Grassley downplays Franken, 60th Dem vote impact on Senate

IOWA CITY -- Sen. Chuck Grassley doesn't feel threatened - legislative-wise or humor-wise - by the arrival of the newest member of the Senate, comedian-turned-senator Al Franken.

Grassley probably won't challenge Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, to any stand-up comedy contest.

"My wife always tells me I shouldn't try to tell jokes because I usually mess up the punch line," Grassley said Thursday after speaking to the Old Capitol Kiwanis in Iowa City  morning.

And Franken being the 60th vote Democrats need to block filibusters by minority Republicans won't pose a problem for Grassley, an Iowa Republican, at least not in the near-term, he said.

That's because Democrats have to rely on a coalition of Democrats, including Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who until recently was a Republican, and only recently joined the Democrats, and independents Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont to get to 60 votes.

Even then, Grassley said, Democrats will be two votes short of cloture because of the health-related absences of Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd.

If and when they return, Democrats may have trouble getting 60 votes to bring legislation to the floor, Grassley said. He cited the efforts of Indian Sen. Evan Bayh as the leader of Democratic moderates who are encouraging their caucus to adopt more centrist positions.

"The extent to which they're questioning some of the things of their own president, our president, they could be working with some

Republicans to make sure that the 60-vote threshold isn't always

Successful," Grassley said.

Grassley will continue his visit to Eastern Iowa Friday with a noon town hall meeting at the Renig Civic Center in Toledo and tours of Coca-Cola and First Federal Credit Union in Cedar Rapids before a meeting with the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce from 5 to 6 p.m. at 1401 5

^th

St., Coralville.