Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley seemingly dislikes any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants as much as Indiana Jones hates snakes.  This may explain why the Senator chose to link the Boston Marathon bombings with the latest immigration reform legislation last Friday.

“Given the events of this week, it’s important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system,” the Senator said at the first Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform.

Considering Grassley’s previous public displeasure with the bipartisan legislation, his comments come off as less than genuine and far more self-serving.

The current reform Grassley clearly seeks to halt was drafted by the following eight senators (also known as the “Gang of Eight”): Marco Rubio (FL), John McCain (AZ), Lindsey Graham (SC), Jeff Flake (AZ), Dick Durbin (IL), Robert Menendez (NJ), Michael Bennet (CO) and Chuck Schumer (NY).

It was Sen. Schumer’s comments during a March appearance on Meet the Press that originally caught Grassley’s attention: “So look, we’ve come to a basic agreement, which is that first, people will be legalized.  In other words, not citizens, but they’ll be allowed to work, come out of the shadows, travel.”

From Schumer’s comments, the Iowa Senator viewed the new reform as placing an emphasis on legalization before securing the border.

Grassley, a Judiciary Committee member, sent a letter to all eight senators requesting a briefing on the details of their current plan after the interview aired, which they declined.

The Senator also opposed the Obama administration’s 2012 immigration policy, which allowed illegal immigrants to file for a two-year deferral from deportation if they did not have a criminal record, lived in the U.S. for five continuous years and were a successful high school student or served in the military.

If you’re an immigrant contributing positively to our nation, like the honey badger, Chuck Grassley don’t give a shit.

A visit to Grassley’s own Senate page makes his stance on the subject clear in a section titled, Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants is a Non-starter.

However, Grassley was not the first to speak out against the new immigration reform due to the Boston Marathon bombings.  Iowa Republican Representative Steve King claimed legalization needed to be put on the back burner and the focus should be on security.  This interview was conducted just 24 hours after the attacks, before the suspects were identified or their legal status was known.

Not a surprise coming from a man who doesn’t seem to have the highest opinion of those not naturally born in the United States. You may recall last year that Rep. King compared choosing immigrants who receive visas to that of choosing a “good bird dog.”

If his concerns for the safety of the nation’s citizens are truly genuine, then Sen. Grassley will also quickly champion a push for gun control.

We know the two suspects were armed.  The two men participated in a shootout with police, carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint and shot and killed an MIT police officer.  Neither of the men had a handgun license or any legal documentation to purchase or carry a firearm.

It is not at all surprising that the two men could obtain firearms without the proper registration and/or licenses.  A recent CNN undercover piece showed the investigating reporter could purchase a firearm at multiple gun shows without identification or a background check.  The gun control legislation that Senator Grassley voted against last Wednesday would have closed the gun show loophole.

Besides their disdain for the current immigration reform, Representative King and Senator Grassley share a common friend in the NRA.  Grassley has most recently received $6,950 from the lobby group while King counted $11,300.

As a proud Iowan, these two men do not represent my beautiful and loving home state.  They represent what is wrong with modern politics.

They support their own agendas and protect their interests over those of the people they were elected by to serve.

I don’t understand how an individual can claim to want to further strengthen the nation’s protection of its citizens and then proceed to vote down a bill and halt another one that does just that in the same week.

Chuck Grassley is not just a disappointment to the state of Iowa; he is one for the nation.