Word: jepsen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Harkin. (D-Iowa), a traditional liberal, knocked off Sen. Roger W. Jepsen (R-Iowa) after a tightly fought and highly personal campaign...
...Jepsen who was far ahead at the beginning of the 1984, has shot himself in the foot with repeated gaffes and embarrassments. Jepsen claimed to be a paratrooper in World War II, but he did not join the Army until 1946, after the fighting had stopped. After being pulled over in Washington D.C. for driving in the car pool lane, he claimed Congressional immunity from arrest, attracting deservedly sarcastic press attention. Next came accusations of payroll padding, and finally the disclosure that in 1977 Jepsen had been a member of Leisure Spa Ftd, Patronized by some of Iowa's political...
...race has also absorbed some of the personality of the Presidential campaign. When not indulging in character assassination Jepsen has run a fluff campaign, capitalizing on his senatorial looks (he lost a lot of weight before the campaign). He has basked in the glow of Reagan's popularity in the best Shamiesque style, faithfully toeing the Republican line on every issue. His best known display of party spirit (or political pusillanimity, depending on one's perspective) occurred in 1981 during the Senate debate over the sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia. Jepsen had loudly announced that he opposed...
Harkin, on the other hand, has distanced himself from the Mondale campaign, stressing that he is running against Roger Jepsen, not Ronald Reagan. He has criticized the high interest rates that threaten 10 percent of Iowa's farmers with imminent bankruptcy, and denounced Agriculture Secretary John Block's handling of the farm crisis. Jepsen merely promises that the economic recovery will eventually flow into Iowa...
...VOLATILITY of the Iowa race reflects the deep political division within the state. Jepsen has a lock on the 40 percent of the electorate that votes solid conservative, and Harkin has a similarly sized bed of committed liberal support. That leaves the middle 20 percent of the voters to decide the election. These voters are mostly moderates unhappy with both Jepsen's doctrinaire conservatism and Harkin's unbridled liberalism. Disillusioned with problems, disaffected by the candidates, and disturbed about Iowa's economic crisis, they are more prone to vote against a candidate then for him. The success of Harkin...