Things Going Round & Round

2007-01-12T04:14:00.000-06:00

The Turtles Among Us

2006-12-08T22:12:00.000-06:00

Just thought I might point people in Royce's direction. He's thinking about it.On recommendation, I'm reading R.W. Emerson because sometimes the only reason we do, produce, love these things is to chance upon writing a string of words that we never thought possible. I'm all about Providence; I think that might have something to do with transcendence, perhaps; although experiencing Rudolph with

KinderRules

2006-11-29T05:24:00.000-06:00

Since this blog is my own unique form of relevant irrelevance, I thought it might be nice to go over a few rules for kindergarten. From Mrs. Pohlmeyer’s Kindergarten webpage: We are always good listeners. We are helpers, not hurters. We are walkers, not runners. We are builders, not breakers. We are talkers, not shouters. We are quiet workers, not players.

What did he do?

2006-11-17T18:02:00.000-06:00

The reemergence of Newt as political guru is not all together true, he’s always been around just a little verklempt during the DeLay years. Who wasn't? The Gay Patriot -- yes a conservative homosexual, there are still a few left under the big tent -- had this to say about the demise of the Republican Congressional Majority. If there was one event which would serve as a harbinger of the

Post Election, Part II

2006-11-14T07:42:00.000-06:00

As one side gets down to the business of governing, the other side is still ruminating in that kind of old man in a moth eaten sweater & smelly chair with an odd fixation for keeping time with a clicker: on, off, on, off, on off…. – yeah, it’s a little sad – about what happened. Despite some new post-election angst about the GOP early voting and absentee program -- which really should

On The Issues

2006-11-10T00:35:00.000-06:00

A new website to check out that tracks the direct quotes of public and political leaders. You can search by name, by topic and/or by geography. It's user friendly & fun...well, not so fun if you happen to be a presidential candidate with a variety of positions on a couple of key issues that might offend some "base".When will all of this irrational political litmus-testing end?

Seasick

2006-11-08T19:39:00.001-06:00

I think they call this a sea change election. Whether the change is directed towards some new set of priorities & goals or a reaction to the perceived dysfunction is certainly speculative. The analysis is as varied as the audience: netroots keying in their progressive self important take (that’s unexpected); the Republican establishment minimizing and making nice; and the somewhat startled

It's almost over & my two cents.

2006-11-06T11:47:00.000-06:00

The weekend editorials and pundit columns have covered the basics: nasty, more nasty and irrelevant, an accurate picture of the campaigns on both sides. The phone calls & door knocking campaign geeks are out in full force putting as happy a spin on their candidates as is possible. The candidates are making their last sales pitches hoping that they’re closing at the right time. And voters are

Inspiration Deficit

2006-10-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

Okay, I am at a complete loss on coming up with an idea for a post. If you, a friend, your mother, the neighbor across the fence have a topic(s) please send it along. Then again, it's okay if nothing comes to mind. I'm sure I'll think up something in a few days.

Steve King, the Fence and 2008

2006-10-27T06:43:00.000-05:00

I doubt there is any need for editorial comment on this Radio Iowa report. ...Congressman Steve King, a Republican from western Iowa, is celebrating. "I'm really pleased that the president has signed the Secure Fence Act," King says. "That's an issue that I've been working on. I first raised that issue here in Des Moines on August 22, 2005, so we're about 14 months down the road...That's

Chet Culver wants to be our next governator

2006-10-26T07:26:00.000-05:00

What Chet might be thinking out loud somewhere in Iowa… “Ya, that Jim Nussle, he’s a scaredy-cat, a big baby hiding out from President… ya, here me now, and believe this later: if you want to play games with me, let me tell you now the thing: "Let the games begin!" Maybe you don’t know English. Maybe you see only TV ads and say ya, I vote for Chet, ya, he knows how to pose and show off the

GOTV - Fishing techniques that'll make Babe proud.

2006-10-24T07:13:00.000-05:00

In today’s column, Yepsen digs into the turnout strategy for both parties and provides an early forecast on turnout success rates. From today's DMR: …At first glance, Democrats would seem to be ahead. Once again, their absentee-ballot effort is harvesting more votes than the Republicans are capturing. As of Monday, Democrats had 87,214 requests for absentee ballots on file in election offices

M’ville riffs on cozy relationships, appels & a taste for headache inducing stupid

2006-10-22T23:04:00.000-05:00

I’m privileged to find comments that are worth republishing in a post. It is particularly helpful on days, nay weeks, when not so much is my working mantra. The following are Manville’s comments to my last two posts. I have included my editorial translation in brackets. And, admittedly, I’m feeling a little lazy so my comments are short. I'm amused at the angst over the apparent --

Stand & Deliver

2006-10-17T06:20:00.000-05:00

WSJ editorial writer Kimberly Strassel published the first of many capstone opinions dissecting Republicans election year woes. Strassel compares the immediate election year futures of the Republicans in Florida and Ohio; Florida is set to retain and build on their state level majorities and hold the Governor’s mansion, while Ohio’s GOP is sinking fast and deep. Strassel’s key point in this

