A few days after former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge became the first U.S. Senate candidate in Iowa to run television commercials this year, six-term Senator Chuck Grassley’s campaign placed a small buy for ads in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Despite facing no competition for the Republican nomination, Grassley has run tv ads in May during previous re-election races, most recently in 2010.
The senator’s debut spot this year carries over the “Grassley Works” slogan from past campaigns. But whereas the opening pitch from 2010 emphasized the incumbent’s personal qualities and commitment to visiting every Iowa county every year, the new spot appears designed to rebut criticism over Grassley’s refusal to hold hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Most major Iowa newspapers have chastised Grassley for not giving Garland a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley has chaired since January 2015. “Do Your Job” has become a slogan in advertising by Democrats and progressive interest groups as well as a frequent taunt directed at the senator on social media.
Without referencing the Supreme Court vacancy or the extremely low number of federal judges confirmed during Grassley’s first year as Judiciary Committee chair, the senator’s first 30-second spot “Works” tells a story about a chairman committed to getting things done in a bipartisan way.
Annotated transcript:
Male voice-over, patriotic music in background: Last year, Chuck Grassley became Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. [viewer sees clips from seven Iowa newspapers about Grassley’s chairmanship against black backdrop]
Since then, he’s passed legislation… [image of chairman’s gavel on left side of screen; words “Passed Major Legislation” near top of screen. Below that, in smaller print, viewer can see “Reported from Senate Judiciary Committee:” and a rolling list of bill numbers and descriptions]
Protecting child pornography victims. [“Protecting Victims” in large print near top of screen. Scrolling up below: S.295 Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2015]
Fighting human trafficking. [“Fighting Human Trafficking” in large print near top of screen. Scrolling up below: S.178 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, S.166 Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2015]
Providing bulletproof vests for law enforcement. [“Bulletproof Vests” in large print near top of screen. Scrolling up below: S.125 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2015]
Holding state sponsors of terrorism accountable. [“Holding Terrorists Accountable” in large print near top of screen. Scrolling up below: S.2040 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism of 2016, S.524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, S.32 Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2015]
Guarding our children from sexual predators. [“Protecting Children” in large print near top of screen. Scrolling up below: S.2613 Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2016]
Twenty-six pieces of legislation. [Viewer sees image of U.S. Capitol against a blue sky; words near lower right part of screen: 26 PIECES OF MAJOR LEGISLATION]
Each and every one bipartisan. [Photo of Grassley smiling, talking to a man and a woman. Word BIPARTISAN in large print near bottom of screen]
Grassley works. [campaign logo GRASSLEY WORKS against white backdrop, www.grassleyworks.com ]
Grassley standing in park, speaking directly to camera: I’m Chuck Grassley, and I approve this message.
As mentioned above, “Grassley works” has been the senator’s primary campaign slogan for many years. But the tone of this ad is quite different from the first spot of the 2010 campaign. Instead of folksy music and “ordinary person” testimonials about how Grassley is “one of us,” an authoritative voice now assures Iowans that Grassley is getting lots of work done in the halls of Congress.
A casual viewer might assume these “26 pieces of major legislation” have become law since last year. The commercial is referring to bills that cleared the Judiciary Committee. Of the ones scrolling on screen, three have been signed into law (S. 178, S.125, and S.32), one is on President Barack Obama’s desk (S.524), three have passed the full Senate and are awaiting action in the U.S. House (S. 295, S.2040, and S.2613), and one has yet to reach the Senate floor (S.166).
Although this commercial makes a simple point well, running bills through your committee is part of normal legislative work, not some unusual accomplishment. Far more remarkable than the Senate Judiciary Committee passing 26 bills in a year and a half is this reality: Grassley and his fellow Republicans are leaving a Supreme Court judgeship vacant for an unprecedentedly long time, even though the president nominated an extremely qualified (and not very liberal) judge for the job. The senator’s Democratic challenger will hammer home that message from June to November.