Posted on 08/25/2014 4:39:11 AM PDT by Din Maker
Iowa was never supposed to be a Senate battleground for Democrats. Following two cycles where it was GOP missteps and subpar candidates who cost them winnable races, the tables have turned and it’s now Democrats who are scrambling to right Rep. Bruce Braley’s flagging campaign before it’s too late.
Recent polls find a coin-flip race between Braley and Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst(R), and but the national party increasingly worries it could be the tipping point for Senate control. “If the Democrats lose Iowa, of course it becomes much harder to keep the majority,” said one national Democratic strategist. “The race could very much go either way. We feel like the worst is behind us and it's moving back towards Bruce Braley. But we know we don't have this wrapped up.”
Braley’s biggest gaffe took place months ago, when video surfaced of the former trial lawyer criticizing Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as a “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.” But Braley’s problems haven’t stopped there. A neighbor has claimed he threatened to sue because her chickens kept wandering in his yard, and Republicans have been hammering him for missing Veterans Affairs Committee hearings. In-state observers say he’s stiff and awkward at times on the campaign trail, while Ernst is better at retail politicking.
David Yepsen, a thirty-year veteran of the Des Moines Register who now directs the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said Braley’s “farmer” gaffe “really redefined the race” and was “one of the biggest political stumbles I've ever seen. In one swoop, he made a mistake that changes the direction of the race,” said Yepsen. “This was going to be a race that Democrats initially thought would be pretty easy to hold onto and it's turned into a far different game.”
Holding the seat of retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is critical, since Democrats can only afford to lose five seats if they hope to retain control of the upper chamber. Montana, West Virginia and South Dakota are all likely to flip to the GOP, getting the GOP halfway to a majority. Red-state Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) have been top targets for more than a year, but are running strong races.
But now Braley’s missteps have vaulted him higher on the vulnerable list, frustrating D.C. Democrats who thought he’d win comfortably.
Braley’s team has come out hard on veterans issues in recent weeks, running two ads touting his work helping veterans get military pay and pushing to end sexual assault in the military. The ads seem aimed at shoring up his standing with veterans and help bolster his image with voters against Ernst, who serves in the Iowa National Guard. While he looks to boost his own image, Democrats have been hard at work undercutting Ernst’s in the swing state.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and the liberal environmental group NextGen Climate have all been on the air in recent weeks seeking to paint Ernst as a conservative hard-liner beholden to special-interest groups. Iowa has been one of the only states where Democrats have been spending more on television in recent weeks, a sign of how worried they are about the race.
The DSCC’s ad ties her to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who campaigned for Ernst in the primary. Others hit her for waffling on the renewable fuel standard, a key issue for some Iowa farmers, and her opposition to a federal minimum wage.
Braley’s campaign argues that his mistakes are well-known to voters at this point, but that they’re just getting to know his opponent. "In Iowa, what's out of touch is Joni Ernst's Tea Party views on the minimum wage, Social Security, Medicare, impeachment and the government shutdown. That's what is going to matter to Iowans come November,” Braley spokesman Sam Lau said.
Braley’s allies admit he’s made unforced errors, but think the race is beginning to turn in his direction as voters learn more about Ernst. “People simply didn't know who she was besides being a woman and a fresh face with catchy TV ads who grew up on a farm, and not looking at her beliefs, her views, her record, which are pretty extreme,” former Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge (D) told The Hill. “I'm not going to deny there have been some rough spots in this campaign… but I really believe he'll be okay, I really do.”
Ernst’s campaign has retaliated, attacking Braley as an “elitist” and saying the Democratic attacks were coming from a place of fear. “Bruce Braley has been losing ground every week because each day Iowans learn something new about his elitist Washington values,” said Ernst spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel. “Bruce Braley and his liberal allies arrogantly thought this race would be a coronation. Now they are desperate and filling the airways with false attacks and smears against Joni Ernst. They aren’t even trying to get people to vote for Braley anymore. Their goal is to smear Joni so much that Iowans will vote against her. It’s sad, and it won’t work, but that’s their strategy.”
National Democrats argue the attacks against Ernst are working and the race has stabilized, for now. But many admit they were hoping they would never have to worry about Iowa in the first place, and know if the Senate flips, it may be due to Braley’s subpar performance.
“Losing this would make the path much more difficult. I think he's in a good place, but he needs to stop tripping over himself,” said another national Democratic strategist.
Braley is an “elitist, condescending turd,” according to an Iowa newspaper editor...
<><> Gaff-prone Senate candidate Rep. Bruce Braley is making Dummycrats antsy---they can only afford to lose five seats if they hope to retain control of the upper chamber. Montana, West Virginia and South Dakota are all likely to flip to the GOP, getting the GOP halfway to a majority.
<><> Red-state Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) have been top Repub targets for more than a year, but are running strong races.
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TALKING POINTS--Campaign Contributions Ensnare 2014 DEMOCRATS in IRS’s Missing Emails Scandal
Colorado Observer. ^ | June 19, 2014 | Audrey Hudson / FR Posted 6/21 by george76
...... missing among the IRS’s internal emails are communications with Sens. Mark Udall, Mark Begich, Mary Landrieu, Al Franken, and a dozen other Democrats who received campaign contributions from the federal agency’s union.
Democratic senators who took campaign donations from the IRS union include Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana who received $25,500, Al Franken of Minnesota with $5,000, and Mark Begich of Alaska.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecoloradoobserver.com ...
<><> Gaff-prone Senate candidate Rep. Bruce Braley is making Dummycrats antsy---they can only afford to lose five seats if they hope to retain control of the upper chamber. Montana, West Virginia and South Dakota are all likely to flip to the GOP, getting the GOP halfway to a majority.
<><> Red-state Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) have been top Repub targets for more than a year, but are running strong races.
