On Tuesday, the DCCC announced that it was adding Becky Greenwald (IA-4) to its Red to Blue program. The Red to Blue program was created to provide financial and logistical support for Democrats in competitive races for Republican-held seats.
In their first of two radio debates last Monday, Greenwald attacked Latham for his blind loyalty to President Bush, citing the Washington Post’s finding that Latham had voted with the president 94% of the time.
In their second radio debate last Friday, Greenwald criticized Rep. Latham for his undivided support of President Bush’s war in Iraq and called for a change in foreign policy goals:
“My policy would be to start an orderly withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The threat is in Afghanistan. We need to redirect our resources to where they are needed.”
After hearing Becky Greenwald and Tom Latham go head-to-head, here is what Chase Martyn of The Iowa Independent had to say:
I haven’t seen any poll numbers, but after listening to Monday night’s WHO radio debate between Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Latham and Democratic challenger Becky Greenwald, the 4th district congressional race sure feels close.
But Latham revealed his level of anxiety by going on the offense early and often, attacking Greenwald on taxes, health care, immigration and partisanship. Rather than remain above the fray, Latham engaged his opponent as an equal.
That’s not something incumbents usually do if they have a comfortable lead.
SNIP
Greenwald wins on points, largely because the policies she’s selling are more popular with voters than her opponent’s are these days.
But the bigger story is that it even came to this. Latham and Greenwald engaged each other and debated as relative equals. We might just have a real race on our hands.
If the debate didn’t make Tom Latham nervous, the 3rd quarter financial reports certainly will. From July 1st to September 30th, Becky Greenwald raised more money that her opponent, a seven-term incumbent. Despite his connections and the power of incumbency, Tom Lathan managed to raise only $290,815 for his re-election bid why the Greenwald campaign collected $308,452.
With the momentum shifting against the Republican Party up and down the ticket, with Becky now receiving support from the DCCC and Emily’s List, with Tom Latham on defense over his blind support of President Bush and his refusal to address issues important to Iowans, such as education, the economy, and health care, is it any wonder that he is afraid to face Becky Greenwald in a televised debate?
Tom Latham. The more you learn, the scarier he becomes.
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