 "Photo: Austin McAfee | The Daily Mississippian")
Sen. Thad Cochran discussed issues ranging from government earmarks and the bailout plan to offshore drilling and foreign affairs in a forum at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on Wednesday.
The forum was moderated by Sid Salter, perspective section editor for The Clarion Ledger.
Sen. Cochran began the forum by assuring everyone that, if elected, he plans to serve his full six years, as long as he is healthy and able. He also assured the audience that it would be his last term.
When Salter asked Cochran about his stance on earmarks, Cochran said, “I certainly disagree with John McCain on that issue. An earmark is nothing more than an appropriated amount of money for a specific purpose. It is our Constitutional role.”
Cochran discussed the bridges over the Tombigbee waterway as an example of an earmark.
“The bridge over Tombigbee was an earmark written by me, and no one here is complaining about that,” he said. “I saved Mississippi tax payers a lot of money.”
Salter brought up the issue of the bailout, which Sen. Cochran voted against, and the partisan divide in the Senate. Cochran said he voted against it because he didn’t know enough about the issue to go against the arguments of his respected peers in the Senate.
“We’re all in it together, and there is no partisan gain and shouldn’t be. This is a global economic crisis. We need to insure that international trade continues to move along because we are the largest exporter of goods and services,” Cochran said.
“I think the two party system has been with us long enough for us to know the pluses and minuses of it.
“It doesn’t control the important issues of defense and economics – people respond to those in their own merits. We are a democracy that has shown we can work beyond party lines if we have to.”
Cochran spoke strongly about his support of off-shore drilling. He said Americans have a huge roll to lay in the global distribution of energy as a nation.
“We’ve got to get away from the idea that producing energy is harmful for the environment. It is more harmful to not produce enough energy to run our county. We need to explore off-shore drilling. It will be beneficial to our state and nation.”
In reference to the war in Iraq, Cochran discussed the idea of involving our allies as an exit plan.
“It is a dangerous area, and we don’t need to be the police. We need to do a better job of bringing people in with us. We need to make alliances and treaties that will ensure that we have access to oil without being treated like the bad guys.”
Salter asked Cochran, “What makes you the best candidate for the Senate?”
Cochran responded with simply, “My experience in Congress and the contacts I’ve made. Mississippi has policies that benefit from my being a part of the discussion.”
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