“For over 13 years, our mother has been at St. Catherine’s Village where she has been treated for ever-increasing dementia. It is amazing and humbling to see how devoted our dad has been as mother has progressed from early dementia, to complete loss of language to her current state of hospice care.  He is a model of understanding for those who are losing their loved ones in this way. We are shocked by someone trying to use our mother’s illness for political purposes, and our family is unified in doing everything we can to protect her safety, privacy and security.” – Clayton and Kate Cochran, son and daughter of Senator and Mrs. Cochran.

Highlights from the Clarion Ledger article on Chris McDaniel’s press conference and the Cochran campaign rebuttal:

On McDaniel’s problems with the truth and skipping votes to campaign:

“You can pretty much tell he’s lying when his mouth moves,” Russell said of McDaniel. “… That’s all he’s got … Sen. Cochran is in Washington doing his job today. He doesn’t skip votes like (McDaniel). Chris McDaniel is the fifth most truant member of the Senate and he and his campaign manager over there (state Sen. Melanie Sojourner) skipped votes to campaign. Sen. Cochran is not going to do that. He’s up there doing his job.”

On McDaniel’s “not in Mississippi” lie:

“It’s absurd for him to suggest Sen. Cochran is not Mississippi enough, with all the work he’s done for veterans, Katrina victims, disaster relief, for universities, for farmers … (McDaniel) doesn’t want to run on his record, whether claiming to be against Common Core, then voting to fund it … claiming to be against tax increases but voting for tax increases and big spending … He’s going to pound the table and make something up.”

On McDaniel’s reliance on out-of-state money:

“It’s laughable he claims Sen. Cochran is not Mississippi enough, when only 8 percent of (McDaniel’s) campaign donor support has come from inside Mississippi. I challenge anyone to find another campaign in the history of Mississippi that had 92 percent of their donations come from outside the state.”

On Chris McDaniel’s shameful personal attacks:

“I bet every one of you here has been handed the oppo (opposition) research by his campaign,” Russell said. “I may have been born at night, but I wasn’t born last night. It’s clear Chris McDaniel is behind these personal negative attacks on Thad Cochran and it’s shameful and he should be ashamed of himself.”

Click here to read more.

The National Federation of Independent Business, Mississippi’s and the nation’s leading small-business association, today endorsed Thad Cochran for a seventh term in the U.S. Senate.

“Our members support the candidates who support small business, and Senator Cochran’s record speaks for itself,” said Lisa Goeas, NFIB vice president for Political and Grassroots. “He understands that burdening small businesses with unnecessary regulations and excessive taxes makes it even harder for them to grow and create jobs.”

Senator Cochran achieved a 100-percent NFIB voting record in the 112th Congress, supporting key bills to reform the nation’s regulatory processes so small businesses can be more competitive (S. Amdt. 390); control government spending through a balanced budget amendment (S.J. Res. 10); overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s so-called “streamlined elections” rule which would impact business owners’ rights to seek review of pre-election rulings (S.J. Res. 36); and provide tax relief to small-business owners (S. Amdt. 2573).

He also supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required Congress to balance the federal budget every year (S.J. Res. 10) as well as the repeal of the job-killing Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (S. Amdt. 9).

“Senator Cochran has a long-standing strong record of listening to, supporting and voting to protect our small businesses,” said Ron Aldridge, state director of NFIB/Mississippi.  “He clearly understands the challenges facing our entrepreneurs, small-business owners and their families. Since he was first elected, he has worked effectively to help them and our state, and our members know they can continue to count on his support.”

NFIB has over 3,000 members in Mississippi representing a cross section of the state’s economy. Cochran’s endorsement comes from NFIB’s SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust, the association’s political action committee, and is based on the candidate’s positions regarding key small-business issues including health care, taxes, and labor and regulatory issues.

Small-business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to go to the polls. NFIB will encourage its members to help turn out the small-business vote for Cochran in the June 3 primary and again in November.

