and arkansas is moving. that is what i mean a hart senate office building nice a arkansas comes first. lafrance: and like to thank the university of central arkansas for hosting this debate. it is an honor to be here among other candidates for the u.s. senate. during this debate, you'll find a distinct dichotomy between myself and the libertarian party platform and the other three candidates for the u.s. senate. what i mean is the the republicans, democrats have their own issues they focus on, there and interest groups that influence washington, all three parties have one common goal, to grow the size of the federal government. it is to consolidate, control and power over our lives in washington d.c. because that control means more money from special-interest groups for campaigns and continuous cycle that needs to end and end now. the overarching goal of my platform is to take this consolidated power in washington d.c. and diffuse it down to the state level, the county level, to your communities because this

next, we will take you live to the university of arkansas and fayetteville for the second arkansas senate debate between senator mark pryor and his republican challenger tom cotton. live coverage here on c-span. kiatd those watching us on in jonesboro and those joining us across the country on c-span and listening on c-span radio. bring you this debate live from the university of arkansas global campus in fayetteville. our thanks to the university of arkansas for their help with the first and only live televised debate between the two u.s. senate candidates. the debate focuses on three topics -- education, transportation and economic development, and job creation. 60h candidate will have seconds to answer followed by a 32nd rebuttal. we will make time for a 92nd closing statement. -- joining me on stage tonight are michael panelists -- are my co-panelists. and the moderator from talk business and politics, rosie bronx. >> our audience of more than 300 invited guests has been asked to remain silent during this debate. i know it will be difficult but i have total faith in our audience tonig

debatebring you this live from the university of arkansas global campus in fayetteville, arkansas. our thanks to the university of arkansas for their help with the first and only live televised debate between the two u.s. senate candidates. the first and only live televised debate between the two u.s. senate candidates. the debate focuses on three topics -- education, transportation and economic development, and job creation. 60h candidate will have seconds to answer followed by a 32nd rebuttal. we will make time for a 92nd closing statement. -- joining me on stage tonight are michael panelists -- are my co-panelists. and the moderator from talk business and politics, rosie bronx. >> our audience of more than 300 invited guests has been asked to remain silent during this debate. i know it will be difficult but i have total faith in our audience tonight to be able to do this. we will make an exception at this moment as we welcome the stage the candidates for the united states senate, tom cotton and mark pryor. [applause] mr. pryor, mr. cotton, it is to see this evening and have you

i would like to take the arkansas senate seat and give it back to you, the voters and citizens of arkansas. right now 100 out of 100 people in the senate are controlled by interest groups in an array of areas and backgrounds. all of this big money, big influence in washington, you are going to influence my decisions in washington. what is best for you, for americans, for america, that will be what guides my decisions . one issue i would like to focus on is term limits. for all members of the u.s. congress. an end toelp to put this perpetual cycle of fund raising and giving benefits to big donors. i think it we have to make some big structural changes in washington and with your support i will work to make it happen. >> the next question goes to mr. cotton. >> for those of you who have which keywashington, pieces of legislation have you helped to lead that you are the most proud of? if you can name one -- and if you could name one that you also like to take act. for those of you who have not served, maybe your key priority if elected. there veryot been long, less than one year, but i have b

i can tell you i will vote for you, the arkansas -- the people of arkansas every day. the fact i don't have a lot of influence from outside parties, people that donate so's of thousands, hundreds of thousands to these -- these super powers, they are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. they are doing it for a return on their investment, just like a business. and they expect that return on investment through their votes and with a favor. there is no such influence on myself as a libertarian candidate. i will vote for you. you don't have to be a big-time donor to visit me in washington, because every citizen will have access to visiting me and giving your opinions. >> i think the last thing everybody wants to hear is a bunch of politicians l fighting. frankly, i have dodged literal bullets, so a few metaphorical bullets on the campaign trail are not a problem. i met some people on the campaign trail two weeks ago. they are two-income families, but they had to sell their and move in with their parents because the price of health care had gone up so much. look

