Bleeding Heartland - Jim Leach

Iraq War 10th anniversary links and discussion thread

desmoinesdem — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:32:00 GMT

Ten years ago, President George W. Bush made the disastrous mistake of taking this country to war against Iraq. I've posted some links about the costs and casualties of war after the jump.

Any relevant thoughts are welcome in this thread. I appreciate the work and commitment of those who tried to derail the speeding train toward invasion, and of those who protested the war after it began. I did nothing to stop the war in Iraq--just sat in a rocking chair cradling a new baby, feeling horrified while watching the news on television.
Roll call for the October 2002 U.S. House vote on the authorization for the use of military force in Iraq: 296 to 133. Four of Iowa's five representatives voted yes: Republicans Jim Nussle (IA-01), Tom Latham (IA-05), and Greg Ganske (IA-04), and Democrat Leonard Boswell (IA-03). Republican Jim Leach (IA-02) was one of only six House Republicans to vote no. This vote may be the reason why Leach survived a strong challenge in the redrawn IA-02 in 2002.

Roll call for the October 2002 U.S. Senate vote on the authorization for the use of military force in Iraq: 77 to 23. Both of Iowa's senators voted yes. This was not one of Tom Harkin's finer moments. He was facing a re-election challenge from Greg Ganske at the time.

None of the politicians or policy "experts" who led us into war have been held accountable.

Public schools are not teaching students much about this war.

A new study from Brown University indicates,

According to the project, there have been more than 189,000 direct war deaths. Some 134,000 civilians have been killed directly by war violence, and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands more have died from war-related hardships and illnesses.
The death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq has reached 4,488 - and 3,418 U.S. contractors working for the military have also been killed since March 2003.
[...]
And then there are the post-combat injuries and the home front repercussions of war. Almost 700,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been granted disability. It is estimated that future medical and disability costs for veterans will be between $600 billion and $1 trillion, according to the project.
Total federal spending associated with the war has reached $1.7 trillion. Future promised health and disability payments for veterans through 2053 add up to $490 billion. So, as it stands now, the Iraq War has cost $2.2 trillion, which is a far cry from the initial 2002 estimates of $50 to $60 billion. When you factor in the interest, war expenses could swell to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades.

Click here to read the full report on the costs of the war in Iraq.

Veterans Administration spending on health care and disability payments for Iraq War veterans will continue to rise for decades.

The Iraq war has cost the United States $1.7 trillion - in addition to catastrophic human, social and political losses - and that number could climb to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades, according to the Costs of War Project.
One cost that has just begun to accumulate is Iraq veterans' medical care and disability payments, which could top out in yearly spending around 2050 and total in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This is not surprising, even though there is no special fund set aside to help us meet the towering commitment. A look at previous wars shows that VA spending continues to climb for decades after a conflict is over then falls off as veterans die in old age. Payments to veterans from Vietnam and the first Gulf War have not yet peaked, according to Havard economist Linda Bilmes. World War I veteran payments were highest more than 50 years after the war ended.
Veteran spending for the post-9/11 wars may have an even longer tail because medical advances have made gruesome battlefield injuries increasingly survivable and more veterans are filing disability claims for long-term psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Rising health care costs will accelerate the economic impact of expensive lifelong treatments.

Many spouses and children of Iraq War veterans suffer from PTSD, just like the soldiers in their families.

This week Representative Bruce Braley (D, IA-01) again called for a "full accounting" of the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press release from March 18:

Braley Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Require True Accounting of Iraq, Afghanistan War Costs
Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) has joined Republican Rep. Walter Jones (NC-03) to introduce bipartisan legislation requiring a full accounting of the human and financial costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the American ground invasion of Iraq.
Braley said, "Congress has spent $1.5 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, but those costs don't even begin to account for so many indirect costs and the costs of these wars yet to come: lifetime care for injured veterans, long-term mental health treatment, spousal benefits for families of those we lost, and more.
"These wars have had a tremendous impact on our federal budget and our standing in the world. American taxpayers deserve a true and full accounting of these conflicts, so we understand the financial and human toll these wars have placed on our nation."
The bipartisan True Cost of War Act requires the President to work with the secretaries of Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs to submit a written report to the public tallying the long-term human and financial costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Braley first introduced the True Cost of War Act in 2008 and has worked in subsequent sessions of Congress to pass the bill into law. In 2011, the legislation was passed by the US House in a bipartisan vote. However, the True Cost of the War Act has never advanced to the President's desk for his signature into law.
Full text of the bill can be downloaded at the following link: http://1.usa.gov/107Gz8I

David Corn remembers how "in those dreadful months before the March 19, 2003, invasion of Iraq, the cheerleaders for war inhabited a place of privilege within the media."

Today people think of MSNBC as a left-wing alternative to Fox News, but in the run-up to the Iraq War, MSNBC corporate executives pressured correspondents to cover the drive toward war "in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings."

Media Matters examines the work of "some of the [American news] media's most prominent pro-war voices."

Instead of facing consequences for backing the invasion based on information that turned out to be false and criticizing war opponents, many of these media figures continue to hold positions of influence and continue to provide foreign policy reporting and commentary.

Statement released by Representative Dave Loebsack (D, IA-02) on March 19:

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today marking the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War. Loebsack is the only member from the Iowa delegation to serve on the Armed Services Committee and has traveled to Iraq three times. During his visits, Loebsack met with troops and commanders on the ground and brought a touch of home to the troops by presenting them with care packages made by Iowa students.
"As we reflect on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War we thank the men and women who served for their bravery and selflessness. We must also remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country and honor their memory. We must pay tribute to the families of the more than one million troops who served in Iraq. Though the war has ended, we still have a great responsibility here at home. We must ensure that our servicemembers, who served with such dedication and honor, receive nothing but the best medical care and support, and that those looking for civilian jobs are able to find them."
"After ten years, 4,475 lives lost, more than 32,000 injured and more than a trillion dollars spent, there are many lessons that we as a nation must take away from the war. But none is as important as making sure our troops have the tools necessary to stay safe on the battlefield and those who have returned have access to the services they need when they come home. As a member of the Armed Services Committee and a military parent, I work every day to ensure our men and women who volunteer to defend our country are taken care of, whether here at home or when they are overseas."

