Received this e-mail today from Senator Tom Harkin (D. IA) regarding Senator Mark Pryor (D. AR) and the farm bill:
Earlier this year, the Senate passed a bipartisan, common sense farm bill that's good for farmers, rural America, and consumers. It will create jobs and lay the foundation for future economic growth.
But right now, extreme partisan politics are threatening to stop this common sense legislation and send us back to policies of the 1940s -- a disastrous blow to farmers and families everywhere.
My friend and colleague, Senator Mark Pryor, and I are joining together to stand up for the working families that depend on the farm bill and calling on Congress to get this bill done and passed. We need you to add your voice.
Don't let partisan politics jeopardize middle-class families. Sign our petition today and show your support for a common-sense farm bill:
http://www.pryorforsenate.com/...
Failure to pass a new farm bill would cause businesses' costs to go up, the number of jobs to go down, and the price of food to go up -- hitting every one of us right in the pocketbook.
But even more than that, it would cut off a critical lifeline for many Iowans and Americans that rely on the farm bill to put food on their table every night. That's wrong.
This is not the time for bickering and partisan politics. We need to come together and pass a strong, modern farm bill that supports a strong middle class. It's time to make this a priority.
There are only 67 days before the current farm bill expires and sends us backward. We need to act now.
Join Senator Mark Pryor and me to tell Congress to pass a new farm bill now:
http://www.pryorforsenate.com/...
Thank you for standing with me today to make your voice heard.
Sincerely,
Tom Harkin
U.S. Senator
More below the fold.
As I've stated before, I am not a fan of Senator Mark Pryor (D. AR) and I'm not crazy about the Senate's version of the farm bill. But Republicans wanting to cut food stamps completely while screwing over farmers is just wrong. A farm bill needs to be passed and Pryor has been true blue on that issue:
http://www.redriverradio.org/...
“Farming is far and away our No. 1 industry in Arkansas," Pryor told Red River Radio in a recent interview. "We don’t need to listen to these outside groups. We need to listen to people from Arkansas, and we need to get this done.”
The Republican-led House passed a bill last week that supports agriculture but excluded a nutritional entitlement, essentially stripping out food stamps from the bill. Pryor disagrees with this move. He doesn't see why it's necessary to separate something that’s worked well together for decades. Besides, he said, the nutrition entitlement hits home.
“We wish it weren’t true. But you can go to El Dorado and look at elementary through high schools across south Arkansas, for a lot a kids the best meal they get all day is through the school, and that is paid for through the farm bill," Pryor said. - Red River Radio, 7/25/13
This is going to be a tough seat to hold onto. We already have some tough races in Alaska, North Carolina, South Dakota and Louisiana and some big pick up opportunities in Georgia and Kentucky. And until some top notch candidates step forward in Montana and West Virginia, holding onto the Senate seat in Arkansas is our best bet. Plus I for one do not want to see Congressman Tom "No Domestic Terrorist Attack Under Bush" Cotton (R. AR) become a U.S. Senator:
http://www.arktimes.com/...
The House, with Cotton in the vanguard of greedy Republicans, defeated a farm bill because, though it grievously damaged nutrition assistance,it didn't damage nutritional assistance to hungry children enough.
Because it has such a high percentage of people who are poor, disabled and unhealthy, Arkansas depends on food aid more than almost any state. And about a third of the 511,000 Arkansans who receive help with groceries live in Cotton’s district. It’s a good bet that most of the adults—or those who bothered to vote—cast their votes for Cotton without a clue that he stood for anything more than guns, war against Muslims and hostility to the president of the United States.
In the easternmost counties of Cotton’s district, nearly half the children receive government food aid, which will be sharply reduced this fall. In each of Arkansas’s 75 counties, more than 10 percent of the children get food aid. - Arkansas Times, 6/25/13
Plus Senate Democrats are planning on using Cotton's farm bill vote to hammer him once he decides to jump into the race:
http://www.eenews.net/...
With less than a single term in the House, Rep. Tom Cotton (R) hasn't compiled an extensive voting record, but Arkansas Democrats are hoping at least one vote -- his opposition to the farm bill last month -- could help sink a potential Senate bid by the freshman lawmaker as he contemplates a challenge to two-term Sen. Mark Pryor (D).
Republicans have made Pryor's seat -- the only one still held by a Democrat in Arkansas' six-seat congressional delegation -- a top target as the party looks to flip six seats to regain a majority in the Senate in the 114th Congress.
Airwaves in the Razorback State have already begun to fill with advertisements from third-party groups, including spots from the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Action that hit Pryor for his ties to President Obama, who lost the state badly in the both the 2008 and 2012 elections.
Pryor also faces criticism from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's (I) political action committee over his opposition to gun control measures that Bloomberg has been promoting. - E&E Publishing, 7/9/13
Pryor also opposes the chained CPI so add that to a potential Cotton candidacy are enough to make me hold my nose and get behind his campaign. You can click here to sign Pryor & Harkin's petition:
http://www.pryorforsenate.com/...