Sen. Cotton Speaks To Hudson Institute, Will Appear At NEA Political Animals In August

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 115 views 

The state’s junior senator and a frequent voice on national security issues will visit Northeast Arkansas next month to speak to the Northeast Arkansas Political Animals Club.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who defeated then-Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., in the 2014 election, will deliver a speech at noon Aug. 21 to the group in Jonesboro.

Cotton, who serves on both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, has worked on several high-profile national security issues since taking office, often taking controversial positions.

“His voice matters on national security issues,” said Andrea Allen, co-chair of the NEA Political Animals Club and a liaison in Cong. Rick Crawford’s office.

Cotton has taken a key role in opposing the nuclear weapons agreement between the United States and Iran.

During a speech Tuesday before the Hudson Institute, Cotton said any deal would be harmful to American interests.

“No deal, whatever its details, should leave the ayatollahs grinning. Iran is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. It is led by an anti-American, anti- Semitic, jihadist regime that’s destabilizing the Middle East and has shed the blood of hundreds of Americans. We do not share interests, and we do not share values with this regime,” Cotton told the group. “Any agreement that advances our interests must by necessity compromise Iran’s—doubly so since they are a third-rate power, far from an equal to the United States. The ayatollahs shouldn’t be happy with any deal. They should’ve felt compelled to accept a deal of our choosing lest they face economic devastation and military destruction of their nuclear infrastructure. That Iran welcomes this agreement is both troubling and telling.”

Tickets for the NEA Political Animals Club event, at the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce office on Highland Drive, are $20 and include lunch.

Arkansas Democratic Party chairman Vince Insalaco will speak at the club’s September meeting.

People interested in learning about the event or NEA Political Animals can go to this Facebook link.