A Stranger in Iowa, McCotter Shares His Presidential Goals at Straw Poll

Between numerous polysyllabic words, Thaddeus McCotter, a Congressman from Michigan, said the American people matter now more than ever.

“In your hands rests the true hope for change,” McCotter told Straw Poll attendees gathered in Iowa State University’s Hilton Coliseum Saturday.

“The future is now — I will work for the people and I will work for you,” the GOP presidential candidate said.

McCotter, 45, spent little time in Iowa leading up to the Straw Poll. His speech at the Ames event marks one of the first in front of people likely to cast ballots in the nation's first caucus.

He did not participate with his fellow candidates in the GOP presidential debate Thursday night in Ames.

Applause and cheers were a bit more subdued for McCotter, who touched on many subjects in his speech. He said the Obama administration is causing Americans to become “dependent” on the government.

“We can never empower an individual by making them dependent on another person,” McCotter said.

He also addressed the “reality that we remain a nation at war.”

“It’s heartbreaking to know that we cannot bring them home as quickly as our hearts wish them to be,” McCotter said. “But they are quite proud of what they are doing to defend you.”