Barack Obama and the Birth of the Southern Shield

(Miss. Lawyers for Obama Steering Committee members Taylor Ferrell, of Baker Donelson, and Jody Owens, II, of Butler Snow.)


On June 19th, the Mississippi Lawyers for Obama held their inaugural meeting at Hal & Mal’s in Jackson. Former Governor Ray Mabus, also a former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, came to speak on behalf of Senator Barack Obama, who he advises on issues in the Middle East.

Here’s what you need to know: in the middle of June, in Jackson, Mississippi, a hundred people turned out to support a man for an election that wouldn’t be held for months yet. The people were there for two reasons: to meet their brothers and sisters who share their beliefs and to learn more about how Barack intends to make those beliefs a reality.

Governor Mabus spoke in detail about the change Senator Obama offers—not just for America, but for Mississippi. The room exploded when laughter when Governor Mabus brought up what the talking heads and the pundits were saying about Mississippi—“they say that only black folks were voting for Obama. But look at this room!” Indeed, the room was crowded with folks black and white, in equal numbers, socializing together, laughing together, believing together. We always knew what they said on TV wasn’t reflective of our world.

The greatest charge came when the Governor suggested a new Southern Strategy for Obama. Not the divisive one of Nixon and Reagan, based on racial fears and the past—but a new Southern Shield, where an energized Mississippi populace doesn’t just hang its head and let the state fall to Republicans, but vigorously fights for the Democratic Party. “What was the first thing John McCain did after he clinched the nomination?” the Governor asked. “Now, Senator Obama went straight to Bristow , Virginia, campaigning in a state that Bush won in 2000 and 2004. Senator Obama is going to take it back.” The crowd cheered their approval.

“But McCain, what did he do? He came right down to Mississippi. You see, he’s scared of us. He knows he can’t take anything for granted.” At this, a roar went up. The crowd knew—as the Governor did, and as Cottonmouth reported after the primary—that hundreds of thousands of people were voting in the Democratic primary, that nearly as many people voted in the primary this year as voted for John Kerry in 2004. People are hungry for change.

The Southern Shield idea is this: Because of Senator Obama's broad appeal, he has the ability to compete and win in southern states like North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi. Just as importantly, every dollar John McCain has to spend in Mississippi is one he’s not spending in Ohio, or Florida, or Virginia. Every time McCain has to come down here to court his own base, he can’t campaign in Michigan. As the shield-bearers, we force the Republicans to spend their time and money fighting for what they used to take for granted.

As the crowd began to disperse after the speech, everybody grabbing the last remnants of the meatballs and chicken wings, I glance around the room. At the table next to me is a distinguished old fellow wearing a suit, a red Ole Miss baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, his long white beard scratching the top of the tie. His name is James Meredith, and he did more in one year to change the face of America then most people do there entire lives.

In the corner arguing with smiles on their faces are Rob McDuff, the civil rights lawyer who has been in front of the Supreme Court a half-dozen times, most recently against the gerrymandering of the Third District, and Luther Mumford, who clerked for Justice Blackmun, now an appellate expert himself.

The room is chock full of dozens more just like them, intelligent and excited people, black and white, young and old, who believe in the promise of America, and who are hungry for change. There’s nobody that can fight harder than Mississippians. And Mississippi is going to fight for Obama.

This is a guest post by David McCarty of David Nutt and Associates.