Guest Commentary-Asleep at the Wheel

Christopher Reed-2008 Republican candidate for US Senate in Iowa

Sleep:  to be careless or unalert; allow one’s alertness, vigilance, or attentiveness to lie dormant

Meeting: an assembly or conference of persons for a specific purpose

Rollcall.com had a story this week about United States Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA-02) being asleep during a meeting on health care. It can be said that meetings in Washington are probably not as fun as running marathons in Cedar Rapids or attending rallies with Nancy Pelosi in Des Moines. However, how long should Iowa’s Second District continue to put up with this complete lack of leadership? My answer: about 16 more months.

In these perilous times of tumult and world chaos, can we afford leadership like this?

The book Improving Leadership Effectiveness says “The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization”. Well friends, we cannot afford failure of the organization known as the United States of America. Unfortunately, keeping Mr. Loebsack at the helm will almost assuredly accomplish just that.

We need a leader who will not only stay awake and alert during important meetings, but we need someone in Washington that will stand up for what is right for Iowa and America. We need a leader who is willing to make tough choices and stand up for what he believes in.

Today, more than ever, we need real leadership in Washington, and sadly it is lacking from Iowa’s Second District. Dave Loebsack is alright with being asleep at the wheel, but the voters in District #2 need to be awake and ready to enact a change in leadership come November, 2010.

Christopher Reed

Marion, Ia.