IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

Monday, reports emerged that liberal Democrats won't push too hard to assist illegal immigrants under health care reform as long as the White House commits this year to separate immigration reform complete with a plan to provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley issued a warning: In this political and economic environment, an "amnesty" provision stands little chance of passing through Congress. "If people are insistent upon amnesty," Grassley told local reporters, "whether it's a general immigration reform bill or whether it is just an agriculture bill for guest workers, I think it's going to be very difficult to get it passed. ... I don't see how you can in this environment, where we have a recession. Even though there may be workers needed in a certain aspect of the U.S. economy, it's pretty difficult to bring up even a narrowly drafted one as long as the issue of amnesty is part of it."

Labels: agriculture, Charles_Grassley

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the United Nations Climate
Change Conference playing out in Copenhagen should result in a
level playing field that puts the U.S. on par with China. The world's
Top Three polluters of carbon dioxide, in order, are China, U.S. and
India. "(The goal should be) American and China being on the same
level playing field of reducing pollution. We should obviously expect
China, the Number One polluter, to be doing as much as we're doing.
And then that gives a level playing field for our economy, so we don't
lose more manufacturing to China," Grassley said. Grassley said he
couldn't specify a CO2 reduction number that should come out of the
conference. Environmentalists have pointed to the goal of reducing
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

They may not agree on much (health care reform, climate change, housing terrorism suspects in Illinois) but Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley have found common ground on at least one issue -- loud television advertisements. Asked by reporters if he'd be willing to support a bill passed by the U.S. House Tuesday targeting loud television ads, Grassley said he would but hasn't seen the specific bill yet. "Since I control the channel switcher in my house, I get tired of my wife telling me to turn it down every time a commercial comes on," he said. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM Act, ends the practice of advertisers adjusting the volume of their television ads to be excessively and disproportionately loud during normal programming. The legislation passed the House by voice vote. Braley issued a release about the bill shortly after its passage, saying it would help prevent "noise pollution."

Labels: Bruce Braley, Charles_Grassley

We're back to the 80s in Iowa: Branstad and Grassley hold big leads.
As soon as former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signaled he would seek
to regain his old job, we knew that Chet Culver would be one of the
cycle's most endangered incumbents. And a new Des Moines Register poll
suggests the race might not even be competitive: Branstad leads by a
stunning 24% margin - 57% to 33%. Despite the fact that his approval
rating is not dismal (40-49) and his favorability rating remains
positive (47-46), Culver finds himself in David Paterson-territory!
(This survey, conducted by Selzer & Co., is one of the country's most
reputable polls so it's hard to dismiss these results - especially
since Rasmussen found Culver facing just as large a deficit earlier
this fall.)

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Terry_Branstad

Roxanne Conlin was the first woman in Iowa history to serve as a U.S.
Attorney, and now she is poised to give Iowa woman another first.
Conlin wants to be the first Iowa woman elected to serve in Congress.
In order to complete that task, she'll first have to battle in a
Democratic Primary against at least three other contenders. Then
she'll need to take on Chuck Grassley, who has served Iowans in the
U.S. Senate for nearly three decades, but has recently seen his worth
decline in the eyes of some voters. Grassley is probably most known
nationally, at least of late, for his political maneuvering in terms
of health care reform. And it also safe to say that such incidents,
which can only be described as bad-faith negotiations on Grassley's
part, raised a few eyebrows among residents of the Hawkeye State who
would have previously summed up Grassley as more of a straight
shooter.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Roxanne_Conlin

It's hard to believe, but Senator Grassley is probably thankful that
Roxanne Conlin, a millionaire liberal trial attorney from Des Moines,
is expected to be his Democratic opponent next fall. The possibility
of Conlin being the Democrats' candidate against Grassley next fall
became more likely yesterday when Christy Vilsack said he would not
run for the U.S. Senate. If Conlin successfully navigates the
primary, she will be the most formidable candidate that Sen. Grassley
has faced since first being elected to United States Senate in 1980.
Senator Grassley has seen his normally stellar approval rating among
Iowans slip in 2009. In February of this year, Grassley's approval
rating according to a Survey USA Poll stood at a pristine 71 percent.
Since that time, however, Grassley's approval numbers have fallen to a
more pedestrian 50% in Survey USA's most recent poll.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

I should have been more up on this, after hearing much in recent weeks
on Randy Ray Renshaw's "Open Line" KSCJ 1360AM show. There is a
growing number of people who think it isn't constitutional for the
government to enact federal health reform, since it would violate the
10th Amendment. Renshaw has been hot on that topic, and now U.S. Sen.
Charles Grassley is saying there could be credence to that thought.
The 10th Amendment reads thusly: "The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Those to
the left of political center (like DailyKos) think this logic is off,
that it's more from people who were birthers (denying that Barack
Obama was born in the U.S., therefore unable to be president) becoming
"Tenthers."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Grant Young has some information that will grab Senator Grassley and the rest of the Iowa GOP's attention. Young has a well placed source that says the chatter inside the U.S. Ag Department is that Current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is making initial preparations to return to Iowa to run for the United States Senate. Mike Kiernan, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, has claimed that a "mystery" candidate to challenge Sen. Grassley this fall exists. However some of top Iowa Democrats, including Sen. Harkin and Mike Gronstal, have said that they don't know who Kiernan is referring to. Secretary Vilsack would be the most formidable candidate that Iowa Democrats could put up against Grassley.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Vilsack

