Chris McDaniel thinks the “military budget compared to the rest of our budget is small.” The following statement was reported in an  in the New York Times yesterday:

Policy details are as foreign to Mr. McDaniel as they are natural to Mr. Cochran…“Relatively speaking, the military budget compared to the rest of our budget is small, is it not?” he (Chris McDaniel) asked a reporter. (It is about 20 percent of federal spending.)

So according to Chris McDaniel, 20% of the federal budget is “small.” The military is one of the largest parts of the budget—almost the same amount as spent on Social Security!

For someone who claims they’re going to reduce federal spending, Chris McDaniel apparently knows nothing about the federal budget…especially the highly important military budget.

Senator Thad Cochran—the only veteran in the election for U.S. Senate—has a strong record of supporting our men and women in uniform, our veterans including more than 200,000 veterans who live in Mississippi, and our military bases that play key roles in our national defense. He is a longtime member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and is one of Congress’ leading experts on defense issues.

The military presence and operations in Mississippi alone generate more than $2.5 billion in economic impact annually.

Retired Lieutenant General Clark Griffith, former Commander at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, talked about Senator Cochran’s leadership for our military saying:

“I’ve seen firsthand how hard Senator Thad Cochran works to make sure the men and women in our military have the training, equipment and support they need to do their job protecting America’s freedom. At a time when some people in Washington are talking about cutting our national defense, now more than ever we need Thad Cochran in the Senate working for us because of his knowledge and understanding of the military budget, and his strong commitment to our military.”

This issue highlights another big difference between the candidates in this race for Senate. Thad Cochran has proven his commitment to our nation’s military strength. Chris McDaniel has proven he doesn’t know enough about it to be in the U.S. Senate.

Thad is our strongest voice in Washington fighting the Obama agenda.

Last week, at 20 stops over the course of 1,200 miles on the campaign bus, Thad emphasized his commitment to defending the Constitutional rights of Mississippians. He believes his number one job is looking out for the interests of the people of Mississippi, and he is running again to ensure our state has maximum ability to fight Barack Obama’s bureaucrats in Washington.

The Rankin County GOP’s annual banquet was held in honor of Senator Cochran Tuesday night. Thad told the packed room of about 1,000 conservative Republican activists: “My pledge is to continue to fight in the Senate for our shared conservative values of limited government, free markets, and personal responsibility.”

Governor Phil Bryant gave Thad a strong introduction and warned the crowd about out-of-state groups who are coming into Mississippi attacking and distorting Thad’s record.

A video of Governor Bryant’s remarks and a standing ovation for Senator Cochran can be seen .

Wednesday, Thad spoke to Harrison County Republicans in Gulfport, where he emphasized his consistent opposition to Obamacare:

“We need to repeal Obamacare and we need to do it now,” Senator Cochran said. “That’s why I’ve voted more than 100 times to stop Obamacare, and we can be sure it will happen when we win a Republican majority in the Senate this November.”

When the people throw Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader’s office, Thad will be Appropriations Chairman, which puts him in the best position possible to fight the Obama Administration on Mississippi’s behalf.

From the Coast, to Picayune, Rankin County, Meridian, and stops in between, people are excited about Thad’s reelection because they know how much he has done to help build our state – and what he will do in a Republican majority as Appropriations Chairman.

With so much at stake in this election, we can’t afford to lose any of Mississippi’s strength in Washington. Thad Cochran will continue standing up for Mississippi and fighting for our conservative values.

If you would like to see more pictures from Thad’s week, you can do so by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.

Mississippians appreciate Sen. Thad Cochran because he has been so effective for our state and our people. He recognized the federal disaster assistance laws that were in place before Hurricane Katrina were grossly insufficient to deal with the worst natural disaster in American history. Because of the respect he enjoys and the influence he wields on behalf of our state, he led the effort that passed new emergency disaster assistance laws that not only helped the Coast rebuild bigger and better after the storm, but his legislation became the model for future disaster assistance.

This is but one obvious reason Sen. Cochran is so well-regarded here. Another reason, however is that Thad is a gentleman who tells the truth and sticks to his word.

