Mother Jones
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Republicans took a page from the Mother Jones playbook Tuesday and uncovered video of a politician speaking a bit too freely at a private fundraiser. The New York Times‘ Nick Confessore was quick to dub it “47%”-like. American Rising, an opposition research PAC founded by Mitt Romney’s former campaign manager, released a video of Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), the Democrats’ likely candidate for Iowa’s open Senate seat this year, speaking before a crowd of lawyers at a fundraiser in Texas. Braley, himself a lawyer, disparages Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for being just a “farmer from Iowa.”
The nerve! How dare someone running for office in the heartland question the credentials of a farmer! Yet when it’s presented in its full context, Braley’s statement offers a valid critique: Grassley lacks a law degree and, should Republicans retake the Senate this fall, he’d be first in line to chair the Judiciary Committee. Here’s the full quote:
To put this in stark contrast, if you help me win this race you may have someone with your background, your experience, your voice, someone who’s been literally fighting tort reform for 30 years, in a visible or public way, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Or, you might have a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school, never practiced law, serving as the next chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Because, if Democrats lose the majority, Chuck Grassley will be the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The horror! A lawyer touting his shared credentials before a room of fellow lawyers! And he wasn’t just puffing up his audience: Grassley taking over the influential committee truly would be unprecedented. As the Daily Beast‘s Ben Jacobs points out, every single senator who has chaired the committee (dating back to 1816) has been a lawyer.
But the media couldn’t help itself, pouncing at the slightest whiff of a gaffe. “Despite Iowa’s centrist tendencies, Braley is heavily favored to win, and wasn’t considered a major pickup opportunity for Republicans,” a National Journal reporter wrote. “That may change now, thanks to this video.”
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