The short video just popped up. It shows the utter disdain that Joni Ernst has for Iowans. It also illustrates just how little she thought of her constituents when she voted for Trump’s huge tax cuts for billionaire at the expense of health care for the most vulnerable.
Honestly, isn’t Iowa better than this? (2:15)
The US senate seat in Iowa was going to be a highly competitive seat in 2026 anyway. The current occupant, Joni Ernst, has hardly distinguished herself while in office. For the most part she has disappeared in the halls of Washington hiding from reporters and constituents alike.
Occasionally she comes out to see the daylight and generally embarrasses both herself and her state. Her most recent sighting was when she looked out on an audience of ordinary Iowans and told them “We all are going to die.” Then she topped that off with a very sarcastic video filmed in a cemetery the next day to drive the point home.
All that in anticipation of her vote to cut Medicaid for 100,000 or more that will hasten the early deaths of many. Her vote will also cause the costs of health insurance to skyrocket, leading to the loss of health insurance for many others. Ernst said we would die and she is doing her best to make its happen. Meanwhile she does almost nothing for Iowa.
Trump policies will put the big hurt in Iowa’s farm economy this fall. Ernst has been supporting Trump’s insane policies all the way. In fact one could sum Ernst’s position on all issues as on her knees supplicating in front of Trump as he ravages the economy, jobs, international relations, immigration, education, scientific research and health care from babies to grandma.
As Trump devastates Iowa, don’t forget that Ernst is a top enabler.
But we don’t have to just shut up and take it. We are still a democracy. At least as of now, we have open and fair elections. As of right now there is probably no more vulnerable senate seat than that of Joni Ernst in Iowa. That is deserved because of all the US senators she has probably done the very least to represent her state. Ernst represents one felonious (34 convictions) citizen who currently resides in OUR White House.
I don’t know about you, but I am excited by the candidates who have stepped forward to challenge for the Ernst seat. Remember that is the seat that was held by Tom Harkin until Ernst took it in 2014. The Democratic Party currently has 5 announced candidates, each of which would represent Iowa values much better and more proudly than Joni Ernst.
What I decided to do is to run the introductory ad (if I could find it) for the declared candidates. I decided to use the ad because they are specifically designed to put the candidates best foot forward and grab the viewers attention while highlighting their most important positions. These are short but powerful.
I tried to do this in no particular order. I will post two in this post and follow with the other three in my second post of the day. As I said, no particular order.
Jackie Norris:
Let’s begin with one of the newer candidates, Jackie Norris. First her website:
Norris website starts with the declaration “Mom on a Mission.” She is for the Des Moines area. On her website, Norris emphasizes her commitment to service:
“Jackie Norris is a school board chair, former teacher, small business owner, and military mom who’s spent her life bucking the status quo and putting in the hard work to get things done for the people she’s served. “
Here is her ad. It is about 3 minutes long:
JD Scholten
Next let’s view the offering from JD Scholten. Scholten hails from northwest Iowa. He rose to some prominence after taking on Steve King in Iowa’s fourth district and nearly knocked him out. In recent years Scholten has published an excellent online newsletter called “You Are Probably Getting Screwed” that chronicles how the lower 90% are screwed by those with wealth who run the country.
Website: https://www.scholtenforiowa.com
Here is the JD Scholten ad. It weighs in at about 2 minutes:
While I know it is early, it is important for Iowa Democrats and independents to know there is hope on the horizon. There are good candidates in Iowa who will do more than worship at the altar of Trump. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t do that! Instead get active. Work and donate for one of our great candidates.
You can be sure that billionaires ready to take away Social Security, unemployment insurance, medicare, the rest of Medicaid, ending scientific research and end democracy itself are writing big checks for Ernst.
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