On Again

North Miss. congressional race is on again - Associated Press

Like many other members of the fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats in the House, Childers recently voted against a $700 billion bailout for the financial sector. "It was unfair to ask north Mississippians who didn't do one thing to cause that problem, to ask them to tack on another $2,800 worth of debt on every man, woman, boy and girl to bail out Wall Street," Childers, 50, said by phone between campaign stops late last week. In a separate interview, Davis said that if he had been in Congress, he also would've voted against the financial bailout. He said he would've gone a couple of steps further than Childers, by opposing procedural moves that allowed the bill to come up for votes in the first place. "That's a huge difference there," said Davis, 42.

Childers sponsored a bill seeking to make the District of Columbia expand the rights of its residents to buy and own firearms, including semiautomatic weapons. The bill was backed by the National Rifle Association and opposed by the District's only delegate to Congress. It passed the House 266-152 in September, but is unlikely to be considered by the Senate before this session ends. "We just felt like if they could stop the law-abiding people in D.C. from having a gun, then they could do it in Tupelo, Mississippi - or Batesville, Mississippi, where I am today," Childers said Friday. "We just felt like that D.C. was thumbing their nose at the Supreme Court." Davis said he wonders if the legislation is just "a political game." "Kind of strange, I think," Davis said. "Why are we doing city-specific legislation? If we are going to protect gun owners as a whole, then we should've made the same rules apply nationwide."

Waiting to Lead

Miss. lawmakers divided on bailout plan

First District Rep. Travis Childers, a member of the Blue Dog caucus, said he is waiting for the details of a final deal between the Bush administration and Congress' Democratic leaders. "I feel it is morally reprehensible that the middle class is not only suffering from a failing economy and rising costs but also now is being asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's bad decisions and reckless management as a result of deregulation," Childers said.

As noted just yesterday, Childers sits on the Financial Services committee. This isn't his fault. No one expects him to have the solution. But he should at least be on top of things and not just waiting to see what Bush and the other Democrats work out.

Financial Services Committee

From Congressman Travis W. Childers' web page, "As a realtor in North Mississippi for over thirty years, I was extremely encouraged when I became an active Member of the House Financial Services Committee. The committee has primary jurisdiction over the nation's financial sectors that include banking, insurance, real estate, public-housing, and securities. On a routine basis, the committee hears testimony from various international finance experts that include the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Secretary of the Treasury. With the increasing strains on the American economy, I certainly look forward to offering my experiences as a small business man in order to find effective solutions to the financial obstacles every day American's face on a daily basis.

No one expects Travis Childers to solve the very complicated and vast problems facing the U.S. economy right now. We wouldn't expect Greg Davis to be any more capable. And certainly, Travis Childers is in no way to blame. He hasn't been there long enough to do anything good or bad. But this is his committee and they are responsible for what he says above. Childers should inform Mississippi of his thoughts, as a member of this semi-important committee, of this fairly important economic time.