UPDATE: On March 19, Braley published a blog post at the Huffington Post about his efforts to pass the "True Cost of War" bill. He discussed the wartime injuries that permanently changed the life of Ian Ralston, a Waterloo native and former high school classmate of Braley's daughter.

Today marks the ten year anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq. A decade later, Ian's story is all too familiar - thousands of our nation's most promising sons and daughters have been paralyzed or otherwise disabled in the line of duty. Many others continue to suffer the invisible wounds of war, in the form of Traumatic Brain Injury or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Over 4,400 American servicemembers made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for their country in Iraq.
It's easy to place a dollar value on weapons and supplies, but more difficult to calculate the actual cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reported cost is in the range of $1.5 trillion - which is a lot of money.
Yet these "reported" costs don't even begin to account for so many of the future costs of these wars that are yet to come: lifetime care for injured veterans, long-term mental health treatment, prosthetics and maintenance, spousal benefits for families of the brave veterans who never return home, and damage to civilian populations.
In 2008, Columbia University economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard University professor Linda J. Bilmes calculated the true cost of the Iraq War at $3 trillion, accounting for both government expenditures and the broader impacts of the war on the economy. Later, in 2010, they revisited their calculation and noted that it was probably too conservative.

SECOND UPDATE: Richard Norton-Taylor reported for the UK newspaper The Guardian,

A special BBC Panorama programme tonight will reveal how British and US intelligence agencies were informed by top sources months before the invasion that Iraq had no active WMD programme, and that the information was not passed to subsequent inquiries.
It describes how Naji Sabri, Saddam's foreign minister, told the CIA's station chief in Paris at the time, Bill Murray, through an intermediary that Iraq had "virtually nothing" in terms of WMD.
Sabri said in a statement that the Panorama story was "totally fabricated".
However, Panorama confirms that three months before the war an MI6 officer met Iraq's head of intelligence, Tahir Habbush al-Tikriti, who also said that Saddam had no active WMD. The meeting in the Jordanian capital, Amman, took place days before the British government published its now widely discredited Iraqi weapons dossier in September 2002.
Lord Butler, the former cabinet secretary who led an inquiry into the use of intelligence in the runup to the invasion of Iraq, tells the programme that he was not told about Sabri's comments, and that he should have been.
Butler says of the use of intelligence: "There were ways in which people were misled or misled themselves at all stages."

PATRIOT Act 10th anniversary discussion thread

desmoinesdem — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:11:18 GMT

Ten years ago today, President George W. Bush signed a bill called the "United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism," better known as the PATRIOT Act. It's a good time to reflect on the law's impact as well as how the Iowans in Congress voted on its provisions over the last decade.
Everyone in Iowa's Congressional delegation voted for the PATRIOT Act in 2001: Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, House Republicans Jim Nussle (IA-01), Jim Leach (IA-03), Greg Ganske (IA-04) and Tom Latham (IA-05), and House Democrat Leonard Boswell (IA-03).

When Congress reauthorized the legislation in 2006, Harkin was one of 10 senators who voted against the PATRIOT Act. Grassley voted to reauthorize the bill, as did all five Iowans in the U.S. House: Nussle, Leach, Boswell, Latham (IA-04) and Steve King (IA-05). Click here to view the 2001 and 2006 House and Senate roll call votes on the PATRIOT Act.

Congress has continued to extend the PATRIOT Act in recent years. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act came up for several important votes in 2008. Boswellvoted with Latham, King and Grassley for a "compromise" that gave Republicans and President Bush everything they wanted. Harkin and House Democrats Bruce Braley (IA-01) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) voted against the FISA bill.

In May 2011, Congress voted to let three of the most controversial PATRIOT Act provisions continue until June 2015. Harkin voted against that extension, as did Braley and Loebsack. Grassley, Boswell, Latham and King supported the extension.

The American Civil Liberties Union explained some of the biggest problems with the PATRIOT Act here and in more depth here (pdf). I enclose below an ACLU infographic showing "some of the most troubling aspects" of the law.

Share any relevant thoughts in this thread.

Year in review: Iowa politics in 2009 (part 2)

desmoinesdem — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:13:59 GMT

Following up on my review of news from the first half of last year, I've posted links to Bleeding Heartland's coverage of Iowa politics from July through December 2009 after the jump.

Hot topics on this blog during the second half of the year included the governor's race, the special election in Iowa House district 90, candidates announcing plans to run for the state legislature next year, the growing number of Republicans ready to challenge Representative Leonard Boswell, state budget constraints, and a scandal involving the tax credit for film-making.
July 2009

I reviewed some of the important laws that went into effect on July 1.

I encouraged Bleeding Heartland readers to get to know Bob Krause, the first Democrat to announce plans to challenge Chuck Grassley in 2010.

Debate raged over whether Governor Culver should call the legislature into special session to amend the fiscal year 2009 budget. Culver said he was "very confident" the budget was balanced.

A video of Chuck Grassley went viral after he told a questioner at a town-hall meeting to "go work for the federal government" if he wanted a health insurance plan like the one Grassley enjoys.

Iowa's smoking rate declined during the first year after the public smoking ban went into effect.

The Iowa Farm Bureau expressed confidence that the climate change bill would die in the Senate. It seems that they were right.

The Iowa Attorney General's office advised the Iowa Department of Public Health that a married lesbian who gives birth cannot list her spouse on the child's birth certificate.

After Christian Fong declared his candidacy for governor, I was struck by the way he borrowed from Barack Obama's playbook. I still wonder whether Fong could have gotten any traction in the GOP primary if Terry Branstad had stayed out of the governor's race.

The parent company of a firm that allegedly exploited mentally disabled workers claimed not to be subject to Iowa labor laws.

Chet Culver hired John Frew to be his new chief of staff and brought on Teresa Vilmain as a senior consultant to his re-election campaign. Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by The Iowa Republican blog found that Culver had decent approval and favorability ratings.

Iowa fully utilized federal stimulus funds aimed at extending unemployment benefits thanks to some steps taken during the 2009 legislative session.

The Government Accountability Office examined how 16 states were handling federal stimulus funds. Iowa got good marks for its "foundation of safeguards to help ensure the funds are being spent in the way that they were intended and to minimize the fraud, waste and abuse."

The Des Moines Register reported on a Mount Vernon grocer's lawsuit against the industry's top two wholesalers, charging they had conspired to keep food prices artificially high.

A Dubuque assisted living center exploited a loophole in order to evade government regulations for care of the elderly.

Bill Northey confirmed that he will not run for governor in 2010, but will run for re-election as Iowa secretary of agriculture.

Health Care for America Now and the Iowa Citizen Action Network created a "job application" for Iowans wanting to take Chuck Grassley's advice to "go work for the federal government" if they want good health insurance coverage.

A poll commissioned by The Iowa Republican blog showed Bob Vander Plaats with a commanding lead over other Republicans running for governor.

Strong investor interest and Iowa's high credit rating drove down the interest rate for the I-JOBS bonds, reducing future repayment costs.

The Des Moines rumor mill said Terry Branstad was thinking about getting back into politics, but I was still skeptical.

A report named State Representative Kerry Burt among a group of parents who didn't pay tuition fees to the University of Northern Iowa's Malcolm Price Laboratory School.

John Whitaker resigned as state representative in Iowa House district 90 in order to take a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A bunch of teenagers got busted for underage drinking at the home of Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus.

Christian Fong found a politically-correct Republican way to advocate discrimination against same-sex couples while sounding respectful and inclusive.

Governor Culver set September 1 as the date for the special election in Iowa House district 90.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation started looking into allegations that State Representative Kerry Burt failed to pay $37,000 in tuition costs for his children.

State Representative Rod Roberts joined the Republican race for governor.

I compared Chet Culver's and Terry Branstad's records on state budgets and flood recovery. I still think a central event in Branstad's tenure as governor was his 1994 Republican primary battle against then Congressman Fred Grandy.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy refused to reclassify marijuana as a medication doctors can prescribe, but voted to hold public hearings on the issue.

Democrats and Republicans selected candidates for the special election in Iowa House district 90.

CNBC named Iowa the fourth best state for doing business.

The I-JOBS board awarded the first grants for infrastructure projects amid controversy over how many jobs would be created.

Representatives Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell helped negotiate new language in the House health care reform bill to change Medicare reimbursements.

Central Iowa business Republicans continued to search for a new candidate to enter the gubernatorial race.

Governor Culver rode a train through eastern Iowa to promote the expansion of passenger rail. Meanwhile, Representative Tom Latham tried but failed to replace $3 billion in high-speed rail funds with more money for roads in a transportation appropriations bill.

The RNC ran radio ads against Leonard Boswell on health care.

The Iowa GOP and Iowa Democratic Party agreed to hold the 2010 caucuses on Saturday, January 23 at 1 pm. I still think the caucus system needs serious reform.

Reports emerged that State Representative Kerry Burt dropped the governor's name in an effort to avoid a drunk-driving arrest.

Paul McKinley complained about Democrats blocking his time-wasting "state sovereignty resolution."

The Iowa Pharmacy Association filed a disclosure report on its February legislative reception five months late.

I dodged a teachable moment when Fred Phelps brought his Westboro Baptist Church clan to protest Jewish sites in central Iowa.

August 2009

Terry Branstad told the Des Moines Register that he was "not ruling out" running for governor in 2010.

The state Environmental Protection Commission considered new rules that would limit public input during the permit approval process for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Christian Fong announced ten campus coordinators to help attract the youth vote.

The Iowa GOP outsourced the House district 90 special election campaign to Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Family Policy Center.

The National Republican Congressional Committee included Leonard Boswell (IA-03) on its list of 70 Democratic-held districts to be targeted in 2010.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement discovered numerous late-filing disclosure violations by lobbyist groups during the 2009 legislative session, indicating that the Iowa legislature is unable or unwilling to enforce its own rules.

Iowa Republicans grew increasingly worried that Chuck Grassley might help Democrats pass health care reform, but I knew he wasn't working to improve the bill or its chances of passing.

The Senate confirmed Leach for that position in August.

I concluded that Iowa atheists have amazing power to make other people act like idiots.

I agreed with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement about the need to stop subsidizing factory farms and overproduction of meat. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack denied the pork industry's request to buy excess pork in August but allocated money for that purpose later in the year.

Chris Rants bashed the Power Fund and missed the point.

Chuck Grassley played the "pull the plug on grandma" card.

Bleeding Heartland user blueback reminded us of the tv ads corporations funded through the Iowa Leadership Council in 2008. The ads targeted several Iowa House Democrats.

Iowa got the highest marks in the Work Loss Data Institute's 2009 state report cards on workers' compensation.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat attended a Tom Harkin health care forum and declared, "Now I understand why war happens."

Leonard Boswell was vague about what he considered essential elements of a health care reform bill.

Republican Stephen Burgmeier's first tv ad in the House district 90 campaign focused on Governor Chet Culver and the I-JOBS state bonding initiative. The ad repeated the usual misleading Republican talking points against the I-JOBS borrowing.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat posted some ideas on how to "defeat the health care forum bullies".

Bleeding Heartland user hei posted a first-person account from one of Representative Dave Loebsack's town-hall meetings.

The Iowa Democratic Party ran a tv ad in House district 90 focusing on how Republican candidate Stephen Burgmeier voted to raise his pay as a county supervisor four times in six years.

Guest poster Senate Guru advocated drafting Bruce Braley to run against Chuck Grassley, an idea I opposed.

Christian Fong promised that if elected governor, he would balance the budget every year without touching Iowa's reserve fund, prompting this post on the purpose of rainy day funds and the danger of cutting spending too deeply during a recession.

As some Senate Democrats floated regional health insurance co-operatives as an alternative to the public option, the New York Times noted that health insurance co-ops had already failed in Iowa.

Paul McKinley didn't even go through the motions of campaigning for governor.

The Republican Party and its candidate Stephen Burgmeier decided to downplay social issues during the special election campaign in House district 90, prompting an angry social conservative to run as a third-party campaign. A second social conservative also joined the race, and the two fringe candidates received more than 200 votes in the special election, which the Democrat won by 107 votes.

Iowa's budget picture continued to look bleak, with spending cuts increasingly likely to keep the current-year budget in balance.

Bob Vander Plaats bizarrely advocated taking Iowa out of the federal government-run Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission voted unanimously "to formally support the Iowa Supreme Court's decision allowing gay marriage, and to formally oppose any constitutional amendment that would overturn the decision."

State Representative Kerry Burt received a fine and a year of probation after pleading guilty to drunk driving.

Rumors continued to circulate about a high-profile Democrat joining the race against Chuck Grassley.

Bleeding Heartland user iowavoter posted a first-hand account of a Grassley town-hall meeting.

I never did understand why State Senator Jerry Behn joined the Republican race for governor.

Christian Fong started running a statewide radio ad that made false claims about the I-JOBS bonding program as well as an ill-advised promise to "end the use of taxpayer money to fund lobbyists."

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat shared a personal story that fuels his commitment to health care reform.

Guest poster dopper0189 cross-posted a diary from Swing State Project on the concept of "Party Brand Index" applied to Iowa.

IowaPolitics.com published a disappointing "he said she said" piece on the story instead of investigating whether the ad's claims were true.

Anonymous hit pieces attacking Terry Branstad from the right popped up on Des Moines windshields and on YouTube.

Francis Thicke praised legislation in Illinois aimed at increasing local food production.

Steve King finally ruled out running for governor in 2010.

I chose not to attend an Organizing for America rally on health care reform.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat, an early Obama supporter, lost patience with the president: "I refuse to work for his version of health care reform when he has no clear goal other than to pass something - anything - that may get through Congress, regardless of content."

Senator Ted Kennedy passed away, and his friend John Culver (former U.S. Senator, father of Chet Culver) made memorable remarks at the funeral.

The special election campaign in Iowa House district 90 heated up. The National Organization for Marriage spent heavily on television ads to help elect the Republican Burgmeier. Interest groups supporting Curt Hanson relied primarily on the ground game.

Fred Hubbell quickly quashed speculation that he might run against Chuck Grassley next year.

September 2009

Curt Hanson's narrow victory in the Iowa House district 90 special election was a pleasant surprise. When will Iowa Republicans learn how to run an absentee ballot drive?

I-JOBS grants were announced for 16 public shelters.

Survey USA found record low approval numbers for Chet Culver and Chuck Grassley.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a report on how quickly states are turning around stimulus road funds, and Iowa scored quite well.

Attempts by marriage equality opponents to spin the House district 90 election as a success amused me.

I never believed the rumors that social conservatives were considering a primary challenge against Chuck Grassley.

The Iowa Policy Project concluded that "the state of working Iowa" is not good.

The year's school board elections brought no big upsets. I gave readers five reasons to vote in school board elections.

I discussed revised House race ratings by Larry Sabato, which put Iowa's second and third Congressional districts in the "likely Democratic" column.

Francis Thicke announced plans to run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2010 and responded to Republican name-calling.

Environment Iowa estimated that strong energy efficiency policies would create more than 6,000 jobs in Iowa while saving the average family $282 per year.

Chet Culver hired Andrew Roos to run his re-election campaign and Jesse Harris as deputy campaign manager.

Christian Fong claimed Culver hadn't done enough on flood relief, which struck me as odd since Fong (like fellow Republicans) opposed the I-JOBS infrastructure state bonding program. I-JOBS included $45 million in flood recovery funds for Linn County and about $100 million to help rebuild the University of Iowa campus.

Bob Vander Plaats promised not to balance his ticket with a less-conservative running mate.

Several Republican candidates for governor spoke at the Iowa Family Policy Center's fall event, but Terry Branstad was a no-show.

Tom Harkin held his annual steak fry, featuring Senator Al Franken of Minnesota. Harkin promised that health care reform containing a public option would pass by Christmas.

Jan Bauer, Sandy Opstvedt and Michael Kiernan gained new posts at the Democratic National Committee.

The Iowa Department of Transportation was developing new guidelines on passenger transportation. Meanwhile, the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization moved toward adopting a 25-year plan that, if completed, would increase vehicle miles traveled in our region by 33 percent.

I was disturbed by the failure of any prominent Republican to denounce political rhetoric of armed rebellion.

Ed and Lynn Fallon got a radio show on 98.3 FM in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Register's Iowa poll showed Culver's approval rating at 50 percent, down for the year but still in net positive territory. Terry Branstad had higher favorability ratings, but respondents were mixed on whether he should run for governor again.

The same poll indicated that Iowans are not eager to overturn marriage equality.

I was impressed by Dubuque's commitment to being a "sustainable city."

Iowa Department of Economic Development director Mike Tramontina resigned as news broke of major problems with Iowa's state film tax credit. Within days, Governor Culver fired the manager of the Iowa Film Office and named Fred Hubbell interim director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

Republican State Representative Kent Sorenson announced that he will challenge State Senator Staci Appel next year instead of running for re-election in House district 74. The campaign in Iowa Senate district 37 will be a race to watch, but I think Appel has a good chance to win re-election. Side note: Appel's husband, Brent Appel, is one of the Iowa Supreme Court justices who struck down our Defense of Marriage Act in the Varnum v Brien case.

Steve King decided same-sex marriage would lead to a "socialist society."

Rasmussen released an Iowa poll showing Chet Culver trailing Terry Branstad by 20 points and Bob Vander Plaats by 4 points.

The film tax credit scandal continued to make the news.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Michael Kiernan prominsed that a high-profile recruit would give Chuck Grassley "the race of his life" in 2010.

President Obama nominated Stephanie Rose and Nick Klinefeldt for the U.S. attorney positions in Iowa's northern and southern districts.

Asked about the Congressional vote he most regrets, Steve King said he couldn't think of any and pivoted to bragging about what he considers his "best vote": against the $1.5 billion aid package for Hurricane Katrina victims.

The growing questions surrounding Strategic Vision made me wonder whether their 2007 Iowa polls were fabricated.

In the wake of the film tax credit fiasco, I discussed some other bad bills that passed the Iowa legislature with little or no opposition.

Bleeding Heartland user American007 went home for Centerville's pancake day and shook Bob Vander Plaats' hand.

October 2009

Bleeding Heartland user BJazz sized up strong Democratic prospects for holding the Iowa Senate and concluded that "marriage equality is here to stay."

Francis Thicke argued that "we need to look beyond corn for biofuels."

Iowa Independent and ProPublica reported on high-end travel Representative Tom Latham enjoyed on the dime of his For America's Republican Majority PAC.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal said legislators see few benefits from the film tax credit.

I remembered Pope John Paul II's visit to Iowa 30 years ago.

With Terry Branstad looking increasingly likely to run for governor, I examined whether he might choose pro-choice former State Representative Libby Jacobs as his running mate.

Francis Thicke, Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture, praised U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for becoming a champion for local foods.

Terry Branstad formed an exploratory committee for his gubernatorial campaign, shaking up the Republican field.

The Iowa Democratic Party responded that "some things should stay in the past."

I discussed the most likely lines of attack Branstad will face during the GOP primary.

Governor Culver ordered a 10 percent cut in fiscal year 2010 spending, and more details about the cuts emerged later in the month.

The Draft Branstad PAC, which is really a 527 group, apparently violated election law by advocating for Branstad after he filed paperwork forming an exploratory committee.

I wondered whether Iowa Republicans would seek out Sarah Palin's endorsement next year.

Dubuque conservative businessman Rod Blum announced plans to run against Bruce Braley in Iowa's first Congressional district (D+5).

Reverend Keith Ratliff, the head of the NAACP in Iowa and Nebraska, endorsed Bob Vander Plaats for governor.

I noted that by failing to pass campaign contribution limits during the past three years, Iowa's Democratic leaders enabled what is likely to be huge fundraising by Terry Branstad.

I was saddened to learn that State Representative Mark Kuhn won't seek re-election in Iowa House district 14.

Terry Branstad filed paperwork to explore a gubernatorial campaign and hired Iowa GOP Executive Director Jeff Boeyink as his campaign manager.

The Community Food Security Coalition held its annual conference in Des Moines for the first time ever, which inspired this post advocating that Governor Culver bring back the Iowa Food Policy Council.

On Blog Action Day I linked to a list of Iowa-based non-profit organizations helping to fight global warming.

Research 2000 polled Iowa for Daily Kos and found Chet Culver slightly trailing Terry Branstad but crushing Chris Rants and Bob Vander Plaats. The same poll showed Chuck Grassley barely above 50 percent against Christie Vilsack, Roxanne Conlin, Bob Krause and Tom Fiegen.

Terry Branstad announced plans to "fully explore" a gubernatorial bid and started hiring staff, as Chet Culver launched the first television commercial of his re-election campaign.

The same week that Steve King joined the right-wing crusade against White House "safe schools" official Kevin Jennings, Mike Denklau became the first Democrat to announce plans to run against King in Iowa's fifth Congressional district in 2010.

Christian Fong was the most prominent speaker at a rally of the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

I previewed the case Bob Vander Plaats will make against Terry Branstad in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

Inspired by ads New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine ran against overweight Republican Chris Christie, Bleeding Heartland user American007 pondered whether Chet Culver might be too big to win re-election.

I took another guess at how the likely Republican presidential candidates will do in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

Roxanne Conlin told the Des Moines Register that "more likely than not" she will run against Senator Chuck Grassley.

State Senator Dennis Black's weak comments to an opponent of same-sex marriage inspired this post urging Iowa Democrats not to cop out when their conservative constituents press them on the issue.

Christie Vilsack ruled out running for U.S. Senate in 2010. She said, "never doubt I am committed to a life of service and to Iowa," leading me to suspect she plans to run for Congress someday when Leonard Boswell retires.

State Senator Brad Zaun and former Iowa GOP chairman Mike Mahaffey confirmed that they were thinking about running against Congressman Leonard Boswell.

I previewed what is likely to be a highly competitive race in Iowa Senate district 9 next year. First-term incumbent Democrat Bill Heckroth will face former Republican State Representative Bill Dix.

The governor announced more details about his mid-year budget cuts.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources formulated new rules on protecting Iowa's highest-quality waters.

State Representative Dick Taylor, a Democrat, announced his resignation, forcing a special election to be scheduled in Iowa House district 33. Later in the month, Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in special nominating conventions.

The Iowa Christian Alliance faced an FEC complaint over contributions allegedly run through West Hill United Methodist Church of Burlington.

November 2009

Democrats in Iowa and nationwide should not resort to sexist insults when mocking Sarah Palin.

I discussed the persistent rumor that Terry Branstad plans to pick insurance company executive Doug Reichardt as a running mate and analyzed what Reichardt might bring to the ticket.

I argued that it's a waste of time for journalists to speculate on whether Steve King will run for president in 2012.

I argued that Iowa Republicans must make their tent bigger in order to regain ground they've lost statewide and in former GOP strongholds like Scott County (Quad Cities area).

Chet Culver's re-election campaign started running a second television commercial, which I thought was quite good.

I reviewed some reactions to the off-year elections in Iowa, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia. In general it was a tough night for Iowa incumbents.

Some Iowa Republican bloggers talked down Brad Zaun for Congress.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Stephanie Rose and Nick Klinefeldt's nominations for U.S. attorney in Iowa's northern and southern districts.

Iowa Senate minority leader Paul McKinley officially dropped out of the governor's race.

Steve King falsely claimed that the Democrats' proposed health care reform would cancel every private insurance contract in the country. King also missed a House Judiciary Committee hearing in order to participate in Michele Bachmann's Capitol Hill rally against health care reform. In so doing he helped doom several GOP-sponsored amendments to the PATRIOT Act.

The U.S. House narrowly approved a health care reform bill, and Iowa's representatives split on party lines.

Roxanne Conlin started putting together a campaign infrastructure and announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate with a two-minute biographical video.

I posted highlights from the Iowa GOP's big fall fundraiser, featuring an underwhelming debut by candidate Terry Branstad.

Leaders of AFSCME, the largest union representing state employees, reached a tentative deal with Governor Culver on concessions to avoid layoffs. The deal went to a vote of AFSCME members.

The Iowa-based conservative advocacy group American Future Fund asked the Federal Election Commission to overturn state bans on political robocalls.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Chris Rants and Terry Branstad continued to make misleading and hypocritical attacks on the I-JOBS infrastructure bonding initiative.

Republican Ross Paustian announced plans for a rematch against State Representative Elesha Gayman, who defeated him in 2008 in Iowa House district 84.

Iowa got good marks in a report by the Pew Center on the States on state budget problems. You'd never know that from listening to Iowa Republicans, however.

Crisitunity's Swing State Project post about vulnerable Democratic-held House districts suggested to me that the National Republican Congressional Committee is unlikely to invest heavily in Leonard Boswell's GOP opponent next year.

A feature article about Christian Fong got me thinking about ostensibly well-meaning bigotry in the Midwest.

The Des Moines Register's Iowa poll had very bad news for Chet Culver.

The Des Moines Register's Iowa poll indicated that Roxanne Conlin would have an uphill battle against Chuck Grassley.

Democrat Ed O'Neill stepped forward to run in Iowa Senate district 13 after two-term State Senator Roger Stewart announced plans to retire next year.

I viewed the upcoming GOP primary in Iowa's second Congressional district as a sign of the shrinking Republican tent. In a D+7 district long represented by Jim Leach, none of the potential GOP candidates is a social moderate.

Republican hypocrisy regarding the Obama administration's plans to try some terrorism suspects in the U.S. inspired this post.

Former Iowa State wrestling coach Jim Gibbons and State Senator Brad Zaun announced plans to run against Leonard Boswell in Iowa's third Congressional district. I wondered why so many Republicans are interested in this race. Even if a Republican defeats Boswell in 2010, he is likely to be thrown into a 2012 primary against Tom Latham in a redrawn IA-03.

After reading a report from Physicians for Social Responsibility, "Coal's Assault on Human Health," I suggested that it's misguided for some politicians to claim that climate change legislation would be "unfair" to residents of coal-dependent states.

Governor Culver announced more details about the planned review of Iowa's tax credits in the wake of the film tax credit scandal.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Stephanie Rose and Nick Klinefeldt to be the U.S. Attorneys in Iowa's northern and southern districts, respectively.

Several Iowa metro areas improved their rankings in the 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best-Performing Cities Index.

I enjoyed the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner, where Vice President Joe Biden gave the keynote speech. Before dinner I had a chance to meet Bill Maske, candidate for Iowa's fourth Congressional district. The same night I learned that two Democrats have announced plans to run against Steve King in Iowa's heavily Republican fifth district.

The USDA named five Iowa Farm Service Agency committee members, two of whom have strong ties in the sustainable agriculture community.

Bruce Braley said his constituents overwhelmingly support using the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois to house some former prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. Iowa Republicans continued to hammer Braley on the issue.

Bob Vander Plaats said Terry Branstad shares responsibility for helping Democrats pass health care reform because he backed Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson in his 2000 campaign for U.S. Senate.

Democrat Kirsten Running-Marquardt easily won a special election to replace retiring State Representative Dick Taylor in Iowa House district 33.

State Senator Brad Zaun filed FEC paperwork to run for Congress in Iowa's third district.

Chris Rants and Jonathan Narcisse announced plans to hold a series of public debates around the state in December. It struck me as bad news for Governor Culver, since Narcisse had supported him in the 2006 Democratic primary. The debates didn't receive as much media attention as I had anticipated, however.

Former Iowa Senate Majority Leader Stew Iverson, who is also a former chairman of the Iowa GOP, announced that he may run in Iowa House district 9 next year against two-term Democrat McKinley Bailey. I was intrigued that Iverson doesn't seem to be considering running for his old Iowa Senate seat, which Democrat Rich Olive won by a narrow margin in 2006.

Two of Iowa's RNC members supported the so-called "purity test" designed to cut off GOP support for any candidate who strays too far from conservative dogma.

AFSCME and a smaller labor union representing state employees approved concessions in order to avoid layoff during the current fiscal year.

Democratic State Representative Wes Whitead announced that he will not seek re-election in House district 1. Next November Democrat Rick Mullin will face Republican Jeremy Taylor, who nearly upset Whitead in 2008.

Democratic Senate candidate Bob Krause, who chairs the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus, spoke out strongly against escalating the war in Afghanistan, while rival candidate Tom Fiegen called for a series of debates between the three Democrats competing to run against Chuck Grassley.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks announced plans to run against Dave Loebsack again in Iowa's second Congressional district. She faces more conservative Republicans Christopher Reed and Steve Rathje in the GOP primary.

Bruce Braley endorsed Roxanne Conlin in the Democratic primary to face Senator Chuck Grassley.

December 2009

December 1 was a bad day for incumbents as many Iowa cities held runoff local elections.

Christian Fong quit the Republican race for governor, citing "practical financial hurdles."

Andrew Roos departed as campaign manager for Chet Culver.

Governor Culver called for reforms to Iowa's budget process in a speech to the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

Iowa Senate minority leader Paul McKinley revealed his ignorance about special-needs education.

I previewed next year's campaign in Iowa Senate district 41, where a Republican and a Democrat intend to challenge GOP incumbent Dave Hartsuch.

State Senator Brad Zaun formally announced his candidacy in the GOP primary for Iowa's third Congressional district.

The executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement published a good piece in the Des Moines Register about ending USDA loans that encourage construction of more factory farms.

Jim Gibbons' Congressional campaign's first attack against Leonard Boswell was pathetic, even by the standards of modern Republican campaigns.

Bruce Braley's House Populist Caucus and Tom Harkin advocated new Wall Street transaction fees to increase revenue and discourage "reckless speculation."

I speculated on whether Christian Fong should agree to be Branstad's running mate and whether Branstad should choose him.

I noticed that Iowa RNC Committeewoman Kim Lehman is still heading Iowa Right to Life, even though she promised a year ago to hand over the reins at that organization to someone else.

The Iowa GOP hired a new executive director to replace Jeff Boeyink, who left to manage Branstad's gubernatorial campaign.

The Des Moines metro area was rated the fourth-best U.S. city in terms of "bang for the buck."

Terry Branstad's campaign and its supporters engaged in some ridiculous revisionist history regarding his handling of the state budget.

