Iowa’s top elected republican, Senator Charles Grassley, says the first day of the Democratic National Convention had a “decided turn of atmosphere” with democrats avoiding lashing out at President Bush.He says they’re trying to make Kerry look mainstream, despite the National Journal’s rank of Kerry the most liberal of the 100 senators. Grassley says the attempt will not fool those in the midwest. “Massachusetts liberals do not fit in the midwest very well” in Iowa. Grassley is calling on Kerry and running mate, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, to return to Washington and vote on the energy policy that would boost ethanol to back up the claims they’ve made campaigning in Iowa that they support ethanol. He says “they’ve never voted for ethanol in their life.” Grassley says they also say they’re for a national energy policy, but says they’re members of a party that has defeated a national energy policy on a democrat filibuster. Grassley says if Kerry and Edwards are going to vote on what they tell Iowans they support, then they need to come back and vote to end the democrat filibuster. Grassley says Kerry and Edward’s two votes would give the Senate the 60 votes it needs to overcome the filibuster.
