Mississippi's 'Time For Choosing': Here's the records you face in Tuesday's primary

"The question is do we want more of the same. I have two children... No doubt they will be faced with our current problems. If we stay on the same trend our nation will likely be subject to foreign nations to whom we owe. Men and women of America (and Mississippi) must wake up and vote for leaders who will fight for what we believe. A vote for Chris McDaniel is a vote for traditional values and a limited constitutional government. Vote for the only true conservative, Chris McDaniel, for U.S. Senate on June 3. Your children and grandchildren will thank you." ~ Kyle T. Hunt, Brandon MS surgeon

Politics is not local anymore, especially when it comes to the U.S. Senate. One Senator's vote can affect us all.

Tomorrow's the day, Mississippi. And no matter what the operatives and media want to distract the electorate with over the substance of the candidates, there's one thing that can't be hidden, nor should be ignored: Thad's record. So I'd say to those still insisting on hitching their wagons to Thad Cochran, simply take the Senator's looong, checkered record under consideration before casting your vote:

On Taxes:

• Thad voted for the “Fiscal Cliff” tax hikes – the largest tax increases in American history, coupled with $332 billion in stimulus spending [Roll Call #251, January 1, 2013].
• Thad voted to pave the road for an online sales tax run by a cartel of states [Roll Call #62, March 22, 2013].
• Thad voted against a major middle class tax cut – raising income thresholds for middle income tax brackets [Roll Call #55, April 1, 1998].
• Thad voted for President Bush Sr.’s budget that included massive tax increases [Roll Call #326, October 27, 1990].

On Welfare:

• Thad voted against welfare reform, requiring most able-bodied, non-elderly food stamp recipients to work 40 hours during each 4-week period [Roll Call #408, September 11, 1995].
• Thad voted against cutting back food stamp spending to pre-Obama levels [Roll Call #120, June 13, 2012].
• Thad voted for the massive $1 trillion food stamp bill [Roll Call #141, June 6, 2013].

On Life:

• Voted for Medicaid funding for abortions [Roll Call #132, May 21, 1981].
• Voted to table the amendment to bar the use of federal District of Columbia funds to pay for abortions, except to save the life of the mother [Roll Call #291, November 7, 1985].
• Voted for federally funded research on embryonic stem cells [Roll Call #206, July 18, 2006 Roll Call #127, April 11, 2007].
• Voted against straightening laws to circumvent taking minors across state lines for abortions without parental notification [Roll Call #71, March 13, 2008].

On ObamaCare:

• Thad refused to join the battle to defund or in any way disrupt Obamacare.
• Cochran claims that he voted to repeal Obamacare over 100 times, but he has always opposed the only consequential means of actually disrupting the law, which is by objecting to any budget that contains funding [RC#206, Sept. 27, 2013; RC# 219, Oct. 16, 2013].
• On the contrary, Thad voted for the $1.054 trillion FY 2012 omnibus bill, which funded Obamacare [Roll Call #235, December 17, 2011].
• Thad also voted for President Bush’s massive new market-distorting, budget-busting entitlement – Medicare Part D [Roll Call #459, November 25, 2003].

On Illegal Immigration:

• Thad voted for amnesty [Roll Call #127, May 17, 2006], thereby driving down wages for Mississippians.
• Thad voted against construction of border fence [Roll Call #200, July 13, 2006], thus providing a constant stream of cheap labor.

On Guns:

• Voted for then-Senator Joe Biden’s massive gun control bill, which banned numerous firearms and created undue burdens and waiting periods on purchasers [Roll Call #125, July 11. 1991].
• Voted to impose background checks on private transfers and supersede numerous state laws with a sweeping federal mandate [RC #140, May 20, 1999].
• Voted to prohibit the sale of all guns without Washington-approved safety devices [Roll Call #17, February 26, 2004].

Sources: Mississippi Conservative Daily, Madison Project

The list goes on. And if you can still carry that load, you not only have a stronger tolerance than I, but perhaps it's time to question your own sense of principle, because sorry folks, this record ain't conservative! Not even close. Certainly no Reagan Conservative...on the contrary...

RyanSWalters: Ronald Reagan, the former two-term governor of California, decided to challenge the unpopular President, Gerald Ford, who had angered a good many citizens by pardoning Richard Nixon before any charges had ever been brought in the Watergate case. His foreign policy was also a disaster, allowing South Vietnam to fall to the North without any response and signing the Helsinki Accords, essentially handing the Soviets control of Eastern Europe.

Reagan, seeking to give Republicans a conservative choice, stumbled out of the blocks during the early primary season, losing the first six contests, but he roared back in North Carolina and Texas, as well as other more conservative Southern and Western states. Arriving at the convention, neither candidate had a majority of delegates. In order to win the nomination, the uncommitted delegates would have to choose a side, and both camps heavily lobbied them.

National attention, though, focused on Mississippi, as its delegation, led by Clarke Reed, adopted a “unit rule,” whereby the entire voting bloc would swing to one candidate based on the majority vote of the delegation.

...the major blow was the day Congressmen Trent Lott and Thad Cochran publicly endorsed the President over Reagan. Cochran even flew with the President on board Air Force One back to Mississippi to parade in front of the cameras for the general public. Clarke Reed also switched his vote and the Mississippi delegation went for Ford, as did the convention.

