Drew Pritt, a Democrat who became the first openly gay candidate to run statewide in Arkansas, says a progressive Democrat challenging Pryor in 2008 would be the best thing to happen for Arkansas Democrats, and he said he might as well be the one to do it.
“Senator Pryor should know better,” said Pritt. “However, he has voted too often with George W. Bush and against the people. Now Senator Pryor says he wants to be bipartisan and work for progress. Senator Pryor needs to remember the Democratic Party is the party of progress and the people of Arkansas want a Senator who is progressive and partisan in that regards.”
Pritt says Pryor should follow more of the example his own father, as well as Senator Dale Bumpers, set while serving in the U.S. Senate. He says the results of the November 7th Election show that the Democratic Party returned to its roots of fighting for progressive causes and nominating progressive candidates.
“The voters all across this country are tired of chameleon politics,” said Pritt. “If you are a Democrat, then stand up, speak out, and fight for
values that made the Democratic Party strong in this country. We are the party of less government, because we fight for an individuals right to choose, not a government. We are the fiscally responsible party because we fight for pay as you go, not deficit spending. We are the party of patriotism, because any neighborhood bully can pick a fight, especially with a weaker opponent. The true statesmen are the ones who fight and secure the peace, but also work daily to maintain peace. We also are the party of Main Street, USA and we need a U.S. Senator who fights for Main Street, Arkansas.”
Pritt says he differs with Pryor’s record of voting on a number of issues. In particular, as a U.S. Senator, Pritt says his support of a woman’s right to choose will be unequivocal. He supports a phased withdraw from Iraq in a year and supports turning over the policing and beefing up of the country to the members of the Arab League. Also, he will be a huge proponent of improving and expanding Amtrak service across the country. Also, Pritt says he will not be any proponent of “working with” a Republican opposition that supports judicial nominees who are anti-choice, anti-working families, and anti-civil liberties.
He says he recognizes he faces a strong challenge with formidable odds in challenging Pryor. However, Pritt says he is a true Democrat and the voters will know without a doubt he will be a Democrat when voting in the Senate. He also says his previous experience in running for Lt. Governor will serve him well the second time around.
“This time I have to raise money to be competitive,” said Pritt. “The grassroots campaigning will help but the simple fact is I need to raise money to send a message and be successful.”
He also said he believes Governor Mike Huckabee will eventually end up running for the U.S. Senate in 2008 as the Republican nominee. Should
Pritt defeat Pryor in a major upset in the primary, Pritt says this is a general election matchup he’d relish.
“I helped lead the effort to defeat one of Mike Huckabee’s hair-brained schemes before with the Road Bond,” said Pritt. “I would love the chance
to face him one-on-one in a General Election matchup and compare the Democratic Party’s values and records with that of Governor Huckabee and the Arkansas Republican Party.”
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Should I have left Senator Pryor alone after he abandoned Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee, for the sore loser, Joe Lieberman, when Pryor was Vice Chair of the DSCC?
Should I have left Senator Pryor alone after he voted to suspend Habeas Corpus and support torture?
Should I have left Senator Pryor alone after he voted to compromise with the Republican strong arm tactics and allow not one, but two, anti-choice, anti-civil liberties, and anti-working families nominees go onto the Supreme Court?
Should I have left Senator Pryor alone after he voted for the Bankruptcy Bill which doesn’t end debt, just enslaves more Americans in debt?
Should I have left Senator Pryor alone after he continued to support a war in which half a million people have died or been wounded, including nearly 3,000 U.S. Service Members killed and another 45,000 wounded???
You’re not going to find much netroots support for displacing conservative democrats in places like Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, and West Virginia. These are conservative places that will likely elect conservative politicians. Try beating a Republican in an election first. There is little enthusiasm to replace incumbent Democrats with progressives who will lose in the general. If Schlesinger has a strong shot of winning in Conneticut, we probably wouldn’t have tried to oust Liberman. We want to upgrade our seats, not lose them. If you want Democrats to lose seats, join the Green party, that’s their mission.
and I am an Arkansan. I believe voters in Arkansas will elect a true progressive because they have demonstrated they will time and time again.
Try to call J. William Fulbright a conservative and prove it. Try to look at the voting history of Dale Bumpers and call him a conservative. In 1948, would anyone have dared called Sid McMath a conservative?
More recently….you think Vic Snyder is a conservative? Even though he ran as a hunting good ole’ boy, do you really think Dustin McDaniel is a conservative? What about Martha Shoffner, who didn’t reject support from the Stonewall Democrats.
Even more so….look at the 20 yr. record of Mike Beebe in the State Senate and try to say he’s a conservative.
and less of the opposite IMO.
I was the first openly gay elected official in my East North Carolina County,and that was over 15 years ago. It is possible.
Cheers.
See, I like winning elections, and primarying Pryor is NOT the way to do that. So he’s an ass on a few issues–Big fucking deal–should we have primaried Ben Nelson?