Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Senate race and the black vote

The latest controversy about the Senate race, and there will undoubtedly be more, is large turnout of black voters for (presumably) Thad Cochran last Tuesday. Many accused the Barbours and others of using dirty politics to get blacks who never vote Republican to vote in the Republican runoff. However, one black politician I respect sent me this email yesterday that stated a different view:


Everyone knows what happened last night to favor TC victory.

Media are gushing about it- but they are giving Haley and other R savants the credit for engineering the black turnout. Haley could not turn out the black vote cross-over vote for himself.

AA community viewed the McDaniel ads and simply made a decision that his election was not in their best interests. It took some direction by the AA leadership but that was self generated.

The Tea Party announcement to commit "poll watchers" to monitor Democratic crossover incensed the black community. If it had not rained, the TC victory would have been even higher. Having to produce ID was one blow, but then Tea Party monitors... too much of an offensive throwback.


Those were his comments. Now for mine.  The McDaniel team made a huge strategic and tactical error in announcing they were sending poll watchers to blanket the majority-black precincts.  Its one thing to use poll watchers to stop election day shenanigans. That is just good tough politics.  However, it is a different matter to announce you are doing so and then just doing it in the black precincts.  I've covered enough black politics and know enough black politicians to where I can comfortably say that announcing that poll watchers are going just to the black precincts is almost a declaration of war against the black community and that is exactly how they see it.  What happens next is no surprise: the black voters get motivated and vote.   The New York Times reported Sunday:

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars backing Mr. Cochran’s Tea Party opponent, State Senator Chris McDaniel, said in an interview on Sunday that his group was joining with Freedom Works and the Tea Party Patriots in a “voter integrity project” in Mississippi.

The groups will deploy observers in areas where Mr. Cochran is recruiting Democrats, Mr. Cuccinelli said. J. Christian Adams, a former Justice Department official and conservative commentator who said he was advising the effort, described the watchers as “election observers,” mostly Mississippi residents, who will be trained to “observe whether the law is being followed.”...

“The laws in Mississippi are unusually open to poll watching from the outside,” said Mr. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general. “We’re going to take full advantage of that and we’re going to lay eyes on Cochran’s effort to bring Democrats in,” he added. “And of course, if they voted in primaries, that’s illegal.”....
The very first thought I had when I heard about it last weekend was the McDaniel campaign was making a suicidal blunder.  Something similar happened in the 2010 Longwitz/Ratcliffe county court race in Madison County.  Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge endorsed Will Longwitz.  Good news, right?  It certainly helped Mr. Longwitz in Ridgeland and Madison.  However, the Ratcliffe campaign took those same Trowbridge mailers and used them in northern Madison County.... where most voters are black.  They didn't like the Sheriff and his roadblocks.  The message was simple: The Sheriff wants to elect a judge who will put you under the jail after the Sheriff throws  you in jail. Needless to say, the black voters turned out to vote against Longwitz and handed the election to Ratcliffe.  A lesson in what not to do during a campaign.  However, its hard to blame the McDaniel team when no one on that team probably understood racial politics in Mississippi.

Many are blaming the Barbours and the black preachers.  Time to be honest.  There is a little group of black preachers in Hinds County who um, lets just say get very active in election day politics and might even do it for a fee.  Every time there is a local election,  there is a race among black candidates to see who can get to "the preachers".  One reason the church should stay out of politics.   It won't surprise me to learn that some of these preachers followed their usual practice as leopards don't change spots.

Then there is the use of anonymous flyers and mailers.  A tactic very familiar to those living in Jackson, Hinds County, and other majority-black areas.  John Fun published this flyer yesterday in National Review:



Standard practice in the black community. Tea Party is the code word for Klan on black talk radio and in other similar forums just as many whites in Mississippi refer to blacks as "Democrats".  The Patterico website spent more time on this matter as it compared this flyer to other mailers.  Its worth reading.  Hmmmm.... was Greg Brand involved?  Its no surprise to some as we are getting used to these flyers in Hinds County. Remember this classic  from last fall?


This is how the black community views the Tea Party and the Tea Party played right into it.  It just took some inflaming to gin up Black votes for Cochran.  Whether it was the Barbours, Black Preachers,  Brand, Bennie, or others will be the subject of much debate for some time.  Maybe the McDaniel camp should call them the Killer B's: Black preachers, black voters, Bennie, Brand, and Barbours.  Has a ring to it.  Combine the poll-watching announcements with an already aggressive get out the vote campaign in the black community and Senator Thad Cochran got the black votes he needed to win Tuesday. 

62 comments:

Burke said...

Just the sort of excellent analysis that should motivate your readers to donate freely to the cause. Please keep it up!

Anonymous said...

The poll watching announcement was indeed a huge misstep. It offended me, a white McDaniel supporter. My reaction was, "what are you going to do, demand that blacks can't vote for Thad?"

