# On Bruce Braley's gaffe **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 6, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462 "2014-04-06T04:44:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/41 "2014-04-07T13:19:33Z")
Who the hell is Bruce Braley? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/42 "2014-04-07T13:25:20Z")
Iowa Democratic Senate candidate, until very recently comfortably leading in the polls. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/43 "2014-04-07T13:29:46Z")
I agree that lawyers are vastly overrepresented in legislatures, but I kinda agree with the comment. If there’s one place you want lawyers, it’s on the judiciary committee. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/44 "2014-04-07T13:31:55Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Because bad Democrats, like bad Republicans, hurt the party come election time. Your “concern” is noted. > [@](#): > > Is the one seat really worth all the seats it costs in the next election because your guy went to jail? Relevance of comment? Oh, right, it’s _you_. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/45 "2014-04-07T13:31:57Z")
I agree, but if that’s a standard we want to maintain, and there’s a case we should maintain it, then that means that lawyers shouldn’t head any other committees. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/46 "2014-04-07T13:33:12Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Relevance of comment? Oh, right, it’s _you_. Never mind. Perhaps this will ring a bell: 2006- “Culture of corruption”. Tom Delay, Duke Cunningham, cronyism. Rode that horse right back into the majority. Can you really say that the Republican Party wouldn’t have been a ton better off without Tom Delay and Duke Cunningham? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/47 "2014-04-07T13:35:43Z")
Well, maybe. There don’t seem to be many Senate committees that line up with specific professions: > [@](#): > > Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry > Appropriations > Armed Services > Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs > Budget > Commerce, Science, and Transportation > Energy and Natural Resources > Environment and Public Works > Finance > Foreign Relations > Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions > Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs > Judiciary > Rules and Administration > Small Business and Entrepreneurship > Veterans’ Affairs > Indian Affairs > Select Committee on Ethics > Select Committee on Intelligence > Special Committee on Aging > Joint Committee on Printing > Joint Committee on Taxation > Joint Committee on the Library > Joint Economic Committee There are obvious spots there for accountants, economists, retired military brass and engineers, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/48 "2014-04-07T14:23:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Perhaps this will ring a bell: 2006 Nope, still not relevant, but let’s play anyway. > [@](#): > > Can you really say that the Republican Party wouldn’t have been a ton better off without Tom Delay and Duke Cunningham? Wouldn’t have mattered. Iraq was the issue. Your party’s general failure and irresponsibility, which have continued to worsen, are the cause of their minority popular support. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/49 "2014-04-07T14:54:06Z")
We don’t need a government made up of lawyers specifically, but expertise is important. The people who write the laws do need to understand what they’re doing and how the laws will work. If legislators don’t have that kind of knowledge, they’ll rely on their unelected staffers. Is that a better solution? The government should be accessible to citizens but we shouldn’t be disdainful of technical knowledge. That’s just stupid and it won’t lead to good government. Simplicity in government is a good guiding principle but it’s not supreme good or a virtue for its own sake. And Braley is talking about the Senate Judiciary Committee here. If there’s any committee where you can say “a lawyer should be in charge,” that’s probably the one. > [@adaher](#): > > Point taken, but I’m not sure career politicians are what we’re looking for either. Congress is supposed to be where the people get representation and I don’t think career professional representatives is what the founders had in mind. It’s probably not what they had in mind. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, though. The founders of the USA weren’t psychics. They didn’t envision a country of 310 million people and the complexities that go along with it, to say nothing of the ways technology and the national and global economy have changed. They laid out some principles that were good (and others that weren’t) and deserve credit for that much, but . > [@](#): > > My own opinion is that politics is what successful people should do when they’ve accomplished their goals in the private world. You may recall Mitt Romney made some similar remarks in 2012. It didn’t go over too well. > [@adaher](#): > > Actually, I’m just urging democrats to support a good Republican over a bad Democrat, rather than rationalizing voting for the bad Democrat. Of course. And I’m sure you’ll urge Republicans to support a good Democrat over a bad Republican when pigs fly out of your ass. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/50 "2014-04-07T15:13:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Wouldn’t have mattered. Iraq was the issue. Your party’s general failure and irresponsibility, which have continued to worsen, are the cause of their minority popular support. Iraq was certainly a big issue. But elections aren’t generally about just one issue. Democrats ran on the “culture of corruption” line and promised to be different. Given how close the Senate races in Virginia and Montana were, I’m sure that swayed a few votes. Especially in Montana, where Conrad Burns was implicated in the Abramoff scandal. Given Montana’s redness, I think there’s no question that minus Republican corruption in the Abramoff affair, the Republicans hold the Senate in 2006. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/51 "2014-04-07T15:15:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Of course. And I’m sure you’ll urge Republicans to support a good Democrat over a bad Republican when pigs fly out of your ass. I’ve done it on many occasions, as well as voted that way. I make endorsements every election, because I’m just so influential, and I always endorse a few Democrats. For example, I prefer Warner in Virginia to Gillespie. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/52 "2014-04-07T15:21:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Given Montana’s redness, I think there’s no question that minus Republican corruption in the Abramoff affair, the Republicans hold the Senate in 2006. It’s conservative but not that red. Max Baucus was elected to six terms (his seat has belonged to the Democrats since 1913) and Democrats have held the governor’s mansion in Montana since 2005. > [@adaher](#): > > I’ve done it on many occasions, as well as voted that way. I make endorsements every election, because I’m just so influential, and I always endorse a few Democrats. > > For example, I prefer Warner in Virginia to Gillespie. Warner’s already in office and he’s very likely to be re-elected. If you ever call for a Democrat to beat an incumbent Republican, let me know. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/53 "2014-04-07T15:39:16Z")
Grimes over McConnell. He’s part of the problem. Now I’m not immune to the overall strategy aspect. I would shed no tears if Warner fell and Grimes failed. But when I actually have to vote, I vote for the best candidate. I voted for Nelson over Katherine Harris, and Kerry over GWB. Bad Republicans hurt the Republican brand, something which I would think we’d all agree on given that whole threads have been started in this forum about the damage done to Republicans by bad officeholders and candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/54 "2014-04-07T15:53:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Grimes over McConnell. He’s part of the problem. There we go. That was only a little like pulling teeth. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/55 "2014-04-07T15:59:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > . . . yet you never hear lawyers-turned-politicians advocate for bankers on the Banking Committee, accountants on the budget committee, veterans on the Armed Services Committee, or farmers on the Agriculture Committee. How do you know that? Hint: You don’t. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/56 "2014-04-07T16:00:58Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > **. . . someone who’s been literally fighting tort reform for thirty years, in a visible or public way, on the Senate Judiciary Committee.** Well, that **alone** does qualify him; no gaffe. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/57 "2014-04-07T16:02:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I find that Democrats are a lot more likely to vote Democrat no matter what than Republican voters. Based on what? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/58 "2014-04-07T17:45:54Z")
Even if true, isn’t that what you’d \*expect \*at the polls for the Reality & Responsibility Party? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/59 "2014-04-07T18:13:49Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > To the politicians, most of whom happen to be lawyers, being a lawyer qualifies you to do anything, apparently. It qualifies you to make laws, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462/60 "2014-04-07T18:15:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Point taken, but I’m not sure career politicians are what we’re looking for either. Come now, no modern republic can do without them, no more than it can do without career civil servants. Government is too complicated a business to be left to amateur “citizen legislators”; those might have a legitimate role to play, but it can and should be no more than a marginal role. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-bruce-braleys-gaffe/685462.md?page=4)