Bloomberg reports the senate race is quickly shaping up to be a war between the Tea Party and the Cochran/Barbour team :
Mississippi’s GOP senate primary is quickly becoming ground zero in 2014 for the fight between the establishment and the conservative grassroots for control of the Republican Party’s future. The state’s former governor Haley Barbour’s establishment political machine is in full swing running defense for incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. Cochran is facing the fight of his political life from surging primary challenger two-term state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
What has until now largely been a battle between Cochran and McDaniel facing off head-to-head is turning into the front line of the brutal and bloody political war between the Chamber of Commerce-style lobbyist big government Republicans and conservative grassroots focused Republicans who align with the Tea Party movement. Conservatives say Barbour and Cochran are examples of exactly what’s wrong with the party right now, while establishment figures say the exact same thing about the Tea Party.
The last several months have provided foreshadowing for the battle. Before McDaniel even announced he would challenge Cochran, Henry Barbour said McDaniel will have “his head handed to him, and that will be what he deserves” if he ran.
But on Wednesday, this fight between grassroots conservatives and establishment Republicans in Mississippi burst into open warfare.
“The battle lines are clearly drawn in this race,” FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in an emailed statement to Breitbart News. “This is Cochran and his band of super lobbyists vs. Chris McDaniel and the people of Mississippi. The Barbours don't represent Mississippians, they represent their lobbying client lists.”
In a story headlined “The Barbour Gang Rides to Thad Cochran’s Rescue,” Politico’s Alex Burns reported Wednesday how the Barbour family—a political platoon in and of itself armed with money, connections and experience—is working overtime to save Cochran’s seat in the U.S. Senate from the Tea Party movement backed McDaniel.
Barbour’s nephews, Henry and Austin Barbour, and Barbour himself, Burns wrote, are all an “integral part of the sophisticated political operation seeking to quash Cochran’s primary opponent from the GOP’s right flank.” Henry and Austin Barbour both serve in key roles for the Cochran re-election effort; Henry is the head of the pro-Cochran Super PAC Mississippi Conservatives PAC while Austin is a senior Cochran campaign strategist.*....
Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer told Breitbart News that Team Barbour is no match for the grassroots conservative movement already supporting McDaniel. “You can involve the entire Barbour family and all of their trusted ones on the payroll, but they will never have the strength of the grassroots,” Kremer said. “This mentality and the arrogance exhibited only emboldens the grassroots. We will not be intimidated, nor will we back down. This seat belongs to the people and not Senator Cochran or the Barbour family.”
Barbour, Burns noted, “presides over an expansive network of closely linked operatives and a channel of major-donor money that runs from K Street to downtown Jackson and through national groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” and his operative web closely overlaps with Cochran’s team. “Many of Cochran’s chief benefactors and advisers are alumni of Barbour’s campaigns and administration, including the senator’s pollster, TV admaker and finance chairman,” Burns wrote.
“A seventh term for Thad Cochran might mean higher fees for Haley Barbour’s lobbying practice, but it means more bailouts, debt-limit increases and tax hikes for Mississippi voters,” Club For Growth spokesman Barney Keller fired back at Barbour’s machine in an email to Breitbart News on Wednesday..... Article
*The Pro-Cochran Mississippi Conservative PAC operated by Henry Barbour purchased advertising on this website. Austin Barbour's company Clearwater Group advertises on this site as well.
41 comments:
It is people like McDaniel who make the Tea Party lose all credibility.
The Tea Party has been discredited in the eyes of most citizens, but the mass media are determined to keep it alive. To denigrate Thad Cochran, probably the finest human being to ever represent Mississippi, is further evidence that the Tea Party is now just another bunch of flesh-eating zombies.
Hope the tea party wins. We need to leave something for our Grandkids!
And to denigrate and attempt to destroy the career of a challenger trying to present a viewpoint that isn't being represented is beyond reprehensible. Thad was a great representative of the state and if he was aware of his surroundings and what his handlers are doing he would be ashamed. Put your head back into the trough and continue feeding while the pork is flowing, but don’t insult the rest of us.
