Turnouts small, but Conlin is listening
There were 10 people at Roxanne Conlin's campaign stop in Algona on Saturday. Nine showed up to hear her in Dakota City.
That's not an overwhelming turnout for the candidate who Sen. Tom Harkin recently called the likely Democratic nominee to challenge Republican Sen. Charles Grassley. Conlin, for all of her statewide political experience, personal wealth and national fundraising base, is still starting at the ground level on the campaign trail.
By the end of the weekend, she had notched 60 counties on her statewide tour of Iowa - telling her story and - perhaps just as important - listening to voters tell theirs.
She's poised and polished on the stump, but that shouldn't surprise anyone who has followed her career as a nationally known trial lawyer. At least a few of the people who met her last weekend didn't know about that, though, and Conlin is adeptly working to counter any negative impressions based on her profession.
For example, she's courteous. Conlin arrives on time, nearly always. Being late, she says, is rude, and she pushes herself and her staff to stay on schedule. She told voters in Algona and Dakota City that she hadn't been late to a campaign event yet. Her staff told me Monday she had forgotten about a 15-minute lapse in Decatur County. Still, working to be on time shows consideration for the people there to hear her.
She mentions her late mother frequently, and, on the cover of her campaign brochure, features a picture of her mother cuddling a baby Roxanne. She even weaves a mention of dear old Mom into her pitch for donations.
She opens her remarks by disclosing a personal weakness: She has some permanent hearing loss from a childhood ear infection. She said her family had no money or health insurance at the time. Many Iowans with more serious problems are in the same situation, she says.
The story introduces Conlin's hardscrabble childhood and remarkable climb to financial success, while tying in health care as the main issue motivating her to run.
The other thing this story does is encourage voters to tell her their own troubles and concerns. Conlin doesn't merely open the floor for questions at these small-group gatherings - she calls on each person individually. She listens and comments, but doesn't offer a government solution to every problem.
To a woman who talked about getting fired after 20 years on the job, Conlin noted that employers can fire anyone for any reason: "Unfair things happen. Not everything that's unfair is illegal, nor should it be."
Conlin attacks Grassley, but keeps it issue-based. She draws contrasts with him on health care, tax policy and campaign finance. One man told a campaign staffer that Conlin needs to be "tougher," and savage Grassley. Conlin's restraint is wise, considering the people she's approaching have likely voted for Grassley a time or two.
Conlin doesn't mention that she's in a primary against two Democratic opponents - Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause. Nobody brings it up.
Grassley, who has visited all 99 counties every year he's been in office, will be nearly impossible to beat in rural Iowa. I was skeptical that it would be worth Conlin's time to doggedly work her way through county after county rather than pushing her potential advantage in urban areas. After seeing her on the stump, I've changed my mind.
It might be a waste if Conlin were just telling the same stories over again and checking the counties off her list. But time listening to voters is never wasted. It will make Conlin a better candidate and - if she gets the chance - a much better senator.
Political columnist Kathie Obradovich can be reached at (515) 284-8126 or kobradov@dmreg.com. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/kobradovich. For more Obradovich columns, blogs and tweets, visit www.dmregister.com/Obradovich.
Source: Des Moines Register
