Spirits were high at the grand opening of the Democratic Party Regional Office in Meridian Thursday.

The front yard and porch of the headquarters was covered in campaign signs for Democratic candidates in various races.

“We are Democrats,” Melba Clark, chairman of the Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee, said to supporters and candidates at the office located at 621 30th Ave. “We are not supporting any one person, we’re supporting everyone on the Democratic ticket.”

Former state Rep. Erik Fleming, who is the Democratic nominee running against Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, spoke to his fellow party members.

“We’ve got a real excellent chance to have a clean sweep. After Labor Day we may start handing out brooms,” Fleming said.

He said the time has come for Mississippi to be out from under Republican rule and that the state is in a unique position to send two Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is the Democratic nominee who will face Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in the Nov. 4 general election.

“Mississippi is still the poorest state in the nation,” Fleming said. “If any state deserves any kind of change, it’s us. This is our time. This is our moment.”



Party momentum



The purpose of the regional office is to serve as a clearing house and drop off point for Democratic Party nominees in the general election.

East Mississippi counties the office will serve includes Lauderdale, Kemper, Clarke, Newton, Neshoba and Noxubee.

Yard signs, push cards, bumper stickers, brochures, campaign buttons and other campaign materials will be available after the Democratic National Convention is held later this month. Viewing parties are being planned for the final night of the convention, Aug. 28, when U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination as candidate for President of the United States.

One of those events is being planned at Binke’s Restaurant at 414 39th Ave., from 7 p.m.-9 p.m.

According to Democratic officials, no Democrat has carried Lauderdale County in a governor’s race since 1987, and no Democrat has carried the county in a presidential race since 1956.

Local Democrats are feeling a new sense of momentum this election year, however.

Tim Quick, who serves as assistant secretary of the Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee said he believes Obama wants to move past the gridlock and negativity he said has plagued the political stage for decades.

“The last time I was this excited about a presidential candidate was Bobby Kennedy,” Quick said.



Grassroots effort



Clark was dressed in Democrat blue, as she stood near a table of refreshments that included an ice-filled bowl of blue punch, and a cake with blue icing, that honored Social Security’s 73rd anniversary.

“We’re going to turn Mississippi blue,” Clark said.

The state Democratic Party hosted a birthday celebration for Social Security at the Mississippi Capitol at noon on Thursday to mark the 73rd birthday of the program.

It also served as an opportunity for Democrats to voice their opposition to presumptive Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain’s plan to privatize Social Security.

Throughout the nation Republicans on Thursday also gathered as part of a McCain Nation day with house parties planned in each state to discuss recruiting volunteers, and organize grassroots efforts. Conference calls also were arranged with Cindy McCain and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

“The McCain Nation events that are taking place around the country this evening show just how energized our grassroots campaign has become,” Mrs. McCain said in a prepared statement Thursday. “It’s the American people who are the best spokespeople for our campaign, and that will ensure victory in November.”

Most of what was discussed at the grand opening of the Regional Office of East Mississippi Democrats was their own grassroots campaign with plans to canvass the region to register voters, seek out independents and moderate Republicans to vote Democratic, and to use volunteers and paid workers to provide rides to the polls and man phone banks.

Elected officials who attended the grand opening included City Councilmen Jesse Palmer and John Harris. Also present was Rod Amos, an attorney who said he is in the process of filing to become a Democratic candidate for Lauderdale County Election Commission District 2.

Clark said it was chosen as the first regional office for the Democratic Party in Mississippi because it is the largest county in East Mississippi. She also smiled as she pointed to a message hanging on the wall in the regional office.

“Like the sign says, ‘It’s a great time to be a Democrat,'” she said.