It seems that a qualifier for supporting Donald Trump is to tell tall tales. That’s one box Senator Joni Ernst can check.
The Iowa Republican couldn’t justify missing 117 state Senate votes, so she blamed it on her service with the Army National Guard (not true). And during her 2014 Senate race, she wanted so badly to be disassociated with the Koch Brothers (we can’t blame her), that she lied about having contact with them.
She’s taking the stage now–don’t say we didn’t tell you so.
Joni Ernst lied about missing Senate votes
Joni Ernst claimed multiple times that her obligations with the Iowa Army National Guard were a major cause of her missing many votes in the state Senate. “‘It’s really unfortunate,’ Ernst said during the WHO-TV interview. ‘I know these attacks are coming and they have been out there. They’re saying that I’ve missed so many votes but that includes …’ The interviewer cut in to ask how many missed [state Senate] votes. ‘I don’t know what the actual count is. I know I have missed five days for other campaign reasons, but what they’ve included in those votes is time I’ve been serving on orders with Iowa Army National Guard.’ […] Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham also asked Ernst during her March 31 radio show, ‘Why are you missing so many votes?’ ‘Well first, National Guard Services,’ Ernst replied. ‘I have had some days on duty that I’ve had to be with the National Guard. And those are times that I’ve been on orders … so that is one thing you won’t hear them talking about, those that are attacking my voting record.’ Ernst also acknowledged during the interview she’d missed ‘maybe five days due to other scheduled activities out there’ and was juggling roles as a wife and mother, battalion commander in the Iowa Army National Guard, a state senator and a ‘very, very tough competitive race for the United States Senate.’” [The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA, 4/14/14]
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Only 12 of Joni Ernst’s 117 missed votes came on days when she was on active National Guard duty. “A review by The Gazette of the Iowa Senate Journal and her schedule obtained through a Freedom of Information and Iowa open records request from the Iowa National Guard, shows that few — 10 percent, or 12 of the 117 missed votes — came on days when she was on active duty,” [The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA, 4/14/14]
Joni Ernst lied about receiving support from outside groups in her Senate election
Joni Ernst claimed she did not have any contact with outside groups running ads in her 2014 Senate race, including multiple organizations in the Koch network. “When asked about the flood of negative ads in Iowa, Joni Ernst claimed to these business leaders in Des Moines that she doesn’t have any contact with outside groups running ads in her race. […] According to OpenSecrets.org, Americans for Prosperity has spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars in her race, and Freedom Partners Action Fund has spent over 3 million. Both organizations have spent heavily on negative advertising.” [The Nation, 10/27/14]
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Joni Ernst attended a Koch retreat and spoke on a candidate panel. “The Ernst agenda is clearly aligned with the Koch brothers ideology, and as you probably remember from my earlier reporting, she attended the Koch retreat in June and spoke on a candidate panel, crediting them with ‘start[ing] her trajectory’ in politics. The candidate was effusive in her praise for the Koch network, and various leaders from their groups, like Aegis, Americans for Prosperity, and Freedom Partners, returned the love. Said the moderator of her panel, ‘I think it’s fair to say you’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations.’ The purpose of Ernst’s panel at the retreat was to pitch donors, whom they called ‘investors,’ for each candidate and their respective races. The activities of Koch-funded groups were explicitly discussed, as were the massive spending on ad buys. In spite of this clear history of close association, when asked about the flood of negative ads in Iowa, Joni Ernst claimed to these business leaders in Des Moines that she doesn’t have any contact with outside groups running ads in her race. Bottom line, Joni Ernst told a whopper. We know she had contact with the various organizations in the Koch network in June.” [The Nation, 10/27/14]