Well, it looks like I'm about to make good on my promise to hold my nose and get behind Senator Mark Pryor's (D. AR) re-election bid now that I know this clown is gearing up to run:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton plans to announce his bid next week to challenge two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in next year's elections, according to a person familiar with the congressman's plans.
The freshman congressman has scheduled an event Tuesday with supporters in his hometown of Dardanelle. A person who has spoken with Cotton said the congressman intends to enter the race against Pryor, who faces re-election next year.
The person who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday was not authorized to speak publicly about the planned announcement and spoke on a condition of anonymity.
Cotton was elected to the U.S. House in 2012, to the open seat formerly held by Democrat Mike Ross. Ross is now running for Arkansas governor.
Cotton, 36, is a former management consultant who served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was elected to the 4th District in November, after racking up endorsements during his primary bid from national Republican leaders including U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and conservative groups such as the Club for Growth. - Huffington Post, 7/31/13
More below the fold.
Cotton as you know is the idiot Republican who claimed domestic terrorist attacks have increased under President Obama while claiming no domestic terrorist attacks happened under President George W. Bush. Except for that whole 9/11 thing. Obviously Cotton is a disgusting and shameful liar and this is the kind of shit we should be expecting from him in his bid for U.S. Senate. Sadly, Cotton's ridiculous claim is just the tip of the iceberg:
http://www.politico.com/...
Cotton has been vocal on foreign policy and defense issues, and before he was even sworn in, he took to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal to hammer then-Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel over Iraq, Iran and defense spending. Ahead of his November win, Cotton was the subject of a glowing profile in the influential Weekly Standard, which also speculated about a future Senate bid. - Politico, 7/31/13
And it gets worse:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Since taking office in January, Cotton has enjoyed a high profile with multiple appearances on national programs such as Meet the Press. Cotton in July wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal opposing Senate immigration legislation.
He’s also been targeted by Democrats who viewed him as a likely challenger to Pryor. Two Democratic political action committees, Patriot Majority USA and Senate Majority PAC, launched a $270,000 television ad buy in June attacking Cotton for allegedly seeking the national spotlight at the expense of his district.
Cotton has faced criticism from Democrats for initially opposing the farm bill over objections to the food stamp program. Cotton later voted for a version of the farm bill that did not include funding for food stamps.
Cotton’s also come under fire for a recent proposal that would have extended sanctions on Iranian human rights violators to their families — an idea that has been criticized as eliminating due process. Cotton, who withdrew the proposal, has defended the idea and said it would only apply to sanctions on Iranians, not any American citizens.
When he joined with House Republicans to vote for the federal health overhaul’s repeal, he compared the unsuccessful effort to defeat the law to an ancient Roman senator’s ongoing call to destroy Carthage. When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died in March, Cotton responded with “Sic semper tyrannis,” or Latin for “thus always to tyrants.” John Wilkes Booth uttered the same after assassinating President Lincoln. - Washington Post, 7/31/13
Cotton also said this:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Women are physically unfit to serve in combat, Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) claimed during a Tuesday appearance on the Laura Ingraham radio show. Cotton, who was last seen suggesting that Iraq might have orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, recognized female accomplishments in non-infantry combat roles like helicopter pilot and that women have fought and performed well in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Cotton nonetheless concludes that women should be legally prohibited from competing with men for infantry combat positions:
To have women serving in infantry, though, could impair the mission-essential tasks of those units. And that’s been proven in study after study, it’s nature, upper body strength, and physical movements, and speed, and endurance, and so forth. - Think Progress, 1/8/13
Pryor's been playing some serious defense for a while now. He's been attacked by both the NRA and the Senate Conservatives Action trying to align him with President Obama while also being attacked Mayor Bloomberg's Super PAC for voting against the background checks bill. Here's an ad Pryor put out in May:
The only redeeming qualities about Pryor are his call for a farm bill and his opposition to the chained CPI. His stance on Social Security is enough for me to get behind his re-election bid, especially while talks about another Grand Bargain that include the chained CPI are in talks. Plus Cotton is a very scary candidate and can't be allowed to win next year. Expect more diaries from me about Cotton. So if you would like to get involved with Pryor's campaign, you can go here:
http://www.pryorforsenate.com/