Desoto Commercial Appeal Endorses Travis Childers for Congress
Applauds Childers’ commitment to independence, job creation
Booneville, MS – The Desoto Commercial Appeal has endorsed Travis Childers for Congress. The paper highlights how Childers has kept his word with North Mississippians to serve as an independent voice, noting that “Childers promised he would keep the 1st District first in his voting decisions, and his bipartisan voting patterns show that he has worked to keep that promise.” The paper goes on to credit Childers for showing a “degree of political independence and bipartisanship” during his time in office.
On one of the most pressing issues in this campaign, job creation, the Commercial Appeal applauds Childers for his strong voting record, noting that “his votes…have shown that he supported legislation he felt would stimulate economic development and create jobs.”
The Commercial Appeal’s support adds to a long list of endorsements for Childers, including the NRA, National Right to Life, National Associations of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce, and the Columbus Dispatch.
The full endorsement follows.
Desoto Commercial Appeal Endorses Travis Childers: Childers earns a second term
U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., recently told a member of The Commercial Appeal’s editorial board that the partisan divide in Washington is troubling.
He went on to say that the bitter partisan inflexibility on major issues is destroying the country from the inside. He added that both parties share the blame for this, adding that both Democrats and Republicans should be ashamed.
That assessment, plus a voting record that has shown a degree of political independence and bipartisanship, leads us to enthusiastically endorse TRAVIS CHILDERS for a second full term representing Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District.
Childers, of Booneville, is challenged by Republican state Sen. Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo, chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. A host of independent candidates also are in the race.
Childers wrested the seat from Republicans after a series of special-election victories. He was elected to a full term two years ago. The race drew national attention because the 1st District was considered a safe Republican seat. Two years later, the race is again in the national spotlight because Republicans see it as one of the wins the party needs to regain control of the House.
The 1st District stretches across North Mississippi from DeSoto County to Tupelo and Columbus. It’s a mostly rural district that has enjoyed some economic development victories, such as the Toyota plant near Tupelo. But it also contains swaths where persistent poverty and high unemployment have been aggravated by the nation’s economic woes.
Childers promised he would keep the 1st District first in his voting decisions, and his bipartisan voting patterns show that he has worked to keep that promise.
His votes — especially on the stimulus bill, extension of unemployment benefits and the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act — have shown that he supported legislation he felt would stimulate economic development and create jobs.
Republicans have pounded President Barack Obama and Democrats — and Childers — hard on the stimulus package, saying that it didn’t deliver the promised jobs and only increased the national debt.
They neglect to mention, however, that the country’s economic crisis began while the Republicans were in power. And, they don’t address this question: How bad off would the nation be if the stimulus bill had not passed?
Nunnelee has basically followed the Republican mantra this election season by attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Monday morning quarterbacking the stimulus. He has given no indication that he’ll stray from the party line, even if it hurts the 1st District.
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Paid for by Childers for Congress
Magnolia Tribune
