Finger-in-the-wind political maneuvering doesn't get much more stark than Republican Senate candidate Tom Cotton announcing earlier this month that he would support the ballot initiative to raise the state minimum wage. Cotton's endorsement of the minimum wage hike was presumably meant to neutralize the minimum wage issue in this campaign, which Sen. Mark Pryor might have used as a political cudgel. But Cotton's brand — and his defense on controversial votes — is that he always takes the principled stand, even if it's difficult or unpopular.