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Joe Walsh Says He's the Ideal Conservative for Iowans

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh admits that most Iowans may not have heard about his campaign.

But he hopes, by the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, 2020, local conservative voters will see him as the ideal alternative for the White House. Walsh, a former Illinois congressman and conservative radio host who rose to notoriety during the tea party movement, announced his primary challenge against President Donald Trump on Aug. 25.

Since then, he's slowly been increasing his visits to Iowa, mostly sticking to the with eastern side of the state — close to his Chicago home.

Beyond eastern cities like Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Walsh said he's working his way across the state, visiting places like Sioux Center in October and Des Moines in September to meet with local conservatives.

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Republican Presidential Candidate Joe Walsh gives an interview to the Des Moines Register on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Davenport. (Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)

He said he is gearing up for a heavier campaign effort in Iowa.

"We're going to work our tails off," Walsh told the Des Moines Register in Davenport on Tuesday. He said he hopes to soon bring on experienced campaign staffers in Iowa but did not offer specifics.

Walsh said he plans to appeal to Iowans as the ideal alternative to Trump, particularly since he believes there is "soft support," for him in the state.

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A November Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Trump is very popular among registered Iowa Republicans who do not plan to caucus with Democrats in 2020. In that poll, 76% of those registered Republicans said they would "definitely vote to reelect Trump."

But Walsh said Trump has failed Iowa farmers when his administration granted waivers to oil refiners, allowing them to bypass requirements to blend ethanol into their fuels. Trump has also hurt farmers through his trade war with China, which has impacted the amount of American farm goods China is buying, including soybean and corn from Iowa, he said.

"Donald Trump has screwed Iowa," Walsh said. "I mean, big time."

The November Iowa Poll found that 75% of the registered Republicans back Trump’s approach to trade with China, and half said his tariffs have done more to help than harm Iowa agribusiness.

As president, Walsh said he would remove all tariffs during his first day in office and, while he didn't detail any specific ethanol plans, he wouldn't let "big oil producers tell him what to do," Walsh said.

While Walsh is running against Trump, he admits that he voted for Trump in 2016 and his online mannerisms used to be similar to the current president.

In December 31, 2016, Walsh tweeted, "Obama is a Muslim. Happy New Year!" (Former President Barack Obama is not Muslim.)

He also tweeted on March 9, 2017, "I'm sick & tired of the Sandy Hook parents. They're partisan & political. They can be attacked just like anyone else." A shooter killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.

Walsh said he's apologetic for the "personal attacks;" he has posted or said as much as a radio host. The type of rhetoric he used to engage in while he was in office and later as a radio host helped "give us Trump," Walsh said.

By watching and listening to the president over the last few years, Walsh said he realized that he wrote and said "ugly" things to people.

"I’m like one of Trump’s old supporters,” Walsh said. “I understand why they voted for Trump.”

Walsh said he is already familiar with Iowa. His mother grew up in Davenport and Walsh attended Grinnell College and transferred to the University of Iowa, graduating in 1985.

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Republican Presidential Candidate Joe Walsh gives an interview to the Des Moines Register on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Davenport. (Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)

“Iowa is everything to this campaign," Walsh said. "If we don’t do well, then we got nothing. Period.”

https://www.press-citizen.com/story...ican-alternative-caucus-davenport/2618522001/
 
He has a lot to answer in terms of his prior rhetoric.

Where does he stand now on some of the hot-button social issues? Is he still adamantly anti-choice, anti-LGBT, etc.?

He's never going to make headway if he has to abandon those two cornerstone positions for Republicans.
 
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