Charles Grassley gets his ASS KICKED at a town hall over his gun inaction

[bullwinkle428]

Link to tweet

"You are risking their lives,” one woman said to Grassley about her family members who are teachers.

Grassley said he’s waiting on the Cornyn/Murphy negotiations on new gun safety legislation to see how they turn out

Grassley then added: “By the way, you’re talking to somebody that doesn’t know much about guns because I haven’t shot a gun in probably 20, 40 or 50 years … So you aren’t talking to someone who loves guns, I don’t hate guns, but I do protect people’s constitutional rights”

Asked about banning AR-15s, Grassley noted that there’s already millions out there

“The answer is not to do nothing!” one woman replied

Grassley then said it probably wouldn’t get 60 votes anyway

“Quit filibustering it then!” another person said

"Would you take the endorsement of the devil if he had a 95% approval rating?” one man asked Grassley, in reference to Grassley saying he accepted Trump’s endorsement because of Trump’s approval rating among Iowa Republicans

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Naw, I think he is waiting to drop of natural causes on the Senate floor.

[Ocelot II]

4. Any time now, would be fine with me.

[Warpy]

12. The Senate is a great place to get rich

and most of those old boys will only leave feet first if the voters don't catch a clue and throw them out on their backsides first.

[patphil]

2. I don't hate guns, but I do protect people's constitutional rights

Code words for, "I won't be taking any action to restrict access to guns. You are going to have to live with the body count".

[calimary]

21. Well then, let's start using YOUR talking point here, patphil

“I won't be taking any action to restrict access to guns. You are going to have to live with the body count".

“So you’re saying you ‘won't be taking any action to restrict access to guns. You are going to have to live with the body count’. THAT’S what you’re saying, Senator.

Protest all you want to, Senator.

Object all you want to, Senator.

Deny it all you want to, Senator.

But THAT’S what you’re saying. And THAT’S what you’re telling America, Senator. Too bad if one ☝️ f us and a bunch of other innocent people have to be massacred, at least your previous guns will be safe, RIGHT, SENATOR?”

[progressoid]

31. But never mind "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

[wryter2000]

3. This has to happen a lot

They need to feel they're in danger of losing their next election if they don't do the right thing.

[wnylib]

8. THIS!!! That is exactly what we need to make them feel.

When it becomes too politically risky to support gun rights over human life, they will finally do something and only then.

So stand up to them, loudly and clearly everywhere, all the time.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

41. I agree with you.

Kudos to these good folks for holding Grassley's feet to the fire and not letting up as he offered the standard B.S. excuses.

As mentioned above, they need to realize this stance is becoming unpopular and could lead to their not getting re-elected which is all they REALLY care about.

[OrangeJoe]

55. Absolutely

As the former state director for a United State Senator I assure you members of Congress hate it when a crowd of constituents gets in their face and shows disapproval. Most of the members actually are smart people (ok a couple of exceptions, especially in the past decade) but they all share the trait of wanting approval.

On certain issues they know a segment of their constituents aren't going to agree with them and they don't lose too much sleep, i.e. if you are firmly pro-choice or anti-choice for that matter, you know at least 1/3 of the population in your state/district will oppose you and it doesn't really matter. But the gun debate, in which the vast majority in every state and most districts definitely want something done, is a prime example of "the folks back home" actually having a lot of power to move the needle if they are consistently insistent that the member DO SOMETHING!

My guess is that the R's have seen the polling and know that it could actually snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in the midterms. So look for some reform and major declarations of victory coming in the next month.

[ck4829]

50. It does

[Raven123]

5. Pleading ignorance alone should get him booted out of office, but it won't

[UTUSN]

6. Like he/they listen to the people they're supposed to represent.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

42. They'll listen if more people act like this

and keep getting in their faces about it. They need to feel vulnerable at the polls.

[Joinfortmill]

7. Vote him out.

[wnylib]

9. Theme phrase for this year's elections.

Save lives. Vote them out.

[3Hotdogs]

34. + 1

Psychologically, a "negative" directive is likely to be forgotten or ignored. But in politics, it s easier to get people to vote "against" something by getting them angry.

