Congressman Leonard Boswell is defending an Iowa company criticized by a fellow Democrat for “outsourcing” jobs to Mexico.
Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa City is running an ad that references Republican challenger John Archer’s work as a lawyer “for the global division” of a company that’s not named in the ad, but it’s John Deere, where Archer has worked for the past 12 years. During a news conference in Des Moines early this afternoon, Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was asked about the ad and if John Deere should be considered a good corporate citizen.
“I haven’t seen the ad and it’s not something I’m in a position to comment on,” she told reporters.
But Boswell, who was at the same news conference, voluntarily chimed in with a defense of John Deere.
“Well, I haven’t seen the ad, but I think that John Deere is a good thing for Iowa and the country, so I’ll just answer that,” Boswell said. “I happen to have some green equipment at my farm.”
After a career in the military, Boswell took up farming in southern Iowa, near Davis City.
Congressman Loebsack’s ad also blasts Republican rival Archer for having “personal investments” in manufacturing companies in Asia, saying Archer is “part of the problem” when it comes to outsourcing. Archer is running an ad that accuses Loebsack of “beating up on a good company like John Deere.”