Politics, perfume and party loyalty

By By Buddy Bynum / editor
Jan. 12, 2003
Ah, savor the perfume of politics. Smell a little gamy? Sorry, soccer moms, but, this year, politics is Mississippi's number one spectator sport.
Last week, state Republican chairman Jim Herring found a handful of the sticky stuff mud and threw it at the Democrats. The subject was a so-called "loyalty oath" that the state Democratic Party is forcing its candidates to sign, apparently as a pre-condition to qualifying to run under the Democrat label.
But Democrats are vulnerable on the subject of a "loyalty oath." Herring certainly makes it sound as though Mississippi Democrats are a closed party that is trying to force its candidates to march in lock step with the liberal agenda of the national Democratic Party.
The implication is that the Republicans are open to all comers, no loyalty oath required. In fact, lately, it is the Republicans who are welcoming party switchers with open arms.
Left-wing agenda
The oath further asks candidates to pledge that they "have not publicly or financially supported the election to office of any person not running as a Democrat in a partisan election during the past four years."
And the Democratic Party does seem to be saying that if you call yourself a Democrat and you publicly or financially supported Cochran or George Bush in 2000 or Trent Lott in 2000 (as many undoubtedly did), you're not welcome as a Democratic candidate.
The state Democratic Party then wants the loyalty oath signed, dated and notarized or otherwise witnessed. Is this a legal technicality or an effort to banish dissent among Democrats? Is this the kind of behavior that a truly "open" party would demonstrate?
Appeal
This is Herring's real appeal:
Obviously it would be a stretch to tag every Democrat in Mississippi with the "left-wing" label. Some who have sought election under the Democratic banner are actually conservative people who wouldn't have voted for Al Gore if he'd been the only name on the ballot.
The standard political line in Mississippi for years has been "I vote for the man (or woman) and not the party." Democrats are giving voters a chance to vote for the party only.
Locally, a steady transition away from the Democratic Party is stunning. By the end of last week, 29 candidates had filed qualifying paperwork to seek Lauderdale County offices  23 running as Republicans, 4 as Democrats and 2 as Independents.
As a political party, Democrats given their punishing defeats in 2000 and 2002 seem intent on finding a new identity, even if it kills them. Their loyalty oath will likely tempt more Democratic office holders to become Republicans or Independents, and that's not the stuff of which party building is made.
Political mud is like the real stuff you find on river bottoms. It works best when it's really gooey and sticky and smells like it just bubbled up from Juraissac Park. It's only January and the mud is already knee deep. Perfume, anyone?