MELANIE SOJOURNER: Chris McDaniel personifies conservatism and practicality
There has been some back and forth recently in the Sun Herald about the nature of the U.S. Senate primary in Mississippi. Wyatt Emmerich’s recent column looked at the race dispassionately — he did not endorse either candidate — prescribing how he sees each candidate’s view for Mississippi, ultimately judging the race to be one between practicality and ideology. While practicality has won the day in his experience, he noted we may be nearing a tipping point.
Brian Perry’s response to Wyatt Emmerich’s column asserted that with Thad Cochran, Mississippi can avail itself of a “both/and candidate,” meaning someone who is both ideologically pure and politically practical.
I respectfully disagree.
The permanent political class, some of whom have spent more than 40 years in Washington, D.C., have stood quietly by and allowed our nation to accumulate massive debt to the tune of $17 trillion and counting.
Wyatt Emmerich’s view that we might have approached a “tipping point” resonates with me, and it resonates with Mississippians all over this great state. I know this because they tell me they feel the same way. The United States is at a tipping point. The current state of affairs that the status quo, go-along to get-along permanent political class has left us is simply not acceptable.
And yet political consultants and career politicians are bold enough to ask for a seventh term in the Senate for Sen. Cochran under the guise of “practical” representation in D.C. If $17.2 trillion dollars of debt is practical, then I guess you can call me impractical.
With respect to the claims that Thad Cochran is a conservative, it’s telling that Mr. Perry only offers two examples of supporting evidence: Thad’s NRA score and his National Right to Life score. As a conservative Mississippian, I certainly hope Mr. Cochran supports gun rights and life. Even many Mississippi Democrats are pro-life and support gun rights.
But upon looking closer, the devil is in the details. Sen. Cochran voted for Joe Biden’s gun control bill entitled the Violent Crime Control Act, which banned guns the left called “assault rifles” and imposed waiting periods on purchasing firearms. That is a vote I and many other gun rights supporters ought not ever forget.
Sunherald
3/26/14
Magnolia Tribune