However, it is disingenuous to suggest that black voters simply didn't like the tea party and chose to vote in a runoff. The fliers, the ads run on local radio, the robocalls...black voters' fears were artificially ginned up. The unholy Killer B coalition you mentioned scared them to the polls.

Haley Barbour was absolutely behind this. The fact that he couldn't rally "AAs" to his side is a false equivalency. Barbour was behind the scenes in this one, and he didn't rally blacks for Thad, he and his allies rallied them AGAINST McDaniel - a far more potent incentive, especially given that these voters can (and certainly will) vote for Cochran's opponent in the general.

But the tea party people who went out and announced they were going to "watch the polls" fed that fear and amped it up to the levels it reached. There's no doubt about this. That announcement made me so angry I almost voted for Thad myself. That is, until I head Paul Gallo on SuperThad FM tell me I was an idiot for supporting McDaniel. His absolute assholeness on election morning cemented my support for Chris.

I am now being subjected to a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks playing this coy game of, "What? Why are you upset? These were just Mississippians voting for their chosen man!" Adding insult to injury is not a way to foment party unity. Republican voters are fractured because the party made a power play to disenfranchise a large bloc of them. They won the battle, but I'll be DAMNED if I'll help Haley Barbour win the war. He spit in my face with this crap, McDaniel's missteps notwithstanding. And I'm hearing the same from a number of people. Folks I never thought would support a Democrat are talking about voting for Childers.

To quote The Outlaw Josey Wales, don't piss on my back and tell me it's raining. Haley, I supported you twice for governor and stood up for you. You are a coprophagic backstabber. I'll die before I see you or your chosen man get appointed to Thad's seat when he "chooses" to retire mid term.

Anonymous said...

How much did you kick in Burke?

Kingfish said...

Especially during the Freedom Summer anniversary.

Anonymous said...

11:19 AM, Kingfish won't implicate anything the Barbours do. It would jeopardize the insider status carrot they dangle in front of him. Haven't you figured that out yet?

Unknown said...

I would like to encourage all my conservative and Tea Party sisters and brothers not to waste their vote by write-in or simply not voting. There is an important message that needs to be sent nationwide to discourage this sort of behavior by the RINOS.

We should cast our votes for Travis Childers and unseat Thad Cochran and whoever Phil Bryant is planning to appoint when he steps down.

Do not concern yourselves with Harry Reid. Travis Childers will better serve our state than the Haley Barbour acolytes who are ONLY interested in lining their pockets, their friend's pockets, and their children's pockets with our hard earned tax dollars.

Remember in November what the RINOS did and let's give them some payback!

Anonymous said...

I understand the poll watcher thing. Another misstep by the McDaniel camp. Really stupid. The thing that gets me is blacks complaining about voter ID. As conservatives we should call bullshit on that every time. Voter ID is good for everybody except the folks who want to cheat.
In today's world everybody has some sort if ID and we all know.

Anonymous said...

1119. AMEN!

Anonymous said...

if anyone believes that congregations do not get donations from politicians for their vote, then you are naive or haven't lived long enough to wise up! Ain't thar some little ole' churches over thar in northwest Madison County where preacher men may drive a big fine cars? and ain't that in ##'s district? Oh got some real rich folks live up in thar amongst them now too. in fact I think thar's going to be a scenic road built over near thar pretty soon. power my dears-increase of value in real estate-and it ain't just Democrats-they all work together -both parties!

Anonymous said...

11:19. Wales didn't say that. The guy that played the Dean on Animal House did. You let Paul Gallo make a decision for you.

Anonymous said...

Only diff between a democrat and republican is dems hand out to po' folks and repubs hand out to rich folks. Middle class suffers either way unless I can buy me a big piece of real estate and put it in a program to get me some free money from the government and you, the taxpayer can pay for it.....hahahahahahaha. go repubs!!!

Anonymous said...

This guy makes a great point. If you voted for Thad you should read this. If you voted for McDaniel, you probably already know it.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/real-lesson-mississippi_795729.html?page=1

Anonymous said...

'I ant oh votin for no Thad in November' A quote from a Rankin County Chris McDaniel supporter. I'm I profiling? Could be!

Anonymous said...

11:47am....you are exactly right and that is what i planned on doing since wednesday morning! i voted for barbour in every election he's been in and i also voted for cochran in every election he's had, but from wednesday 6-25-14 forward, i have sworn to never vote for another barbour-shill again. it's just raw greed on his part that made him forsake the people that got him in power--he's lost his way

i am calling travis childers today to find out how to help him....

Anonymous said...

Jackie -- do you often shoot your toes off when you wave that gun around?

I would point out that Ronald Reagan stated the 11th commandment -- thou shalt not speak ill of fellow Republicans. More importantly -- if you all had won, you would have been gung ho for us to come into the fold, and support your candidate so he could win.

