Winona Senator was ‘Surprise’ CofCC Speaker

The only way to get elected as a Republican in Carroll County is to be sympathetic to the CofCC.

That may well be true, but it doesn't make it right. Talk about selling your soul. I wonder if anyone has bothered to try it a different way.

Of course, this woman is a card-carrying member, it seems, and attended their national convention. She must be worried about something. Or, she really means it. As I've always said, I'm not sure which is worse: meaning it, or pretending you do to get votes (which really might end up being the same thing in the end).

I've always thought that Carroll County has gotten a bit of a pass, considering how much ugly racism sprang from there.

OK, folks, read about some of the talk about victories for white people at the Cabot Lounge last weekend in Jackson:

Sam Dickson's soliloquy on how "Aryan Europe" was saved from the "Semites" when Rome crushed Carthage has to be the high point of the Council of Conservative Citizen's meeting in Jackson, Mississippi on Friday and Saturday June 26 and 27. Winning the Punic Wars was part of Dickson's two millennia-long list of victories for white people. An Atlanta attorney who speaks regularly at Council and related events, Dickson usually spends his time at these affairs making his crowd feel good about themselves. But alas, he had no recent victories to speak of at this conference, and so he also spent time berating white liberals--and I must confess that my own name was mentioned several times along with the names of others who Dickson decided to deride.

Of the Barack Obama victory in the last election, Dickson argued that, "it is a good thing that Obama is in the White House...so that we can see that the people that hate us are running this country." Such an assessment was part of his rationale for the statement that "we are no longer conservatives, we are revolutionaries."

Emphasizing the good effect that Obama's election was having on the Council was also the task of the organization's executive director, Gordon Baum, also an attorney (he practices in the St. Louis metro area). The "last four months have been the best for us in many a year," Baum averred. But he also conceded that the next four years would be a "rough ride." According to the Council, Obama's election has ushered in a period of "black rule," a dubious proposition at best. His election did, however, break the white monopoly on the presidency and does by extension challenge at least some of the perquisites of white majority-only power that the Council seeks.

She was also the chief sponsor of a bill that created the sequicentennial Civil War celebration in MS (http://www.vicksburgpost.com/articles/2009/01/14/news/doc496e23d4e9c11677623142.txt ).

Interesting.

See - there you guys go thinking logical again!!!

Stop it, you guys already know what we are already dealing with!

lol!!!!!!!!!

First, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, now our very own Chassaniol with the conspiracy of the 2010 census. My Lord, what hole do they crawl out of?

Blackwatch- What so interesting about that? She is the chairwoman of the Tourism committee. That's her job. The sequicentennial Civil War celebration in Vicksburg will be a big boost for tourism in Mississippi.

I wrote to Sen. Chassaniol earlier today asking if she was aware that the CofCC is a white separatist organization, and cited relevant parts of its mission statement from its current, live web site. She has not yet replied. I don't really expect her to.

Good luck, Tom. You'll need it if you plan on waiting on a response.

Tom: Thanks for doing what I've only so far thought about. That won't be just a thought much longer, I promise.

I hate to argue with a slobbering moron, but the Punic Wars culminated in the victory of one group of swarthy Mediterraneans over another group of swarthy Mediterraneans. The suggestion that the Carthaginians were sorta Jewish or Arabic or something, i.e. "Semitic," while the Romans were blue-eyed volk, i.e. "Aryan," is so stupid that my brain hurts just thinking about being in that audience.

What percentage of black to white is the population in her district? Anyone know?

If there are enough African Americans down there, they need to get their act together with what few progressive whites are there, and boot her out.

Tom, bless your heart. :-) Why'd you want to trouble that sweet little lady by asking her if she knows something that she likely has tattooed on her . . . nether regions?

Hey, C.W. Missed you. This CofCC senator-chick is from your neck o' the wood, huh? I bet we have the talent around here to figure out what her district is like.

And cheers to all of you who are speaking out. Who has her contact info to post?