Guns

Abortion

These topics are getting people angry.

Lets use it.

[flying_wahini]

43. I will carry a sign that says this! The March For Your Lives is on June 11.

[towerbum]

10. chuckles Grassley!

ol' chuckle's should have been put out to pasture 20 damn yrs ago ! more worried about endorsements than abortion right's & keeping in good standing with the republican taliban party ! need's be call'd up to testify in front of the j-6 committee! nothing special about ol' chuckle's ! plus , he don't want to piss off covid Kim anytime soon ! we all know ckuckle's is for America as long he do nothing & get pay'd for it ! buzzard bait need's to to go & that's my final answer!

[ShazzieB]

19. He's 88 years old.

Definitely well past his "best used by" date!

[towerbum]

25. had to clean my screen on that on!

[Samrob]

11. We (Democrats and gun safety advocates) have to make them (legislators at all levels) FEAR US

more than their own base.

[DFW]

13. He is almost 90. Is he waiting for the return of the Great Pumpkin?

Republicans have been stalling on gun control for many decades. Maybe he thinks he will bequeath the issue to his heirs before he has to take a stand.

[progressoid]

32. Well...

One of the theories is that he hopes to win again, work for a while - maybe a year or so - then retire so the IA Repub Gov will appoint his grandson or some other lackey.

[hatrack]

14. 1,830 residents, per 2020 Census data (Wikipedia)

It would appear that Chuckles thought the smaller the town, the Trumpier the voters' responses.

He thought wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Junction,_Iowa

[JustAnotherGen]

15. Those people will turn right around

And vote for him again.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Good!

This is what we did in 2018. Ambush them at their Town Halls, call them out, and demand they answer to their electorate, NOT the lobbyists.

[BadgerMom]

17. Yes!

I’m done with the “Oh, even with this, we’re gonna lose” attitude. We can do it! This is the stuff that can get it done. Good job, Iowa! Keep it rolling!

[ck4829]

49. Yep

[geardaddy]

18. 20, 40, or 50 years?

Which is it Chucky boy?

[bahboo]

20. fucking coward...

[barbtries]

22. i watched part of a video.

he is weak as fuck on this. and everything! because he's a republican.

Why people can't grasp that it's republicans doing all this damage just frustrates me no end. My new mission in life and practically everything i post on fb or twitter is smashing republicans. the fucking news won't do it. they keep acting as if reason exists within the republican party, as if there are honest and caring people in the republican party, as if any republican values democracy. no, no, no - they do not.

i live in the south. here, people switched to Democrat when Lincoln freed the slaves. they had no issue switching to republican when Johnson passed the CRA. SO why the fuck are they so resistant to switching again? their kids are dying too. but - and i'm thinking of a couple friends - they just cannot seem to grasp that it is republicans fucking everything up. taking away abortion rights, fucking with elections and voting, all of that. it's as if they don't want to believe it, so they just don't.

/rant off

[ZonkerHarris]

23. The GOP natives are restless.

[marieo1]

24. Disgusting piece of humanity

He is and always has been a worthless piece of S...

[IcyPeas]

26. Grassley insisted he was waiting

Yeah, he is waiting for the news cycle to move on...

[LeftinOH]

27. Fun fact: Grassley graduated from high school when Truman was President.

[Omaha Steve]

28. umm

[progressoid]

30. Raygun is fantastic!

We have a few of their products.

[msfiddlestix]

29. Not hard enough apparenly.

[Blue Owl]

33. K&R for exposure

[LaMouffette]

35. You can bet that this will be the LAST town hall Grassley ever does. Steve Daines here in Montana

hasn't held a town hall in years. I haven't heard his cheerful voice messages on our phone announcing his priceless "tele-town-halls" for a long time, either. He and all Republicans in Congress are terrified of meeting face to face with their constituents—unless they're Repubes, of course.

[rurallib]

39. I doubt that. One of Grassley's bragging points is

that he appears in every county every year. A good portion of this will be town halls. Many such town hall are in 'communities' of less than a thousand where he is usually treated like a Hollywood movie star. So there will be more Grassley town halls.

For that community, that was really harsh treatment.

