{"id":5757,"date":"2011-09-02T00:45:02","date_gmt":"2011-09-02T07:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2011-09-02T00:45:02","modified_gmt":"2011-09-02T07:45:02","slug":"shame-on-the-democratic-party-of-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2011\/09\/02\/shame-on-the-democratic-party-of-iowa\/","title":{"rendered":"Shame on the Democratic Party of Iowa!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chuck \u201csnake in the\u201d Grassley is no stranger to controversial town halls.   Who can forget how, in the summer of 2009, Grassley bragged to his constituents about stalling health care reform<\/a>, while pretending to negotiate in good faith. <\/font>At a recent town hall meeting, a small group of activists confronted Grassley about Republican plans to do away with Social Security. The Democratic Party of Iowa believed the lies perpetrated by Grassley and a Republican hack. They condemned the demonstrators without checking the facts. Shame on them!<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"GrassleyHat\"The Iowa Democratic Party is denouncing confrontational tactics that a liberal activist group has been using against politicians of both parties.<\/p>\n

Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky today distanced her party from the tactics of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, whose recent antics have included heckling a Republican presidential candidate and a national Democratic party leader at the State Fair and reportedly trying to obstruct an event this week by Sen. Charles Grassley, who is an Iowa Republican.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe behavior of Iowa CCI is unproductive, embarrassing, and has no place in a serious debate,\u201d Dvorsky said in a press release. \u201cYes, we should be working to protect Social Security, doing everything to keep our air and water clean, and ask our elected officials tough questions. Unfortunately, this group has become less focused on results and more focused on creating chaos that gets their name in the paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIowa CCI is doing a disservice to the state, to true progressive values, and to their members who signed up to make a difference and change our state for the better. Instead of bragging about \u2018crashing\u2019 a town hall, designed to give citizens a forum to discuss their concerns, they could be educating Iowans about what\u2019s really at stake and actually make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that they continue to mistake screaming for persuasion and embarrass themselves in this manner.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

…This week, the group reportedly disrupted a town hall meeting organized by Sen. Charles Grassley in Carroll. Douglas Burns, a columnist for the Daily Times Herald in Carroll, decried the tactics [Republican hack delinked]. \u201cNot content to interrupt and hurl insults at the senator during the public forum, the mob that is Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement crowded Grassley, 77, in the hallway, blocking his entrance to a post-event media interview, and later, used physicality to prevent his clear passage from New Hope to a car,\u201d Burns wrote. \u201cIt was shameful, hateful and, most of all, dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday evening, the group bragged about its tactics in a press release, titled \u201dFarmers, seniors crash Grassley townhall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is how the press release described what happened: \u201cThe group took over the townhall meeting and, for over an hour, demanded that the senator renounce his vote and pledge not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. \u2026 Grassley avoided directly answering our questions and when we confronted him after the meeting ended, he left as quickly as he could. \u2026 He definitely heard our \u2018put people first\u2019 message loud and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

This afternoon, Matthew Covington, a CCI organizer, denied the members did anything inappropriate. \u201cThey issued demands, but they did it in a very appropriate manner,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very civil.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described Dvorsky\u2019s press release as \u201cfun stuff,\u201d and said it was surprising that she denounced behavior she didn\u2019t witness<\/strong>\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <Desmoines Register<\/a>><\/p>\n

I took a look at other articles by Douglas Burns, and he is highly partisan, favoring the Republican party.  I can relate to that, as I\u2019m highly partisan too.  The difference is that I work with the facts that are there.  In typical Republican fashion, he does not.  To call him a Republican hack is an understatement.  His portrayal of this town hall is not accurate, but don\u2019t take my word for it.  Take a look at these \u201cshameful, hateful, and most of all, dangerous\u201d people yourself.<\/font><\/p>\n