Thad may be the closest thing to the Second Coming, but that doesn't change the fact that he voted to continually raise the debt ceiling, voted to fund Obamacare (no matter how many times his ads say that he will continue to "fight" Obamacare), voted for the NDAA. He is part of the problem with all that has happened to deny us our God-given rights, nice guy that he may be. My grandchildren will be growing up in a world that lifetime politicians have saddled them with. Thad, just go home.
To: 1:04
No need to worry about any so called attempts to destroy the career of McDaniel. He's done that by himself by remarks like the one he made about funding Katrina relief (that was a no-brainer) and his flip-flops on common core. That's enough to tell me I do not want him representing me in Washington or in any office. I do not believe I'm alone in my feelings on this.
Sometimes the 'establishment' just needs to shut the heck up.
History made in PA. Write in candidate beat the Dem backed candidate and the GOP backed candidate on the ballot. He received 48 percent of the vote. Several are covering it.
Cant help but smile when the person who gets elected is actually elected by the people and not the 'handlers'.
excellent points, 1:04 and 1:31.
12:25, anyone with half a brain knows the 'mass media' doesn't support conservatives. Pretty much voids your comment.
Thanks for the service, Thad, but its about 2 years past time for you to go home.
If you don't like what's happening in DC, then stand up and change it.
“This is Cochran and his band of super lobbyists vs. Chris McDaniel and the people of Mississippi."
The problem is that Chris McDaniel's campaign is entirely funded by out-of-state interest groups. If he is elected he will be THEIR senator.
I love seeing and reading the juxtaposition of one of the sleaziest, child-molesting pardoning lobbyist in America, along side the comments that Thad Cochran is the greatest, most genteel gentleman ever in American government. I guess when you live in the number 50 ranked state, you learn to be blind and jump to the bark of the one-eyed King!105A3383839
Cochran is already THEIR senator, has always been THEIR senator, will always be THEIR senator. How much money has Karl Rove pumped into Thad's campaign?
Read the article! Who do you think is funding Thad
The Tea Party is alive and well and growing in spite of those of you that claim otherwise. If you turds are really worried about the Tea Party you should be. Change is coming. Make no mistake.
Did!
Did not!
Did!
Did not!
And the children continue to bicker.
I consider myself a tea party conservative and i'm supporting Sen. Cochran. Don't know a lot about McDaniel, but i know Cochran and i'm voting for him.
Well, 3:10. Aren't you a good little sheeple? To claim that you are one thing, but support another, is like saying you personally oppose abortion, but will fight to see to it that it is available. Pick a side, asshole.
3:10, You might want to do a little research about what the Tea Party wants to accomplish. Rather than transform the government into a reflection of the constitution and will of the electorate, a vote for Thad, McCain, McConnell or Graham represents big government, big taxes, and representation of only those willing to pay for it.
In response to 2:02, all the mass media wants is a fight, just like Kingfish. Mass media does not care for common sense; it's too dull. Mass media loves weird stuff, like political groups who form firing squads in circles. Or political groups who require purity, even if it means that they will always be impotent. Thad Cochran is like a social drinker who is vilified as an alcoholic by those who demand perfect obedience.
If McDaniel wins he will blow up within 48 hours of arrival in DC. He will be the tea party version of Howard Dean. Just go pull up the youtube video of "Howard Dean Scream" and that's whats in store if McDaniel wins. And that will be the high point. Not ready for prime time.
I generally like the Tea Party's activism and I believe the perspective it brings to the political process is a good thing. Most of my criticism of the Tea Party "leadership" would relate to messaging and tactics -- not philosophy.