As expected, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley voted against the health care
reform bill that went before the Senate Finance Committee today.
Grassley's reasons are stated elsewhere on our web site. But I found
this little tidbit interesting. Before the vote, Grassley, the ranking
Republican on the committee, told reporters on a conference call,
"It'll pass on a -- probably a party-line vote of 13-10." Of course,
it mostly was. But apparently, Grassley figured Sen. Olympia Snowe,
R-Maine, would vote with the rest of the GOP, too. She didn't, which
of course has Democrats hoping she does the same thing on the floor.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Via the Senate Guru blog I saw that Survey USA released results from
its late September poll of 600 adults in Iowa (margin of error 4.1
percent). The survey measured Senator Chuck Grassley's approval rating
at 50 percent. That's the lowest figure ever for Grassley by this
pollster, and you can see from this graph that Grassley's trendlines
are ugly. A full 40 percent of respondents disapprove of Grassley's
performance. His high-profile role in the health care reform debate
seems to have hurt his image. Senate Guru notes, "Grassley is also
below 50% approval among independents (48%) and self-described
moderates (47%)." The Des Moines Register published a new article
Monday on rumors that a well-known and well-funded Democrat will give
Grassley "the race of his life." Speculation seems to be centering on
former First Lady Christie Vilsack, who is now executive director of
the Iowa Initiative, and prominent attorney Roxanne Conlin, a onetime
U.S. Attorney who was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1982.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, polling

Last week, Iowa Democratic Chairman Michael Kiernan said that Senator
Chuck Grassley will "be in the race of his life." Kiernan made the
comments on IPTV's Iowa Press program. He spent a considerable amount
of his time on the show driving speculation on the mystery Democrat.
Likewise, the news media quickly pounced on the idea of a serious
challenge to Grassley. There is just one problem - no such candidate
exists. Kiernan made it all up. Two sources have told
TheIowaRepublican.com that Kiernan admitted to concocting the mystery
candidate when top Democratic officials pressed their Party Chairman
on who this big name candidate was who would instill fear into
Grassley.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, IDP, U.S. Senate

You might think that between health care reform, banking regulation
reform, possible cap-and-trade legislation and tweeting that U.S. Sen.
Chuck Grassley's dance card is filled. Well, think again. A press
release sent out tonight by his office provides the prepared text of a
floor statement offered today in which Grassley takes on a Time
Magazine cover article on sustainable agriculture and "cheap food." In
the title of the speech Grassley gets to the heart of the matter,
describing the article as "skewed." ... While I do not 100 percent
agree with Grassley's assessment of Walsh's report, I do agree with
quite a bit of it. There continues to be a disconnect between
consumers and producers of food. That is, a lot of light has been
shown on certain agricultural practices that seem unnecessarily cruel
to those who don't understand why they are done.

Labels: agriculture, Charles_Grassley

Iowa Democratic Party chair Michael Kiernan spoke confidently today
about a "first-round draft pick" who is ready to run against Senator
Chuck Grassley, Kay Henderson reported for Radio Iowa. ... Speaking to
reporters after today's taping, Kiernan said the big-name challenger
is "100 percent committed" to this race. Your guess is as good as
mine. A retired politician? Christie Vilsack? A celebrity in a
non-political field? Someone from the business world? (Retired
Principal Financial Group CEO Barry Griswell has ruled out running, as
has Fred Hubbell, the incoming interim director of the Iowa Department
of Economic Development.) Grassley's approval rating has fallen this
year, but it'll take a lot to convince me that we can defeat him. He's
still got a strong brand name and 30 years of constituent service
behind him.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, IDP

Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate are pushing an artificial deadline for health care and, thus, pushing Republican lawmakers away from negotiations, Sen. Chuck Grassley said Tuesday in a statement. Grassley also returned to two debunked rumors about the health care bill, that it will provide money for abortion and that it will provide health insurance for illegal immigrants, as reasons why he cannot support the legislation in its current form.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Sen. Max Baucus worked hard to find a "bipartisan compromise" with Grassley and two other Republicans. In the end he gave them everything and got nothing in return. I'll join the chorus of others who say, "Fine, if Republicans won't play ball let's go back and make this a Democrat sponsored bill with full public option, cost controls and tax the rich to pay for it." This insightful blog sums up our Chuck Grassley: "what this really means is that in order to meet Grassley's definition of bipartisanship, Dems must effectively hand over to Republicans total veto power over health care reform. It's that simple."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

... As a bankruptcy lawyer, I see people in dire straits every day,
and I heard him saying that it's not that bad - if you look at the
Great Depression, it's not that bad, 10% unemployment is not bad -
and my first reaction is, who are you talking to, buddy? The second
thing is, as I look at what the President is trying to accomplish, I
see that there are people who either call themselves Blue Dog
Democrats or the Republicans that don't believe in the President, they
don't believe in the things he ran on, and they are resisting change.
A second factor besides disgust with the incumbent, is a desire to
help the president enact many of the programs he talked about,
especially health care. Third, I would say that I have something to
add to the U.S. Senate, to be one of the 100 people in the room,
talking about the problems facing the country, and what can we do to
solve those problems.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

"He's gonna get the election of his life next year," State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald said of Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. Fitzgerald got a big whoop from the crowd at Sunday's Tom Harkin steak fry. The two main Democrats hoping to take on Grassley were also on hand, working the edges of the crowd hoping to gain an edge with the party faithful. Former legislators Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause are hoping to give Grassley his first tough race since he was a challenger in 1980. But first they need to get past each other. Krause and Fiegen, neither of whom spoke from the podium, didn't have a negative word for each other Sunday, preferring to keep the focus on Grassley. "Philosophically, we're very close," Krause said of Fiegen. "In terms of style, I'm a fairly aggressive campaigner."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, IDP