we need a manned up flying mission in arkansas. as your next senator, i will work to restore that because we have some of the lowest cost, highest efficiency training facilities in the river valley. i'm going to work the pentagon day in, day out to make sure the arkansas air national guard provide tools for soldiers overseas as well as jobs at home. >> thank you. i love working alongside people in fort smith. i started working on the 188 several years ago when b.r.a.t came along. we were able to get that mission converted from f-16s to a-10s. that is converting from a-10s to drones. to answer the question specifically, we need to get faa approval to have those drones fly over this particular airspace and i have been working on that. i don't have that done, but i do know that recently we have been working to save the fire trucks in the emergency vehicles at that airport and that is an important part of keeping the airport open. i love working for fort smith. i love working alongside fort smith, it is a very patriotic community. the

now on to the arkansas debate for governor of arkansas. asset much andis then, former senator. his democratic challenger is mike ross, a former congressman. leaning republican. this took place in little rock. it is about 40 five minutes. >> live from the university of arkansas at little rock, channel seven news presents an election central special, the arkansas gubernatorial debate. this broadcast is presented in little rock. now, your host, and the moderator for tonight's debate, channel sevens scott inman. >> from inside the university theatre, we welcome you to the 2014 gubernatorial debates. hello, everyone, i am your moderator for tonight's debate, scott inman. importantu have an decision to make. four weeks from today is election day, and we hope that over the next hour, we will help you make that decision from what is said here in two nights debates -- tonight's debates. who will be the next governor of the great state of arkansas? two of the gentleman who want that job are here tonight. without further delay, let's welcome them. >> it is obvious we have a pretty lively

i've been blessed to live in northwest arkansas, in central arkansas. i have grandchildren in both places and i think that's what unites us together. today i received the endorsement of the national federation of independent business. the nfib endorse my candidacy because they see me as someone as governor that can move our state forward in job creation and economic growth for the greatest future of our children and grandchildren. >> moderator: thank you mr. hutchinson. mr. ross. ross: i would like to thank channel 7 for hosting this important debate this evening. i have never run for statewide office so for those of you who do not nomad like to share who i am and why i want to leave this state of ours. i'm a fifth-generation lifelong arkansan. am the grandson grandson of the farmer a homemaker or railroad worker and a nurse and my parents who are here with me tonight for schoolteachers. i've been married for 31 years to my best friend. her name is holly. she is a pharmacist and she's here with us tonight. honey i love you so very much. she has given us

gwen more rick of arkansas business. and dwayne thompson of arkansas media. each candidate will have two minutes. each will have seconds to respond to a question. while rebuttals are limited to one minute. and at the conclusion of each broadcast, each candidates will opening and closing statements were determined prior to tonight by a drawing in which the candidates for their representatives participated. our timekeeper is elizabeth lewis. our first opening statement begins with mr. swaney. >> well, thank you for watching this debate. i'm with the green party. the green party is the only progressive political party in this senate race today. the green party has several characteristics that differentiate it from the other parties. i hear people say the green party is like the democratic party. it is not. the green party has three principles that we believe in, and they are peace, social justice, and protecting the environment. early in the first term as a yor was asenator pr strong supporter of the iraq war, which cost lives of americans and added more than $1

central arkansas. i think that is what unites us together. today, i received the endorsement of the national federation of independent business. they endorsed my candidacy because they see me as someone as governor that can move the state forward in job creation and economic growth. >> thank you, mr. hutchinson. mr. ross? >> i would like to thank channel for hosting this debate. i have never run for statewide office. if you do not know me, i would like to share who i am and why i want to lead the state. i am a fifth-generation lifelong arkansan. the grandson of a farmer, homewormaker, and nurse. my parents were school teachers. i have been married to holly, who is here tonight. honey, i love you. she has given us to bring wonderful children. -- two wonderful children. a former small business owner. i understand local government. rural arkansas. i spent 10 years in the arkansas state senate. and 12 years in the congress. if you think you are so fed up with washington, i was so fed up i did not run again

arkansas, 84. [cheers and applause] the real reason all the student loan issues are so important that senator pryor was talking about is, we are still not above the national average in the percentage of people to go to college and get degrees. they are almost two and 50,000 arkansas adults have actually done time and execution of higher education and couldn't finish their degrees, mostly for economic reasons. so we've got a big opportunity here. wind pat hays served as mayor 24 years as mayor of north little rock, we've known each other every day and then some. and i can tell you because i was president during eight of those years, he became one of the most highly regarded mayors not just in arkansas but in the united states. because he balanced the budget to make of the size of the government and increased the scope of their activities, and all the way he is talking about it. do you think you got the ballpark in the arena and caterpillar they're dealing only with democrats? know. you d do with eve

