Chris McDaniel in State of Mississippi Archives

On Principles & Values: Runoff recount denied by Mississippi Supreme Court

McDaniel has yet to concede in his primary fight with Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), despite Cochran's 7,667-vote lead in the runoff, now over a month ago.

The challenger has spent the past month poring over poll books looking for illegitimate votes and went to the state Supreme Court in pursuit of poll books without personal information removed, but was denied once before. That information, which includes birthdates, would help him evaluate whether any residents who voted in the Democratic primary came out to vote again in the Republican runoff, an action barred by Mississippi elections law.

Cochran made an aggressive play for African American Democrats in the runoff, and McDaniel's supporters believe much of Cochran's win margin is comprised of "illegitimate crossover votes."

On Principles & Values: OpEd: Cochran accused of courting blacks for runoff vote

In a media call on Wednesday with Cochran aides, an anonymous caller repeatedly asked questions about the senator's interaction with African-American voters. "If black people were harvesting cotton, why is it OK to harvest their votes?" the caller asked. Some McDaniel supporters have accused the Cochran campaign of paying African-Americans to vote for the senator in the runoff.

On Abortion: Human life begins at conception

McDaniel: Strongly Agree

Question topic: Should abortion be allowed under extenuating circumstances? If so, what circumstances?

McDaniel: Only in the case where the mother's life is at risk.

On Budget & Economy: Immoral to saddle our grandchildren with this much debt

McDaniel: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.

McDaniel: Ending deficit spending. It is immoral to saddle our children and grandchildren with this much debt.

On Civil Rights: Government shouldn't redefine marriage

McDaniel: Strongly Agree

On Education: Oppose nationwide Common Core standards

McDaniel: Strongly Disagree

On Energy & Oil: No subsidies for wind and solar

McDaniel: Strongly Disagree

On Government Reform: Photo ID for voting

McDaniel: Disagree

On Gun Control: Opposes more gun restrictions

McDaniel: Strongly Disagree

On Health Care: Repeal ObamaCare to let our economy flourish

McDaniel: Strongly Disagree

Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.

McDaniel: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.

McDaniel: Repealing ObamaCare. We must repeal it to allow our economy to flourish.

On Homeland Security: Maintain a superior nuclear arsenal

McDaniel: Strongly Agree

On Immigration: Protect the borders; prevent illegal entry

McDaniel: Strongly Agree

On Principles & Values: Judeo-Christian values established our government framework

McDaniel: Strongly Disagree

Question topic: Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.

McDaniel: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

McDaniel: I'm a Southern Baptist, saved by God's grace at the age of 13.

On Civil Rights: As host of Right Side Radio, railed against hip-hop culture

"Millions in this country feel like strangers in this land--you recognize that, don't you?" he told an audience of farmers in Covington County. "An older America passes away, a new America rises to take its place. We recoil from that culture. It's foreign to us. It's offensive to us."

[His supporters] see a candidate who grew up steeped in his Baptist faith, surrounded--and influenced by--the history and traditions of the rural South.

On Principles & Values: Revive America's Christian foundation

The Tea Party-backed candidate made no mention of his own challenge to Sen. Thad Cochran. Instead, McDaniel delivered a political sermon of sorts, drawing from the scripture of the Founding Fathers to make a case for Christians to stand up and fight to reclaim America's culture and reestablish the nation's Christian foundation. He quoted an array of American figures endorsing America's Christian values and encouraging a God-fearing nation, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and others.

On Environment: Supported Katrina relief, but some funds were misspent

Pressed on the 2005 Katrina bill specifically, he conceded: "I probably would have supported it," adding that "some of the money [in the Katrina bill] was misspent." When it comes to government spending, he argued, "It's one thing to provide immediate storm relief and to protect people's lives and property, it's quite another to benefit campaign supporters."

Asked whether there was a specific instance of government abuse he had in mind, McDaniel responded: "Not that I can say. I think the people of the coast understand that some of the money was misspent," he said. "I'm not alleging that Sen. Cochran misspent it."

A campaign spokesman reached out the morning after the interview to "clarify that Chris would've been a yes vote on the disaster bill.

On Welfare & Poverty: No welfare state: "I'm not going to do anything for you"

"I'm not going to do anything for you," McDaniel said. "I'm going to get the government off your back, then I'm gonna let you do it for yourself."

About an hour later and less than a mile away, speaking in the same fluid, confident patter, he hedged that statement. McDaniel said he was not prepared to take a position on either the federal farm bill or the Cochran-backed effort to fight rate hikes in flood insurance--two local issues for which assertive federal action is plainly popular. "You can't very well send 1,000 government promises to people and then pull the rug out from under them the next day," McDaniel said.

