Eastland once a king maker in Miss. politics; Brown aspires to that role now

The Leader Call Editorial, 7/2/7

He really had the only real political machine of the day,” recalls veteran Mississippi political columnist Bill Minor. “There was no question James O. Eastland was the most powerful single politician in the state. Sometimes he would anoint, but many times he would make no comment.

“In a tacit way, he would send out the word to his people all over the state. Nobody since Eastland has been able to occupy that role,” Minor said.

Now, longtime political activist Ike Brown aspires to run a modern political machine comparable to Eastland’s of old.