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Mississippi politics in 2011 may be on the cusp of dramatic change. The leaders of the Democratic Party including President Obama, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Majority Leader Harry Reid are doing something that every Republican president since U.S. Grant has wanted to do but could not.
By their policies these Democratic leaders are causing Republicans to be on Mississippi's general election ballots for offices from the courthouse to the statehouse.
The Democratic Party's march to the far left is happening at blistering speed - just ask ex-congressmen Travis Childers and Gene Taylor. Seventeen Mississippi Democrats have left the party to become Republicans in the past two years. How many more are coming?
The pink boots of political correctness now stand firmly on the neck of the U.S. military with unfurled rainbow flags waving in celebration. The Democratic leadership rammed through the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the Lame Duck session of Congress because they feared the fresh voice of "We the People" and the new Congress. House Democrats voted 235 for repeal and 15 against. The Senate Democrats voted 55 for repeal and 0 against. In celebration Vice-President Biden told America that gay marriage was "inevitable." Is there any doubt what the Democratic Party really wants?
Mississippi voters passed by a more than 80 percent margin an amendment saying yes to marriage being defined as between one man and one woman. Someone needs to tell Vice President Biden that trying to change that law in Mississippi is a big "freaking" deal. In fact, many Mississippi Democrats are now contemplating which party best represents them. The Democratic Party today is not your father's party anymore. Lately, it has changed dramatically.
All politics are local and elections reflect the voters' attitudes well (think last November.) Many will be upset with the following words, but I hope it spurs action. Talk is cheap. Press releases are worthless unless there is action to back statements. Until I recognize a vibrant, organized group of Democrats aggressively fighting for traditional marriage in every way I must say this: In 2011 a vote for a Democrat anywhere has become a vote for gay marriage everywhere. Please prove me wrong.
Counterpoint: James Hull
You know what I like about Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant? (and I don't agree with him often): I liked the fact that when he announced his candidacy for governor earlier this week, he made his announcement from a small business, and said his priority would be jobs for our state, not establishing a department to police homosexuals. Not announcing his plans to rid the Mississippi National Guard of gays and lesbians, but jobs.
What we need in this 2011 campaign season are leaders and candidates who will talk about jobs, economic development, education, health care, highway construction, voter i.d., internet predators, affordable housing, deadbeat parents, campaign financing, switching parties in the middle of a term.....even corporal punishment in public schools. But "Don't Ask..Don't Tell?"
Even the staunchest conservatives in this state have ideas about the weighty issues of our times. I submit that playing homosexual police is not high on their agendas.
I have some ideas about how this space could be better used to discuss issues which more directly affect us as citizens.
Why not discuss a state law to establish civilian police review boards, so that fiascos like the Tupelo Police Department's overlooking a high-ranking officer's handling of his son's accident can never take place again?
Why not talk about ways to recoup the millions of dollars our state loses each year because people won't pay their state taxes?
Why aren't we talking about local efforts to decrease obesity in our schools?
There are so many substantive and vital issues we face which affect the quality of life in our state, before we get to the issue of who is or who is not gay.
We've had this discussion. We've had it in this space, in the wells of the Legislature and in most of our homes. To continue to focus on it, in the face of more pressing economic, social and quality of life issues in our state, is at best near-sighted, and at worse, demagoguery.
Dr. Ed Holliday is a Tupelo dentist who has written two successful books. Contact him at ed@teaparty.ms. James Hull is an award-wining journalist and a political consultant. You may contact him at hullmultimediams@aol.com.
The "vote" to restrict marriage as between a man and a woman is inconstitutional from the outset because it denies civil rights to a group of people, without proper ground to do so. Those opposing same sex marriage are doing so either because of 1) religiou or 2) dislike of gays and lesbians, both of which are not sufficient grounds to justify the status quo and continue discriminating against the LGBT community.