Joni Ernst has the gall to dismiss her constituents’ real fears about Medicaid cuts with a typical dose of so-called “compassionate conservatism”—namely, she shrugged and reminded everyone, “We’re all gonna die.”
This isn’t just an indifferent slip of the tongue—it’s the Republican Party’s entire governing philosophy laid bare. The Republican so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” is just the latest assault on working people, and Iowa is living proof that when Americans plead for their lives, Ernst and her party don’t care and go right back to cutting the safety net, and funneling more money to the rich.
The Big Beautiful Lie
Let’s be clear. When claims the Medicaid cuts in the “Big Beautiful Bill” will only hurt “illegals”, she is lying. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid, and the bill’s cuts will primarily harm U.S. citizens and legal residents, including children, people with disabilities, and seniors.
I repeat— undocumented immigrants don’t get Medicaid. They never have—and Joni Ernst knows it. But facts don’t matter to Republicans when there’s a racist dog whistle to blow. Ernst is hoping her constituents will swallow her race-baiting lie, blame their neighbors, and keep voting Republican—voting, in other words, for their own demise.
This is the same playbook Republicans use everywhere: pit working people against each other, stoke racial resentment, and distract from the fact that their policies are a direct assault on the lives and livelihoods of their own voters. It’s patently evil, and it’s deliberate.
Death by Despair: The Conservative Legacy
Everywhere conservatism takes hold, the results are the same: more inequality, more despair, more death.
This is the result of GOP policies. When you rip up the social safety net, funnel money to the rich, increase stress and tell everyone else their on their own, people needlessly die. That’s the Republican vision for America, and Joni Ernst is proud to tickle those racist funny bone and hope her constituents continue to fall for it.
Iowa Is Another Poorly Run Red State
Look at Iowa under Republican rule. Iowa has been in Republican hands for years, and what do they have to show for it?
A state that used to be a model for public education and quality of life is now circling the drain, thanks to the GOP’s relentless assault on anything that helps ordinary people.
These aren’t accidents. They’re the direct result of Republican policies designed to make life harder for everyone but the wealthy and well-connected. And now, with the “Big Beautiful Bill,” they’re coming for what’s left of the safety net.
When Ernst waves away her constituents’ fears with a flippant “we’re all gonna die,” she’s telling the truth for once—just not in the way she means. Under Republican rule, more Americans will die needlessly, and Ernst is fine with that. Judging by her blatant, shameless lies, Ernst has made her choice. As long as she keeps her cushy job, her power, her money, her pension, her healthcare, she’ll do whatever she can to keep the money flowing to the top.
Democrats: Stop Pulling Punches
Democrats need to stop pretending Republicans are acting in good faith. They’re not. They’re lying to their own voters, stoking racial hatred, and passing bills they know will kill people. Iowa is yet another example for what Republican rule looks like, and it’s not pretty for anyone who isn’t rich.
Democrats have a duty to point this out. Whenever they mention red states, Democrats have a duty to add the qualifier “poorly run red states.” Not just because they’re finally understanding how the political messaging game is played, but because it’s the truth.
Joni Ernst’s blatant lies speaks to the fact that she’s indifferent to the suffering her policies cause. She knows her true job is to keep the money flowing to the top, distract the voters with lies and bigotry, and brush away the consequences.
If her constituents had any sense of self-preservation left, they’d be (legally and peacefully) running her out of town with (metaphorical) pitchforks.
Support independent liberal voices! Watch “The Tara Show with Tara Dublin and Tara Devlin” here on the Political Voices Network, Tuesdays and Thursdays 2PM EST!
If you missed the show live, check it out at the Political Voices Network on Youtube!
Please Like and Subscribe, and subscribe to our Substacks.
Here’s Dublin's and Devlin’s.
Support the independent media! Every dollar helps to keep the truth out and save the “Grand Experiment” from the right wing forces currently destroying it.
Become a Tarabuster Patron.
Check out Tarabuster on Friday evenings, 8:30 PM EST“We Stick Together, We Win!”
Share this post