Iowa newspapers have been publishing their endorsements for the midterm election during the past week or two. While few voters blindly follow the lead of any editorial board, endorsements can be newsworthy when they go against expectations.
Of the largest Iowa newspapers, Joni Ernst met with only one editorial board: the Sioux City Journal. That was a safe bet, because to my knowledge, that newspaper has endorsed exactly one Democrat for IA-Sen in the last 30 or 40 years: Tom Harkin in 2008 only (when his GOP challenger was a joke). I am not aware of any Democrat running for president or Iowa governor ever getting the Sioux City Journal’s endorsement. Ernst also met with the Omaha World-Herald, a widely-read paper in southwest Iowa and a slam-dunk for endorsing Republicans.
Although the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, and Quad-City Times endorse more Republican candidates than Democrats, Ernst did not agree to meet with any of those newspapers. A few days ago, she also backed out of a scheduled meeting with the Des Moines Register, which had endorsed her in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate. Ernst’s handlers are clearly terrified to let her participate in an hour-long conversation about public policy, with good reason. She has about 90 seconds of memorized talking points on any given issue and gets in trouble quickly after that.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette endorsed Braley last weekend. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald and Des Moines Register did so today. I am convinced that Ernst could have had any of those endorsements if she had participated in the process.
After Iowa media and even some national reporters noticed that Ernst was dissing Iowa newspapers, the Ernst campaign scheduled a “meeting” by telephone with the Quad-City Times editorial board. I don’t think the editors should have agreed to those terms. How do they know she won’t be reading off cue cards supplied by her staff the whole time?
This is an open thread for discussing newspaper endorsements or any other issue that’s on your mind. P.S.: The Register’s decision not to endorse either Terry Branstad or Jack Hatch for governor was quite a cop-out.
11 Comments
The Non Endorsement
Does anyone remember another time when the Register passed on making any endorsement at all for a race as big as governor? It’s more of a slap in the face to both Hatch and Branstad than merely endorsing the other guy would have been.
Worst slap in the face endorsement I ever saw was the Iowa City Press Citizen in 2004. They weren’t going to endorse Chuck Grassley. But instead of endorsing Democratic nominee Art Small, a former legislator FROM Iowa City, they went out of their way to endorse the GREEN candidate. (Art would have been a great candidate for that seat in about 1986…)
jdeeth Sun 26 Oct 12:39 PM
Daryl Northrop
That Green’s name was Daryl Northrop. I should know – Daryl & Wendy Barth busted their asses for that endorsement, and we on the campaign team celebrated wildly.
idiosynchronic Sun 26 Oct 1:55 PM
I do not remember anything like it
Ridiculous.
I forgot about their endorsement in the 2004 IA-Sen race.
desmoinesdem Sun 26 Oct 6:20 PM
Hatch got hammered by circumstance
I really, really feel for Jack Hatch. He’s been a great family friend to my wife’s family. He will be a great governor, but it’s not likely to happen this year. He got trapped between the Branstad juggernaut & a co-ballot race that deprived tons of money and oxygen out of the media ($28 MILLION for a Senate seat? Are you @$^%$# me??). His only bet to introduce himself to voters statewide, a silly-turn-serious advertising campaign ala Wellstone, never had a chance. When the campaign turned to the issues as the critics wanted, interest evaporated – just as those critics hoped.
The Reg’s nasty little cop-out was just the latest insult. I’m still waiting for someone to admit they know Democrats whom were never passionate about Hatch’s run.
idiosynchronic Sun 26 Oct 2:11 PM
Never Passionate
I was never passionate about Hatch’s run. There were other candidates who were mentioned early who interested me, but those campaigns never materialized. I live in Loebsack’s district and I figure he is safe, so, until a friend of a friend decided to run for county office, I was planning on helping out Cheri Bustos in Illinois. I
ahmed Sun 26 Oct 2:31 PM
the NRCC
has moved money into Loebsack’s race, FYI. I still think he is win but it might be an exaggeration to call him “safe.”
desmoinesdem Sun 26 Oct 6:21 PM
The Storm Lake Times endorsed Braley and Mowrer
They published a good fiery editorial.
http://www.stormlake.com/artic…
cocinero Sun 26 Oct 4:24 PM
Ernst
I don’t understand why a candidate wouldn’t meet with these newspapers. I know people don’t read them anymore, but it is not like they hold your feet to the fire with overtly complex questions.
I’ve seen different editorial board meetings where candidates showed up on television, it only gets combative if the writers think the candidate is skirting the question.
Ernst should have a natural curiosity about public policy, she should welcome the idea to express and exchange ideas with people in and outside the state. I know she is skipping in order to dodge questions, but if you run for office aren’t you interested in policy matters?
moderateiadem Sun 26 Oct 5:11 PM
I was wrong
My predictions for Register endorsements were:
Gov,Branstad — No, wrong
Senate,Braley — Yep, check.
HD 01, Murphy — Yep, check.
HD 02, Loebsack — Yep, check.
HD03, Appel — No, wrong
HD04, Mowrer — Yep, check
It’s a good thing I don’t try to make a living off my predictions.
Hombre
hombre Sun 26 Oct 10:02 PM
another stupid (republican) woman
Interesting theory from desmoinesdem: Ernst passed on the editorial board meetings because her handlers know she can only give 90-second memorized answers. So she obviously is just another stupid Republican woman. On the other hand, desmoinesdem is convinced Ernst likely would have gotten endorsements from the newspapers had she appeared before the intelligent and discerning members of the editorial boards. Does that make the editorial writers stupid?
ontheright Mon 27 Oct 7:07 AM
nice try
I believe the DMR publisher wanted to endorse Ernst for the same reasons the newspaper endorsed Romney in 2012. They had to go with Braley because the Ernst campaign’s cowardice (or hubris, depending on your perspective) left them no choice.
There are lots of Republican women who can sit down and talk about issues for an hour or more with an editorial board. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is one, or various Rs in the Iowa House and Senate. But Joni Ernst is not one of them. She gets confused about basic facts like the difference between the debt and the deficit, and whether cap and trade is federal law.
desmoinesdem Tue 28 Oct 8:30 AM