The campaign to re-elect Mark Pryor to U.S. Senate is touting a new website creation — www.recklesstomcotton.com
What you have there are facts and not even all of them. Consider Tom Cotton: Opposing a farm bill. Slashing food stamps. Opposition to disaster aid. Willingness to shut down the budget. Punishing cuts in all manner of social programs. Punishing students with higher loan costs. A hawk yearning for foreign military engagement. Opposition to the Violence Against Women Act. Unbothered by a government loan default. Willing to lie repeatedly about the congressional record on its health insurance program.
I like the strategy, because I identified it early in the rigidity Cotton has expressed since his college days and now in thrall to the Club for Growth. Is emphasis on his extremism a winner with voters? If you believe elections are decided in the middle, maybe. But I just don’t know. The largest question facing Arkansas in 2014 is whether we’ve passed the tipping point into automatic Oklahomadom. Is the majority extremist today?
In the meanwhile, Pryor will dance with what his opponent has brung to the table. In 30 seconds, the Pryor campaign highlights:
* Tom Cotton is the only Arkansas Congressman who wants to bomb Syria.
* The only Arkansas Congressman who voted to kill the Farm Program.
* Cotton even supports raising the retirement age to 70 and raising Medicare costs for Seniors.
* No wonder Congressman Cotton is willing to shut down the government and risk default.
* He’ll jeopardize our entire economy just to advance his narrow political agenda and personal ambition.
* Tom Cotton. Reckless and Irresponsible.
But, lordy, it’s a long time until November 2014.