Freshman GOP Sen. Tom Cotton Stirs Up Capitol Hill By Kristina Peterson (Go Tom Cotton!!!!) see note
http://www.wsj.com/articles/freshman-gop-sen-tom-cotton-stirs-up-capitol-hill-1430875390
Sen. Cotton won an election for standing on conservative principles and if he ruffles the feathers of establishment “corkers” good for him and the country….rsk
Arkansas lawmaker has been unusually vocal, drawing the ire of some Republican colleagues
WASHINGTON—Freshman Sen. Tom Cotton’s temporary office is located in the less-than-desirable basement of the Russell Senate building, reflecting his rookie status. Like other junior senators, he performs his share of Senate chores, including presiding over the chamber. But the similarities end there.
Among this year’s crop of 13 newly minted senators, Mr. Cotton, who served one term in the House, has emerged early on as the most vocal and polarizing newcomer, set apart by his headline-grabbing foreign policy.
The Arkansas Republican’s tactics have drawn praise from his conservative supporters, but irritated some GOP colleagues when his moves have conflicted with their efforts.
Long gone are the days when Senate freshmen were expected to keep their heads down and mouths closed for their first months in office. Still, even in a chamber where newcomers, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R., Texas), have entered with a national following and not shied away from bucking their leaders at times, Mr. Cotton has drawn unusual attention, particularly for inserting himself into negotiations with Iran.
In March, Mr. Cotton provoked White House anger when he wrote an open letter, signed by 46 other Senate Republicans, directly to Iran’s leaders criticizing the U.S.-led talks. And last week he called Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cowardly on Twitter and challenged him to a debate about Iran’s foreign policy.
“I’m trying to stop a very dangerous nuclear deal with Iran,” Mr. Cotton said in an interview, noting that his approach was driven by the need to respond to President Barack Obama’s strategy.
Meanwhile, four of Mr. Cotton’s fellow freshmen senators have yet to speak this year on the chamber’s floor.
“He is surely light years beyond his fellow freshmen senators this year in terms of public visibility and sheer brashness of his tactics,” said Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Most recently, Mr. Cotton, working with Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), made an unusual attempt on the floor last Thursday to force votes on their contentious amendments to legislation giving Congress review of any final nuclear deal with Iran. Their move effectively scuttled a bipartisan effort to reach an agreement on which amendments would be considered.
“The procedural moves Thursday certainly ended our discussions that were going in a very constructive and positive way relative to amendments,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), who is leading the Iran legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Tuesday took procedural steps to schedule votes on the bill. The Senate is now less likely to consider contentious GOP amendments, though some more modest changes may come up, Republicans said.
The outcome is expected to undercut Mr. McConnell’s efforts to hold more amendment votes in the latest example of rank-and-file Republicans in both chambers acting out of step with their leaders.
Mr. Cotton said Democrats had derailed the amendment process by trying to dodge votes on measures opposed by the White House.
“The only thing stopping votes on amendments before [last week’s procedural move] and now, is Democratic intransigence,” he said.
While Republicans didn’t publicly criticize Mr. Cotton, many expressed frustration during a closed-doors lunch last week that he bypassed Mr. Corker, thwarting the chairman’s negotiations, GOP aides said.
Democrats viewed Mr. Cotton’s move as backfiring and penalizing Republicans who had wanted to make Democrats squirm by taking tough amendment votes.
“If his goal was to allow a wide range of his colleagues to get their amendments heard, his action was directly counter to that goal,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.)
In contrast, some other freshmen have taken a more low-key approach.
Sen. David Perdue (R. Ga.), a member of the Foreign Relations panel, voted with Democrats and a handful of Republicans last week to defeat the only two GOP amendments to the Iran bill, to preserve bipartisan support for the legislation.
Some other conservatives to arrive from the House have worked across the aisle more than once in the Senate. Fiscal conservative Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) for instance, spent much of 2013, his first year in the chamber, in a bipartisan group of eight senators working on an immigration overhaul.
Mr. Cotton’s supporters have applauded his willingness to challenge his party’s establishment, as well as Mr. Obama.
“Rather than folding to Democrats as many Republicans do, Senator Cotton is fighting to protect our country and prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons,” said Ken Cuccinelli, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a group that has worked to oust Republicans it views as too centrist.
“We’re very pleased that he’s becoming a strong voice in the Senate and our grass roots members stand ready to support him,” he added.
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