Weekend open thread: Huckabee in Iowa edition

What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers?

Past and perhaps future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is in Des Moines tonight Sunday, headlining the Iowa Family Policy Center’s annual fundraiser. Other speakers include WHO talk radio personality Steve Deace and Iowa Family Policy Center Action president Chuck Hurley.

The big event is also Bob Vander Plaats’ debut as “president and chief executive officer of an umbrella group that includes the Iowa Family Policy Center, Marriage Matters and their political action committee.” The Iowa Family Policy Center endorsed Vander Plaats for governor. Huckabee came to Iowa to campaign for Vander Plaats, who chaired his successful Iowa caucus campaign in 2008.

Vander Plaats told journalists this week that his umbrella group will mobilize social conservatives and endorse a candidate for the upcoming Iowa caucus campaign. If Huckabee stays out of the presidential race, several campaigns will work hard to win the approval of Vander Plaats, Hurley and Deace. If Huckabee runs again, other candidates may as well not waste their time.

I got a robocall from Huckabee Thursday or Friday of this week, but I don’t know whether it was a fundraising call or an attempt to identify supporters. The call ended quickly after I answered “no” to the question, “Do you consider yourself pro-life?”

I’m headed to a friend’s birthday party tonight as soon as my version of Jewish noodle kugel comes out of the oven for the potluck. Quite a few Branstad voters will be in attendance (including the birthday girl), and I’m determined not to get into any arguments.

My Twitter feed is full of Republicans freaking out about Governor Chet Culver’s deal with AFSCME. A 2 percent raise for state employees, followed by a 1 percent raise, is far from excessive. Republican complaints about Culver’s lack of “courtesy” amuse me. It wasn’t too polite of Terry Branstad to spend millions of dollars on tv ads lying about I-JOBS and how Culver managed the state’s finances.

UPDATE: To clarify, the proposed contract with AFSCME involves a 2 percent across the board salary increase starting July 1, 2011, a 1 percent across the board salary increase starting January 1, 2012, another 2 percent across the board salary increase beginning July 1, 2012, and a 1 percent across the board salary increase starting January 1, 2013.

This is an open thread.

UPDATE: Kay Henderson posted a good liveblog of Huckabee’s November 21 press conference and his speech to the Iowa Family Policy Center crowd. The same post links to an audio clip of Huckabee’s comments to reporters and covers Vander Plaats’ speech to the crowd at the fundraiser.

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desmoinesdem

  • Barbour

    If I’m Haley Barbour, I know I’m not as dynamic a speaker or as intellectually honest about fiscal matters and governing as Huckabee is, but I think I have the right mix of socially and fiscally conservative views to win among GOP base voters.

    The real question with someone like Barbour is whether the Tea Party or groups within today’s Iowa GOP and the party base within other states do really care about Barbour’s Washington D.C.  lobbying ties.  It does disqualify him or anyone in my eyes, but I hold some views that are certainly in the minority no matter who you are talking to.  

    Is the Tea Party really anti-Washington D.C and thus does that mean there is a larger class warfare element within it?  

    • I think Barbour is too DC establishment

      to be embraced by the tea party, and I don’t think he’s the type of Republican who would ever do well in New Hampshire. That means he would have to win Florida or South Carolina, which doesn’t seem likely given who else will be in the field.

  • The Nazis were a no show at the Capitol today...

    About sixty people showed up on the steps of the Iowa Statehouse this morning to welcome folks from Aryan Nation and the American Nationalist Socialist Party. They had announced a scheduled rally from 11-1 today.  

    See flyer here: http://ansphq.blogspot.com/201…

    Apparently we did not appear friendly or welcoming enough, those two or three folks that kept circling around the Capitol for an hour and a half never did stop and get out of their cars.  

    • I had no idea

      What a (small) bunch of cowards.

    • nice mention of Sally

      in the new book by the former Princeton University president William G. Bowen:

      ON SALLY FRANK ’80:

      My favorite dissenter was Sally Frank, a member of the Class of 1980, who was best known as a determined opponent of the all-male eating clubs. … Combating the all-male clubs was by no means her only cause. She was also a zealous advocate of divestment and an opponent of many university policies that she regarded as too “conservative.” But, to her great credit, her dissent was never personal and she always treated her opponents (including the president!) and the university itself with great respect. She was extremely loyal and never failed to show up for reunions and to march with her class in the P-rade. She knew that Princeton was a great university, but she also believed that it could be much better. … But we should not be Pollyannaish and think (or pretend) that all campus dissenters are such ­generous spirits or as constructive. ­Protestors, like all others, come in many flavors. Especially at the time of Vietnam, some were just angry and destructive …

      • Yeah, yeah, yeah...

        They are still in touch fairly frequently and are friends now.

        In fact, she dragged me by his place when we first got engaged so he could meet me.  

        Now, if we could just get Sally to take that sabbatical and write the definitive history of the eating clubs.  By all estimation she has done more research on the subject than any person on earth. 🙂  

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