When Mississippi’s state Senate voted last month on a bill to address unintended teen pregnancies, a lawmaker hoping to win the June 3 GOP primary against Sen. Thad Cochran was campaigning in Washington.

During the vote, which passed 34-11, a purported pro-life amendment to the bill failed by one vote. The amendment would have specified that abortion could not be mentioned during college pregnancy prevention programs.

Sen. Chris McDaniel, 41, a tea party candidate and conservative commentator who is challenging Cochran, 76, for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, and Melanie Sojourner, a senator and his campaign manager, were campaigning in Washington instead of keeping the pro-life candidate back home to vote on a bill that appeared to be a no-brainer in terms of priorities.

On Feb. 10, McDaniel appeared at a Freedom Works forum in Washington. The vote was in the morning on Feb. 11. By evening he was back home in Mississippi for a campaign event billed as talking conservative politics while enjoying BBQ.

The amendment that would ban abortion counseling at colleges was rejected on a vote of 23 to 22, so the pair’s votes were seemingly critical. However, the amendment was not a clear-cut anti-abortion measure as even the full bill’s main sponsor voted against it. GOP Sen. Sally Doty insisted that the amendment was unnecessary betcause her bill is about prevention and not post pregnancy options. Nine of her Republican colleagues agreed.

Just a week before the pregnancy prevention vote, McDaniel missed a vote to amend the state seal to include the words “In God We Trust,” as requested by Gov. Phil Bryant. What was more important? Exposure. He was in Washington appearing on Glenn Beck‘s TheBlaze TV network.

Roll Call  McDaniel’s missed votes in a story last month. In it, McDaniel is described as charging that few people he knows have ever laid eyes on Cochran in the flesh. One of McDaniel’s big charges is that Cochran rarely goes home to Mississippi. The residency complaint also surfaced in  last month in The Hill.

The whole thing seems like a scene straight out of House of Cards. These weren’t the lone votes for which McDaniel has gone AWOL so that he might chase money and power in Washington. In January and February alone, he missed 18 votes, making him the fifth-most truant Mississippi state senator. Of the four lawmakers who accrued a greater number of no-shows in the same time frame, one was recovering from gallbladder surgery, a second was being treated for lung cancer; and a third, SoJourner, missed votes naturally corresponding to McDaniel’s.

McDaniel campaign spokesman Noel Fritsch replied to questions about McDaniel’s missed votes by email, saying, “Not only has Sen. Cochran missed more votes than the average senator in the U.S. Senate, he has voted for the liberal, pro-choice agenda throughout his 41-year political career, including votes for taxpayer-funded abortions and federally funded stem cell research. In contrast, Chris McDaniel has been a leader for the pro-life movement in Mississippi, sponsoring legislation to qualify human embryos as life, to prohibit the abortion of fetuses with detectable heartbeats, and to ban race and gender-based abortion.”

But McDaniel, like most candidates and politicians, has enemies. Two of McDaniel’s Republican Mississippi Senate colleagues spoke to The Mirror by phone today on condition of anonymity. Both agreed that Cochran was still the right fit for the U.S. Senate and felt no desire to see McDaniel replace by him. Sen. X remarked that McDaniel has a reputation for missing votes and for not engaging in matters that matter to Mississippi. The other, Sen. Y, when asked about McDaniel’s missed votes, wondered how his constituents were being affected by his absence.

“Ninety-nine percent of success is to be here,” Sen. Y said. “I’m sure he has other priorities this year. That doesn’t excuse him from the fact that he’s an elected official and is elected to serve. Some people say ‘oh gosh I don’t want to vote on that because it’s a lose-lose situation.’ We have to make hard choices sometimes. Being here, asking questions about bill, all of these things are important. If you’re not here, you can’t be an active participant in the legislative process. How well are his constituents being represented?”

Sen. X added, “In previous years there were times when, whether he was maybe on the road or not, he was not here during the session. …You don’t see engagement.”

The idea of McDaniel replacing Cochran was abhorrent to both senators. “We all want young people to succeed,” said Sen. Y, noting that McDaniel is good-looking and charming. “There’s a difference in stepping on stage at the right time and an opportunistic move. This is a grown up’s job and there’s no need to kick [Cochran] to the curb.”