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is taking heat for touting his opposition to
health care reform legislation to a group of donors at a Miami
fundraiser last week. He is also facing criticism for once again
defending the debunked urban legend that a provision in a health care
reform bill currently in the U.S. House would give the government
authority to euthanize the elderly. Last month, a fundraising letter
Grassley sent to supporters found its way to the blog of Washington
Post writer Ezra Klein. In it, Grassley made it clear to potential
donors that he is strongly opposed to health care reform legislation,
despite public statements where he promises to work for a bipartisan
bill. Over the weekend, the liberal blog ThinkProgress.org reported
from a fundraising event for Grassley in Miami that once again calls
into question the senator's commitment to crafting health care reform
legislation.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Over at the Campaign Diaries blog, Taniel wrote a good post on
Thursday debunking the "unsubstantiated myth" of a pending primary
challenge against Senator Chuck Grassley. Bill "crazier than Steve
King" Salier got this speculation going in the spring, when many among
the religious right were disappointed by Grassley's reaction to the
Iowa Supreme Court's Varnum v Brien ruling. This summer, Grassley
continued to disappoint the right by negotiating with other Senate
Finance Committee members on health care reform. State Representative
Kent Sorenson wrote an open letter to Grassley, pleading with him to
provide "principled and bold leadership". Sorenson's letter is the
most-viewed post ever published on The Iowa Republican blog, where
Craig Robinson warned last month,

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Iowa GOP

Arguing that the town hall forums of August have "changed the direction" of the health care reform debate, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said Thursday that he nonetheless expects a bill to pass before Christmas -- though it "may be kind of miniature to what we're talking about." Grassley, on the front lines of the year's thorny health reform debate, has been impressed by the larger-than-usual public gatherings that have stolen headlines throughout the month, referring to them Thursday as "democracy in action." Still, the Gang of Six member was quick to point out that the future of health reform hinges on the collective experience of Congress, not his alone.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Fred Hubbell, chair of the Iowa Power Fund Board and a former insurance executive, will not enter the race to unseat U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2010. In an e-mail to the Iowa Independent concerning rumors that he is considering a campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination, Hubbell simply said "No, I am not interested." Hubbell's name emerged after Des Moines Register columnist Marc Hansen wrote in a recent column that a well-known and independently wealthy candidate is "75 percent ready to join the race." Speculation originally revolved around former Principal Financial Group Inc. CEO Barry Griswell. But in a message to members of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Griswell said he has no intention of running for elected office and will instead continue as the non-profit's chairman.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

I read somewhere on-line that Barry Griswell might be the Democrats'
dark horse candidate against Sen. Chuck Grassley. Griswell, the
recently retired CEO of Des Moines-based Principal Financial Group,
has also been involved in numerous community activities and causes in
central Iowa. Griswell has been involved as the President of the
Greater Des Moines Community Foundation and served on the United Way
of America board of trustees. ... There is no doubt that Barry
Griswell is an Iowa success story, but will his success in business
make him a good political candidate? I'll be the first to say, I don't
think Barry Griswell is the candidate that Iowa Democrats are looking
for. It just seems like an odd fit.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

The crowd applauded Sen Grassley for merely walking into the room in
Pocahontas today. They were clearly his fans, and they filled a good
part of the Expo Center on the fairgrounds. The very first man railed
against too much government using the mandated EXIT signs above all
the doors as his example. Anybody too stupid to know the way out of
the building would likely not be smart enough read the sign, he said.
This drew another round of applause and laughter. No guns were in
evidence, but I imagine the four sheriff deputies may have had theirs.
I wasn’t close enough to them to notice. One elderly voter who got the
microphone stood right next to the Senator, accused Obama of "acting
like a little Hitler," (more applause) and said he was ready to take
his gun to Washington.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

The primary purpose behind Town Hall Meetings is to allow the public
to have an avenue where they can express themselves to their elected
officials face to face. It allows citizen's to ask a question directly
to the official. This is an excellent method for our legislators to
correspond with us, the residents of the district. In recent days we
have seen Town Halls across the country erupt with passion and
activism in quantities that we have not seen in quite some time. As
Craig Robinson pointed out on The Iowa Republican, it would seem that
an apathetic public has awoken and nothing will contain their passion
or their outrage. Unlike some other Iowans roaming the halls of
Congress in Washington Senator Charles Grassley's Town Halls have
maintained an openness and respect for the constituents that has
rarely been witnessed this month.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Wow, there is a lot to get to today. Sorry for my prolonged absence. I
was on the golf course enjoying the summer temperatures that finally
arrived. Grassley vs. The Mob: I'm blown away by the number of people
who turned out to express their feelings about ObamaCare. For all the
people who emailed me saying that I went too far the other day in my
article about Grassley, the frustration that was contained in my
article was only small fraction of what Grassley was confronted with
yesterday. Trust me on this one, Grassley still needs to get up and
walk away from the table. Until he does that, nobody can convince me
that he's going to do the right thing.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

At yesterday's town-hall meeting in New Hampshire, President Barack
Obama had nice things to say about Senator Chuck Grassley. ... Look at
how Grassley talks about health care reform and tell me whether Obama
should praise Grassley's efforts. Grassley told a crowd in Afton that
the U.S. has the best health care system in the world and that he
won't nationalize healthcare or "do anything that allows Washington
between a doctor and you." Grassley also claimed that Obama "is
pursuing a partisan bill." While in Winterset, Grassley promoted the
latest bogus Republican talking point about killing Granny. Yes, he
went there.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Charles_Grassley, health_care

