Amy Klobuchar Campaigning Hard -- in Iowa

Press Release

Amy Klobuchar has been busy on the campaign trail this fall.

Iowans are getting a good look at her, as she begins her run for the 2016 nomination for President.

Earlier this month Klobuchar visited the Iowan delegation at the Democrat National Convention, and on Tuesday Senator Klobuchar took a trip to Mason City Iowa to visit a youth services center with an Iowan congressional candidate.

Klobuchar has not been shy about courting speculation that she will be a candidate in 2016. To some, she appears to be working harder for the 2016 nomination than to earn the votes of Minnesotans this year.

"Klobuchar is using her office as nothing but a stepping stone to the Presidency. She has avoided the big issues facing our country, avoided scrutiny for her failures, and is now avoiding Minnesotans in favor of Iowans," said Kurt Bills, Republican candidate for US Senate. "No wonder Arne Carlson called her "the great avoider.'"

"The biggest issue facing our country is the fiscal cliff that hits December 31, because of the Budget Control Act of 2011--a bill Klobuchar proudly voted for. What is Amy doing to avert disaster? Visiting Iowa's youth centers," said Bills.

Klobuchar has repeatedly pointed to her vote for the Budget Control Act as proof of her deficit reduction bona fides. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle have pointed to the "fiscal cliff" at the end of the year as a potential economic Armageddon. (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/09/16/politics/fiscal-cliff/)

"Amy Klobuchar says she supports a bipartisan plan to create a commission. A commission? Really? To deal with a disaster that comes December 31 of this year? A disaster she created? That is a plan?" asked Bills.

"If a whole set of laws aren't changed, the economy is going to go into a recession sometime after Jan. 1," said Tom Stinson, Minnesota's state economist. Even Klobuchar's colleague Al Franken said "we can't do this all at once without endangering our recovery and without perhaps slipping into a double-dip recession."

"Amy Klobuchar did that," said Bills. "And now she is running for President in Iowa, instead of explaining to Minnesotans why she voted for this disaster."

Bills offered to debate Klobuchar on the merits of the Budget Control Act any time she likes, as long as the debate takes place in Minnesota.

Source