Cochran is going to win this race and I'm going to be voting for him. It bothers me that the race will be cast as a stinging defeat for the Tea Party and a win for the Establishment, but the Tea Party picked a bad candidate in McDaniel. That's the saddest part. I truly believe Thad would have stepped aside had McDaniel not entered the race when he did. There could have been a real primary with real candidates discussing real issues. Instead, McDaniel -- opportunist that he is -- jumped on the only possible chance he had to be relevant in a statewide race and forced Cochran to defend his seat. It's a bad situation, but McDaniel deserves everything he's going to get since he the one who created it.
So, back to what I started with. I'd really like to see the Tea Party influence our politics because we're in dire need of some sound economic principles. If the Tea Party had better leadership, they could employ better tactics and better messaging, and ultimately achieve better results.
Cochran: 58
McDaniel: 42 and a dead political career
4:37
You would think that Cochran could garner more than 58% after such a loooooonnnnggg illustrious career. That speaks volumes in itself.
4:37, you don't understand that Mississippi Senators don't step aside. A succession is arranged to go to the party insider who is most faithful, re-electable, and has a measure of seniority. Its a decision that comes out of the Republican curia with blue smoke. Or the old statesman will die and be replaced by the Governor.
I guess I missed something. Who is the 'child molester' referred to @ 2:46?
According to newspaper, Crossroads "appears to be testing" its "new approach" in Kentucky. The Conservative Victory Project, the group formed to take on conservative candidates, has stayed out of Kentucky's Senate primary between Senate Minority Leader McConnell and Tea Party challenger. Instead, a group called "Kentuckians for Strong Leadership" is curiously backing McConnell while getting most of its cash from Crossroads donors.
Who is Crossroads? From OpenSecrets: “American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, both formed in 2010, are the heavy hitters of the multicandidate outside spending groups. They were started and continue to operate in consultation with GOP operatives Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie.”
Per reports filed with FEC, PAC for Cochran has spent a total of $453,092 on media buys. Paid to Scott Howell & Company out of Dallas TX. A quick search has his bio info on several website and includes: political consultant and “In a 2006 interview, Howell discussed his early career in some detail. Recruited by Lee Atwater to work for the RNC after his 1988 work for presidential candidate Bob Dole, Howell spent four years as a campaign operative before moving to Texas in 1992 to work for Karl Rove, then running a direct-mail firm. In 1993, Howell started his own political consulting firm, which has since grown into Scott Howell and Company.”
And about the whole common core thing: “Barbour was an early supporter of the Common Core standards and signed a memorandum of agreement in the spring of 2009 committing Mississippi to the development of such standards, according to a recent report to the Legislature by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review.”
4:37 nails it. It won't be that close but the synopsis is correct.
Somebody mentioned "Tea Party Leadership"....please tell us who they are in MS. Whoever they are needs to put their big boy pants on and reach some sort of compromise with the regular Republican crowd. I'm scared if it's the Ricky Forte Beauvoir Idiots hiding behind the Confederate Flag Sooee Pig Deliverance gang. We've had enough of that. Thad is a cool dude and the smoothest Senator in Washington. GO THAD!
Somebody mentioned "Tea Party Leadership"....please tell us who they are in MS. Whoever they are needs to put their big boy pants on and reach some sort of compromise with the regular Republican crowd. I'm scared if it's the Ricky Forte Beauvoir Idiots hiding behind the Confederate Flag Sooee Pig Deliverance gang. We've had enough of that. Thad is a cool dude and the smoothest Senator in Washington. GO THAD!
Somebody mentioned "Tea Party Leadership"....please tell us who they are in MS. Whoever they are needs to put their big boy pants on and reach some sort of compromise with the regular Republican crowd. I'm scared if it's the Ricky Forte Beauvoir Idiots hiding behind the Confederate Flag Sooee Pig Deliverance gang. We've had enough of that. Thad is a cool dude and the smoothest Senator in Washington. GO THAD!
Thad has been sucking on the Washington teat far too long---Time to send him home---He is too old, doesn't understand the needs of todays world and he is a big part of the 18 trillion in debt our children will inherit. If he was in the corporate world he would have been terminated years ago for non performance
This is so dang silly. Thad is gonna wipe the map clean of this wanna be.
