Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was pummeled today with negative press over his refusal to hold hearings for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. The Senator is in the middle of meeting with constituents in Iowa, but it turns out they are not pleased with him.
Dave Damstrom of Spencer Iowa was quoted by Omaha.Com saying to Senator Grassley,  “Excuse me, Senator, but it seems to me like there’s so much crap in the political system, and I expect you to be a leader and not part of this. I’m just getting sick of this stuff. Just do your job, and let politics be what it is.â€
Oh, just do your job, eh?
This line of accurate attack seems to irritate Grassley, who as a very safe Republican (until now) is not used to having his narratives challenged:
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Grassley notes his lengthy consecutive voting record, long hours when he's in D.C. "When somebody says I’m not doing my job, I resent it."
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) March 29, 2016
But the Democrats are collecting press clippings and not shy about sharing them. Today the Senate Democrats sent out a round of absolute ugliness on Sen. Grassley. They say he “went to the most conservative parts of Iowa yesterday in areas where Mitt Romney won 3 in 4 voters. He found Iowans critical of his pledge not to hold hearings  – and seven negative front pages.”
To wit, the included the following clips along with the front page bashings:
 Des Moines Register: In Iowa, Grassley takes flak for court stance
Even in this most conservative corner of Iowa, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday faced tough and repeated questions over his refusal to hold hearings on a nominee to the Supreme Court. Crowds at two town hall meetings here Monday afternoon returned again and again to Grassley’s decision as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee not to consider the nomination of Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland to the high court. “It’s not fair for this man not to get a hearing,†said Randy Waagmeester, a Rock Rapids attorney who attended the town hall here. “It’s not right for this country to be short-staffed on the Supreme Court.†Others objected that blocking the nomination elevated politics over functional government, continued a worrisome politicization of the courts and could even hurt Republicans’ reputations.
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Omaha World-Herald/AP: Amid Supreme Court battle, Grassley met with ire at town hall
If Sen. Chuck Grassley thought he could escape the pressure over President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination by traveling to friendly conservative territory, the trip offered little relief.
The powerful Iowa Republican, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, arrived Monday at a town hall meeting in a Republican-dominated county, only to find that the debate had followed him. The discussion at a senior center was dominated by his refusal to hold confirmation hearings.
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Worthington Daily Globe: Grassley against hearing for Supreme Court nominee
Grassley said rather than supporting a hearing for Garland he’d rather focus efforts on something more “fruitful†since Congress would likely not approve him with a Republican majority. “In other words, you’re stalling,†a woman in the crowd replied.
http://www.dglobe.com/news/
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KCAUTV: Senator Grassley held multiple town hall meetings across Iowa for residents to ask him questions
Iowa Senator and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, was certainly under fire from residents at the Rock Rapids town hall, but the Senator made one thing clear, he will not be swayed away from his decision to not hold a hearing for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee of Judge Merrick Garland.
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Ames Tribune (Op-Ed): Bill Haglund: C’mon, Sen. Grassley, give Garland a vote
It’s almost as if Republicans are playing Russian Roulette in a political game in which the gun is loaded against them. … Grassley has served Iowa with distinction for many, many years. I don’t think this is the way Iowans want to remember what he did over his last few years.Â
http://amestrib.com/opinion/
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Politico: Supreme Court vise closes on Grassley
As the national battle rages over whether to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia this year, no one is under heavier scrutiny or facing more pressure back home than Grassley, a one-time farmer and sheet metal worker who was first sworn in to the Senate the same month that Ronald Reagan became president.
http://www.politico.com/story/
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Huffington Post: Chuck Grassley Is Keeping Details Of His Iowa Events Secret To Avoid Protesters
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he will be going around speaking with constituents at more than a dozen events in his home state during the Senate’s two-week spring recess. But most of the public will have no idea how to find him, because his office is keeping the details of those events secret to avoid protesters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor: To Grassley: Step aside until after election
Following the direction of the Republican’s logic, I politely ask you to step aside as chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee until the elections take place.
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Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor: Grassley’s letter makes reader chuckle
What brought the guffaws was the senator’s closing sentence: “To solve problems, we need to hear each other out, not shut each other down.” Unless, of course, the issue is the appointment of a United States Supreme Court justice.
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Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor:Â We don’t have a parliamentary government
All senators take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Unfortunately both of Iowa’s senators appear to have reneged on their oath and opted instead to put partisan politics ahead of the Constitution.
When was the last time the mainstream press really called Republicans out on their obstruction? The Beltway rule of “both sides do it” imputing some kind of special intelligence upon the reporter of said false narrative has poisoned the fourth estate for a long time. But Republicans seem to have played this card one too many times and the press isn’t buying it with their refusal to give hearings and confirm President Obama’s SCOTUS nominee.
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