It is a question I get a lot while traveling the state and speaking with concerned conservatives — how do we fix Congress?
The answer? We don’t.
We can’t. It isn’t possible.
Republicans and Democrats will literally dump millions of dollars into a competitive congressional race without thinking twice.
There is no way for grassroots conservatives to overcome that. It isn’t possible. Underdogs can win the Iowa Caucus because they don’t necessarily have to pay for media attention. All eyes are focused on that race. And, more often than not, there’s a pretty good track record established for those candidates. But more importantly, the media is willing to cover them all and give them all a chance to share their vision for the country with the voters.
That isn’t the case in all elections — see Carlin v. Grassley.
In addition, congressional districts churn out huge numbers of voters. The days of door knocking to win a congressional seat probably are not going to reappear anytime soon.
Conservative Iowans are kind of fed up with being let down by their Republican representatives in Congress. Remember, Iowa is the ONLY state that had multiple Republican representatives in the House and a Republican in the U.S. Senate (and we have two) where not a single one voted to object to the 2020 Presidential Election.
The only state. California produced Republicans who had more courage. New York did.
Iowa — not so much.
Chuck Grassley has voted for the Biden agenda more than he’s voted against it. Joni Ernst voted for the anti-2A bill. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks just voted to “reject” one man, one woman marriage as The FAMiLY Leader said. And Randy Feenstra supported the $1.5 trillion omnibus and supplemental package that attached $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine and failed to reverse the COVID emergency or Biden’s vaccine mandates. It also doubled down on the Green New Deal-style government subsidies for green energy and climate policies.
Feenstra has been silent on the passage of H.R. 8404 — the bill that codifies same-sex marriage and repeals the Defense of Marriage Act. Yes, he voted against it, but unlike conservative House Republicans, his office hasn’t issued any sort of release or rebuke of the bill.
I can guarantee if Congressman Steve King were still serving in D.C., we would’ve heard from him on this issue publicly — as well as his thoughts on his Republican colleagues who voted in support.
Now, first things first, perfection isn’t really possible. We’re human beings and we’re going to disagree from time to time. But these are pretty foundational issues.
I mean, does anyone really believe Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election? Yet Hinson, Miller-Meeks, Ernst, Feenstra and Grassley all voted to certify the win.
I’m asked all the time — how do we beat them? The honest answer is, you don’t. You can try. But it will take a special effort to unseat an incumbent at that level of politics.
While that answer may seem a bit deflating, I follow it up with this…
Where did Ashley Hinson, Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley, Randy Feenstra and Mariannette Miller-Meeks all come from?
Every single one served in the Iowa legislature before winning their current seat. Every one.
Now, those races can be won by hard work and modest fundraising. It is important to identify the Republicans who aren’t conservative at the state level and find people willing to challenge them. Then it is important to do the work. Play the money game to the extent you need to — but do the work.
Odds are you will not beat an incumbent at the fundraising game. The good news is for a local race like Iowa House or Iowa Senate, you don’t need to. You just need to work.
So, the answer is, your chance to stop them is pretty much before they get to D.C. Once they’re there, good luck.
I know it’s easy to get caught up in the federal elections this fall — but keep in mind the federal government wasn’t intended to be more powerful or more impactful on your everyday life than the state government.
Don’t forget to do your homework on your state legislative candidates. Today’s state legislator could easily be tomorrow’s congressman or senator.
If you really want to “change” Congress, just change your approach to state legislative races. It may just do the trick.
