This week’s VIEW FROM MY WINDOW is a guest column by my former Iowa Department of Health colleague, Kevin Teale.
Kevin was the communications director for the Department. He attended the 3rd Congressional District town hall meeting in Des Moines March 14 at which Minnesota Gov Tim Walz spoke. I asked him to share his reactions. Thank you, Kevin.
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One of the songs played before the Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz town hall Friday afternoon in Des Moines was very appropriate — ”I’m Still Standing,” by Elton John. That was the theme of the hour-long talk and Q & A by the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate before a packed auditorium at Roosevelt High School.
“There’s a responsibility in this time of chaos where elected officials need to hear what people are irritated about. And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that’s coming from America is ‘Do something, dammit!’” Walz began. “Please don’t confuse calmness with weakness.”
Walz’ visit is part of a national Party effort to hold dozens of town hall meetings, especially in Republican Congressional districts where the incumbent, on the advice of their party bosses, is not holding town halls.
Gov. Walz got plenty of stories from Iowans to take back to Washington D.C. about the impacts of current cuts. A new mother of a child with severe birth complications that had more than $1.6 million dollars in care covered now, but worries about future medical costs under the administration’s proposed cuts. Another story from a high school senior that has law school on her mind, but worries about the cut to government tuition assistance.
Walz said Republicans don’t want to have town halls because they will hear stories they can’t ignore from citizens.
“It’s Nunn’s job to serve the voters of his district. He needs to answer the question ‘Why is it okay for President Musk to do what he is doing!’ There is nothing conservative about an unelected South African nepo-baby firing people because they’re there,” Walz said.
Walz closed by questioning the motives of the current administration about restoring American freedoms. “Freedom means everybody. You don’t get to slice off people and say they don’t count. If you do, you don’t really love freedom. What you love is privilege,” he said.
Also addressing the group was state Democrat party chair Rita Hart, who questioned trade wars and tariffs. “Farmers like me know that starting a trade war with Canada just doesn’t make sense!” Hart said.
Walz left the Iowa meeting immediately to go to a similar town hall in Omaha.
Contributor’s note: I’m following the current administrations crisis for personal reasons. My wife and I are both retired and are worried about cuts to our Social Security.
But I also have a daughter and son-in-law in the Southwest who work for the Department of the Interior. My daughter Kelly is a curator at the museum at Hoover Dam, while her husband Ian is lead park ranger at a small national monument (Pire Spring) on the Utah/Arizona border. Both would love to start a family together. As of this writing, they are both still employed and faithfully send their email every Friday to Washington about their five accomplishments of the past week.
They say it’s the jobs they have always dreamed about. Such is also the case for the thousands of others who may not have dreams of working in the great outdoors, but dreamed of being an accountant, teacher, or heavy equipment operator, all to serve the public. Those Americans also have had dreams shattered and face an unsure future. Spotlighting and reducing government waste is appropriate. Slashing with a chain saw simply crushes dreams and deprives Americans of vital safety nets of food, housing and health care.