the people of arkansas. you pray for me, you have given me the current to keep going -- havege to keep going a you given me direction. i am asking you for your vote on november 4. i know together, we can keep america strong and arkansas moving. that is what i've made by arkansas comes first and stop >> r. lafrentz? >> i would like to thank the university of central arkansas for hosting this debate and it is an honor to be here among the other candidates. i think during this debate you will find a distinct dichotomy between myself and the libertarian party and the other is,e candidates what i mean though the republican and democrats have their own issues that they focus on and interest groups that influence how they vote in washington, all three parties have one common goal and that is to grow the size of the federal government and to consolidate control and power over our lives in washington, d.c. but cousin that control means more money -- because that control means more money from special interest groups a

putting arkansas first. hayes, mike ross, senator mark pryor, governor bebe, and president bill clinton! good afternoon, good afternoon. i am patrick henry hayes and i'm your next second district congressman. them!go get et me first of all say that it is a tkpwraegreat thing to be i city of colleges. afternoon and i will tell you the energy that us on this is giving stage is extraordinary, it is terrific. up.umps us we have two weeks until early voting and we are going to start voting a lot in early voting on the 20th. weeks from tomorrow. day. is judgment we know what dined of judgment we are going to have for all of us on this stage. for being here and helping that judgment come. good for democrats. let's go. two days my grandson harper will turn six. in one week on october 13, my isabella, middle grand daughter, will turn 10. y grand daughter savannah 25.ned 12 on july now, mr. president, i think it as 11 days ago that you became a grandfather. right? [cheers and applause] 7:03, charlotte came into this w

it says, arkansas comes first. right? arkansas comes first. that's what i mean. you know, he has his billionaires and you have seen their ads on tv. he has his billionaires but you know what i have? i have you. i -- [cheers and applause] i have the people of this state and that is how we win this race. we win this race one day at a time. we have 30 days left to the election. 28 days left to the election. every single day counts. we've got to get out there, knock on doors, make phone calls. today's the last day of voter registration. early voting starts on october 20th. listen, this is crunch time. this is the time for all of us to kick it in gear and get all these democrats elected. amen? now, if i were on the senate floor right now i would ask for what they call a point of personal privilege. and that is, mr. president, or should i say grandpa? grandpa? can i get a selfie? [applause] right? let's do it. let's do it. [cheers and applause] hold on. let's do it. we're going to do it. right there. there we go. we got it. thank you. thank you. [applause] >> and now,

arkansas. cotton: well, barack obama can do a lot of damage in just two years but he's already done a lot of damage in stitches and that's what arkansans are disappointing mark pryor for voting with them 93% of the time. i hope we can start in january even with president still in office to get our economy moving again. arkansans are hurting. we've had 80,000 people with food stamps, fewer than 30,000 jobs. wages are down 5%. we need to start with tax reform act we need to reform our tax code. we have summarized taxes in the industrialized world. that makes arkansas in a country less competitive for jobs here at home but we need reform our regular process, get out of the agencies like the epa act under control so we can have constitutional self-government answer you can hold your elected representatives together for every rule overregulation it comes down to agencies as totaling the point the finger at nameless and faceless bureaucrats. we need and have the energy potential in this country. we s

chris brewery reports from arkansas. we begin our look at america votes 2014. >>> a vanishing issue in west africa - why the people in senegal and animals are staying away from a long-standing tradition. >>> and, how the snap of the selfie is taking over. >>> good evening, thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. it is very contained here in the united states, but there is no question many men's are worried. -- americans are worried. 22%, more than one in five of us will fear we will get ebola. there are signs that it is reaching targets. the first norwegian is week cared for -- being cared for at a hospital in oslo. the aid worker had been with doctors without borders. >>> spanish officials will kill the pet cog of a health worker, claiming there's a risk that the dog could transmit the virus to a human. in the united states, ebola patients treated in lincoln and nebraska are getting the same experimental drug. health officials are trying to calm worries and assure everything that can be done is, there's clearly a lot of d

