Rep. Bruce Braley (D., Iowa) has once again been caught making elitist comments about Iowans, according to audio released by Republicans on Monday.
The audio comes from a 2011 radio interview with Braley on Ring of Fire, a liberal radio program based in Florida. The Democratic Senate candidate says he addresses the "impression that there is an elitism among progressive policies" by talking with voters in "terms they can understand":
"I think part of the problems that progressives have faced is, at times, there has been an impression that there is an elitism among progressive policies that wants to ignore the realities of what’s going on in places between the East Coast and the West Coast. And, look, I face this every time I do a town hall meeting. I listen to the concerns of people. You know, from what you’ve done your entire life is that the biggest concern people have is that nobody is listening to them. And by engaging voters and talking about why you are a proud, progressive, populist and what that means in terms they can understand, that’s how you connect with voters and show them the false policies that are being offered to them and the choices that don’t lead to an economic boom for the middle class."
The Iowa GOP blasted Braley in a statement:
"Bruce Braley thinks he has to talk down to us Iowans so we can understand him. We understand him perfectly. He is a liberal elitist who thinks Iowans are helpless unless Washington tells us what to do," said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. "We know how wrong he is, and on Election Day, he’ll know too."
Braley has repeatedly been accused of being out of touch with Iowa voters. He called Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), a popular lawmaker in the farmer-heavy state, a "farmer from Iowa who never went to law school" during remarks at a January fundraiser that were widely derided.