Brian, I don't think they bother to factcheck very often. ;-)

From http://www.congress.org:

Current Elected Office Contact Information

Contact Sen. Lydia Chassaniol at

Website: billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/senate/chassaniol.xml



Jackson Office:

404 State Capitol,
Mississippi 39215-1018
Phone: (601) 359-3226
Fax: (601) 359-3938



Winona Office: (more district offices)

PO Box 211
Winona, Mississippi 38967
Phone: (662) 453-3172

Winona Office:
PO Box 211
Winona, Mississippi 38967
Phone: (662) 453-3172
Fax:

Brian- Wasn't Carthage founded by the Phoenicians who were ancient Semitic people? Have to agree with you on the Romans not be Aryans.

I think everybody reading this should email and/or call her, using the information supplied above, and politely but firmly express condemnation of the CofCC.

I can't speak to her district per se, but Carroll County is 36% black:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_County,_Mississippi

Winona, Mississippi is actually majority-black (+/-51%, but still...):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winona,_Mississippi

There are two relevant newspapers in the area--the Weekly Conservative and the Winona Times:
http://www.mspress.org/newspapers/item.php?id=22

It sounds to me like she needs strong challengers in 2011--preferably of both parties, at both the primary and general election phase.

C.W., I'm under no illusion that the information I provided surprised her much, but this way she won't be able to claim that she was not informed of the CofCC's agenda. If she continues to claim membership after seeing evidence from multiple people that it is a white separatist organization, then she will have clearly and unambiguously established herself as a white separatist. She will no longer be able to use the Trent Lott excuse.

Bubba T,

I said this was interesting because if you read the bill, this is obviously an attempt once again to get the state to honor the confederacy, which is actually doing the state more harm than good. It alienates almost half the state, and many young people see this as a backward step for MS, thus leaving once they come of age (I have talked with several young professionals who were reared and educated in MS who state that they will never live here because of the climate of social stagnation that is exemplified in these trite and caustic confederate memorials).

It is one thing to talk about the history of the Civil War in museums, books or a classroom for documentation, historical and educational purposes, but to celebrate the Confederacy, (with the state flag and other memorials) under the guise of “MS history”, is shortsighted and closed minded at best, and down right ignorant to say the least. For what it costs the state civically, racially, and economically, to continue to champion a dead, morally bankrupt cause is quite sad.

Bubba, I second Blackwatch and would also add that it is not the job of the tourism chair to write all legislation relevant to tourism--it's to process such legislation through the committee. Every legislator has their specific areas of interest.

I keep wondering if those people over at the CCC realize the ancient Aryans were not at all the mythical blonde Nazi but ancient Indo-Iranians.

This lady should be encouraged to talk and express her feelings as well as sentiments held by people she is closely associated with. Note the recurring theme here. Proud Republican, yapping about heritage. If this lady did not know about CofCC, that is pitiful in itself. However, I doubt that anyone that has heard of the group does not know what they represent. What does that say about the people that elected her that she could be going around talking this way and nobody bother to set her straight. Makes you believe that they may actually agree with her sentiment. What is it about Republicans these days that they are okay with being represented by and representing people like this? Not enough people seem to find it strange that this type of sentiment runs rampant in conservative circles. Nobody connects the things a State Senator like this says, what groups like CofCC are saying and Palin's talk of "us" and "them"?

Where are all of the "Ditto Head" types that support these groups? Why don't they ever step forward in forums like this and acknowledge themselves and defend their positions?

I'd hazard a guess that there are less conservatives that actually support those people than liberals like to imagine exist.

That depends on how you define "support," Iron. This state senator is probably unusual -- even most conservatives know it's a really bad idea to cozy up to this group at this point.

However, most Republicans seem to turn a blind eye to what these groups are saying on their behalf. That's why the head of the Republican Party nationally (not Barbour, for sure) apologized for cozying up to bigots a few years back.

But they are still welcomed at tea parties and such.

Just in case anyone expected better, Sen. Chassaniol still hasn't responded to my email. I doubt I told her anything she didn't already know, but it just doesn't make sense to me that someone would screw up their future career as a statewide politician just to hobnob with a small group of screamingly dull wackos from out of state and score points with senile Klan alumni in Carroll County who are going to vote Republican anyway. Look at what she gained versus what she lost. Never mind how could she do this, etc.--why did she bother? It makes no sense. Is she afraid she'll get challenged in the Republican primary for not being irrelevant enough? Is she losing votes because some of her constituents are afraid her IQ is too high? I don't get it. At least the old White Citizen's Council, the "uptown Klan," was actually uptown--supporting them meant money and institutional power. What does the CCC have to offer? German crossword puzzles?

She would have had much more fun at the Mississippi ACLU 40th anniversary events, which is how I spent my weekend. I'm sure our music must have been better. Can you imagine how excruciating Southern music would sound if you stripped African-American influences from it? That can't be pretty.

Tom- has she really screwed up her future career? I did a google search on her the only people saying anything about her speaking at the CofCC meeting are the JFP,the SPLC and a couple of other places.
Doesn't seem to have cause much of a stir elsewhere.

Hi, Donna, yes, this is pretty close to me, a little to the south, but not all that far. I wish she was in my district, because I might have something to say to her that was not quite as mild as I'm aiming for now. thanks for the addy, Tom.

As far as writing her, though I'm doing it, I think it's spitting in the wind. I just don't think people like this give a flip what people like us think. We're the enemy, so far as they are concerned.

I like to go to the Duck Hill blues festival, and it's one blues fest that is better attended by blacks than whites, and has a lot of local attendance. I think I'm going to ask around and see what some of those folks think, and if they don't have the willpower to do something about her at the voting booth.

Iron, on the support thing, I think you'd find that a lot of Mississippians, in the past, didn't support the Klan either. They tolerated them, kept silent about them, and many seemed to feel that they were necessary to keep certain folks in line. That's the role I see the CofCC in now.

You don't have to support an organization to help it thrive; you just have to be silent and/or make equivocal statements (I don't like them, but they serve a purpose; gee, they shouldn't have done that, but...[shrug])

Oh, Bubba, as long as the black folks there and the few progressive white people don't go after her at the polling place with a passion, this is not hurting her career at all; most likely, it's helping. 99% of the people who do know about her speech likely agree with it.

I'm not even sure (I'm a cynic) that making a big deal out of it, so that EVERYONE who votes there knows about it, would hurt her in the polling place.

However, if she tries to move to a state-wide position, it MIGHT hurt her. And it hurts to write "might", but as I said, I'm a cynic.

That area of the state tends to embrace things like the CofCC, although there are some glimmers of light.

P.S., here's an article that I find interesting, and it has an angle that intersects with this discussion:

Are Racist Lone Wolves Really Alone?
http://www.seattlemedium.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=97183&sID=34&ItemSource=L

Sorry, I've forgotten how to set urls in posts in here. ;-)

Iron, on the support thing, I think you'd find that a lot of Mississippians, in the past, didn't support the Klan either. They tolerated them, kept silent about them, and many seemed to feel that they were necessary to keep certain folks in line.

Iron, one of the tragedies of our history was that community leaders would bring in the Klan to keep the peace, so to speak, by scaring people out of speaking out.

Bubba, if the Ledger et al do not report on the good senator's participation in the CofCC, they are utterly irresponsible. Of course, it's nothing new: the Ledger had long known the racist history of the Black Hawk rally and the Council of Conservative Citizens, but didn't out MIssissippi politicians for pandering to such racism until after the national media went after Lott in the 1990s.

That kind of media silence is what allows this stuff to happen right under our noses, just as it was in the Jim Crow era.

Mark my words: the national media will catch up on this one -- head of state tourism committee and ally of Barbour member and special guest of white supremacist group -- and the Ledger will scramble to catch up. It's as if they are on some sort of journalistic furlough all the time.

Trust me: It's a huge deal. They need to start getting in front of it, and force that woman to face up to what she has done. This isn't exactly going to help tourism in Mississippi.

I agree with you Ms. Ladd on the Ledger's irresponsibility. How can we expect an educated choice at the polls if there is no substantive coverage of what these people actually believe as witnessed through their actions while in office?
With regard to Tom's question about motivation,there doesn't seem to be a political upside, if fact, the only upside of attendance would seem to be the fellowship and networking opportunities among the like-minded. There wasn't a good reason to attend and speak, especially as an elected representative of the State of Mississippi, unless you believe in the group's message and mission.
I also agree that if it were nationally publicized that the our state head of tourism is pandering to this type of crowd it will have a negative effect on tourism in our state. She should resign that post immediately.

