Campaign focus : Senate race not over, Pryor, Kennedy agree
Posted on Monday, October 20, 2008
U. S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said he’s excited about another term but isn’t predicting victory.
“We try not to get in the political prognostication business,” Pryor said. “I feel overwhelmed by support I get from people. I’m looking forward to going back to Washington the next six years. I’m convinced the only way we solve problems is by working in a bipartisan way.”
He has no Republican opponent and faces Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy of Quitman, a lawyer who practices in Greenbrier.
“I don’t accept the proposition we have no chance at winning,” Kennedy said. “It doesn’t surprise me that Pryor is favored to win. Auburn was favored in the football game [against Arkansas ] the other day, but they didn’t win.”
Pryor has raised $ 5. 5 million compared with Kennedy’s $ 12, 000. His campaign stopped soliciting campaign contributions in August.
“Suppose I don’t win,” Kennedy said. “Does that mean that voters have thrown away their votes ? I don’t think so. It’s an opportunity to register their opposition about what’s been going on in Washington, especially the voting record of Mark Pryor. If you don’t think the war was the right thing to do, this is your opportunity to register that. You can register your opposition to the Military Commission Act or register your opposition to the [financial ] bailout.”
Pryor said he doesn’t know much about Kennedy, who came in third as a Green candidate for attorney general in 2006.
“She seems sincere,” he said. “I don’t have any criticisms.”
Regarding her criticisms of his voting record, Pryor said, “I get very good feedback about my voting record around the state. I’m not ashamed of my record. I’ll put it out for everybody. Traveling around the state, sometimes people are not happy with me. I really try to listen to people.”
He said he “reached out” to state bankers and businessmen in seeking their input on the “economic rescue” plan before voting on it.
The $ 700 billion bailout of Wall Street failed in the House and was amended before passing the Senate.
“What about putting money at the bottom and letting it trickle up ?” Kennedy said.
She said the Senate version “frankly was worse” than the initial version because it “made the Bush tax cuts permanent.”
Pryor said “that’s not accurate.” He said the bailout was necessary for the overall health of the economy and the tax cuts included were “specialty tax provisions” that had nothing to do with President Bush’s income tax cuts.
Regarding the Military Commission Act, the U. S. Supreme Court this year said the 2007 law was unconstitutional because it allowed suspected terrorists to be detained with no right to a trial in U. S. courts.
Pryor voted for an amendment to the bill that would have allowed suspects to have those rights. When the amendment failed, Pryor still voted for the bill, saying the existing law needed to be clarified.
Pryor has consistently been ranked among the most conservative Democrats in the Senate by a National Journal review of votes.
He keeps an “Arkansas Comes First” sign on his desk in Washington. The sign used to belong to his father, former U. S. Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark.
Pryor said he has “kept every single promise” he made campaigning for the U. S. Senate in 2002, unseating U. S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark.
This year, he led efforts in the Senate to overhaul the Consumer Production Safety Commission, in part to address the multitude of recent toy recalls.
Kennedy criticized Pryor for his support of the war in Iraq, especially his refusal to support a timeline for withdrawal supported by Democratic leaders.
Pryor has been critical of the war but has said he preferred a secret timeline to withdraw.
He supports Democratic U. S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for president. He said he got to know Obama in the Senate because they are both lawyers and they worked together to better understand Senate rules. He said he has put in a request with the Obama campaign to visit Arkansas before the Nov. 4 election but doesn’t know whether it will happen.
Kennedy supports Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, a former Democratic congressman from Georgia.
If elected, Kennedy said she wants to focus on the environment by advocating tougher fuel economy standards for trucks and sport utility vehicles and having the federal government invest in solar and wind energy.
Pryor has predicted a growing Democratic majority in the Senate. He said he feels good about Obama’s chance to win the presidency.
“But regardless of who wins the White House, I feel I’m in good shape either way,” he said. “I have a very good relationship with both of them [Obama and Republican John McCain ]. I hope that’s good for Arkansas. If the [Democratic ] majority gets larger, it’s hard to know exactly how that changes things for me. I still think it’s important to work in a bipartisan way.”
Kennedy said she expects some Republicans will vote for her to vote against Pryor and some people who support Green Party issues will nonetheless vote for Pryor.
Pryor is the only U. S. senator this year without major party opposition.
Republicans have cited Pryor’s popularity in the state, his success at fundraising, and his conservative voting record as reasons it was difficult to find a candidate.
In 2004, when U. S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., won re-election over little-funded Republican Jim Holt, some were surprised she only received 56 percent of the vote and that led some to question her level of support in the state.
Pryor said he’s not worried about his standing if he fails to attract a large margin of victory.
“I honestly want to get 50 percent plus one,” he said. Rebekah Kennedy Party: Green. Age: 30. Born Oct. 19, 1978. Birthplace: Heber Springs. Residence: Quitman. Work Experience: Private practice attorney in Greenbrier. Political Experience: Placed third as Green candidate in 2006 attorney general’s race. Education: Bastrop High School, Bastrop, La.; University of Central Arkansas; bachelor’s and law degrees from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Family: Single. Quote: “It’s an opportunity to register opposition with what’s been going on in Washington, especially the voting record of Mark Pryor.” Mark Pryor Party: Democrat. Age: 45. Born Jan. 10, 1963. Birthplace: Fayetteville. Residence: Little Rock. Work Experience: Attorney with the Wright, Lindsey and Jennings firm and private practice. Political Experience: State representative, 1991-94; lost in Democratic primary for attorney general in 1994; elected attorney general, 1998; elected to the U. S. Senate in 2002. Education: Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.; bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Family: Wife, Jill; two children, Adams, 14, Porter, 13. Quote: “Working in a bipartisan way, that’s always been the way I’ve worked and I’ve been pretty successful at it. I get very good feedback about my voting record around the state.”
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