By Rupert Howell

Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker warned 50 Panola supporters about left-wing groups pumping $8 million into the Mississippi Senate race in an attempt to get a Democrat super majority in U.S. Senate while speaking Monday afternoon in Batesville.

Wicker estimated $20 million had been spent on television advertising and told the group of supporters, “Unbelievable to think what we could have done with that money rather than put it on TV.”

Wicker faces Batesville Democrat and former  Governor Ronnie Musgrove in the November 4 election. Wicker, who was appointed to the Senate seat by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour following the retirement of Trent Lott early in his term, explained that the Senate serves as a firewall and has stopped “very expensive, foolish, dangerous legislation that has come through.”

Wicker said left-wing groups from San Francisco, Hollywood, New York and Washington, D.C. have contributed to run negative commercials against him.

He told the group, “What we’re seeing in the media is there’s an effort to have a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the United States Senate.”

Unlike the U.S. House of Representatives where he formally served, a one vote majority there would allow legislation to be “crammed throughaccording to Wicker.

“The Senate, with its filibuster rule, has the ability to debate something at length–to call the attention of the people to shine a spotlight on it and hopefully slow down legislation before it gets too, late,” Wicker explained and then warned the ability for the minority party to filibuster would be gone with a 60 vote majority.

Wicker said he is seeing as many people as possible during the last days before the election and earlier Monday had been to Pontotoc and Oxford before coming to Batesville and was on his way to Senatobia and Southaven before flying to the Gulf Coast.