Every two years Iowans gather with their neighbors for the most local event in politics — the Iowa Caucus. It is a time for like-minded Iowans to share concerns, ideas and hopes for the future of the state and country.
It also tends to be a time Iowans hear a number of speeches — all from candidates quick to call themselves conservatives knowing they’re in a crowd of Republicans. We listen. We clap. We trust.
But is it time to stop doing what we’ve always done?
For instance, there is one particular person seeking an eighth term — EIGHTH TERM — to the United States Senate. For you non-math majors out there, that’s 48 years spent in the U.S. Senate.
I want to throw out a few facts — you know, facts, things that can’t really be disputed.
*On Jan. 6, 2021, Chuck Grassley and the rest of the Iowa Congressional Delegation voted to certify the 2020 Presidential Election. If you are someone who believes the 2020 Presidential Election was above board, then this shouldn’t bother you.
*On Jan. 10, 2021, Chuck Grassley said “I’m looking forward to what (Joe Biden’s) agenda is.” If you are someone who was looking forward to Joe Biden’s agenda, then this shouldn’t bother you.
*On Jan. 10, 2021, Chuck Grassley said “there’s very little opportunity for (Donald Trump) to lead the Republican Party.” If you are someone who agrees that there is very little opportunity for President Trump to lead the Republican Party, then this shouldn’t bother you.
*In February of 2021, Chuck Grassley said if a COVID test or vaccine is required to travel by train or plane, and someone doesn’t want to abide by those requirements, they’d have to find another way to travel. If you’re someone who agrees people should be forced to show a negative test or be vaccinated if they want to travel by plane or train, then this shouldn’t bother you.
*In March of 2021, Chuck Grassley voted to confirm Merrick Garland as Attorney General. If you support Garland being the nation’s top law enforcement official, then that shouldn’t bother you either.
*Last summer, Chuck Grassley voted in support of Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill. If you support the federal government spending more than $1.2 trillion, then this shouldn’t bother you.
*Chuck Grassley implored the House to pass the same Biden Infrastructure Bill, saying the President needs a win. If you too believe that Joe Biden needed a win and the House needed to pass the Infrastructure Bill, then this shouldn’t bother you.
But I don’t know anybody who could know all of those things happened and be OK with all of them who would’ve shown up to the Republican Caucus on Monday night.
These aren’t hypotheticals. These are real-life examples. They’re facts. They happened. And they happened at a pretty regular clip over the last year.
Yet here we are, nearing the mid-term elections, and many of our elected elites are lining up to support Grassley for an eighth term in the U.S. Senate. Never mind many of these individuals say they support term limits. And many of them want a Convention of the States in order to “reign in” out of control government spending — yet they’re publicly supporting a candidate who just voted for that $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Remember how we’re dealing in facts here, let’s consider a couple more facts.
In Fiscal Year 1981, federal spending was $678 billion. The federal debt was $994 billion.
For Fiscal Year 2022, Joe Biden’s budget requests $6 trillion in spending. The federal debt, in case you missed it, eclipsed $30 trillion for the first time last week.
Read that again. In the 42 years since Chuck Grassley has been in the U.S. Senate, spending has gone from $678 billion in 1981 to more than $6 trillion in 2022. The debt has gone from $994 billion to more than $30 trillion.
While you’re at it, ask yourself this question…
What area of life has gotten better in the last 42 years since Chuck Grassley has been in the U.S. Senate? Do you have more religious freedom today than you did 42 years ago? Is our education system better today than it was 42 years ago? Is our nation’s economic status better today than it was 42 years ago? Are Americans freer today than they were 42 years ago?
Now, maybe you’re someone who says it is a little harsh to lay the blame for the last 42 years at Grassley’s feet. But listen to his explanation on the process of raising the debt ceiling. This seems like an appropriate time to remind you in 1981, when Grassley entered the U.S. Senate, the federal debt was still $994 billion. And now, after Grassley has spent 42 years in the U.S. Senate, the federal debt is more than $30 trillion. Just keep that in mind.
“We want the Democrats by themselves to deal with the debt ceiling, just like in 2003, four and six, when Republicans had control of the Presidency and the two Houses, Sen. Biden took the position under those circumstances, Republicans have to increase the debt limit and we did,” Grassley said. “Democrats didn’t help us. It’s turned around now, so, politically, is a good reason for doing it.”
Grassley went on to say this, and listen closely…
“So, the Democrats want to do that, then let them increase the debt limit,” he said. “But then also there’s that political reason for doing it, because they control everything.”
Again, dealing with facts, it sure seems that Grassley is admitting whichever Party is in charge is the Party tasked with raising the debt ceiling. So, now that we’re more than $30 trillion in debt, our 42-year U.S. Senator is saying the debt ceiling will continue to be raised by Democrats if Democrats are in power or by Republicans if Republicans are in power.
Weird. In his caucus night remarks that were read, I heard something about “inflation fighter…”
Now, I hesitate to go down this road, but I think it is a road we at least have to explore. There is no doubt that in 2024, if Joe Biden is the Democrat nominee for President, Republicans will question his cognitive abilities loudly. And for good reason.
I mean, today, Joe Biden is 79 years old and, if we’re being honest, he’s slipping.
But, in an effort to be intellectually consistent, let’s acknowledge that Chuck Grassley is 88 years old. If he wins re-election to the U.S. Senate, he will serve until 2029, when he is 95 years old.
Listen, individuals have shared concerns with me about Grassley’s age and his ability to think on his feet for lack of a better term. People can judge that for themselves.
It is worth pointing out that just prior to the 2020 Election, Grassley struggled to recall Sen. Ted Cruz’s name on stage at an event in Sioux Center with Cruz standing right beside him.
Senior moment? Maybe. But they were all just together at an event earlier that morning in Le Mars, according to media reports.
I’m not saying Chuck Grassley doesn’t have the cognitive ability to serve in the U.S. Senate for another six years. But I am saying if Republicans are going to question the cognitive abilities of Joe Biden, who is nearly one decade younger than Chuck Grassley, they’d better be willing to air the same concerns of Chuck Grassley.
Perhaps a good, old-fashioned Republican primary debate between Chuck Grassley and his Republican opponent or opponents would help ease any of those concerns.
None of this is to say that I believe Chuck Grassley is a bad guy. He has served Iowa and America for a long, long, long, long time. A really long time.
But time keeps ticking. Things keep changing. Politics in 2022 is not what it was in 1980. We need fighters. We need people willing to risk something to gain something. We need people who will not just challenge Democrats, but also Republican Party leadership when it needs to be challenged.
We need to make sure as voters, as conservatives, as Christians and as Republicans that we’re doing more than listening to speeches come campaign season. We need to really look back at the last year or two and examine what people have been doing rather than what they have been saying.
The time for going along to get along has long since passed. Iowa needs a fighter in the U.S. Senate. Someone with the energy and enthusiasm to take on the Left and — when necessary — the Right.
Is Chuck Grassley still the person best capable of doing that after winning his first election to the Iowa House in 1958?
To put it into perspective, Iowa was admitted as a state in 1846. It has been a state for about 176 years. Chuck Grassley has served Iowa as an elected official for 63 years. That’s more than one-third the time Iowa has been a state.
That’s a long time.
Chuck Grassley has always had my back and never let me down when I asked for help. Go Chuck Go
Let us know how he has done that Jay. It is time to move on from Chuck. I think the editor laid out many reasons for a change.
Heck no! Chuck’s gotta go!
I think most of use know that if Grassley is re elected he will not serve out his term and many of us know he wants to give that seat to his grandson Patrick. I say not no but hell no