More Oddities from the Cochran/McDaniel Election
Yesterday I told you that I would relate more stories of oddities from the Mississippi election, told to me directly by Mississippi voters.
Over the weekend, I spoke to Julie Patrick, the chairperson of the Republican party in Marshall County, Mississippi, who told me about some odd events at the polls during the primary runoff last week. She is the one who gave Charles C. Johnson the professional-looking flyer from Mississippi Conservatives. The person who gave it to her made a beeline for Patrick as she approached the polls, well within 150 feet of the polling station, and said: “I don’t think I’m supposed to be doing this” as she gave Patrick the flyer. After that, she engaged in very aggressive behavior, stopping cars as they were turning into the polling place, and poking her head in to talk to people.
At Warsaw precinct, Patrick said there were two pro-Cochran campaigners actually inside the building where the polling was taking place. She said they were “not 15 feet away” from where the voting was occurring, “just where people were going in to vote.” She said it looked “as if they were part of the process.”
Patrick described an odd incident witnessed by her mother, in which a bailiff at the Warsaw polling place was handing out red pieces of paper to voters that Patrick’s mother said looked like “vouchers” of some kind. She said that the bailiff told a voter: “you have to use separate carts.” Patrick and her mother did not know what any of this meant for sure.
Several people, upon being told by poll workers that this was a Republican primary, simply left. They thought they had come for a Democrat primary.
Also, on June 25, Charles C. Johnson put out an image of a letter that had been sent out to teachers across the state. I spoke to one of the people who received this letter this past weekend, and that person forwarded me the email. The person asked me to leave names out of it. The email states:
Over $800-million in federal K-12 funding could be at stake.
So alarmed was Mississippi Board of Education chairman Dr. Wayne Gann, that he issued a public letter expressing his dismay over one candidate’s position on education funding. Click here to read Dr. Gann’s letter.
According to the Mississippi Legislative Budget Office, Mississippi received approximately $800-million in federal funds for public education in the most recent school year – almost 25% of the K-12 budget. That’s the equivalent of about 16,000 Mississippi teachers’ salaries and benefits. If those dollars were to be eliminated, the effect on local schools would be devastating.
Because Mississippi receives $3 back in federal funding for every $1 we pay in taxes, Mississippians would have to pay three times as much in taxes as we do now to make up at the state and local level what our schools receive now in federal education dollars.
Click here to see how much your district received in federal funding in the 2012-13 school year, the most recent year for which per-district spending is available.
Public education supporters cannot afford to be naive about the effect that federal elections have on our schools. Those whom we elect to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are responsible for shaping and voting on the budgets that determine the federal funds that flow to each state, including the vital federal dollars that help fund our children’s schools. Your vote matters. Here is important information on the upcoming elections:
Primary Runoff Election, June 24, 2014:
* Anyone who voted in the Republican primary and those who did not vote at all on June 3 can vote in the runoff on June 24
* Those who voted in the Democratic primary on June 3 may not vote in the Senate Republican Primary runoff election on June 24
* If you will be out of town or otherwise unable to vote on June 24, you may cast an absentee ballot by 12:00 noon on Saturday, June 21
* Click here for more about casting absentee ballots, voter registration, and other primary election informationGeneral Election, November 4, 2014:
* Every registered voter can vote in the election on November 4, 2014
* Mississippians are allowed to vote a split ticket in the General Election (a voter may cast votes for Republicans and Democrats on the same ballot)
* Click here for additional dates and information associated with theNovember General Election
Please remember to vote on June 24, and remind your friends and family to do likewise. Our children are counting on us!
You might be interested also in recent news on charter schools in Mississippi. Click here for the latest updates.
I have removed the links from the email, which redirect the user to a site that handles software for email marketing.
My source did not know about the legality of using government email for this kind of electioneering, but I agree with her that it seems suspect — and the appeal, like all pro-Cochran appeals, is based on bringing home federal cash to the state. This is not a Republican message — which is probably why McDaniel was the choice of Republican voters in Mississippi.
I don’t know what’s happening with the post-election drama. Charles has a report at his new site that makes very serious allegations. I can’t vouch for any of that, but I am interested to see what (if anything) comes of it.
forget it, Patterico. It’s Mississippi.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:29 amDing!
Just a little hardball, nothing to see here.
Once back in DC, Cochran and Assoc. will resume public service free of all unseemliness.
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:31 amAgain, the ‘conservatives’ running for Federal and Governor’s office bailed on the open primary once they failed to win the GOP convention beauty contest.
Honestly, what do the gentry take us for, plantation slaves? ‘Eff off floozies.
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:35 am3. Purple MN that is.
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:36 amI’d expect that if electioneering was widespread there would be videos. Doesn’t ANYONE know how to use a phone’s camera? The lack of such video makes me reluctant to buy into this aspect of the complaint. Maybe some will emerge.
