Why Won’t Vilsack Give Iowa Families the Answers They Deserve?

Good Morning,

Wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this must-read column from Stu Rothenberg, one of the top non-partisan political columnists in the nation, where he discusses his “frustrating” interview with Christie Vilsack. Of course this is just the latest example of Vilsack’s refusal to tell Iowa families her real stance on the key issues. During her listening tour, Vilsack asked constituents to answer their own questions, declined to give specific policy stances, said her priorities “aren’t important” followed by saying she has “a lot to learn.”

Why won’t Vilsack answer these basic questions? What is she hiding from? Don’t voters deserve to know the truth?

• Rothenberg Said He Found A Candidate Who “Would Not Take A Position On Whether She Would Have Supported The Obama Healthcare Bill; The Colombia, South Korea And Panama Free-Trade Agreements; Or Raising The Debt Ceiling.” “Naturally, I was excited to meet Vilsack, given her reputation. I found a candidate who is serious, measured in her responses and on message. I also found a candidate who would not take a position on whether she would have supported the Obama health care bill; the Colombia, South Korea and Panama free-trade agreements; or raising the debt ceiling.” (Roll Call, 10/27/2011)
• Vilsack Said She Is Not In Congress So She Doesn’t Have To Say How She Would Vote, Even Refused To Say If She Would Have Supported The Civil Rights Act! “Her response each time was that she wasn’t in Congress so she didn’t have to decide how to vote. (In frustration, I jokingly asked her about the 1964 Civil Rights Act and received the same sort of response.)” (Roll Call, 10/27/2011)
• Rothenberg Says Vilsack’s Behavior Screams That She Is A Liberal, But Doesn’t Want Voters To Know. “[W]hat I got was a classic rope-a-dope strategy on big, ideological issues — the kind of issues that people often use to characterize candidates. To me, that screamed out, ‘I’m a liberal, but I don’t want voters to know it, so I’ll couch everything in local and noncontroversial terms.’ We’ll see whether voters have that same reaction.” (Roll Call, 10/27/2011)

Please consider this comment from the NRCC as you cover Vilsack’s refusal to take positions on key issues.

NRCC COMMENT: “Why won’t Christie Vilsack come clean with Iowa middle-class families about her big-government, big-spending liberal priorities? While Vilsack continues to hide from her liberal self, Iowa voters deserve a serious Representative who will give substantive answers to voters’ questions.” – NRCC Spokeswoman Andrea Bozek