United States Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) was among the 31 votes against invoking cloture yesterday on President Obama's nomination of Carlos Eduardo Mendoza, former Assistant City Attorney here in St. Augustine, Florida. Senator Grassley is a non-lawyer. Grassley is bigoted against Gays and Lesbians. He purports to champion whistleblowers. If the Republicans took the Senate, Grassley would likely chair the Judiciary Committee.
Currently on the Senate floor at 3 PM today, Senator Grassley is attacking the nomination of another Hispanic nominee, Mr. Leon Rodriguez, to be director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. Senator Grassley's complaints include the fact that Mr. Rodriguez was active in a Baltimore group that taught immigrants about their legal rights in the workplace.
Watching Senator Grassley rail against Mr. Rodriguez reminds me of the bigoted immigration official in Philadelphia who mocked by grandfather's Polish accent, causing him never to return to become a citizen.
Watching Senator Grassley rail against Mr. Rodriguez reminds me that most Iowans are good people, and deserve better in the Senate.
I just wish that former United States Attorney Roxanne Conlin had defeated Grassley when she ran -- she is an advocate for workers, not against them. Imagine a U.S. Senatorial whistleblower advocate being torqued that a lawyer would want to help workers and inform them of their legal rights.
How louche.
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