even arkansas where she was the first lady. she is known well in arkansas. again, she was a carpet bagger who came in from illinois who went to yale and so there was soo am distaste for her. she does have sway with women voters. where mary landreiux is struggling. it will be interesting to see her in iowa where she will be out there stumping for bruce brael, the congressman against joni ernst against a female candidate in iowa. it will be interesting to see. >> on the republican side, jeb bush has again aggressive. there are some reports from his family jeb is leaning toward a presidential race. what is the signifcancer in the interim of the ious he is picking up around the country? >> you know, david, it's interesting. when a bush runs the field clears. as we saw with george w. bush in 2000, when he announced in '99 that he was going to seek the presidency, dan quail who had been his father's vice president had all of the bush organization behind him. they all scattered, jail dropped out of the race. the same thing could happen here. there is, in fact, a bu

. >> arkansas comes first. that is not true. for six years they quoted president obama. >> running against a public opponent or obama care. chris brewery reports from arkansas, in our coverage much "america votes 2014." >>> and good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm when. we begin the hour with an investigation into an all-american grain of intellectual property. the stuff movies are made of. international spies, secrets and of all things, seeds. all this played out in iowa's field of agricultural dreams. "america tonight"s michael oku investigates what chinese spies were doing in the corn rows, and brings us a look at the man that they say was the ring leader of this heist. . >> when chinese president xi jinping, then the vice president, arrived in iowa, the federal bureau of investigation was tailing another man, tracking his movements from demoyne to the iowa capital. where the governor held a state dipper for xi jinping. whom he toasted his american host, the fbi says the man they were watching was there, seated at table 4

still the arkansas you governed? >> oh, i think so. i think we've got a really good chance. i think he's run a great campaign, i think he -- i expect him to win. >> can he win this race for you? >> i have got to win this race on my own. >> reporter: if there's one thing they agree on it, might be bill clinton. >> i think a lot of arkansans look back on the clinton years like the obama years and view them favorably. >> president clinton, can i get a selfie? >> wow. >> with us is -- nobody draws them like bill clinton. certainly not in arkansas. but this race has been up in the air. i said a couple of hours ago i thought tom cotton to be up by ten points now. but it's a lot closer. what keeps pryor close and what makes democrats think they can still win this race? >> reporter: it's a couple of factors, joe. this is a democratic state for decades. only recently it's finally started to slip away from the southern democrats and at this point, mark pryor still has a ton of goodwill from his father, david pryor, who is very

he's a different kind of republican than arkansas has even -- even in some of the rest of the arkansas delegation, he's campaigning with huckabee on thursday. cotton and huckabee are two very different kinds of republicans. >> casey, we got to go. we'll be following you on the campaign. joining me now for a deeper dive into some of the hottest senate races this coming month, democratic strategist david axelrod and republican strategist. let me ask you about iowa. this thing about castration got a lot of attention. people accused her of being a lightweight. she's no lightweight. >> first of all, being called a lightweight going into a debate is a great advantage because the bar is low and she's exceeded the bar and she's been helped by those encounters. i think iowa is, i agree with you, i think iowa will be the pivotal state in this whole constellation and it's very, very close. she's got momentum. she's got charisma. but democrats have great organization there. one of the things that's giving democrats some confidence there is the early vote, the applications for absentee ballots, or

when president clinton was in arkansas he and mr. ross sat down and had a very long chat about the gubernatorial race and what mr. ross ought to do to win. so he is very, very connected. >> tom cotton, running for the republicans has often been referred to as sort of the poster child for the perfect conservative candidate today. tell me about him. >> yeah, it's interesting. tom cotton, who really lived outside of arkansas for a very long time, came back, and ran for congress, and he has really been a darling of the republican party. he has a compelling biography, aaron alexis -- and he has attracted interest from many groups and that really has propelled his rise. he served one term in congress and now he's running for the u.s. senate. >> there's also -- and he is running against mark pryor, obviously the son of a mentor to bill clinton. >> that's right. so if you think about the other candidates that are running that have close ties to president clinton, mark pryor is at the top of the list. he is the son of david pryor who has been

