The New Republic, a New York-based vertically integrated digital media company, makes the compelling case for a Tom Cotton presidential campaign:
One dark horse whom ’16 prognosticators have overlooked: Tom Cotton, the 37-year-old junior senator from Arkansas, who trounced old-guard Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor by 17 points in November. A decorated veteran, Harvard Law grad and unapologetic neoconservative hawk, Cotton is a rising star in the GOP who has already nestled into various conservative constituencies.
Now, Cotton has given no public indication that he’s looking to run in 2016. A bid to become the youngest elected president in U.S. history would be a stunner, particularly in a party with something of a wait-your-turn tradition. Still, the idea has been floating among politicos in Little Rock, and Cotton has moved aggressively in his political career thus far. …
Thomas Bryant Cotton’s personal story reads like a political operative’s fantasy. He grew up on a farm in rural Yell County, Arkansas, before he graduated from Harvard magna cum laude and from Harvard Law. Then, he volunteered for the infantry. An Army Ranger, he did stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star. …
Cotton would scramble a GOP primary in unpredictable ways. Stylistically he would be an elite/establishment Republican; he would bow to no one in military enthusiasm and dedication to Tea Party economics; he would pass muster with religious conservatives. If he were to captivate the foreign policy hardliners and the anti-food stamp spendthrifts, and woo Republican kingmakers to help him in the invisible primary, he might peel off moderates who smell a winner.
Now, Cotton has given no public indication that he’s looking to run in 2016. A bid to become the youngest elected president in U.S. history would be a stunner, particularly in a party with something of a wait-your-turn tradition. Still, the idea has been floating among politicos in Little Rock, and Cotton has moved aggressively in his political career thus far. …
Thomas Bryant Cotton’s personal story reads like a political operative’s fantasy. He grew up on a farm in rural Yell County, Arkansas, before he graduated from Harvard magna cum laude and from Harvard Law. Then, he volunteered for the infantry. An Army Ranger, he did stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star. …
Cotton would scramble a GOP primary in unpredictable ways. Stylistically he would be an elite/establishment Republican; he would bow to no one in military enthusiasm and dedication to Tea Party economics; he would pass muster with religious conservatives. If he were to captivate the foreign policy hardliners and the anti-food stamp spendthrifts, and woo Republican kingmakers to help him in the invisible primary, he might peel off moderates who smell a winner.
