Bayh hits campaign trail for Braley during Q-C visit

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By Thomas Geyer | Saturday, July 8, 2006 12:30 AM CDT | () comments

Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., center, tells a crowd gathered at the Scott County Democratic Headquarters in Davenport on Friday night that Bruce Braley, right, will make an excellent U.S. congressman during a rally for Braley.

Political rhetoric was kept to a minimum and unity was the order of the night as U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., came to Davenport to stump for Bruce Braley.

Braley, of Waterloo, is vying for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District seat.

“We need a change in Washington,” Bayh told the crowd of about 80 people who packed a meeting room at the Scott County Democratic Headquarters.

Reaching out to the people, including independents and disgruntled Republicans, will help the Democrats win back Congress, Bayh said.

“There is too much radicalized policy,” Bayh said. “There is too much partisanship. There is too much politics of self-interest rather than an interest in the greater common good.

“We have to stand on Democratic principles and stand on our values,” he said. “We’ve got to reach out to our fellow citizens to move forward. By appealing to the better instincts of the American people, by asking people to make the tough decisions to do more now, we can make a stronger America, a more decent and more just America,” to pass on to future generations.

“We’re all in this together,” Bayh said.

The coming election, he said, will be a referendum about how Democrats are going to do things better and make things better.

Braley said he will continue talking to people about what they believe are the key issues facing the 1st District and the nation.

Those key issues, he said, include not privatizing Social Security, and moving forward on raising the nation’s minimum wage and working to make an equitable system of health-care coverage. That includes teaching school-age children valuable lessons in nutrition and exercise and good habits for a healthy lifestyle that will lessen the need for expensive health care and lower costs, he said.

In order to get it done, Braley said he will work together with other congressmen to formulate reasonable ideas and plans to get the job done.

And, he said, he will make his decisions based on what “his heart” tells him is the right thing to do for the nation.

“I’m not going to let other people do my thinking for me,” he said. “I’ll make my own decisions.”

Bill Gluba, one of Braley’s rivals in the primary election, wore a Braley sticker on his lapel, and stood up front with the candidate and Bayh.

“It is important that we rally behind Bruce and all the other Democrats,” Gluba said, adding that he has been driving for Braley. “We need to win 15 seats in the House to take back Washington.”

Nora Dvorak of Davenport, a member of the Iowa Catholic Conference Subcommittee on Immigration, said she is fed up with how the country is being run.

But she also is fed up with all the political rhetoric from both sides.

“We have to have a change of some kind, but the candidates’ ideas must be realistic,” she said.

Braley will face Republican businessman Mike Whalen of Bettendorf in the Nov. 7 general election.

Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.