Incumbents in Congress have to go

By Baxter Freese

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I like Arianna Huffington's quote: “We can't expect a government, hobbled by centuries old tools, to deal with the challenge of the 21st Century.” I would add my own quote “You can't expect a Congress owned by the ‘Corporate Elite' to even try to enact needed changes.”

The only alternative for those of us who consider ourselves middle class citizens to regain control of Congress is to start the removal of all incumbents, particularly in the Senate.

We need to elect new people who will help us study and implement such improvements as term limits, restriction of the dubious practices of lobbyist, and, above all putting some transparency into the money that is now flowing from people and corporations into ads to influence the election. This amount of money is now five times larger than it was in 2006 and, reports the Washington Post, there is more than $80 million being spent outside the Democratic and Republican parties to control the election. Is this democracy at work?

Our own Sen. Chuck Grassley at one time was planning on a $9 million re-election fund, most coming from the Corporate Elite. I do not know the actual amount raised, but he is using this money to blanket Iowa with a series of TV ads “Grassley works for Iowa,” which is a misnomer in itself because he works for the Corporate Elite.

This is the way you “buy” elections. You spend millions on TV ads and blanket the state. Attend a few functions, have your campaign managers complain about smear tactics and refuse to debate your opponent because you have nothing to gain. With the power of the incumbency and television, it is amazing that any qualified opponent would try to unseat him. Is this democracy at work?

I feel the same way about Sen. Tom Harkin, who has the same paymaster. Why would a senator from one of the largest agricultural states resign from the chairmanship of the Senate Agricultural Committee, one that can always benefit Iowa farmers, in exchange for chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee?

My conclusion, after having been involved in National politics since 1970, is that farmer-financed organizations do not have the large dollars necessary to meet current lobbying requirements and they could not compete with the Corporate Elite involved in the senator's new chairmanship.

Is this democracy at work?

To save the middle class and our country, we need to get rid of incumbents and start over.

Retired farmer Baxter Freese, of Iowa City, is the former president of the Iowa Turkey Federation and Iowa Cattlemen's Association. He served as chair of the Agriculture Council of the America, and worked on campaigns for Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and Iowa Gov. Robert Ray. He established the U.S. Meat Export Federation in 1976. Comments: baxterfreese@gmail.com