Facing an Election-Year Fallout with Seniors, Ernst Hides from Voters to Avoid Answering for her Reckless Push to Gut Retirement Benefits
For the second time in three weeks, vulnerable incumbent Senator Joni Ernst skipped a nonpartisan forum yesterday focused on the importance of protecting Social Security benefits for future generations.
Ernst’s failure to show up undercuts her own desperate debate stunts and shows she can’t answer for her failed record.
Despite her campaign promise to protect Social Security, Ernst has worked for six years in Washington to raid the trust fund and defund the program “behind closed doors.” She even opened the door to gambling away hard-earned retirement benefits on the stock market.
Senator Ernst’s attacks on Social Security haven’t gone unnoticed by senior voters. Last month, AARP released a poll by Selzer & Company showing that Senator Ernst’s net approval with Iowa seniors was the lowest of every Iowa politician polled, lagging behind Senator Grassley by a whopping 24%.
“It’s no surprise that Senator Ernst refuses to show up and explain her record in an election year, because she spent six years in Washington failing to show up for Iowans when it mattered most. The fact is, Senator Ernst cares more about her Wall Street donors than she does the hard-working families she promised to fight for. Whether she likes it or not, Iowans are holding her accountable for her failure,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson.