Jackson Free Press

Question for the group: Do you think the Delay resignation means anything here? The reason why I asked is that my assessment is that it is not a major issue here. Delay was bad news, but he was Texas' problem more so than Mississippi's outside of his position on issues, which one could argue were not out of touch with a lot of Mississippians. As a Democratic candidate, I know my party will use it throughout the year, and to be honest, I will make reference to it as well as be questioned about it. But, objectively, can it stick? Ok that is two questions.

Previous Comments

ID

170271

Comment

Pardon the typos.

Author

Rep. Erik Fleming

Date

2006-04-06T11:33:58-06:00

ID

170272

Comment

Nevermind I fixed them.

Author

Rep. Erik Fleming

Date

2006-04-06T11:36:23-06:00

ID

170273

Comment

Relvant to the election? No. (Crooks are crooks regadless of party affiliation or nonaffiliation.) Relevant to governing? Most assuredly.

Author

Rex

Date

2006-04-06T12:54:59-06:00

ID

170274

Comment

Good question. I think it may become relevant in specific races if more incumbents can be tied to Abramoff and DeLay in a substantial manner; it would probably be naive to think that DeLay is the only, or even the worst, offender in the House. He's just subject to more scrutiny because of his leadership post. So I'd expect more revelations, and that'll probably hurt a few campaigns. The Republican Party is also dealing with general negative vibes right now, but I think that's due more to poor job performance as the majority party than any particular scandals. On the whole, I think the American people are smart enough to realize that the culture of corruption, as it were, extends to both sides of the aisle, and that honest politicians are about as rare as, well, honest politicians. The more interesting question for me is whether Dean's 50-state strategy is going to bear fruit. It already is in terms of fundraising, but will there be dividends this year, or in 2008, or in 2010? It depends ultimately on how well state parties can move, and capitalize, and field candidates. I am not hopeful about the Democratic Party in Mississippi; so far Wicker and Pickering both appear to be going completely unchallenged with the filing deadline behind us, so even if there were a Pickering-Wicker-DeLay-Abramoff sex video leaked next week, it still probably wouldn't affect Mississippi's political landscape this year. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-04-07T16:31:02-06:00