Sen. X agreed, saying,  ”Cochran has done a yeoman’s job. He’s not going to showboat. There’s something to be said for someone who just does his job. He’s always been a humble man.” When asked if McDaniel would be a showboater, the senator replied diplomatically, “Certain people have certain ways of presentation.”

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Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., on Tuesday praised the passage of legislation in the House of Representatives that, he said, like a Senate-passed bill he helped write, would protect homeowners, businesses and communities from unreasonable flood insurance premiums without jeopardizing the stability of the National Flood Insurance Program.

Cochran said the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (HR.3370) that the House of Representatives approved (306-91) Tuesday evening, would achieve the primary goals of the Senate-passed companion bill he helped author to address problems exposed with implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Haven’t heard anything from the camp of state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who is opposing Cochran in the June 3 primary. As late as Feb. 24,  said McDaniel was on the fence on the issue.

One of McDaniel’s backers, the Club for Growth is opposed, It urged all its members to vote no on the House bill.

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Take Action

Our grassroots team is growing daily. Over the next three months we will be knocking on doors, making phone calls, and asking you talk to your friends about why you support Thad. You can sign up to volunteer on our website where you can also request yard signs and bumper stickers as well as donate to the campaign.

Endorsements

The conservative leadership of our state supports Thad’s reelection:

“I expect during this campaign, there will be negative attacks designed to mislead voters about Cochran’s record. Here’s what I know to be true: Cochran is a pioneer of the Mississippi Republican Party and our conservative principles. Anyone who tells you differently is just not telling you the truth.” – Governor Phil Bryant (click here to read Gov. Bryant’s column on why he supports Thad)

“Thad’s work on behalf of Mississippi is a testament to his selfless dedication to our state and its future. He has my full support.” – Senator Roger Wicker

“We as Republicans have a major fight in Washington to unwind the Obama agenda in the next six years, and we need our best minds on the job. I hope all Republicans will rally behind Thad Cochran.” – Lt. Governor Tate Reeves

A true statesman, Senator Cochran has dedicated his life to serving the people of Mississippi. – Congressman Gregg Harper

“Thad never wavers from his principles and always puts Mississippi first.” – Congressman Alan Nunnelee

“Senator Cochran has been the epitome of an honorable statesman and we are better off because of his service.” – State Auditor Stacey Pickering (click here to read Auditor Pickering’s column on the facts about Hurricane Katrina relief.)

Working Together

Working together, we will ensure Thad remains in the Senate using his seniority and influence to stand up for our conservative principles, build Mississippi’s economy, and oppose the Obama Administration’s overreach.

For most South Mississippians, revisiting Hurricane Katrina brings to mind images of homes stripped to their foundation, cities replaced by debris, bridges in ruins and our fellow Mississippians huddled near each other as they sifted among the rubble. Our memories aren’t pleasant and, thankfully, are being replaced by a new, thriving Gulf Coast that is rebuilding itself. However, the hurricane stands in the national spotlight again due to accusations of corruption made by state Sen. Chris McDaniel in a recent story in the Washington, D.C., publication Politico. In the article, McDaniel insinuates that U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran acted hastily in expediting passage of $5.5 billion in Katrina relief funds to help Mississippi families and businesses recover from the worst natural disaster in our country’s history.

In Politico, McDaniel said it would not have been “an easy vote to cast” and described the bill as “laden with pork,” arguing the disaster money was largely misspent.

Later, McDaniel commented on Facebook that, “Independent studies on Katrina relief have demonstrated more than $2 billion in waste and misspent funds. Some of the waste went for such ‘necessities’ as guns, strippers and tattoos.” Worse, he cited a New York Times article in which not one example comes from Mississippi.

With all due respect, Chris McDaniel, who is Cochran’s opponent in the upcoming Republican primary, got this wrong and his insinuations about massive fraud related to Katrina recovery in Mississippi are not accurate.

McDaniel and I are both from Jones County and our hometowns were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Sustained winds of more than 110-miles-per-hour ripped through the area where 12 people were among the 235 statewide who lost their lives in the fury. Yet, before the sun had set on that infamous Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, chainsaws were roaring as neighbor helped neighbor in our rural community.

Even though many in our county were without water or electricity for more than two weeks (and I personally had to ask for diapers, water and formula from out-of-state friends because our local stores were shuttered), what we suffered was dwarfed by the destruction on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I went to the Coast, and I saw the unbelievable damage and listened to the strong Mississippi hearts of our citizens there.