After he blocked Merrick Garland's nomination he dropped his mike and walked out of the room after I asked him a question. He has been treated rougher before.

What he won't do is have an open meeting in Iowa City, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo or other cities of any size. Neither will Joni Ernst.

[LaMouffette]

45. Right out of the Republican playbook! Cherry picking the locales for his town halls and then

not mentioning the fact during his brag sessions that all the citizens in attendance were Republicans.

Republicans are the masters of the half-truth, more like the 1/1,000th of the truth.

I'm from Iowa originally and had always considered my home state to be fair-minded and intelligent and able to see through bull-shittery. Seems like over the years, there are just pockets of those enlightened Iowans remaining, in the larger cities that you list in your post.

[rurallib]

52. I used to get notifications of town halls and appearances of all congress members

in my area. Haven't had a notification since I don't know when. I am guessing since Trump.

Last I got a notification from Ernst she was in Cedar Rapids. Boy was that ever a rough 90 minutes for her. I don't believe she has been in a town over 5,000 since. When she or Grassley go to towns over 5,000 it is always with the local Chamber of Commerce.

CJ has a population of @ 2,000 - so maybe their hideaways are no longer safe.

[LaMouffette]

53. I hope something happens to restore Iowans to the good sense they seemed to possess

when I was growing up there.

I blame it on the right-wing media propaganda machine. Many people on the right are just not critical thinkers, to put it nicely. They are very susceptible to the lies coming from Fox News et al.

But I think it is a very good sign that Grassley had his ass handed to him in that small town. There is hope!

[mjvpi]

44. Daines is the poster boy for the current Republicans.

He went to Russia on the 4th of July.
He was all set to vote against accepting the Electoral College votes. Obviously a part of the plot. He chickened out after he realized it failed.
He, more than in any other race, only won re-election on Trumps coat tails.
He has done absolutely nothing but go along with the Republicans.
I take that back, I know there was one vote that I had assumed he made badly but I was corrected by his staff when I called to complain, which I do on a regular basis. He no longer returns any of my inquiries.

[LaMouffette]

46. Daines is like the one player each season on "Survivor" who does nothing but ride the coattails of

the other contestants. That person votes whichever way they are told to vote. They don't win immunity challenges. They don't make big moves. They don't do squat. They just keep a low profile and try not to draw any attention to themselves that could make them become a target. Daines, same thing.

Daines has done a lot have things that SHOULD have made him a target, which you have listed. But he and the other Republicans in the state feel all cozy and secure in the knowledge that Montana's Republican voters don't give a shit who they're voting for, just as long as that person is a Republican. I hope and pray that Zinke loses his primary bid next week or he WILL be our next representative, almost guaranteed (*shudder!*).

[BlueJac]

36. A pathetic example of a Senator...

They keep taking the minority side on all issues!

[2naSalit]

37. I think I will start telling these assholes...

Whether an elected officeholder or civilian on the street, that if they support doing nothing then the next time there's a school shooting, I hope they're one of the victims.

I'm done with this shit. I have no compunction to nice about it anymore, with anyone.

[rurallib]

38. Having been to some Grassley town halls in that community

I can tell you that the locals usually bow before Grassley as if he were a god. That is amazingly harsh treatment for him! Makes me think he is in real trouble in Iowa. (but I am an optimist).

A big thanks for posting this!

[BidenRocks]

40. Asked about banning AR-15s, Grassley noted that there's already millions out there

A journey of a thousand, (million), miles starts with the first step! – Lao Tzu.

Cut the crap Chucky!

[ck4829]

47. Yep, gotta start somewhere

[LaMouffette]

51. So there are millions out there. Fine! Make it also illegal to make ammunition for AR-15s.

Then the gun "collectors" can still put their grandfathered-in babies in a gun case and pull them out to admire them from time to time. But they won't be able to slaughter second graders anymore.

[ck4829]

48. K&R

[Midnight Writer]

54. Waiting for the Cornyn/Murphy negotiations is a figleaf to get Republicans through the next election

I'm sure they have all been instructed to say they are "doing something" about gun violence and point to the Cornyn/Murphy "negotiation".