Also -- one tiny little point -- you all can vote Childers if you wish.....and then when he is a back bencher, in a minority party, and has no sway to change anything, you can tell us all how well that worked out for the state of Mississippi. Or --- if he ends up winning and Harry Reid still has power, and can block ANYTHING from coming to the floor in the Senate because we do not have the 51st Senator, you can thank yourself for more deadlock in DC.

Last, I think Thad heard you if that helps. I believe he will attempt to incorporate good ideas that the McDaniel campaign had......take a breath, and then analyze the situation clearly. The fog of war has clouded your vision. Being a good loser is as important (maybe more so) than being a GREAT WINNER! Says a lot more about your character.

Anonymous said...

Why are people complaining about Blacks "crossing over" and voting for Thad. This political tactic has been going on for years on both sides. All I'm hearing is the continual dividing of Americans between Black and White, Rich and Poor, etc., etc. That is irrelevant.

The fact remains; Cochran voted to fund Obamacare, as did Wicker, as did Gregg Harper. They all got in line and followed the Republican mantra. We all know that the Affordable Care Act was passed with bribes and backroom deals more so than most bills because of its severe unpopularity. We also know that it is killing the best health care system in the world and killing the best economic system in the world. But regardless of that, they chose to approve the funding, because they are scared of the media and a black man. Following is a link reminding people of the 18 Senators that voted against funding Obamacare. It also shows the 81 Senators that chose to fund it, but exempt themselves. This, I will not easily forget.

http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/64257537670/roll-call-only-these-18-republican-senators-stood-firm

Anonymous said...

Jackie,

Glad to see that you are all for cutting off your nose to spite your face. I find it absolutely hilarious that McDaniel supporters are so bitter and emotional that they would consider switching their support from extreme right wing to center-left when there is a perfectly viable (and powerful) candidate in the middle of the spectrum. Reactions like these are why people who are not "in" the Tea Party have a hard time taking the movement seriously.

Anonymous said...

MISSISSIPPIANS_________
Dead last in EVERY category, yet puts the same 'ol tired folks back into office.

That takes a SPECIAL kind of stupid doesn't it!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I hear that everything went smooth at that McDonalds being watched by the Election Integrity agent.

Anonymous said...

I keep hearing 35,000 democrats voted for thad. How would one come up with this number so quickly

Anonymous said...

Senator McDaniel has been a state legislator for about ten years. He has had every opportunity to change the party registration system but has chosen not to address it legislatively. Now he is a victim of it, outslicked by GOP operatives who used Thad's good image in the black community to (gasp!!) get them to legally vote and (gasp!!) win an election. Black votes count. Tha's how the game is played, neophite.

The Tea Party bitching about this reminds me of the bitching that goes on in the black community in Jackson when I and thousands of other white GOP Jacksonians vote in the Dem primary in the mayors race once every four years. White votes count.

Know the system; use the system; win legally within the system. Worked for Thad.

Kingfish said...

Insider status? Haven't been given the first leak, tip, or invite by them. You must confuse me with corder who does everything he can for a GOP crumb

Anonymous said...

Kingfish, I give you credit, you summed it up pretty good. But let me get a couple of things straight. As a Black man, who voted republican for the first time ever, I'm kind of offended that these TP extremist think someone scared us to the polls. We are much to informed and educated for fear tactics to work against us. The black electorate that you witnessed for TC was the Black version of the "establishment". These were educated voters. This was not the "bus em in crowd". Thus was not the old women who may not have an ID.

This was the 30-60 year old professional community that responded because we hate the tea party. This will continue to happen, I promise you. We are the crowd that really don't like Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, and the rest of the parasites. We don't care much for Thad, but we see him as the lesser, and plus we like the pork. In fact, we empathize with poor black people that need the pork. We really don't like the welfare moms, but most of us grew up on some form of aid so we know it's not the kids fault.

I encourage the Republican Party to use this as a
recruiting tool. There are large gatherings of professional blacks taking place all over this state. You can't scare us, we are well informed, we work hard, and we want a piece of this pie. The democrats take us for granted, we want in. We just can't align ourselves with the neo confederates. I didn't see any black people at all at the McDaniel hate speech. Makes you wonder. It kind of reminded of the Howard Deen classic. I wish I could drop MpcDaniel off at Tougaloo this week and make him listen to all the freedom summer stories!

Avery Wiseman said...

So to be clear, you're all mad as hell about spending and you aren't going to take it anymore except that, since your terrible candidate lost (seriously, I and many others would have voted for a real candidate against Cochran), you aren't mad enough to vote Republican and try to ensure at least a 51-seat majority in November. I see. You do realize that Senate Republicans don't get to set the agenda and are forced to compromise because they're in the minority, right?

Just get over McDaniel, okay? The only person who should be this apoplectic about the loss is McDaniel himself and that's only because he's a pathological narcissist. Tell the truth: Can any of you who are not named McDaniel honestly say that he was your choice before he announced he was running? Of course not. Most of you didn't know who he was. To be fair, though, how could you know who he was given his completely inauspicious legislative career and his total lack of any experience that would justify his candidacy, much less an actual nomination or Senate (and I mean the REAL Senate) seat.

You're upset. I understand. I told you months ago not to get so invested because you'd end up with a bad case of the "red ass" over this. And now here we are. It's over. Abandon McDaniel, drop the "I'm going to do something dramatic" rhetoric, refocus on developing your principles and messaging them better (they're actually very good), and improve the party so that you won't be guilty of being the RINO that you abhor so much.

Finally, Haley Barbour sucks. We get it. I'd guess the majority of Cochran voters agree with you, too. He fooled a lot of people into thinking he was pro-Mississippi when he was simply pro-Haley. Problem is, he's not running for anything, so all that is irrelevant now. Focus on what matters. If you want to make a difference, target Feel Bryant next year, just bring a better candidate than McDaniel, Meathead Watson, or their ilk. You've got plenty of time to find someone we can feel good about voting for.

Shalom.

Milteer said...

The Democratic voters that wanted Thad in the Senate because of what he could do for the state had to vote in the Republican primary. What would McDaniel have done for them?

Anonymous said...

12:17, I didn't say Wales said that. I said to quote The Outlaw Josey Wales...all in caps which means the movie, not the character. It's not a difficult concept.

I didn't let Gallo make up my mind. I was on the fence. I had misgivings about both sides, but listening to Gallo that morning made me realize exactly why I leaned toward McDaniel. He was (and remains) a shill for the party that screwed its own people by inviting those who did not have the best interests of the party to skew the results. After Tuesday, I know I made the right decision.

I heard one and only one reason to vote for Thad: he's been there a long time. That reason doesn't wash with me, no matter how many people love to tell me that Washington works this way. People who talk this way have no right to complain about Bennie Thompson.

I hear Republicans (like Paul Gallo) talk about how people need to get the government out of their lives, then turn around and say we need Thad there to deliver the government goods. What a f***ing hypocrite!!! This state could use some relief from dependency upon government projects. As if we can't survive without federal jobs programs! How about we try to make our state the most business friendly rather than the most federal dependent.

If this is the Republican party, I want nothing to do with it any longer. And to Paul Gallo, stick it. I won't be listening to your morning crapfest any longer. I know you don't care. You have said as much on the air and brag about how people who call and complain have no sway over you. Well, I won't waste my time calling since you'll just sneer at me then ignore it. I'll complain with my fingers by switching channels. Have fun with your Republican Senatorial kneepads!

Anonymous said...

Come now all of you "offend white" clods. Poll watching is a novel idea only use by the KKK? Surely you jest? Poll squatting and face making at voters is an old tactic used by blacks for decades.

Gottinhimmel said...

I hear that Haley used his K Street influence to cause Hurricane Katrina so he could look good responding to the disaster. He's also manipulating Vladimir Putin and the Iraqi jihadists in order to get the price of oil up. As for climate change? Yep, Haley's responsible. No question that he's the Antichrist.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Avery, don't put words in my mouth. Let me spell out to you why I am mad, to be clear. I'm going to boldface it so you don't miss it and try to misrepresent me with your condescending drivel:

I am mad that the Republican establishment used tactics to undermine the will of the Republican voters of this state. I am mad that I was disenfranchised by people I have supported for years. I am mad that a bloc of voters who have absolutely no intention of supporting the Republican party in November (despite 1:55's claims) were actively recruited by Haley Barbour and his unctuous ilk to sway a runoff that his team would have lost otherwise.

Get this - McDaniel is not the reason I am mad. If he had lost in a fair election (not a technically legal election...there is a huge difference) I would have accepted the results and gone forward, just like I have done before when my candidate was not the victor. That's not what happened here. You and all the party members know it. This is treachery because it was the people I supported for years doing this! It wasn't orchestrated by the Democrat party, although certainly Democrats were happy to help. This was the establishment Republican party who screwed me and almost 200,000 of my fellow Mississippians. Had conservative white people swayed a Democrat runoff to oust Bennie Thompson, 1:55 and many others like him would be crying foul non-stop. Holder and Obama and the FEC would already be investigating. It would be front page news around the country, if not the world.

To be fair, the tea party helped, but they made stupid mistakes (like the poll watcher mess). I may not like their behavior, but they just messed up. Barbour's actions were blatant and calculated and out of the realm of fair play. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right. Now these same people have the temerity to tell me to shut up and vote for them?

Hey, Avery, this may shock you, but I don't hang onto your every word and I have absolutely no idea what "you told me" months ago, nor does anyone else. And don't you dare tell me how to behave. I am an independent voter and I will not step in line with people who spit in my face and purposefully negated my will by encouraging the other side to skew the votes, and all the snarky, petulant little "get over it" posts by people like you will do nothing to encourage me to do otherwise.

And for those of you who are laughably suggesting that the black voters who showed up in the runoff were just exercising their vote because of Thad's good image or whatever, answer this: why didn't they support him in the general? They obviously didn't vote at all in a race that everyone knew was close. To suggest that people who didn't even have the gumption to vote in the first election were suddenly motivated by their love of Thad is intellectual dishonesty on a stellar level.

Jim Craig said...

This is not the first time Thad Cochran benefited from African-American turnout. He only won the first time in 1978 because Charles Evers, running as an Independent, garnered 22% of the vote. Mayor Evers had already supported Cochran for the House in 1972.

Evers later said, "Nobody else could help get enough black votes so that Cochran to win and that's why I ran . . ." Nash & Taggart, Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008", p 83.

Anonymous said...

2:52 -- where you bloggin out of? NJ like Chuck? Also I really like how he has tweeted out people's names, addresses, poll book information, etc.

Isn't this somehow illegal? I saw a post from someone chastising him about sending out private information.

Legal minds: Can those reviewing the election, really tweet out personal information like this? Seems they would have to sign something about confidentiality or non-disclosure.

No worries -- if you need to see what he sent -- I have a screen shot in case it goes away.

Anonymous said...

I will be voting for Travis Childers. Thad Cochran is a travesty to conservatives. Worse than Arlen Spectre.

Anonymous said...

THE TRUTH HURTS:
Cochran Superpac run by Haley Barbour and nephews raised the money for the black-vote buy. Had to go to the end of Haley's rolodex and get it in 250k chunks from liberals in Silicon California and Mike Bloomberg types.

Superpac, MS Conservatives, doled it out, around one million plus, to Pete Perry's company, Paradigm, and Brian Perry's company, Capstone, who then handed it off to their main bagmen, Bishop Crudup, LC Murray, Greg Brand, etc.

It then went to black preachers and black community leaders in chunks of 5k to 10k to tell their followers, patrons, members, etc. to pay it out in small chunks for absentee votes, actual election day votes, for precinct election day sign waving, flushing, etc.

IT WORKED!!!

Anonymous said...

It is amazing to me that so many McDaniel supporters are willing to keep the Democrats in power. I thought the deal was to get Reid out and take control so as to stop Obama. I was with some political savvy and several were McDaniel supporters until the question was asked by the news , "Would you support the other candidate if you lost?" Cochran said absolutely and McDaniel said he would think about it. That changed the vote right there. If McDaniel will not support his party then it is about him and not the good of the country. If we lose the senate this time it will be a disaster for this country. Obama and Reid will be able to appoint more left wing judges for life and no telling what else. Is that really what the Tea Party stands for? It is all we want ( which will never happen in DC) or we won't play?

Unknown said...

The more I hear you RINOS whine about conservatives not lining up behind Cochran, the more resolved I become to actively campaign for Travis Childers.

Keep up the rhetoric and we conservatives only become more disenfranchised with the former Republican Party.

What you RINOS have done with purchasing this election, has caused a deep divide in the Republican Party that will take decades to repair.

It doesn't matter if Republicans hold the Senate or the House or the Presidency. You RINOS walk lock-step with the Democrats.

It's not "shooting yourself in the foot" or "cutting your nose off" to want change in leadership. In the case of this election, it was closer to being "shot in the head by your friend".

Conservatives and McDaniel supporters, DON'T GET OVER IT! We need to send a message to the Republican Power Structure that they CAN'T TAKE US FOR GRANTED ANY LONGER!

VOTE TRAVIS CHILDERS IN NOVEMBER

Anonymous said...

One evening I sat with Rich Galen who had been sent to Baghdad by Rove to make posts on his "Mullings" blog. We were sitting under a big tree next to Sadaam's swimming pool. Rich explained to me that politics is just a game and should never be taken seriously. Unfortunately he's probably right and this is reflected in the "savvy" missives from political operatives who dismiss the "common" folk who have the audacity to change the rules. Granted, and I say again, the local TP is operated by amateurs but what do you expect? I have spoken with a number of black adults about their perceptions of the TP. They do not (sorry KF) perceive them as KKK. They DO perceive them as a group who perceive themselves as superior to blacks. Yeah I know there's a slight slope between hoods and superiority but KF is correct in that the TP commits Hari-Kiri. But it doesn't justify the actions of the savvy operatives in the GOP. At least the TP folks have an honest complaint even if they're lost in translation. But the GOP should treat Dems like the terrorists they are and never, ever negotiate or pacify them. If they did that the TP would have voted in droves for Thad. I disagree with Galen. There should be more integrity in the process and in the candidates themselves. But we've given up Scouting for soccer haven't we?

Anonymous said...