A group of economists proposed reforms to Iowa's budget process.

Leonard Boswell turned up on a list of 17 House Democrats that the NRCC hopes to pressure into retirement.

I discussed the absurd overreaction by Iowa Republicans to former Lieutenant Governor Joy Corning's support for marriage equality.

I found confirmation of the rumor that ethanol baron Bruce Rastetter was backing Jim Gibbons for Congress in IA-03.

Cedar Rapids attorney Mark Seidl announced that he plans to run in Iowa House district 37, which Republican Renee Schulte carried in 2008 by just 13 votes.

The Iowa Legislature's Administrative Rules Review Committee unanimously approved new rules on regulating abuse and negligence in nursing homes, but I predict an attempt to overturn these rules during next year's legislative session.

Moderate Mark Rees became the fourth GOP candidate in the race against Leonard Boswell. Later in the month conservative Pat Bertroche would bring the GOP primary field to five.

The Obama administration announced its intention to move some prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois, but it may be years before the plan goes ahead.

Bill Maske declared his candidacy in Iowa's fourth Congressional district. He faces an uphill battle against eight-term Republican incumbent Tom Latham.

Jim Gibbons secured the backing of many heavy-hitter Republican donors in his race for the GOP nomination in IA-03.

Self-styled constitutional historian David Barton, a prominent conservative activist based in Texas, endorsed Bob Vander Plaats for governor.

I noticed that Terry Branstad has a big accountability problem.

After seeing the weak November fundraising numbers from the National Republican Congressional Committee, I predicted the NRCC will not spend heavily in IA-03 next year.

The Des Moines Rotary decided to review its approval process after 11 members rejected an application by a Planned Parenthood employee.

Second-tier candidate Jerry Behn quit the governor's race and endorsed Terry Branstad. I speculated on whether Chris Rants or Rod Roberts would be the next to go.

The National Republican Congressional Committee started a new robocall against Leonard Boswell three days before Christmas.

I launched a holiday haiku contest, and Bleeding Heartland readers submitted some good haikus inspired by the governor's race and the campaign in Iowa's third Congressional district.

A judge ordered a new trial for David Flores, who has spent more than 13 years in prison for murder.

The Census Bureau's last population estimates before the 2010 census confirmed that Iowa will lose a Congressional district during the next reapportionment.

Citing official statements by Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Grassley and Harkin, I previewed next year's campaign messages on health care reform..

Terry Branstad recorded a phone appeal targeting Iowa Democrats.

Steve King kept scaremongering about health care reform and the threat posed by moving terrorist suspects from Guantanamo Bay.

Culver appointed Bret Mills to run the Iowa Department of Economic Development and moved a housing program from IDED to the Iowa Finance Authority.

A review of state tax credits continued ahead of the 2010 legislative session.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement was named most valuable grassroots advocacy group by John Nichols of The Nation.

I took issue with Environment Iowa giving Tom Harkin and Leonard Boswell perfect scores for their activities during the year.

Year in review: national politics in 2009 (part 1)

desmoinesdem — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:52:32 GMT

It took me a week longer than I anticipated, but I finally finished compiling links to Bleeding Heartland's coverage from last year. This post and part 2, coming later today, include stories on national politics, mostly relating to Congress and Barack Obama's administration. Diaries reviewing Iowa politics in 2009 will come soon.

One thing struck me while compiling this post: on all of the House bills I covered here during 2009, Democrats Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack voted the same way. That was a big change from 2007 and 2008, when Blue Dog Boswell voted with Republicans and against the majority of the Democratic caucus on many key bills.

No federal policy issue inspired more posts last year than health care reform. Rereading my earlier, guardedly hopeful pieces was depressing in light of the mess the health care reform bill has become. I was never optimistic about getting a strong public health insurance option through Congress, but I thought we had a chance to pass a very good bill. If I had anticipated the magnitude of the Democratic sellout on so many aspects of reform in addition to the public option, I wouldn't have spent so many hours writing about this issue. I can't say I wasn't warned (and warned), though.

Links to stories from January through June 2009 are after the jump. Any thoughts about last year's political events are welcome in this thread.
January 2009

Bill Richardson withdrew his name from consideration for Commerce secretary.

President Obama named Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

Bruce Braley became a vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Bleeding Heartland user American007 offered nine predictions for 2009 and wasn't far off the mark.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee started the year with significant debts.

The House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act, and the Iowa delegation split on party lines.

Bleeding Heartland user IowaVoter reported on problems with the audit logs of Diebold voting machines.

A report by Democracy Corps showed how early voting helped Democrats in the 2008 election.

Guest poster Senate Guru wondered whether Chuck Grassley might retire, but Grassley's office quickly denied that he was considering retirement.

Tom Latham and Steve King voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Tom Vilsack sailed through his confirmation hearing, and lots of important agriculture and food policy issues came up.

President-elect Obama signaled that he might not be fully committed to passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

Steve King refused to join the other six Iowans in Congress who co-hosted an inaugural reception in Washington.

I considered whether Hillary Clinton or John Edwards could have won the Iowa caucuses, assuming Barack Obama ran the same outstanding campaign he ran. This was one of the longest posts I've ever written, and it got a mixed reaction on national blogs where I cross-posted it.

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th American president.

I am so grateful to Justice John Paul Stevens.

The Senate unanimously confirmed six Obama appointees: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and White House Budget Office director Peter Orszag.

Chuck Grassley was one of four Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee to vote against confirming Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary.

The House passed a symbolic resolution opposing the release of more money for the Wall Street bailout. Republicans Tom Latham and Steve King voted for the resolution, but Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell voted no.

Noneed4thneed was excited about President Obama's plans to cut Pentagon spending. Unfortunately, it turned out that the administration only reduced the increase in defense spending.

The four Democratic governors who got to appoint new senators didn't handle the task very well. Senator Russ Feingold had a better idea, proposing a constitutional amendment to require elections to fill vacant Senate seats.

Tom Vilsack got to work at the USDA.

The Senate confirmed Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, but both Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley voted no. I stand by my prediction that Geithner will turn out to be one of Obama's worst appointments.

President Obama made too many concessions on the stimulus bill in a (misguided) effort to win Republican votes.

