Six years ago, we had high hopes for Joni Ernst. A state senator without national experience, she vowed to shake things up in Washington and, as her ads famously proclaimed, “make them squeal.”
In the time since, we’ve seen anything but. Ernst didn’t bring Iowa perspective to the Senate. She punched her Republican ticket and ignored the 47.3 percent who didn’t vote for her.
Considering Iowa has had a long history of senators reaching across party lines to do what’s best for all Iowans, that’s troubling.
When President Obama nominated Merrick Garland nine months before the 2016 election, Ernst was not in favor of filling the seat until after the election. When President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett just weeks before the election, Ernst’s tune had changed. She was eager to get Coney Barrett approved even though many Iowans – most notably University of Iowa and Drake University law students -- urged her to wait.
People are also reading…
Ernst was equally unresponsive regarding the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when numbers were spiking in the state, she pitched a debunked theory that death numbers were inflated and that doctors and hospitals received financial incentives if they inflated coronavirus numbers.
That kind of reaction smacks of the very kind of activity she vowed to eliminate.
Theresa Greenfield, her Democratic challenger, openly states she’s not going to be a rubberstamp for her party. Instead, she repeatedly has said she’ll work with both parties to get the best solutions for Iowa.
Like Ernst six years ago, she’s coming into this world unaware of what challenges Washington will present. But in conversations with the Journal Editorial Board and others, she can back up what she believes.
Her support of Social Security and Medicare has deep roots in her own life, suggesting she knows what a lifeline it is for those dependent on it. She doesn’t want to get rid of either of them, but shore them up for future generations.
Similarly, she wants to make sure those with pre-existing conditions don’t lose coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act.
She views the coronavirus pandemic as a real threat – one that requires a science-based approach instead of wishful thinking.
Contrary to attack ads – in the costliest election in Iowa history – Greenfield wasn’t the evil landlord evicting tenants from a strip mall. She was someone who gave them ample notice of redevelopment plans once their leases expired.
Having been through the last economic recession as a businessperson, she knows how important government help can be in difficult times.
And, as the daughter of a farmer, she knows what role agriculture plays in our state’s economy.
We believe she has the commitment to make decisions beneficial to all Iowans.
We took a risk with Ernst six years ago and, in recent years, found she wasn’t a senator for all of Iowa.
Now we believe it’s time to give Theresa Greenfield a chance. We support her inclusive vision and endorse her in the race for U.S. Senate.
Joni Ernst, Republican nominee running for re-election to an Iowa U.S. Senate seat, talks to the Sioux City Journal’s editorial board during a meeting moderated by Journal reporter Bret Hayworth.
Theresa Greenfield, Democratic nominee for an Iowa U.S. Senate seat, talks to the Sioux City Journal’s editorial board during a meeting moderated by Journal managing editor Dave Dreeszen.
Greenfield
