[Originally posted at Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.]
Republican Thad Cochran says an announcement is coming regarding his 2008 electoral plans in “a few weeks.” (HT: TPM) But could Cochran be facing health problems? I only ask because of some of the quotes in the aforelinked article (emphasis added by me):
“I certainly hope he does not retire,” said Paul Mize Sr., a longtime Tupelo friend and confidante. Mize said Cochran is healthy, active and enormously helpful to Mississippi’s interests in Congress.
Former Cochran chief staff counseI, Brad Prewitt, an attorney and business consultant in Tupelo, said he hopes Cochran runs, adding, “He is logically, mentally a well-organized man. I think he is weighing all the factors about what to do with the rest of his time.”
Is there any reason to think Cochran isn’t “healthy” or “mentally well-organized”? Is this a case of “methinks thou doth protest too much”? We’ll see. Oh, and this article also contains the dumbest sentence I’ve seen in a while: “Support for a sixth Cochran term is widespread among his Mississippi backers.” Thanks, NE-Miss Daily Journal, support for Cochran is widespread among his backers. Basically, the newspaper dedicated column space to say that Cochran’s supporters support him. Man, oh man…
As a close follow of my home-state politics, Thad is definitely considering heading back home to Mississippi for good. The man has spent over half his life in Congress. He deserves to live out his golden years in peace. After our elections this past Tuesday, Thad knows that the Mississippi Republican Party will live on after he leaves office. The only reason I can think of that Thad would stay in office is to keep Trent Lott from gaining the title “Senior Senator.” They’re not big fans of each other… never have been, for that matter.
BUT, if there is one thing I know about Thad, is that all these “close friends” or whatever they want to be called don’t have a clue what Thad’s plans are. The one and only person who knows that is Thad Cochran. We shall see soon enough.
Looking at the what-ifs, Mike Moore and Ronnie Musgrove would be great candidates to run. Moore is a well-known and well-liked person in the eyes of both parties. Musgrove is a tenacious fighter, even with his soft-spoken demeanor. Even though Musgrove lost his reelection in 2003, he’s still very respected throughout the state. He may not be a Democrats’ Democrat, but he’s a Democrat. No doubt about it. He won’t be in favor of abortion or gay marriage, but he’ll be a great advocate for Mississippi and Blue Dog Democratic ideals. And yes, I’m biased. Musgrove rocks!!!
On the Republican side, folks like Congressman Wicker and Congressman Pickering would be ideal for the GOP. The problem with them, however, is that Pickering is retiring to take a nice job at a lobbying firm. Wicker is as dumb as a rock. No, seriously. The guy is horrible. He won’t take responsibility and his staff is a bunch of whiny babies that point their fingers at each other saying “it’s not my fault; it’s his” and so on. It’s embarassing.
Before I forget, Thad is in very good shape. He plays tennis all the time. The man is healthy for his age. There’s nothing that would allow anyone to think that he’s mentally ill, well, save for the whole Republican thing.