That doesn’t mean I think the election was fatally flawed for other reasons, just that in this day and age election irregularities ought be more difficult as anyone can film them at any time, and post the video for the world to see.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 7/1/2014 @ 9:02 am*That doesn’t mean I think the election wasN’T fatally flawed for other reasons,
Kevin M (b357ee) — 7/1/2014 @ 9:03 amWe should do the same racist things to all country clubbing rinos in the next election.
mg (31009b) — 7/1/2014 @ 9:18 amAlso, monoblogue.us put me onto to potential vote-buying (Cash for Cochran!) in this election.
JWB (c1c08f) — 7/1/2014 @ 9:29 ampost-election drama
“There are some people who are complaining that African-American voters voted. I thought one of the major priorities of the Republican Party was to get all minority and ethnic voters out to vote for Republicans.” – Meghan’s coward daddy
Which, this is very close to the stance taken by civil rights activist Rand Paul.
These people are nauseating.
happyfeet (8ce051) — 7/1/2014 @ 10:04 amHad you seen this new post by Angelo Codevilla?
http://www.libertylawsite.org/2014/06/30/the-ruling-class-went-down-to-mississippi/
Final sentence: “The Mississippi primary confirmed yet again that, if America is to go in a direction other than the one of which some three fourths of American disapprove, it is compelled to do so with a vehicle other than the Republican Party.”
A_Nonny_Mouse (45682b) — 7/1/2014 @ 12:24 pmIf anything, it just proved that the “Tea Party” doesn’t have a majority, which it actually doesn’t.
Sammy Finkelman (95e288) — 7/1/2014 @ 12:49 pmA really big oddity is how some of the same people who’ve been banging the drum in their rejection of establishment nominees, now want to support the establishment nominee…of the Democrat party.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 7/1/2014 @ 2:34 pmChilders is way way way too far right to be Democratic establishment Mr. Stone
happyfeet (8ce051) — 7/1/2014 @ 2:40 pmmister happy,
There are no more Scoop Jacksons.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 7/1/2014 @ 3:02 pmAnybody in 2014 who vows to support the Alinskyite Obama Agenda is solidly left wing.
But hey, Travis Childers is your guy now.
I’m sure he’s a wonderful family man and has a neat golden retriever at home.
Damn, Belgium just scored during overtime.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 7/1/2014 @ 3:14 pmI’ve always supported Team USA in the World Cup. Even when their coach or players have done things I didn’t agree with at the time.
Professional Black Caucus to Cochran: “Dance, Monkeyboy!”
mojo (00b01f) — 7/1/2014 @ 3:28 pmgolden retriever ftw
happyfeet (8ce051) — 7/1/2014 @ 6:44 pm11.If anything, it just proved that the “Tea Party” doesn’t have a majority, which it actually doesn’t.
Sammy Finkelman (95e288) — 7/1/2014 @ 12:49 pm
Nonsense, Sammy. What this means is cheaters always win if they don’t get caught.
felipe (960c75) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:02 pmSammy Finkelman (95e288) — 7/1/2014 @ 12:49 pm
felipe (960c75) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:02 pm
No, the “Tea Party” does not actually have a majority. Polls everywhere show that.
They might have had a majority of people who traditionally vote in the Republican primary, but they didn’t and they don’t have a majority of the electorate in any state.
For all the scare tactics to motivate people to vote, and the denigrating of McDaniel, Thad Cochran was basically running an honest on the issues campaign. He just expanded the primary electorate. That’s not cheating.
Thad Cochran was very much an anti-Tea Party candidate, on the issue which the Tea Party made iuts name.
There is no reason to expect him to switch to the “progressive” side on anything else and he didn’t pretend in the campaign.
He said he was for more money for “Mississippi” (most people in Mississippi perhaps might not benefit from most of that)
And that’s what his record is.
He didn’t score so high in the ACA totals precisely because he was not for tightening the budget too much.
Now, the majority of the public is not worried about government spending, or hat there is going to be a disaster if it isn’t quickly slowed down.
And you know something? Not even Paul Ryan is. He’s only worried that the debt could reach too high a level, and that there’s some long term insolvency built into a few programs.
There is a problem is interest rates are ever raised again, and/or if economic growth doesn’t start to take off again. That is the problem, and nothing else about the budget can affect t. YOu could try cutting all you want, and it wouldn’t matter.
Sammy Finkelman (95e288) — 7/1/2014 @ 8:22 pm19. Hey dumbazz, tell us who said they had a majority, Jerry Fallwell?
Gallup has indicated that 25% “affiliate” with the TEAs, nationally. How in the Hell do you suppose that is supposed to mean the ‘TEA’ candidate must win to prove it so?
TEAs might be Thugs or Dhimmis or more likely Indies. Why must they vote in a damn GOP primary and for some chump labeled a TEA. Are they automatons?
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/1/2014 @ 10:34 pmOr they might be the sort who don’t feel the need to trumpet their politics about. Voting is a private act, and people lie to pollsters.
mojo (00b01f) — 7/1/2014 @ 11:08 pmgary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/1/2014 @ 10:34 pm
Gallup has indicated that 25% “affiliate” with the TEAs, nationally. How in the Hell do you suppose that is supposed to mean the ‘TEA’ candidate must win to prove it so?
