Comment

I enjoy most progressive journalists, but Bill Minor is predictably bad. Every week Minor's columns basically fall under the same format. Glorifying Republican failures, downplaying Republican success, and lauding the Democrats. Most of his arguments are based on rumors, and he somehow injects civil rights into all of his columns. I have this vision of Rickey Cole writing Minor's columns and then delivering it to the old codger to send to the press. Minor knows the characters and understands most of the enigmatic nuts and bolts of Mississippi politics, but this 80-year sounding board for the Democratic Party needs to retire before it gets any worse.

Author

Oz Collins

Date

2003-11-18T17:21:48-06:00

ID

136490

Comment

What other progressive journalist do you enjoy reading in the state, Oz? Mr. Minor has been about the only one, hasn't he, for a long time? Actually, I admire Mr. Minor greatly; he is a columnist and thus has the right to his opinion, and he certainly excoriates Republicans regularly. But, let's face it, they often deserve it in this state, and every elected official needs at least one watchdog. (So do Democrats.) What I like best, though, is that Mr. Minor does so much more research for his columns than about any other columnist in the state. The truth of the matter is, civil rights is still an overriding issue in the state and just because many folks wants that fact ignored, doesn't mean that it should be. Imagine if Mr. Minor hadn't been here for all these years -- so much more would have been swept under the rug. And that's horrifying to think about.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-11-18T17:33:20-06:00

ID

136491

Comment

I had thought Oz was talking progressive journalists in general-- not just Mississippi. Who do you like, Oz?

Author

Ex

Date

2003-11-18T17:52:28-06:00

ID

136492

Comment

Progressive? How about Charley Reese!

Author

Oz Collins

Date

2003-11-18T18:15:01-06:00

ID

136493

Comment

Reese is an interesting choice, Oz. I don't agree with Reese on everything, but boy do I on some issues. And I sure admire his independent thinking. He has not allowed conservative dogma to blind him on the Iraqi war, that's for sure. Have you seen his current column, agreeing with George Soros, who is helping bankroll the campaign to defeat G. W. Bush? In part, he writes: "As we are learning in Iraq and Afghanistan, after the war comes the hard part ó occupation that can drain blood and treasure like a never-healing open wound. Times are a-changing, and the world is not about to let America impose its will on everyone else without resistance. "America was most admired when it had no ambition for empire and no desire for colonies. We had better return to our republican ideals, or we will end up like the once-mighty British Empire ó a bankrupt, third-rate country. The sun, which once never set on the British Empire, now never rises on it. The Brits bled themselves to death in two world wars and in trying to hold people who didn't want to be held under their control. "Unless we change our policy, we will end up the same way. How many wars, how many occupations do you think we can afford when we're already running a nearly half-trillion-dollar deficit? So far, the Iraq War has cost us more than $150 billion and nearly 400 lives. What, pray tell, benefits have we gotten from that? When will it end? And if ó and it's a whopper of an "if" ó we were to leave Iraq with a democratic government, what would prevent Iraqis from replacing it with another dictatorship? Most governments established by an occupying power have a short life span." Any others?

Author

ladd

Date

2003-11-18T18:24:45-06:00

ID

136494

Comment

I love Charley Reese, even when I disagree 100% with what he says. My long time favorite is Ellen Goodman at the Boston Globe. They run her stuff in the CL on Fridays.

Author

Kate

Date

2003-11-18T18:31:09-06:00

ID

136495

Comment

Paul Krugman gets my first place vote, second place goes to Molly Ivins, and Maureen Dowd takes third (though I was a bit disappointed on her columns about the Governator).

Author

Nia

Date

2003-11-18T18:38:21-06:00

ID

136496

Comment

Yes, Ivins rocks, and I like it that she's had her dust-ups with the media snots in NY (present company excluded, Nia). Krugman is kickin' butt, but Dowd is hit or miss. When she hits, she hits, though. I really like Joe Conason at Salon.com. Let's see ... BTW, Nia, how do I link a NYT article without the sign-in requirement? The Sunday Iraq editorial needs to be posted.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-11-18T18:43:13-06:00

ID

136497

Comment

Ummm, I didn't know you had to sign in to do that. Guess I've been taking it for granted because although I hate cookies I use them. Once you sign in you don't have to redo it unless you delete all your cookies. Anyway, sorry about the rambling, signing in doesn't cost anything; they just want your cookies. :-) Someone I worked with at Ms. had a chance to move from NY to Austin and work with her but turned it down. I was shocked when she turned it down. I would've jumped at the chance! Thanks for excluding me from the NY media snots club! And yes, Dowd is hit or miss, but when she hits sometimes they're zingers.

Author

Nia

Date

2003-11-18T19:23:31-06:00

ID

136498

Comment

It just hit me that I can copy and paste it for you if you don't want to give up your cookies. They already konw what kind of cat food my cat eats. :-) Let me know and I'll paste it in about an hour or so when I get back to my laptop. :-)

Author

Nia

Date

2003-11-18T19:25:12-06:00

ID

136499

Comment

Actually, I'm a member at NYTimes.com. It's just that other folks don't always want to sign in, so I like to use the links through Google that doesn't require sign-in; I'm just not sure how to do it. I'm a relatively smart cookie (speaking of), though, and can probably figure it out. ;-)

Author

ladd

Date

2003-11-18T19:30:08-06:00

ID

136500

Comment

More on the future of the democrats, this time from Ellen Goodman at the Boston Globe. Her column from Sunday, "It's not about race, it's about gender" picks up some interesting points in the Dean/Nascar Dads debate. "In the last presidential election there was a gender gap of 11 points. A majority of women voted for the Democrats. A majority of men voted for the Republicans." "Everyone seems to have a slightly different demographic portrait of the NASCAR Dad. The words carry the image of a rural dad at the track with his son. But the pollster who coined the term, Celinda Lake, describes him as a blue-collar family man who's been hurt by the economy and watched jobs shipped overseas and his brother shipped out to Iraq. He's also the man who used to be a Democrat and then became a Republican and may be up for grabs. But it's not clear who will grab him." "More to the point, there are tricks to a gender strategy. Remember that some of the wage gap between men and women closed because of men's falling wages? A Democratic success depends on attracting men without losing women. On the NASCAR track, it's flat-out in the groove and watch out for the wall." Per usual, she cut through alot of the noise, and hit the heart of the issue. full text at: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/primaries/new_hampshire/articles/2003/11/09/its_about_gender_not_race/

Author

Kate

Date

2003-11-19T12:05:18-06:00