by Robert Janicki
In a perverse way, you have to love Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Harkin, a liar and all around mean spirited human being, has managed to stick it to his own party on his way out of the senate as he retires on January 3, 2015, with the new congressional term.
"Retiring Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has angered his fellow Democrats by keeping the nearly $2.4 million in his personal campaign account rather than donating it to the campaign of Bruce Braley, the party's nominee to succeed him.
Harkin, who is retiring after five terms in office, plans to instead donate most of the funds to Drake University to help create a political institute in his own name...."A couple of things about Harkin stand out in my memory. The most egregious was Harkin's claim that he was a combat pilot during the Vietnam War. The fact is that Harking ferried in aircraft from Japan to Vietnam. He never saw combat. That's what I call an "act of stolen valor", trying to ride the coattails of those who actually flew and put their lives at risk in combat air missions over Vietnam.
Another
act of Harkin's was purely political and involved ridiculous pork
barrel spending. Harkin entered a bill costing several million dollars
to create an indoor jungle in Iowa to study tropical agriculture. How
this would equate to Iowa agriculture never was explained, but it would
have had Harkin's name on it.
Harkin's
withholding his campaign war chest to donate to Drake University is
Harkin's last egotistical act to burnish his name and reputation in
Iowa. Although Harkin may have campaigned and held fundraisers for
Senate Democrat candidate Bruce Braley, Harkin's campaign war chest
might be what it would take for Braley to defeat feisty and talented
Senate Republican candidate Joni Ernst.
Braley
is cut from the same cloth as Harkin, in that he will do or say
anything to smear his opponent. Like Harkin, Braley has an ego as large
as all outdoors. Unfortunately for Iowans, Braley's talent in no way
matches his inordinately overblown ego.
*Editors Note - We'll end with saying something nice - "Thanks Tom, for helping turn Iowa Red."
*Editors Note - We'll end with saying something nice - "Thanks Tom, for helping turn Iowa Red."
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Rob Janicki is a retired educator, strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and all around good guy,
as well as owner/operator of the website Wired Right and owes me 20 bucks.