I think the political upside is that Sen. Chassaniol assumes there will be no political downside, and if she's relying on past history, there indeed won't be unless it catches more attention from media and activist groups.

That said, I don't know how much fellowship with like-minded people there really was at the event... Judging from the conference photos on the CCC Mississippi web site (which I'm not going to link), attendance wasn't all that great and the median age was...well, not especially young. I don't imagine she had a good time there; I can't see how anybody could have, and not just for ideological reasons. It just looks screamingly dull.

Not that a lively and exciting white separatist conference with squaredancing, a segregationist-governor costume theme, and $7 "Aryantinis" would have been any better on a moral level, but at least they might have smiled more. These people just don't look happy to me.

“I do not consider myself racist,” Chassaniol wrote in the e-mail to Hatewatch.

I'm waiting for the rest of the sentence. What is her standard for racism?

Also, “a person’s membership in any organization is a private matter.”

Any organization? A private matter? For a public official? Is she for real?

My guess is that an "Aryantini" would be 100% gin!

Mark my words: the national media will catch up on this one -- head of state tourism committee and ally of Barbour member and special guest of white supremacist group -- and the Ledger will scramble to catch up.

Indeed. It's one of many reasons why a Barbour presidential candidacy is DOA. Barbour's associations would be lethal in the national arena. The country is not going to get enthusiastic about a governor who snuggles with the CCofC in a run against the first black president.

I think if Barbour were to run for President he could contribute to the raising of hundreds of millions of dollars.

For the Democratic Party.

He'd be their dream opponent in 2012. I think it is silly Mississippi boosterism to even pretend that he could actually be the Republican presidential nominee. As you suggest, guilt by association.(America Needs a Lobbyist in the White House) (As Big Tobacco Goes, So Goes America)

(I'm available for bumper sticker writing.)

Vice presidential nominee maybe.

My early line is Romney/Barbour.

Now that President Obama has broken the barrier for oddly named presidential candidates the floodgates are open.

Mitt ( actually it's his middle name) and Haley. And that's not even counting Newt.

Oh. It's Willard. Which is why he uses Mitt.

I think it is silly Mississippi boosterism to even pretend that he could actually be the Republican presidential nominee.

I think it's naivete. The only people who take the idea seriously are the same ones who had no clue had hard Obama was going to hit, including here in the state with young people, or how many people were going to turn out last election. Or, inevitably, who thought Melton would be a good mayor. These aren't exactly political genuises.

I'll say it again: If he runs, it'll be good for our paper. But it'll make the state look really bad.

And Brian, not only would his "southern strategy" habits be laid out in full view, but can you imagine what national Democrats would do with the fact that he tried to pardon or early parole all those domestic killers in the state?!?

Tough on crime, my ass.

It's more than just naivete. I gritted my teeth recently through a political radio show where the question was asked about Barbour's presidential chances and the political pundits on the show answered seriously and in the affirmative.

Sometimes people are afraid to comment on the state of the emperor's clothes, people who should know better. It's easy for the voters to get fooled, they often don't have enough information(no fault of yours). The pundits have no excuse, in fact I think they are part of the problem.

By the way, forget about the "national Democrats", who speaks up for the state's Democrats? We shouldn't need them to fight our
battles. Barbour gets away with murder (no pun intended) when I hear him on the radio, often no alternate or opposing view is presented, and I usually listen to public radio.

The silence is deafening.

I am in total agreement, annyimiss. The silence is THUNDERING! Barbour can't take care of the business for Mississippians: How could he possible take care of the business for the entire U.S.?
Just asking.

I've been a real crank about this--contacting a bunch of people--and the way the responses have laid out (who's supportive and helpful, who's supportive, who doesn't respond, who responds in an attempt to discourage me from pursuing the matter further) has been surprising.

There is a HUGE segment of the Republican Party that really, really hates the Dixiecrat albatross and wants to ditch it, and there is a huge segment of the Democratic Party that is trying to get the Dixiecrats back. As a Democrat (I'm no longer an independent), I wish it was as simple as blue heroes and red villains, but it's not. The truth is that both parties in Mississippi have a LOT of "personal work" to do, to borrow a phrase from Michael Richards.

