Former Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Director Dean Lerner authored a letter to the editor of the Des Moines Register today and urged Democrats to “vote anyone but Judge” in the primary.
Reading the Register’s reporting on the Washington establishment’s endorsement of Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to run against Sen. Charles Grassley…says a lot about the establishment, and it isn’t good…Democrats should have already had their fill of Judge’s big ag, anti-environment, DeCoster-friendly positions. And, if that isn’t enough, Iowa’s seniors need to also know that Judge sided with the nursing home industry in eroding residents’ protections when I served in the Chet Culver administration as director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Must be that special interests get the better of her. When the Democratic primary rolls around, vote anyone but Judge.
The harsh criticism is yet another red flag for the viability of the Judge campaign. Just days ago, the Register noted that Iowa Democrats considered Judge’s entrance into the primary race against grassroots favorite State Sen. Rob Hogg a “heavy-handed and unwelcome intervention from Washington.”
The sharp attack from a member of Judge’s own administration is the surest sign yet that her candidacy was conceived, planned, and executed by Washington insiders who are determined to strong-arm Judge through a primary – against an opponent who has collected endorsements from nearly every Democrat in the state legislature.
How many more times will Judge complete the Full Patty before Iowa Democrats – you know, people who actually vote – send her packing?