In the mayoral runoff between Lee and Lumumba, someone put up signs that read, "Vote, the future of Jackson depends upon it" around town. There was no mention of candidate nor party. All kinds of people cried foul (most notably, Donna Ladd) claiming that this was a racist ploy by whites to keep Lumumba from winning. That was a tremendous leap of logic, but even if true, it was not illegal. Still Donna and others cried and, had Lee won, they would have demanded an investigation by state and federal authorities into election tampering.

Now we have a blatant effort to keep McDaniel from winning his runoff by anonymous fliers not merely asking people to vote, but asserting that McDaniel will send blacks back to the plantation or reverse their progress in some fashion. Where is Donna Ladd? Where are those concerned people who were wringing hands and gnashing teeth over those innocuous signs?

Donna Ladd, et al, you are all hypocrites.

Anonymous said...

I had always voted for Thad until this year. In fact I told Thad two years ago, that I would be voting against him. The country is going broke and he does not even try to stop it. But now Thad has won. I am not mad that he used black votes. That was a legal move. I am a little mad that he did not retire so we could get the best candidates to replace him. I am convinced he cannot last another six years. I will have to vote for Thad in November. It's much too important that the Republicans take back the Senate.

Anonymous said...

Y'all Politics actually wrote an article about this in November 2013. The article discussed how some Democrats were talking about voting Republican to blunt the Tea Party. McDaniel even commented and linked to the article on his Facebook page with a snarky comment about Cochran. This goes to show that it did not start as an Establishment Republican strategy as Kingfish points out; that McDaniel knew about this in November and could have reached out and tried to sway those voters; and as a state senator he could have dropped a bill to address the issue if it had really bothered him.

I am sorry I can't link to the pages but both the article and his FB post are still there.

Anonymous said...

On December 11, 2013, Y'all Politics linked to an Examiner.com article entitled "Democrats in Mississippi Registering as Republicans to Stop McDaniel". The article basically said what Kingfish said in his blog - Democrats, especially black Democrats, were concerned about McDaniel and the Tea Party, both of whom they considered extreme, so they were registering as Republicans to vote against the Tea Party. http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/democrats_in_mississippi_registering_as_republicans_to_stop_mcdaniel/
McDaniel posted the article on his Facebook page on December 11 2013 with a snarky comment about Cochran. So this shows that this tactic did not originate with the Cochran campaign this last three weeks; that McDaniel knew about it and did not try to reach out to these people and sway them to his camp; and as a state senator he had ample time in December to drop and push a bill to address open primaries and he did not. He can not say that he was blindsided by this.

Anonymous said...

"We all know that the Affordable Care Act was passed with bribes and backroom deals more so than most bills because of its severe unpopularity. "

Irrelevant, or an outright lie. Why should republicans care what Dems arranged among themselves on this vote?

The indisputable facts are that NOT ONE SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTED FOR THE ACA.

Not one.

That means Cochran voted against it.

Wicker voted against it.

Harper (or Pickering) voted against it.

The republicans in the house have voted at least 50 times to rescind the law. In the Senate there have been fewer similar votes but Cochran has also voted to rescind it.

The ridiculous claim that Cochran (and Wicker, and Harper) support the ACA is because (pay attention now) HARRY REID CONTROLS THE SENATE!. He forced the budget vote to include ACA funding as a package deal, or the government would stay shut down. Now, McDaniels seems too young (or just ignorant of history) to realize how shutting down the government in 1994 boomeranged on Newt Gingrich and the Republicans, and the hostility and distrust from the public that persists to this day.

The ONLY intermediate-term strategic goal should be to remove Harry Reid from a position where he can obstruct better proposals.

If Childers wins, Reid will probably stay in power. If you think THAT will speed the Tea Party (large parts of which I agree with) through the Congress you are seriously deluded or ineducable.

PS Thad's offer before the runoff to support McDaniels if McDaniels won, and McDaniels' refusal to reciprocate, tells us all we need to know about who puts the conservative agenda ahead of his own desire for power.

McDaniels will turn out like Al Gore, aided by that fool from Mount Laurel, NJ posting voters names and addresses in the internet in a search for the 2014 version of "hanging chads".

Last point - one good thing about this debacle is that no blacks have complained they couldn't vote because of the new Voter ID requirements. The big complaint from the McDaniels crew seems to be that too many blacks voted, but all had valid IDs :-)

The McDaniel crew is giving lots of reasons for African-Americans to continue to believe the Tea Party principles have anything to do with race or social issues. Smaller government, lower taxes, more personal freedom - these are values that are good for EVERYONE. The McDaniels crew have just muddied the water considerably by sending poll watchers to black precincts.

Unknown said...

6:29PM You guys wanted Thad, we wanted Chris, now we're going to get Travis. Funny how things work out. Maybe, the Republican power structure should have taken that into consideration before buying black votes.

