February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / March / Archives for 22nd

Possible Grassley opponent emerges

March 22, 2009 By

A Democrat who grew up in northwest Iowa and has retired to southeast Iowa hopes to run against Republican Senator Chuck Grassley in 2010. Fifty-nine-year-old Bob Krause grew up near the small northwest Iowa town of Fenton; he now lives in Fairfield.

"Senator Grassley has served honorably and has done a lot of good for the nation and the state over the last 51 years," Krause says. "…It’s time for a different perspective."

Grassley was elected to the Iowa House in 1958. In 1974, Grassley was elected to the U.S. House and he’s been a United States senator since 1981. Krause suggests that’s long enough. "It’s time for a change," he says.

Krause was elected to the Iowa legislature when he was 22 years old and served six years representing his hometown area before running unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 1978. Krause has worked behind the scenes on campaigns dating back to 1970 and he worked in the Carter Administration as a regional official for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Krause admits he’s "bounced around" the country, trying his hand at a small business, before signing on as an Iowa State University professor. "Ultimately, I wound up with the Iowa D.O.T. and I was there for a number of years until I retired in 2008," Krause says.

He’s written a few books and worked as a consultant in this country and overseas for a wide array of clients, including defense contractors. "I tried to go out and do the things that other people in the world do," Krause says. "I went out, tried to make a living, tried to be creative with my life, tried to give service in different areas."

Krause, who retired after 28 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, is a member of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee and he’s chairman of the Iowa Democratic Veterans’ Caucus. Krause has scheduled an event at the Fort Des Moines Historical Museum on Saturday at 12:15 to announce he’s formed an "exploratory committee" for a U.S. Senate campaign.

Senator Grassley has made it clear he intends to seek reelection in 2010. Grassley won his last reelection campaign in 2004 with 70 percent of the vote.

Filed Under: Military, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Grassley: taxing bonuses may be best option

March 22, 2009 By

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says the "best leverage" congress may have to recoup Wall Street bonuses at businesses that received taxpayer bailout money may be to tax the bonuses.

The U.S. House has passed bill a that would impose a 90 percent federal tax on bonuses paid to executives at AIG, a company which received federal bailout money. "I have to do what I can do and it looks to me like congress’s best leverage is taxes," Grassley said Sunday morning during an appearance on the CBS News program, "Face the Nation."

Grassley’s first comments on the program recast remarks he made last week that drew national attention for his references to suicide and — to clean up the reference a bit — the breast of the American taxpayers. According to Grassley, Iowans are "outraged" by what’s happened at AIG and other Wall Street companies.

"They just don’t understand how people that make $20 million a year can drive a corporation into the ground, go suck off the taxpayers for bailouts and then give out millions (of) dollars in bonuses. We believe ought to be compensated right, but there’s a whole different ethic when you have the taxpayers bail you out," Grassley said. "There ought to be respect for middle class taxpayers. There ought to be respect for the face that you made a mistake. We ought to hear some apology. We ought to hear remose. We ought to hear contrition. I haven’t heard any of that."

Grassley questioned the business decisions made by some of the firms which have received bailout bucks from the federal government. "We put billions (of) dollars into Wall Street and they loaned money — $8 billion — to Dubai," Grassley said. "You know, the peole of the Midwest just don’t understand how you can run a business that way and expect the taxpayers to keep you going."

Grassley, who appeared on the show via satellite from Cedar Falls, expressed doubt the House bill that would tax AIG bonuses will come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate anytime soon, as senators may be presented an alternative plan to deal with the bonuses.

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,