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Contributed commentary by Harry Truman Moore, a Paragould resident, attorney and long-time political observer:
David H. Pryor, the most universally admired and beloved Arkansas public servant in modern political history, passed away Saturday, April 20, 2024.
It was my honor to know him and call him my friend for over 50 years. My wife, Linda Lou and I have had the privilege of actually knowing many of our elected officials in Arkansas, and even visiting them in their homes, or having them visit in ours. Such was our relationship with David and Barbara Pryor.
Sen. Pryor burst onto the Arkansas political scene as a young newspaper owner/editor from South Arkansas who was elected to the Arkansas Legislature in the early-1960’s. He was part of a small group of progressive legislators who wanted to change Arkansas’ post-Little Rock negative image. The group was referred to as “The Young Turks.”
David was getting frustrated with the inability of the “Young Turks” to achieve meaningful reforms, and when there was an open seat for the U.S. House of Representative for the Fourth Congressional District, he jumped into the race and was elected to U.S. Congress in 1966. The “Old Guard” of Arkansas’ politics took another hit that year when Republican reform candidate Winthrop Rockefeller was elected Governor.
David’s passion for service to help those who needed it most was displayed in his first initiative as a member Congress, elder abuse. His crusade drew national attention and was the foundation for new laws protecting the elderly.
I got to know David personally in the spring of 1970 when I moved to Washington to join the staff of freshman Congressman Bill Alexander. Bill was just a year older than David, and they became good friends. Their respective staffs also became friends.
Regardless of what else he might have going on in his life, David was always asking, “Can I do anything for you?” I was at an event at his home one night in the summer of David was preparing to leave the next day on a Congressional committee visit to Japan. He knew I was a photographer, and he said, “They’re taking us on a shopping trip. Do you need any more camera equipment?” I jumped at the offer and said, “yes.” David replied with a laugh, “Well get me a list of what you want, and some cash, because I don’t know if they’ll take my personal check.” He returned with the newest Nikon FTN body, and two incredible lenses, and some change. When I picked it up from him, he jokingly apologized because all of the instructional manuals were in Japanese.
The dominance of Arkansas politics by the “Old Guard” came to an end when a man from Charleston named Dale Bumpers came out of nowhere to defeat former Governor Orval E. Faubus for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, then went on to upset Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in the General Election. By 1972, David was getting encouragement from the progressive wing of the party to challenge Arkansas’ senior senator, John L. McClellan. David filed for the race, as did Ted Boswell, another young progressive.
Pryor ran on his youth, and fresh ideas. McClellan ran on his power and seniority. McClellan led the ticket in the Democratic primary but received less than 45% of the vote. Pryor was second, at 41%. Traditional political wisdom favored Pryor in the run-off. But McClellan’s campaign made a major pivot for the run-off. He shucked his coat and tie, and even donned tennis shoes to show he was “running hard” as he went out on the campaign trail. He also benefitted from heightened support from the “Old Guard,” which wanted to prove it still had political power. McClellan prevailed by a 52% to 48 % vote and gave David the only defeat of his political career.
After that race, I had a long talk with a prominent member of the “Old Guard” who was a major force in a county where Pryor had actually won the primary but lost in the run-off. I asked how they had pulled off the victory, and he responded: “It was like when the Mafia goes to the mattresses. We didn’t leave a stone unturned, or a favor uncalled.”
David was devastated by the loss. In his autobiography, “A Pryor Commitment,” he stated that he considered leaving politics forever. But the Arkansas political winds took another twist when Gov. Bumpers decided not to seek re-election in 1974, but to run against Arkansas’ other long-time Senate power, J. William Fulbright.
That left the Governor’s office open, and Pryor jumped into the race. He fought off a primary challenge from Jim Lindsey, the former Razorback football star and Northwest Arkansas real estate developer, and former Lt. Governor, Dr. Bob Riley. David barely won the Democratic nomination without a run- off, then won the general election in the fall with a whopping vote of over 80%,
Pryor’s two terms as Governor were highlighted by his “Arkansas First” agenda. He was caricatured by the late political cartoonist, George Fisher, who had him partnered with a basset hound. But after four years of a progressive legislation by Gov. Rockefeller, then four more years of a progressive agenda by Gov. Bumpers, the state was ready for some quieter, gentler times. Pryor had some major legislative achievements. They just weren’t as “splashy” as those of his immediate predecessors.
