The Register’s Editorial 8:27 p.m. CDT October 23, 2014 Mowrer offers a strong, positive contrast to Steve Kings polarizing obstructionism In his bid for a seventh term representing Iowas 4th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, is facing an opponent with an impressive resume and strong grasp of issues. Democrat Jim Mowrer, a 28-year-old Boone native, served in Iraq first as an intelligence analyst for the Iowa National Guard and later as a civilian adviser. He also served at the Pentagon as the special assistant to the undersecretary of the Army. Although this is Mowrers first bid for public office, he has an impressive grasp of the issues facing Congress. Hes also his own man, and he clearly speaks from personal conviction rather than parroting the scripted talking points provided by party leadership. Mowrer supports a minimum wage increase to $10.10 and says that while the Affordable Care Act needs fixing, its an improvement over the previous system that denied so many people access to health care. He supports the Keystone XL pipeline, saying it has been fully vetted. He accurately calls the proposed Fair Tax — basically, a national sales tax — the most regressive tax ever. He said the foundational fix for the gridlock in the House is to end gerrymandering that creates too many noncompetitive House districts. He supports the Senate-passed immigration bill and dismisses critics who say it proposes amnesty. No one in the Congress is proposing amnesty, he said. Undocumented immigrants would have to pay any outstanding fines or taxes and clear other hurdles. That does not meet the definition of amnesty. One of his best goals is a basic functioning government. This is in contrast to King. A year ago, after helping engineer a shutdown of the federal government, he stood near the World War II Memorial and distracted a National Park Service ranger who was trying to close the monument due to the shutdown. King talked to the ranger while a group of elderly veterans, some in wheelchairs, pushed aside the barricades and entered the memorial. That was my intent when I went over there, King later boasted, describing it as perhaps the best day he had ever had in Washington. Of course, the memorial would not have been closed — and 9,000 Department of Veterans Affairs workers would not have been furloughed — had it not been for the shutdown King and other Republicans helped orchestrate. The incident illustrates why King has become such a polarizing and ineffective member of Congress. Its not enough for King to call for immigration reform. Instead, he has to label immigrants as drug smugglers who have calves the size of cantaloupes because theyre hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Its not enough for him to be pro-life. Instead, he has to denounce Planned Parenthood for advocating child prostitution. In a recent survey of congressional aides, King was named the second-most partisan member of the House, right behind Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. His opponent is a hard-working patriot with a demonstrated commitment to public service. Jim Mowrer has earned the honor of representing Iowa as its 4th District congressman.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:19:20 +0000