Obama, billionaires the targets at Pryor-Cotton debate in Fayetteville

Opposing Senate candidates U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, had little new to provide those Arkansas voters who may yet be undecided on a race that some national pundits say could be critical to which party controls the U.S. Senate.

However, the likely line of the night was related to the definition of a middle class Arkansan. More on that later in the story.

The first and only live televised debate took place at the University of Arkansas’ Global Campus in Fayetteville in front of more than 300 “invited guests” and hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. Agreed upon topics were education, economic development and healthcare.

Pryor was able to use almost each response and rebuttal to tag Cotton as a tool for “out-of-state billionaires.” Pryor said the billionaires “have bought” a candidate who will cut important social programs like Medicare, Social Security and Food Stamps in order to deliver tax cuts to the billionaires.

“I listen to you and he listens to the billionaires,” Pryor said of Cotton.

Likewise, Cotton used almost each response and rebuttal to tag Pryor as being in lockstep with President Barack Obama, often beginning an answer with “Mark Pryor and Barack Obama … .” Cotton, who announced during the debate that he and his new wife are expecting a baby, said the policies of President Obama are on the Arkansas ballot.

“A vote for Mark Pryor is a vote for Barack Obama,” Cotton said, adding that Pryor is a “rubber stamp for Barack Obama’s weakness” in foreign affairs.

To be fair, the fight is drawn along national lines, with the Pryor-Cotton matchup one of eight U.S. Senate races closely watched in the top political offices in Washington, D.C.

The Pryor-Cotton match was close through the summer in various polls, but in recent weeks the polling indicates a shift favorable to Cotton. Real Clear Politics noted Oct. 7 that “Mark Pryor enters the home stretch clearly behind Rep. Tom Cotton.” A September 29 note from Real Clear Politics suggested that Pryor “is in deep trouble.”

“Two months before the election, Pryor still seems to be stuck at 43 percent. There's still plenty of room for him to win this race, but he remains the most vulnerable incumbent,” noted Real Clear Politics.

Erik Dorey, deputy campaign manager for the Pryor campaign, did not dispute the race was close, but said Pryor is working each day to connect with voters.

“It us anyone’s game at this point. … When Mark gets out around the state and talks to Arkansans, the reaction is universally heartwarming,” Dorey said, adding that “Arkansans aren’t entirely as clueless as Tom Cotton thinks they are.”

As to the issues, support and solvency for social programs, jobs and healthcare were the dominant topics.

Responding to a questions about how to “define” the middle class, Pryor said he wants to grow the economy by growing the middle class, but Cotton believes he can build up the economy by supporting billionaires.

Cotton responded by saying Obamacare and other regulatory policies supported by Obama and Pryor have hurt the middle class and small businesses.

“The way we stop it (loss of jobs in Arkansas) is to get government out of the private sector,” Cotton said.

After being reminded by debate moderator Roby Brock that the question was about providing a definition of the middle class, Pryor said a middle class income is around $200,000. That amount, which is considerably more than the eventually median income of just over $40,000, would later blow up social media.

Pryor would say that Congress and state leaders must change tax and other policies to incentivize returning manufacturing jobs to the U.S.

“All the economists say the time is now,” Pryor said of pursuing manufacturing jobs.

Cotton stuck to his message that shrinking the size of government is the best way to help the middle class. He also zinged Pryor on the middle class number.

“Pryor must be the one hanging out with out-of-state billionaires if he thinks $200,000 is the middle class,” Cotton said.

Following are other comments from the debate.

Pryor said Wal-Mart employees who lost their insurance now have an option because Arkansas Republicans and Democrats worked to create the Private Option system. Pryor said Obamacare is not perfect and he would like to make changes to the law but would not want “to go back to those days” when insurance companies were in charge of the insurance system.

Cotton said “failures” of Obamacare are “intended consequences” to result in “government healthcare.” For the Arkansans who are losing their insurance, Cotton reminded the crowd that “Mark Pyor and Barack Obama took that (insurance) away from them.”

Pryor responded by by noting that Cotton does not have a solution for a workable healthcare solution. For Arkansans in a “high-risk pool,” Pryor said Cotton’s plans are “like throwing sick people to the wolves.”

In closing, Cotton said President Obama’s policies are on the ballot in Arkansas, and said if voters are “satisfied with the status quo, then I’m not your guy.”

Following numerous responses in which Cotton tied Pryor to Obama, Pryor said to the audience that Cotton is “running against one man, but I’m running for three million Arkansans.”