Posted on 10/13/2013 4:57:29 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) is seeking the center as he runs for Iowa’s open Senate seat.
Braley stressed the need for compromise and bipartisanship in an interview in his Capitol Hill office on Thursday, emphasizing his friendships with Republicans.
“Our job is to work together, solve tough problems,” Braley said. “The vast majority of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives I believe share that [view] but we get locked into these positions that make it very difficult to maintain a conversation about how we can solve our differences.
“I try to do that one member at a time by trying to develop strong relationships with Democrats and Republicans so that I can talk to my colleagues.”
Braley said a burgeoning friendship with Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.), a centrist Republican, began during a trip last year to Iwo Jima, with the discovery of some personal common ground: Rigell’s father, who was on the trip, fought there during World War II, alongside Braley’s father.
The two congressmen had lunch last week to discuss “ways to reduce partisanship in Congress,” he said.
Braley has argued bipartisan relationship-building is why he supports keeping the House gym open during the government shutdown. Defending that stance has given him some headaches, however.
In a Wednesday interview, Braley mocked a letter by some other congressmen calling for the gym to close until the government can reopen.
"They must not have been down to the gym lately," Braley said on the Bill Press Show when asked about the push.
"There's hardly anybody working down there. There's no towel service, we're doing our own laundry down there. And we pay a fee to belong to the House gym. So this is no different than if you're working for an employer that offers a wellness program. You pay a fee to belong, that's what we do there."
The comment drew fire from his Republican opponents and national GOP groups.
Braley said the attacks were “a distraction from the real important issue” of working out a compromise on the government shutdown and debt limit.
“If shutting down the House gym were necessary to get the government open and running, I would say 'do it in a heartbeat, John Boehner.' The problem is we're talking about towels in the House gym rather than 800,000 furloughed employees that want to come back to work,” he said.
“My comment began with a justification about why that gym is important — it's one of the rare places Democrats and Republicans come together and get to know each other and build personal relationships. I regret that we're talking about towels in the House gym rather than what we need to do to bring people together, end the government shutdown and put people back to work.”
Braley is, for now, the front-runner in Iowa’s Senate race. A number of top potential GOP recruits took a pass on running in the swing state, leaving a crowded field of second-tier challengers.
The GOP remains hopeful that it can make the race competitive, which would give the party a much better chance of winning the six seats its need to take control of the Senate.
Democrats have united around Braley, a lifelong Iowan and former trial lawyer, as their nominee to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Part of that unity is due to Harkins’ strong support for Braley as his replacement.
Braley, who first got involved in politics volunteering on Harkin’s first reelection campaign in 1978, described the long-time senator as “my good friend, my mentor and my hero,” and said Harkin’s encouragement that he run and his later endorsement amount to “one of the highest honors” of his political career.
“I'm working really, really hard so that when Tom walks out of the Senate for the last time, someone who shares his values, shares his love for the state of Iowa, never forgot where he came from, is walking in to take his seat,” he said.
Braley stressed that he was far from complacent:
“It's going to be a tough race no matter who my opponent is. It's going to be in a battleground state. Whoever has the majority in the Senate in 2014, this seat in Iowa is going to be absolutely critical to them,” he said. “Whoever the candidate is that wins the Republican primary in Iowa, they will be a formidable opponent.”
He also played up his blue-collar roots as a way to connect to voters.
“I got my first job when I was in third grade delivering newspapers and I've held just about every kind of job you can imagine, so when I talk about the impact that a shutdown has on 830,000 furloughed employees that's not an abstract thing to me.
"It comes from the standpoint of someone who's been a truck driver, a construction worker, a janitor, a waiter, a bartender, a dishwasher, who's had an insurance license and who understands how important having a job is to taking care of your family and being able to live the American Dream,” he said.
“I want to be able to communicate that to the people of Iowa because I think they want someone who has shared their life experience and understands these problems to be the one helping make decisions for them in the United States Senate.”
“...................But the story that no one is writing. or taking polls about, is red state Democrats. They are the ones who will actually be asking voters to reelect them. They will have to explain their votes for ObamaCare!
Where are all of these red state Democrats? What Sunday shows are they doing this week? Which one is defending ObamaCare along with Senator Reid or Senator Schumer? Which one is scheduling President Obama for a trip promothing ObamaCare?
They are not on TV defending their vote for ObamaCare or taking questions at candidate meeings in Arkansas, Alaska and so on.
They are hiding in their offices and avoiding Obama like a plague.
That’s your story or poll if anyone in the media really wants to find out wherre public opinion is going.”
Another loving piece by the Commie propaganda artiists at The Hill.
Then it talks about “burgeoning friendship with Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.), a centrist Republican”. Centrist Republican is Media code for GOPe. So I can assume that Rigell is at least one degree left of Susan Collins.
If I had to vote for either of these guys, I would just go fishing.
Yeah, but............
....when it come to votin’ time—EVERY Democrat is a LOCKSTEP Democrat.
Do the Republicans have a viable candidate for that Iowa Senate seat?
Mr. niteowl77
I couldn't say.
From the article (fwiw):
".......Braley is, for now, the front-runner in Iowa’s Senate race. A number of top potential GOP recruits took a pass on running in the swing state, leaving a crowded field of second-tier challengers.
The GOP remains hopeful that it can make the race competitive, which would give the party a much better chance of winning the six seats its need to take control of the Senate.
Democrats have united around Braley, a lifelong Iowan and former trial lawyer, as their nominee to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Part of that unity is due to Harkins’ strong support for Braley as his replacement....."
Im still looking for a good registered Democrat, mussie or child molester..............I’ll keep searching.
Im still looking for a good registered Democrat, mussie or child molester..............I’ll keep searching.
I think you are saying “NO”. When are these State Republican Party’s going to quit shooting tghemselves in the foot?
Everytime the Republicans just sit on their hands and give a potential Senate seat to the Democrats the result is at least 2 more years of Harry Reid and Chucky Schumer controlling the Senate.
Not really.
The Iowa GOP is in meltdown with Ron Paul supporters sabotaging the state party while lesser-known GOPe candidates scramble to carve up GOP support.
The Iowa GOP senate race is covered almost daily at
There are no centrist communists.
We need to keep flogging him with the “towel” clear up to election day.
What a nice piece of agitprop. Fake Centrist Demwit ping. Thanks Cincinatus’ Wife.
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