During Tuesday night’s debate, Iowa voters saw two very different ideas of what leadership looks like. While David Young spoke passionately about getting Iowans back to work, protecting folks with pre-existing conditions, and keeping taxes low, Cindy Axne looked into the camera and lied…both about David Young’s record and her own.
While Axne’s false statements about Young are a matter of public record and have been labeled “misleading” by independent fact-checkers, she broke new ground last night. When asked to defend the dozens of votes that she has failed to cast on behalf of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, she lied:
“Kay, I’d like to mention that I haven’t missed a vote.”
Watch below:
Then doubled down a few sentences later, saying, “So I’ve been there.”
This stunning lie is made all the more brazen by the fact that Axne’s vote history is a matter of public record. In fact, prior to changing House rules to allow for someone to vote in her place, Axne had already missed votes on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, failing to do the job she was elected to do.
You can find a list of the votes she either missed or proxied her vote out here.
It is just another example of Cindy Axne refusing to level with Iowa voters. She told us she was a moderate, then voted with Nancy Pelosi 95% of the time, pushing an agenda that hurts Iowa families. She said she would protect our health care, then supports a government-run plan that threatens benefits to seniors and could close 52 rural Iowa hospital. And now, with a long list of absences, she’s claiming that she’s never missed a vote.
Cindy Axne should apologize to Iowa voters for lying to them. And more importantly, she should do the job she was elected to do…while she still has it.
In case you missed it, later in the debate, David explained what the proxy vote was and what it means – not showing up and allowing another member of Congress – Jamie Raskin – to vote instead.
Watch that below: