Here are my thoughts on the Senate race since the primary. I published a similar post that was written in the style of Chapter 4 in Nietzche's Beyond Good and Evil. Enjoy.
June 3, 2014 will be forever known to the Mississippi Republican Party as Armageddon. That was the day the GOP establishment was thrown off of Mount Olympus as were the Giants of Old. Election night at the Hilton was surreal. Tears fell where champagne was expected to flow. Campaign bosses looked at their numbers. And looked at their numbers. And looked at their numbers. Numb was the atmosphere. When it was all said and done, they avoided total defeat by a few hundred votes. Who would have thought Thad Cochran's political life was saved by a few thousand votes garnered by an unknown realtor in Hernando?
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This video describes the scene perfectly.
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Meanwhile the Chris McDaniel campaign couldn't stand success and instead ruined a historic night in Mississippi Politics. The team forget that one parties..... after the votes are counted. The Tea Party trio could have avoided much grief and embarrassment if they had watched the counting of the votes before driving to Hattiesburg. But hey, its all about having a good time, right? Another example of where inexperience hurt the McDaniel campaign. Making rookie mistakes is one thing. Not learning from them is another.
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Cochran handlers were stunned by the amount of money spent by the McDaniel camp. Several staffers said they could not believe they were outspent 2 or 3 to 1 in some major media markets during the last few weeks of the campaign.
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The untold story of the campaign. Thad Cochran was outspent in his own state during the last month. Think about it. Did you ever expect to read that sentence?
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Who would have thought that the common prayer of the campaign would be "Please Lord, let us just get through one week of this race without a scandal."
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There was so much ass-chewing at Cochran HQ after Armageddon that its a surprise that anyone could sit down. One know it all campaign manager decided to talk back to one Mayor and got his head handed to him as a result. Rumors abound that a certain retired oilman who graduated from West Point turned back his tongue fifty years and had a few choice words for a few people.
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Nothing like seeing someone totally exposed. Kirk "Glaber" Sims was given a campaign to run even though he had no experience running campaign. The key word is given as he married "right". He was known as the Bryant bully when he was the Governor's Chief of Staff. Respectful of no one while competent at nothing, he left a wake in his path while he served at the mansion. The next version of Mississippi Politics will not be kind to him as he will be forever known as the guy who took a Senator with high favorables and job approval numbers only to get him beat. Reminds one of Charlie Black and Ronald Reagan in 1980. He's been rather quiet for the last two weeks as one of the back rooms in command gained a new tenant.
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Speaking of clueless campaign managers, where exactly is Melanie Sojouner? Has anyone seen her? Milk cartons anyone?
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The rep on Ms. Sojourner was she was a micro-manager who was in over her head as she had never ran a campaign before this election. Staffers were often not allowed to talk to each other but instead had to communicate through Ms. Sojourner. A fundraiser was held a few months ago in Jackson. Ms. Micro-manager didn't deposit the checks in ten days as required by law. Campaign had to ask the donors to re-cut checks. Nice. Five figures worth of checks.
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Cochran said he would support McDaniel if he lost. McDaniel said he would have to think about it. Hmmm......... should I say it?
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This picture illustrates what was wrong with the Cochran campaign before Armageddon:
That is the disconnect in Mississippi politics.
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Caesar's troops fought a naval battle against the Pompeyans. The general was doing so badly that Caesar's men got tired of watching his incompetence so much that they commandeered a boat, rowed out to the ship, and proceeded to win the battle.
Most of the Cochran campaign leadership was shoved aside in days after the campaign. Former Mississippi GOP chairman Brad White came on board to run county operations as the ground game was non-existent. Dave Dennis took over the coast. Jennifer Hall took over Rankin County Hayes Dent worked on the Delta. A certain Queen took over the county and ran roughshod over those who opposed her. More positive commercials were produced. Facebook ads appeared. The handlers were told to let Thad be Thad. Thad started talking directly to voters. Did it work? Tonight will tell.
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Nachama Sloveichick. The real guru and little-known insider of the McDaniel campaign. If not for her, the McDaniel campaign probably would not have gotten off the launching pad.
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I would have told Thad if its his time to die, he's dying on the campaign trail. This election might wear him out but getting back out there and really facing the voters is good for him ..... and for us.
