(WASHINGTON, D.C.) —- Where I grew up in Iowa there’s an old saying: “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.” Maybe you’ve heard it too, in your part of the country.
I like your deep-past IA politics reminiscences. Worth mentioning that my maternal great-uncle Paul Cunningham was a long time US Congressman representing central IA (Des Moines & environs, including hometown of Knoxville). Paul Sr was defeated for re-election (1958 I think) by whippersnapper Democratic usurper Neal Smith, who held the seat until the Newt Gingerich "Contract With America" midterm of '94. Paul came back to Knoxville, where he spent his remaining years in Knoxville & taking summer vacations on Gull Lake MN, where he rented a cabin & died while chopping wood around 1962 or so. I was a child, but do remember him as a veritable "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" old-school Chamber-of-Commerce pillar of the community. We were EXTREMELY close to his wife Gail, our great aunt, who lived to 107 years old, dying 1996. Consider that born Feb 1889, she was a couple months older than Hitler. She was a vast font of personal & historical memories which I will not attempt to summarize here. One-term Sen Dick Clark's daughter Julie was I think two classes ahead of me at Marion High School, she would have been class of '73, but I don't think she stayed to graduate. It is useful now for me to remember that Iowa had two Democratic US Senators back then (Hughes & Dick Clark) as well as South Dakota (George McGovern & James Abourzek).
Thanks for sharing such great memories and connections, Sam.
I grew up in Adel where there were a couple of Cunningham families, one headed by a Paul Cunningham who owned a Chevrolet car dealership in town. I always wondered if they were related to the former Congressman.
There was a time when folks respected public officials whether they agreed with them or not. Now the “other side” more likely has to be demonized. To a pulp.
Paul Cunningham sounds like one of those who was respected by even the folks who didn’t intend to vote for him.
Too bad. It narrows the pool of those willing to serve and we miss out on some who would be good public servants as a result.
YES the Adel car dealership was Paul Jr's, who was the spitting image of his Congressman dad. We saw them every Xmas & Thanksgiving. Another son, Edward "Ned" was killed by a Japanese sniper on Saipan.
I think the wartime experience cast a long shadow of unity & civility that has of course long since dissipated.
THX for the reply & your own personal intersection!
Exactly so. No profiles in courage by Nunn. Profiles in desperation. His claims of bipartisanship are laughable attempts to assuage 3rd district fence sitters. It’s not a mystery why he is unwilling to face his constituents in a public forum.
I find it interesting that Zacky Both Ways is the only member of Iowa's Capitol Hill designation to not wear his t**mp endorsement like an Olympic gold medal in ass-kissing. He is running scared. He is inherently beatable in November, and we can only hope that the Dems don't continue their long-standing streak of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm not bullish on that, are you?
"I don’t expect to find much news there, but I do get a lot of laughs." Exactly. Great column, Barry, and I love the photo!
Thanks, Connie!
Nunn is, at best, an amateur chameleon. Thank you for the deep dive on his hypocrisy.
Thank you, Kathi. It’s bad enough that he’s a political chameleon, but even worse that he’s not a very good one.
Thanks for your pointed insights about Nunn.
Thank you, Cheryl.
I like your deep-past IA politics reminiscences. Worth mentioning that my maternal great-uncle Paul Cunningham was a long time US Congressman representing central IA (Des Moines & environs, including hometown of Knoxville). Paul Sr was defeated for re-election (1958 I think) by whippersnapper Democratic usurper Neal Smith, who held the seat until the Newt Gingerich "Contract With America" midterm of '94. Paul came back to Knoxville, where he spent his remaining years in Knoxville & taking summer vacations on Gull Lake MN, where he rented a cabin & died while chopping wood around 1962 or so. I was a child, but do remember him as a veritable "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" old-school Chamber-of-Commerce pillar of the community. We were EXTREMELY close to his wife Gail, our great aunt, who lived to 107 years old, dying 1996. Consider that born Feb 1889, she was a couple months older than Hitler. She was a vast font of personal & historical memories which I will not attempt to summarize here. One-term Sen Dick Clark's daughter Julie was I think two classes ahead of me at Marion High School, she would have been class of '73, but I don't think she stayed to graduate. It is useful now for me to remember that Iowa had two Democratic US Senators back then (Hughes & Dick Clark) as well as South Dakota (George McGovern & James Abourzek).
Thanks for sharing such great memories and connections, Sam.
I grew up in Adel where there were a couple of Cunningham families, one headed by a Paul Cunningham who owned a Chevrolet car dealership in town. I always wondered if they were related to the former Congressman.
There was a time when folks respected public officials whether they agreed with them or not. Now the “other side” more likely has to be demonized. To a pulp.
Paul Cunningham sounds like one of those who was respected by even the folks who didn’t intend to vote for him.
Too bad. It narrows the pool of those willing to serve and we miss out on some who would be good public servants as a result.
Thanks again.0
YES the Adel car dealership was Paul Jr's, who was the spitting image of his Congressman dad. We saw them every Xmas & Thanksgiving. Another son, Edward "Ned" was killed by a Japanese sniper on Saipan.
I think the wartime experience cast a long shadow of unity & civility that has of course long since dissipated.
THX for the reply & your own personal intersection!
Exactly so. No profiles in courage by Nunn. Profiles in desperation. His claims of bipartisanship are laughable attempts to assuage 3rd district fence sitters. It’s not a mystery why he is unwilling to face his constituents in a public forum.
I find it interesting that Zacky Both Ways is the only member of Iowa's Capitol Hill designation to not wear his t**mp endorsement like an Olympic gold medal in ass-kissing. He is running scared. He is inherently beatable in November, and we can only hope that the Dems don't continue their long-standing streak of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm not bullish on that, are you?
I think at least a couple of seats will flip in Iowa in 2026. Minimum.