Republican Governor Terry Branstad and the chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party share the same opinion about the tactics of a group known for its opposition to large-scale livestock operations.
Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Sue Dvorsky issued a statement last week suggesting recent protests by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement indicate the group’s more interested in capturing headlines than in getting results. Branstad says he doesn’t agree with the tactics the group uses to try to take over town hall meetings.
“We’ve done a lot of town hall meetings. We’re going to continue to do town hall meetings. We won’t be intimidated by anybody,” Branstad says. “But I think that the chair of the Democratic Party was right to say that these kind of tactics are counterproductive and I think they really reflect on the individuals that are involved in it.”
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement leaders say allegations that group members were confrontational and disruptive at Senator Grassley’s recent town hall meeting in Carroll are “baseless.” Members of the group also staged a well-publicized confrontation with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Iowa State Fair. One Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement member described her owb group at the Fair as the “loud, noisy question-askers.”