That Mississippi win

Bob McElvaine is Paintin' It Blue in Mississippi at his new Huffington Post blog 05/14/08. The topic, of course, is Travis Childers win in the 1st Congressional District special election:

But the Tuesday poll result that provides the clearest (and for Republicans most terrifying) writing on the wall came from here in Mississippi. The victory by Democrat Travis Childers over Republican Greg Davis in a special election for the House seat representing Mississippi's First District is sending shock waves throughout the Grand Old Party. ...

Three of the four Congressmen from Mississippi are now Democrats. What's more, there is a very real chance that, with Obama at the head of the ticket, a huge African-American vote in November will enable Democratic former Governor Ronnie Musgrove to defeat newly appointed Republican Senator Roger Wicker. Furthermore, as I argued nearly two years ago, there is a real possibility that Obama could carry Mississippi. ...

It has rarely been the case that as Mississippi goes, so goes the nation, but when this red state turns blue it's a sure indication that the GOP is the Gone Old Party.

I appreciate Bob's optimism, though an Obama win in Mississippi is hard to imagine. If that happens, the Republican Party might want to think about disbanding altogether. I can easily imagine that Musgrove has a shot at Trent Lott's old Senate seat. Bob's post is also a reminder that the business about "red" and "blue" states can be misleading. Three of Mississippi's four members of Congress are Dems, the Dems have a good shot at one of the Senate seats, and the Republican Senator Thad Cochran is about 150 years old and probably more reactionary than Dick Cheney. Mississippi may become a "purple" state rather than a "red" one.