Braley campaign mixes breakfast, voter recruitment

WATERLOO - Customers at Morg's diner in downtown Waterloo enjoyed their eggs and bacon with a side of politics on Thursday morning.

Democratic U.S. Rep. and Senate candidate Bruce Braley grinned as he came in out of the cold to be greeted by a rendition of 'Happy Birthday” struck up by his supporters. Braley, who is running against Republican Joni Ernst for Tom Harkin's U.S. Senate seat, turned 57 on Thursday.

It was business as usual at Morg's, which has become a waypoint for politicians passing through the Cedar Valley. Al Gore was here once, and Rudy Giuliani too, recalled co-owner Sam Ludwig, who self-identifies politically as a liberal.

'I don't care what your politics are,” Ludwig said. 'We've had heated conversations with people over the counter. But it's the most politically diverse crowd in town. We get all kinds of people here.”

Porcelain mugs and dishware clinked and clattered as waitresses bustled in the narrow aisle past Braley's retinue of aides, who were in good spirits now that the campaign is coming to an end.

The Senate hopeful didn't make any speeches, choosing instead to move from booth to booth to say hi to customers as they attacked their breakfasts.

Richard Hockey and his table mates - his wife Juanita and their friends Gene and Dolly Lind - voted early this year for Braley.

'He's young, aggressive,” Hockey said. 'You can get ahold of him. He's got an office here in Waterloo. I think we can't go wrong with him.”

Morg's regular Jim Clabby sat a few booths away. He also voted early this year - An across the board Republican ticket, he said, not including the two Black Hawk County Supervisor seats.

'I'm not so much anti-Braley,” Clabby said as he slashed at his pancakes with a knife and fork, 'as I am anti-Obama.”

That didn't stop Clabby from chatting with Braley about shared acquaintances.

The overall atmosphere at Morg's was similarly low key and congenial, but it wasn't long before Braley whisked himself back onto the campaign trail, which took him to Des Moines, Newton, and Toledo before sundown on Thursday.

Iowa's punditry agree that this race is going to be close. A Quinnipiac University poll released this week puts Braley 4 percentage points behind Ernst.

With only a few days left to get his message out ahead of Tuesday's election, Braley is focusing on economic issues to bring more middle class voters into the fold.

'I'm going to fight for an economy that works for all Iowans, not just the privileged few,” Braley said. 'Iowa has always been at its best when we have a large and growing middle class ... there is a stark difference in this race between my plan and Joni Ernst's plan, and I want Iowans to know I'm on their side.”