Posted on 10/16/2013 5:26:10 AM PDT by cotton1706
As Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., mulls retirement, a local lawmaker is considering a mounting a primary challenge against him in the Magnolia State.
State Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican aligned with the tea party, confirmed to CQ Roll Call this week that he’s considering challenging the six-term senator.
“We are keeping all of our options open because we want to do the right thing for the conservative movement,” McDaniel said in a Wednesday phone interview. “No firm decision has been made one way or the other.” Many Mississippi Republican emphasized their support for Cochran to seek a seventh term, underscoring his valuable seniority. They are not happy with McDaniel’s interest in ousting him.
“I think he will get his head handed to him, and that will be what he deserves,” Republican lobbyist Henry Barbour said of McDaniel’s potential Senate run in this week’s edition of Farm Team. “[But] it’s a free country.”
McDaniel said that Barbour may be right, but that sentiment would not factor into his decision-making.
“I respect his opinion, but it’s the people’s seat,” McDaniel said. “And if the people speak loud enough, there’s nothing he or anyone else can do.”
McDaniel also confirmed he is considering a challenge to Republican Rep. Steven M. Palazzo in the 4th District. Palazzo is one of the Club for Growth’s top targets of the cycle, and the conservative group has featured him on its “Primary My Congressman” website. The group has yet to endorse a candidate in that race.
McDaniel said he could not recall if he has met with the group, but he said he has “met with dozens and dozens of groups across the country. ”
While groups like Club for Growth are often powerful forces in GOP primary politics, Mississippi and the tea party have a complex relationship. Mississippi is a conservative state, but it is relatively poor and relies on federal funding.
McDaniel conceded that his home state gets more money back than it sends to the federal government each year.
“It doesn’t change the fact that we have to be responsible,” he said. “We have to begin to make tough decisions.”
For more on Magnolia State politics, check out Thursday’s edition of “Farm Team” Roll Call’s weekly state-by-state look at the up-and-coming politicos who may eventually run for Congress.
Cochran's conservative rating
Cochran (MS) - 2014 - 48% (Average) - 55% (Heritage) - 48% (CFG) - 52% (ACU) - 38% (FreedomWorks)
These old southern pols would have been Democrats in the ‘50s, but can’t win unless they run as Republicans now. Based on his RINO record, Cochran won’t be missed.
It is easy to fault Coulter for her flirtations with Governor Christie and discounts her observations. It is more difficult to apply the purge of Rinos in areas which are not absolutely clear. Given that that Senator Thad Cochran's ratings it is a no-brainer to primary him. That is not clear, however, in the case of Mike Enzi in Wyoming being challenged by Liz Cheney. I have voiced support for Cheney not out of enthusiastic support for her conservatism but for an assessment that she would be of higher visibility that Enzi who in my judgment has been sleepwalking through history. I've been taken to task by many FReepers, some of whom were from Wyoming and far more knowledgeable than I am about the lay of the land there, who point out that Enzi is sufficiently conservative. I accept that but I still question whether he is adequately leading.
On the whole, my feeling remains, execute a few of these Rinos to encourage the others.
I’ve had the same arguments with Enzi’s protectors. I agree with some of them that Liz Cheney is not the best opponent, but frankly, I’d prefer to replace Enzi with Cheney because he’s well on his way to becoming a Thad Cochran, and then replace Cheney in six years with someone more reliablly conservative.
As far as Enzi being sufficiently conservative, his record says otherwise. The ACU props him up but his votes speak for themselves.
Enzi (WY) - 2014 - 78% (Average) - 73% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 92% (ACU) - 77% (FreedomWorks)
After all, he's been carrying a ton of water for GOPe.
I have no problem with your analysis on Enzi. In my view, he's been far too content to sit back and be one of the boys.
He's in his 3rd term, and what has he accomplished during the past 16 1/2 years? Like it or not, he has aided in the explosion of the debt during the last two presidencies.
What a waste of opportunity!
The answer is clear: We would have prescription drug entitlements, deficits as far as the eye could see, wars mismanaged and ill-conceived, and the contempt of the electorate. That's what we get when we have a (Rino) Republican Senate as we did under George Bush.
We need a conservative Senate.
Except that’s not how it works. Replacing Conservative Enzi with an establishment RINO like Liz and expecting to “magically” remove her after a single term when she’ll have limitless establishment $$ and resources is insane. It is enormously difficult to dislodge a Senate incumbent in a primary. Either attempt to replace a GOP incumbent with someone more Conservative in a primary, or don’t bother.
“Replacing Conservative Enzi with an establishment RINO like Liz”
Newsflash! Enzi IS an establishment RINO. He is no longer a solid conservative senator.
Then why does the DC establishment want Liz ? If you can’t tell the difference in the agenda between these two and which one is worse (newsflash: it’s Liz), you’re fooling yourself.
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