Iowa Dems: McCain's Pick panders to right wing

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By Fred Love | Saturday, August 30, 2008 1:11 AM CDT | () comments

DES MOINES — Republican state lawmakers reacted favorably Friday to presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s decision to tap Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Iowa Democrats, however, took aim at McCain’s decision as an example of pandering to his party’s right wing and criticized Palin for what they called a lack of experience.

Rep. Linda Miller, R-Bettendorf, said U.S. Sen. McCain’s decision to put Palin on the ticket came as a welcome surprise. She said Palin brings the perspective of a woman and mother to the ticket, adding that it will appeal to voters who have children.

“She’s always been a family person, and I think that plays well to anybody that has kids and is in a family and knows what a struggle it is to get by day to day,” she said.

Miller said McCain’s decision to put Palin on the ticket marks a historic moment in American politics because it is the first time for the Republican ticket to include a woman.

“This is truly a remarkable, and I’m thrilled,” she said.

Rep. Tami Wiencek, R-Waterloo, said Palin will attract voters looking for a change of pace from status quo Washington politics.

“She’s the chief executive officer of a state, and she’s a fresh face in Washington,” Wiencek said. “That’s what the electorate says it wants.”

Palin also can offer the ticket expertise on energy issues and oil as the governor of Alaska, she said.

Rep. Jamie Van Fossen, R-Davenport, said Palin will strengthen the Republican ticket by appealing to female voters, and she may help McCain tap into former supporters of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York who are still bitter that their candidate did not win the Democratic nomination.

Van Fossen predicted that critics will argue Palin lacks the experience necessary to be vice president, but he said she will bring a fresh perspective to the ticket and executive experience in a race that had centered on legislators.

“Having all these senators running kind of makes me nervous,” he said.

Iowa Democrats seized on what they called Palin’s lack of experience.

Palin was elected Alaska’s governor in 2006.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, said McCain’s decision indicates that he is pandering to the party’s conservative base. And he said Palin’s pro-life record will keep Clinton supporters from considering McCain.

“I suspect that some in the McCain camp believe that this will be an appropriate effort to extend an invitation to former Hillary Clinton supporters to join the McCain camp,” Vilsack said. “I would suggest to you that it’s an insult to the Clinton supporters.”

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said McCain’s pick negates any chance the senator from Arizona had of painting the Democratic nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, as inexperienced.

“All of those arguments seem to me to go completely out the window,” Gronstal added.

Fred Love can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or fred.love@lee.net. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.