Mississippi’s so-called conservatives, led by Cochran, supported Gerald Ford, a moderate, and awarded him the presidential nomination. Most historians and political scientists, of either political stripe, have credited Mississippi with tipping the balance away from Reagan and toward Ford.

And who did Gerald Ford pick as his running mate? Not a conservative but Kansas Senator Bob Dole, another moderate. So instead of a strong conservative at the top of the ticket, no matter who his VP might be, the Republicans picked two moderates to lead them in the fall against Jimmy Carter. Even Haley Barbour knew the ticket did not stand much of a chance, though Reagan might have. “Gerald Ford is a safe 47 percent, but he can’t win,” he said. “Reagan may get forty, but he may get fifty.”

And Barbour proved correct, as Ford lost to Carter in a close race, with Carter even winning Mississippi, the last time a Democrat won the Magnolia State. ... And thanks to Thad Cochran’s help, the nation did not get a true choice in the November election, and was given four years of President Carter.

As we know, Reagan came back in 1980 and took on Carter, trouncing him in November 1980 by carrying 44 states. Moving into the White House in January 1981, President Reagan sought a new era for the nation, one centered on conservative values. He had two main goals: balance the budget and build up the nation’s lagging defenses.

But with the first of these, he struggled against a recalcitrant Congress to rein in federal spending. Thad Cochran, though, was no help at all. Now in the Senate, controlled by Republicans, Senator Cochran sided with Senators on both sides of the aisle who supported big government and more spending.

Sounds like today's familiar problems, no?

So the question is why continue to vote the man in for a sixth term, when he hasn't proven himself to be an effective Mississippi Republican (much less, conservative) fighter in Washington from the beginning? Particularly, when Mississippians have a REAL CHOICE tomorrow?

Fact is, Mississippians have a genuine opportunity, certainly the best one in a long, long time, to regain its representation with a constitutional conservative this election cycle, and his name is CHRIS MCDANIEL! He has a record of his own to prove it, drawing a stark contrast to that of the current occupant...

ClarionLedger: Our national debt is now at 17.5 trillion dollars. Senator Thad Cochran has been in Washington for 42 years. When he took office our nation’s debt was 427 billion dollars. Senator Cochran’s record speaks volumes. Senator Thad Cochran has the second most liberal voting record for Republican Senators during President Obama’s past five years as reported by the American Conservative Union. The only Republican Senator with a more liberal voting record is Susan Collins from Maine. Senator Cochran has continually voted to increase rather than decrease the size of government. He has frequently voted to increase the debt ceiling limit for a total of about 7.25 billion dollars. In 2010 he led Congress in earmark spending. His pet projects totaled 16.5 billion dollars for that year. Senator Cochran has also voted for “Cash for Clunkers”, the “Bridge to Nowhere”, increasing gasoline taxes and income taxes, and bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Senator Cochran was quoted as saying, “‘I think that right now what Americans want most from their government is less government,’ Cochran said.” (The Jackson Clarion Ledger/AP, 1/28/79). His statement was true in 1979 and is true today. But has he lived by this statement?

Senator Cochran’s opponent, Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel, believes in constitutional limited government. He is opposed to increasing the debt limit and is in favor of permanently banning earmarks and setting term limits. He will put the Mississippi taxpayer first. As chairman of the Mississippi Senate Conservative Coalition he has fought for protecting our personal freedoms from government infringement. He led the fight to restrict eminent domain takeover of personal property. Chris McDaniel also stands for the Second Amendment as he introduced the Firearms Freedom Protection Act.

Chris McDaniel has been given multiple awards from business associations. Chris McDaniel stands for the American worker by lowering tax demands on businesses and workers, supporting a border fence, enforcement of illegal immigration laws, and restoration of traditional legal immigration rates. Unfortunately, Senator Cochran has voted against funding for building the fence.

Chris McDaniel is a practicing lawyer in Mississippi and has been a member of many professional defense law associations and has served as Pro-Life Mississippi’s attorney pro-bono. He has supported tort reform during his time in the Mississippi Senate.

Also, according to Sam Hall of the Clarion Ledger, “McDaniel supports the tort reform measures already enacted in Mississippi and has spoken in favor of additional tort reform measures. [All] things considered, it’s disingenuous to use the “trial lawyer” label against McDaniel.” Senator Cochran on the other hand has sided with plaintiff attorneys and Democrats with multiple times for amendments that would weaken litigation reform.

Senator Cochran voted for cloture on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and he voted to fund Obamacare twice. Chris McDaniel was asked by Governor Phil Bryant to lead the lawsuit against Obamacare for the state of Mississippi.

I have heard Senator Chris McDaniel speak in person. I believe he is genuine and principled. He has the intellect, tenacity, and energy to fight the liberal agenda.

Lastly, in a head-to-head match-up against Democrat Travis Childers, polls show that Chris McDaniel has a comfortable lead. This dispels the falsehood that Chris McDaniel is too conservative to win a general election.

So forget the media distractions and the establishment hype. Carry reason to the polls. Now Is The Time to seize your representation, Mississippi! Choose wisely.

"We gotta take one step at a time. The journey starts with the first step." ~ WWII Vet Wesley Byrd, Brandon MS

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Mississippi: Now is the time for Chris McDaniel!
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