I can give you 184,000 reasons why Travis Childers will win in November and you get more Harry Reid than you can stand. Yeaaaaaa!

Anonymous said...


Message to McDaniel: if the horse is dead, get off!

You can keep shooting the voters, both longtime Republicans as well as independents and yes, those who identify with Democrats, but you don't seem to get the message.

Even national pundits who view you as a talk show mouth are saying that you are a narcissist. That says you are so focused on yourself, you would look at your reflection in a swimming pool and fall in and drown. Chris, that is from your "friends".

the horse is dead. Get over it.

Finally, if everyone wants Washington to keep working as it is, just keep Harry Reid as the Senate Leader carrying Obama's water. . . aka obstructing HOUSE Republican Bills.

This is how the CONSTITUTION works. So let's all build a bridge and get over it.

Anonymous said...

Jackie -- We can give you !90,000 reasons why Chris DID NOT win.

Go watch television tonight -- we all need a break from you. Chris will be on Hannity and that should give you a great THRILL!

Anonymous said...

So, he should let a possibly massive amount of invalid, illegal votes go when he won the majority of Republican vote in a Republican runoff? Nice try. Several hundred in the first county checked.

Anonymous said...

Voters who are black are not mindless. They don't just jump up and vote for or against somebody in a Republican primary because someone tells them to. Thad Cochran has been known and respected in the black community for decades. Chris McDaniel is not someone many in the black community feel like they can trust. Add in his Tea Party support and "threats" about keeping voters away at the poll (on the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer) and at that point, it doesn't take much urging.

Anonymous said...

So, let me get this straight, an American who has achieved the dream, who should be as color blind as most of the conservative social liberals is offended?

Anonymous said...

Can anyone verify if the flyer at the link below was mailed out during the campaign? I've only been able to find it at this source, and I'm curious. It's much more formal than the one mentioned above but some of the wording is similar: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/06/establishment-gop-finds-35k-dems-to-carry-cochran/

Anonymous said...

Politics is a game in a sense. A game with rules.
An election isn't stolen when the rules are followed better by one side than the other.
If you don't like the rules, change them.
But to whine about being beaten by those who strategically followed the rules as they exist is unbecoming at best and revealing stupidity at worst.
I'd change many of the existing rules but allowing crossover voting is NOT one.
And, I certainly think it's abhorrent to violate the sanctity of secret ballot.
More people voted in this runoff for a number of reasons. To assume all of them were black Democrats is ludicrous. Some turned 18 between the primary and runoff. Some were out of town or got tied up at work during the first primary. Some were still at school and couldn't get home.
Indeed, you are totally overlooking the college vote and your boy Busby offended many college students with his bogus robo call.
You offended blacks as well.
You ran a bad self-destruct campaign and it got worst between the primary and runoff.
Look in the mirror and you'll see why you lost.
You aren't going to find it in the poll books. And, you aren't going to win unless you alter the poll books.
Your campaign is lying about the election just like they lied about Thad voting for Obamacare and the stimulus.
The McDaniel campaign strategy was to tell the big lie enough times that the suckers would believe it. Some of you are still being suckers.

Anonymous said...

Jackie Johnson is a troll, right? Surely no one could really actually believe what she is saying?

If she isn't a troll, than she is certainly proof that MS is in fact last in education - a ranking that McDaniel would like for MS to maintain.

Unknown said...

@8:24am I'm no troll, just a disaffected Reagan Republican who was stabbed in the back by RINOS like yourself. (Former Republican)

When I have time today, I will lay out the reasons why the conservative coalition and the Tea Party Patriots should abandon the Republican Party and begin to affect the Democratic Party. We give up on YOU!

As for the question of my intelligence, I've already forgotten more than you ever learned. HA!

Anonymous said...

10:42 - Jackie - Did you stamp your foot and shake your finger when you wrote that last post?

By the way -- what's your take on the Rasmussen poll which has Thad up by double digits in the Senatorial race in November? This was taken AFTER the runoff.

I'm sure some Tea Partier's were included in the survey. Rasmussen is well respected, so maybe the CORE of your group won't vote, but others who voted McDaniel will and are not as idealogical as the TP loyalist....so your Vote Childers plan may not work.

NOW -- stamp your foot at that and shake your finger at all of us and explain away the bleed off back into the Cochran camp. Also, make sure you tell us all how uninformed, ignorant, etc. we are - that definitely makes us hear everything you say (or write)!!

Unknown said...

@10:42 Just spoke with another conservative voting for Travis Childers. The Chisolm poll had Chris up by 8 +/- 4 before the runoff. He didn't factor in the "paid for" votes. Just sayin'.

I don't have to stomp or point and I'm not angry. I will keep my composure and make my case to every disenfranchised conservative to vote for Travis Childers.

My conservative friend suggested that if we can get Travis to promise to fight Obama Care and a few other items on our conservative agenda, then Chris McDaniel should throw an endorsement his way.

