Chuck Grassley will be 88 this fall. Time to try to elect some new blood?

Iowa's Grassley is 87 now. He will be 88 in September.

Iowa is a Senate seat we actually have a chance to win.

For the record, I am NOT neutral though I have never set foot in the state. I have a friend there who is young, dynamic, capable, and a perfect "clean-cut all-American boy" image, perfect for such a race. He is also a solid Democrat with his heart in the right place. He ran for state auditor (a bigger deal in Iowa than in some states) a few years ago, and beat the well-established Republican hack occupying the post at the time. He will be 38 this year, and looks 20 years younger. His name is Rob Sand.

I met him several years ago, and really liked him, not a given, considering our very different backgrounds. I was blown away when the New York Times Magazine ran a huge, multi-page feature story about how Rob, as a young(er) prosecutor, cracked an obscure, very clever, and very lucrative lottery-rigging scam in the Midwest. It flew under practically everyone's radar--except his. I would love to see him on Senate committees, alongside Amy Klobuchar, giving Republican hacks a zinging one-two punch with their sharp questioning.

Rob is so far reluctant to take such a big leap. From State Auditor to the US Senate is no small jump, but I am reminding him of the examples of Marco Rubio and Tommy Tuberville, two Republican hacks who came out of nowhere to the US Senate, and have certainly done little to nothing for the country, whether in the Senate (Rubio) or in their previous careers (Tuberville), and certainly don't show any promise of doing so. ONe time, while we were together in Washington, I asked Rob if he knew, or had been in touch with Howard Dean, who might be able to give him pointers with his campaign for State Auditor. He said no, but he'd love to. I said, "nothing easier than that." I called up Howard on the spot and handed the phone to Rob, expecting them to chat for five minutes. Instead, they were on the phone for half an hour (!!!). Howard said afterward he was very impressed, and where did I come up with this guy?

Now, being elected to the Senate from Iowa is an uphill battle for any Democrat these days. Just ask Theresa Greenfield. But Grassley's performance of late (not to mention pig farmer Joni's) hasn't exactly given Iowa any pressing reason to elect yet another Republican to the Senate except inertia. I have no illusions that it would be an easy race. The Republicans would pour $100 million into that race if they sensed it had a chance of tipping the balance of power one way or the other. With that kind of money, the Iowa Republicans would be the odds-on favorites to win an Iowa Senate race, even if their candidate is one of Joni Ernst's pigs. Still, who would have bet money on our winning Georgia's two Senate seats a month ago? If Grassley retires, I hope Rob goes for it. Even if Grassley DOESN'T retire, I hope Rob still goes for it--Grassley is almost FIFTY years older!--, but I'll have a lot more understanding for his not wanting to.