The Republican National Lawyers Association is excited to announce that Senator Tom Cotton is the recipient of the 2022 Hon. Edwin Meese III Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. The award will be presented at RNLA's 2022 National Policy Conference in Arlington, Virginia. RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen stated:
This award was meant for those who stand up to the slings and arrows of false accusations from liberals such as The New York Times. Cotton has not only stood up, he has been proven right time and time again.
Senator Cotton was one of the first to talk about the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Chinese lab, and the media crucified him. Yet as time passed, reality backed Senator Cotton's warnings.
You may remember that much of the really bad coverage was focused on @SenTomCotton’s suggestion that we better understand the potential for a lab leak from Wuhan.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021
The difference in framing here from @nytimes between May 2020 and May 2021 is...stark. pic.twitter.com/dr5kPPbq3a
An article published by The Hill entitled "Tom Cotton once again makes media look foolish" explained:
And this isn't the first time Cotton has been shunned by major media only to ultimately be proven right.
In June 2020, he wrote an op-ed for the New York Times advocating the deployment of the U.S. military to American cities to help control violent protests. Pretty prophetic considering what we witnessed during that horrific riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. For whatever reason, the piece garnered severe public backlash from other writers at the publication, with Pulitzer Prize-winning editor James Bennet ultimately being forced to resign from the publication as a result.
Internal mob 1, veteran award-winning editor 0.
Senator Cotton continues to be on the cutting edge of the key issues, much to the chagrin of liberals. He has also led the way in educating Americans about the dangers of rogue, leftist prosecutors.
Along with protecting our liberty and preserving it for our posterity, our founders also understood that protecting our people from violence, crime, and the breakdown of law and order is another chief responsibility for the government.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 8, 2022
In many Democratic-run cities, prosecutors refuse to prosecute. These “progressive” or “Soros prosecutors” haven’t just abused prosecutorial discretion, they’ve embraced prosecutorial nullification, ruling entire categories of serious crimes out of bounds for prosecution.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 8, 2022
Senator Cotton's call to public service came after the 9/11 terror attacks. Other Senators and politicians come out of military service to become lawyers, but Senator Cotton took the opposite path as a Harvard Law graduate who became an infantry soldier. As he wrote in his book Sacred Duty, A Soldier's Tour at Arlington Cemetery:
It began the morning of 9/11 in a law school classroom. . . . [M]y life changed in that moment. I knew the life I had anticipated in the law was over. I wanted to serve our country in uniform on the front lines. I finished school [at Harvard Law] and worked for a couple years to repay my student loans, time I used to get prepared physically and mentally for the Army. It took my recruiter by surprise when I told him I wanted to be an infantryman, not a JAG lawyer. To his credit, he signed me up and shipped me out, setting me on the path to Iraq. After more than a year in training, I joined the 101st in Baghdad in 2006, taking over a platoon of Screaming Eagles.
Senator Cotton now sits on Judiciary Committee, where he serves as the Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism; the Intelligence Committee; and the Armed Services Committee, where he serves as the Ranking Member of the Air Land Power Subcommittee.
RNLA looks forward to honoring Senator Cotton for his commitment to our country in the face of the attacks from the Left. As RNLA President David Bowsher stated:
Senator Cotton has been a stalwart defender of the rule of law, and the RNLA is pleased to present him with this award in recognition of his service.
Register here today to join us at the 2022 National Policy Conference in Arlington, Virginia!
Only a few more weeks until RNLA's 2022 National Policy Conference!
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) March 14, 2022
🗓 April 1
📍 Arlington, Virginia
Register at: https://t.co/sY0U8frVnF pic.twitter.com/Eavqka8FsW