arkansas deserves a raise. we need to go to the polls and support that and i'm strongly in favor of raising arkansas's minimum wage and by implication we raise arkansas's minimum wage to $8.50 then obviously that would raise the federal minimum wage. i don't know what the magic number is on the federal minimum wage. i would hope we could get together a bipartisan way, by implication raising the arkansas minimum-wage would raise the federal wage at least in terms of my support. is there, is strong and i hope arkansas joins me in making that happen. >> moderator: french hill. hill: what is the best way to help young people develop skills and develop opportunities in a better career? what is a way to help our families do better? if a family is truly in poverty than minimum wage is not any answer. it discourages jobs and discourages advancement and work. the earned income tax credit is a much more effective idea to help poverty families grow in their ability to earn more income and have more opportunity. we need sc

i'm strongly in favor raising arkansas's minimum wage in the application we raise arkansas's minimum wage to $8.50 obviously that would raise the federal minimum wage. i don't know what the magic number is on the federal minimum wage. i would hope we get it together in a bipartisan way but my implication in raising the menace -- arkansas minimum wage would raise the federal wage in terms of my support. spare and strong and i hope arkansas joins with me and make it happen. >> moderator: 1-minute rebuttal mr. hill. hill: this gets down to what's the best way to help young people develop skills and develop opportunities and a better career and what's a way to help our families do better? if a family is truly in poverty that minimum wage is not the answer. it discourages jobs and discourages advancement and work. the earned income tax credit is a much more effective idea to help poverty families grow in their ability to earn more income and have more opportunity. we need schools that don't fail our kids. we have public schools that fail are kids and i don't get the education. that's why

>> that got more coverage nationally been in arkansas. the republicans find this race basically over. the democrats have two factors. bill clinton, who has been to the state, will probably go back. and the turnout of african american voters. when you poll the state, you have to think about what is the contribution of the african-american voters. bill clinton could come back. if you ask, kratz what would be the toughest state to hold, i think this is the one. >> that would be right after louisiana -- they have a lot riding on bill clinton. i think he is going back -- not just once, but twice in the state before election day. mark pryor just made it harder for himself. >> he needs a cotton gaffe. >> david ignatius quotes a white house official is saying that putting u.s. advisers and harm's way is crucial to helping the iraqis fight isil. that sounds an awful lot like the one thing president obama promised it would never be boots on the ground. will we he have to go back on a promise he made to win this war? i think the answer unfortunately

is about arkansas. it's about the future direction of the -- are we y are going going to build on what president clinton did for us, turn the going to clock back? calendars, get on -- get on email, world xt everyone in the that lives in arkansas, and tell them to get vote. november 3 is the day. elections do have consequences. all these races working close. we are night and day. us. re asking you to join if you help us november 4, i d will personally thank you. god bless. of the next governor arkansas, mike ross. welcome sen. mark pryor. >> thank you. thank you arkansas. it is so great to be here. i love being you very ampus. thank much president. there is one other governor here we need to david ize who is gov. pryor over there, give him a hand. these three former governors know and that is mike ross is going to make a great governor. you know the election is four weeks from tomorrow, and we a lot at stake. now let me tell you, i did not come here talk about my opponent, but let me take your opportunit

that we have things we have to do we don't have time to waste and to get them accomplished spinnaker arkansas proposal to raise minimum-wage it is receiving support for the federal minimum wage. why or why not? >> i support raising the federal minimum wage that all labor markets need to have flexibility to raise that minimum-wage deters the steppingstones for the end is people in our society to develop skills and dignity for greater work to move lives for word for opportunity. to raise that minimum-wage teachers that. the cbo says between 500,000 and 1 million jobs to raise the federal minimum wage to the proposed level. that concerns me. also raises consumer prices because it might deter hiring new people at that wage rates it also raise consumer prices and the least among us make it harder for people to have extra work to have extra revenue and their raises cost with a tight budget. is the cbo says that persuasively. standiford: another government intrusion into the free market to set the floor on wages. wages are private contract between the employer and employee. employers should be allow

