BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR
FORT MADISON - With just three months left in his term in Congress, Rep. Dave Loebsack stopped to thank Democrats in Fort Madison Thursday as part of the "I Voted Early" bus tour.
The bus pulled up in the parking lot at the bottom of 10th Street just west of the North Lee County Historical Society at about 5 p.m.
Loebsack showed up at about 5:30 after a campaign stop and Burlington and started to speak when a BNSF train roared by about 30 feet behind the U.S. Representative.
Finishing his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Loebsack (D-Iowa 2nd), originally from Sioux City, said his time in service has been totally about learning.
"My wife was a school teacher for over 30 years and I was at Cornell for 24 years and we've always said we couldn't teach until we effectively learned.," he said.
"So that's what I've enjoyed so much, getting around talking with people, going to businesses, going to schools and doing whatever I can to meet as many people as I can so I can understand what their concerns are and take them back to Washington D.C."
Loebsack said his strongest memory was the 2008 presidential campaign.
"Politically, it was when we had three Democrats and Leonard Boswell went for Hillary Clinton, Bruce Braley went for John Edwards, and I went for Barack Obama and Obama won and served two terms. That has to be my highlight," he said with a laugh.
Loebsack introduced Rich Taylor who's in a fight with Republican Jeff Reichman for the 42nd District Iowa Senate Seat. Also on hand was Jeff Kurtz who's running for the 8rd District State Representative in a race against Fort Madison Republican Martin Graber.
Loebsack said the people of Iowa won't miss him because Rita Hart will make Iowans forget about him.
"Shes great. As I've told a lot of my colleagues in the U.S. House, it'll take about two months and you'll forget about me. You won't miss me. I'm serious, if you don't already, you're gonna love Rita Hart," he said.
Hart is locked in a race with Mariannette Miller-Meeks on the Republican side.
Loebsack also stumped for Theresa Greenfield who's in a tight battle with incumbent Republican Joni Ernst, one of the highest profile and expensive senate races in the country.
He said the country needs to put Joe Biden in the White House. He said the mismanagement of the pandemic makes the Biden/Kamala Harris ticket critical to the country.
"Look, Joe Biden is going to win for a lot of reasons, folks," he said.
"He's all about making things in America again - that the United States comes back better than before."
He also said America needs decency in the country again.
"We've gotta have someone who's a role model. Someone who understands what it takes to get this pandemic under control"
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