What Iowa Democrats Think Of Hillary Clinton’s Weekend Visit

As nearly every political observer knows by now, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Iowa over the weekend attending Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry for the second time in her political life.

While Clinton all but announced her candidacy as we reported earlier Sunday (September 14) on The Inquisitr, the voice of real Iowans was not yet heard.

That all changed earlier tonight when The Associated Press released statements from self-identified Democratic voters in Iowa who gave their thoughts on Clinton and her appearance at the steak fry.

Ken Acuff said he would like to see U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, jump in the race.

“I’d like to see both of them get into it. At least we get a primary, energize the base…. I think she has an honest feeling for us in the middle class…. I’m not sold on just one candidate. I don’t think one candidate brings out the good in anything.”

Brenda Brink spoke about her support of Warren and Clinton’s speech.

“Elizabeth Warren is looking out for people like me. I see (Clinton) more as a ‘been there, done that.’ We need someone to inspire…. I think we need a candidate with less alignment to the status quo.

“… She was pretty metered and pretty uninspired. I was at the Warren booth after and so many people came up and said, ‘Yeah, Hillary, but I love Elizabeth Warren.’ It’s the same tired stuff. Everyone says middle class. What about the working poor?”

Judy Keller of Des Moines was quoted by Time as saying it was time for a woman to win, though she did not necessarily throw her full support behind Clinton’s candidacy.

“I didn’t know that she’d have a chance in ’08… I thought a man would win. But now it’s time. It’s time for a woman. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Clinton has said she would make her decision on whether she will embark on a second run for the White House after the new year, but told the crowd it was good to be back and did not want to wait another seven years to make another visit to the steak fry.

So what do you think? Is Clinton in? And would Iowa Democrats give her a shot even though they threw support behind then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in 2008? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Image via Flickr Creative Commons]