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No two ways about it. Chris McDaniel has worked his ass off. Despite all the problems, the inexperienced campaign staff, the stupidity of his supporters, Mr. McDaniel is still a favorite to pull off the upset no one expected. Goes to show what a lean and hungry candidate with some money can do. Give me that combo every time if I'm going to pick a winner. Fordice, Chokwe, Yarber.....
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What has been sad is seeing seasoned political experts let their contempt for someone who dared to challenge a sitting Senator cloud their otherwise good judgment.
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Funniest part of campaign. Noel Fritsch bragging they would run Tate out of office next year after they took the state in this election.
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Did anyone remember Obama is the enemy? There is much anger among Republicans towards Obama. McDaniel attempted to tap into that anger. Was Cochran aware it even existed?
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Read The Blueprint. It describes how the Democrats used a new model to flip Colorado over ten years ago and then used it in other states such as Iowa. The model worked in every swing state in the 2012 presidential election. Conservative groups such as Club for Growth, Freedom Works, and others learned lessons from those defeats are applying those lessons to this race. Its often forgotten that losing can be the best teacher. The political establishment, the gurus, the insiders.... all have been shell-shocked at times by the tactics used by the McDaniel campaign. They shouldn't be. The Blueprint is a hybrid Mein Kampf. It told them what the new politics are, but they ignored it, and lose.
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State Senator. Didn't pass any legislation. Missed quite a few votes. Gives great speeches. Telegenic. Lawyer. Has impassioned supporters. Served only a few years in the legislature. Weak record. But I was talking about Obama.
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Nursing homes. Boobies. The Klan. Indecent things to animals. Courthouse crap. Mamacitas. Sign stealing. Tea Party Who? Kroger Coffee Club. Just another election in Mississippi. Only thing missing is some bourbon and brawls. The night has not yet begun so we may be in luck.
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The scuttlebutt was Thad was ready to retire but the big boys leaned on him real hard to run. Boys who can tell even Haley what to do. Why did Thad run? Why were they so scared of Chris McDaniel? Stacey or Delbert could have raised money and held their own. They weren't scared of Chris McDaniel but rather many were scared of Jim Hood. Private polls showed the populist AG ran very well against all but Thad Cochran and would have beaten McDaniel by a substantial margin.
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Blacks voting for Cochran. Cochran helped quite a few black Mayors over the years. Mayor of Jackson or another town comes to you for help. You help him. Years later it is your butt that needs help? Do you ask for the help or not? Its all politics.
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Email from someone who went to the McCain rally:
Just left the Cochran War Memorial rally. Rally? Atmosphere as lackluster as the weather outside.
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Its been fun watching people from both sides accuse me of helping the other side. Apparently if someone does not agree with someone 100% of the time, he is the enemy and a total sellout. Nice. News flash: I have voted against quite a few advertisers on this website.
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Has anyone noticed how Governor Bryant has endured much less controversy since Glaber left his staff?
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Just think, we get to do this all over again next year with statewide office, the legislature, and the counties.
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One day we will realize that Thad Cochran was not the devil nor was Chris McDaniel a kook. They both are people who care about the state and had the guts to run for Senate when no one else would. They've subjected themselves to a great deal of hardship and sacrifice and deserve our respect. Period.
10 comments:
"Has anyone noticed how Governor Bryant has endured much less controversy since Kirk Sims left his staff?"
Good point!
finally!!!!!!
the mr. fish we all know and love shows up after all this pandering shit for a month or 2....be glad when it just gets back to jacktown jack-assery instead of live-death issues...
Lots of good stuff here. Should be required reading for both campaigns.
Phil Bryant deserves as much blame as Kirk Sims and Josh Gregory since Phil forced those two con men on Cochran. Campaign malpractice at its worst. Will be interesting to see how the tea party responds to Phil's betrayal. Or was phill helping them all along by throwing the game? Either way Gregory and sims have been exposed of what they are.
Thad certainly is not the devil.
That McDaniel isn't a kook only means, should you be right, that he is completely unscrupulous.
Cochran will probably take the high road and support McDaniel, verbally, but his supporters will not. They will either stay home or hold their noses.
Sims should not be used in the same sentence with Gregory.
Josh has handled Phil for about 8 years, Sims has handled himself!
"Phil forced those two con men on Cochran."
Uh what, man's been a senator forever, no dimwit guv forced anybody on him.
Sims CANT handle himself! We would be asleep already with no runoff if not for that nimwit
Good job KF.6
The one graph that says it all.
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