Friday Night in Iowa City with Roxanne Conlin
by Paul Deaton“There
was something else in the air, tangible to those who noticed. It was
the sense that Roxanne Conlin was one of us, a product of her upbringing
and experiences, which are not so different from our own. We want her
to challenge and defeat Chuck Grassley in the midterms.“
Roxanne Conlin spoke to a room full of supporters Friday night at Prairie Lights bookstore in downtown Iowa City. She got directly to the point, recalling that it was Senator Chuck Grassley’s statement about health care legislation at an August 12, 2009 town hall meeting in Winterset, Iowa that led to her decision to run for United States Senate.
Grassley said, “We should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma.” Five days later, he retracted his statement, but it was too late. Roxanne Conlin realized that it was possible to defeat the senior senator from Iowa. She believed Iowans deserve better than this and began her campaign.
Conlin noted in the senior senator, a “very recent” interest in controlling deficit spending. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Grassley oversaw the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, the implementation of Medicare Part D which prevented the government from negotiating prices with the drug companies and running two wars “off the books.” All of these things contributed to the deficit, as Conlin pointed out. Her suggestion is that Grassley’s recent interest in deficit reductions is politically motivated and hypocritical.
As we went through the question and answer period good questions were raised and solid answers were presented by the candidate. The questions were about debates, energy policy, how to persuade independent voters, and reductions in military spending: topics of the day.
Besides this, there was something else in the air, tangible to those who noticed. It was the sense that Roxanne Conlin was one of us, a product of her upbringing and experiences, which are not so different from our own. We want her to challenge and defeat Chuck Grassley in the midterms.
There was something else. In Iowa there is an arrogance, more common among men, that says, “I don’t think she can get it done.” It is disparaging and a remnant from a time we wish were gone. Yet there, in front of us last night, was the evidence: an accomplished woman who made us feel that if we pull together, it is possible she could defeat the five term incumbent. One felt that Roxanne Conlin has the backbone to stand up to prejudice and prevail. Backbone is something Washington D.C. sorely needs. ~Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton
Following are Roxanne Conlin's five requests for supporters:
1.Talk about the campaign with people you know, family, friends and co-workers.
2.Sign up on the web site so you can hear the truth when the attack ads start.
3.Follow Roxanne Conlin on Facebook and Twitter.
4.Give time to make phone calls and knock on doors.
5.Contribute whatever you can afford to the campaign.
Click here to sign up for the Roxanne for Iowa Campaign
Click here to contribute to the Roxanne for Iowa Campaign
Click here to contribute to the Roxanne for Iowa Campaign
Blog For Iowa 