How despicable are the tea partiers in Mississippi? Very. They are still very upset that blacks participated in an election that they had the right to vote in. A conference call conducted by Thad Cochran's staffers today was crashed by someone who feels blacks weren't entitled to vote or was just looking to have some race baiting fun.
TPM:
A conference call by top staffers for Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-MS) campaign was cut short after a caller on the line kept asking about "blacks picking Cotton" and the Cochran campaign harvesting votes of black people.
The call was hosted by Cochran campaign adviser Austin Barbour and spokesman Jordan Russell. It was meant for national media who couldn't attend an earlier in-person press conference where the Cochran campaign called on state Sen. Chris McDaniel's (R) campaign to substantiate claims of finding widespread voter fraud in the runoff election between McDaniel and Cochran (which Cochran won).
Shortly before the call, obscure conservative blogger Chuck Johnson, who published a story recently alleging that the Cochran campaign was buying black votes at $15 a pop, said he would be joining the call and invited others to do the same.
It appears we have a new entry into the Breitbart/O'Keefe make- sh*t-up style of journalism into the conservosphere and his name is Charles C. Johnson. The right sure loves its cranks.
Anyway, after about eight minutes the call went sideways.
Once the call got underway, one of the participants in a male-sounding voice kept asking about "blacks picking Cotton" and asked if the Cochran campaign was "harvesting" African-Americans votes. The caller did not introduce himself and repeatedly tried to talk over Barbour.
"Why is it okay to harvest the votes of black people?" the caller asked.
"Alright so listen I will give everybody a chance to answer a question when we get through and we'll be happy to answer any question from members of the media," Barbour said at first.
"I'd like to know if the black people were harvesting cotton why do you think it's okay to harvest their votes?" the caller asked again. "They're not animals, why're you treating black people like they're just votes?""Sir, I don't know where you're calling from but I'm happy to address any question, no matter the lunacy of it —" Barbour said before being cut off.
"It's not lunacy. Why did you use black people? Why did you use black people to get Cochran elected when they're not even Republicans and you're treating them as if they're just idiots that they'll vote for Cochran just because they're black," the caller said.
Barbour said someone was trying to hijack the call and shortly thereafter ended the call.
Cochran advisor Austin Barbour believes that Charles C Johnson was responsible for the stupidity and who could blame him?
Barbour, in an interview with TPM after the call, said he didn't believe Johnson's claim that it wasn't him.
"Just BS," Barbour said. "I don't even know who the guy is. I don't know him…He certainly does not come across as reputable in any certain way but I don't even know who the guy is. But obviously if you've got a few thousand followers and you tweet out a conference call number that's going to cause a disruption."
Barbour said the campaign wouldn't try to do another conference call and instead just talk with members of the media individually.
