SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY: FAREWELL TO “…A FARMER (?) FROM IOWA WHO NEVER WENT TO LAW SCHOOL”

8/27/14

I’ve never been a big fan of retiring Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R. Iowa).  It’s not that I have many problems with the man philosophically, other than his incessant pork barreling, largely in the form for his ardent support for wind power and ethanol.  But one can hardly blame a politician for supporting industries so vital to the state he represents; it’s the way the game is played.   What really bothers me about Chuck Grassley, though, is that he has been in the Senate since 1981, when I was getting my MBA at the great University of Iowa, which was a long, long time ago.   Yours truly would support no politician, even one with whom I was in perfect philosophical sync (Scary thought, but I digress.), who stayed in one office for what will have been 24 years when Mr. Grassley retires and who has been in public office for 55 (!) years.  I have no use for career politicians and am an ardent fan of term limits.  In fact, as most readers have picked up, I am nearly at the point of thinking that the very desire for public office should disqualify one from public office.

So while there are plenty of worse senators than Chuck Grassley, I remain no fan of this man who has made his living feasting at the public mammary gland for nearly 3/4 of his biological life.

However…

My feelings regarding Mr. Grassley would have warmed considerably months ago when U.S. Representative Bruce Braley, the Democrat who is running against State Senator Joni Ernst for Mr. Grassley’s senate seat, castigated the Senator several months ago as

“…a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.”

 Way to campaign for a U.S. senate seat from Iowa, Mr. Braley.  But I digress.

An Iowa farmer who never went to law school?   If that were true, I would have wanted Mr. Grassley to be not a senator, but president of the United States, or emperor of the universe, if the last were possible.  In any case, we surely could use more Iowa farmers who never went to law school in public office.

Alas, though, Mr. Braley’s characterization of Mr. Grassley as “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school” is largely untrue.  Mr. Grassley was born in 1933.  He entered the Iowa legislature in 1959, when he was 26.  How much farming could he have done before the age of 26?  It is, of course, possible that Mr. Grassley farmed in the 16 years he was in the legislature before entering the U.S. House in 1975; state legislating is supposed to be a part time gig.  So maybe Mr. Braley is correct in his characterization of Mr. Grassley as “a farmer from Iowa,” at least in the sense that he was at one time a farmer.   Further, Mr. Grassley didn’t go to law school, and he attended the University of Northern Iowa.  So he has those things going for him.  From what I hear, he’s also great on constituent service, even above and beyond the aforementioned pork barreling.

So, all in all, the people of what is perhaps the Union’s greatest state could have done a lot worse than Chuck Grassley.   That does not make me any less enthusiastic in wishing him Godspeed.   But I certainly hope Senator Grassley is will not be replaced by Bruce Braley; even a four term senator would be preferable to a man of such poor judgment and utter disdain for his constituency.