Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Bruce Braley, caught on tape in January making a denigrating remark about farmers, now appears to be on record claiming to be one.
The
Des Moines Register first posted a video taken at a Fourth of July
parade in Iowa Falls, in which a female spectator tells the lawmaker: "We're farmers."
"So am I," Braley replies.
"But so is [Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck] Grassley," says the woman.
"So am I," Braley repeats before walking away.
The Hill reported it was provided with a
longer clip by the conservative political action committee America Rising.
Braley doesn't own farm land and doesn't earn any farm income, the newspaper reported, citing federal financial disclosure reports. Campaign aides also told the Register that Braley doesn't perform or manage any farm operations.
His father was involved in farming, The Hill reported.
"Bruce was walking in a noisy parade celebrating July Fourth and was responding to a comment he heard as 'we're for farmers' by agreeing, 'So am I,' and Bruce's actions back up his words," Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz said in an email to The Hill.
"Joni Ernst, on the other hand, opposed the farm bill and is 'philosophically opposed' to the job-creating Renewable Fuel Standard, while Bruce fought for three years to pass a new farm bill and has fought to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard."
Republican
Ernst, who has famously touted her farming credentials, is running against Braley for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.
During a private fundraiser in Texas in January, Braley mocked Grassley, calling him "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." A member of the audience of trial lawyers posted the video online. It also was released by America Rising, the Register noted.
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