Another GOP Stronghold Goes Democratic

Travis Childers Becomes Third Dem Elected This Year In Special Elections For Congressional Seats Traditionally Held By GOP

(AP)  It's becoming a disturbing trend for Republicans: losing traditional GOP strongholds to Democrats in some hard-fought congressional races.

It happened again Tuesday, as Travis Childers beat Greg Davis in a special election to replace Republican Roger Wicker, who served in the House since 1994 and was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott.

Childers' win will give him the chance over the next several months left in the seat's two-year term to build a fundraising and publicity advantage as he heads into November's general election. He will again face Davis, as well as two other opponents.

Childers' win gave Democrats a 236-199 edge over Republicans in Congress.

Earlier this year, Democrats captured the Illinois district long represented by former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, who resigned from Congress. This month, Democrats claimed a seat in Louisiana that Republican Rep. Richard Baker vacated and that the GOP had held since 1974.

Childers is a socially conservative county official, while Davis is mayor of a fast-growing city across the state line from Memphis, Tenn.

Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned for Davis the day before the special election, and Davis ran ads trying to tie Childers to Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the national Democratic Party's policies.

Childers stressed his independence, emphasizing his support of gun rights and opposition to abortion. He said his values match those of most voters in the deeply conservative district.

Tom Cole, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the Mississippi race showed that "Republicans must be prepared to campaign against Democrat challengers who are running as conservatives, even as they try to join a liberal Democrat majority."

Cole said voters are "pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general" and the GOP must offer "positive change."

Marty Wiseman, a political scientist at Mississippi State University, said if Democrats can carry districts that traditionally have been safe bets for the GOP, "Republican strategists have to be terrified."

"If you think about the House and the Senate ... and the number of Republican Senate seats that are exposed, this could turn into something bigger than the presidential race this fall," Wiseman said.

Elsewhere, in right-leaning Nebraska, Republican Mike Johanns, the former U.S. agriculture secretary and Nebraska governor, easily won the Republican primary Tuesday in a race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel. On the Democrat side, Scott Kleeb beat three other Democrats.

And in West Virginia, a conflict-of-interest scandal derailed the state's top judge from serving another term. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, once considered a shoo-in for re-election, was third in a field of four candidates.

The two top vote-getters will face the lone Republican in the race for two high court spots in November.

Maynard lost his advantage when photos surfaced in January of him vacationing with the chief executive of a massive coal producer. He faced a former justice, a Huntington lawyer and a West Virginia University law professor.

Maynard raised the most money, and his allies included the state's chamber of commerce and medical association. But the photos taken during a 2006 Monaco vacation, when he met up with Massey Energy Co.'s chief executive, quickly became campaign fodder.

Maynard blamed the furor on political foes, but withdrew from several Massey-related cases. He had said he would do the same if re-elected.

West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who hasn't lost a statewide race since 1972, easily beat two challengers as he seeks a fifth six-year term. He'll face Republican Jay Wolfe in November's general election.

Gov. Joe Manchin easily fended off a primary challenge and will take on Republican Russ Weeks, a former state senator, in November.

[deacon20081]

Like the old saying goes "power corrupts, BUT absolute power corrupts absolutely"

[sjc_1]

This site is being censored. I posted a comment about the national debt and health care costs and it was removed. I posted a comment about how that was removed and it was removed. There was no violation of any of the rules of engagement, just someone that had the power did not like the truth.

I assume that this comment will be removed as well. So if you happen to read it before it gets censored, beware. If your comments are too close to the truth for the management of CBS, they will be removed.

[briannorwood]

Hey LeFeaoux:

Why don''t you go FEAOUX yourself you ignorant bigot!

[Gary Kempf]

BLACKMILITAN ;
Point Well made. Kudo''s

[frankbowers]

The sad thing here is he has the idiot of a Pelosi, the lady who swore to never impeach the little idiot and his ruler dic cheney. frank bowers of austin, tx

[pfd572]

Way to go Mississippi. Don''t let people call you ignorant rednecks anymore. Let''s keep up the momentum in other states. End the republican death machine.

[lefeaoux]

From the mouth of a Revered BLACK MAN! You MUST watch this video if you support Hussein Obama!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ATLAHWorldwide



Another must see for Hussein Obama supporters!

http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036

You''re better-off with McCain!!!

[lefeaoux]

From the mouth of a Revered BLACK MAN! You MUST watch this video if you support Hussein Obama!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ATLAHWorldwide



Another must see for Hussein Obama supporters!

http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036

[lefeaoux]

From the mouth of a Revered BLACK MAN! You MUST watch this video if you support Hussein Obama!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ATLAHWorldwide



Another must see for Hussein Obama supporters!

http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036

[lefeaoux]

From the mouth of a Revered BLACK MAN! You MUST watch this video if you support Hussein Obama!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ATLAHWorldwide



Another must see for Hussein Obama supporters!

http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036

[dmgenet]

The Bush/Neocon/Congressional bribery continues to reverberate. The Repubs had it all and blew it to high heaven. Power corrupts....or were they corrupt prior to entering the political arena? Probably both.

[blackmilitan]

I BLAME OBAMA WHITE MOTHER AND WHITE GRANDPARENTS, ITS THEIR FAULT.