He will carry the AA vote as if he were AA himself.
65 - 35 save this post.
Yep 11:22. You are correct. The blind, right wingnuts haven't even thought of that.
12:48 pm , The Tea Party hasn't bothered to learn the difference in home budgeting and government budgeting or learn about high finance. They didn't bother to learn how institutions work.
As a result, they have managed to hurt more than help by reducing our bond rating and supporting bogus " venture capital" projects. They slash revenue producing budgets with the same zeal as slashing waste.
That's the problem. The Tea Party is long on zeal and short on competence!
As a result, they have managed to hurt more than help by reducing our bond rating and supporting bogus " venture capital" projects.
Thanks for clearing that up. I never knew before now that Haley Barbour was in fact a member of the Tea Party.
To 7:45 am Don't you find it rather odd that the dictionary does not define the difference between home budgeting and government budgeting---F.Y.I. A budget is an allocation of funds to meet a particular purpose---It should never be an allocation of funds that you don't have, as in Ponzi scheme which is exactly what the federal government has become.
The tea bags need to quit harping on the votes to increase the debt limits. Congress votes on expenditures and the government uses funds to pay for the votes on expenditures. The funds come from tax revenue and debt (some of which is in the form of short term t bills to serve the purpose of paying expenditures in the short term as all tax revenue doesn't come in at the same time government obligations which were authorized by congress are due such as government employee paychecks and veterans benefits and the endless list that impacts almost every American citizen. If the tea bags do not want to pay our bills which are sometimes paid with interim debt then the congress shouldn't authorize the spending. To vote to authorize and then try to re-trade by holding the debt ceiling hostage is short sighted and uninformed and makes most of us realize what a bunch of radical nut wings you tea bags are.
What's to read into AIPAC's adding McDaniel to its Do-Not-Invite-To-Israel list?
Palazzo and Nunnlee have already been to Israel and have survived BiBi Netanyahu's foreign policy vetting process...pledging continued support for the $22,000,000,000(tyhat's billion) annual stipend to Israel. Thad Cochran already has a 42-year record as being joined-at-the-hip with AIPAC.
Haley Barbour and "Arky" Huckabee made their obligatory trips to Israel in 2011.
McDaniel.....are you or are you not for the decrease in flood insurance for Gulg Coast homeowners???? This bailout is being SUBSIDIZED by taxpayers. What say ye? For or Agin???
I switched from Cochran to McDaniel when Cochran spoke to the media and didn't know what the Tea Party was. It is too risky. Can't see him serving 2 years of his term. It appears that his staff is shielding him from the media video and public debates. Paul Gallo even stated that during his last interview with Cochran it appeared that he was drifting off. It is sad.
A question to those same Gulf Coast homeowners:Why do you feel that taxpayers living on high ground should be FORCED to chip-in to pay higher insurance premiums, so that you can CHOOSE to live in high-risk floodplains because you like life by the beaches and the sea? A government humanitarian buyout and relocation? Yes! A taxpayer-subsidized lifestyle? No!
That would probably be Ron Paul's question to those Coastal welfare recipents. But promising panem et circenses to the plebs has been Thad's forte for the past forty years. I think Thad's seemingly early stages of senility should be the determining factor for putting him out to pasture.
What has Senator McDaniel accomplished as a state senator? I know of no major bills that he has authored. Has he chaired any major committees? I know of none.
I was recently in D.C. and met with Senator Cochran, just as sharp as ever is what I saw.
So if you want someone with no proven track record that McDaniel is your man. Me I'll stick with Thad.
11:02,
As for me I would vote for anyone without a track record before I would vote for someone with Thad's record. Like the current situation? Vote for Thad because it won't change. Want someone to try to right the ship? Vote for anybody else!
I agree 4:13 McDaniel is clearly an opportunist. McDaniel could never win this seat against a full field of candidates.
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