Braley woos seniors at central Iowa campaign event

DES MOINES - Judy BeLieu of Des Moines has had her fill of campaign ads on television for Iowa's U.S. Senate race.

But she likes what she heard in person from one of the candidates.

BeLieu was one of the dozens of seniors who heard from Bruce Braley, the Democratic candidate for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat, during a campaign event Thursday at South Side Senior Center. Retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, the man whom Braley hopes to replace, also attended the event.

Braley, a U.S. House member from Waterloo, is running against Joni Ernst, a Republican state senator from Red Oak.

Speaking to a room full of seniors at Thursday's event, Braley hammered once again on a common theme of his campaign: his promise to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.

In addition to addressing the crowd for roughly 10 minutes, Braley went around to the tables and spoke with the seniors.

BeLieu was much more impressed with Braley in person than she had been from his campaign advertisements.

'You know what? I turn the channel (when ads come on) because they both make me sick,” BeLieu said.

But BeLieu said she liked what she heard from Braley, both during his brief address and when she spoke with him one-on-one.

'Yeah, I think I would vote for him,” BeLieu said.

Many of Braley's talking points in his brief address were well received by the seniors, including his pledge regarding Social Security.

'I will never vote to privatize Social Security and turn your hard-earned money over to Wall Street investment bankers,” Braley said.

Braley's campaign frequently criticizes Ernst's position on Social Security. Ernst has noted projections that indicate Social Security on its current trajectory will not be able to pay out full benefits in roughly 20 years. She has said she has not endorsed any one solution, but has said she thinks some options, including allowing younger workers to put their retirement plan on the private market, should be considered.

The Republican Party of Iowa issued a statement in response to Braley's campaign event.

'Congressman Braley cannot be trusted to protect Medicare and Social Security for seniors,” party spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. 'The truth is that Congressman Braley voted to cut $716 billion from Medicare and told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that he supported raising the Social Security retirement age. Congressman Braley should offer an explanation for his own failed record in Washington rather than attacking his opponent in Iowa.”

The $716 billion refers to a reduction in future Medicare spending under the new federal health care law. The spending reduction is not to impact Medicare services or benefits.

And the Cedar Rapids Gazette story referenced by the Republican Party was from October 2006. Braley insisted Thursday he would not vote to raise the retirement age.

John Mauro, a Democratic Polk County supervisor, introduced Braley and implored the seniors in attendance to vote for Braley.

Most polls have shown the Braley-Ernst race very close, with a few showing a small lead for Ernst.

Harkin on Thursday credited Ernst for running 'a really good campaign” but said he thinks that in the race's final weeks voters will choose Braley when they learn more about him.

'I think what he has to execute is showing Iowa voters who he is: solid, grounded, that his values are Iowa values,” Harkin said.