IDP CHAIRMAN SCOTT BRENNAN CALLS ON SENATOR GRASSLEY TO DENOUNCE MCCAIN ROBO CALLS
In Mason City, Sen. Tom Harkin Urges McCain to Stop Running False Robo Calls in Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa – Today, Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan called on Senator Charles Grassley to denounce the false and negative McCain campaign robo calls that continue to run throughout Iowa.

Senator Grassley is a national co-chair of McCain’s Farm and Ranch Steering Committee and his call to stop the smear attacks could save Iowans from these sleazy calls.

Brennan played the audio of the calls for reporters at a press conference in Des Moines, including a call that was targeted to flood-damaged areas of Iowa, which attempted to divide Iowans on flood recovery efforts for Senator McCain’s political gain.  You can listen to the robo calls here: http://www.archive.org/details/RoboCalls.

A number of Senator McCain’s Republican colleagues have called on him to stop running these false robo calls in their states, including his Maine campaign co-chair, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota.

"These smear tactics have no place in Iowa and Senator Grassley should demand McCain stop these calls immediately," said Scott Brennan, Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.  "A number of Senator McCain’s Republican colleagues have urged him to stop running these calls in their states.  Iowans deserve a campaign focused on the issues and John McCain is only offering false claims of guilt by association and extremely misguided attempts to politicize the Iowa floods."

Earlier today, Senator Tom Harkin held a press conference in Mason City to urge Iowans to ignore the McCain campaign’s negative robo calls and, instead, focus on the issues that matter to Iowans like health care.  He released the following statement:

"I strongly urge Senator McCain to immediately cease all robo calls into Iowa," said Senator Tom Harkin.  "These robo calls are both false and offensive. As opposed to wasting our time with tasteless robo calls, I urge Senator McCain to focus on issues important to Iowa voters, such as getting our economy back on track and fixing our broken health care system."