Click here to read more.

The fact that the Republicans are having a primary battle demonstrates the strength of diverse ideas within their party – you support diversity.

Democrats are like wind-up dolls repeating the leadership’s mantra. Take Mississippi, for example, where well over 80 percent of the voters amended our state constitution to protect traditional marriage. The Democratic Party has driven marriage equality and Mississippi Democrats have just bowed down to the agenda without any pushback. Notice I didn’t say same-sex marriage because their agenda goes much further than that. And yet in 2015 many Mississippians will have to decide if they want to run for county offices under the banner of this far-left party.

Now as to the two Republican candidates, McDaniel is a strong challenger. But the way you describe Thad as a weak warrior who has outlived his political strengths is so erroneous that it would be more likely for the Mississippi Gulf to freeze solid before he could ever be called weak and ineffective. Ask the negotiators of the recently passed farm bill who worked the hardest. And when Mississippi needs a leader to deliver disaster aid like after Hurricane Katrina who does that best?

Now how about the possibility of Mississippi losing our National Guard’s 155th. When it comes to batting at the plate and swinging to keep our 155th and other important issues who would you rather have in the batter’s box? Travis Childers? Chris McDaniel? Or Thad “the Babe Ruth of appropriations negotiations” Cochran? Mississippi has bases loaded, voters will choose who swings the bat. Choose wisely Mississippi, we need a grand slam!

Dr. Ed Holliday is a Tupelo dentist who has written two successful books. Contact him at [email protected]. The Rev. James Hull is an award-wining journalist and a political consultant. You may contact him at [email protected].

The Tupelo Tea Party last week distributed a disinformation flyer concerning the National Guard’s 155th Brigade Combat Team in Mississippi.

The flyer’s premise was that the historic 155th will be shut down because Sen. Thad Cochran voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense and Hagel is a “yes man” for President Barack Obama.

“It’s time Senator Cochran is held responsible for putting Mississippi in this situation,” says the flyer.

False premise. Twisted facts.

In reality, the Tea Party put Mississippi in this situation.

It was the Tea Party push for budget cuts that resulted in the “sequester” that slashes $500 billion from military budgets over 10 years. Such steep cuts require reductions in force.

Mississippi is blessed with more than its share of outstanding active duty military, National Guard, and Air National Guard missions and facilities. That didn’t happen by accident. Sen. Cochran, former Sen. Trent Lott, former Congressman and now Sen. Roger Wicker, the late Congressman G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery, and former Congressman Gene Taylor – all of whom had clout on defense or appropriations committees – spent years building up these missions and facilities. Newer congressmen have helped maintain them.

As the military makes cuts, our numerous missions and facilities can’t help but be impacted, along with those in other states. Fighting off Army, Navy, and Air Force attempts to make deep cuts to Mississippi units will be hard.

The issue with the 155th is part of an intense tug-of-war between Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, and National Guard leadership. Odierno wants to maintain as many active duty combat-ready units as possible. The National Guard says its combat-ready units should stay because they cost one-third of what active duty units cost. (Hagel wants fewer, better armed, active duty units.)

Odierno would deactivate six National Guard Brigade Combat Teams from 28 nationwide. The 155th could be one of them. The active duty Army also covets the Apache attack helicopters at the 155th Army Aviation Support Facility in Tupelo.

Sen. Cochran and other Republican members of the Mississippi congressional delegation are on top of this issue. Early last week, the senator joined with Tea Party favorite Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Lindsey Graham and others to introduce legislation that would halt the active duty Army plan. Congressman Steven Palazzo voted later in the week to include a provision in the House Defense Authorization Bill that does the same.

Just as it takes congressional clout to gain military missions and facilities, it will take clout to keep them. We learned that lesson well during the BRAC rounds. So, Tupelo Tea Party, if we want to keep the 155th, we need to keep Sen. Cochran. Nobody has and uses clout for our military as well as he does.