Letter: Blum’s comments were inappropriate

I grew up in Eastern Iowa. Many years ago I moved east to work for an Iowa Republican congressman. My wife also worked for a Republican Senator from Iowa. We both have worked for nonprofit service organizations in Washington for the past 25 years.

I am disappointed in recent remarks of U.S. Rep. Rod Blum from Iowa's 1st District. According to reports, he wished publicly, on Twitter, that DC would fall into a recession because he sees 'tower cranes everywhere.”

Maybe this was a poor attempt at humor or maybe he really believes it. But at its core, it is just plain mean. Within a couple of miles of the U.S. Capitol, Washington has a number of families who struggle daily to put food on the table. They are no different from people struggling in Cedar Rapids or the dozens of fading farm towns in central Iowa. If we have construction cranes, it is because private businesspeople have borrowed money from the bank and are creating jobs for people who need them. This seems like something that a Republican elected official should appreciate instead of denigrate. Would the Congressman wish a recession and all its misery on the people Cedar Rapids? Waterloo? Those drying up little towns?

If this is typical commentary from the elected representative of the 1st District, it seems to me that basic human empathy in the state must have fallen a long, long way.

Doug Siglin

Highland, Md.