Thad Cochran and a swing voter?
Thank god for TPM, because
they are discussing the one aspect of the Cochran/McDaniel race that's been given short shrift:
lthough the complete story remains to be told, it appears that Mississippi’s black leaders recognized and took advantage of this historic opportunity, by urging their compatriots to vote in the GOP contest to gain a measure of meaningful clout in Mississippi politics.
With the emergence of the Tea Party movement, somewhat more moderate Mississippi Republicans have found it increasingly challenging to win primaries. Yet now it is apparent that they have a new path to victory – one that runs through the African American community. Cochran’s re-nomination sets an example that other Republicans of his ilk may follow.
Will this moment bring policy changes to benefit Mississippi’s blacks and their communities? Here is the key point: African American voters don’t have to change their politics to participate in Republican Party primaries, but the GOP candidates may need to adjust to attract black votes.
There's been a lot of talk about how this election is good for Thad Cochran, bad for the Tea Party. Or the Washington Establishment or name your interested group. Very little attention is paid to what should be called "Cochran Democrats" which would happen if they were white. When white union voters did much the same thing for Ronald Reagan, they become the most important game in town. The proverbial 'swing voters' whom every candidate must study, respond to, and covet. The Reagan Democrats were pivotal in electoral politics for 20 years. Well, a rather extraordinary, completely unheard of, totally unprecedented, yet very similar thing just went down right here and it seems the voters themselves have been given little focus.
I rarely watch cable news but I was sent a clip of Morning Joe recently and it was pretty abysmal watching everyone comment on the impact on everyone but the actual voters.
I dont agree with TPM's analysis and am too partisan to support moves like this for likes of right wingers like Cochran, but like the credit I gave to HuffPo yesterday, at least they are bringing it up. Good on Josh Marshall, Daniel Paul Franklin at Georgia State University, and the whole TPM team.