the south vs. hillary

Mississippi is a red state. Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of Democrats milling about. But when presidential election time comes around and news channels put up the infamous map that simplifies our country and over two hundred years of history to two primary colors, Mississippi is as red as it gets. This is actually a widely-known fact. But, apparently, Hillary Clinton is away on vacation every time the map makes an appearance.

Last fall, while campaigning in Iowa, Hillary expressed her shock at the fact that neither Iowa nor Mississippi has ever elected a female governor, Senator, or member of Congress. She went on to say, “There has got to be something at work here…when you look at the numbers, how can Iowa be ranked with Mississippi? That’s not what I see – that’s not the quality, that’s not the communitarianism, that’s not the openness I see in Iowa.” Maybe you can get away with negative comments like that as a New York senator, but they will come back to haunt you when you are running for President of the United States. Perhaps Hillary hadn’t switched modes yet. Possible alternate strategies include avoiding negativity and false favoritism in the first place and/or realizing that the redness of Mississippi means that she needs our vote.

Perhaps she realized this after a few months, for she just graced Mississippi with her presence on March 6th and 7th in Canton and then Hattiesburg. She even had Bill host a fish fry in Tupelo. But, if she thinks some tasty catfish will make Mississippians forget her previous comments, she is mistaken.

Her adherence to an old stereotype only serves to remind us, in this politically-charged atmosphere, of another stereotype: politicians who talk out of both sides of their mouths.

Of course, Mississippi politicians came to the defense of their state. Most notably, Representative Chip Pickering gave a lengthy and eloquent retort, saying, “Those who seek to lead the entire country should be strong and confident in themselves and in our people…After Katrina we proved the strength and quality of our communities as a unified, strong and resilient people. You would think that old stereotypes and myths should be put aside after such an event.” He went on to name several female leaders and remind Hillary of the fact that Mississippi leads the nation in the number of African American elected officials.

If Hillary is going to play the gender card and complain about inequality as a result of sterotypes in the public arena, shouldn’t she show Mississippi the same courtesy for which she is asking? If we want to protect the integrity of the United States of America, we should probably stay united. And that is not going to happen if national leaders pick and choose favorites based on the route of their campaign trail.

So far, Hillary has only succeeded in leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the collective Mississippi public. And it’s not the catfish.

March 11, 2008
(article for The Review, Laurel, MS, newspaper)