Progressives: Would Arkansas be better off if Mark Pryor had won re-election?

[I support Sanders]

I am a progressive Democrat, and I am just curious.

[Free Bird]

Not a progressive, but the less police state loving Hawks the better

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

No.

[Intell]

No sh**t, it would be better, though I don't qualify for a progressive.

[tmthforu94]

Doubtful - they probably stand to gain from having two senators in the majority party.

[NeverAgain]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

[I support Sanders]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

I tend to agree with you. Even this guy would be better than Tom Cotton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsIDRC8Yxww

What about conservative Democrats in other states? Would Allison Grimes have been better than Mitch McConnell? Mary Landrieu better than David Cassidy?

[Thunderbird is the word]

Pryor is a jackass and I thought that he was deadweight but Tom Cotton reminds me of Jake Featherston so in heinseight I wish that Pryor had won.

[Maxwell]

I regret my hatred of Mark Pryor now that I realize that Hitler Youth Tom Cotton is definitely more dangerous than I originally anticipated. Pryor is a useful idiot for the Democratic Party, which makes him a million times better.

[Skye]

It would be for them since it would mean not all Democrats would be doomed over there.

[JMT]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

I tend to agree with you. Even this guy would be better than Tom Cotton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsIDRC8Yxww

What about conservative Democrats in other states? Would Allison Grimes have been better than Mitch McConnell? Mary Landrieu better than David Cassidy?

As a progressive, Pryor, Landrieu, and Grimes aren't perfect. But they sure would've been better than the Republicans that beat them in their elections! I'd take Pryor, Landrieu, and Grimes over Cotton, Cassidy, and McConnell any day. Plus, it would have been impossible to get someone like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders in a senate seat in any of those states.

[Ebsy]

Well Cotton is in strong contention for worst Senator ever elected, so the country would be better off if Pryor won and Cotton was no longer in his house seat.

[SATW]

I hear a lot of whining in this thread. I love the fresh tears of progressives.

[Orser67]

Arkansas probably wouldn't be materially different, since Senators have relatively little effect on their states. Arkansas probably would be helped by Pryor's spot on the Senate Appropriations Committee, but this may be counter-balanced by Cotton being a part of the current Republican majority.

But progressives would be much better off with a centrist Democrat than with a conservative Republican.

[Kingpoleon]

No.

[smoltchanov]

Not a progressive by any metrics, but honestly think that it's impossible to be worse then Cotton... So - yes..

P.S. I understand that left-wing Democrats are often displeased with their moderate brethren, but still surprised at least a little but. Two things are obvious for me:

1. There are lot of states (Arkansas included) which will NOT in foreseeable future elect progressive Democrat. Nomination of such Democrat in these states is equivalent to confession of defeat

2. With present level of polarization even THE most conservative Democratic candidate on federal level is more liberal then THE most liberal Republican. There are no more James Eastlands in Democratic congressional caucus (and even on state legislative level really conservative Democrats became big rarities), and no more Jacob Javitses in Republican (ditto, with obvious substitution). IMHO - that's VERY bad, because that severely limits people's choices, and almost denies a REAL choice to 35-40% of people, who call themselves moderates and doesn't want a choice between far-left and far-right. But it's a FACT. So, IMHO, the choice (especially for progressives) in SUCH races must be obvious. It's another matter in states, where progressive really can be elected. But not in states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (in fact - almost all South except "least Southern" states like modern Virginia or Florida), many Mountain states (like Idaho, Wyoming or Utah), Great Plains states (even Heitcamp is not liberal) and so on. Be realistic!

[Intell]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

I tend to agree with you. Even this guy would be better than Tom Cotton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsIDRC8Yxww

What about conservative Democrats in other states? Would Allison Grimes have been better than Mitch McConnell? Mary Landrieu better than David Cassidy?

Cenk is a progressive dunce, you see.

[Miles]

Yes, considering how much his successor is obssessed with starting another damn war.

[Figueira]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

I tend to agree with you. Even this guy would be better than Tom Cotton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsIDRC8Yxww

What about conservative Democrats in other states? Would Allison Grimes have been better than Mitch McConnell? Mary Landrieu better than David Cassidy?

Pretty much any Democrat would be better than a Republican from the same state.

[Gog]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

[pbrower2a]

By advocating aggressive war against Iran while in a deliberative office, Tom Cotton may have committed a war crime. 

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The 2016 election is gonna be a referendum on Senate anyways. Begich, Nunn, Hagen & Udall shoud have won. But, so far 2014 class as a whole hasnt lived up to expectations.

[I support Sanders]

Anything left of a hardcore warmonger gets a slide by me. We aren't going to get Elizabeth Warren from Arkansas, but let's pray we don't get another Tom Cottom!

I tend to agree with you. Even this guy would be better than Tom Cotton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsIDRC8Yxww

What about conservative Democrats in other states? Would Allison Grimes have been better than Mitch McConnell? Mary Landrieu better than David Cassidy?

As a progressive, Pryor, Landrieu, and Grimes aren't perfect. But they sure would've been better than the Republicans that beat them in their elections! I'd take Pryor, Landrieu, and Grimes over Cotton, Cassidy, and McConnell any day. Plus, it would have been impossible to get someone like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders in a senate seat in any of those states.

Excellent summary!

[I support Sanders]

Progressives,
Do we feel the same way about Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson? I feel some anger over the fact that those two alone were responsible for watering down the Affordable Care Act, degrading it from what could have been a single-payer system down to a private system with individual mandates?

[smoltchanov]

Progressives,
Do we feel the same way about Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson? I feel some anger over the fact that those two alone were responsible for watering down the Affordable Care Act, degrading it from what could have been a single-payer system down to a private system with individual mandates?

Single payer would NEVER pass House. Never! Even in 2009. Even "degraded" ACA did pass extremely narrowly (something like 219 - 212), and ONLY after heaviest arm-twisting on part of Pelosi and Obama's Administration. And 2 Republican waves of 2010 and 2014 are, mainly, it's result..