Blog For Iowa

Slightly over 60 days in office for one of our senators, a bit under half a century for our other senator. But there doesn’t seem to be a lick of sense between them at the moment.

Joni was never elected on her platform. As a matter of fact, you could easily say that most Iowans that voted for her probably had no idea where she stood on anything. She claimed she favored Social Security, but you had to dig down to find that what she favored was giving Social Security to the Wall Street gamblers. Outside of that she mouthed a few platitudes and avoided questioners like they had bubonic plague. She then sat back and let the Billionaire’s PACs negatively portray a very good man named Bruce Braley, and smiled all the way to the senate knowing full well that she had a huge debt to repay.

And Chuck? He is decades past being a reasonable senator. Chuck stuck his thumb up in the air around 1995 (probably earlier) and realized that doing whatever those with the money wanted would keep him well supplied with campaign cash. More importantly Chuck realized that taking orders kept away any challengers from his right. Thus in 2009 and 2010 when Americans of all stripe were begging, begging, begging their government to please let them have access to health care without having to go bankrupt, as if on orders, Chuck inserted himself smack in the middle doing all he could to deny medical care to Iowans and Americans. We elected him again anyway.

The supposed blank slate named Joni made sure to get her creeds up to snuff for her billionaire owners by coming out early to kill the ACA and replace it with some fanciful named Republican proposals that would send medical care in this country back to the 1800s. Her owners must be proud.

Then John Boehner sticks his nose into foreign policy by inviting the head of a foreign state, Bibi Netanyahu, to literally use the government of the United States as a token in his own re-election campaign. To say this was unprecedented and a total disrespect to the office of the president is being mild. Probably the worst single foreign policy insult in American history. But Joni and Chuck joined in because they know that their comfortable senate job depends on pleasing the billionaires. So, like every Republican in congress they fell right in line to be used like a harlot by Netanyahu.

Then Monday morning brings us the incredible letter signed by 47 Republicans that just supplanted the Netanyahu appearance as the greatest insult to a sitting president ever. Among the 47 signatures were those of our own potential teasers, Joni and Chuck.

How can we tell them just how proud we are? In 227 years as a republic we have never seen half of the senate sign a letter that borders on, or maybe crosses the line of treason. We have a new low in American politics and certainly in Iowa politics. Surely none here can remember any of our senators previously signing a treasonous letter.

There is just one reward for such actions. It is long past time for Iowans to stand up to Grassley and his disdain for Iowans and say with their vote in 2016 “Chuck, consorting with the enemy really crossed the line.” And we need to repeat it in 2020 with Joni.

Let’s add another major problem for Joni. As an active member of the military, she appears to have stepped way over the line that is allowed in the military. I know little of military law and will not pretend to. But the internet does have some very smart cookies out there. 8ackgr0und N015e at dailykos writes a rather intriguing diary about the hot water Joni may have gotten herself into. Please check the diary out yourselves, but here is the nut of the matter:

Chapter 29B.85 of the Iowa State Code of Military Justice.

29B.85 CONTEMPT TOWARD OFFICIALS.
Any person subject to this code who uses contemptuous words against the president, the governor, or the governor of any other state, territory, commonwealth, or possession in which that person may be serving, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Iowans deserve some very serious explanations. Now!