Adopt A Senator

The first vote of my life was for William Proxmire, running for his last term in 1982. And even though I wasn't here yet, one of the highlights of an awful 1984 election night was when some guy in Iowa named Harkin picked up a seat against the Reagan landslide.

I got in one last Wisconsin vote for Herb Kohl before I moved to Iowa in 1990, just in time for Harkin's second term race and his presidential campaign.



So with Harkin's farewell speech today, I realized:

I've never not had a Democratic U.S. Senator before.

I did spend one summer in DC, in 1989. While I was there, some friends of a friend who lived in the District told me that, since they didn't have a voting member of Congress, they'd decided to adopt one from someplace else. And though I hadn't heard of him at the time, within a year he became my for real Congressman. Out of all 435, these folks had picked Dave Nagle.

I remembered that as I considered my consternation without representation (well, I still have Dave Loebsack which is good.) So that gave me an idea. Why don't Iowa Democrats adopt a Senator?  It'll be at least a couple years till we can get our own, and unless something significant changes, probably longer.

This is too big a decision to make myself. I need the help of the readers.

I limited the criteria a bit: I'm only considering the Democratic Senators from Iowa's border states.

Who should Iowa Democrats adopt as their surrogate Senator?
	Tammy Baldwin (WI)
	Dick Durbin (IL)
	Al Franken (MN)
	Amy Klobuchar (MN)
	Claire McCaskill (MO)

Sorry, Republican readers. This is a closed primary so Democratic options only.  Besides, you got the two real Senators.

An interesting array of choices: Durbin the power broker. Baldwin, the progressive barrier breaker. McCaskill, a tough but sometimes polarizing survivor?

And two Minnesotans who may split the vote: how will that affect me, Al Franken?

Contest will run until I say it doesn't anymore. Vote often and early for James Michael Curley, and don't let the poll's color scheme influence your vote.