In November of 1977, Sen. McClellan announced that he would not seek re-election. Just days later, McClellan died. The stage was set for a rarity in Arkansas politics–an open Senate race without an incumbent candidate.
There were plenty of powerful candidates making noise about the race, including Jim Guy Tucker, a former Attorney General and sitting Congressman for the 2nd Congressional District, and Ray Thorton, another former Attorney General and the then current Congressman from Arkansas’ 4th District.
Also waiting in the wings was the sitting Attorney General, Bill Clinton.
Pryor was wrestling with whether to run for re-election as Governor or get into the Senate race. Pryor and Clinton shared many mutual supporters. They had agreed they would not run against each other. Clinton would defer to Pryor, then run for whichever position Pryor didn’t seek.
Pryor ultimately opted for the Senate race. He led the ticket in a close Democratic primary, then defeated Tucker in the run-off for the nomination. He won the general election by a landslide, receiving over 76% of the vote against two other opponents. He thus achieved the political “hat trick” of having won elections as Governor, to the U.S. House of Representatives, and to the U.S. Senate, which at that time was still considered the world’s finest deliberative body.
David had many exceptional talents, and they were best suited for a legislative body. He and Senator Bumpers gave Arkansas one of the best pairs of Senators in the country. Pryor was loved by his Senate colleagues and was considered one the great consensus builders in the Senate.
We were honored to host fund-raising events for him in our home as he won two more Senatorial elections. After suffering a heart attack, David decided to not run for re-election in 1996.
His public service did not end with his departure from the Senate. He served as Dean of the Clinton School of Public Policy, and as a trustee of the University of Arkansas system.
After both Senators Bumpers and Pryor had retired from the Senate, they would often appear together to talk about their experiences as Governors and Senators. I worked on the arrangements for one such session at a meeting of the Southern Conference of Bar Association Presidents in Little Rock in 2007. We had hired my friend, Steve Barnes, to moderate the session. It was the easiest money Barnes ever made. After he asked one question, Pryor and Bumpers just took over and played off each other’s stories. Bumpers had been better known to the group for some of his orations as a Senator, but Pryor stole the show as the better “storyteller.”
I will always treasure two other special times with David.
A few years back, he and his wife, Barbara, were traveling through Northeast Arkansas. They surprised me by popping into my office to “just say hi.” The session lasted over an hour.
Our last visit was two years ago, when David was inducted into the inaugural class of the Arkansas Legal Hall of Fame. Several years before, he had given me a copy of his seconding speech for Senator Walter Mondale when Mondale was selected as the party’s Presidential Nomination in 1984. The speech had been autographed by Sen. Mondale. I had taken the document with me to the Hall of Fame dinner, and David autographed it for me. It’s one of my favorite pieces of political memorabilia.
One closing thought. David was a true man of faith. He was a “rock ribbed” Presbyterian and never ashamed to let people know it. And if David had an ego, he never showed it.
Arkansas has lost a true son, leader, and just wonderful public servant.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Barbara, and their sons, David Jr.”Dee” Pryor, former Sen. Mark Pryor, and Scott Pryor.
Read David Hampton Pryor’s full Obituary here.
Editor’s Note: We would like to thank H.T. Moore for sharing his personal thoughts about Senator Pryor. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered flags be flown at half-staff to honor the late former state Gov. David Pryor. Funeral plans have been made to honor former Arkansas Governor and United States Senator David Pryor. Pryor will lie in state at the Arkansas State Capitol Friday, April 26, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The visitation will be at Ruebel Funeral Home at 6313 W. Markham from 5 until 7 p.m. There will also be a celebration of his life at Second Presbyterian Church at 600 Pleasant Valley Drive at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. His final resting place will be Mount Holly Cemetery in downtown Little Rock. In lieu of flowers or food, please consider a donation toward David Pryor’s legacy of public service by sending a donation to The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Oral and Visual History.
JonesboroRightNow publishes contributed opinion pieces representing both sides of a variety of topics. Opinions presented do not necessarily reflect those of the newsroom or management. To join the conversation, visit the Opinions and Editorials page.