Round Up - a few political weeds

2006-10-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

The Sunday DMR “Iowa Poll” released a flurry of press. First, the Nussle camp came out with a morning statement on the poll, which included this prickly swipe at the cozy relationship that the DMR seems to have with the Democratic Party. What’s more interesting is that the current Democrat Governor had knowledge of these questionable numbers to announce before partisans at a Democrat

Smokin'

2006-10-13T05:54:00.000-05:00

Those cancer sticks are causing more trouble than they’re worth. Okay, obvious to suggest they’re not worth much in the general scheme, unless you’re a major stockholder or beneficiary of Altria, Reynolds American or any other major corporation with tobacco interests. But for some candidates, the lack of movement on anti-tobacco legislation during past sessions might turn out to be an expensive

Odds & Ends on GOTV

2006-10-11T01:56:00.000-05:00

This election cycle is gearing up for the end, which is, paradoxically, a wind down for the brains that think up ways to push your buttons all the way to the polls. They’ve put down the groundwork and figured out where to spend the money. Given that messages worth blogging are rout by this point and this is really just a habit built on the concept of “fun”, I went surfing and inadvertently

A vote for Nussle is a vote for homework

2006-10-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

I normally would not make any attempt at campaign ad analysis. I'll leave that one for the pros. However, a new Jim Nussle ad entitled Compete (on the Nussle website but not on YouTube™) must be an effective ad.Today, my oldest saw the ad and immediately sent younger brother (the minion) upstairs to tell me that I cannot vote for Jim Nussle because he'll make school difficult and the teachers

Blog Talk: the noise within

2006-10-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

Deficits redux A certain Democratic spin blog has been dragging up the issue of budget deficits for months; blaming Jim Nussle for the federal red ink, the red ink manufacturers' use of cheap foreign labor, global warming caused by the paper produced from trees used to put the red ink on, and the token victim that happens to be standing just close enough to the red ink to succumb to a burning

You're not going to know my name, but I'm going to run the show

2006-10-04T05:20:00.000-05:00

How many jobs and insider tracks into Iowa Democratic politics does this guy need?Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Mason City Globe-GazetteDES MOINES — The State Judicial Nominating Commission on Tuesday announced its three finalists for an upcoming vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court. The finalists are: -- Brent Appel, 54, of Ackworth. Appel currently works in private practice at the Des Moines

Debate # 1: No winner out of the first 25 minutes I actually watched

2006-10-03T07:53:00.000-05:00

A quick take on yesterday’s debate. I probably don’t need to say too much as many other people have many more things to say and we even get a little high quality snark from Todd Dorman (thank you). Besides, I’m sort of coffee boutique with the regulars and the drop ins, so the economics of blogging are obvious in terms of my personal investment decisions. There are no winners in my

Culver & Nussle: Debate # 1

2006-10-02T02:10:00.000-05:00

More polls and it’s still a big tie. Big surprise. The DMR numbers are running at 44/44 and the new Zogby numbers are at 46/46. It might stay this way until the end, arriving at November 8th with a vote count nightmare ready to launch, but we're coming into debate season and we'll lose the tie. Bloggers have discussed and categorized the upcoming debates, offering up some early

Heard it all before...part two

2006-09-29T07:35:00.000-05:00

I cut & pasted the comments from the last post to this one because it’s an interesting discussion and I’m too tired to whip up some other thought – this habit is like a Martha Stewart Living spree gone bad.------------------------------ Civility: is it a lost cause in America? Even Newt Gingrich reflects on the disappearance of this key element in the production of good works, public policy and

Heard it all before...

2006-09-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

Two very different bloggers have taken on the discussion of a recent controversial statement signed by legislative leaders to encourage the movement of anti-bullying legislation in the next General Assembly. John Deeth talks to the heart about his experience being bullied as a kid and makes almost no argument for or against the actual legislation. I assume he believes his experience -- a rather

My November 7th Wish List

2006-09-23T21:16:00.000-05:00

It’s a little over six weeks until we bury this election and I have a list of things I’m wishing on. Some of these things are selfish suggestions, they’ll help with the blogging, other suggestions are random ideas that I think will improve the universal peace of mind. And, since this is my blog, my peace of mind matters. 1) I want everything, well almost everything, on You Tube™. I

Iowa Democrats Looking for Cover

2006-09-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

Peggy Noonan, writing in a recent WSJ Online op-ed, drops a few clear thoughts into this year's midterm election muddle. ...my sense of things: They say the election is all about Iraq. It's not. It's about George W. Bush. He dominates the discussion, or rather obsesses the discussers. ...Noonan captures the essential ambiguity Americans have about GWB, but suggests this ambiguity, when worked