If U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continues to work with Democrats
on health care reform legislation and energy policy, he will face a
primary in 2010, conservative activist Bill Salier predicted during an
interview on WHO-AM. Speaking with controversial radio host Steve
Deace about a recent letter criticizing Grassley penned by GOP state
Rep. Kent Sorenson of Indianola, Salier said it is not surprising
political observers believed it was the first shot of a coming primary
challenge. "If this were 8 to 10 years ago, then yes, I would have
been surprised by that reaction because Grassley was the dominant
force in Iowa politics, in both parties," he said. "Grassley was the
dominant force and had an enormous amount of loyalty."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, RPI

By Representative Kent Sorenson ... as I watch you carry out your duties in the United States Senate as of late, I must confess that not only am I puzzled by some of your recent decisions, but so are thousands of your constituents across the state of Iowa as well. ... despite all of these obstacles, and the fact that I went house-to-house in a Democratic district clearly and plainly defining where I stand on every issue in our party's platform, my campaign defied conventional wisdom and emerged victorious on Election Day. ... Ours is a party that should stand for the strong convictions in its platform, because it is supported by a grassroots that consists of people who share those strong convictions. ... That's why many of us back home here in Iowa are troubled with some of your decisions as of late.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Senator Chuck Grassley (R - Deaf and Dumb) is the ranking Republican
on the Senate Finance Committee. As such, he has a great deal of
influence while the Senate considers health care reform. The number of
uninsured Americans is currently close to 50 million. In Iowa, some
nine per cent of the adult population is uninsured. Those who are
lucky enough to have health insurance face soaring premiums, denial of
services and uncaring providers who are more concerned with making a
profit and paying exorbitant salaries to their executives than
actually providing health care. The system has gotten so bad that 72
per cent of Americans supported public health care in a recent poll by
CBS News.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

In late April, the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment to the housing
bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to provide relief for
troubled homeowners by modifying mortgage payments. Among those who
opposed the measure, which was known as "cramdown," was Sen. Chuck
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. "It will
cause interest rates to go up and will make it more difficult for
people to get a mortgage," the Iowa Republican said at the time. Two
months later, the people who benefited from Grassley's vote are poised
to shower him with campaign donations.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Despite a recent flap over a post on the social networking site Twitter criticizing the president for a comment on health care, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley said he will keep on using the site to communicate with his constituents. "I've tried to use every latest technology to keep in touch with constituents. Representative government is a two-way street," he said. "I'm one half of that, my constituent's the other." ... The team at Gawker, a Web site dedicated to gossip and news, were particularly hard on Grassley, publishing an article titled "Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley Uses Twitter to Exhibit Insanity, Illiteracy."

Labels: Charles_Grassley

After pushing for incredibly spendy stimulus packages in late 2008 and
2009, President Barck Obama has called for fiscal restraint in the
form of PAYGO. That approach to finding budget cuts to offset any new
federal government spending is something we in the tri-state area have
heard touted by Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D. As
Obama announced support for PAYGO, which was used by the Clinton
administration in the 1990s in erasing the federal deficit and handing
a surplus to George Bush in 2001, Herseth Sandlin was present with the
president this morning as part of the Blue Dog Coalition of fairly
moderate Democrats. She likes PAYGO, seeing it as part of Obama's
commitment to restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Change that Works Iowa will be launching a Twitter health care story
blast on Monday June 8, 2009. The idea is to hit Senator Grassley's
Twitter account with one compelling Iowa health care story per hour,
for 24 hours. The action began at 10:00 am on Monday June 8th
and will continue until 9:00 am on the June 9th. Stories will be
distributed on Twitter through traditional posts from "CTWIowaSEIU"
(which Senator Grassley follows), and through direct messages to the
Senator's username, "ChuckGrassley." The timing for this action
corresponds with the week Change that Works anticipates Senator
Grassley's Finance Committee will take additional action on a
comprehensive health care reform bill. The purpose is to lobby Senator
Grassley's support for reform during this critical legislative week
using his favorite medium, Twitter.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

I got a chuckle out of Thomas Beaumont's article in today's Des Moines Register, "Reason for vote against judge still eludes Grassley." ... Grassley's memory lapse prompted me to search for reports on the reasons some Senate Republicans opposed Sotomayor in 1998. I could not find any articles discussing controversial decisions she had made as a district court judge. I also learned that Sotomayor gave a speech in
1994 containing a statement about a "wise woman" that is similar to her 2001 remark that conservative commentators have been flogging. Greg Sargent reported that "though the 1994 speech was disclosed to Republican Senators as part of her confirmation for Court of Appeals in 1998, there's no sign that anyone objected to it in any way."

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley predicts Sonia Sotomayer will be
confirmed as our next US Supreme Court justice ... which pretty much
settles the case. But that doesn't stop special interests from playing
infantile identity politics. Let me refer back to my post on the
common sense of the American people -- while the media and our
political leaders play the race card, the voters have already
indicated that race and gender isn't important in the next Supreme
Court justice ... judicial experience and legal credentials are what's
to be considered. Eventually, confirmation hearings will begin and
Sotomayer will answer important questions that will speak to the
concerns of the American people.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Iowa's two U.S. Senators -- Chuck Grassley, a Republican, and Tom
Harkin, a Democrat -- are floating party line stances in their first
two statements regarding Pres. Barack Obama's nomination of Judge
Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court. "A lifetime appointment
requires a thorough vetting, and I expect Judge Sotomayor to receive
fair and deliberative consideration," Grassley said in a statement
released this morning. "The United States Senate has a responsibility
to carefully review nominees to the Supreme Court. The Judiciary
Committee should take time to ensure that the nominee will be true to
the Constitution and apply the law, not personal politics, feelings or
preferences."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Harkin

Yesterday we mentioned that Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior
Republican on the Finance Committee and a fierce opponent of public
health plans, had left the door open to including a public option in
the sweeping health care reforms he's currently drafting with panel
Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). Today, Grassley all but eliminated the
possibility that he would support such a plan, warning that it would
be the first step toward a health care system controlled entirely by
the government. From a speech today on the Senate floor: "[S]ome say
that we can avoid these [payment] problems by putting the
government-run plan on a level playing field with private insurers. ...
So my question is this -- when this new government-run health
insurance plans starts to cost too much, is Congress going to start
breaking its promises?

