'He fought every single day for Mississippi.' Sen. Thad Cochran honored in Capitol funeral service

The late U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran was honored with a state funeral service at the Mississippi Capitol Monday. Cochran was the 10th longest-serving U.S. senator in history. Monday, June 3, 2019. Sarah Warnock, Clarion Ledger

They crowded the second-floor rotunda of the Mississippi Capitol. They filled the marble stairs, and leaned over the railings above, their eyes drawn to longtime U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's flag-draped casket.

They came — about 300 of them — to honor the boy from Pontotoc who grew up to represent Mississippi for nearly half a century in Congress before his retirement last year. They came to pay their respects to perhaps "the most celebrated public servant in the history of our state," as Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn put it. 

Cochran died Thursday in Oxford after battling several health issues. He was 81. 

"He fought every single day for Mississippi," Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves told the crowd. "Thad Cochran was a gentle man. But he was also a strong man ... He knew what his purpose was every day. It wasn't glory, it wasn't power. It was simply to work for Mississippi families." 


The Mississippi Highway patrol honor guard salutes during a funeral service for the late former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran at the Mississippi Capitol Monday. Cochran was the 10th longest-serving U.S. senator in history. (Photo: Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger)

Attendees included Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Gov. Phil Bryant and other statewide officials, as well as family members, such as Cochran's brother, Nielsen, who served as a Jackson city council member and as a member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. 

Cochran, a Republican, spent about 45 years serving in Congress, most of them in the Senate. He was re-elected to his final six-year term in 2014, but was unable to serve it out due to health concerns. Bryant appointed Hyde-Smith to take his place. 

Only nine senators in U.S. history served longer than Cochran. Despite a low-key political style that earned him the nickname "The Quiet Persuader," he ultimately rose to one of the most powerful positions in Congress, as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. 

Well before his time in the Senate, however, Cochran became a high school athlete and Eagle Scout after his family moved to Byram, Bryant said Monday. He played the piano, and worked as a restaurant carhop. He later served in the U.S. Navy, and earned a law degree from Ole Miss.  

"I think I saw a pattern beginning to form," Bryant said. "This all-American boy became the all-American leader."

The governor described how Cochran's brand of politics was different as his career in Congress began — the rare successful Republican politician in a state then dominated by Democrats. And his quiet, consensus-building approach also contrasted with most other politicians when his career ended, as Congress and the country grew increasingly partisan.

Cochran, Bryant said, was always a "candidate for every man, and every woman."

"He was one of the few public figures who only needed one name," Bryant said. "You said 'Thad,' and everyone knew who you were talking about ... Everyone was his close friend, whether they were or not, they wanted to be. And Thad wanted them to feel as such." 

Bryant recalled what it was like to visit Cochran's office at the U.S. Capitol.

"You normally would begin by thanking the senator, and expressing your concern about taking up his time, because you knew how busy he was," Bryant said. "My goodness, he was appropriations chair of the United States Senate."

But Cochran would always reply, "No, no, no," Bryant recalled. "Tell me how you're doing. Tell me what I can do for you."

While Cochran's humble and stately approach to political consensus-building was legendary, he was also famed for funneling federal "pork barrel" money to his home state, long among the poorest in the country.

As the Associated Press reported, this part of his legacy can be seen across the state, from Jackson's federal courthouse named after him, to a medical mall, to agricultural research centers and other university buildings, even a type of rice named "Thad." 

In some years he sponsored or co-sponsored more of the so-called "earmarks" — most directed to Mississippi — than any other member of Congress. 

Another piece of his legacy is tied to Hurricane Katrina. Cochran convinced a reluctant Congress to offer up $29 billion in Katrina relief funds, helping the state avoid financial and social ruin.

He brought "hope and opportunity to people who had nothing, whose homes had been destroyed," Bryant said. 

Reeves recalled being new to politics, about two years into his tenure as state treasurer, when the storm arrived. It was an "honor" to work alongside Cochran in the aftermath, he said. 

"They say it's in times of crisis when you find out the mettle of a man," Reeves said. "Senator Cochran never panicked, he never lost control. He was sure. He was steady. He was certain. He was a port during that storm ... He had the credibility he had built over four decades.

"Without his work in that dangerous time, I don't know what our state would like today," Reeves added. 

Bryant said many Mississippians, including himself, grew up knowing what "true leadership" looked like, grew up aspiring to be similar to Cochran one day. And Cochran's name, Bryant said, will be known to future generations as well. 

"As I introduced him on a number of occasions I would always say, 'One day my grandchildren will ask me, 'Did you really know Thad Cochran? Did you really meet him?'

"Yes, I did," Bryant said. "I really knew Thad Cochran. And it has been one of the great joys of my life." 

A second funeral service for Cochran will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., are scheduled to speak, according to the Associated Press. 

SOURCE: Ramseth, Luke. "'He fought every single day for Mississippi.' Sen. Thad Cochran honored in Capitol funeral service." Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 3 June 2019, https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/03/thad-cochran-honored-packed-capitol-funeral/1298589001/\