Freshman Republican Senator from Iowa, Joni Ernst.
WASHINGTON- First-term Sen. Joni Ernst, a newcomer with star potential, promised in the Republican response to the State of the Union that her party intended to change the direction of the federal government on Capitol Hill.
Ernst, R-Iowa, was the first opposition speaker to counter the Obama administration with Republicans in control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Beginning with a respectful and serious tone toward the president, Ernst quickly shifted the focus to her own party – the majority in Congress. ”We heard the message you sent in November — loud and clear. And now we’re getting to work to change the direction Washington has been taking our country,” she said.
Some of her remarks raised points not covered in the president’s lengthy speech.
“President Obama will soon have a decision to make: will he sign the bill, or block good American jobs,” said Ernst in reference to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Obama made only an indirect reference to the controversial oil pipeline in his remarks.
Ernst spoke directly to Obama’s plans for raising some taxes on the wealthy by calling on him to instead cooperate with the Republicans to pass legislation to lower tax rates.
Speaking directly to her television audience, she constantly used words like “you,” “we,” and “let’s,” and focused on her personal experience to connect with viewers.
“She is a mother, a soldier, and an independent leader who serves in Washington because Americans voted for change in the last election,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a news release referring to Ernst’s 21 years of service in the Iowa National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, and her three daughters.
Delivering the speech from the Senate Armed Services Committee room, Ernst emphasized her experience as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard in talking about international threats and improved care and benefits to veterans.
She used a reference to her own modest beginnings as a backdrop for remarks on Obamacare.
“We see the hurt caused by canceled healthcare plans and higher monthly insurance bills,” said Ernst.
She defeated former Rep. Bruce Braley for the open Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Tom Harkin, becoming the first woman elected to federal office from Iowa and the first female combat veteran in the Senate. She served in Iraq.
Having gone to Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, the loss of the Iowa Senate seat was a large blow to the Democratic Party.
Thus, Ernst serves as another reminder of the new Republican majority, said Geoffrey Skelley, a political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. A point she illustrated at the end of her speech with another message to the president.
“The new Republican Congress you elected is working to make Washington understand that too. And with a little cooperation from the president, we can get Washington working again,” she said.
