The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

Send Cindy Hyde-Smith back to the Senate

Espy+VS+Smith
Espy VS Smith

The 2020 Senate election is a pivotal contest which will shape the destiny of the nation for years to come. The upper house of Congress currently maintains a 53-47 conservative majority, and maintaining a friendly Senate has surely helped President Donald Trump in passing his agenda during his first term and is critical should he win a second. Equally, a friendly Senate would also benefit Joe Biden should he win the 2020 presidency; Biden would be given the chance to drastically change the country how the Democrats see fit should the Senate flip blue. However, he runs the risk of being cast as an infamous “do-nothing president” should the Senate remain in Republican control. 

Even Mississippi, which, according to Jeffrey Jones of Gallup, is the most conservative state in the union, is in danger of losing one of our precious Senate seats to the Democratic agenda, as Cindy Hyde-Smith’s lead over her Democratic challenger Mike Espy is well within the margin of error. For the sake of Mississippi, we cannot allow this to happen. 

Espy in Congress will shove unpopular policy down our throats, sacrificing the interests of our state to shill for the Democratic Party. Cindy Hyde-Smith is a firm believer in principles which Mississippians hold dear and is a staunch conservative with a tested record who will protect our majority in Congress. 

On Nov. 3, send Cindy Hyde-Smith back to Washington, so she can continue to protect the interests of our state as any good senator should.

The primary reason Hyde-Smith should return to the U.S. Senate on behalf of Mississippi is because her beliefs align with the majority of people who reside in the state. She is pro-gun, pro-life and pro-America, like the traditional Mississippian. The same cannot be said for her challenger. 

Espy wants to expand the bloated structures of government to further control the lives of everyday people. On healthcare, according to Espy’s own campaign website, he vows to expand Medicaid to help those in rural hospitals, and he wants to dramatically funnel in money to Mississippi hospitals from federal coffers. Of course, healthcare is important, but what Espy neglects to mention is the cost passed onto the Mississippi taxpayer in his appeal. 

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “Medicaid spending grew 3.0% to $597.4 billion in 2018,” and that does not factor in the enormous amount of government red tape which citizens need to cut through to get access to healthcare. 

I hardly think the middle of a pandemic is the time to impose more government in the literal saving of American lives. Instead, that control should be given back to the people. 

Hyde-Smith on her campaign website argues for the repealing and replacing of the Affordable Care Act with “a common-sense patient-centered healthcare plan…without expanding the government’s role in providing healthcare.”

Government mismanagement of the healthcare system costs Mississippians’ time and money while consistently providing lackluster care. It is a no-brainer any reasonable person would want to limit government control of the healthcare system. 

But what about the economy, prior to COVID-19? Donald Trump and his Republican Senate gave Americans one of the most prosperous economies in American history, so how would Espy sway the people of Mississippi away from Hyde-Smith on economic issues? Well in terms of the economy, Espy claims on his campaign website his “first priority will be to expand broadband access to all Mississippians.” 

This promise demonstrates exactly how out-of-touch Democrats are when it comes to dealing with economic issues. Government handouts are not, and have never been, a sustainable way of dealing with economic problems. Our nation is currently enduring the most detrimental economic crisis since the Great Depression, and if elected, then Senator Espy would first confront the problem with equal distribution of the Internet.

In addition, Espy believes “respecting the dignity and equality of every person is not only the moral thing to do, but the right thing to do for our state’s economy.” That is a nonsense statement — something intended to rally supporters without promising any political change to stimulate the economy from the top down and create good-paying jobs in the state. Espy just cannot beat Hyde-Smith on economic issues. His plan is non-existent, and his rationale is weak. 

Regarding the economy, Hyde-Smith understands private enterprise and businesses create jobs and stimulate economic growth, not government. Unlike her challenger, she has a concrete record already in place which proves she understands how to boost Mississippi’s economy. 

Her campaign website describes her as a “strong supporter of free markets and private property rights,” two fundamental characteristics of the American economy the more radical branch of the Democratic Party seeks to destroy. She is a supporter of rolling back government regulation, making it easier for small businessmen in Mississippi to work. She is working to remove government red tape, as opposed to Espy who wants to expand it. Hyde-Smith supported the Trump tax cuts and the Jobs Act, putting more money back into the hands of hard-working Americans as opposed to politicians. 

Cindy Hyde-Smith has a stronger understanding of the inner workings of the American economy than Mike Espy, and she will be far more effective in working with the federal legislature than her challenger when advocating for our state. 

Hyde-Smith shares the values Mississippians hold dear and respects the individual’s right to manage their own life without government. If the conservative values which make our state great are important to you as a voter, the choice to send Senator Hyde-Smith back to Washington is an obvious one.

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Send Cindy Hyde-Smith back to the Senate