Political Dirt, Iowa Style

2006-09-20T00:58:00.000-05:00

The Political Madman is on a roll. There's 49 days left until the November 7 election. Forty-nine days of negative ads, push polling, partisan bickering and bad satire. At the end of those 49 days, we'll elect the candidate Iowans hate less based on the smear campaigns of their opponents, 527 groups and the parties.Then, on November 8th, we'll wonder why no one voted. True words, but sadly

Nussle & Culver: The battle of the polls begins

2006-09-18T01:14:00.000-05:00

It’s a battle of the public polls -- Zogby, KCCI, Victory Enterprise and most recently the Des Moines Register have put out the numbers. The public consumption polling fight is on, and as everyone expects this is turning out to be a bloody knuckles fight. Nussle’s people sent out a press release on Friday pumping a new poll by Victory Enterprises, a GOP political shop based out of Davenport.

Culver & Nussle: lingering indigestion but is the crazy permanent?

2006-09-14T07:11:00.000-05:00

Nussle has a little indigestion hanging around from last week. KCCI commissioned a poll on the political winds in Central Iowa and picked up evidence of that indigestion. Reported by KCCI News: …Data show that 48 percent of those polled would vote for Culver and 43 percent would vote for GOP candidate Jim Nussle. Only 9 percent were undecided. … …The telephone survey was conducted Sept.

Zogby Numbers: crazy meltdown or indigestion.

2006-09-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

It’s always fun to step all over the polling “message” campaigns want to spin out. To wit: the new WSJ Online Zogby poll is up for the end of August first week of September, and Jim Nussle ought to be pleased. His message on Chet Culver's Crazy IPERS plan could be a major reason for the flip. In the latest Zogby Interactive Poll, Nussle is up by 2.4%: 45.6% to 43.2%, it’s within the

2006-09-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

I had not been to New York since the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 so the sight of Lower Manhattan from the Atlantic Highlands ferry was confusing. I was looking at Manhattan and thinking it was a recently urbanized Staten Island or Brooklyn or maybe even New Jersey. It didn’t look like the New York I had in my head, but after a look to my left at the Statue of Liberty, I

Frist busts the pork for a little love

2006-09-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

After the last anonymous hold was lifted on S 2950, Frist moved fast to get the pork tracker legislation through the Senate. It sailed out late Thursday night, 100 to 0. Good for Frist, although bloggers at Human Events get the idea that this was about more than just the pork. Tonight's passage of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2950) is being hailed by bloggers

Culver & Nussle: perspective, issues and underwear

2006-09-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

I’m still thinking of ways to explain how the abortion debate never addresses what it means to have an occupied uterus. I’m sure with that line alone I’ve lost at least a quarter of the normal (using the term loosely) readers. I know, when we use correct anatomical terms it takes away all the mystery. I thought I’d break up my writers block with a first. The AP released a story with a

Iowa Democrats send a SCUD Nussle's way

2006-09-06T00:44:00.000-05:00

All this talk about abortion is flashback 80s sorority Big Ten style. Drama! Who needs it? Actually, I do have a few thoughts, but I need to think about how to say it. I’ll give you a hint: It’s not about babies and it’s not about women, it’s about where everybody powwows when they talk “unplanned pregnancy” – the uterus. I’ll explain that later, sort of, if, well, yeah, but later. This is almost

Iowa Policy Project: twisting & turning the numbers for their version of the greater good

2006-09-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

It’s Labor Day in an election year, which always means the American Worker gets wrapped up in campaign politics. This year, very probably more than other years, it’s a pink elephant playing out in the standard fare; illegal immigration, health care, education, super sized government, CIETC, in fact, it’s difficult to find an issue where labor isn’t a major part of the discussion. I guess we

Look: Ted on a Treadmill...or is it?

2006-08-31T23:36:00.000-05:00

On some days, politics needs to take a back seat to treadmills. (HT - the resident adolescent) Anyone else catch the resemblance to a certain real blogger in a circa 1980s frat party look?Yes, State, Kyle, Stan and anyone else that's gettin' bent about a lack of feed, I'm working on it.

Resiliency

2006-08-30T07:14:00.000-05:00

Writing is often a combination of idea and emotion set to the theme music in your head. It is most true in the world of blogs, where disparate thoughts are pulled together from the place you happen to be standing on that day and smacked down in a post. A year ago, we were in the throws of an unimaginable natural disaster bearing down on the Northern Gulf Coast states of Louisiana and

Harkin hangs with Elmo: Is he getting ready for 2008?

2006-08-29T01:46:00.000-05:00

The ground game is in play, the messages are set, the ads are in the can, it’s time to talk 2008. Yepsen and Krusty Insiders are starting to speculate on the 2008 Senate race. Who’s going to take on Harkin? A nobody who wants it bad, a Statehouse pol with a 'take no prisoners' attitude, a Statewide pressed & creased numbers guy or our favorite winger. Whoever it is, he or she

Fastballs, Changeups & Knuckleballs

2006-08-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

Writing a blog is similar to an overly long season of little league where the players and parents, except Super Jock Dad, want it to end. But it keeps going on and on, providing ever more opportunity for parents to deep end with embarrassing displays of unfulfilled childhood ego needs. I suppose that’s a long way of explaining how I feel about this project; it was fun, but now I’m showing up

Possibly...

