McCOMB - The Pickering family must be wondering about the vicissitudes of today's politics, both national and state.
On the one hand it appears the father, U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering, may see his chances for promotion to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals scuttled by Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
On the other, son Chip Pickering may see his chances of retaining his seat in Congress enhanced because Republicans appear in firm control of the U.S. Justice Department and, to a lesser degree, certain aspects of the federal judiciary.
The immediate job description futures of the Pickerings, although unrelated, have a couple of interesting links.
The senior Pickering, an able judge and a good man, has been unfairly pilloried during hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee by special interest groups and Democrats because he is a conservative.
At this writing it appears Judge Pickering's nomination may be killed by national Democrats as they send a signal to President Bush that he faces a rocky road getting his judicial nominees approved.
If Pickering remains a district judge, which appears quite likely, it probably will have some McComb repercussions, as local Circuit Judge Keith Starrett has been widely rumored as the replacement for Pickering at the district level.
Looks like Starrett may remain on the state court bench in Pike, Lincoln and Walthall counties instead of replacing Pickering as federal district judge.
Meanwhile, in Mississippi, it has been demonstrated why the Democrats are concerned about conservative Republicans in the judiciary.
A three-judge federal panel, all Republican appointees, has come up with a congressional redistricting plan favorable to Republican Chip Pickering's chances of beating Democrat Ronnie Shows in their expected battle to represent a new, combined district.
The Justice Department, under a Republican administration, has stalled on ruling on a plan favorable to Shows which was handed down by a Democrat-friendly state judge.
The redistricting story is yet to play out, as Shows' people are appealing the federal court plan to the U.S. Supreme Court.
And Shows, a hard-working politician who has done a good job of representing the McComb area both as a transportation commissioner and a congressman, is no easy opponent in any district.
But right now, Chip's chances look better than his dad's.
