Bad news for the Democrats in the South

[Daylin Byak]

This came from politics1.com, The Democrats offically lost the Mississippi State Senate.

Mississippi State Senator James Walley (D) changed parties this week, giving the GOP a 26-26 tie in the State Senate. With Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck (R) breaking the tie, the switch allowed Republicans to grab control of the chamber for the first time since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

Well it's was just a matter of time, although the Dems in the past couple election cycles(mostly 2004 and 2006) The Democrats have been gaining more momentum in the North and southwest like Colorado but have been failing more in the Deep South like Alabama and Mississippi with the people electing more GOP Governors and there state officers seats being taken by the GOP.

[villager]

1. I'm sure Mississippi will "prosper" in all the ways they deserve...

Who was the turncoat?

[Selatius]

2. As a Mississippian, I say this is a loss for ordinary people

However, the party machinery in this state has been corrupt for a long time. I dare say it is perhaps one of the most corrupt states in the nation, and I believe it ranks number 1 in the nation as far as pork barrel spending. However, I won't excuse the intolerance of fellow Mississippians towards minorities of all kinds.

Their intolerance, ignorance, and fear has been a tool utilized by the ownership class to oppress the working class.

[Erika]

3. Mississippi is the bottom of everything

The GOP suits them well.

[merh]

4. gee thanks for the well wishes

:(

[pacalo]

9. Really.

Notice, though, that the one making that comment has disabled her profile; apparently, she's not proud enough to say where she's from. ;)

[unsavedtrash]

13. thanks

for nothing!

[knight_of_the_star]

5. That's nice

If we can keep the West Coast and pickup the mountain states and the Southwest, the South won't matter. The GOP can't govern from the Old South, not if that's the only section of the country where they have a reliable and strong base.

[ArkySue]

17. Not so fast...

Don't count out the whole South. Arkansas Democrats swept the elections for the Constitutional Officers, ie: Gov, Lt. Gov, Atty Gen, etc.
And we have the 4th most Democratic Legislature in the nation.

I see you have a Clark icon....Alabama loves Clark! Huntsville has a street named for him.

[silverlib]

6. Phil Ochs - Here's to the State of Mississippi

I read your post and this song just popped into my mind. I'm from Texas and don't appreciate Texas bashing, so I'm really not bashing the good Democrats of Mississippi. My husband despises this song, as he says Mississippi didn't want to be part of the US at the time this song was written.



Here's to the state of Mississippi,
For Underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
Whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
The calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!

Here's to the people of Mississippi
Who say the folks up north, they just don't understand
And they tremble in their shadows at the thunder of the Klan
The sweating of their souls can't wash the blood from off their hands
They smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder of a man
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

Here's to the schools of Mississippi
Where they're teaching all the children that they don't have to care
All of rudiments of hatred are present everywhere
And every single classroom is a factory of despair
There's nobody learning such a foreign word as fair
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

Here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door
Their bellies bounce inside them as they knock you to the floor
No they don't like taking prisoners in their private little war
Behind their broken badges there are murderers and more
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And, here's to the judges of Mississippi
Who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court
They're guarding all the bastions with their phony legal fort
Oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report
When the black man stands accused the trial is always short
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the government of Mississippi
In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down
And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns
They're hoping that no one sees the sights and hears the sounds
And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the laws of Mississippi
Congressmen will gather in a circus of delay
While the Constitution is drowning in an ocean of decay
Unwed mothers should be sterilized, I've even heard them say
Yes, corruption can be classic in the Mississippi way
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the churches of Mississippi
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust
The fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust
Heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

[Psephos]

7. Mississippi's legislature is an Augean stable

Dem or Repug, don't matter much in Ole Miss. Wish it were different, but it's not.

Peace.

[Kelly Rupert]

8. Eh. Fuck Walley, I guess.

Most Dems have pretty much written off the Southeast, just like most Republicans have pretty much written off the Northeast.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. Some maybe.

Dean hasn't.

[tularetom]

11. My grandfather, who lived in Tennessee, always said

Thank God for Mississippi, without it Tennessee would be the dumbest state in the country.

[silverlib]

12. High people in high places

of government still say "Thank God for Mississippi" in government meetings. Your grandfather was a genius.

[Suich]

16. Thanks for the late-nite laugh!

:hi:

[Cobalt-60]

14. States of Ignorance

Ignorant voters are the Republicons' most important resource.
And they're getting pretty hard to come by outside the South.

[Lasher]

15. We just lost control of the Pennsylvania House in a similar bloodless coup

Here's a link to the latest on that:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2672485

[Sherman A1]

18. Not good news at all

any loss of any state house chamber isn't a good thing.

[No Exit]

19. Good news for democrats in the south

Democrats still have a majority in the Alabama legislature, and now have the Lieutenant Governor's position.

The Lieutenant Governor is second in line to the governor.

Last time they had a democrat as lieutenant governor and a republican as governor, the republican ended up being tried, convicted, and removed, elevating the lieutenant governor to the position of governor.

If democrats can do these things in Alabama--a state where a good many people are still stupid enough to not hate Bush's guts--then there is increasing hope.