On Environment: Uphold property rights; oppose Supreme Court's Kelo decision

On Foreign Policy: Opposed Sec. Def. Hagel as "too soft on Iran"

At first glance, an outside observer might conclude that some of these issues won't resonate with the average Republican voter. McDaniel sharply disagrees, pointing out "as Mississippi becomes a more Republican state, there is a watershed split between moderates and constitutional conservatives. This is what this race is about and the times are changing."

On Civil Rights: Dems want homosexual marriage legal in all 50 states

On Homeland Security: Why are Muslims never portrayed as villains by Hollywood?

McDANIEL: It's funny how the movies have portrayed themselves lately and how the video games have portrayed themselves lately. There's one person that cannot be a villain in Hollywood, ever. One group that cannot be villains. Who is that?

CO-HOST: The Muslims.

McDANIEL: Yeah, isn't that neat? They'll go out of their way to find some Russian white guy that's just nuts, and he's the terrorist, which I've never seen that. But the Muslims, they've just disappeared from Hollywood's radar.

On Families & Children: Hip-hop culture values prison more than college

On Gun Control: Blames rising gun violence on "hip-hop" culture

The comments were featured in a teaser for the program: "The reason Canada is breaking out with brand new gun violence has nothing to do with the US and guns," McDaniel said. "It has everything to do with a culture that is morally bankrupt. What kind of culture is that? It's called hip-hop. Name a redeeming quality of hip-hop. I want to know anything about hip-hop that has been good for this country."

On Homeland Security: Waterboarding was effective on suspected 9/11 terrorists

"He wasn't gonna talk, was he? Unless something happened. That's right, something did occur: It's called waterboarding. Waterboarding is something they do to people to make them talk. It is torture, to the liberals. It is a fairly humane form of torture, if you could classify it as such. Here's what happens: You make the guy believe he's going to drown. And it's a pretty strong fear--drowning. Well this guy, Muhammad, he spoke all day. He spoke all night. Anything and everything, just let me avoid the waterboard. Because Muhammad apparently had a problem with drowning. And that worked."

Muhammad, who was waterboarded 183 times before the practice was discontinued, did talk, but not always truthfully.

On Budget & Economy: Era of big spending is over; age of appropriations must end

Chris McDaniel has sought to seize on the new antispending fervor, casting Cochran--who has delivered billions of dollars in federal spending projects to his impoverished state--as an avatar of a bygone political culture. "The national debt is the greatest moral crisis of this generation," McDaniel said. "So, let's go forth from this place making it perfectly clear that the era of big spending is over. The age of appropriations must end."

After Cochran announced his re-election bid Friday, the Club for Growth, who have endorsed McDaniel, put out a statement that criticized the senator for his support of earmarked spending projects, for bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for raising the federal debt limit.

On Budget & Economy: Those in D.C. don't appear to be listening

• "Cochran supports earmarks and crossed over to vote with Democrats on a host of issues. There are those like Senator Ted Cruz who not only vote with conservatives, but give voice to liberty-loving citizens across the country. Then there are those like Thad Cochran who are completely missing in action in the fight against ObamaCare."
• "Chris McDaniel has the courage to stand up to the big spenders in both parties."
• "Chris McDaniel is ready to take the fight straight to the liberals in Washington who have led us to $17 trillion in debt."

On Principles & Values: Tied to Tea Party and endorsed by conservative groups

The endorsing groups stressed that McDaniel has proven his right-wing bona fides. "Chris McDaniel is not part of the Washington establishment and he has the courage to stand up to the big spenders in both parties," the Senate Conservatives Fund executive director said.

Cochran , mingled with about 70 donors at a reception this week at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters. He suggested this summer that it might take months before he shares his plans. Asked about the attacks, Cochran's spokesman emailed: "Senator Cochran has indicated that he will determine his plans regarding the 2014 election cycle later this year."

On Education: Give students right to organize religious groups at school

SB 2633, by Sen. Chris McDaniel, gives students the right to organize religious groups and engage in religious activities at school. It also forbids a school from discriminating against a student who expresses his religious viewpoint in class assignments.

McDaniel said his bill, which is titled "The Mississippi Student Religious Liberties Act," is designed to protect students who want to express their religious viewpoints. "Students do not lose their rights when they walk into the schoolhouse door," he said. McDaniel said his bill also would protect students who wanted to talk about their religion at school events--even opening the door for school prayer at those events.

On Abortion: Require doctor's prescription to get an abortion

• Prohibits any individual other than a physician from providing any abortion-inducing drug.
• Requires the prescription for the abortion-inducing drug to by written in compliance with the protocol authorized by the FDA.
• Requires a physician to determine gestational age of the fetus prior to providing an abortion-inducing drug
• Requires the physician who administers the abortion-inducing drug to contract with another physician who has admitting privileges at a hospital
• Requires a physician to schedule a follow-up visit at least 14 days after the administration of an abortion-inducing drug
• Classifies a violation of this bill by a physician as a misdemeanor and authorizes the physician's license to be denied or revoked.

