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Iowa Republicans take up windsurfing

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Back when John Kerry was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, he was asked by a Virginia voter about his opposition to an $87 billion bill to fund the war in Afghanistan. Kerry said he did vote for an earlier version of the bill.


“I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it,” Kerry said.


George W. Bush’s campaign pounced and labeled Kerry, who also opposed the Iraq War but voted to authorize it, a big old flip-flopper. They launched a famous TV ad with footage of Kerry windsurfing off Nantucket, showing Kerry being blown in different directions.


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“John Kerry. Whichever way the wind blows,” the ad concluded.


It seems some Iowa Republicans in 2022 have taken up windsurfing.


Take U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. Last Sunday he voted to block adding a provision to the Inflation Reduction Act that would have capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 monthly. Because the IRA is a reconciliation spending bill, 60 votes were needed to add the provision. All 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted yes, with Grassley and 42 other Republicans voting no, thus blocking the cap.


Grassley swiftly insisted that he supported a far narrower insulin price control measure sponsored by Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy. So he was actually for capping insulin prices before he was against it. Kennedy also supported the Democrats’ version. So did the American Diabetes Association.


Grassley also argued his vote was really a stand against Democrats violating budget rules. He wants to vote on separate insulin price cap bill later this year. I’m sure people who can’t afford the insulin they need to live will appreciate his commitment to Senate rules and will not at all mind waiting to see if Congress actually acts.


Grassley also complained about the Senate debating over the weekend, forcing him to miss a family reunion.


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In June, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst joined a massive Senate majority in voting for legislation, the PACT Act, that would provide health care help to millions veterans sickened by exposure to burn pits in war zones. But on July 28, when the bill returned to the Senate floor, Ernst joined a group of 25 GOP senators who moved to block the bill, claiming to protest a “budget gimmick.”


Not long before the PACT debate, Democrats announced that they’d reached a deal on the Inflation Reduction Act, paving the way for a key legislative victory. So gimmick, or GOP tantrum?


Then, after four days of public outrage, Ernst and other Republicans voted in favor the PACT Act. So Ernst was for it before she was against to before she was for it.


As Bush might put it, that’s some strange strategery.


U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Mill-Meeks voted against a bill that would protect Americans’ access to a broad array of contraceptive choices. They, instead, offered a narrow measure directing federal regulators to allow over-the-counter oral contraceptives for adults. So they actually favored one kind of contraceptive before being against many.


Hinson voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill last fall, calling it “Washington gamesmanship and spending at its worst.” But since then she has spent considerable time touting projects funded by the bill. She was against the bill but actually supports the spending. Besides, voting for the bill would have hurt her chances of getting a Trump endorsement.


Our leaders want to appear they’re in favor of popular policies even when they vote against them. They think they can windsurf to the election and voters won’t notice.


Iowa Republicans. Whichever way the wind blows.


(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com

 
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