The Landmass Times: Let the Mudslinging Begin!

If you have ever had a conversation with a non-braindead Mississippian about Mississippi politics or paid any attention to the state’s affairs, you have more than likely come across the term “Good Ole Boy System.” It is the political network and cabal, almost dynasty, of moderate and liberal politicians and businessmen which controls the state. This system has held an iron grip on the state for quite some time, arguably since the end of the Civil Rights Movement. Without delving too deeply into the weeds on its history, the Good Ole Boy System, “GOBS” for short, has gone unchallenged anywhere since Governor Kirk Fordice left office in 2000. The current iteration of the GOBS is a GOP dynasty ushered in by Haley Barbour in 2004 and has worked radically to modernize Mississippi, often groveling to the will of the SEC and various out of state actors with deep pockets. The corruption of the GOBS is massive, the SEC quite literally being the reason the state’s flag changed in 2020. It runs so deep that the largest landowners in the state are those same out of state businesses, largely from New England, and timber companies.

The Republican dominated state legislature and local infrastructure stands at odds with its own voters, and this is best exemplified at how it stalwartly manages to always cave to every single leftwing trend of the time and works diligently to crush various conservative organizations, like the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Their hatred for Southern culture and symbols becomes obvious once you notice that very few Rebel Flags are seen flying around Mississippi compared to the rest of the South, and the entire media and education infrastructure of Mississippi unabatingly waxes poetically about the grand history and struggles of its Negro population. If you ever pass through, just take a gander at the local newspapers. Furthermore, it does not take too long to figure out that most of these Republicans all come from upper-class households in the Delta, Oxford, and the Jackson metropolitan area. Rich liberals in autocratic control of one of the poorest states in the Union, but without the positives of being an actual aristocracy.

Anyway, despite its power, the GOBS has yet to wholly eradicate the rightwinger from its political ranks; it can only neuter their power and influence. One such rightwing state senator is Chris McDaniel. Whereas it may be fairly easy for someone who loves Dixie to progress through the ranks of each Southern state’s infrastructure, should they play their cards right, it is more or less impossible to do so in Mississippi. Corey Stewart of Virginia, Marjorie Greene of Georgia, numerous legislators in Texas, as well as the Texas Nationalist Movement, and Ron DeSantis of Florida come to mind as individuals able to make quite a name for themselves despite the fact they defend their states’ respective histories and cultures with pride. Only a handful in Mississippi within recent years have done this, and they cannot do so with much gusto. One of them, former Mississippi Senator Melanie Sojourner, has recently been gerrymandered out by Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann. It is worth pointing out that Hosemann has been appointing Democrats to numerous chairmanships and committees held by Republicans, and even Governor Tate Reeves has pointed out that Hosemann is behaving as a dictator in the Senate. McDaniel, having failed to win elections to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and 2018, has recently declared he is now going to challenge the very powerful Hosemann for the position. He is one of the last remaining rightwing politicians in the state, having risen to popularity as part of the Tea Party Movement and is one of its very last holdouts anywhere.

A mudslinger through and through, McDaniel made a name for himself in 2014 in his bid to dethrone Thad Cochran from the U.S. Senate. He so narrowly struck a massive blow to the MS GOBS that it generated national attention. Losing by less than 1% of the vote, the GOBS defeated him in the runoff by organizing just a couple thousand Democrats, mostly Negroes in the Jackson area, to cross party vote for Cochran.

Anyhow, McDaniel is infamous in the Mississippi Senate and has few allies. His rhetoric is legendary and should please anyone who actually cares about and loves the Magnolia State. According to Mississippi Today regarding his announcement speech, “McDaniel’s speech hit on numerous red-meat conservative issues: ‘woke-ism,’ the right of parents to refuse child vaccinations, states’ rights, gun rights, election fraud and President Biden. The crowd of supporters, including a handful of fellow state lawmakers, replied frequently with applause or ‘amen.'” Mississippi Today went on to say, “McDaniel, 51, a lawyer from Ellisville, promised if elected he will push for tax cuts and elimination, deregulation, state sovereignty, parents’ rights, restoring the ballot initiative, lobbying reform and “eliminating woke culture in our schools and universities.” Of course, all the usual suspects are coming out against him, including the entire media establishment. Casey Phillips, Hosemann’s senior campaign adviser, stated, “After being rejected by Mississippians in three failed statewide campaigns, the least effective politician in the state with the largest ego is running again, this time for Lt. Governor. By comparison, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann’s conservative record is clear, implementing Voter ID to secure our elections, delivering the largest tax cut in Mississippi’s history, and overseeing a major teacher pay raise. Results matter and Delbert delivers.” Firstly, this conservative record does not exist, and second, expect more drivel like this. Thankfully, McDaniel is no stranger to mudslinging and hopefully will be able to engage the cowardly, nerdy Hosemann in a debate.

Hopefully, this will finally be a win for Mississippi, the first in generations.

Joe Wasp

“The White people of the South are the greatest minority in this nation. They deserve consideration and understanding instead of the persecution of twisted propaganda.” –Strom Thurmond