Regrettably, the author of a column in the Sun Herald last week is not bound by the facts. Instead, the op-ed written by former Congressman Chris Chocola is as hypocritical as it comes. I expected as much when I read the headline, “Thad Cochran is a liberal.” But with all the out-of-state money being pumped into our state by groups like Chocola’s Club for Growth, distortion was to be expected.

Chocola, a former two-term congressman from Indiana, runs a political action committee that spends most of its money trying to defeat Republican incumbents in GOP primaries. That group succeeded in defeating long-term Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar in the Republican primary in 2012, allowing a Democrat to win what had previously been a safe Republican Senate seat.

In his column, Chocola attacked Sen. Cochran for voting to increase the federal debt ceiling. What Chocola doesn’t say is that he himself voted to increase the federal debt ceiling every time it came up while he was in Congress. So this “gentleman” attacks Cochran for doing exactly what he did every chance he got during his four years in Congress. How hypocritical can you get?

This is reminiscent of Chocola’s preferred candidate in Mississippi, plaintiff lawyer Chris McDaniel. McDaniel campaigns against the Common Core education standards that the Mississippi Department of Education is implementing. What McDaniel doesn’t tell you is that he has repeatedly voted in the state Senate for Common Core education standards legislation. In fact, he voted twice to fund the implementation of Common Core. Even though he is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which wrote this bill, he recently defended his votes to fund Common Core by saying he did not realize the funding was in the bill. Priceless.

This hypocrisy is bad enough, but then Chris Chocola flatly states that Sen. Cochran voted to fund Obamacare. What a fraudulent claim.

Sen. Cochran has stood against Obamacare at every turn: he has voted against its passage, to repeal it, to amend it and to defund it. Over and over again. What Chocola claims as voting to fund Obamacare was actually the fact that Thad Cochran voted to reopen the federal government after the shutdown last October.

The federal government shutdown, which was a failed political tactic, threatened the livelihoods of tens of thousands of workers on the Coast, from Ingalls Shipyard to Keesler Air Force Base, from the Seabee Base to Stennis Space Center, and more.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whom no one has ever accused of being a “liberal,” said before and after the shutdown that it was a tactic that had no chance of success.

Still, Sen. Cochran voted to defund Obamacare when the House sent the bill to the Senate in September. Indeed, he has continually fought and voted against Obamacare, despite the false claims of Chris Chocola.

Sen. Cochran has not only represented Mississippi well in the Senate, he was the giant who stood tall and produced for our state at our greatest hour of need after Katrina. I don’t know where we would be today if not for his effectiveness.

The great news is Thad is line to be chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee if Republicans win control of the Senate, as experts say appears increasingly likely this November.

He will again be able to ensure Mississippi and the Gulf Coast are treated fairly and the runaway spending of the Obama Administration is stopped in the last two years of President Obama’s term.

Everybody reading this knows Cochran and his record of service. Every one of you can judge his service.

But don’t be swayed by some out-of-state phonies who couldn’t tell you the difference between Pascagoula and Pontotoc.

about this article.

Today, U.S. Senator Thad Cochran announced that he has been endorsed for reelection by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“The Second Amendment is a pillar of freedom upon which our great nation was built,” Senator Cochran said. “My pledge to the people of Mississippi is to continue supporting our gun rights, and to keep fighting any efforts that infringe on our Constitutional right to bear arms. I am honored by the support of the National Rifle Association and I appreciate their support of my campaign.”

Chris Cox, Chairman of the NRA, cited Cochran’s “A+” rating from the organization, stating that highest rating is, “Reserved for legislators not only with an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues, but who has also made a vigorous effort to promote and defend the Second Amendment.”

Cox also noted Senator Cochran’s seniority and influence on the Appropriations Committee as a valuable tool in the fight against the Obama Administration’s gun control agenda:

“You prevented taxpayer funds from being used for gun control and anti-gun studies, while also cutting red tape for law abiding gun owners adversely impacted by arbitrary policies put in place by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms,” said Cox.

Click here to read the full endorsement letter.