In the wake of last week’s tornadoes that devastated multiple regions of Mississippi, Chris McDaniel was called out twice by writers of the state’s largest newspaper:

In the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in Mississippi history, U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel came off every bit as tone-deaf and Washington-centered as he’s accused incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran of being.

As 15 tornadoes tore through the state Monday, it appeared to be politics as usual for the McDaniel campaign. He was attending or planning “meet-and-greets,” and his campaign was streaming messages about McDaniel appearing on “The Blaze,” being endorsed by a political group and other campaign fodder.

Then on Tuesday morning, as people in the state he wants to represent in Congress were climbing through wreckage and finding and identifying those who lost their lives, McDaniel was given a national audience, on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

McDaniel made no mention of the devastation in his state. He was focused on illegal immigration and criticizing Cochran.

He did note that “all eyes are on Mississippi” right now, but he was referring to his tea party-fueled challenge of a longtime powerful incumbent Republican.

McDaniel at one point in the interview said, “For a change, instead of playing political games, let’s focus on what really matters.”

Indeed.

He did get Ingraham’s endorsement during the interview, and she called him “the closest thing to Jeff Sessions I’ve come across.”

The McDaniel campaign didn’t appear to shift into thoughts-and-prayers-are-with-our-fellow-Mississippians mode until later Tuesday, after my colleague Sam Hall ripped into them on clarionledger.com.

Most of the state’s other politicians, including Cochran, had shut down their political machinery and shifted into disaster mode, pledging all the help they can get for those affected. McDaniel missed a golden opportunity to appear, well, all senatorial and statesmanlike.

Mississippi politics 101 would have seen him out, shirt sleeves rolled up and tie off, trying to help those in need. Or at the least taking a break from hardball politicking and campaigning.

McDaniel is smart and energetic and has been working his tail off crisscrossing the state campaigning from sunup until late night. Much of this blunder is probably attributable to campaign handlers. But folks hammered by storms probably wouldn’t parse such details.

Note to McDaniel campaign: You folks need to have a long sit-down meeting and decide your platform on natural disasters in Mississippi. What with waffling about support of Katrina relief and this, quite frankly, McDaniel is starting to look like he’s not a good man to have in a storm.

As the GOP Senate primary enters its final month, McDaniel’s campaign still appears focused on appealing to the hard-right, tea party-type folks in the Republican Party. But he’s had them locked down from the get-go. They’re fired up, mad and ready to vote against Cochran.

To win, McDaniel is going to have to broaden his appeal and make more people want to vote for him, not just against Cochran.

And when a close-knit, rural state like Mississippi gets hit with a major disaster, a politician needs to remember the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

When tornadoes were ripping through central and north Mississippi yesterday, I wasn’t all that surprised to see an email from Chris McDaniel’s campaign jump into my inbox. I assumed that it was a typical “our thoughts and prayers” email that is common.

Instead, it was a planning email announcing some upcoming campaign stops, including meet-and-greet events in DeSoto and Madison counties for today. It hit me the wrong way, and I almost fired off a snarky little tweet and posted something talking about how thoughtless and asinine it was to send out campaign emails on a day when Mississippi is suffering so much bad weather and loss.

But I let it go. The main reason: I wasn’t going to hammer McDaniel because one of his staffers was tone-deaf to what was happening outside the campaign bubble. Besides, it wasn’t a political email; just a planning piece. (Would have been smart to cancel those appearances today, though…)

Then the campaign sent out another email today, and that was the last straw.

“McDaniel Signs FAIR Immigration Reform Pledge, Calls on Sen. Cochran to Sign” is the subject of the email.

Republican Chris McDaniel, candidate for U.S. Senate in Mississippi, today announced he has signed the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) pledge to enact meaningful immigration reform aimed at restoring traditional immigration rates and protecting America’s interests, economic and otherwise.

“I am honored to stand along side FAIR and fight with them for common-sense immigration reform,” said McDaniel. “With tens of millions of adults sitting out of the workforce as a result of depressed wages and a sluggish economy, it is vital conservative Republicans stand and fight to complete the border fence. Sadly, career politicians like Thad Cochran repeatedly vote not to fund the border fence and encourage de facto amnesty,” McDaniel continued.