1. His WHITE MOTHER taught him he could be anything he wants %u2013 despite the reality that America is racist to the core %u2013 how dare they do that to him.
2. How dare his WHITE MOTHER love a black man and have a child with him at a time when the rest of white America hated blacks %u2013 how dare they do that to our (UNITED) STATES OF AMERICA.
3. How dare his WHITE grandparents love him and teach him good values. What type of WHITE grandparents would do such a thing?
4. Why would his WHITE MOTHER allow this mixed child to even think he could one day be a lawyer or a doctor or a President? They should have raised him to be a thug, a criminal, a drug addict not a good person %u2013 Dayum them.
5. His WHITE MOTHER worked on her doctorate degree instead of staying on welfare,. dayum this WHITE WOMEN.
6. His WHITE MOTHER gave him a life experience by traveling the world, why would any WHITE WOMEN care about their son that way? What is wrong with WHITE WOMEN?
7. His WHITE MOTHER left him at an early at dying from cancer, and he promised her he would make her proud. Why would a man love his mom that much?
8. His WHITE grandparents taught him values, loved him, yes he made some mistake but their values held out. Why would two WHITE grandparents love a black child so much %u2013 how dare them love a black child%u2026...who the hell, do they think they are?

[mike71067]

"Our government has always worked best when we have come down somewhere in the middle..."
-Posted by skyk at 01:50 PM : May 14, 2008

But in order to arrive in the middle, one extreme has to be met with another. In 1992, Congress contained many members of the far-left. The far-right was voted in in 1994, with a left-wing president. Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich passed the first significant welfare reform we''ve ever had.

In other words (to make a long story longer), you cannot challenge a radical wing (left or right) with a moderate wing. It has to be met with another radical wing, or the "middle" is not where we''ll end up.

[mike71067]

-Posted by skyk at 01:50 PM : May 14, 2008

The names you mentioned, especially O''Reilly (who would be considered by many to be a Reagan Democrat), are a far cry from fascism. They want less government control over our lives, fascists are all about exerting absolute control. Most Republicans believe in preserving the right to keep and bear arms. A fascist would not.

Calling Republicans "fascists" would be like calling Obama and Hillary "socialists". A socialist believes the government should provide jobs. Nobody in public office, that I''m aware of, believes in that.

[skyk-2009]

I know that. I agree with this guy. Not all conservatives are Republicans, and not all liberals are Democrats. Of course there are some, ok, many, on both sides that will follow a political party no matter where they go, good or bad. I think it''''s better to be true to your worldview than to any political party.


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Posted by mike71067 at 01:45 PM : May 14, 2008
+ report abuse

My point was a simple one and you completely ignored it. Sarge was pointing out a fact we all need to address. For several decades a group of radical right wing people have taken control of the Republican party. They have called any american, such as myself, a "Liberal" and made that into a bad name. Why? Because I refused to follow the "Conservative" view. Our government has always worked best when we have come down somewhere in the middle... the problem with those folks is we have no idea where the middle is because they have stopped debate that includes opposing views. It''s wrong an Sarge is right to point out that the conduct of Limbaugh, O''Reily and others is pure Joe McCarthy Type FASCISM.

[mike71067]

"Where did Sarge call that poster a nazi? I read his post and it made perfect sense to me and NO WHERE does he call the poster a Nazi."
-Posted by skyk at 01:39 PM : May 14, 2008

Oh, I''m sorry. You''re absolutely correct. The term used was "swastika hugger". I stand corrected.

I''m still waiting for your answer, MCVet. My answer depends on yours. You''ll see what I mean when you complete your quiz.

[mike71067]

"ROFLMAO Right! I''m glad because it gives the Democrats a much larger Majority and now we can start to talk about doing something with the bad trade agreements. YOU do know one of his MAIN positions was HE would NOT sign any new trade deals don''t you??"
-Posted by skyk at 01:41 PM : May 14, 2008

I know that. I agree with this guy. Not all conservatives are Republicans, and not all liberals are Democrats. Of course there are some, ok, many, on both sides that will follow a political party no matter where they go, good or bad. I think it''s better to be true to your worldview than to any political party.

[mcvet]

Ou, I have a multiple choise question for you: How many gunmen shot JFK?

A) One
B) More than one

What is your answer? I''''d like to know, because I think it will shine some light on your thinking processes and explain many of your posts.


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Posted by mike71067 at 01:41 PM : May 14, 2008
+ report abuse

ROFLMAO I didn''t think so!! Sieg Heil Bush!

[mike71067]

NOTE: I can spell, I just can''t type worth a ****. Even looking at the keys.

[skyk-2009]

As a conservative, I find myself siding with many of the new Democrats I''''m hearing about lately. They, including this guy, are conservative Democrats. In the 2004 election, many of the Democrats that won were more conservative than the Republicans they replaced. I am in favor of conservatism, whether it has a (D) or an (R) after it.


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Posted by mike71067 at 01:30 PM : May 14, 2008
+ report abuse

ROFLMAO Right! I''m glad because it gives the Democrats a much larger Majority and now we can start to talk about doing something with the bad trade agreements. YOU do know one of his MAIN positions was HE would NOT sign any new trade deals don''t you?? It''s amazing though how many things we can all agree on when Conservatives are IN the Democrat Party and NOT beholding to people like Pat Robertson. Sieg Heil Bush