2006-08-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

This is a good week for team Nussle: Radio Iowa on Chet’s efforts at walking the fence on illegal immigration. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver supports a repeal of the Iowa law that declares English the state's official language. But Culver opposes a move to let illegal immigrants pay in-state college tuition to go to Iowa, Iowa State or UNI. "We need to work on enforcing the

Nussle: campaign cash & Culver policy goofs

2006-08-17T01:59:00.000-05:00

The Nussle campaign is having a good week. Yesterday evening, Jim Nussle collected a half a million dollars and change. The AP story out of the Globe Gazette. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said the Republican Governors Association that he heads has donated $500,000 to Rep. Jim Nussle's campaign for governor - the largest single donation the group has made in the country. Romney made

M.A. Hanusa for SOS! Why not?

2006-08-14T22:20:00.000-05:00

I don’t usually get to flip a press release out. Normally some member of a club is on it, but today I just happened to be working on this thing when this press release arrived. I checked around and OK has it up, it is news and collecting the news is her job and blogging is not my job, a habit...a wretched, compulsive habit that may require heavy doses of SSRIs at some point because I’m actually

Nussle & Culver: can you hear them; they talk about us...

2006-08-12T01:49:00.000-05:00

Over the last week or so some blogs have started the dumpster diving, and not with any particular cleverness. They’re expanding the edge of political whisper campaigns by introducing junk, the irrelevant things voters hear and then gossip about that may, for some very small minded people, define a candidates qualifications for office.Rambling on about Chet Culver’s interest in food and

Iowa Snippets

2006-08-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, if you checked earlier this post might have looked a little different. Whatever. It’s a rocky road into November, from Democratic Senator and Joe “statesman and closet neo-con” Lieberman in Connecticut to Representative Cynthia “I’ll whoop your butt” McKinney in Georgia to Representative Joe “did someone say earmark” Schwarz in Michigan incumbents with just a smidge of trouble lost

Cul'v'er & Nussle duking it out on the minimum wage

2006-08-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

Is this election year going to turn on issues like the minimum wage increase? It could be, and to that end, yesterday’s dueling gubernatorial candidate comments on the need to raise the minimum wage is the first round on the issue. Culver’s take: … Culver, Iowa’s secretary of state, said he would make it one of his top priorities to raise the state minimum wage to $7.25 per hour if he is

Steve King: fenced & wired

2006-08-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

In honor of the Setphano Reys' of the Latino world out there praying that they don’t put too much juice on that wire, I’ve the intro and link to Congressman Steve King’s recent opinion in the Daily Nonpareil on the urgent need to fence & electrify the southern border. Guest Opinion: Fence cost-effective, compassionate -- Congressman Steve King Some newspapers and blogs embellish facts

Political Ethics: Round One, Culver & Nussle spin their plans.

2006-08-03T23:52:00.000-05:00

It’s corruption week in Iowa; people are talking about it and everyone is against it -- well almost everyone, the Polk County insider syndicate & friends being the infamous exception. But even better than the knowing disapproval of the voting rabble with tilting heads and nodding tisks, is the dueling ethics plans being sent out by our gubernatorial guys. They both need “ethics plans” to cover

Odds & Ends II; blogrolling

2006-07-31T11:14:00.000-05:00

This is a light post and then off the clock for at least a day or two. I/we have things to do.A few emails announcing new blogs or requests for 'be my friend' blog status, etc have bounced into my email. I'll just post up the basics and let y'all figure out which ones are worth reading...A few weeks ago, the folks from Blog for Iowa sent an email suggesting that we link up. I'm still thinking on

Mitt & The Big Dig

2006-07-29T06:56:00.000-05:00

I’m assuming that Mitt Romney is arriving in Des Moines sometime this morning, flying in to flyover country with a marketable caucus chit in his pocket. Yesterday in Boston, Romney forced the resignation of the Republican in charge of the now notorious Big Dig. Excerpts from a story out of yesterday’s Boston Globe (registration required or just google Amorello)Matthew J. Amorello agreed to step

Bayh's Playbook, 2006

2006-07-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

There are a few questions spinning around (I know, kitsch use of blog title) about Evan Bayh’s All America PAC expenditure relating to the 23 immersion trained campers being sent to Iowa. There was one question as to the legality of bankrolling and then transporting the Bayh Campers across state lines using PAC dollars, but it seems, according to the experts, it’s not a problem – assuming they’re

Will a Democratic Iowa Senate restart the TouchPlay program?

