Senate Forum

The candidates for the Republican nomination to fill Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat met in a controlled forum last night at Bettendorf High School.  All announced Republicans were present which included Sam Clovis, Scott Schaben, Mark Jacobs, Matt Whitaker and Joni Ernst. The event was sponsored by the Scott County Republican Party, the QC Times and KWQC Television. No questions from the audience were allowed although there was a time for meeting the candidates prior to the event. About 500 people were in the audience. The following is a regurgitation of some of my random notes from the event. I may extend these comments as I decipher my scrawled notes.

Clovis and Whitaker had the strongest closing statements but Whitaker had to refer to notes. Clovis never used notes and spoke with convincing force on all matters throughout the evening . . .

The audience was not overtly partisan, polite attention rather than applause or catcalls was de rigueur. Nevertheless when moderator Gary Metivia (sp) asked a question about climate change there was a low and pervasive groan from the audience. Clovis’s was first up for the question and received one of the few and certainly the most enthusiastic responses to an individual candidates statement when he announced his skepticism with reason applied. Schaben tried to set himself out as the green blue collar candidate. Jacobs response that he to was skeptical raised the specter of a candidate wanting to ingratiate himself rather than a core conviction, given his support for cap and trade . . .

Ernst played the small town Iowa farm girl bio. Her mother gave her bread bags to protect her shoes in bad weather because she only had one good pair for school. It was emotive but not all that unusual for families with kids growing out of shoes every six months. But now she is the Chamber of Commerce candidate which I would not emphasize for a lot of reasons but especially their support of amnesty oriented comprehensive immigration reform . . .

There were jabs and needles back and forth between alleged front runners Jacobs and Ernst. I do not think either one responded effectively to the charges from the other . . .

Ernst did apologize for her vote on increasing the gas tax. That was definitive enough but the response to her vote to apply taxes on internet sales was evasive. Did closing an alleged loophole increase taxes / costs to consumers or not. Amazon or other small or large online retailers do not pay those taxes, they are a pass through. Jacobs response to his cap and trade support was as pathetic as it has always been . . . basically “it was the best I could get for my company” . . . damn the rest of the country . . .

There was definitive opposition across the board to increasing the minimum wage. All had effective statements in support of that position . . .

Waiting for the event to begin, the audience was treated with a power point page (AKA slide presentation) for each candidate giving their bio and certain highlighted positions The slides were prepared by the AP Government class of Bettendorf High. I presume they gleaned the information from campaign materials and reports and perhaps in communication with the candidates . . .

Clearly the slide for Clovis was the most impressive given his resume` and his had the most issue positions definitively presented. While Ernst is pro-life I was disappointed that the slide did not say so. But she is the Chamber of Commerce candidate. Nor did Jacob’s slide make any reference to the right to life. Clovis’s did, as did Schaben and I believe Whitaker. Schaben is also seen by the students as the anything goes marriage candidate listing him as “opposing marriage discrimination of any kind.”

Roger Mall

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