Cochran is no different than most GOP senators
Milquetoast
My grandfather was a prominent GOP donator in Jackson in the 50s and my dad too
Along with the Yeager insurance family and the Mounger oil folks and of course Mississippis premier money clan the Lamptons
Those were the early days
Fred LaRue was another early one
See watergate
It’s funny though on culture war Stennis or Eastland or Sonny Montgomery or Jamie Whitten were far more culturally conservative than most GOPe today
Imagine Stennis on gay marriage or gun control
Remember when Haley Barbour ran against Stennis in 1982. He didn’t do too well, but I was for Haley; then Haley showed his true inclinations years later.
Sonny Montgomery was great. A patriot and supporter of the military. He used to keep in touch with my dad.
Stennis and Whitten were not Conservatives by the Reagan era. Stennis earned a 17% and 33% rating in 1987 and 1988 from the ACU. That’s pretty left-wing.
Whitten was even worse. He earned a 13% and 20% in those same two years. The McGovernites and Watergate Babies moved these guys hard-left in order for them to keep power, along with Jimmy Carter. Contrast in 1971, Stennis and Eastland each got a 94% Conservative rating. Whitten got 100% !