It's also becoming increasingly clear that a large chunk of the state, especially some older white voters in rural areas (who belong to both parties), supports the same kind of agenda the CCC does (though the CCC itself does not appear to have much real influence). And these folks don't necessarily have horns and forked tails--they may be nice to black folks in their lives, sort of like the congenial but unrepentant old ex-Nazi neighbor a Jewish friend of mine used to have, even as they support some of the most evil policies ever dreamed up.

And some of these segregationists are young. For the first time in my life that I can remember, I don't feel a sense of inevitable triumph re: race relations. Sen. Chassaniol's behavior, and the response/non-response to it, has shaken me to the core. I honestly don't know if time is on our side. Time certainly won't fix the problem for us.

I feel pretty confident that Sen. Chassaniol will apologize for her participation in the CCC event, and that the Mississippi Republican Party will once again state that the CCC is not welcome at its table. But this whole process has been very educational. It has changed the way I look at race in Mississippi, and the role it plays in both parties, and the uneasy relationship that both parties have with the Dixiecrats (who are, it is becoming increasingly clear, still a force to be reckoned with).

Tom, I wasn't aware that the Mississippi Republican Party has stated that the CCC is not welcome at it's table. I don't doubt you, but I wonder if you could tell me when, where and in what way it was stated; I've noticed that politicians are sometimes careful in their language, saying something that sounds like more than it is at first glance, until you parse it down word for word. You think anyone else has noticed that, too? (wink, wink).

Kidding aside, I'd like to know how strong a statement they made.

I'd also like to point out that not only was the Ledger (and the other state papers) silent for a long time on Barbour's flirtation with the CofCC during his first election run, but they also refused to print any letters to the editor about it until it reached a critical mass, mostly through the work of bloggers. I wrote an article about it and commented about it on any blog I could find that seemed as though it would be sympathetic. It wasn't until the story starting bouncing around the blogosphere (as comparitively small as it was then)that it took on the weight to grab national attention and force the hands of the state papers. I still think he might not have gotten in office if enough stink could have been raised earlier in the race.

I know this, because I wrote a number of letters to the editor on this subject to various papers, and other people I know also wrote letters to the editors, and none of us got printed. I don't think we were all such lousy writers that we were rejected out of hand. Since I've had letters printed before, as had some of the other folks, that seems a little unlikely.

And these folks don't necessarily have horns and forked tails--they may be nice to black folks in their lives...

I think that nicely captures what part of me wants to call the southern way of racism. The northern way of racism is all about neo-segregation, where white people go to considerable lengths to have as little as possible to do with minorities. The southern way is--or was--much more comfortable with race mixing on a personal level, so little old white ladies might be nice as could be to their black neighbors and vote for Strom Thurmond for president. Mostly for the better but also for the worse, the southern way of racism is giving way to the northern way now that legal segregation has been dismantled. In many ways, neo-segregation is more insidious than legal segregation. The CCC is pretty much out in the open. But what do you do about JA?

C.W., please never hesitate to doubt me--I make mistakes, and in this case I did in fact misspeak. RNC Chair Jim Nicholson (Haley Barbour's successor) condemned the Council of Conservative Citizens as "racist and nationalist," and Trent Lott condemned it as "white supremacist and racist" after the national press called him on his ties to the group, but as far as I know the state party itself hasn't made an official statement against the organization.

I can't speak to anything the editorial team at the C-L does. I know they have some excellent reporters, and a few of them are good friends of mine, but I don't know any of the higher-ups very well. I will say that the C-L is not alone in not wanting to speak out about this stuff--some activist groups have also been conspicuously silent. I think people are just too "nice" and "friendly" down here sometimes. We need to be more aggressive in speaking out, and be willing to tick people off and hurt feelings and make enemies, and we're not really raised to do that. It's VERY hard for me and a little scary. Does not come naturally. I'd much rather be friendly and assume the best of everyone and just let us all get along and take issue only with people who are "stirring up division." I'm sure the segregationists would rather we all do that, too, because it means nobody ever confronts them on their crap.

So please doubt me... And please push me when I don't do enough to doubt others. We need more doubt. Our state suffers from a chronic doubt shortage.