we know that if he went to lee louisiana and arkansas thomas some good of it would come -- and arkansas, some good that would come for democrats. >> i don't think that is the question mark, with all due respect. that is the name of the show. i did not plan it that way. mitt romney won some of the states by 20 points or more. everyone is focused on the map, where is the president going into the cycle. everybody was talking about this -- >> i get that. i am just asking mechanically. if you had a poll in arkansas today and the president went and you had another poll in a few days, what impact would he have a question mark >> i do not think it is a question of whether it is negative or not. i think in many places it is baked into the cake. it is not a big decision for any candidate. i think the truth in all of these races, by the way -- candidates in campaigns matter. these folks have to win in their own. some of these are in states romney won by a significant margin and democrats are doing well there. some states, it is a tough climb to overcome. the question is not whether it will do sign

voters, and the citizens of arkansas. right now, a hundred out of a hundred seats in the senate are controlled by interest groups of an array of areas and backgrounds. one thing that associates them all is big money, big donations, big campaigns, big influence in washington, d.c.. you are going to influence my decisions in washington. what is best for you? what is best for americans and america? that will be what guides my decisions. one big issue i'd like to focus on is term limits. for all members of the united states congress. that would help end this perpetual cycle of fund raising, doling out benefits to big donors, fund raising again. i think we have to make big structural changes in washington and with your support i will work to make it happen. >> next question from mr. hedlund goes first for mr. cotton. >> congressman cotton, for those who have served in washington, you and senator yor, which key pieces of legislation have you helped with that you are most proud of if you can name one and also name one that you p

will it help in arkansas? >> it might help in arkansas. >> really? >> to the extent you need the black voters out to win, it's going to help. he has to get that base out. it's a mid-term election. black voters typically skip mid term elections. if they skip this one, democrats are in trouble. he's figuring the people i have lost, i have lost them. so let's figure on people who have not normally come out to a mid term election. >> what do you think? >> think they're triering to draw it to an inside straight. the deck is stacked against them. he told a black talk show radio host that some folks don't even know there's a mid term election. the democrats said they did not ask him to go on al sharpton and make this statement about how tight he was with all the candidates. the associated press poll came out and the level of enthusiasm for the president is 9%. so i think it is the president and his policies and there's a reason why they're trying to run away from him. >> you know, donna brazil recently said she thought democrats who run away from the presid

today's the last day of voter registration in arkansas. conway arkansas. bill clinton served up what i like to call a clinton classic. more in sadness than anger, he said republicans were trying to pull a fast one on the voters. >> they wanted to make this a protest vote. all three races they are saying you know what you have got to do, you've got to vote against the president. it is your last shot. that is a pretty good scam isn't it? give me a six-year job for a two-year protest. that is mark pryor's opponent message. >> first of all we have to say , we could watch that all day. the man is talking the owls down from the trees. awesome. at the end of campaigns, he gives strategic voting advice. and he is basically saying don't vote to punish president obama. and give a guy a six-year term because he will be gone in two years. and by the way, there might be a person named hillary clinton there that would like to work with mark pryor. >> there are so many things that are great about that. the singsong, the lilt in the voice. he is totally on fire. he is in

for "religion and ethics newsweekly," i'm tim o'brien at arkansas state penitentiary, grady, arkansas. >>> at the vatican this sunday, pope francis is opening an unusual synod, a two-week gathering of catholic bishops from around the world to discuss the church and families. among the possible topics are marriage, divorce, cohabitation, annulments and artificial birth control. even before the synod began, there was a rare public argument among some top church officials. we want to talk about this. kim lawton, managing editor of this program, and kevin eckstrom, editor-in-chief of religion news service. kevin, welcome. what was the argument about? >> the argument is basically between the two sides of the church: the traditionalists, the conservatives who want to keep the church teaching as it is, and the more progressive side, which frankly is represented by pope francis, who are open to change. they haven't said yet what change they want to make or if they'll even make it, but they're open to it, and they're open to the idea. and so you have this really rare public disagreement betwee

this is arkansas. the latest numbers we have, this shows the congressman leading the incumbents by 7%, and we look at the average, a real clear politics average of all the latest polling the charisma anis still up by nearly 5% only one poll shows him ahead at this point. good morning, cumbersome, good to have you here. >> good morning, grace to be on with you. martha: have a little bit of a delay. first of all, you are in iraq and afghanistan war veteran. rip tide will what is on in the kobani. you here with the chairman chief joined the staff is saying about what he may need in terms of boots on the ground and all these other reports of what might be necessary to win, i'm curious what is going through your mind on that. >> it is frustrating the president has left the islamic state fester for years. when he disregarded the advice of his commanders in 2011 and withdrew a small stay behind course despite their ability to go there, he let them regroup. now they're not just a terrorist group, they are a te

