Castration is Now a Campaign Issue

Joni Ernst, the winner of the Iowa Senate Republican primary on Tuesday, has gained her the support of prominent conservatives like Sarah Palin and a broad coalition that included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Senate Conservatives Fund to rally behind her: She took some pretty definitive stances that would make your typical liberal voter throw up a bit in their mouth such as; no same-sex marriage, no reform of immigration, no federal minimum wage, no Education Department, no progressive tax code and supporting the idea of private accounts for Social Security. Bust the most surprising thing about her campaign, she blew away the competition.

Ernst, 43, was a relatively unknown state senator in a crowded but uninspiring field who made national headlines when she used a memorable ad about hog castration to get on voters’ radar. The end result was Joni not only clearing the 35 point threashold to avoid a convention vote, but actually beat Mark Jacobs who dolled out over 3 million dollars by more then 35 points.

The big question becomes, is Iowa’s Senate race is now in play?

Most pundits tactical maps for Republican control of the senate didn't take put a lot of stock in picking up a seat in the Hawkeye State. Truth is it's been a long time since a senate election here has been anything but a certain thing, With retiring Senator Harkin (D) being elected to 5 terms and Sen. Grassley (R) currently serving his 6th. Couple this with Governor Brandstad (R) running this year for a 6th term, Iowa senate races are less of a choice and more of a time to catch up on some house hold chores. With an established candidate vying for a seat that seemed to have a 'D' imprinted on it, not a lot of attention was focused on Iowa. Now, however, the GOP has a candidate that is turning heads, and GOP operatives love the contrast between her and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley. 

Brayley's a lawyer turned politician who has been in Washington for almost a decade, during which congresses list of accomplishments couldn't even be counted on a single finger for most Americans. He's had it on easy street the last year with no one contesting him for the Democratic ticket. Allowing him to raise over $5 million dollars, but he had to start writing checks to television studios when attack ads started popping up against him last winter and a pretty major gaffe at an out of state fund raising event that kind of came across as bad mouthing farmers. Not the keenest of strategies when running in Iowa.

Meanwhile, Ernst could be the first Iowa woman ever elected to Congress, which might boost female turnout. She served in the military; he didn't. She grew up on a farm; he’s a trial lawyer. She's a Lt. Colonial in the Guard, he looks like he couldn't hold his own in a rough game of bad-mitten. She apparently likes to castrate things, he (presumably) has something to castrate.

She does have some positions that will have to be defended during the general election, such as saying  she said she would have voted against the farm bill, and she named the Clean Water Act as one of the most damaging laws for business, and denied that global warming is causing climate change. Making her still very vulnerable to much of he play book that democrats have drafted up for the midterm. 

I await the statements how yet another lawyer turned politician already in Washington is going to help clean up Washington better then someone who doesn't support same sex marriage. Or how a $30 thousand donation from the Koch Brothers tips the scales in favor of the candidate who is currently over $4 million behind in fundraising. Perhaps the war on woman will resonate well with Iowa voters. Perhaps advertisements letting voters know what the candidate can do to farm animals will become the new standard for Iowa elections. However this plays out, the political spectator in me is curious to see how this will play out.