2006-07-26T13:48:00.000-05:00

The Iowa lottery fires a final shot over the TouchPlay debate. From a Radio Iowa report:Iowa Lottery sales more than doubled in the last 12 months according to a report released today (Wednesday), fueled in large part by those now-silent TouchPlay machines.The Iowa Lottery recorded a 60 percent increase in sales of its products over the 12-month state fiscal year that began July 1st, 2005 and

Bayh uses creative team bankrolling, oops, building in Iowa

2006-07-25T05:53:00.001-05:00

A sidebar on the DMR website this morning: Sen. Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat taking steps toward running for president, said his political action committee will pay for 23 campaign staffers to help Democratic candidates in Iowa in this fall's elections.Bayh's All America PAC has held training sessions for more than 100 campaign workers, with the idea that they would also be willing to work for

Odds & Ends I: a load of miss matched stuff – the blogs

2006-07-24T01:01:00.000-05:00

I’ve sort of been ignoring the new blogs because I don’t want to mess with my template –I’ve had problems lately when I mess with stuff. But I can’t avoid blog maintenance forever. Caucus Cooler It’s one of those “insider” Republican blogs focused on the Republican presidential types jostling to be it by this time next year. In time for that little mentioned Straw-Poll™ event where the

Hog Lots & Hog Czars

2006-07-19T22:47:00.000-05:00

I keep swatting off those rabid Chet “AP Calls It” Culver Fans, so I have a lazy blogger’s post because I cannot spend my entire free time thinking up stuff to slap up on a blog. Anyway, I’ve cut & pasted part of Todd Dorman’s recent post from his blog franchise, the Statehouse Snippets. Iowa’s Legislature has offered us two very different views on private property rights in the past few

A little smackbat to the Anonymous "AP Calls It" Culver Fan

2006-07-17T23:14:00.000-05:00

This is for that damn yahoo that keeps bugging me on my Chet Culver election post with his/her facts about how the "AP calls elections". Q: How and when AP will call the top races? A: The Associated Press will factor together a variety of points of information before calling any race, and will call a race only when a victor is clear. In the field, thousands of AP stringers are collecting raw

Mike Huckabee: making it cool to be a squishy conservative

2006-07-16T21:20:00.000-05:00

We have squishy liberals, why can’t we have squishy conservatives? I am referring to Yepsen’s take on Mike Huckabee’s attempt to pull social justice themes into the Republican presidential race by pushing a little in your face politics on the religious conservative movement. (DMR link)…some Republicans think this Baptist preacher turned politician is, well, too liberal because he goes beyond

Peggy Noonan's curious thoughts on Ken Lay and Broken Hearts

2006-07-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about posting the link and excerpts of Peggy Noonan's July 6th column for the past four days. All deaths are sad, and some are shocking and sad. Ken Lay's this week was both, though I don't suppose it should have been a shock. Putting aside all judgments and conclusions, all umbrage, outrage and indignation, and all debates on who was most responsible for the Enron scandal-

Should Chet Culver be watching his own election?

2006-07-12T07:24:00.000-05:00

Monday Radio Iowa reported that Hilary Clinton went after Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial candidate and current Secretary of State. … New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton suggested Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell -- a Republican candidate for governor in Ohio -- should not run the November election there. She said it's a "conflict of interest." Iowa Secretary of

A question for Bruce Braley – Will our ten year olds need Social Security in 60 years?

2006-07-10T00:20:00.000-05:00

Every election year when Democrats start to demagogue on the issue of Social Security and “Mediscare” I find myself fuming at the political process. It could be that I’m not keen on having to listen to the federally financed elderly insurance programs for dummies rhetoric. More likely, it’s the absolute audacity of Democrats gaming the issue to scare old people. It’s maddening, but what’s worse

Vilsack & Bayh touring Eastern Iowa

2006-07-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

Certain Democrats are ginning up their presidential aspiration tours. One we know well, too well if we consider the cost of his landscaping habit, is on a homegrown political tour. Vilsack & company's new metaphor has something to do with Iowa's "changing landscape". I'm not sure it's a good political move to associate landscaping and political success. We've all lived through some version

Iowa: revenues are up and the money's spent.

2006-07-05T07:31:00.000-05:00

Iowans pay record in state taxes during past 12 months And Iowa collects record $5.77 billion in state taxes So we can spend it on Program urges proactive path to better health: A new initiative enlists churches, schools and community centers. How about a tax cut? Nah, it's too much fun to think up redundant policy to grandstand on during an election year.

I'm owning my tech-idiot moment.

2006-06-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

Clipping around in the Iowa blogs this evening I found this entry and comment string at Common Iowan. For some reason I decided to search through some Rightwing blogs tonight. I came away with one interesting observation... a ton of Rightwing blogs don't allow users to post comments and if they do most of the time the blogger has to approve them (Iowa's own Krusty Konservative is one of the

Wayne Ford and Chet Culver: Are they on the same page?

