The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party is widely known for his high-volume speeches, but he’s under doctor’s orders to try to protect his voice. For the past few years, Kaufmann has been the master of ceremonies and chief cheerleader at innumerable Republican Party events, including a Donald Trump rally in Cedar Rapids in June. Years of these exhortations took a toll, though. Kaufmann developed a deep, non-cancerous nodule in his throat. He had surgery on one of his vocal cords last December. “It was probably the three hardest days of my life when the doctor said I couldn’t talk,” Kaufmann said. Kaufmann admits he lasted just a day a half before tossing aside the marker and wipe-erase board he was using to communicate with his family. For several months after surgery, Kaufmann went to a speech therapist.

“If I’ve heard the phrase once, I’ve heard it a dozen times: ‘Breathe from your stomach,'” Kaufmann said last week. “I’ll be honest. I don’t even know what that means…I think I’m just going to lower my noise level just a little bit.” Julie Andrews, the soprano who reached vocal heights in memorable roles on stage and screen, underwent surgery two decades ago to remove nodules from her vocal cords — and was unable to sing afterwards.Kaufmann says he’s never been able to sing, so that’s not a concern. He’s stopped going to the speech therapist and has adopted this approach to his vocal health:

“I’m going to just lower it down, keep my fingers crossed and make sure everybody can hear me.” But after his return to a rigorous schedule of speaking engagements, Kaufmann’s doctor warns the nodule may be coming back. “But some people have said my kind of scratchy voice is kind of sultry and it’s good for engaging voters, so I’m going to do with that.” Kaufmann earns a paycheck with his voice. Kaufmann teaches history and government classes at Muscatine Community College. He’s also a livestock farmer and a member of the Cedar County Board of Supervisors.

(Radio Iowa)