IJR: Another Iowa Democrat Goes After Chuck Grassley’s Farming Credentials

The former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture can be heard telling the students:

“I’m going to tell you why I can beat Chuck Grassley, and that is some pretty raw politics. First of all, Chuck Grassley has tried to convince the world, Iowa and Washington, D.C. and the rest of the world, for 20, 30 years, 40 years, that he is a good ol’ farmer. That he comes back to Iowa and farms his farm, and he’s just a good, uh, that’s his persona. We have never run a real farmer against him until me.“

The comments on Grassley’s supposed artificial “persona” is a complete switch from what Democrats were saying two years ago, when former Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley (D) said when he tried snag Tom Harkin’s senate seat in 2014:

“[I]f you help me win this race you may have someone with your background, your experience, your voice, someone who’s been literally fighting tort reform for thirty years, in a visible or public way, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Or, you might have a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school, never practiced law, serving as the next Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Because, if Democrats lose the majority, Chuck Grassley will be the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Here’s the footage, which was also captured by America Rising:

Braley was defeated by Republican Joni Ernst, who famously bragged about her ranching days castrating pigs with an ad about understanding how to “cut pork” in Washington.

According to Iowa Jobs Development, agriculture is one of the state’s biggest sources of jobs. And the 2012 census of agriculture shows that it’s home to more than 88,000 farms.