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TALKING POINTS--Campaign Contributions Ensnare 2014 DEMOCRATS in IRS’s Missing Emails Scandal
Colorado Observer. ^ | June 19, 2014 | Audrey Hudson / FR Posted 6/21 by george76
...... missing among the IRS’s internal emails are communications with Sens. Mark Udall, Mark Begich, Mary Landrieu, Al Franken, and a dozen other Democrats who received campaign contributions from the federal agency’s union.
Democratic senators who took campaign donations from the IRS union include Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana who received $25,500, Al Franken of Minnesota with $5,000, and Mark Begich of Alaska.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecoloradoobserver.com ...
<><> Ask Dummycrats when Obama is dropping by to campaign for them (cackle).
<><> Ask Dummycrats why they voted to subsidize O/Care by decimating Medicare Advantage for seniors.
<><> Ask Dummycrats why the White House calculatedly kept the gruesome details to itself while egging on loyal lock-stepping Democrats to vote for O/Care.
<><> Ask Dummycrat why the WH lied to Americans in a way so specific, it showed they knew exactly what to spin and how......via the infamous "If you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan, period."
<><> Ask Dummycrats why they carried on for the next three years making believe they'd actually read the ACA bill and pretending they understood its implications.
<><> Ask Dummycrats why they're so surprised by grassroots complaints about O/Care from constituents.
<><> Ask Dummycrats why they treat voters as if they just fall off a turnip truck.
ID THEFT SCAM---DUMMYCRATS RUNNING AS CONSERVATIVES (DUPING VOTERS TO SAVE OBAMA'S ***)
Breitbart.com reports that b/c of an increasingly hostile political landscape, Democrats are resorting to whining---asking voters to believe they have suddenly "seen the light" and are now conservatives.
In districts across the country, Democrats are campaigning as "true believers' in tax cuts, balanced budgets and for rolling back big government's harmful regulations.
The Dummycrats are so desperate, thry're even bleating about guns, fracking and coal....trying to appeal to the conservative heartland.
The list of Democrats carving out more conservative positions is too lengthy to mention. In fact, breitbart.com reports, it would be noteworthy to find any Democrat in a competitive election running on the platform espoused by the DNC, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi.
Opportunistic Dem candidates are marching in lockstep--- separating themselves from Dummycrat-ism when facing actual voters.
As conservatives have always observed, Dummycrat-ism is not even a coherent party....just a collection of hyphenates.....and expedient alliances of special interest groups....all expecting payback.
This is an old Dummycrat trick---from the conniving shallow mind of Chicago-land kingpins of political crime. Obama suck-up Rahm Emanuel actually dreamed up the con.
As you may recall, the contrived Democrat wave in 2006 was fueled, in large part, by Dummycrat's beating the drum about public weariness with the Iraq War...... and Dummycrats piling on GWB.
Naturally, the complicit drive-by media failed to report that this was a con game devised by the aggressive then-Cong Rahm Emanuel to recruit moderate and conservative Democrats to run for office.
This strategy worked so well that before the GOP landslide in 2010, 54 members of the House Democrat caucus were conservative "blue dog democrats." With only 14 "blue dogs" now serving in Congress, this mythical creature has all but disappeared from the political landscape.
With contemporary support for golf-addicted Obama, and his policies, nearing record lows, Democrats in Congress are again trying to pull off this trick.
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WRAP-UP: Stupid Dummycrats can run wearing Reagan masks, for all that matters----the prog/nitwit in the WH keeps reminding voters about the Dummycrat-fashioned disaster that has befallen our beloved country.
So long as the MSM and the NEA are wholly behind the DNC, Liberalism is a large and growing cancer that will not be cured.
I long ago lost respect for Iowa - but frankly, your issues listed are not even part of the campaign from what I can tell.
As long as its within a 5 % point margin the Dems can steal it. No problem.
Telling an Iowa candidate that he is “only a farmer and not a lawyer” ranks right up there with the biggest political blunders of all time.
Democrats are so stupid.
Braley is an “elitist, condescending turd,” according to an Iowa newspaper editor...
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Yes; I know. That has been repeated on here a gazillion times. But, apparently at least half of Iowa doesn’t give a crap.
Anybody from Iowa reading and responding to this post ?
Since you posted numerous times to “All”, I’ll reply to “All”.
I’m a little sick and tired of everyone blaming “Democrat voter fraud”, or as you say, “Dummycrat”. Well Liz, apparently they are not too freakin’ dumb. They have always been more “street-wise” than the Pubbies. Now, you wanna know why the Dems kick our ass and will probably hold onto the freakin’ Senate this year? Click on the link below and quit blaming voter fraud and blame out team for their freakin’ ineptness:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3196730/posts
“.....your issues listed are not even part of the campaign from what I can tell.”
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Bullsh**! Why else would anyone vote for Democratic Party candidates unless their main issue was either Entitlements, Gay Rights or Abortion? As long as they have access to their Welfare entitlements and their social agenda, they don’t give a crap about Amnesty, the National Debt, how ObamaCare is hurting small businesses or any freakin’ thing else.
Please see Post #13.
well you had a point on the entitlements - I was reading too fast - but that appears to be the only issue you mentioned that’s really driving this. Not everybody, on either side, is driven by the same things that drive you. Not saying that’s good or bad, just that it IS.
Point well taken. But, seriously Edmund; how many gays do you know who would vote Republican? Not many. How many Pro-Choice feminazis do you know who would vote Republican? Probably zilch, zero, nada.
True….but not every election turns on the same dynamics. I’m talking about big picture drivers.
Not every election has equal motivations on both sides. This particular race, and the 2014 mid terms in general, seem to be an election where issues of gay marriage and abortion are not the drivers.
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