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care, U.S. Senate

As the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Senator
Chuck Grassley will influence the shape of health care reform. For
that reason, he and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of
Montana were invited to lunch at the White House on Wednesday with
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Grassley's
message to the president and vice president, as well as to every
journalist who'll listen, is that health care reform should be done
through a bipartisan bill that can receive 70 or 80 votes in the
Senate. (See also Grassley's recent guest editorial at Politico.) Many
Democrats want to include a health care bill in the budget
reconciliation process, which would prevent a Republican filibuster.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

We've in Iowa have heard from the progressive MoveOn.org political
action committee since the 2004 general election. MoveOn.org is back
again, as some ads are slated to highlight the importance of including
choice of a public health insurance plan in any health care reform
bill that moves through Congress. MoveOn wants U.S. Sen. Charles
Grassley to feel pressure, since he opposes the public health
insurance aspect. MoveOn.Org contends Grassley is standing instead
with "insurance companies and special interests." The ad, touted as
humorous, features two undertakers (funeral home directors I guess
would be a more acceptable term within the industry) discussing
President Obama's public health insurance option.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley has long been a dependable Republican voice
in Washington, but he's now deemed not as valuable as he could be by
some in the Iowa Republican blogosphere. In an eye-opening move, he
didn't get a position in the Iowa delegation to the 2008 national
convention. Some are suggesting that a more conservative GOP candidate
could arise for the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign in which Grassley is
running for re-election. At the conclusion of his town hall meeting in
Onawa in a two-week tour of 33 Iowa counties, Grassley told me he
hasn't heard the names of any potential challengers, but he won't be
surprised to get a GOP opponent. Grassley hasn't had a primary since
his first U.S. senate win in 1980.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Iowa GOP

Political junkies love fantasy scenarios, clashes of the titans. The
ultimate fantasy is the old-fashioned brokered presidential
convention, but we've all grown older and wiser and wistful and
realistic about that. Next on the list is The Killer Primary: donkeys
and elephants eating their own, with ostensible differences in policy
but really about interpersonal drama and raw power. We had the primary
of a lifetime last year and we're jonesing for more. So we turn to...
Iowa Republicans? The rumblings on the right about primarying Chuck
Grassley won't lead to a serious challenge, but they do shed some
interesting light on the state of the GOP in 2009.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Angry social conservatives are speculating that Senator Chuck Grassley could face a primary challenge in 2010. The religious right has been dissatisfied with Grassley for a long time ... Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn denies that party activists are unhappy with Grassley. I hope Salier is right and Grassley gets a primary challenge, for reasons I'll explain after the jump. Before anyone gets too excited, I want to make clear that I don't consider Grassley vulnerable. His approval rating is around 71 percent (if you believe Survey USA) or 66 percent (if you believe Selzer and Associates). Either way, he is outside the danger zone for an incumbent. ... So why am I hoping a right-winger will take on Grassley in the Republican primary? Here's what I think would happen. 1. A conservative taking potshots at Grassley would intensify the struggle between GOP moderates and "goofballs" just when Iowa Republicans are trying to present a united front against Democratic governance. ... Every prominent Iowa Republican will have to take a position on the Senate primary, if there is one. I assume almost everyone will back Grassley, which would offend part of the GOP base.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

This past weekend, Senator Grassley suffered a burn on his leg as a small brush fire at his farm in Butler County got out of control. Thankfully Grassley is okay, but he still has to tend to another fire of sorts - the one he ignited last week when he said that he would need a month or so to figure out where he stands on the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that purports to allow gay marriage in Iowa. Grassley also indicated that he might support civil unions rather than marriage for same-sex couples. Grassley is known for his awe-shucks demeanor, but on the issue of gay marriage, Iowans want to know where their elected officials stand, and many of Iowa's Republicans found his answer to be inadequate. ... Conservatives have already voiced their disappointment with Grassley on the gay marriage issue, and some have even insinuated that he could potentially face a primary challenge. While there have been whispers of someone running against Grassley in a primary for years, talking about it and actually doing it are two very different things. A primary campaign against Grassley would prove to be extremely difficult.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Iowa GOP, marriage

Is U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley getting more plainspoken? He got wrung
through the national news cycle two weeks ago after suggesting that
AIG execs getting big bonuses should either return them or commit
Japanese style hari kari. And today in a conference call with
reporters, he had a line that was so colorful it bears sharing.
Republican Grassley spoke about concerns that the Inspector General
has the staffing and means by which to oversee if the $700 billion in
financial sector bailout money goes where it is supposed to go.
Yesterday on a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Grassley said he
heard governmental oversight isn't working smoothly.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

