JACKSON - With the tenor of public discourse deteriorating over the last 20 years into the shrill, often incomprehensible shouting matches of "talking head" cable news television programs, it's refreshing to find a new take on Mississippi's political history over the last 40 years that really is "fair and balanced."
On Nov. 1, University Press of Mississippi will release "Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976 - 2006," by Jere Nash and Andy Taggart with a foreword by Mississippi author and former state legislator John Grisham. The book is an exhaustive, inclusive and scholarly treatment of the most recent 30 years of Mississippi's political history.
The book is represents a fair, even-handed and factual account of Mississippi's transition from a state dominated from the county courthouses to the statehouse by a monolithic Democratic Party to a vibrant two-party system in which the GOP is an equal partner in power.
The co-authors are an unlikely pair. Nash, a consultant, is a former chief of staff to former Democratic Gov. Ray Mabus. Taggart, a lawyer who is now a Madison County supervisor, is a former chief of staff to the late Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice.
Nash remains a "yellow dog" Democrat while Taggart is still a hardcore Republican.
But the pair has produced a warts-and-all look at how Mississippi moved from a 1976 political reality of Democratic dominance to one in 2006 that sees Republicans firmly in the driver's seat.
The authors document the 1976 state political roster that saw Democrats controlling the Governor's Mansion, all seven down-ticket statewide offices, both U.S. Senate seats and three of five seats in the U.S. House. Democrats also held 169 of 174 seats in the state legislature.
Currently, Republicans control the Governor's Mansion, four of seven down-ticket statewide offices, both U.S. Senate seats, two of four U.S. House seats and 69 of 174 state legislative seats.
How Mississippians journeyed from supporting Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976 to being one of George W. Bush's most reliable states in both 2000 and 2004 is a story worth telling.
Nash and Taggart hit most all of the high spots but don't ignore the low spots in crafting their history.
The book gives honest assessments of the tumultuous 1976 presidential campaign in Mississippi that saw Carter eke out a 49.6 percent plurality of the vote as the state's GOP leadership engaged in a civil war between supporters of eventual nominee Gerald Ford and challenger Ronald Reagan.
An analysis of the forces that saw the GOP wrestle both the state's U.S. Senate seats from Democratic control after the retirements of "Big Jim" Eastland and "the little judge" John C. Stennis is also extremely valuable and well-written.
The book also focuses on major political movements like Gov. William Winter's education reform movement and the "boys of spring" who shaped and followed it. Readers will also get an insider's view of the 1983 gubernatorial campaign that saw Democrat Bill Allain made the target of perhaps the muddiest political campaign in state history - and the startling implosion of the political career of the late Republican U.S. Rep. Jon Hinson.
The House Revolt of 1984 is recounted, and the authors accurately note the impact of those political sea changes to the approach of legislative parity that now exists in the Legislature.
The political force of nature that was Kirk Fordice is chronicled, as is the rise, fall and re-emergence of Mike Espy.
I covered the vast majority of these stories over the last 30 years. "Mississippi Politics" sounds the solid ring of truth in telling these important, significant political tales.
This book is a must-read for any serious student of Mississippi politics and a valuable reference for those who will study the subject in years to come.
It's also a heckuva lot of fun.
