A Forum, The Race Card, Fundraising, & Joey Langston

Candidate Forum - Thursday, April 17: Travis Childers and Greg Davis are to answer questions from a panel of journalists. Audience members may also submit questions to be posed by a moderator. The event is co-sponsored by the Lott Leadership Institute and the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics.

TalkingPointsMemo suggests a race problem in two upcoming special elections - in Mississippi and Lousiana: "An intriguing pattern has emerged in two special elections for the House in Louisiana and Mississippi: Both of the candidates backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee have had a bit of a, shall we say, white supremacy issue. This is not to say that the two are white supremacists -- rather, they have both flirted with organizations and/or people who are known for, at a minimum, dabbling rather heavily in such sentiments...In Mississippi's Second District, Southaven Mayor Greg Davis agreed in 2001 to accept a plaque as a gift from the Council of Conservative Citizens, thanking the town for flying the state flag in the midst of a controversy over the flag's Confederate emblems, according to press reports at the time. There was a brief public outcry, during which Davis initially defended accepting the gift from the CCC, which is well-known for espousing doctrines of "racial integrity." In the end though, Davis declined the gift. The episode involving the CCC hasn't emerged as an issue in the current campaign -- yet. But Davis won a seriously contested primary, and might just be vulnerable against Prentiss County clerk Travis Childers, the Dem challenger."

CottonMouth - Travis Childers Event in Jackson Report - "After work I headed down to Schimmel's in the Fondren business district for a fund raiser for Travis Childers. In attendance were William Winter, Ronnie Musgrove, Ronnie Shows, Wayne Dowdy, Jim Hood, and Steve Holland among many others. We enjoyed appetizers and a cash bar for about an hour before Mr. Childers spoke. He talked about how he lost his father at the age of 16 and had to take a job to help his mother pay the mortgage and bills. He understands the plight of the working class and promises to fight for them when he gets to Washington. He has me on board and I can't vote for him, but I can try to help him raise money."

ROM - Travis Childers and Joey Langston, Guilt by Association Volume 8