... I nearly spit my morning caffeine across the keyboard when I read about Grassley's latest: "...Grassley (R-Iowa) was reminding [Sen. Kent] Conrad (D-North Dakota) of a past favor, apparently at a speaking function, and how he expected something in return. "I would hope you would return the favor," Grassley said. Conrad said "Oh, you are good," to which Grassley responded: "Your wife said the same thing." Conrad tried to laugh it off. "I used to like you," he told Grassley..." No doubt this exchange, if it gets reported at all, will be under the guise of Grassley disparaging a colleague's wife. The truth is that Grassley, a supposed happily married man, is disparaging himself. Implied in this statement is Grassley "having an intimate exchange" with Mrs. Conrad. Implied in this statement is that Grassley broke a promise to his wife in order to do so. This isn't political rhetoric. This isn't painting a verbal picture to show one's displeasure for a policy or a current event. Shoot, this isn't even being folksy or eccentric. It's nothing more or less than Grassley behaving like a spoiled, under-sexed frat boy during a budget committee hearing.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

The Iowa Demosphere is abuzz with the news that Chuck Grassley's first opponent has emerged. But the question is still "Bob WHO?" Even among party activists, the name Bob Krause is little-known. His party work has focused on the Veteran's Caucus which he chairs. Krause was once a wunderkind, elected to the legislature at 23 in 1972 and running statewide for state treasurer before he was 30, in 1978. In 1982 he tried a comeback in the state Senate but lost the primary. He now lives in Fairfield but his House district was on the north central border in Kossuth, Emmet and Palo Alto counties. So the profile fits the pattern of Grassley opponents, all of whom would have been great candidates in 1986.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, IDP

Chuck Grassley ... took another step forward as the national face of the GOP Saturday with the Republican response to the President's address. ... There's risks for Grassley being the face of the GOP when he faces re-election next year in a state that's trending blue. The Iowa race remains at the outer fringes of the national radar screen, mostly premised on the idea that Grassley may retire. You all know my theory on that: one more term and then grandson state Rep. Pat Grassley is old enough in 2016. But even with Grassley in the race we were briefly on the radar, until the president took Tom Vilsack out of the mix. That's really my biggest beef with The Prez so far (well, second biggest; I want the troops home last week and not in 20 months).

Labels: Charles_Grassley

There's a batch of poll data out from SurveyUSA, and it's bad news for the Big Lug. Governor Culver doesn't break even in the poll of 600 adults. 47% of voters surveyed said they disapprove of Gov. Culver's performance as governor, with 46% approving, and 7% not sure. What's particularly troubling is that Culver only has support from 59% of Democrats surveyed and 41% of self-identified independents. Separate polls found that Sen. Grassley edges out Sen. Harkin as the state's most popular politician. Grassley carried a 71% approval rate, with Harkin ten points behind at 61%.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Chet_Culver, Tom_Harkin

Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin ranks 8th among senators in the value of
earmarks he won in the 2009 omnibus spending bill, according to
Taxpayers for Common Sense. The non-partisan watchdog organization
identified 8,570 disclosed earmarks totaling $7.7 billion in the
spending bill currently in the Senate. Harkin is solely responsible
for 56 earmarks totaling nearly $67 million. When earmarks sponsored
with other senators are added to the total, Harkin ranks 5th on the
list, with 177 earmarks totaling $292 million Republican Sen. Charles
Grassley ranks 76th on the individual list but rockets to 11th when
earmarks sponsored with other senators are included. Grassley helped
win inclusion of 119 earmarks totaling nearly $120 million.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Harkin

The Senate is on track to pass the deeply flawed compromise stimulus
bill Tuesday after a motion to invoke cloture passed by a 61-36 vote
today. (To overcome a filibuster in the Senate, 60 votes are needed
for a cloture motion.) All Senate Democrats, including Tom Harkin,
voted yes, joined by Republicans Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and
Arlen Specter. Two Senate Republicans did not vote on the cloture
motion, and all the rest, including Chuck Grassley, voted no. Last
week Grassley said he would vote for the stimulus bill if it included
a provision on low-cost mortgages. Looking here I couldn't find any
sign that the amendment Grassley supported made it into the Senate
version, so I assume it did not.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Senator Grassley was interviewed on FOX News on Wednesday about the
National Science Foundation probe that has come about from a report to
Congress that mentioned an NSF official who was "found to have spent
as much as 20 percent of his working hours over a two-year span
"viewing sexually explicit images and engaging in sexually explicit on
line 'chats' with various women," Politico said. I checked out the
website of the NSF and found these words to welcome me: "National
Science Foundation -- Where Discoveries Begin". Hmmm. More information
on the site says: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an
independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the
progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and
welfare; to secure the national defense..."

Labels: Charles_Grassley

I know it sounds nuts but let's tune into the guessing game the
internets is playing. It starts with Charlie Cook, who writes: "A
fellow who oversees lobbying in all 50 states for a major corporation
recently told me about a certain Republican U.S. senator up for
re-election in 2010, someone generally regarded as fairly conservative
who might face a serious challenge from a very conservative fellow
Republican." ... Several commentators conclude that it is, indeed, our
own Chuck, with the obvious challenger being Steve King. I'm not
buying it. King's crazy but not stupid, and why would he primary
Grassley two years after walking away from a run against Harkin? But
still: the religious wing of the party doesn't adore Grassley and has
a chip on its shoulder about his fraud investigations touching some
church-scam fundraising.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Steve_King

Tom Vilsack's apparent easy U.S. Senate confirmation would take away
one of those potentially "sexy" match ups two years from now: Tom
Vilsack vs. Charles Grassley. But some Iowa democrats aren't giving up
the Vilsack vs. Grassley dream. They'd like Christie Vilsack to get on
the ballot. After Tom's appearance before the Senate Agriculture
Committee, I asked Sen. Grassley about it. He told me expects
democrats to throw everything they have at him because of their strong
2008 election and their current 110,000 voter registration edge in the
state. He doesn't expect a "second-tier" opponent like he had last
time around (Colonel Sanders look-a-like candidate, Art Small, offered
a token contest against Grassley in 2002).

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Vilsack

In the aftermath of George Voinovich's Monday retirement announcement,
Senate Guru thinks Chuck Grassley will be the next senior Republican
to bail: "With such a sizable Democratic majority in the Senate,
Grassley must know that he'll never be Finance Committee Chairman
again. ... I would imagine that spending your day playing with your
grandchildren is a lot more enjoyable than spending your day waking up
at 5 am to catch a shuttle from Des Moines to Washington in order to
take votes you know your caucus will lose" ... What Senate Guru misses
is that one of those grandchildren is exactly why Grassley will NOT
retire in 2010. As the Legislature convenes today, Rep. Pat Grassley
starts his second term at age 25. He's too young to take over for
Grandpa next year... but in 2016, assuming all goes according to plan,
Pat's got a decade of legislative experience under his belt at age 33.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Chuck Grassley's up-front position of skepticism on Eric Holder's nomination for Attorney General shows that, increasingly, Grassley will be carrying the ball for the GOP. Chuck Grassley, as a national face of the GOP, a soundbite guy? He's as plausible as Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, both dull and defensive. Oh, how far the Republicans have fallen since the '90s. I begrudgingly respected Bob Dole, and loathed Newt Gingrich, but both of them were fascinating and attention-grabbing. But the Republican Party has been so decimated by defeats the last two cycles that, by sheer attrition and seniority, Chuck Grassley is now one of its national leaders by default.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

A recent Research 2000 poll found a Sen. Chuck Grassley v. Governor Tom Vilsack match-up a feasible win for the Democrats (Grassley 48, Vilsack 44). As far as Iowa blogs, Krusty has the scoop on this one. For those not familiar with Research 2000, they had Becky Greenwald within 5 points of Tom Latham. Latham ended up winning with 61% of the vote. In the presidential contest this year in Iowa they were 6 points low on McCain. ... The lefties have it figured out. If they can find any indication that a Republican is weak, disliked, said something offensive, or has a past demon, they will pounce with all of their liberal blogging allies. That is exactly what happened to Michelle Bachman and that is exactly what they want to happen with Grassley. ... Grassley is entrenched in Iowa and has nothing to worry about. I would like to see Grassley step up and take on the voter registration disadvantage Republicans have in Iowa.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Vilsack

Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos gives us the above number in a hypothetical 2010 Senate race. (Note to Christie's fans, the poll specified TOM Vilsack.) ... Vilsack, lost in the cabinet shuffle, could be looking for something to do. Vilsack has the network to raise the money he needs, both in Iowa and beyond, and he'll clearly be the national party's pick for the seat. Watch first to see if he does any work on rebuilding his Democratic base. ... From an Iowa-base perspective, Vilsack backed the wrong horse when he left the presidential race, and to some extent he's seen as a Hillary, DLC Democrat in a Barack Obama party. But he did what he needed to do in the fall, and the Hillary vs. Obama war is fading into the distance with Clinton in the cabinet. Watch to see if the fiery populist Tom of 1998 is seen at get-togethers around the state. (He may still have to answer to the party activists for signing English Only, though. Was he really that scared of Doug freakin' Gross?)

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Vilsack

Nate Silver is handicapping the 2010 U.S. Senate races at
Fivethirtyeight.com and had this to say about Iowa's seat, held by
five-term incumbent Chuck Grassley: "Grassley will be 77 in 2010 and
could retire, in which case the race probably leans Democrat. Absent a
retirement, a kamikaze mission by someone like Tom Vilsack against the
popular incumbent is unlikely to succeed." ... Perhaps "kamikaze
mission" is too strong a phrase, but we need to acknowledge that Tom
Vilsack or any other Democrat would be a serious underdog against
Grassley. Yes, Iowa now has far more registered Democrats than
Republicans (about 106,000 more, last I heard), but Grassley has
always benefited from a strong crossover vote. Grassley will face
substantial pressure not to retire in 2010, in part because several
other Republican-held Senate seats are likely to be vulnerable.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Vilsack, U.S. Senate

... So now Grassley to the rescue?! He's making "inquiries"? It is despicable to think that a Senator who must have received an enormous amount of phone calls, e-mails, and letters from Iowans begging him to vote NO is now going to ride to the rescue and make inquiries! May Iowans have long memories when it comes to re-electing any of our representatives who caved in and in a rush like shoppers on Black Friday to the nearest store, voted YES to debt, despair, and disappointment to many American taxpayers. I would have had far greater respect and more importantly TRUST had Grassley taken the time to really understand what his vote would mean to the future of Americans.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has gotten the attention of President-elect Barack Obama. Of course, the two know each other from serving in the Senate together, but this morning Obama cited Grassley in a press conference on the economy for pointing out a government spending problem. Grassley is renowned as a watchdog for taxpayer money and this time he pointed out that $49 million of potentially improper payments have gone to farmers who exceed U.S. Department of Agriculture in income eligibility limits. Last year, Grassley released a Government Accountability Office report on farm payments going to dead people. Shortly after introducing two members of the economic team Obama said "will advise me as we seek to climb out of this crisis," he cited a press account of Grassley again lamenting problematic government spending.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Charles_Grassley