On Gun Control: Preserve the rights of gun owners

McDaniel says the bill would mandate that no state agency would assist in the implementation of unconstitutional executive orders relating to gun rights.

McDaniel is also co-authoring two related bills. "All of these pieces of legislation will be challenged, there's no question about it," McDaniel said. "But, it's a debate we need to have in this country. Right now, we have a president that is exercising far too much authority, we have a federal government that is trying to do too much to too many people and do too many things," he said.

On Education: Increase number of charter schools statewide

• Establishes an independent 7-member Mississippi Public Charter School Authorizing Board to supervise public charter schools
• Authorizes public non-charter schools to apply to become public charter schools
• Prohibits private schools from becoming public charter schools
• Requires public charter schools' enrollment composition of "underserved students" to be proportionally at least 80% of that in the school district in which the charter schools are located
• Exempts at most 25% of teachers in a public charter school from being state certified when the initial charter application is approved and are required to have completed an alternative teacher certification within 3 years
• Requires paying the public charter schools an amount for each student equal to the share the department would pay the school district in which the student resides.

On Government Reform: Require photo ID to vote

• Requires voters to present a valid form of photo identification to an election manager or registrar prior to voting
• Authorizes a person who does not have a valid form of identification or has a religious objection to being photographed to cast an affidavit ballot
• Requires any voter that submits an affidavit ballot to submit a valid form of photo identification to the registrar, or affirm their religious convictions to the registrar, within 5 days of casting the affidavit ballot in order for the individual's vote to be counted
• Prohibits any state agency from charging a fee for a voter identification card, and specifies that any costs associated with voter identification cards shall be paid for out of the General Fund
• Specifies that a voter identification card is valid as long as the cardholder remains at his or her same place of residency.

On Abortion: Unborn children are children

"They are amazing," he said. "They are on the front lines in the fight for life. They're out there letting people know there are other options aside from just aborting the child."

McDaniel said he favors the Personhood Amendment and anything else that promotes the pro-life message. "It's important to discuss it so everyone can understand it," he said. "I hope one day it leads to a culture that embraces life."

McDaniel said that millions of children have been aborted since the passage of Roe vs. Wade in 1973. "Unborn children are children," he said. "They're human beings and should be protected by law."

Amendment 26 would outlaw abortion, human cloning, embryo stem cell research, and other forms of "medical cannibalism."

On Abortion: Prohibit ObamaCare insurance exchange coverage for abortion

Summary by Center for Reproductive Rights [a pro-choice group]: Mississippi responded to [ObamaCare] by passing a bill (SB 3214) that bars any insurer from offering insurance coverage for abortion in the state exchange, except when the woman's life is endangered by "a physical disorder, physical illness or physical injury" or in cases of rape or incest. The legislature was so eager to pass this bill that it circumvented its own bill introduction deadlines and procedural rules to do so.

Legislative outcome: Passed House 75-32-15, Apr/24/10; Passed Senate 47-0-5, Apr/23/10; State Senator Chris McDaniel voted YES; Signed by Governor Haley Barbour May/25/10

On Gun Control: Concealed carry for retired cops, even in public parks

Summary by National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action [a pro-gun-rights group]: Senate Bill 2862 allowed retired law enforcement officers to qualify for the ability to carry a concealed firearm without a permit under federal law by gaining certification from the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police. Repeals the current state ban on the possession of firearms in public parks by Mississippi Right-To-Carry permit holders. This change in state law will allow Mississippi permit holders to carry in state parks.

Legislative outcome: Passed House 117-3-2, Mar/3/10; Passed Senate 52-0-0, Mar/23/10; State Senator Chris McDaniel voted YES; Signed by Governor Haley Barbour Apr/1/10

On Education: Opposed restoring budget cuts to Adequate Education Program

Summary by Jackson Free Press (4/21/10) SB 2688 increased funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula while Gov. Haley Barbour sought to cut the entire state budget by $79 million, including MAEP.

Veto message from Governor Haley Barbour: "Senate Bill 2688 virtually guarantees tax increases by future legislatures. Spending now and taxing later is bad fiscal management, and unfair to taxpayers. SB2688 also fails to adequately restore funding for the Department of Corrections [who] will be forced to release thousands of prisoners to balance its budget."

Legislative outcome:Passed House 106-14-2, 2/11/2010; Passed Senate 26-22-3, 2/18/10; Sen. Chris McDaniel voted NO; Vetoed 2/24/10.