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| Nice tie, Chuckles! Also, check out the pocket handkerchief. That was arranged with talent! |
Tonight my mom informed me that Chuckles has been on the ballot since she started voting. My mom started voting around 1978, people. Now here's the deal: I looked Chuckles up on Wikipedia and discovered that actually he's been a publicly elected official for longer than my mom has been alive. Yes, this man started serving as one of Iowa's state congressmen in 1958, was a member of the House of Representatives from 1975-1981, and since then he's been in the Senate. Say what?!
Of course, in some ways this is very good for Iowa. Like Senator Harkin, Grassley has TONS of political seniority to spare, so he's part of some important Senate sub-committees. He's the ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee, and he serves on the budget committee, the ag and forestry committee, the judiciary committee, etc. (The etc. is real. There are more committees.)
This is what I have to say about Chuckles. Dude! You have been in office since BEFORE my mom was born! That is a long time in political years. Also, apparently you've decided to keep it up, so that means that you're going to try for a near-60-year legislative political career! Are you trying to out-do Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd? I guess you must be happy knowing that lots of Iowans like you. Still, buddy, what is up with your claims to be a family farmer? You are a politician. Embrace it. Also, thanks for not being really crazy.
This is so funny because my mom was talking to me about him this very week. She was also talking to me about other interesting Iowa political issues that I will not mention here because other people will give me a piece of their mind. But I'm sure you know...the judges...anyway. My mom told me that she really likes Grassley because he is a real person, he still runs a farm, etc. I told her that he was a politician and she was like, no, he's a real guy.
ReplyDeleteWhat does this mean? Are politicians aliens? This is what I want to know. Because I've met Obama. And he's real. Or I shook hands with an alien. Which I doubt. What is all this 'we're real people, we're normal, we're just like you' crap? I want the politicians I elect to be smarter than me, I want to know they understand all this junk...that means being not normal. Oh well.
Anyway, Grassley - he'll be there FOREVER.
Ha ha! I just wrote this really long comment...then erased it by hitting the wrong button. Anyway, this is the jist of it.
ReplyDelete1) Grassley is a smart guy for using the farmer myth (I don't mean lie, I mean cultural trope).
2) Americans have a hard time with the idea of professional politicians even though the amount of work needed to run this country requires that politicians devote most of their energy to governing, not farming.
3) Grassley will leave office when he dies. He will never be voted out. Neither will Harkin. They always win by huge margins. Lots of people like them both.