When David Young officially entered the race for the U.S. Senate, he made sure that people knew he was his own man and not merely a clone of his former boss, Sen. Chuck Grassley. Having served as Grassley’s Chief of Staff for seven years, making that distinction was probably necessary, but there is little doubt that Young’s association with Grassley is what makes him a legitimate candidate to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin.
Young spoke to the Des Moines Conservative Breakfast meeting on Tuesday morning. Unlike in his initial interviews as he entered the race, Young now seems to have honed a message that he will use across the state. He also mentioned Grassley’s name no less than ten times during his 15-minute speech. Being your own man is one thing, but distancing yourself from one of the most popular and respected politicians in the state was never a good idea.
There was still plenty of background information included in Young’s speech. He talked about growing up in Van Meter a lot, and how his dream job had always been working for Grassley in Washington. Young also hit on common themes that regularly turn up in candidate speeches like, jobs, the economy, and the debt and deficit. He said that he favors a tax system that is flatter and fairer, although he admitted on WHO Radio that he wasn’t aware of the Fair Tax a couple of weeks ago.
Young wants permanent tax reform for individuals and corporations. He also pushed for a balanced budget amendment by reminding those in attendance that 49 of the 50 states have some sort of balanced budget mechanism with which they must comply. He then pointed out that Sen. Grassley is in line to be the chairman of the Judiciary Committee should Republicans gain control of the chamber after the 2014 election, which would have jurisdiction over a balanced budget amendment.
As a U.S. Senator, Young said that he would strive to be an “equal opportunity watchdog,” by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. Young stated that he learned first hand how to conduct oversight investigations from the master, Chuck Grassley.
Before concluding his remarks, Young said that we need to take an all-encompassing approach to stopping the implementation of Obamacare that includes repealing, slowing down, and defunding Obamacare. He then lamented the fact that he remembers when you could count government scandals on one hand, now it takes two. “In addition to a spending deficit, we also have a deficit of accountability and trust,” Young said. He mentioned fast and furious, the IRS scandal, the AP scandal, and Benghazi.
Young concluded his remarks by saying that Republicans can beat Bruce Braley in November of 2014. “Congressman Braley is beatable. He’s vulnerable. He’s not as well known, [or] as popular as folks think or even he thinks, even in his own district. He has a very liberal record that is out of step with everyday Iowans – even more liberal than Tom Harkin.”
For more information on Young’s campaign, go to YoungforIowa.com.