So, while the people of Tupelo, Louisville, Richland, Pearl, Brandon and places in between are trying to locate loved ones, reclaim lost personal treasures and grasp the reality of the devastation that has ripped across this state, Chris McDaniel is trying to score political points.

You remember when McDaniel said, “I’m not going to do anything for you” in relation to disaster relief? He was telling the truth.

Updated: A McDaniel supporter who didn’t like my post said I should look at the Mississippi Democratic Party’s Twitter feed for right after the storm. So I did. All last night was storm-related, just like state GOP. Today, six tweets: one storm-related, one overtly political, one about a meeting, one about voter registration and the others about an equality resolution. The state GOP: all storm-related.

State Democrats should give politics a rest as well. State GOP is doing it right. Still doesn’t change a single thing about what McDaniel and his campaign did, though, does it?

EAGLE PAC, which serves to advance The University of Southern Mississippi, released the following statement endorsing U.S. Senator Thad Cochran for re-election:

“Mississippi is fortunate to have a true statesman in the Senate that represents its people with integrity and shares the values that Mississippians hold so dear.

Senator Cochran has been a strong advocate for Southern Miss in Washington.  As a result of Thad’s commitment and dedication to Southern Miss, the university has garnered international respect in numerous fields such as polymer science, marine sciences, economic development and education.  Senator Cochran understands the critical role of higher education in ensuring that the private sector thrives.

After Hurricane Katrina Senator Cochran’s leadership was vital in assisting Southern Miss, as well as all of South Mississippi, recover from that devastating storm.  Whether the crisis is a hurricane, oil spill or tornado, Eagle PAC knows Southern Miss can count on Thad.

Because of his experience, knowledge and integrity, Eagle PAC believes that Senator Cochran will continue to advance Southern Miss’s interests and that he is the right person to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate.”

“I am grateful for the support of Eagle PAC,” said Senator Cochran. “The University of Southern Mississippi contributes to our state in many important ways. It’s educational focus, including being home to nationally-recognized programs such as its School of Polymers and High Performance Materials, create opportunities for our citizens. I look forward to continuing to work with Southern Miss to build Mississippi’s economy and quality of life.”

Today, U.S. Senator Thad Cochran’s campaign  about the major success of legislation approved in the Mississippi Legislature in 2010 that has reduced crystal meth production by 93% in Mississippi—and how Chris McDaniel voted AGAINST this important legislation. In fact, McDaniel was one of only four State Senators who voted against the bill that is now being called 

The new ad highlights the problem that Mississippi faced in 2009 when crystal meth production was reaching  Law enforcement needed help fighting the meth problem as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics recorded  in the state—the highest number ever recorded in one year.  That same year, there were  reported in Mississippi, many that were taken into state child protection services and some who were physically and sexually abused.

The Mississippi Legislature answered the challenge by passing H.B. 512 with overwhelming support—including the support of then-Governor Haley Barbour and then-Lt. Governor Phil Bryant. While the legislation was being considered,  law enforcement was convinced this bill would be “the most effective way available to us to knock down the scourge of methamphetamine in Mississippi,” and , “We need to stop this plague that’s been imposed on our children.”

Inexplicably, State Senator  Chris McDaniel was only one of four members of the Senate who opposed the legislation that has  in Mississippi.

News reports have highlighted how effective the anti-meth production legislation has been in Mississippi as a  Statewide syndicated columnist Sid Salter , “Mississippi was among national leaders in an initiative to do something proactive to impede the manufacture of methamphetamine in Mississippi – an enterprise that had reached epidemic proportions prior to the courageous 2010 act of the Mississippi Legislature in adopting key legislation to make meth manufacture substantially more difficult in the state.”

Amazingly—even with the indisputable evidence showing a 93% drop in meth labs in Mississippi since the bill became law—just ten days ago (April 14), Chris McDaniel bragged about his vote AGAINST the anti-meth legislation in a  to the Mississippi Libertarian Party. In that letter, McDaniel cites ten reasons why he claims to be aligned with libertarian views saying his “record speaks for itself”—and highlighting his vote against the anti-meth bill as the second item in his list to prove it.

