A day removed from Senator Thad Cochran’s (R-MS) eleventh-hour victory over Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel (R), the questionable tactics employed by the GOP and Cochran campaign are coming to light. From the robocalls used to woo black voters to the future ramifications of winning an election because of Democratic voters, it looks like politicians and pundits alike are going to be analyzing this race for a long time. On radio this morning, Glenn couldn’t help but hope “we are better than this.”
“The story on how Thad Cochran beat Chris McDaniel in Mississippi is beginning to become much more disgusting than we even thought yesterday, and we're better than this,” Glenn said. “We are absolutely better than this.”
Glenn believes the situation in Mississippi proves a couple of things. For starters, you can never underestimate the desperateness of the establishment.
“First of all, never, ever underestimate what the GOP is willing to do,” Glenn said. “The GOP is willing to sell their soul to the devil. They are willing to do anything it takes to win. Don't ever underestimate anyone that's been in Congress or senate for 30 years. They have racked up all kinds of bonus points, all kinds of favors that they are due, and they will call them in.”
The Daily Caller has released the audio of a robocall seemingly aimed at potential Democratic voters that harshly criticizes the McDaniel campaign and the Tea Party. Because Mississippi has an open primary, the Cochran campaign actively courted predominantly black communities.
Listen to the audio below courtesy of the Daily Caller:
While it is unclear exactly who paid for the robocall campaign, it is believed to have come from a GOP affiliated PAC.
“So what did they just do? They said, 'This is a racist. This is a guy who doesn't like Barak Obama,’” Glenn explained. “That is the Republicans that paid for this. So don't talk to me about how much they don't agree with the President because they just got a bunch of people to vote, to make sure that Chris McDaniel didn't stop the President's agenda.”
In addition to the race baiting, the robocall focuses primarily on one thing: Free stuff. The New York Times spoke to a handful of voters in Mississippi who voted for Cochran and that message seemed to have resonated.
Hattiesburg resident Jeanie Munn told the Times she believes McDaniel “represents a threat to the state,” citing a vote he cast in the State Senate against a new nursing school building at the University of Southern Mississippi.
“Okay, so she voted because she wanted the free nursing school,” Glenn said.
The Times also cites Roger Smith, a black Democrat, who was apparently paid to campaign fir Cochran. “I don’t know too much about McDaniel,” he said, “other than what McDaniel’s saying: That he’s Tea Party, he’s against Obama, he don’t like black people.”
“That's your informed electorate,” Glenn quipped.
Based on the people quoted in the Times article, this was a common theme among voters in the state. Furthermore, an op-ed from the New York Times editorial board explains the “debt” Cochran now owes the people of Mississippi – i.e. the Democrats who put him over the top.
Ultimately, looking at the results of this particular race, Glenn now better understands what Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has been doing in recent weeks. While he believes it is a “dangerous game,” it may be the only way to curry the favor needed to rise up the ranks.
“I think this is why Rand Paul is playing the game that he's playing. I personally think it is a very dangerous game. I don't like the way Rand Paul is conducting himself in business… [but] I know why he is doing it,” Glenn concluded. “He's learned from his father: You can't go it alone. You have to have the party mechanics on your side. And if those people from the party are not on your side, you're decimated. And Chris McDaniel just saw this.”
Front page image courtesy of the AP