2006-06-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

One more reason to hate the Grow Iowa Values Fund, and we had to wait until Wayne Ford pointed it out. Who? Representative Wayne Ford, the Des Moines State Representative known for hard luck to hard work to achievement speechifying on the floor of the Iowa House. The story published in today's Des Moines Register. Iowa's business incentives are reaching too few women- and minority-owned

Rubbermaid & Iowa's Economic Development Politics

2006-06-28T07:12:00.000-05:00

The Centerville story is becoming less about the Rubbermaid plant closing and more about the politics. The story from a June 15, 2006 KCCI News report: ...The Rubbermaid plant announced Wednesday that it will close. … … Workers were told the production side will shut down Sept. 15. The distribution division will continue until mid-October. The manufacturing department will shift to

Karl Rove really does love Social Security, honest.

2006-06-27T07:03:00.000-05:00

Karl Rove was, probably still is, in town doing his part as the ubber campaign brain to raise that all important campaign dollar for our first timers; Rove campaigned for Jeff Lamberti, running against Boswell in the 3rd, and Mike Whalen, in the open 1st. As reported by the AP in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. National pundits have cast both contests as barometers of the Republican Party’s

Governor Energy

2006-06-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

I wanted to energize the blog world, and this GOP press release on the new WSJ/Zogby poll showing off the Nussle "trend lines" wanted to be plugged in somewhere. It’s a wait and see on the numbers; trends are not evident in one poll, but voters seem to be moving in Nussle’s direction. A little fact left out of the press release is the statistical margin of error. In all fairness, it’s

A Quirky Blog & Etc Round Up

2006-06-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

A pathetically slow news day -- yeah, federal officials raided a DeCoster egg farm for illegals and that story’s been ripped & pulped by State. There’s not much else to write about, so thought I’d skim the blog world. Todd Dorman’s blog is always good, if a little sporadic. This week he’s spot on with some budget number crunching. I’m particularly fond of the creative & innovative idea of

Chet's Final Jeopardy!

2006-06-21T23:42:00.000-05:00

I can almost hear the music: Chet’s looking at the formal papers requesting the Secretary of State send the vetoed eminent domain bill back to the House and he’s wondering what the correct answer…is When the governor vetoes a measure during a legislative session, it goes back to the Legislature for an override attempt. When the governor vetoes a measure after the Legislature is adjourned, it is

My Iowa Convention Round Up

2006-06-19T23:28:00.000-05:00

I'm inspired by all the blog coverage dedicated to the politically inbreed navel gazing excess, or more commonly referred to as our state political conventions. O. Kay did a great job; impressive brain to finger processing speed, unfortunately she worked some obscure editorializing at the GOP confab (the use of table salt on a lunch is a worthy digression?) while sticking to the party talk

Eminent Domain: Vilsack's veto + Gronstal's spin = a Republican win

2006-06-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

Friday, June 2, 2006: Governor Tom Vilsack vetoed HF 2351, a bill for an act relating to government authority, including eminent domain authority and condemnation procedures…, which had passed the House 89 to 5 and the Senate by 43 to 6. “Eminent Domain should always be the last resort for governments needing private property for a public purpose,” he [Vilsack] said. (Vilsack press

Chet Culver: a friend to government oversight

2006-06-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

Chet’s all over the state coming up with ideas…some that sound like they came out of the Nussle/Vander Plaats campaign. I suppose when the other guy is running contrast ads that suggest Des Moines/Polk County nurtures corrupt state government, and you just happen to be a statewide elected official from Polk County, it makes sense to be on record in favor of audits and oversight. Reported by Quad

Skirmish One: Nussle to Culver, raise teachers’ salaries above the average; Culver to Nussle, that’s not how the state budget works.

2006-06-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

The first gubernatorial campaign skirmish is all about the teachers. As reported by Radio Iowa’s O Kay Henderson: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver is questioning whether Republican rival Jim Nussle can follow through on his promise to raise teacher pay in Iowa to "better than average." Nussle made that promise Wednesday and Culver today (Thursday) is repeating his own pledge to

Upended

2006-06-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

How frustrated are Republicans and Democrats that they cheerfully voted to upend the status quo in Des Moines? From the trouncing that Dusky Terry took from Denise O’Brien, he was the funded and Governor sanctioned candidate after all, to the formal and implied endorsements (a sign of the anti-Des Moines sentiments) that netted Blouin a weak second place and toss in the incumbent routes on the

One day away

2006-06-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the Iowa primary – I know y’all don’t need to be reminded. If we’re lucky, by tomorrow night we’ll know the candidates we’re going to spend September & October tuning out. We already know the incumbents and the uncontested primary winners; it’s the dogfights that will set the field for November. Statewide, it’s the Democrats gubernatorial primary with the messy finish among Blouin,

Pullin' the strings

2006-06-02T18:25:00.000-05:00

No need to post any additional outrage over Governor Vilsack's veto of the eminent domain legislation (HF 2351), there's plenty here, there and everywhere.It doesn't make any sense for a guy planning to make lots & lots of trips out to beautiful New Hampshire -- where they really do live free or die -- to kill a property rights bill. But if you recall some of the major sources of early funding