Katrina relief funding ultimately was an easy vote to cast. The U.S. Senate unanimously approved Sen. Cochran’s plan after an overreaching plan from Louisiana was stopped. Schools, churches, shipyards, police stations, bridges and military bases, not to mention tens of thousands of homes, had to be rebuilt. I do not consider the Mississippi Gulf Coast pork. On this, Chris and I can agree to disagree.

But what I cannot tolerate is Chris’s misrepresentation of the facts concerning the disaster relief funds received by our state.

As State Auditor, I understand and fight public corruption. Our current governor, Phil Bryant, knows it as well. Under his term as State Auditor when Hurricane Katrina hit, he established the Katrina Fraud Prevention and Detection Unit. Since 2006, these diligent investigators and staff in my office have prosecuted 94 people in connection with Katrina fraud. Twenty-seven were Katrina-related home repair contractors and 67 were Katrina Homeowner Assistance Program grant recipients.

But criticizing Mississippi, when we correctly awarded 99.5 percent of Katrina funds without fraud, disparages our image in this country and is not what we expect from a candidate for the U.S. Senate

Mississippi developed a system in response to Hurricane Katrina that provides complete transparency on every dollar spent and prevents fraud. In addition, it actually sped the release of funds. The process was so successful that it received recognition as a best practice by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And now, with the Gulf oil spill settlement and the RESTORE Act, Mississippi’s Legislature is in the process of enacting similar accountability legislation.

As state auditor, I want to reassure Mississippians that we attack fraud whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.

And it does happen.

But Sen. McDaniel’s accusation about Katrina fraud in the midst of his political campaign is just plain wrong. The facts about the disbursement of Katrina funds in the state of Mississippi do not support his claims of fraud here.

Unless there is a last minute entry today in the Republican Primary, the candidates vying for the GOP nomination for U.S. senator on June 3 will be Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel.

Cochran is as well known as a candidate for statewide office could hope to be. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972, he became the first Republican in more than 100 years to win a statewide election in Mississippi when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978.

McDaniel, the challenger, is serving his second term in the state Senate.

In terms of resumes, there is no contest.

So McDaniel is trying to turn Cochran’s congressional record into a disadvantage.

Of particular interest to South Mississippians should be McDaniel’s odd evaluation of Cochran’s support for federal disaster relief following Hurricane Katrina.

According to Politico.com, McDaniel told an audience in Oxford, “I’m not going to do anything for you. I’m going to get the government off your back, then I’m gonna let you do it for yourself.”

Afterwards, a Politico.com reporter asked McDaniel if he would have voted for Katrina disaster relief.

“I would have to see the details of it. I really would,” said McDaniel. “I probably would have supported it, but I don’t know enough about it. That’s just it.”

After a quick course in disaster relief or damage control, or both, McDaniel issued this clarification: “Just to be perfectly clear, I support disaster relief efforts for massive tragedies like Katrina, and I’ve told the media that on several occasions. However, fraud, waste, abuse and misspent funds must never be allowed.”

So one minute McDaniel tells potential constituents he won’t do anything for them. Then he underscores that promise by questioning the federal response to one of the worst natural disasters in the nation’s history. And then he backs down and says, well, he would support disaster relief as long as, you know, it’s not wasted.

That rhetoric may please McDaniel’s Club for Growth supporters, but it left many Mississippians “flabbergasted,” as former-Gov. Haley Barbour said.

For his part, Cochran issued a statement saying “it is critical that Mississippians can count on their elected representatives to help them in times of crisis.”

“I was fortunate to be in a position to help us recover from Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in our state’s history. Our delegation worked together in a bipartisan manner to make sure Katrina relief legislation was passed. I was very pleased to have been a part of the successful effort, which was supported by our colleagues across the country.”

And as we have made clear in earlier editorials, Mississippi was fortunate to have Cochran in that position.

Cochran and McDaniel now have less than 100 days to make their case for which of them is best suited to serve in the U.S. Senate until 2020. Neither should leave that task to surrogates or advocacy groups

After more than 40 years in Congress, Mississippians have a clear picture of Cochran.

But it is difficult to get a clear image of McDaniel.

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