Pryor gets GOP flak over Bible ad

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., Bible in hand, delivered a spiritual message in a campaign commercial released Wednesday, capturing national media attention and spawning a partisan attack from at least one national Republican group.

Shortly after that criticism, a spokesman for Pryor’s likely Republican 2014 opponent, Tom Cotton, called the attack “bizarre and offensive.”

In the 30-second television advertisement, Pryor holds and sometimes waves a copy of the Scriptures as he speaks directly to the camera.

“I’m not ashamed to say that I believe in God and I believe in his word. The Bible teaches us no one has all the answers. Only God does.And neither political party is always right,” Pryor said.

Holding the Bible higher, Pryor says: “This is my compass. My North Star. It gives me comfort and guidance to do what’s best for Arkansas. I’m Mark Pryor, and I approve this message because this is who I am and what I believe.”

The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today and other prominent publications wrote about the ad on their websites.

Political watchers in Arkansas said the campaign ad is nothing new for Pryor, who frequently talks about his faith in speeches and in campaign communications. Pryor is also a frequent organizer of the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., of which he has been co-chairman three times.

But the ad can also be seen as an attempt by Pryor to distance himself from the national Democratic Party, which is seen in some parts of the country as more secular, said Hal Bass, a political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

“He doesn’t want to be labeled as a national Democrat, and this is a way to insulate himself against that charge,” Bass said.

Hours after Pryor’s campaign announced the new statewide ad, Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called the ad“interesting” in a posting on the committee’s website and in an email sent to reporters. In the posting, he pointed to excerpts from an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article from April 2012.

In the article, Pryor said his faith guides his political views, but he warned that the Bible could be interpreted differently by different people.

“The Bible is really not a rule book for political issues,” he said at the time. “Everybody can see it differently.”

Dayspring questioned whether Pryor’s comments in the article were at odds with his campaign ad.

“So is the Bible Mark Pryor’s compass, providing the ‘comfort and guidance to do what’s best for Arkansas?’ Or is it really not a good rulebook for political issues and decisions made in the Senate? Guess it depends on which Mark Pryor that you ask,” Dayspring wrote.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denounced the communication as a “despicable attack on Mark Pryor” and said the “attack was out of bounds.”

Cotton spokesman David Ray later condemned the national Republican group’s email, stating that the Cotton campaign was focused on its own ad, featuring Cotton’s mother and promoting his service in the military.

“That is an incredibly bizarre and offensive email from the NRSC’s press secretary. We should all agree that America is better off when all our public officials in both parties have the humility to seek guidance from God,” Ray said in a statement.

Janine Parry, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said it was a good strategy for Pryor’s campaign to run the ad to identify with Arkansas voters, especially the large number of evangelical Christians in the state. Pryor used a similar ad in his 2002 bid to unseat Sen. Tim Hutchinson, she said.

In that ad, Pryor is shown with his family, and says while pointing to the Bible, “The most important lessons in life are in this book right here.”

Pryor identifies as evangelical, while Cotton is Methodist, according to their campaigns.

Parry said it would be difficult for Republicans to criticize the ad because its message resonates with voters.

“In this particular case, any flak from the right probably won’t get much traction,” Parry said.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor Art English said the ad is also in line with recent campaign communications from Pryor that emphasize his connections to the state, which English said is a good tactic because Cotton has spent a lot of time outside Arkansas.

“I think part of this is making him the best fit for Arkansas’ culture, which fits Pryor campaigns dating many years back,” English said.

Bass said Pryor was not the first politician to highlight his religious background in the state, citing President Bill Clinton’s appearances singing in the choir on Sunday television programs when he was governor. Bass said Pryor has always been open about his faith and that the ad would probably be seen as genuine.

“I think this is who he is. I don’t think he’s faking it or trying to present himself as something he’s not,” Bass said.