19 Comments
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Barry Piatt's avatar

Terrific reporting, Laura!

John Kirsch's avatar

I covered many town hall appearances like Ernst's but I never saw any politician exhibit the kind of open contempt she did.

It suggests that Ernst believes she doesn't have to worry about being re-elected.

All politicians should have to worry about that.

Kathy McLain's avatar

Joni; Iowans are going to make you "squeal" this time around. You've done nothing for the people of IA in your 12 years in Congress. You've always been one of Trump's bimbo squad.

Megan Trost's avatar

Thank you for providing fuller context. Limited sound bites dont help any of us.

Laura Belin's avatar

Always grateful for readers who will dive into details like this.

Chris Siebrasse's avatar

The BIG LIE, little lies, any size lies, we got ‘em! One size fits all!

thomas scherer's avatar

The waste fraud and abuse dogma is being fed and then swallowed whole by a large swath of our population. Senator Ernst has given us insight to what her heart values. It will be on voters to decide if her values truly correspond to the teachings of love and kindness by our Savior.

Deborah Svec-Carstens's avatar

Thanks for this excellent reporting, appreciate the context you provide.

Matt Russell's avatar

This is brilliant writing. Before Democrats take a victory lap on how bad Senator Ernst just screwed up, we all need to read this reporting by Laura Belin.

Neil Ruddy's avatar

Dear Joni: Jesus

healed the sick. He didn’t take

away their health care.

Keri Riddle's avatar

Thank you for the contextual information. We need more of that. I wonder why none of our senators or legislators have offered up an audit of the Medicaid and SNAP programs to simply eliminate any waste or fraud or illegals that may be actually an issue? Would that not be a more strategic method and prevent unintended casualties? Oh wait!……that would make sense. đŸ«¤

Chris Hayden's avatar

The Inspector Generals that Mr. Trump fired were doing exactly that.

Jim Tripp's avatar

This is invaluable, truthful, dare I say scholarly, journalism. Thank you!

Ron Hartnett's avatar

Laura, great info...Repubs lie like a rug. Ernst & Co. so full of it...fear mongering. Just like Bush's "Weapons of Mass Destruction." Repubs need to be challenged, held accountable.

My big worry is that Bruce Rattsetter and the Summit Pipeline boys will start laying pipes across a state that, like Nebraska and North Dakota, too many are sadly misinformed!

Lynn's avatar

I hope it doesn’t blow over. That miserable, lying, maga is trying to take healthcare away from poor, sick people,

The Dems need to keep this front and center for the next two years.

MARIBETH NEWMAN's avatar

People who are going into hospice because their last hope of treatment, an experimental research project , was shut down, may take her comment to heart.8

Rosemary Dill's avatar

đŸ˜¥đŸ˜¥đŸ˜¥đŸ˜¥

Mary Remington's avatar

It's very hard to believe that our Republican House and Senate can be so stupid as to think all of us are REALLY stupid!! But, they do and they do think we're dumb. There's another vote coming up soon in Iowa and we need, more than anything, to VOTE and run these liars out of office and, if we can, out of the state.

Kathy McLain's avatar

Iowa has used the work requirement before and it didn't work; as you said, illegals aren't eligible and the cuts will come from people who need it. It has been proven over and over there is little fraud and given the invasive nature of the applications, many people don't even bother with it. For Heaven's sake, they even want to know if a child has a savings acct and what's in their piggy banks. It's a humiliating process for many.