Rod Blum does not listen to the voters

The Iowa first congressional district is a mess. Rod Blum ran for office in 2014. While campaigning, he promised to be a centrist who could work on both sides of the aisle. Then he got elected. He promptly aligned with the ideologically far-right 'Freedom Caucus.” This right-wing 'tea party” group is radically out of line with the moderate views of district voters. His election has been undergirded by dark money deceptive advertising, creating fear and distrust of Pat Murphy and Monica Vernon (his opponents in 2014 and 2016).

A huge part of the problem is his almost complete unavailability to constituents. It is one year since he scheduled a public event. He does not care to listen to the voters about issues of concern to them. He voted for the reckless Trump tax cut that gives huge benefits to the wealthy, makes a balanced budget virtually impossible, threatens Social Security and Medicare, and yields only tiny tax cuts for the middle class and poor. Reliable data are not yet available, but it is possible that Blum was personally a significant beneficiary of the tax giveaway to the rich. It is likely he had his taxes cut more than the total savings of many of the poorest citizens in the district.

We need to elect someone else in November - someone who actually listens to and cares about the voters.

Roger Johanson

Lisbon