Grassley's Campaign
...wonder what they'll try next?
The Grassley campaign can’t figure out how to run against Vice Admiral Michael Franken.
It would be comical if it weren’t so disgusting. They’ve tried attacking his military career, which means they’ve told voters about this relatively unknown Grassley opponent who rose from his roots in northwest Iowa to the ranks of Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
The Grassley television ads give Franken's name identification a boost. Why aren’t they ignoring him if the conventional wisdom is that Grassley’s Senate race is safe?
On Monday, September 19, a GOP blogger wrote about a police report filed by a fired campaign staffer against Franken. I’ve read the entire police report, which concluded:
“This case will be closed as Unfounded.”
But that didn’t stop the Grassley campaign from attempting a coordinated effort involving an immediate response to the partisan blog by other Iowa GOP leaders.
Hypocrisy much?
Funny, a Google search yielded no evidence that those GOP leaders condemned founded evidence of wrong-doing by members of their party. The titular head, Donald Trump, is on tape confessing he ‘grabs women by the pussy, and gets away with it because he’s famous.’
Silence. Crickets, as they say. Grassley even accepted Trump’s endorsement. You know, Trump, the guy behind the attempted coup of the United States government?
Politics. Have to hate/love it.
Chuck Grassley, from his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is perhaps the most to blame for the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. The same court that turned back a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions regarding pregnancy. A ten-year-old girl raped by a relative can now be forced to carry the fetus, regardless of the danger to her tiny developing body. And psyche.
Remember?
Grassley headed the Senate Judiciary Committee when President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, was appointed to the highest court. In February 2016, he refused to give Garland a hearing because ‘it was an election year.’ The GOP controlled the Senate, and regardless of the fairness of this call, it stood.
Fast forward to 2020, an election year, when Donald Trump put forth his nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Amy Coney Barrett on September 26, 2020, days before early voting began in the presidential election.
In September of 2018, the month before early voting began, Grassley was just fine with having a hearing for Brett Kavanaugh and rushed through the process of his appointment - during the midterm elections.
As you may recall, Kavanaugh had been accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Kavanaugh will forever be known for his ‘I like beer’ as his lack of memory defense from that time in his youth.
Grassley supported the appointment of Justice Clarence Thomas, despite attorney Anita Hill's testimony regarding the sexual harassment she experienced by the nominee.
Oh, and as for the most recent Supreme Court nominee, who answered the GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with calm, reason, and experience. They could not find one hint of impropriety or justification for her not being appointed, and still, Grassley voted against Katanji Brown Jackson.
Elections have consequences.
Grassley has voted against the Violence Against Women Act and has spent decades trying to ban all abortion nationwide, even when the pregnancy results from rape, incest, and even when the mother's life is at risk.
Independents and especially Independent women, will not be fooled. And that is where this election will be won or lost.
There is a choice to make. I’ve known Michael Franken for two years. He’s been to our home. I’ve watched him interact on the campaign trail. I’ve heard him address questions about complicated issues with Iowans. He’s held town halls - the kind where everyone is invited, unlike Grassley. And, unlike the GOP blogger who wrote about the former staffer’s police report, I want you to know I have an opinion. And that opinion is based on knowing Michael Franken and being an Iowan who cares deeply about the issues of this campaign and the balance of the United States Senate, especially women’s rights.
I was also one of many who encouraged Franken to hire a professional campaign manager and staff, replacing the woman who subsequently filed the police report. He had to have a competent, experienced team to win. And I believe he does now.
The Grassley campaign knows Michael Franken is making the strongest run of his 68-year political career. Grassley’s unfavorable ratings in the polls are growing.
Women are furious about turning back the clock on abortion rights and will be more so with each story of someone being denied what had been an accepted right for 50 years. Sadly, these stories are taking place around the country.
Women are dying because of this Grassley court.
And women are voting.
More on this story by Todd Dorman: https://www.thegazette.com/article/mike-frankens-ship-is-caught-in-a-storm/
More on this story by Art Cullen: https://www.stormlake.com/articles/editorial-unfounded-at-this-point/
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What are the key deadlines for the November 2022 election?
Registration deadlines:
In-person at voting location on Election Day: November 8
Online: October 24 by 5:00 p.m.
By mail (postmarked by): October 24
Absentee ballot deadlines
Request ballot (received by): October 24 by 5:00 p.m.
Return ballot by mail (received by): November 8 by 8:00 p.m.
Return ballot in person: November 8 by 8:00 p.m.
Voting deadlines
Early voting (in-person absentee voting): October 19 - November 7
In-person: Nov 8
Nobody has reported the likelihood that Grassley, if he wins, will retire after one year and Reynolds will appoint his grandson, the House speaker, to replace him. Consider the implications of that!
Thank you, Julie.