“The more voters in Mississippi find out about Chris McDaniel’s record, the more troubling it is—and the more questions it raises about his priorities,” said Jordan Russell, Communications Director for U.S. Senator Thad Cochran’s campaign. “As we’ve seen recently, Chris McDaniel has a history of not voting in elections that are important to Republicans in Mississippi, and his record for missing votes in the State Senate earlier this year was one of the worst. Now it’s even more troubling to see that Chris McDaniel was one of only four State Senators who voted against legislation to fight crystal meth labs. It’s legislation that has been very effective in reducing meth labs by 93% in our state. When Haley Barbour, Phil Bryant and almost every member of the Mississippi Legislature pulled together to help law enforcement protect our citizens in the fight against crystal meth, Chris McDaniel against this important bill. Even though out-of-state Washington, D.C. groups continue spending millions to fund advertising campaigns for Chris McDaniel, the facts are clear that when Mississippi needed Chris McDaniel to help fight crystal meth drug crime, he refused to help.”

Lots has been said about the June 3 election for the Republican nomination for Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, and there’s more to come. Unfortunately, one candidate’s claims have gone largely unchallenged.

Tea Party extremist Chris McDaniel is challenging Sen. Thad Cochran and is irresponsibly misleading voters by trying to paint Cochran as a big spender.

Relying on canned talking points from his D.C.-based backers, McDaniel tries to blame the national debt on Cochran’s success in fighting for Mississippi in Washington. Someone needs to tell McDaniel that erasing everything Cochran’s done for Mississippi wouldn’t reduce the debt one cent. Every dollar Cochran has brought to Mississippi would have been spent elsewhere.

McDaniel, who is a trial lawyer, is trying to stoke the fires of voter disenchantment by throwing around “constitution,” “liberty,” and “courage.” This does not qualify him to be a U.S. senator.

Mississippians should reject his empty rhetoric.

McDaniel won’t tell you that our debt is being driven by entitlement programs, not annual discretionary programs. The Appropriations Committee, where Cochran is the most senior Republican, only has control over the latter.

Discretionary spending is considered by the Appropriations Committee every year and provides support for priorities like our military, veterans, and research.

Appropriations does not have jurisdiction over mandatory spending for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, which were put on autopilot by laws passed in 1939 and 1965. The only way to truly rein in federal spending without raising taxes is to reform these programs.

Discretionary appropriations, where Cochran plays a key role, have remained relatively constant for the past 50 years, and that spending has been significantly reduced in recent years, thanks in large part to his leadership.

Chris McDaniel won’t tell you that.

The Appropriations Committee has no control over how big the annual federal spending pie is. Overall pie size is set by separate legislation written by a different committee. Appropriations only controls how the pie is sliced and served.

Once the pie size is locked in for the year, Cochran always muscles up for bigger slices for Mississippi. It’s practical and possible to fight for both smaller pies and bigger slices.

If the government is going to build a ship, Cochran says build it in Pascagoula. If the government is going to research how to increase agricultural yields, research it at MSU. If it’s going to be done anyway, don’t surrender it to California or New York or Chicago.

McDaniel spoke at MSU recently, declaring to a sparse crowd that he wants to be like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. Asked to name one specific instance when either of those politicians was successful in reducing spending or helping his home state, McDaniel was stumped.

The correct answer to both of those questions is, “There is none.”

What McDaniel really seems to want is fame. He says whatever he thinks gets him on TV.

Cochran simply goes to work every day to fight for Mississippi, no fanfare.

I recommend McDaniel actually show up for his current job and learn to be an effective state legislator. Leave the complex, serious problems of our time to someone who understands the responsibility of representing all Mississippians: Thad Cochran.

David Clarke is a graduate student in accounting at Mississippi State University. He is from Greenville, and served a student internship in Sen. Cochran’s Washington office.

about this article.

As a weekly television political commentator from the Republican side of the aisle on WLBT’s “Red/Blue Review,” I regularly offer my opinions of what I think is happening or will happen in the political arena. When I do, I try not to let my view of what I hope will actually happen override my objective view of what I believe actually will happen.

In other words, my goal is for my television commentaries to be a reflection of my objective sense of what’s going on in state and national politics.

But I will readily admit that I am not objective when I write about how important I believe it is for Thad Cochran to be re-elected to the United States Senate this year. And I believe it is important not only for the State of Mississippi, but for the United States of America.

