If Thad Cochran's Sleazy Tactics were Legal – Then So What

We might learn that Chris McDaniel is correct. No one disputes the voters who put Sen. Thad Cochran over the top in the Mississippi runoff (after he lost the primary) were Democrats. McDaniel contends they are indeed ineligible voters, having already voted in the Democratic primary.

Other chicanery is being looked into as well. If that's true, then ultimately the election should be reversed and some people should even be prosecuted.

But if it's not true, then conservatives should stop howling about the outcome.

We know for a fact that Cochran and his establishment Republicans allies used what amounted to race baiting to draw minority voters and scare tactics to draw seniors. As a practical moral matter, we ought to be outraged by this. We ought to be even more outraged that a Republican senator wins by promising to spend more money. I mean really, we can't even get a solid conservative in Mississippi of all places.

As political scientist Aaron Wildavskysaid, “A negative campaign is one in which the wrong candidate loses.”

Whining about the campaign tactics of the winner is unbecoming of conservatives. It's what the left does when they lose. It's actually what the left does even when they win.

Conservatives have to live to fight another day. That's not to be confused with always settling for the lesser of two evils. Nor is this a “let's rally around the nominee” pep talk. I'm not even sure Cochran deserves his party's support in November if he's so certain he can win without them. Mississippi conservatives might understandably sit this one out in November.

But this is politics. Cochran is an old bull who is going to cling to power and perks for as long as possible. He embodies all that is wrong with Washington. And he is unfortunately a Republican. It would be nice if he went out in a gentlemanly manner realizing his time is up. But that's not what these guys do on either side of the aisle and no one should be expecting that politics is suddenly going to turn into a high minded debate about ideas when these incumbents have so much to lose.

Under Mississippi law, primaries are open to voters in both parties. As long as the voters were eligible, Cochran won it fair and square by the laws of the state. He didn't “cheat” by getting Democrats to vote for him. He worked the rules in his favor.

As for McDaniel, no one should blame him if he has sincere concerns about voter irregularities. Given the closeness of the election and unusual circumstances, any candidate would have these same concerns. But he must be careful to avoid looking like a “sore loser.”

He nearly pulled off a miracle and could have a great future. If after a thorough review (assuming there is one), Cochran's win is proven legitimate, he should suck it up and endorse the GOP nominee, paving the path for a future McDaniel campaign.