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Interview with Arkansas Senator-Elect Mark Pryor

Aired November 06, 2002 - 10:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Mark Pryor ousted the Republican incumbent in Arkansas Tim Hutchinson. This is one of family business stories that we talked about a lot last night, Pryor taking the Senate seat once held by his father. We're joined now by the newly elected senator from Arkansas, Mark Pryor joins us from Little Rock.
Good to you have with us. Congratulations.

How did you buck the trend?

MARK PRYOR (D), ARKANSAS SENATOR-ELECT: Well, I don't know. All I can say is we worked very, very hard. I went to virtually every community in Arkansas and talked about issues that people really cared about, things like prescription drugs, Social Security and education, and things that impact this state and try to make my case about how I can be a better United States senator than my opponent.

BROWN: As you look at what happened last night across the country, where did the Democrats go wrong? What has happened to the party? Why is its message not resonating out there? It clearly did not last night.

PRYOR: I don't know the answer to that. I was so focused on my race, but I tell you, I don't think politics has changed that much since 1776. I think that people in this country, certainly in Arkansas, when they go in that voting booth, they look at the people on the ballot, and they try to make a determination of who can best represent them in the United States Senate. Some cases it's Democrats, some cases it's Republican, sometimes it boils down to personalities, or specific issues, but I think politics really hasn't changed that much.

BROWN: Well, let me go back to the question, Mr. Pryor, if I can, is -- do the Democrats need to either retool the message or find a message depending on whether you're among that group that believes they didn't have one in the first place, or is this just an aberrational moment in politics?

PRYOR: You know, it's hard for me to know. I was so close to my race and so focused but I think that, you know, the Democratic Party is alive and well. It's a very diverse party. It is a party that Massachusetts Democrat is very different than an Arkansas Democrat, and you can make that comparison all around the country. Some people say we don't have a cohesive message, but you know, that's part of our strength is our diversity. I mean, I can come here in Arkansas and be a Democrat and speak with conviction about Democratic issues, and someone over in say California can go there and maybe see the same issues differently, but within the Democratic Party. We're still there to reflect the values and the attitudes of the people who send us to Washington.

So I like the diversity. I like the fact that you can be a Democrat and be somewhat independent and go to Washington and try to do what's right and what's best.

BROWN: Let's just briefly come back to the race that you ran. At what moment did it become clear to you, did you really start to believe, I won this thing? Was it sometimes over the weekend that you were looking at polls? Was it sometime last night? Is it still sinking in? When did it happen?

PRYOR: It's funny, I always had a sense I would win this race, not because of me, but because of Arkansas. It's because of how independent-minded Arkansas is, we re-elected a Republican governor and ousted a Republican senator. We're very independent minded people here and very independent-minded voters, and one thing I've done in the attorney general's office is tried to be very nonpartisan. I've gotten along very well with our Republican governors and the Republican members of our state legislature, and people know that when I go to Washington, I'm going to put partisan labels aside, I'm going to try to do what's right, and what's best. And one thing I had during the course of this race, is just because something is a Democratic idea doesn't mean it's a good idea. Just because something is a Republican idea doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

People in my state and I'm sure people all over the country are sick and tired of the partisan gridlock in Washington. I'm going to go to Washington and try to make it better, try to make it work. And I think that worked and the people in this state responded very well to it.

BROWN: Mr. Pryor, thanks. Your family must be proud of you. There aren't many reasons for Democrats to smile today, but clearly you're one of them.

PRYOR: Thank you for having me. Y'all do a great job.

BROWN: Thank you, and congratulations, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 6, 2002 - 10:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Mark Pryor ousted the Republican incumbent in Arkansas Tim Hutchinson. This is one of family business stories that we talked about a lot last night, Pryor taking the Senate seat once held by his father. We're joined now by the newly elected senator from Arkansas, Mark Pryor joins us from Little Rock.
Good to you have with us. Congratulations.

How did you buck the trend?

MARK PRYOR (D), ARKANSAS SENATOR-ELECT: Well, I don't know. All I can say is we worked very, very hard. I went to virtually every community in Arkansas and talked about issues that people really cared about, things like prescription drugs, Social Security and education, and things that impact this state and try to make my case about how I can be a better United States senator than my opponent.

BROWN: As you look at what happened last night across the country, where did the Democrats go wrong? What has happened to the party? Why is its message not resonating out there? It clearly did not last night.

PRYOR: I don't know the answer to that. I was so focused on my race, but I tell you, I don't think politics has changed that much since 1776. I think that people in this country, certainly in Arkansas, when they go in that voting booth, they look at the people on the ballot, and they try to make a determination of who can best represent them in the United States Senate. Some cases it's Democrats, some cases it's Republican, sometimes it boils down to personalities, or specific issues, but I think politics really hasn't changed that much.

BROWN: Well, let me go back to the question, Mr. Pryor, if I can, is -- do the Democrats need to either retool the message or find a message depending on whether you're among that group that believes they didn't have one in the first place, or is this just an aberrational moment in politics?

PRYOR: You know, it's hard for me to know. I was so close to my race and so focused but I think that, you know, the Democratic Party is alive and well. It's a very diverse party. It is a party that Massachusetts Democrat is very different than an Arkansas Democrat, and you can make that comparison all around the country. Some people say we don't have a cohesive message, but you know, that's part of our strength is our diversity. I mean, I can come here in Arkansas and be a Democrat and speak with conviction about Democratic issues, and someone over in say California can go there and maybe see the same issues differently, but within the Democratic Party. We're still there to reflect the values and the attitudes of the people who send us to Washington.

So I like the diversity. I like the fact that you can be a Democrat and be somewhat independent and go to Washington and try to do what's right and what's best.

BROWN: Let's just briefly come back to the race that you ran. At what moment did it become clear to you, did you really start to believe, I won this thing? Was it sometimes over the weekend that you were looking at polls? Was it sometime last night? Is it still sinking in? When did it happen?

PRYOR: It's funny, I always had a sense I would win this race, not because of me, but because of Arkansas. It's because of how independent-minded Arkansas is, we re-elected a Republican governor and ousted a Republican senator. We're very independent minded people here and very independent-minded voters, and one thing I've done in the attorney general's office is tried to be very nonpartisan. I've gotten along very well with our Republican governors and the Republican members of our state legislature, and people know that when I go to Washington, I'm going to put partisan labels aside, I'm going to try to do what's right, and what's best. And one thing I had during the course of this race, is just because something is a Democratic idea doesn't mean it's a good idea. Just because something is a Republican idea doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

People in my state and I'm sure people all over the country are sick and tired of the partisan gridlock in Washington. I'm going to go to Washington and try to make it better, try to make it work. And I think that worked and the people in this state responded very well to it.

BROWN: Mr. Pryor, thanks. Your family must be proud of you. There aren't many reasons for Democrats to smile today, but clearly you're one of them.

PRYOR: Thank you for having me. Y'all do a great job.

BROWN: Thank you, and congratulations, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com