The GOP’s Rising Star-Tom Cotton

Recently, I had the chance to hear remarks not once, but twice from one of the GOP’s rising stars Tom Cotton.  Speaking at both a Federalist Society luncheon and the National Review Institute Summit, it is easy to understand why Cotton is rising quickly to fame in the Republican Party.

Who is Tom Cotton?  His introductions made the man seem bigger than life, and well maybe because as a man of the mere age of 35 he has lived a fuller life than many twice his age.  The newly elected congressman from Arkansas represents a district bigger than the entire state of West Virginia.  A Harvard and Harvard Law School graduate, Cotton is not one to shy away from a challenge.  After graduation Tom left law to join the military for his country.  Cotton sidestepped the JAG and instead became an Army Ranger serving tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  During his time in the military Cotton wrote an open letter to the New York Times criticizing the publishing of an article that outlined specifics of a secret program monitoring terrorists’ finances.  That letter created an uproar and was widely circulated online and in many newspapers. It even created a Snopes.com investigation as many were in disbelief that Tom Cotton even existed.

Listening to this man, it is easy to see why Tom draws crowds wherever he speaks.  The Representative from the 4^th district of Arkansas has a firm grasp on his beliefs and is not one to waiver in the face of a tough question.  Tom has a position on every topic you could think of. From guns to gay marriage and abortion, he is staunchly conservative and not afraid to respond to it all.  He’ll state his position and give you the reasons why.  He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and maybe that’s because he worked on his family’s farm and knows the value of hard work. 

With hard work comes hard decisions and when asked questions concerning the tough topic of immigration on the day the bipartisan gang of eight released their plan, he was hard lined to say that amnesty was not the answer and there are a wealth of programs and measures we can take without providing amnesty.  Repeating himself, Cotton believes that we (the United States) are a “nation of laws that must be respected.” His firm answers are to be respected indeed and unlike many of his counterparts, he is not bashed incessantly by the liberal media.

Interestingly enough, at the NRI Summit Tom was asked a question about media bias and how conservatives and Republicans are portrayed.  His answer, blunty stated [We need to] “shut up about media bias.  We need to buck up.  Conservatives have it easier today then Reagan and those thirty years ago.”  Most importantly, his answers to his positions on issues often come with a message.  “We need to emphasize what our plans are for America.”

In the wake of a November loss, Tom Cotton is exactly what the GOP needs to get back on its feet and find a path to success.  Although, the United States is “basically a conservative country” he believes one of our failures was that “people want to vote for us, but we (Republicans) pick the wrong candidates.” It looks like we picked right with Tom Cotton and are likely to see big things coming from this Congressman soon enough.