Des Moines Register Endorse Tom Harkin

In a move that is not at all surprising the Des Moines Register today endorsed US Senator Tom Harkin for a fifth term. It was only fitting that the left leaning Register endorsed one of the most liberal politicians to come out of Iowa. Let us explore the so-called reasons behind their decision.
The foremost reason that the Register endorsed Senator Harkin was because he is ranks within the top fifth of Senators in terms of seniority. I guess they think that with seniority comes wisdom. I think Harkin has proved otherwise on numerous occasions. Harkin is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, a position that he has used to craft farm bills that heavily favor the biofuel industry in Iowa. Biofuels are and should be an important part of America’s energy future, but does it have to come at a cost to the taxpayer? He ranks third in seniority on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Gee this is supposed to be a good thing. Look at the deplorable state that America’s education system is in, and this is supposed to be a Harkin strength. With the results this guy has been getting, do we really want him anywhere near these vital areas? I don’t know about you, but having Harkin anywhere near the education system is a scary prospect.
Next they go on to bashing Harkin’s opponent Christopher Reed. They claim that Harkin is a better choice because he Reed looks at the issues from the conservative standpoint and doesn’t really know the issues. Well I have news for them. Harkin knows squat about the issues himself. His idea of education reform is spend, spend, spend. Harkin’s idea of healthcare reform is universal, universal, universal. If you want to know where Harkin stands on the issues, ask Harry Reid. That is where Harkin stands on the issues. They criticize Reed for calling Harkin on his anti-American rhetoric. They bemoan the fact that Reed questioned Harkin’s patriotism. I on the other hand applaud Christopher’s courage to state the truth on Harkin’s comments and actions on the Iraq War. Harkin has continuously sounded the drum of time tables for an exit from Iraq. He has continuously advocated providing our enemies with the “playbook”. I guess the truth hurts, huh.

The Register curiously states that it is a plus that he has voted along party lines more times than not. I am not making this up, here is the line. ”Democrats have counted on him as a reliable vote for party causes.” In other words, they are praising Senator Harkin for his partisanship in the US Senate. I guess for the Register it is only partisanship if the Republicans take part in it.

Of course we should not forget Senator Harkins war with Dreamworks, the makers of the Shrek movies. Last year Senator Harking went into political combat with Dreamworks for allowing the image of Shrek to be used to promote foods that Harkin deemed unhealthy. I remember laughing for nearly a minute when I saw the comments that Harkin made in regards to seeing Shrek on a box of cereal. Evidently Dreamworks didn’t donate enough money to his campaign.

Then of course there were the comments that he had made about John McCain. I am sure most people remember Harkin’s comments that John McCain’s military upbringing was dangerous. I found these comments to be strange coming from a fellow Navy veteran, but then I remembered how Harkin had lied about his own military service. Perhaps Harkin is just jealous that McCain is a real war hero and that he is a fake war hero.

Then I also can’t forget about the doozy of a comment that Harkin made at the Democrats “sleepover.” This is when Harkin completely reinvents the history of Vietnam. If you don’t remember this you have to listen to the audio of this. You can do so here.

The Register has a long history of supporting hard left leaning candidates. This year alone they have supported both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for president. So it should come as no surprise that they would support the liberal figurehead of Iowa. As the torchbearer for Iowa liberalism they could endorse none other than The Great American Hypocrite.

For those of you that want to read the entire Register article you can do so here.