Jason Says Vote, Arkansas!

Candidates: 

• Senator Mark Pryor (D): first elected to the U.S. Senate - 2003. Prior to that he was Arkansas Attorney General (1999-2003) and a State Representative (1990-1994). Senator's campaign website.
• Congressman Tom Cotton (R): first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. Senate campaign site. 

Jason's Bottom Line:

• This election just goes to show you how rough it is to be a Democratic Senator named Mark this year! This is also one of the toughest races for Democrats in the country. Arkansas has continued to move to the right over the past decade - now tied as the 9th most conservative state - and while Senator Pryor is a moderate Democrat, he's in the race of his life this election cycle.
• Mark Pryor is a moderate Senator who comes from an Arkansas political dynasty. His family has fought for generations to make The Natural State a better place for every Arkansan. He's not my favorite guy on every issue - but he is a good man for Arkansas - and has been a strong advocate for the middle class.
• Tom Cotton is a likable enough guy, but isn't a good choice for the Senate. He's a party-line guy, and is very conservative. There are no major issues where he deviates from a hard-right policy position, and if he were to join the Republicans in the Senate, he would be one more vote for obstruction and gridlock for the next 6 years.

Issues:

Access to Affordable Health Care

• Mark Pryor: Supports fixing the Affordable Care Act (ACA - aka "Obamacare") to ensure that the protections that exist in the law remain (these include those under 26 being able to remain on their parents insurance, protection from pre-existing condition denials, ending yearly and lifetime caps on insurance benefits, etc.) and that we work in a bi-partisan way to increase access and reduce costs. Senator Pryor is one of the few Democratic Senators who has run ads talking about the good pieces of the ACA and why he's fighting to protect them.  
• Tom Cotton: has joined the over 50 votes to repeal the ACA - and has been a staunch opponent to any small reforms - instead favoring a full repeal. In addition, Cotton helped to shut down the government - and voted 15 times to keep it closed - unless the ACA was repealed. He even refused to answer questions about what would happen to the 200,000 Arkansans on the private Health Exchange. Cotton has, more so than many other Republican candidates, given some kind of "answer" on what he would replace the ACA with. 
• Winner: Mark Pryor
• When it comes to increasing access to affordable health care Senator Pryor has a proven track record of bi-partisanship and a willingness to take ideas from all ideologies in order to achieve better health care access for Alaskans. 

Education/Student Debt

• Mark Pryor: Supports charter schools, block grants to states, increasing Pell grants and Stafford loans, federal tax incentives and encouraging states to implement teacher testing and reward outstanding educators with merit pay. 
• Tom Cotton: Supports empowering parents with better information and more options to make the right choices for their children's education - including more local control, repeal of No Child Left Behind (because it is an unfunded mandate), and a federal education policy that allows states and communities to develop their own curricula, tests, and standards. Cotton voted to cut Pell grants - even voting to ban Pell grants for students who can only afford to do part-time - and calling for the elimination of the federal student loan program all together. Cotton was also the only Member of the Arkansas delegation (Democrat or Republican) to support higher interest rates on student loans. 
• Winner: Edge - Mark Pryor
• Pryor supports some primary education principals that I don't agree with, but they are magnitudes less severe than those that Cotton holds. In addition - Pryor has much better positions on making college more accessible for the students of Arkansas (and the country). Perhaps most enlightening is this quote from Mr. Cotton's Harvard Thesis (March 1998): “This enlarged ambition also distinguishes national officeholders in another sense because such men are not dimwits due to the process of self-selection; they have a superior intelligence compared to the unambitious and to the lesser ambitious. While the ambition that drives men toward national office does not imply wisdom, it does imply some amount of sheer, raw brainpower. National officeholders will all possess something akin to shrewdness, cleverness, or perhaps even cunning.” [Tom Cotton, Harvard College Department of Government Thesis, March 1998] (emphasis added).

Pay Equity/Workplace Protections/Expanding the Middle Class

• Mark Pryor: Senator Pryor joined his Democratic and Republican colleagues as a co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Senator Pryor also voted yes on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) even though he knew it was going to put him in some political hot water back home. He did it because it was the right thing to do.
• Tom Cotton: On the other hand, Mr. Cotton said that ENDA would "[make] it harder for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, to find jobs." He also voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act and (while it's not related to the workplace...) the Violence against Women Act. 
• Winner: Mark Pryor
• Even as a southern Democrat, and knowing that it wouldn't be politically popular back home, Senator Pryor voted for ENDA because it was the right thing to do. If he has the political courage to stick up for us, we need to do the same for him.

Reproductive Rights/Women's Health Care

• Mark Pryor: Opposes abortion except in the case of rape, incest, and life of the mother. Pryor scores 69% rating with Planned Parenthood for 2014, and 77% average rating over the past 6 years.
• Tom Cotton: Cotton believes that "Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were wrongfully decided." Supports Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act. Cotton is "100% prolife and believes every life, at every stage, should be defended." Cotton received a 0% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood for 2014, and Planned Parenthood for the past 6 years.
• Winner: Mark Pryor
• While he isn't my favorite Democrat on this issue - he does protect a women's right to choose in limited circumstances. 

Marriage Equality

• Mark Pryor: Pryor remains one of only 4 Senate Democrats to not endorse Marriage Equality - instead placing himself in the "still considering" category. While that may be smart politics, it doesn't make me feel all that much better. 
• Tom Cotton: Cotton, on the other hand, is 100% anti-same-sex marriage. 
• Winner: Neither
• Unfortunately neither candidate openly supports marriage equality. That being said, Cotton is openly hostile to the same-sex marriage, while Pryor hasn't taken such a hard-line stance. Ultimately, neither one wins.

Bipartisanship/Willingness to Work Across the Aisle

This is a big one for me as I deal with Congress every day for work. The willingness of a member to bridge the partisan divide is so important to get anything done. The super-partisanship of Washington is the reason that Congress is dysfunctional and has the lowest approval ratings ever. 

• Mark Pryor: According to Ballotpedia.org - Senator Pryor is a "centrist" akin to Senator Collins of Maine (the most moderate Republican in the Senate). He continually partners with Republicans and Democrats alike to pass important bills for the people of Arkansas. He's not a firebrand - but is instead a legislative workhorse - using his bi-partisan credibility to help bring bills across the finish line. 
• Tom Cotton: Cotton is rated as a "libertarian-leaning conservative" - though I think that is a bit misleading considering his stances on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. He has been a consistent vote for Republican leadership in the House, even when it meant hurting his own constituents to make a political point (see shutting down the government to de-fund the ACA). 
• Winner: Mark Pryor
• When it comes to bridging the partisan divide to get things done for the people of the state, Mark is the guy who will get things done.