The GOP Establishment Isn’t All Bad
So why special consideration for Thad Cochran? Well, for one thing, he is one of the most decent men to serve in that body in modern times. He has developed over the years a reputation for being soft-spoken, respectful, thoughtful, and considerate. And, I might add, it was Thad Cochran who helped launch the true conservative movement in Washington in the 1970s. He was willing to run as a Republican back in the days when being a Republican wasn’t cool, even in Mississippi.
And Cochran, to his credit, logged plenty of miles promoting other Republicans fighting to become the first Republican to hold whatever office they sought in the 1980s and ’90s in other Southern states where the word Republican was considered a dirty one.
At first glance, one can understand some conservatives’ beef with Sen. Cochran. He is known for earmarks and bringing needed money to Mississippi. But here is where we have to take the rhetoric, even my often conservative and anti-GOP establishment observations, and put it all into perspective.
Earmarks continue to be a fly on the back of a giant donkey. On the big-ticket items such as the Affordable Care Act, Cochran was ardent in expressing his opposition. And on most issues that are considered critical to the conservative cause, Cochran has had a stellar record.
So let’s consider this earmark issue. To be blunt, our country sends massive amounts of our tax dollars to underdeveloped nations under the theory that they are critical to maintaining our relations in the international community. Of course, comparing Mississippi to an underdeveloped nation would be an affront to that state, one which some pundits and media too often tend to do.
Newsmax
2/20/14
Magnolia Tribune