25% is a lot less than 50%. Nobody said there was no support for the “Tea Party” – just substantially less than a majority. he “Tea Party” got somewhat unpopular when it pushed for the government shutdown. There’s no appetite for these kinds of games. Plus it’s been falsely maligned to some people, because it is not so clear what it stands for or what it is.
TEAs might be Thugs or Dhimmis or more likely Indies. Why must they vote in a damn GOP primary and for some chump labeled a TEA. Are they automatons?
You’ve got the highest concentration among people who vote in a Republican primary.
What happened in Mississippi is that the Cochran campaign expanded the electorate beyond the usual, quite legal under state law.
There was some attempt at lying – not about McDaniel’s positions, but about the kind of person he was – in a way so as to motivate voting. And much was made of the fact the McDaniel campaign was opposing some people participating, which became Cochran wants to represent all of Mississippi = get money for them, too – and McDaniel does not.
There was also some paying of people to get out the vote – and one person, at least, who didn’t get paid, because he had some questions about some (but not all?) of the things he was being told by people supporting Cochran, and when he called the Cochran campaign manager, the campaign manager pretended his cell phone connection was no good, and never called back. So, I guess, in his mind, the deal was off, but maybe it wasn’t in the mind of the person who had questions about some claims he was hearing.
In the end about as many people in black precincts voted for Cochran as voted for him there in the 2008 general election, but probably not the same people.
Anyway, Tea Party vs anti-Tea Party only wins with a limited electorate. Tea Party endorsed candidates win, but not where that’s not the only difference between the candidates.
Sammy Finkelman (95e288) — 7/2/2014 @ 7:59 amSammy, whether the country is majority-tea or not, depends on which polls you look at (and what you believe they mean). The number of people who vote is shockingly small … the number of people who vote in the dominant-party-primary is VERY small indeed. If you restrict your analysis to *those* people, then yes, your polling info is correct. About 25% of repub primary voters will pick tea. About 25% of repub primary voters will pick pork. Hence, McDaniel 49.5% versus Thad 49% aka about even. By the same token, reasonably-good-on-his-voting-record McConnell beats slightly-better Bevin 60/40 for the same basic reason. 50% of dem primary voters will pick the liberal (or who they are led to *believe* is the liberal), and 50% will pick the estab-dem. Hence, 50% Obama vs 50% Hillary in 2008 … but both were “estab-dems” of course in their actions if not their rhetoric … the dem party is locked down tight by the DNC.
But if you widen your vision a bit, and concentrate on what being T.E.A. is fundamentally about, which is to say, reducing spending so we can pay down 18T debt and mitigate 127T unfunded liabilities, then reduce spending even further so we can cut taxes… then there is a lot of support for tea, just waiting to be mobilized. Prior to 9/11 about 50% of people in national polls said their income taxes were unfair, and about 64% said taxation was too high. Those figures dropped to 35 and 49 after 9/11. Under Obama the numbers are heading back up quick, and as of 2014, 40% of people say their income taxes are unfair, and 50% of people say their income taxes are too high. http://www.pollingreport.com/budget.htm
Whether that counts as a “majority” for the tea party, depends on your point of view… but remember that only about 53% of people even pay a net positive income tax. When “just” 50% of people say their income taxes are too high, that’s about 95% of the people who pay income taxes!
http://search.urban.org/texis/search/main.html?query=47&pr=wwwtpc&prox=page&rorder=500&rprox=500&rdfreq=500&rwfreq=750&rlead=750&rdepth=62&sufs=2&order=r&cq=&dropXSL=html
People like Haley/Austin/Henry Barbour make their living as public-private-porkership creators. (Jeppie Barbour came out and publically endorsed McDaniel — they are not all bad.) Look at how extreme the tactics had to get, for Team Thad-n-Haley to eek out a nasty measly 51/49… which will not be forgotten any time soon. Methinks it is only a matter of time before the tea boils over.
The main question is, whether or not that small percentage of people that feed at the public trough, and their nigh endless quantitative-easing-fiat-electrons, can be overcome with votes. Corruption is not just found in the Magnolia State. Of course, the other big question is whether tea-folks will be able to unify amongst themselves, and not be tricked into splintering by secondary issues, or by stalking horses, plus last but not least by the inherent difficulty of a decentralized movement.
...a... (45afe8) — 7/4/2014 @ 4:38 amForgot to say, happy 4th to all. Plus, ‘crimestoppers’ is now actively asking for tips on fraud….
http://mcdaniel2014.com/reward
That is the second prong of the challenge, which is still mainly resting upon the dem-6/3-primary-voters-who-also-became-repub-6/24-primary-voters, which is both illegal and easy to demonstrate (if one is permitted to see the voting-rolls by the local clerks that is to say). As of a couple days ago, 4900 in 51 counties, with 31 counties and the absentee+affidavit ballots still to go.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/2/camps-trade-sharp-words-about-miss-senate-runoff/
...a... (45afe8) — 7/4/2014 @ 4:46 am