Brian, good point. I'm finishing D'Army Bailey's memoirs right now, and he talks about segregation in Massachusetts--how he went from Louisiana to Massachusetts and found the same old crap, only (my words, not his) the Massachusetts crap was sitting in a glass case and had a bow on it. We move ahead 40 years and I guess it's a lot like moving from Louisiana to Massachusetts in the sixties.

Let's just hope the 3 Cs is the only common 3 letters organization she belongs to down south. I'm open-minded!

Honestly, being a member of the CCC says enough.

It does say enough, Goldenae. Here is her entire e-mail exchange with Hatewatch, by the way. Got it today. Verbatim from here; read from bottom:

------ Forwarded Message
From: Lydia Chassaniol <LChassaniol@senate.ms.gov>
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:13:41 -0500
To: "Heidi.Beirich@splcenter.org" <Heidi.Beirich@splcenter.org>
Conversation: Council of Conservative Citizens
Subject: RE: Council of Conservative Citizens

I was invited to speak to the group by one of the local members. I spoke on the topic of Mississippi's Cultural Heritage.
As chair of the tourism committee in the Mississippi senate, I felt it was appropriate to invite the members of a national organization to visit our state's tourist attractions. I am often asked to speak to a number of groups. I do not consider myself racist, have never before been accused of such, and believe that a person's membership in any organization is a private matter.

I spent a number of years as a professional educator and worked with the children of the Mississippi Delta in the nation's largest stay in school network (Communities in Schools). During my tenure at that organization, I frequently spoke to the Greenwood Voter's League to give them an update on the progress we were making in preventing students from dropping out of school.
There are some who would consider the Greenwood Voter's League to be a racist organization because there are no members who are Caucasian. I do not abide by labels such as this, and I hope you will forgive me for taking exception to the insinuation that I am racist, because I choose to belong to a conservative organization. Conservative is a term which also applies to fiscal matters.

Please understand that I am open to the opinions of many people and hope that your organization will have much success in its approach to social justice.

From: [Heidi.Beirich@splcenter.org]
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:49 PM
To: Lydia Chassaniol
Subject: Re: Council of Conservative Citizens

Thanks for writing back. I’m writing in reference to your speech this past weekend at the Council of Conservative Citizens meeting in Jackson. I was wondering why you would speak to, and be a member of a group, that is widely considered to be white supremacist?

I don’t call the CCC that just from our perspective at the SPLC; rather, the Conservative Political Action Committee called the group racist in 1998 and barred it from its annual meetings. Also, the Republican National Committee "forcefully" condemned the CCC in 1999, urging Republicans not to join or attend its functions.
Thanks for your comments,
Heidi

On 6/29/09 2:39 PM, "Lydia Chassaniol" <LChassaniol@senate.ms.gov> wrote:

Thank you for contacting me. I am unable to leave the senate chamber to make a call right now, but if you would like to ask me a question, please respond to this e-mail.

From: [Heidi.Beirich@splcenter.org]
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:37 PM
To: Lydia Chassaniol
Subject: Council of Conservative Citizens

Dear Sen. Chassaniol,
My name is Heidi Beirich and I work for the Southern Poverty Law Center. I am trying to get in touch with you to discuss your speech this past weekend at the Council of Conservative Citizens. My number is below. I am writing for our blog about this tomorrow.
Best,
Heidi Beirich
--
Heidi Beirich, Ph.D.
Director of Research and Special Projects
Southern Poverty Law Center

And in case you're new to this thread and haven't seen our cover story about the CofCC coming to Jackson, and what they openly stand for, be sure to read: Guess who's coming to Jackson.

What is downright disgusting is that she is equating a white supremacist organization with a black voter's group. She really, really, really, really needs to be removed as head of the tourism committee, folks.

And this: Conservative is a term which also applies to fiscal matters.

Yes, senator, we Mississippians know that. We also know that not all fiscal conservatives are against race-mixing and fixated on the myth that being white is superior. Every fiscal conservative should be up in arms that you are in a prominent position in this state. You need to issue an apology to the people of Mississippi -- not just the black citizens, but all of us -- and then you need to step down from that tourist position and preferably the Senate. This isn't 1964 any more, and just because you are living in the past does nto mean the rest of us are.

