Health care advocates pressure Iowa Sen. Grassley

Grassley, who is among three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee negotiating a health care system overhaul, has been in office since 1956 and seems set to cruise to a sixth term next year.

Democracy for America, a group founded by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, began running ads in Iowa on Monday that target Grassley, specifically. The ads, which are set to run through next week, argue that "when 76 percent of Americans want something done in Washington, Senators like Chuck Grassley in Iowa better listen if they want to get re-elected in 2010."

Group spokeswoman Mary Rickles said the 76 percent figure is based on a poll conducted in June by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal.

The state chapter of the AARP, Iowa's largest seniors organization with about 400,000 members, is also lobbying Grassley to accept sweeping health care reform. But its director, Bruce Koeppl, concedes there's little that can be done to pressure the 75-year-old senator.

"You know as well as I do that you don't force Senator Grassley to do something he doesn't want to do," Koeppl said.