So Joni Ernst is the new United States Senator from Iowa...

[daschess1987]

Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley are the senators from my state. Steve King put a shit stain on my state. I used to put up my dukes against anybody who said anything about my state of Iowa. But say what you want because...Freedumbfuckstanistan! #WTF --not long ago we led the nation in SAT scores, and I slammed it in the faces of people who said shit against my beloved home state. Now what am I supposed to do?

[Wounded Bear]

1. Chin up!

This, too shall pass.

Or at least that is what I heard. It seems some of the religious folks were right, though. Our reward lies in another world.

[KingCharlemagne]

2. Cheer up. At least cows won't get the vote with Joni at the helm :) - nt

[villager]

6. Ball-less hogs, however, will have a lot of say in Iowa's future now.

n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Now you know how your neighbors to the north felt regarding Michele Bachman.

Minnesota was always listed as one of the best places to live, best-educated population, great schools, blah blah blah. And then there was Bachmann, who is possibly one of the dumbest people ever elected to Congress - and there's a lot of competition.

You do have my condolences. At least we have sane senators.

[KingCharlemagne]

18. And its next-door neighbor gave us "Tailgunner" Joe McCarthy and, more recently, that

beady-eyed bastard Walker.

[JayhawkSD]

4. I listened to part of Ernst's acceptance speech.

As much as I could stand. She literally, not figuratively but literally, brays like a jackass, and if I lived in your state and had to listen to that abrasive sound I would just shoot myself.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

5. She was literally maniacal, like a Batman villian. nt

[villager]

7. Oh, the Republicans are quite a "Rogues Gallery"

Unfortunately, we have no caped millionaires on our side to really fight them.

[world wide wally]

8. FUCK Iowa...

and Wisconsin….. and the Packers too

[JI7]

9. you just have to take it, i'm still ashamed of Arnold being Governor of California

[KingCharlemagne]

17. California graced the nation with Tricky Dick too, speaking of

'maniacal arch-villains' (as someone upthread has done in referring to Ernst's 'acceptance' (victory?) speech).

[rurallib]

10. Well we still have one sane section of Iowa

While Ernst is scary and will humiliate Iowa no end, I expect David Young in Iowa's 3rd district to be nearly as bad and as much of an embarrassment.

King, Ernst, Grassley, Young, Blum and Branstad. Yep, that should put an end to anyone bragging about being from Iowa for a while.

[IADEMO2004]

11. Ernst's home town Stanton has a new community/library/shelter/health & exercise building

built with tons of state (I-Jobs), federal money from Homeland Security, development grants. They worked the hell out of they system to supplement their local fund raising to get a beautiful new facility. Then 75% voted to elect a senator to make Washington squeal. Is that the definition of pull the ladder up behind you or what.

[Logical]

12. I live in Kansas. It is a hell hole of GOP idiots. Insult us all you want. nt

[ladjf]

13. IMO, the election of Ernst is a new all time low in Iowa politics. nt

[Skidmore]

14. Until people start taking a stand against the

Koc brothers, they will continue their march. Other states will be bought. I swear the local media were in the tank for her…particularly one of the female anchors. The media was awash in pac cash. And I do think there were a few women in the state who thought that a first woman senator won't really hurt women if elected. I am disgusted and dissapointed I still love my state.

[LondonReign2]

15. Creeping religiosity

Unfortunately, the prominence of conservative megachurches has been slowly creeping northward for several decades. Iowa was in the path of that infestation, and now we are seeing the results of the infection.

[HereSince1628]

16. The people who did this watch reality TV, look there for clues...

Prepare for the apocalypse, get over to Decorah for some saved seeds so you can have a garden where your new home defenses will make it the Deadliest Crop.

You've got to stake out a claim for a place to make moonshine and collect ginseng

You've got to get together with your friends and march on Fairfield to wipe out all traces and memories of Maharishi U. so that IA can be returned to freedom from yogi and transcendental meditation.

You've got to put fortificiations up in Fort Dodge so that you can keep out the Zombies soon to descend on you from Minnesota.

And those bridges in Madison Co? Cover them up, and put on the travel ban for people who've ever read national geographic, that magazine is more dangerous to unregulated enterprise than EBOLA!

Remember the Teahad is looking to put THE STORM back in Storm Lake.

[moondust]

19. Should not be an early primary state IMO.

Blacks are only 3.3% of the population and Hispanics 5.5%. I think having little positive interaction with minorities tends to skew attitudes toward a strong preference for familiar white power if not outright racism that should probably not be trusted to reliably produce candidates representative of the broader, more diverse U.S. population.

Rachel has complained about it in the past though that was partly because the Iowa Republican Party had shown itself to be fairly incompetent.

[First Speaker]

20. Embrace your inner Mencken, lie back and enjoy the show...

...no circus will be more fun than watching Ms Ernst these next few years...

[IADEMO2004]

21. A wife with cancer and "Obamacare" will keep laughter at a minimum here.

[Thav]

22. Come have a drink with me and we'll reminisce!

I, too, used to be proud of my state. Over the last decade, it has started down the slippery slope of being handed over to billionaires and corporations.

I loved how successful the education system was, now I fight to get people to fund education and not just hand cash to private charter corporations and hope for the best. I try to get people to understand basic economics and social justice, however they just want to "make 'em squeal!"

After we reminisce, we can mourn the slow demise of our once great state.