GOP Sees a New Path for Senate Through Iowa

[question everything]

OSCEOLA, Iowa—Until last week, Democrats surveying an increasingly challenging bid to retain control of the Senate took some comfort in Iowa, a state won twice by President Barack Obama. That was before U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democratic candidate in Iowa's first wide-open Senate race in 30 years, was caught appearing to scoff at—of all things—farmers.

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At a private fundraiser with fellow trial lawyers in Texas, Mr. Braley managed to take a swipe at farmers while also badmouthing Mr. Grassley—who has held elected office since 1959 and won his latest election by 31 percentage points. Mr. Braley called him "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." Republicans gleefully used the video to charge that Mr. Braley's allegiance was more to the plaintiffs bar than to Iowa institutions. The party's national Senate campaign arm produced bumper stickers saying: "Sorry Bruce Braley, I'm proud to be a farmer."

(snip)

Independent analysts have long said that Democrats hold a slight advantage in the Iowa race, noting Mr. Obama's two wins here, and Democrats said the Braley incident would diminish in the seven months until the election. A Quinnipiac University poll in March found him sitting on double-digit leads over the Republican candidates. As of December, Mr. Braley had $2.6 million on hand, while none of the Republicans had more than $300,000. Mr. Braley apologized personally to Mr. Grassley, his office said, and has responded to the video by emphasizing his support for the farm bill earlier this year and other efforts he said would benefit rural communities. Asked about the matter, his campaign took aim at the Republican field, saying the party's candidates "support policies that are bad for Iowa and good for big-oil billionaires." Mr. Harkin, the Democratic senator, said, "This is one of those bumps in the road we all go through when running for elective office, and I am confident people will look past it."

Among the five GOP Senate candidates, one appeared to be best positioned to take advantage of Mr. Braley's gaffe. Joni Ernst, a state senator, had posted an Internet ad trumpeting her hog-farming background around the same time as Mr. Braley's video surfaced. "I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm," says Ms. Ernst in the ad. "So, when I get to Washington, I'll know how to cut pork." The ad, titled "Make 'Em Squeal," started airing in Des Moines, has drawn more than 400,000 views on YouTube and was featured on two late-night talk shows. Just after it was released, Ms. Ernst won an endorsement from Sarah Palin.


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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304432604579471783532199484

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[Arkana]

1. It's the beginning of April. Crap like this gets forgotten.

[DFW]

2. I sure as hell hope so!

How could ANY candidate for statewide office in a state like Iowa make a statement that even hints of putting down farmers?

HELLO????

[question everything]

3. Supposedly he meant that if Grassley will get to head the

Senate Judiciary Committee—if the Republicans take control of the Senate - he will have to know the law.

I can sympathize. I have had instances when I was making shortcuts instead of describing what I meant and ended up poorly..

Though, I suppose, as a politician, you have to be more careful.