When Thad Cochran was first elected to Congress, our state was still fresh off the civil rights abuses and reeling from the raw emotions caused by the government-sanctioned mistreatment of people because of the color of their skin. Though it’s hard for us to imagine it now, many civic and business leaders in our state were still at that time insisting on the segregation of the races.

Not only did Thad Cochran never act in any manner that would cause racial divisiveness during any of his campaigns, but upon being elected to the House of Representatives, and later to the United States Senate, he always employed African Americans in positions of responsibility in his office.

That sounds like such a natural and appropriate thing to do now; something that would not raise objection from anyone. But at the time, Thad Cochran was leading our state in the right direction on race relations, even though many did not want to follow enthusiastically.

The reason Senator Cochran was able to do that then is the same reason he is such an effective leader for our state and nation today. His statesmanship, his fundamental decency, his kind demeanor and his ability to build relationships where others prefer to build walls make it possible for Thad Cochran to get things done that would be impossible for many others to accomplish.

How often can a public servant’s career be examined in the detail and for the duration that Thad Cochran’s has been on display, and find nearly universal respect, admiration and gratitude for the service he has offered? But that is exactly what we find when we look at Thad Cochran’s career of service to Mississippi.

But what is this? Now Republican primary voters are being asked to fire Thad Cochran on June 3, for the apparent offense of not being “conservative enough.”

The whole idea is astounding to me. In fact, I believe what some of Senator Cochran’s critics mean by not “conservative enough” is that he doesn’t yell loudly enough, or pound the table vigorously enough, or point his finger defiantly enough to suit their tastes.

Let me note here, that if a firebrand orator is what people are looking for, they probably should not vote for Thad Cochran. I’ve heard him speak many, many times over the years. He is extremely bright, very well-spoken, and forthright and compelling in his speaking style. But I have never heard him raise his voice or seen him point his finger in all the time I have known him. That’s just not the way he does business.

On the other hand, consider how he does business:

Unfailingly polite and uncommonly humble, Thad Cochran does not surround himself with an entourage. Many are the people in our state who will report having seen him traveling through airports by himself, carrying his own bag, not imposing the trappings of his important position on anyone.

Those characteristics make it particularly galling when I read or hear someone criticizing Senator Cochran with comments such as “that seat belongs to the people, not to one man.” For goodness sake, no one would agree with that comment more than Thad Cochran. But on the other hand, few have occupied that seat, courtesy of the people of Mississippi, with greater humility and grace.

When delegations from our state travel to Washington to call on Senator Cochran’s office on some issue of import to Mississippians, they are not hustled off to a small meeting room with a junior staff person who will report later to the Senator. Instead, Thad Cochran sits down around a table in a room adjacent to his personal office – or as often has people directly in his office – and talks to them about their issues of concern.

Then, I have heard that some people believe Thad Cochran should be replaced because he helped direct appropriations of federal funding – “earmarks” – to his home state. Perhaps if I better understood which of Senator Cochran’s earmarks so offended his critics, I could better respond to their concerns.

Is it, for example, the bridge that was built over Biloxi Bay after Hurricane Katrina destroyed it that Senator Cochran should not have tried to fund? Or is it, perhaps, the bridge over Bay St. Louis that is not “conservative enough”?

Should Senator Cochran not have tried to help fund the internationally renowned Thames School of Polymer Science at USM or the National Acoustic Center at Ole Miss or the Research Park at MSU? Are those extraordinary activities of some of our state’s public universities not “conservative enough”?

Maybe it’s his efforts over many years to address Jackson’s chronic flooding problems that earn Senator Cochran the sneer of those who believe he is not “conservative enough.” Or is it the work he did to support the transportation infrastructure improvements that made it possible for north Mississippi to land the new Toyota plant a few years ago that puts off his critics so badly?

For my part, if Thad Cochran is not “conservative enough” because he believes that members of Congress and not unelected bureaucrats should decide how tax dollars are spent, then I’m not conservative enough, either.

Some are asking that the people of Mississippi fire Thad Cochran in a few weeks for giving his career to the service of the United States and to our state.

I say, if Thad Cochran is willing to re-up for another tour of duty, not only does he have my vote, he has my gratitude for his service and selflessness.

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