Mr. Republican
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BY MACEY BAIRD
People used to laugh when Clarke Reed talked about building a Republican Party here. Who’s laughing now? ummer, 1975. A tall, thin man in his
prime strides into Doe’s Steak House and ambles through the kitchen holding two paper sacks. The cooks fuss over him and a trail of greetings follows: “There’s Clarke, how’s it going Clarke, who you eating with tonight Clarke?” He shakes some hands and walks over to his table, setting bottles of
whiskey and wine on the plastic tablecloth and greeting his party. Tonight, it was a Delta Council executive. Last week, it was a New York Times reporter. Spring, 2011
Long after his political prominence has begun to wane, Clarke Reed is still hosting at the rambling house in the bad part of town, entertaining his crowd with spirits and wry, self-deprecating humor. On this warm March evening, the old raconteur once again makes his way through the sea of women. There’s still the trademark patrician posture but now he shuffles with a walker, a reminder of last summer’s nightmarish car crash that crushed his hip and pelvis. He squeezes through the clutter of misshapen tables until he reaches his party and deposits
two brown bags on the table: a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white. It’s time to woo again. He’s in Classic Clarke mode. Reed, 82, is the father of the modern Mississippi Republican Party, the man credited with helping eliminate the “Mississippi Democrat” and create a two-party system in the state. For the past 60 years, Reed has been a guiding hand for Republicans, helping steer Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” and subsequent victory, then helping maneuver the party through the
32 • W H AT E V ER H A P PE N ED TO M A I N ST R EE T ?
Watergate scandal and the Ford-Reagan battle. Sitting here, Reed looks like just another native you’d see down at Buck’s or maybe a Rotary Club luncheon at the country club — khakis and a patterned sweater, long and lanky, white hair pieced across his crown, sharp eyes and a sharp wit to match. But Reed has been to a state dinner at the White House. He’s had direct access to governors and presidents. When Nixon was in office, the phrase “Clear it with Clarke” became routine among staff
