Tempest swirls around Braley after 'farmer' remark about Grassley

As U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley's "farmer" remark took on the label of political gaffe of the year, Iowa Democrats on Wednesday expressed dismay at the turn of events in a critical race, while Republicans seized on the chance to dig the knife deeper.

"With the words 'farmer from Iowa who never went to law school,' Braley instantly became a very big fish in a very small barrel," wrote Todd Dorman, a columnist for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, one of countless news organizations in Iowa and nationally that put a spotlight on Braley's caught-on-tape blunder.

But state Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, a lawyer who is chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, said he didn't think the tempest would hurt Braley at all.

"It was kind of a dumb thing to say," Hogg said. "You know what, in this business, we all say dumb things occasionally. He apologized for it, and I don't think it will be an issue."

The political forest fire began Tuesday, when GOP operatives released a videotape of Braley at a private Texas fundraiser criticizing the qualifications of Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa to be Judiciary Committee chairman because he's a farmer and lacks a law degree.

Braley, whose bid for retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's seat as recently as Monday was considered very likely to succeed, apologized Tuesday, about three hours after the story broke.

On Wednesday, his campaign countered growing criticism by noting that Braley grew up in rural Iowa, detasseling corn, baling hay, cleaning out grain bins and delivering feed. Aides outlined his work on the farm bill, renewable fuels and wind energy and his efforts to squash proposals unpopular with farmers. And they released quotes from half a dozen Iowa farmers praising Braley.

"There is no question in my mind that Bruce Braley is committed to fighting for Iowa's farmers," said a statement from Bruce Rohwer, a farmer from Paullina and a past president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. "I saw him work to help pass a farm bill that provides Iowa farmers with the certainty we need to succeed."

Republicans, seeing an opening to do damage to the Democrat who has been forecast to win Iowa's rare open Senate seat, unleashed a barrage of paid media highlighting Braley's video remarks.

The right-leaning Priorities for Iowa threw together a 30-second anti-Braley TV ad and put $250,000 behind it. It will run statewide on broadcast networks and cable and in Internet advertising for the next 10 days, according to the political organization's director, Sara Craig.

GOP operatives with the National Republican Senatorial Committee are launching robocalls in Iowa today to 305,000 households. They're targeting all voters, regardless of party affiliation or voting history, who either live in rural counties, have a farm occupation or have been identified as being interested in farm issues, strategists told The Des Moines Register.

Some of the five GOP U.S. Senate candidates are trying to raise cash off the controversy. Candidate Matt Whitaker's fundraising email told Iowans the video was "shocking" and "game-changing" and they had to watch it. Candidate Mark Jacobs did a 60-second radio commercial to tell Iowans how Braley "says one thing in private and says another in public."

Tweets with the hashtag #brucebraleyquotes contained fake quotes of Braley criticizing Nile Kinnick, Dan Gable and other Iowa icons.

National GOP Chairman Reince Priebus said on Simon Conway's show on WHO radio in Des Moines on Wednesday that Braley, a congressman since 2007, should apologize from the U.S. House floor, rather than hiding behind statements from his campaign.

Gov. Terry Branstad offered blistering criticism Wednesday, telling reporters at the Capitol: "I think that this is something that Iowans will not forget."

"I think it is awful. I think it is terrible, that somebody running for office in Iowa would go to Texas to raise money from trial lawyers and then put down our senior senator and the farmers of the state of Iowa," said Branstad, who recently had a fundraiser in Texas for his own campaign.

Branstad, who was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday meeting with Iowa's congressional delegation when the story broke, said his wife, Christine, happened to witness Braley catching Grassley in a hallway to apologize in person.

Some Democrats admitted they were stunned by Braley's judgment in this situation, but publicly came to his defense and downplayed the effect on his campaign.

"It was a very poor choice of words," state Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, told the Register. "I am sure that he feels bad about it. His apology reflects that."

Danielson said it's his experience that "voters think more broadly about how they are going to vote for a candidate than one issue."

Asked if Braley's comment was insulting to farmers, state Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, who grew up on a farm, answered: "I guess I don't look at it that way. Most farmers would say it would be more insulting to lawyers."

Several prominent Democrats did their best to avoid the topic, brushing off reporters who sought their insights on the matter. Democrat Staci Appel, a candidate for the Des Moines-area congressional seat, had brief answers for the Register. "I think he apologized, and it's over," she said.

Iowa and national pundits weighed in Wednesday.

"I doubt Braley, who apologized, really disdains farmers," Dorman wrote for the Gazette. "And I don't think it's all that surprising that he doesn't think Grassley will make a great Judiciary chair. But he deserves what he's getting. We can stand the smell of a lot of garbage in politics, but watching a candidate pander to a room full of donors, behind closed doors, saying things he would never say to the rest of us, is particularly galling."

Jonathan Chait, who writes for New York magazine, tweeted: "Bruce Braley must realize that his career in Iowa politics is finished."

Slate.com's John Dickerson labeled this "the gaffe of the year."

But Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post's "The Fix" wrote: "A recent Quinnipiac poll showed him up double digits over most ... GOP competitors. For the first time, the Democrat has stumbled — in a very sudden way. By the same token, the election is not until November, giving Braley ample time to try to put it behind him."

The target of Braley's remarks — Grassley — seemed to have no interest in fueling the fires. He told Iowa reporters on his weekly conference call Wednesday that he had nothing to say beyond what his spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"I don't want to say any more than that," he said.