I applaud the Des Moines Register’s editorial of November 9 criticizing Sen. Charles Grassley for his hypocrisy last week. It’s too bad the Register didn’t notice this before the general election. On November 4 Grassley responded to an Associated Press story about AARP’s health coverage for employees by criticizing AARP’s support of the recent partisan health care legislation because it “cut Medicare by almost $500 billion…Despite their employer’s support, AARP employees are learning that the health care law is not going to address the top priority of making health care coverage less expensive.”
The Register rightly observed that, before the health reform act was passed, Grassley had applauded the concept of taxing high-cost health plans because their “Cadillac” coverage encourages people to overuse health services, driving up total health spending. Now that health insurance reform is the law of the land and Grassley and Company are sworn to make Mr. Obama a one-term president, Grassley has completely reversed course in order to find grounds upon which to criticize the law.
Sen. Grassley’s lack of integrity was just as blatant during the debate over the new law when he professed to pursuing bi-partisan cooperation with Sen. Max Baucus, all the while speaking out of the other side of his mouth with such antics as repeatedly telling crowds of Iowans that he opposed “pulling the plug on Grandma.” For weeks he conveniently (for him) omitted noting that no such a provision had ever been proposed.
Following the general election of 2008, Sen. Grassley abandoned the integrity for which he had become famous over several decades, and that is why I did not vote for him this year. I wish the Register had paid closer attention before it endorsed his reelection. It was a mistake.
