Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Degree
Master of Arts in Communication
Department
Communication
Committee Chair
Elizabeth Dudash
Abstract
In 2014, Republican Senator Thad Cochran became "the fifth-longest serving senator in the nation's history" (Ward, 2014, para. 5). Yet, Cochran lost to an upstart conservative in the first round of Mississippi's Republican primary and, in response, wielded the power of myth to realign his state's conservative trajectory. In light of this event, the following analysis positioned a rhetorical reading of Cochran's campaign materials thru the lens of myth, revealing three strategic elements that allowed the senator to coalesce an unlikely base. Particularly highlighted are Cochran's transcendence of party labels and ideology, his attempt to position himself as the hero of a new narrative, an attempt to negate the existing conservative order, and a demonization his competitor. It is argued that these rhetorical elements were constructed in such a way as to ultimately change the trajectory of Mississippi's conservative narrative.
Keywords
myth, discourse, conservative, functional, formal
Subject Categories
Communication
Copyright
© Nickolas James Nickols
Recommended Citation
Nickols, Nickolas James, "A Situational Application Of Myth To A New Conservative Narrative: The Rhetoric Of Thad Cochran" (2016). MSU Graduate Theses. 2348.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/2348