And, it's a long hot summer until November and it will give us more time to stew...

8:24AM questioned my education- I question your integrity.

Kingfish said...

Chismn polled only those with land lines. No cellphones.

Unknown said...

Here ye, Here ye:
Fellow conservatives and Tea Party Patriots lend me your ear as I plead the case. The reasons we should not be made to guilt or be coerced into voting Republican in the fall.

From the year of Our Lord 2000 until 2006, the Republican Party had full control of all elected branches of government. In said time period:

Illegal Immigration Abounded
The Deficit Grew Larger
The Debt Increased
New Entitlements Were Created
Existing Entitlements Exploded
We Lost Liberty To The Patriot Act
Abortion On Demand Continued
RINOS 'Compromised' On Every Issue
Haley Barbour's Fortune Expanded
And Finally- We Got Harry Reid And Nancy Pelosi As A Result


During this same era, the honorable Lord Thadius Cochran presided in the Senate representing the now 'not so great' state of Mississippi. He and the court jester, Trent Lott, successfully kept the good people of Mississippi addicted to Federal Dollars while at the same time convincing YOU that they were conservatives fighting your causes and all the time demonizing the evil Democrats.

In the great year of Our Lord 2014, a band of Tea Party Patriots along with thousands of conservatives decided they had had enough. They organized behind a young State Senator and worked day and night to push him to victory.

Alas, in the end they had underestimated the Great and Powerful Wizard Haley Barbour and his poisonous tentacles that are woven all throughout the corporate and government fabric.

Monies changed hands, votes were purchased, and the young upstart State Senator was squashed like the proverbial bug- as he had been characterized by the evil wizard.

Now I will make a cogent argument for switching your vote to the Democrat, Travis Childers.

1. The RINOS no longer want us in their party.

2. The Democrats will welcome our votes whether they like us or not.

3. Travis Childers is a conservative Democrat and does not lack intergrity like the RINOS.

4. If RINOS don't take the Senate, we are stuck with two decrepit old men: Harry Reid and Thad Cochran

5. Democrats get things done- RINOS, not so much

6. This election emphasizes the fact that RINOS DO NOT POSSESS THE MORAL HIGH GROUND

7. Even if the RINOS take the Senate, they still have their trump card John Boener to make sure good legislation gets dashed on the rocks. (as if the Senate RINOS would produce any- Roger Wicker- give me a break)


I could go on and on but I'm getting tired of typing. Fellow conservatives, Tea Party Patriots, and people who are not insane please consider voting for Travis Childers in November.

Anonymous said...

Jackie -- you're fighting a losing battle here -- even the Main Stream Media is pulling the plug. Obviously Chism was wrong and KF made an excellent point regarding land lines and cell phones.

Vote Childers all you want, but when you do, don't represent yourself as a Republican or a Conservative. You'll be a Democratic voter then, and you might want get Chism to change his polling strategy and algorithm. It will help you in the fall.

For amusement -- where's that list of reasons. Guess you didn't have time today..........

Unknown said...

@2:14PM I suspect it was you who inferred I was a troll. It occurs to me that as an Anonymous poster, you are posting about 3/4 of all pro Cochran posts (perhaps more). I would say that makes you the troll. Like I said, INTEGRITY or your lack thereof. At least I have a name.

Anonymous said...

Jackie -- do you start doing recreational drugs earlier on Fridays?

You lost me not once, but about 15 times in that rambling essay or was it a fairy tale? I couldn't tell from the tone.

Unknown said...

@7:57AM & 2:14PM Conservatives and Tea Party Patriots, please take a second to read the last lines of the post made by 7:57AM.

The McDaniel campaign strategy was to tell the big lie enough times that the suckers would believe it. Some of you are still being suckers.

This is how the RINOS view 180,000 plus conservative voters.

@2:14PM I've already decided not to call myself by that name -REPUBLICAN- I'm now a CONSERVATIVE INDEPENDENT and can cast my vote as I please...
There are no more conservative Republicans, only RINOS!

And the battle is FAR from over.

Unknown said...

@2:37 I'm sorry if it was 'over your head' or 'too deep' for you.

I W-I-L-L U-S-E T-H-E S-M-A-L-L W-O-R-D-S F-O-R Y-O-U N-E-X-T T-I-M-E

Anonymous said...

we deserve this shit in mis'sippi....what the hell were we thinking when we elected a damn lobbyist as governor? when he leaves, you will notice the viciousness ratchet down....may it be soon!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haley_Barbour#Lobbying_career

Anonymous said...

I keep seeing the word "illegal" votes being used. Unless a person voted in the Dem primary on June 3rd and then voted in the Rep run-off June 24th, there are no illegal votes.

Please remember our voting laws have had to be approved by the Justice Department for the lat 50 years. So arguing that our open primary system that has been approved by the Justice Department is not a successful argument.



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Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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