David Hartsuch on the ramifications of human trafficking

2006-06-01T22:58:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I posted on the human trafficking legislation making its way through the Iowa Senate. A quick recap: human trafficking is modern day slavery, most often associated with foreigners smuggled into the US for purposes of sexual and physical exploitation.At that time, it looked like Senator Gronstal & Company might kill the human trafficking bill with a couple lousy amendments. That

Bloggggs

2006-05-31T20:07:00.000-05:00

Politically Speaking: A newspaper blog worth a look; it's not just opinion page retread. hotlineblog: the countdown Some questions that could be answered this time next week:-- Is Vilsack's political standing hurt a bit in the state if Blouin doesn't beat Culver? What does that mean for Vilsack's presidential prospects, particularly if Culver ends up as governor? The one WH '08er who has given

After a long weekend

2006-05-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

This is an odds & ends post because I have way too many boxes to sort.The WaPo Fix ranks Iowa's third for the first time...14. Iowa's 3rd District: The biggest oversight in our last Line was not including Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell. Boswell's Des Moines-area seat is extremely competitive between the two parties (Bush won it by less than 300 votes in 2004), and Republicans have fielded a

Illegal Immigration: Heavy Metal or Grunge?

2006-05-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

Some of those hard livin’ metal-heads chalk up the demise of metal in the late 80s to the self-absorbed equivocating of the kids fronting grunge bands. Grunge, an offspring of heavy metal, spoke the language. Headbangers & politicians know: you must speak the language if you wanna' get to… Recently, Congressional pols have been ignoring this rule. Take the immigration debate; it’s

CIETC is officially a scandal; CIETC board member/consultant pleads the fifth

2006-05-23T19:24:00.000-05:00

The CIETC story is old news. We know that a bunch of clever bureaucrats ended up with lucrative employment contracts in exchange for hooking up marginally educated kids with minimum wage jobs. (My SO keeps tellin’ me I need a CIETC style six-figure job; I keep tellin’ him he might not like the unwritten part of that job description.) But it’s getting interesting once again with the first

Martha's Spirit in Iowa

2006-05-22T09:31:00.000-05:00

I spent this past weekend backstage at a dance recital wrangling a bunch of small girls in pouffy and sparkly costumes. We even had to put makeup on our kids, yuck. I wasn't particularly keen on the whole dance thing. I had a very snobby assumption that the dance school was all tap & dance squad jazz (a primer: dance squad jazz is code for “cleaned-up” music video dancing; Paula Abdul, circa

Mike Whalen and his fossil fuel friends

2006-05-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

I get caught up in Google moments when trying to think up blog posts. That happened yesterday. A Mike Whalen email arrived in my inbox with a link to his newest TV spot and I found myself finally interested in the 1st district race. I really haven’t paid that much attention to it, there are plenty of other bloggers spending keyboard time on this race. But it was

Governor ?

2006-05-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

I’m an equal opportunity blogger when it comes to pointing out the stupid. Yesterday, a clump of Democrat legislators went on record to confirm that Chet Culver was indeed a lobbyist for IBP – one of those evil animal protein processors with their own Latin America to Iowa employment programs. The quotes from the WCF Courier: Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs said

A Pennsylvania Whisper

2006-05-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary has absolutely nothing to do with Iowa outside of dropping a few clues about November. Tuesday's election proved to be the exception to a number of campaign rules. One of them says low turnouts help incumbents. Not this time. Only 18 percent of the state's voters went to the polls, but they ousted 17 lawmakers, including the two most powerful members of

Common Sense Grassley

2006-05-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

Chuck Grassley always seems to have a keen, practical sense when it comes to policy. He wants it to work. That is not to say other pols support bad policy, it’s that they don’t have the instincts to know when they’re paddling up a liquid-nitrate infused creek. All that instinct is paying off for Grassley – and vicariously for Iowa Republicans – with his recent moves away from the White

Shutting Down the Speech

2006-05-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

I’ve been on a break for a few weeks. New bloggers will find out; blogging can get old and then it’s a grind and since there’s no real payout, outside of a few emails, it requires inspiration -- and when it’s missing, it’s missing. Enough on this lame explanation for a dropped ball. I’ve also been busy watching all the other blogs: the comebacks, the orchestrated group think, the

Encouragement from North Andover

2006-05-13T19:09:00.000-05:00

My brother-in-law sent this email to my IE address: Hi ______, Have you read this book yet? It seems to be a hot topic on the net and blogs. Hillary may be driving to the middle but the quotes from the past should catch up to her. Take Care, Dave Thanks for the push. Update: Umm, what I interpreted as encouragement was actually day number five of non-stop rain. Dave's going a little nutty;

Landed

2006-04-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm struggling with a round of goofy introspection and need a break. I'll post later this week, if inspired. To explain: we went to St Louis this weekend, no big deal, but it's a city a little like the one I grew up around and by Sunday I was feeling homesick for my old hometown. It'll take a couple days to self-correct and get back on a track.

