- The Washington Times - Monday, April 21, 2014

Rep. Tom Cotton is using Sen. Mark Pryor’s own words against him, ratcheting up the pressure on the two-term incumbent who is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections.

Mr. Cotton, a Republican, rolled out a new “At Ease” television ad on Monday pushing back against Mr. Pryor’s claim that Mr. Cotton feels he is entitled to the Arkansas Senate seat they are fighting for because he served in the military.

“Senator Pryor says my military services give me ’a sense of entitlement,’ so I brought in an expert,” Mr. Cotton says in the 30-second spot, alluding to his former basic-training drill Sgt. George Norton, who walks into the frame.

“Did I say ’at ease,’ Cotton?” Sgt. Norton asks, sparking a back-and-forth between the two.

“Drill Sgt. Norton taught me how to be a soldier,” Mr. Cotton says.

“Accountability, humility and putting the unit before yourself. That training stuck.”

In response, Sgt. Norton quips, “It better have.”

Mr. Pryor came under fire last month when he told NBC News that he does not see military service as a qualification to become senator.

“There’s a lot of people in the Senate that didn’t serve in the military,” Mr. Pryor told NBC News. “Obviously in the Senate we have all types of different people, all kinds of different folks that have come from all types of different backgrounds — and I think that’s part of that sense of entitlement that he gives off is that, almost like, I served my country, let me into the Senate. But that’s not how it works in Arkansas.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

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