Where have the Mississippi Democrats gone?

Mississippi leads the list - or is at the bottom - on many national statistics.

Let's take a look:

We are the poorest and generally have the lowest standard of living.

Our educational system lends many of our young people to opt out of graduation for a life on the streets or perpetual poverty.

We have a dysfunctional healthcare system where there are fewer doctors per 100,000 people than in TAJIKISTAN (182 versus 218) of all places.

Our mental health agencies are having trouble keeping pace with mental illness claims.

Teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases top many national lists.

I could go on, but we get the picture. These issues have traditionally been - and continue to be - where most Americans favor Democrats over Republicans. And, yet, in Mississippi the Democratic Party seems to be fading into the distance well behind the Republican Party.

Just look at the major election cycle in the last 4 years and the current cycle. There has yet to be any major candidate from the Democratic party to compete with the dominance of the Mississippi Republican institution. That begs to question: what is happening with the Mississippi Democrats?

I refuse to believe its solely a function of Republicans dominating in the Southeast. Even Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia, and Louisiana have competitive Democratic organizations. They have electable state officials and money, to boot.

Is there something different about Mississippi? The concern here is not about the State Party, but about the real issue of democracy. Can we have a functioning democracy without a strong second voice? Can Republican politics and Republican ideology really solve all our problems?

Or, do Democrats in Mississippi have something to offer? I think they do. My concern is that the Democrats in Mississippi are soon to become an afterthought - akin to some third party with little relevance leaving many of its vulnerable and poorest constitutients to fend for themselves.

What are your thoughts? Have I been out of the loop - which is possible - with the MS Democratic party? Maybe my good friend Kate Jacobson and others can help me to see what the MS Democrats are doing / planning to compete with the major political machine that is the Mississippi Republican Party.

Also, please no excuses that Mississippians are ignorant or that its the National DNC, etc. What can we do to regain a competive dual party system in Mississippi again?