Leonard Boswell, True Representation No More

Years ago, when I was fresh out of high school, a gentleman knocked on my door. As I was barely able to vote and at the time not particularly interested in the realm of politics I did not know who he was. The man had a look about him that indicated that he was no stranger to the hard toilsome labor of farming. He arrived driving a worn black Chevrolet one ton truck, a truck that was scarred by years of service on the man’s Central Iowa farm. He came to the small town of Bussey, with no assistance, to knock on every door in Bussey in the hopes to garner support in his quest to represent Iowa’s 3^rd Congressional District in Washington. At the time I agreed to support this candidate that knew the toils of hard labor. That man was Leonard Boswell.

Now fast forward to 2010 where we will see that Leonard Boswell is attempting to win reelection to the US House of Representatives. And while the name remains the same, the man behind it could not be much more different than the Leonard Boswell that appeared on my doorstep all those many years ago. The Leonard Boswell that we find running for reelection is one that no longer represents the District in which he was elected from. The Leonard Boswell of 2010 appears for all intents and purposes to be a cantankerous and cranky man who is more content to dictate to his constituents as to listen to them.

Take for example this video, filmed by a lady from Des Moines at a Town Hall event in Knoxville in August of 2009.

As you can see the crowd has tremendous reservations about the Cap and Trade legislation passed by the US House of Representatives earlier in 2009. In fact during the course of the town hall Congressman Boswell agreed with his constituents that there were indeed parts of the legislation that he had reservations with. And yet despite these reservations Congressman Boswell voted to approve the legislation anyhow. When asked why he decided to vote affirmative on the bill in opposition to the will of his constituents Congressman Boswell by condescendingly attempting to lecture his constituents. I don’t know about you, but this is not the Leonard Boswell that I voted for when we first sent him to Washington years ago.

Now let’s look at the campaign that he has run over the last several months as he has battled with Republican State Senator Brad Zaun as he attempts to retain his position in the US House. With more than a dozen years of serving as the 3^rd Congressional District as our representative in the federal government one would assume that the Congressman would have numerous pieces of legislation that he could point to as evidence of his work in Washington. Instead Congressman Boswell has resorted to a campaign of personal attacks that do not address the issues and challenges facing our state today. He has used misleading attacks on Senator Zaun’s personal finances in an attempt to paint him as an irresponsible person unfit for office.

For some reason Congressman Boswell and his campaign staff has worked hard to not highlight any of the accomplishments from his term as our representative. Could that be because during his tenure in Washington, Congressman Boswell has supported and helped pass legislation in the US House of Representatives that can and will raise the cost of energy for all Iowan’s? Could it be that while serving the 3^rd District Congressman Boswell has supported and passed legislation that can and will increase the cost of health insurance for those that can afford it least? Perhaps Congressman Boswell is leary to highlight his performance because it will illustrate just how out of touch with mainstream Iowa he has become. Maybe he realizes that if he were to promote his accomplishments it will show that he has become nothing more than a puppet with strings to be pulled and manipulated by Nancy Pelosi. The one thing that I do know for sure is that the Leonard Boswell that is running for reelection this year is not the Leonard Boswell that I met and supported all those years ago when he came knocking on my door. Unfortunately that Leonard Boswell no longer exists.