Biden: Voters should stick with Democrats

Vice President Joe Biden gave a full-throated defense of some of the Obama administration's most controversial legislative victories here Friday and warned that Republicans want to return to the policies that led the country into an economic calamity.

Biden came here, a place he visited often before the 2008 presidential caucuses, to campaign for U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, the two-term Democrat who faces a suddenly more competitive race with Republican Ben Lange.

Braley's campaign asked that he visit.

With Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Braley at his side, the vice president told a friendly crowd that the administration faced a tanking economy and was given a projected deficit of $1.3 trillion when it took office.

He said the stimulus act and the help for automobile companies saved middle-class jobs.

Some of of his sharpest criticism, however, came on fiscal issues, his voice rising as he scoffed at the idea Republicans have credibility when it comes to controlling the deficit.

“The next time a Republican tells you anything about fiscal responsibility, laugh at 'em,” he said. He said deficits consistently rose under Republican presidents, including George W. Bush.

Biden targeted Lange specifically a handful of times, as he said Republicans wouldn't invest in infrastructure and favored the rich over the middle class.

Polls and pundits say Republicans are poised to claim big wins next Tuesday, and they'll most likely win control of the U.S. House of Representatives. If that happens, Biden said, “it will be a tong war for the next two years.”

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn, in Marion on Thursday, said the fact the vice president had to come to the state to campaign for Braley is proof of the party's momentum.

“No one had Bruce Braley identified as a vulnerable incumbent even months ago,” Strawn said. “Now, we've seen the vice president come in to rally support for him and the DCCC spending about $150,000 this week to defend him. It shows that there is no corner of the state where Democratic incumbents are safe.”

Inside the Grand River Center here, a crowd the Braley campaign estimated at more than 500 people chanted Braley's name repeatedly. In the crowd and on the stage, the Democrats were more likely to point at the onslaught of television advertising aimed at Braley by the conservative advocacy group the American Future Fund for the race's surprising competitiveness.

Braley said he is “tired of seeing my picture on TV.” But he added he thinks Iowans can figure out the the truth about his record. For much of his remarks, he talked of individuals and families, including veterans, who he and his staff have worked to help.

Several Democrats inside the hall acknowledged being nervous about next Tuesday's election, but several said they were confident Braley would pull it out.

“I think everything Braley has done has been in the best interests of the United States and this area,” said Jerry McCalley, of Independence.

Jeremy Hoffman, a teacher from Dubuque, brought his two kids to the event. He said he had voted for Braley before but was still undecided.

“I like to stay open minded,” he said before the event started.