Early voting has started. The Iowa Standard began rolling out endorsements a short time ago. And while readers could have guessed this was coming, it is time to make it official after hearing both State Sen. Jim Carlin and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley speak in person at the Dubuque County GOP fundraiser.
There is no doubt that the time for Republicans to select a new United States Senator is now. This year is going to be a Red Wave. Whether the November opponent is Mike Franken or Abby Finkenauer, the Democrat is going down.
We have detailed Grassley’s recent voting record — as well as some of his words — at length. And we know that President Donald J. Trump endorsed Grassley, but we also know Trump’s endorsements thus far have been more about who he sees as the likely winner and how it can benefit him than they have been about politics.
Besides, Trump’s biggest weakness tends to be those he surrounds himself with.
That said, we know Grassley said Trump had “little opportunity” to lead the Republican Party in January of 2021. We know Grassley said he was looking forward to Joe Biden’s agenda. We know Grassley has voted for Biden’s agenda more often than he has voted against it.
We know Grassley said if vaccination was required to fly or ride a train, unvaccinated travelers would have to find another way to get to their destination.
We know Grassley voted to confirm Merrick Garland, Pete Buttigieg and others.
We know Grassley voted to send $40 billion to Ukraine. We know Grassley voted for Biden’s infrastructure bill. We know Grassley said Biden “needed a win” when the infrastructure bill was languishing in the House.
We know Grassley has received an ‘F’ from Conservative Review for his Liberty Score.
We know Grassley said when Democrats are in charge, they have to vote to raise the debt ceiling. And when Republicans are in charge, Republicans have to vote to raise the debt ceiling.
We know this is how our national debt has gone from $987 billion when Grassley entered the U.S. Senate to over $30 trillion today.
None of these things are up for debate. None of them are debatable. They’re facts.
We know that Grassley prides himself on his bipartisanship. But we question how wise it is to be bipartisan with a bunch of people who just voted to put someone on the Supreme Court who couldn’t even offer a definition of the word woman.
Grassley served this state and this nation for a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. That’s one long for every one of his seven six-year U.S. Senate terms.
And he did it well for quite some time.
But politics in 2022 is different than politics in 1980. It’s different than politics in 2000.
We need fighters. We need pitbulls. We need people who aren’t entrenched in Washington D.C. Who haven’t spent 40-plus years in “The Swamp.”
Who aren’t buddy-buddy with Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell.
We need people who recognize what is happening here at home. Who recognize the threat to freedom facing our kids and our grandkids.
We need people willing to stand up to party leadership when necessary. We need people willing to fight for individual liberty.
We need people willing to say no when presented with a “compromise” that simply isn’t good enough when it comes to protecting individual freedom and liberty.
Jim Carlin has done these things in Des Moines. Full disclosure, I don’t agree with everything he has proposed in Des Moines. But I don’t have to — nor will I with anyone.
I am convinced, however, that when it comes to something as monumental as certifying the 2020 Presidential Election, he would have fought for answers rather than caved to criminals.
When it comes to telling Mitch McConnell no, he would if he had to and it was the right thing to do.
He’d be an outsider. He would only spend six or 12 years in D.C. He’d serve his state and his country for a term or two and be done.
I firmly believe that.
Endorsements shouldn’t be about who we think will win, they should be reserved for those who we think should win.
I know there were other Iowa Republicans considering a run for U.S. Senate — if, IF, Grassley would’ve retired. But none of them were right for the job.
Running for office should be a calling from God, not Grassley. Grassley’s retirement plans should not have influenced anyone to run or not run if they truly felt called and led by God to run for the office.
Grassley has served this state in political office since 1959. That’s an incredible 63 years.
That means Grassley has been an elected official in Iowa for more than 35 percent of the time Iowa has been a freaking state.
That’s a long time.
I admire and respect Grassley for his dedication and service, but all good things must come to an end. Seeing them both speak in person solidified things.
Carlin was passionate and had engagement from the crowd. Grassley had one applause line — the line about him being endorsed by Trump.
It is unfortunate there hasn’t been a debate between the two candidates. But it is understandable why at 88 years old Grassley would avoid one.
Conservative Iowans deserve a choice this cycle. Thankfully Carlin has given them one.
Win or loss he has delivered an important message to Grassley and all career politicians — the people are watching and they are growing restless.
Politics of old isn’t the answer. In this era, we need fighters to defend the future of freedom. Our kids and our grandkids are counting on it.