You are an insult to the people of Mississippi who are *not* racists and don't cozy up to them. WE CAN READ in your state, and we're perfectly capable of reading the CofCC's "principles," and I use that word loosely.

I grew up in a town where the Citizens Council fanned racial hatred, and local law enforcement joined the Klan to keep blacks and whites from "race-mixing." And it was all the people who would not speak out who allowed the violence, and the hate, to happen.

Every good Mississippian needs to speak out loud and clearly against you, senator. We won't let it go. Not this time.

LORD.

Okay, agreed, no point in trying to persuade her. Heidi already told her enough in that first email to let her know exactly what the group was about, so she can't claim ignorance.

Damn. What this says about her ideology aside, I didn't want to believe that the sitting chair of the Mississippi Tourism Committee was that -stupid-.

I'm going to cut-and-paste the exchange to some folks. And yes, she needs to step down. As chair of the tourism committee, and as a senator. She is an embarrassment to her district.

I just forwarded you the e-mail. Send it around as you'd like.

And be sure to send the link to our cover story so people can understand why this is so disgusting.

And an embarrassment to the state.

It takes a lot of pretending to act like "conservative" only refers to fiscal matters or its being willfully blind. I would actually say that "conservative" has more meaning as a social term than it does as a fiscal term. Most politicians are only "conservative" when the areas they represent or they themselves are not getting money. Even the Conservative standards like Reagan raised taxes and if I am not mistaken increased spending. However, untold examples can be pointed to of "conservatism" having that feel of being against race mixing, minority rights, advancement, etc. Conservatives are very disengenuous to complain that the country is currently taking from those that work and give to those that do not want to work for it. That is an erroneous description of "liberalism" and our "safety net" system. Also, it willfully omits that this country was built by people forced to work to build someone else's wealth, not their own. Anyone that denies their ancestors getting a headstart and leg up is an advantage over the oppposite of that is not being intellectually honest.

Donna, I consider myself to be a fiscal conservative; if the senator considers herself to be a fiscal conservative, well and good, but if she takes the rest of the CCC's brand of "conservatism" along with fiscal conservatism, fie on her. And I suspect their brand of fiscal conservatism (if they are, indeed fiscal conservatives, which might be debatable)has different priorities than my brand.

Tom, I at least give a little bow to Trent Lott for condemning them (after the fact), because I have to say that it's more than Barbour did, more than Chassiniol did. For what it's worth (not much, but something).

The C-L was not the only paper that letters were sent to, but I suspect they had the same problem that most of the others did. If I remember correctly, they were supporting Barbour. Am I not right? I'm sure it was embarrassing.

"It's VERY hard for me and a little scary."

I understand. But, trust me, it gets easier as you get older and practice more (there are some small advantages to age). It also helps to make sure people know where you're coming from right up front, and they know better than to roll most of the worst stuff by you. The downside of that is, after a while, you have no idea what they're thinking (because they don't want to tell you). :-)

Thus, when people from other states asked me how many white people here were likely to vote for Obama in Mississippi, I didn't have a clue.

This is good in the long run, even if people have the same old thoughts, because if they're embarrassed to voice them in public, racist influences on younger people are lessened. It's SLOW, but it seems to work over generations.

I'll see your four "really"s and raise you an "as soon as humanly possible."

Take a look at the C of CC website:

http://cofcc.org/

It is shocking that any elected official would endorse such a group, especially one who's job it is to make people want to come to our state. We should be shouting from the mountaintops!

- Let her know what you think!

Agreed. I didn't want to link to the CCC web site because I didn't want to give them any hits, but in retrospect I should have because it makes a stronger case than anything else could re: why this group is objectionable.

It also makes a stronger case than anything else could re: why their conference was screamingly dull. And if 250 people attended (as Baum predicted in the "Guess Who's Coming to Jackson" interview), they were well-hidden; I count 14 in this photo (and it's the largest group shot I could find).

Everyone should definitely email Sen. Chassaniol (after taking ten deep breaths). Not that she's going to be persuaded, but if she gets a lot of messages from unhappy Mississippians, that might lead her to have some second thoughts about the political implications of what she's doing.