Pollsters Day

2006-04-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

I don’t exactly know what possessed me to dive into the polling blogs. They’re filled with dense, complex number crunching, analysis & very little humor. Dry is an understatement. That said, polling data drives the political and visa versa, yeah, a few smarties will tell us they don’t use ‘em, but they’re lying. Political parties and their candidates need a certain level of reliable and

The Heartland 527 game.

2006-04-19T07:23:00.000-05:00

Todd Dorman’s official blog asks for inspired words to help Vilsack in his quest for a Democratic message. How about…Government only works when we spend all the money. Gov. Tom Vilsack has been asking fellow Democrats who visit his Heartland PAC Web site to sum up their party’s message in 10 words or less. The goal is to craft a coherent, concise slogan that sticks with voters in November

Education Reform: file it for future reading

2006-04-18T08:09:00.000-05:00

This is filed under the “Yeah, and?” category. An exclusive AP report, WHO TV. …Iowa Schools in Iowa with small minority populations are escaping penalties under the federal No Child Left Behind law, even though some student test scores may be too low. … … An investigation by The Associated Press found that Iowa schools are exempt from penalties in five racial categories -- white, black,

The train has left the station…

2006-04-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

It was announced today that the jury in the George Ryan federal corruption case found him guilty on all charges. Ouch. From the NYT… … George Ryan, the former governor of Illinois who drew international notice by emptying his state's death row, was convicted today of all charges brought against him in a sweeping federal corruption case. After more than five months of sometimes complicated

Lundby clips a single into left field

2006-04-16T22:14:00.000-05:00

The new Republican leader in the Iowa Senate, Mary Lundby of Marion, made her inaugural appearance on Iowa Press this weekend. Overall, a good first IP: outside of looking a little nervous at the beginning, she answered questions with honesty and humor while deftly sparing with the deans/dons of Iowa’s political reporting scene – David Yepsen and Mike Glover. The best moment had to be when

National Journal Blogometer calls Iowa Ennui...a lefty!

2006-04-15T12:11:00.000-05:00

I have no control over how readers interpret these posts. To wit: the National Journal Blogometer linked to my “Is Mitt a Fox?” post and in doing so branded me a LEFTY – that should push a few spa’ghettos out of Drew’s nose. MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) continues to receive press -- both good and bad -- on his new health-care plan. Right-leaning American Geek: "It sounds intriguing, to say the

Kevin!

2006-04-13T18:07:00.000-05:00

I know so many of us miss the irreverent, and on occasion tasteless, State 29. Reading S-29, surely some sort of ethanol-blended bunch of guys, required a little tolerance for off-color comments, but you put up with the stuff that didn’t work because when it worked you were laughing, blushing and debating whether to be outraged or figure out your own way to snark back. State is off somewhere in

Is Mitt a Fox ? (aside)

2006-04-12T23:12:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I posted a few thoughts on Massachusetts’ new, revolutionary health care program. Today I’m posting the Romney backpedal. Out of today’s Boston Globe: Governor likely to veto health fee Stance angers top Democrats; override seen Governor Mitt Romney is expected to veto a fee of $295 per employee on some firms that is a key part of the new healthcare bill, angering

Dueling Politics

2006-04-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

The Iowa Democratic Party comments on Vaudt: What did Dave Vaudt Know and When Did He Know It? DES MOINES – This week, it was reported that an employee for State Auditor Dave Vaudt is the wife of one of the top paid executives at the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium. Deb Dessert is a director at the State Auditor’s office and is married to former CIETC chief operating officer

Changes

2006-04-11T06:37:00.000-05:00

Shake up in the Iowa Senate: Mary Lundby is the new Republican leader. There will be some tricky days helping the guys adjust to the new dynamic, but you can’t beat fearless, smart and tenacious, that’s a hand that wins every time. Gronstal, along with his self-comforting “we will take the Senate” mantra, ought to be readjusting a few things.

Health Care for All: Massachusetts style

2006-04-10T23:56:00.000-05:00

Yepsen’s recent columns are all over the place, from state budget deals to government cronies gone bad to the national players floating in and out of Iowa. Sunday's column highlighted the current popular guy -- we'll call it Mitt-fest 2006, -- and the revolutionary effort in Massachusetts to provide health care access for all its citizens. The extremists on both sides of this issue don't

April Odds & Ends

2006-04-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

A press release issued by Statehouse Republicans on the Government Oversight Committee’s gracious invitation to CIETC and Iowa Workforce Development persons of interest to come before the committee for questioning. 4/8/2006Rep. Alons, Sens. Lundby, Courtney: Legislators to begin new round of questioning in CIETC scandal(DES MOINES) – House and Senate chairs on the Government Oversight