there's this nostalgia for him in arkansas. i can tell you something about bill clinton, he's obsessed with at least getting one victory out of arkansas. i hear that, you know, every other day he's making a phone call to them, saying, what's it going to take, tell me what i have to do. i think he'll spend a couple of days in arkansas, that it's personal for him, whether he can drag mark pryor across the finish line, i don't know. it is interesting. i think if this were a wave year for the republicans, this race would be put away. cotton hasn't put the race away. >> all right, we just lost -- i think we just lost chuck. chuck's just fine but obviously when you take a live signal from a bus on the way to jonesboro, arkansas, there's a chance you're going to have a problem from time to time. chuck todd there talking about his conversation there coming up with senator pryor. >>> coming up, nasa's $200 million fiery disaster. has investigators trying to figure out what went wrong. also this morning, new details on the stepped-up sec

, the voters and citizens of arkansas. right now 100 seats out of the senate are controlled by interest groups. one thing that associates them all is big money, big donations to campaigns, big influence in washington, d.c. you are going to influence my decisions in washington. what is best for you, what is st for americans and america will guide my decisions. for all members of the united states congress, term length would help end this perpetual cycle of fundraising. i think we have to make big structural changes in washington and with your support, i will work to make it happen. >> next question for mr. goes first for mr. cotton. >> congressman cotton, for those of you who have served in washington, you and senator pryor, which key pieces of legislation have you helped lead that you're most proud of, if you can name one and if you can also name one that you perhaps like to take back. and for those of you who haven't served, maybe what is your key priority, if elected. >> well, i haven't been in washington very long, less

he will be in arkansas today and tomorrow. he will be back in arkansas at least one more time before election day. i think it matters in that race. mark pryor is in trouble. bill clinton can help them. he is going straight into the teeth of the republican argument which is this is a referendum on barack obama. he is saying it is not. you have to focus on this guy. >> the congressman is saying the clinton years were great. republicans know bill clinton is not going to swing the race, but he is worth more points on the ground in that state than any other human being alive is worth in any state in the union. he has not just mark pryor the close friends of his he would love to help. as the day goes on, he gets better. that was his morning event. he has even's tonight and tomorrow. >> it was a great poll that came out and said bill clinton is the only endorser in either party who actually matters. it is true particularly among undecided voters. he is over 50% approval. no one else like that. >> moving on. the jets got squashed by t

well, arkansas countered here. the state's attorney says, look, if the no-beard policy protects against prisoners altering their appearance if they escape or even altering it within the prison so they can get into areas they shouldn't be in and also it protects against the hiding of contraband, even in a half-inch beard. >> woodruff: it sounds as if the justices are scept calling. >> they were. justice alee to poked fun at the arkansas lawyer saying, why not have them comb the half inch beer and maybe a similar card will fall out or a tiny revolver. >> woodruff: so this is a case where you have some sense of the justices being... >> you did. it seems as though the prisoner may have the better argument here. it's an important case, judy, because this is really the first time the court has looked at how to apply this law. it's a sister law to what we saw last term in the hobby lobby case and the religious freedom restoration act, which we learned protects government from burdening the religious expression of corporat

he owns a cattle ranch and saw mill in northern arkansas. he pays above the minimum wage but says as a businessman, he's opposed to having the government dictate the wages he pays employees. >> the reality is in the small business environment that i'm in, i can only pay so much. i am dictated by the national markets, the lumber market, the tile market. they all tell me what i'm going to get. i have no control over that, but if the government is going to come in and say you're going to down. but as a representative, branscum says he's going to have to support the ballot initiative. >> that's because 80% of the people are !or it. i mean, it's hard to come out and be strongly opposed to a position when everybody wants to try to help everybody out. that's why we're here, to try to help people. but as a republican, you don't want to hurt business. so it's a delicate balancing act that we have to do. >> reporter: patrick hayes is the former mayor of north little rock. a democrat, he's running for a u.s. house seat in arkansas's most democratic-lea