... Dear Senators Grassley, Harkin and Congressman Loebsack: Thank you
for your willingness to address one of the toughest sets of economic
challenges any Congress has ever confronted, and to search for
governmental responses that will produce more good than harm. I do not
believe the proposed auto bailout is such a response. Press reports
indicate you intend to support it anyway. ... So I have some questions
for you that I hope you will be good enough to answer -- as well as
providing me with sources on the Internet where I can find the reports
and data you have relied on in coming to your position. 1. Overview.
All data I know of suggests that major indicators -- manufacturing
output, consumer confidence and purchasing, unemployment, mortgage
foreclosures -- are all going to continue to get worse, and probably
at an accelerating rate, for the foreseeable future.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Dave Loebsack, Tom_Harkin

Matt Stoller found this shameful tidbit in the Congressional Record
from last Friday. The speaker is Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who is
mad that some senators want to find budget cuts to offset disaster aid
for Iowa: "So I don't want anybody telling me that we have to offset a
disaster relief package for the Midwest where people are hurting, when
we didn't do it for New Orleans. Why the double standard? Is it
because people aren't on rooftops complaining for helicopters to
rescue them, and you see it on television too much? We aren't doing
that in Iowa. We are trying to help ourselves in Iowa. We have a
can-do attitude. It doesn't show up on television like it did in New
Orleans for 2 months." Open Left commenter SpitBall raises an
excellent point--a better question is "why federal aid to the flood
victims in Iowa should require a budgetary offset, when the invasion
[and] occupation of Iraq does not."

Labels: Charles_Grassley

Go ahead. Insert your Viagra/Cialis joke here. Does size matter? I
mean, when it comes to crowds. Barack Obama drew about 7,500 last
night in downtown Des Moines for his first post-caucus visit. John
McCain's return run brought in about 250. By my math, that means Obama
brought 30 times as many peeps. What does it mean? Obama's people say
it proves Obama has all the mojo. Senator Chuck Grassley, on behalf of
McCain, told us polls matter more than rally size (I'll be curious
what he says about polls later on in the campaign).

Labels: Barack_Obama, Charles_Grassley

"I'm too old to be vice president," Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told
Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill. Grassley is 74; Republican
presidential candidate John McCain is 71. "But I am young enough to be
reelected to the Senate," said Grassley, hinting at a run for a sixth
Senate term in 2010. The Hill asked all 97 senators who aren't running
for president for their thoughts on the vice presidency and published
the verbatim responses. Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin demurred on the vice
presidency himself, saying his choice is Daily Show host John Stewart.
Other responses from senators Iowans may know well...

Labels: Charles_Grassley, Tom_Harkin

It was only last fall that Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on
the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, took an unpopular party stance
against Pres. George W. Bush's domestic health care policy. Grassley
took some hits on the Hill as a result of his stand, but one Iowa
group wants him to know they appreciate his effort. Iowa for Health
Care met Grassley during a stop in Linn County on Tuesday to thank him
for his "leadership on positive health care reform" and to ask him to
continue to fight for the issue. Grassley not only voted in 2007 to
expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover
nearly 4 million more uninsured children throughout the nation -- a
figure that included thousands in Iowa -- but took a notably activist
stance, circumventing House Republican leadership, to recruit
rank-and-file Republicans to rally against the wishes of the White
House.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Senator Charles Grassley thinks Iowa has enough gambling. He made it clear he wasn't talking as a U.S. Senator when he gave his opinion this afternoon. He only was talking, he says, as a private citizen. He said he is not "an advocate of taking money out of one pocket and putting it in another". He believes Iowa has enough gambling, so he's not hoping the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission decides to grant more licenses in the state. (He did say his grandson, Pat, who is a state legislator, may have more influence on this topic than he would). Grassley also said he's fine with his party's nominee for Prez, Senator John McCain. Grassley said this year was the first time since 1980 (he thought it was 1980, he said) that he didn't endorse a candidate during the nominating process.

Labels: Charles_Grassley, John_McCain

By Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senator... On a crisp winter night in early January, Iowans once again successfully kicked off another presidential nominating contest. In 1,781 precincts across the state, a record number of caucus-goers underscored how seriously Iowans uphold their civic duty and passion for electoral politics. In the first open race for the White House since 2000, the contenders who campaigned for months and months in the Hawkeye state readily discovered what I've long known about the Iowa electorate. Iowans attend town hall meetings, they show up with tough questions and have high expectations to get answers.

Labels: Charles_Grassley

A battle over the President's policy view of using tax deductions to
afford private health coverage rather than helping uninsured kids to
Medicare coverage may lead to a desertion by Iowa's Chuck Grassley.
The Washington Post reports that our most senior Senator accused
President Bush yesterday of holding up a bipartisan three months,
along with campaign advertisements accusing Republicans of abandoning
children. That way, pressure would mount either on Bush to sign the
bill or on House Republicans to override the veto... Asked if Bush was
holding the children's health bill hostage, Grassley said, "Yes."

Labels: Charles_Grassley, health_care

Way back before Tom Harkin was elected to the Senate, Iowa had two Republican senators: Roger Jepsen and Chuck Grassley. We used to call them "Tweedle Dumb" and "Tweedle Dumber." For those of you too young to remember, Tweedle Dumb lost to Harkin despite the massive Reagan landslide of 1984. His campaign faltered when it became public knowledge that he had frequented "massage parlors." Why did it become public knowledge? Because Tweedle Dumb used his personal credit card to pay for the massage parlor services. But I digress. It's easy to forget Chuck Grassley was ever known as Tweedle Dumber, but I remembered when I saw this piece in the Des Moines Register: Grassley: Ethanol plants should use coal. Responding to worries that the ethanol boom will drive up the price of natural gas used to power the ethanol plants, Grassley had a brilliant idea.

Labels: Charles_Grassley