~a column by GCNO publisher Victoria Riley
I’ve told people many times that ‘Iowa Nice’ is real, that Iowans are friendly, considerate, respectful people.
If I take a cue from those who are ‘in charge’ in Iowa, I need to quit saying that.
If Iowa Nice were real, Gov Kim Reynolds and other elected officials would have responded to President Biden’s withdrawal from campaigning for a second term with something other than vitriol.
Regardless of what they may think of Democratic policies, President Biden racked up 54 years of public service, starting as a member of the New Castle County (Delaware) council in 1970. He was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January, 1973, just weeks after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter. He commuted on Amtrak from Delaware to Washington so he could single-parent his two sons. Public service isn’t an easy task, but Biden kept at it.
He served in the Senate until being sworn in as vice president in 2009, and then served as vice president during both of President Barack Obama’s terms. His son Beau died during that time. Again, public service is a demanding job, but he kept at it.
Biden was featured speaker at national and international events following the end the Obama presidency while laying groundwork for his 2020 run for the Oval Office. He was well into his 70s, at a stage in life when other folks chose to slow down, but he was compelled to continue serving the public. He kept at it.
I’d say that anyone who serves the public that long has earned a ‘thank you’ from all those he served, not just those who agreed with him politically.
Saying “thank you” is the nice thing to do, not just in Iowa, but everywhere.
Instead, elected Iowa Republicans made President Biden’s standing down into a political thrashing.
Of all people, Sen Chuck Grassley should have taken President Biden’s signaling an end to his public service as an opportunity to salute a fellow politician for keeping at it.
Grassley has been in the public service business for 65 years, the last 49 of them in Washington, first in the U.S. House, and in the U.S. Senate since 1982. Grassley knows the personal sacrifices those in office make. He knows what it’s like to have people vigorously and loudly disagree with him, and he knows what it’s like to have more demands made of him than anyone could ever fulfill.
He should have thanked President Biden. He wouldn’t have had to say, “Hey, you’re great and you’ve done a great job.” All he needed to say was, “Thank you for your service. I know it isn’t easy.”
Instead, Grassley shared on social media his complaints about open border policies and the “high cost of living crushing family budgets.”
Sen Joni Ernst declared President Biden “unfit to run and unfit to serve.”
Republicans called on the President to resign from the presidency, not just to end his campaign. This despite the concern and selflessness Biden demonstrated just a week earlier when former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in a failed assassination attempt. President Biden immediately canceled all television advertising.
“We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace,” President Biden said in a live, televised address the day after the shooting.
“Decency and grace.” That’s the sort of country President Biden stands for.
Decency and grace isn’t part of Gov Kim Reynolds’ portfolio. Her response to Biden ending his campaign was to say that it wouldn’t matter who replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket, “they all represent the same failed policies of the last four years…”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, whose political aspirations beyond Iowa are as plain as her chubby cheeks, commented instead that “Democrats have destroyed the county over the last four years. And no matter who they replace Biden with, they all have to own that record of failure.”
I’m sure ending his presidential campaign was one of the hardest decisions President Biden has made. I’m sure he made that decision with what’s best for the country at the top of his mind.
Thank you, President Biden, for your years of service. Thank you for putting the future of our country ahead of your ego. I pray that we find enough decency and grace in our country to move to a more respectful era in which more energy and resources are spent building up America rather than tearing each other down.
