Democratic Judge takes aim for Grassley during campaign stop

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Patty Judge isn’t afraid to go head-to-head with longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Judge said she has known Grassley for a long time and has worked closely with him. She has seen him move further and further to the political right as his caucus has moved the same way.

Grassley, 82, has been in Washington, D.C., for more than four decades.

Recently, Grassley has been in some political hot water. As chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, he has been withholding the president’s nomination of moderate Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“If he hasn’t gotten the job done by now, it’s probably time for him to come home, mow the lawn in New Hartford and let someone else do it,” Judge said during a campaign stop in Osceola Thursday, June 16.

Clarke County Democrats were hosting the Thursday Night in the Park event on the courthouse square. There was a surprisingly large crowd considering the temperatures were nearly 90 degrees even at 6:30 p.m.

‘New direction’

In the sweltering heat, Judge, 72, addressed her time as a former lieutenant governor of Iowa and secretary of agriculture for Iowa. Now, she’s ready for a new venture.

“I jumped into the U.S. Senate race last spring, because I believe that it’s time for a new direction,” she said. “It’s time to start making Washington, D.C., work again for the people of Iowa and for the people across these United States.”

In this political climate, people are tired of politicians playing political games, and that’s what makes them angry, Judge said. They hear the concerns and do nothing. She said people elect politicians to do a job that never gets done.

“I’m a Democrat, and I’m as partisan as anybody going,” Judge said. “But, I do believe 100 percent that there is a time to put the politics down after elections and get to work. And, you need to be able to find some common ground with people whether they’re Democrats or whether they’re Republicans. Find something you agree with, and that’s possible, and then build on that.”

Everyday concerns

Job security, stagnant wages, high cost of higher education, student loan debts and Social Security are just a few of the concerns the average citizen faces today.

Judge also addressed the Affordable Care Act.

“We don’t need to throw it out, but we need to work on it,” she said. “There are some real rough spots yet in that bill, which is to be expected. Anything of that size, of that magnitude needs some refinement after been it’s been in effect in for awhile – particularly in the areas of the cost of prescription drugs.”

During the end of Judge’s speech, she said when she left politics in 2011, she never expected to come back into it because it’s not always easy and fun.

“It is becoming increasingly negative and coarse, and that concerns me,” she said. “But, it doesn’t concern me enough to stay out of this fight because I think it is too important that we get this country back on the road. And, we can do that.”