Iowa’s three Democratic congressmen gave fiery speeches at their party’s fundraising banquet this past weekend.
Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo promised his fellow Democrats that he would defend his record against what he called an “avalanche” of attack ads financed by “secret donors.”
“In 2006, we gave them hope. In 2008, we gave them change and in 2010, we’re going to give ’em hell,” Braley said, to applause. “We’re just going to speak truth to lies and speak truth to fear and they’re going to think it’s hell when they’re listening to it.”
Congressman Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon mentioned the attack ad that’s targeting both he and Braley. Loebsack chose some specific music to make his point, with the stanza of the song ending with the words, “You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down,” as Loebsack came on stage.
“I wanted that Tom Petty song when I got up here. It’s about not backing down. We’re not going to back down, are we?” Loebsack said, as some in the crowd shouted, “No,” in response. “No way are we going to back down.”
Congressman Leonard Boswell of Des Moines also defended the record of President Obama and the Democratic-led congress.
“We cannot go back to where we was, what put us in the ditch,” Boswell said. “We’re getting out of it. We’ve taken a lot of risks to do it, but we’ve taken the courage to do it and we’re not going back. Is that right?” The crowd applauded.
The Democratic Party event was held in Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines and just as the program was set to begin Saturday night, warnings lights began flashing and the crowd was told to evacuate. The crowd was allowed back in the building about five minutes later. Iowa Democratic Party spokesman Sam Roecker told reporters it was a false alarm.
“Steam from a dishwasher in the kitchen was let off and it set off the sensors and we had to evacuate,” Roecker said. “Everything’s fine.”
Listen to this 14-minute-long mp3 of Saturday night’s speeches from Braley, Loebsack and Boswell: ThreeCongressmen