Sioux City Journal - Campbell Critical of King's legislative Record

News Article

By Bret Hayworth

The Journal editorial board heard from the second Iowa 5th District congressional candidate from the two major political parties yesterday, when Democrat Matt Campbell of Manning talked issues and politics for an hour. Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King, a four-term Republican from Kiron, spoke with the edit board earlier this month. (There's a third 5th District candidate, Martin James Monroe of Sioux City, who was nominated by petition.)

The Journal will run endorsements in the major 2010 races over the next few weeks for consumption by Siouxlanders as they ponder voting. The endorsements will be determined by the three-person edit board.

Here are some nuggets from the Campbell talk, as written by reporter Dolly Butz (in my absence):

SIOUX CITY -- Matt Campbell, the Democrat vying for Republican Steve King's U.S. House seat in November, said he thinks his opponent leans too far to the right and doesn't represent the views of voters in Iowa's 5th District.

"I think I have more in common with most of the voters in the district than its current representative… I think our current representative is in the far, far right and doesn't represent the middle class, the bulk of voters in this district any longer," Campbell said of King, who has refused to publicly debate him.

… Campbell said King's "polarizing" tone needs to change. He noted that the congressman has had only one bill enacted as a resolution and one bill enacted into law during his nearly eight years in office.

"His style of leadership is to ride the headlines on different issues but not to really deeply immerse himself in productive legislative policy," he said. "I think he could've been a lot more active in the district."

If elected, Campbell said he would fight for the middle class and focus on job growth. He said he would appoint two liaisons in his office to help distribute information about economic development to community leaders throughout the 5th District and assist them with wind energy projects.

… Campbell said he sees himself as "strong" on national security policy. He noted that he supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but believes a troop drawdown is needed in Afghanistan to help protect the United States' southern border.

While King advocates building a wall between the United States and Mexico, Campbell supports drone aircraft patrolling and securing the border with the help of the National Guard. He proposes implementing an electronic Social Security card verification program that would notify authorities when a Social Security number is being used by more than one person. He also supports slapping business owners that employ illegal immigrants with aggressive fines and jail time.

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