Republican Party Betrays Conservatives in Mississippi

Republican Party Betrays Conservatives in Mississippi

The highly-anticipated primary in Mississippi for the Republican Senatorial nomination didn't end the way many expected. But it wasn't just the result (a win for "Gentleman" Thad Cochran), that surprised, it was the methods the mainstream GOP used to claim victory for the six-term Senator. According to widely-publicized reports, Cochran won the GOP nod only by securing the votes of some 35,000 Democrats who were enticed to come out and vote in the Republican primary.

And how did that happen? Well, here's one robo-call used by Cochran to help draw Democratic voters to his side: "If we do nothing, tea party candidate Chris McDaniel wins and causes even more problems for President Obama," the message continues. "With your help we can stop this. Please commit to voting against tea party candidate Chris McDaniel next Tuesday and say NO to the tea party!" Avoiding "causing problems" for President Obama hasn't been what the Republican party has been all about these past five years (in fact, the Republican Speaker of the house just sued him and other GOP bodies are calling for impeachment) but apparently, that's the message Senator Cochran wanted going out on his behalf.

Also looming large in the race is the issue of voter fraud - another big Republican issue we've been hearing about. Apparently, in Mississippi, it is illegal to vote in the Republican primary if you already voted in the Democratic one. But voter rolls seem to show that many of Sen. Cochran's Democratic party supporters did just that:

You can see in this image where three voters on just one particular page of the voter roles took "two bites at the apple" to help the establishment candidate win.

Listening to conservative stalwart Sean Hannity on the radio yesterday, you could hear the emotion coming through as Hannity repeatedly called the mainstream GOP tactics "despicable," again and again. Hannity pointed out that using Democrats' votes to defeat a conservative candidate, with a healthy dose of voter fraud and the playing of the "race card" were tactics no party should use. Hannity said a conservative could not in good conscience vote for Cochran and McDaniel pointed out that these so-called RINO ("Republican In Name Only") type candidates made true conservatives feel unwelcome being in the GOP at all. He said the whole thing was "unbecoming of the party of Ronald Reagan.

Hannity isn't the only conservative who is upset. Look at what dedicated constitutional conservative Mark Levin had to say about the matter:

And former Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is pressing claims of fraud by the establishment GOP:

Of course, this all comes on the heels of well-known RINO Eric Cantor being defeated in a primary in Virginia. Unfortunately for conservatives, the Congress did not get the conservative, tea-party message, and put another moderate, compromising candidate in the Republican Majority Leader position. Establishment Republican Kevin McCarthy has shown to have little or no fire on conservative issues like immigration, gun control, abortion or same-sex marriage.

One thing is for sure. These types of incidents, where strong conservative candidates are cheated by the Republican party out of their rightful place in leadership are going to continue to rankle conservative and tea-party voters. As Sarah Palin put it: "If Republicans are going to act like Democrats, then what's the use in getting all gung-ho about getting Republicans in there?" Some wonder if perhaps a third party will be needed so that conservatives have candidates who really care about, and are willing to act on, their issues. As Palin points out, establishment Republicans are more compromising conservative principles than they are living them. Radio host Andrew Wilkow - another constitutional conservative, believes that McDaniel should run as an independent and reclaim the seat for the true party:

We all have to stay tuned though. McDaniel has refused to concede the race. Perhaps, with skillful lawyering, this conservative aspiring Senator will be able to utilize the civil-justice system to right the wrongs his supporters have identified in the Mississippi election process. That may be the only way for him to take Sen. Cochran's place on the ballot this Fall and give conservatives a reason to come out and vote. Tune into next week's Bordas & Bordas Legal Review where Jamie and I will continue the discussion on this developing political story.