Just seven years ago, Tom Cotton was fighting for his life in Iraq. And last week, the freshman Republican Congressman from Arkansas announced his candidacy for US Senate.
Just seven years ago, Tom Cotton was fighting for his life in the casbahs of Iraq. And last week, the freshman Republican Congressman from Arkansas announced his candidacy for US Senate, with some pundits predicting Cotton might even find himself on the national ticket in 2016. If political observers could vote for rookie of the year, Rep. Tom Cotton would probably win hands down. In this exclusive interview on the eve of his maiden trip to Israel, Rep. Cotton explains why America is still at war, why he voted against the aid package for Hurricane Sandy, and what’s stopping the Mideast peace process from moving forward
Tom Cotton built his character — and certainly his biceps — as a boy, lofting bales of hay far bigger than himself from his daddy’s pickup truck on the family cattle ranch. Now a lanky war veteran and freshman congressman, Cotton faces a different type of heavy lifting in the aisles of Congress.
The nation’s capital is a world apart from Sunny Side farm off State Highway 28 in rural Yell County, Arkansas, where Cotton grew up, yet he couldn’t think of a better training ground to learn the value of taking responsibility for things larger than himself.
“In the depths of winter, when it was 20 degrees and hailing, snowing, or sleeting, you still had to go out and care for those cows, whether putting out hay, or getting them out of frozen ponds, or caring for a newborn calve,” said Cotton. “You learned a sense of duty and sacrifice and selfless service, which is important in all walks of life.”
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