I have been rarely been so ambivalent about an election as I am about today’s Republican Senate primary in Mississippi. Incumbent Thad Cochran is 76 years old and has been serving in the U.S. Senate since late-1978. As you might expect from a man from the Deep South, he has a very conservative voting record. But he’s also what is known as an “appropriator,” which means that he isn’t the kind of guy to lead a government shutdown. He’s willing to appropriate money for programs and engage in horse-trading, and we need more Republicans like him in Congress, not fewer.
If you’ve never much noticed Senator Cochran, that’s because he isn’t a bomb-thrower and he doesn’t go on television to trade barbs or aggrandize himself. He has a stately manner and he goes about his business like a professional. For all of these reasons, the Tea Party base of the Republican Party has no love for him, and they’re backing his neo-confederate primary opponent, state Senator Chris McDaniel.
If Chris McDaniel replaces Thad Cochran in the U.S. Senate it will be a real loss, and it will send an ominous message to the Republicans who remain in Congress that they cannot legislate or appropriate funds without imperiling themselves.
On the other hand, it’s possible that McDaniel could lose a general election against the likely Democratic nominee, former U.S. Representative Travis Childers. I wouldn’t expect Childers to be helpful to the Democrats on any vote where he was actually needed, but he could keep control of the Senate in Harry Reid’s hands, which would be quite valuable.
As Cochran scrambles to try to save his seat, he’s been going hat-in-hand to the African-American community, which is immense in Mississippi. If he wins, he will owe them and could be helpful in repairing the damage done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court. In contrast, McDaniel is good friends with the Sons of Confederate Veterans. To give you an idea about the political leanings of the Mississippi SCV chapter, in 2011 they launched a campaign to have the state issue Nathan Bedford Forrest license plates. Forrest is most famous for his early role with the Ku Klux Klan.
If I knew for certain that Travis Childers would beat Chris McDaniel it would be easy for me to root for a McDaniel victory tonight. But even that outcome, which is the best on offer, would come with some serious downsides, since it would further intimidate any Republican who is tempted to be reasonable.