Free Republic

The plot to save Thad Cochran was hatched at Off The Record, the subterranean bar inside the Hay-Adams hotel in downtown Washington. In mid-June, just days before the Mississippi Senate runoff election, Tom Donohue, the hard-nosed CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was commiserating over drinks with Scott Reed, his senior political strategist, and Chip Pickering, a former Mississippi congressman-turned-telecom lobbyist. The trio were smarting. After racking up an enviable 10-0 winning streak in midterm races, Mississippi voters dealt the powerful business lobby a major blow: Cochran, a Senate stalwart supported by the Chamber and its allies in the...

JACKSON -- Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering said publicly for the first time Friday that he might have his eye on the Governor's Mansion. "Maybe," Pickering said, responding to a question about whether he might run for the top job in state government -- a move that would be at least four years away. Pickering was explaining his decision not to seek re-election in 2008. And there was this response to a question about the longtime speculation that he might want to run for U.S. Senate: "As my oldest son would say, 'when the bridge crosses the river, we'll get...

Just announced on Fox News. Rather unexpected, I think. I figured he'd be the heir apparent to Lott or Cochran.

GOP's Control of South Is No Sure Bet by Robert Novak Posted Dec 26, 2005 Text Size: S M L printer-friendly email to a friend respond to this article Ex-FISA Judge Is Liberal, Partisan Hack Dems: We're Losing the War and Our Economy Stinks Live and Let Spy Rumsfeld Sends Signals He'll Stay at Defense Trent Lott within the next week plans to decide between seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate from Mississippi or retiring from public life. That could determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate in next year's elections. For the longer range, Lott's retirement...

<p>HEBRON — Charles Pickering, settling on a couch, surveys the interior of his cyprus farmhouse, from the carefully mounted deer heads and stuffed mallards to the dozens of family photographs hung squarely on the walls.</p> <p>The dark corridor behind him leads to a spotless cast iron tub, unused pear-shaped soap and a neatly folded hand towel.</p>

Congressmen Taylor, Thompson to Face Republican Challengers Mississippi's two Republican congressmen will run unopposed by Democrats this year, but Democratic U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Gene Taylor face challenges from the GOP. The qualifying deadline for candidates was Friday. In the 4th District represented by Taylor, a last-day Republican qualifier was state Rep. Mike Lott of Petal. Also running as Republicans are Karl Mertz of Long Beach, who challenged Taylor in 2002; Steven McCaleb of Long Beach and Randy McDonnell of Biloxi. Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill of Hattiesburg is running as a Reform Party candidate in the 4th District. The...

<p>President Bush's resolve to win the war on terrorism, his tax-relief drive and initiatives to improve America's schools are reasons voters should re-elect him next year, Vice President Dick Cheney said in Jackson on Friday.</p> <p>"I'm confident that next year, the American people will re-elect President Bush for a job well done," Cheney told 200 Mississippi Republicans at a $1,000 per-ticket Bush campaign fund-raiser at the Clarion Hotel.</p>

Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., introduces Safeguarding Our Religious Liberties Act to restrict federal courts from ruling on Commandments, Pledge and national motto. The fight against judicial tyranny picked up steam Thursday when a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to prohibit federal courts from ruling on constitutional challenges to the display of the Ten Commandments, recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the mere existence of the national motto.U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., is the chief sponsor of the Safeguarding Our Religious Liberties Act, the mirror image of a Senate bill introduced this summer by Sen. Wayne Allard,...

<p>WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering said Wednesday the White House and GOP-controlled Senate are planning a strategy to outmaneuver Democrats who oppose his father's nomination to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.</p> <p>Hattiesburg Judge Charles Pickering might have a new hearing Wednesday, but the form and timing of the hearing are still under discussion, his son said.</p>