Grassley Feeling The Pressure

The picture at left is of the August 12th town hall meeting I attended, in Adel.

Save for a handful of clearly paid protesters and the entitled little old lady pictured, the crowd was solidly against government option health care, and the rampant growth of this government.

With his conservative credentials showing wear, and his base eroding, it's clear that Senator Grassley feels he has to step back from bipartisanship and listen to his constituency. Those in favor of reform are "not quite as loud as people that say we ought to slow down or don't do anything," he said. "And I've got to listen to my people."

Now the senator is getting hammered by critics from the left, stating that he's trying to undermine reform. It's more important now than ever that we keep the pressure on him to stay strong, and offer our support. Our message is clear that we've had it with Washington's excess;

"Not everyone is coming to the town hall meetings because of health care. It's kind of the straw that broke the camel's back," Grassley said. "They're seeing the stimulus not working. They're seeing the Federal Reserve shoving money out of the airplane not working. They're seeing big increases in the deficit coming. Then they see a trillion-dollar health-care bill, and they think it's not good for the country."

Senator Grassley has represented Iowa in the senate for some 24 years, and I am on record as favoring term limits for congress, to rid Washington of career politicians. While I believe the time is coming for Senator Grassley to go, I do know that we need him in this fight. Because finally, the man is ready to fight.

"I've been listening to you all, and I've decided one thing today..." he said, "I won't be walking away from the negotiation table. I'm going to have to be shoved away from it."