The House approved the stimulus bill without a single Republican vote in favor.

Bruce Braley signed a letter requesting more humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Despite expressing concerns about Eric Holder during the confirmation hearings, Chuck Grassley voted on the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Holder as attorney general.

Tom Harkin expressed valid concerns that the stimulus bill being drafted was too small and too loaded with tax cuts unlikely to boost consumer spending.

Chuck Grassley voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The Republican National Committee elected Michael Steele as new chairman. Iowa's RNC reps backed South Carolina Republican Party Chair Katon Dawson instead.

February 2009

Tax problems derailed Tom Daschle's nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Many Republican governors supported the stimulus bill, even as Congressional Republicans criticized it.

Republicans bashed Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri because although she is personally wealthy, she advocated salary caps at Wall Street firms that took bailout money.

The Senate confirmed Eric Holder as attorney general. For reasons I still cannot fathom, President Obama was about to tap Republican Senator Judd Gregg to run the Commerce Department.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran some radio ads against Tom Latham.

Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com, found that various types of government spending all delivered much more stimulus to the economy than tax cuts.

Chuck Grassley said what it would take to get his vote for the stimulus package.

Tom Harkin said Howard Dean would make a great secretary for Health and Human Services.

As new RNC Chairman Michael Steele axed plans for an in-house think tank, I argued that Republicans didn't need "new ideas" to come back to power. All they need is for Democrats to fail to deliver on their promises.

Noneed4thneed pointed out that so-called Senate "centrists" insisted on changes to the stimulus bill that reduced its potential to create jobs and threatened to bankrupt the states.

Senate Republicans failed to block the stimulus bill.

Guest poster Jill Richardson/OrangeClouds115 let Bleeding Heartland readers know what Tom Vilsack had been up to during his first weeks as secretary of agriculture.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was already looking like one of Obama's worst high-level appointments.

Bruce Braley got ready to roll out the House Populist Caucus and said it would advocate for "Buy American" language in the stimulus bill.

House and Senate negotiators made final changes to the stimulus bill.

Judd Gregg withdrew his name from consideration as Commerce Secretary (thank goodness).

Steve King bragged about research he did in high school, which allegedly proved that the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression.

The House approved the stimulus bill, and Iowa's representatives split on party lines. Tom Harkin said he wasn't a "happy camper" and that Democratic leaders had reduced valuable spending in order to spend more money on fixing the alternative minimum tax, which "has nothing to do with stimulus."

Guest poster JulianaW wrote about high-speed rail funding and the stimulus bill.

George W. Bush ranked 36th out of the 42 American presidents, in the collective opinion of 65 professional historians or observers of the presidency. I felt it was unfair for Bush to be ranked ahead of William Henry Harrison.

Guest poster Jill Richardson/OrangeClouds115 posted another update on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's activities.

Tom Harkin vowed to hold a Senate hearing on the mentally disabled workers exploited by a Texas-based company operating in Iowa.

Rush Limbaugh said he wanted everything President Obama did to fail.

New details emerged about the Justice Department investigation into the torture memos prepared during the Bush administration.

President Obama signed the stimulus bill, and I linked to various pages with more details about what the package allocated to Iowa.

House Republicans began taking credit for stimulus spending they voted against.

The Wall Street bailout still looked ill-conceived.

Representative Bruce Braley rolled out the House Populist Caucus.

Two years after Steve Gilliard stopped blogging, I still missed him.

Bleeding Heartland user Elise attended one of Chuck Grassley's town-hall meetings in eastern Iowa.

Progressive Punch added a new layer of analysis to its rankings of members of Congress by voting record in order to indicate how progressive representatives and senators are compared to the districts and states they represent.

A McDonald's employee who got shot helping a stranger while on the job was stuck with $300,000 in medical bills after the insurance agency representing McDonald's said he didn't qualify for Workers Compensation.

I reflected on my biggest health scare and how much worse it might have been if I didn't have health insurance.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee decided to keep Leonard Boswell in its Frontline program for vulnerable incumbents.

The Senate finally confirmed Hilda Solis as labor secretary.

A majority of Americans said sticking to the policies he campaigned on should be a higher priority for the president than working in a bipartisan way.

President Obama gave his first State of the Union address (technically a budget speech) to Congress.

Increasing food stamp participation rates would have been a good way to stimulate the economy.

President Obama sent his first budget request to Congress.

Progressive bloggers formed the Accountability Now PAC to "recruit, coordinate, and support primary challenges against vulnerable Congressional incumbents who have become more responsive to corporate America than to their constituents."

The Coen brothers directed a great ad ridiculing the idea of "clean coal."

We learned that Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire made money off one of his own earmarks.

President Obama announced his plans for Iraq and promised "combat operations" would end by August 2010.

March 2009

I weighed the pros and cons of Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary. (With hindsight, I wish she had remained governor of Kansas to keep blocking new coal plants there.)

A national poll by Hart Research Associates found that "An overwhelming majority of Americans believe restoring existing roads and bridges and expanding transportation options should take precedence over building new roads [...]."

President Obama issued a memo to department heads on restricting no-bid contracts and canceling wasteful contracts.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack axed about $500,000 in USDA consulting contracts.

Republicans were full of phony outrage over earmarks in the omnibus spending bill.

Chuck Grassley and President Obama exchanged words over a public health insurance option at a White House event.

Leonard Boswell, who sits on the House Transportation Committee, advocated a feasibility study on extending Amtrak through central Iowa to Omaha.

Leading Republicans in Washington proposed a federal spending freeze, which is a great idea if you want to turn a severe recession into a depression.

Comments by Elizabeth Dole's former campaign manager reminded me that it helps for incumbents to have some record to run on.

Grim unemployment numbers prompted this post, with some ideas on finding a job.

I wondered whether it would be politically smart for Representative Tom Latham to cooperate with Obama.

President Obama proposed reforms to the Congressional earmarking process, and I gave background on the failure of Democratic leadership that led to Tom Harkin's $1.8 million earmark for studying odors from large hog confinements (CAFOs) in Iowa. That earmark that became a poster child for Republican outrage over wasteful spending.

Tom Latham took credit for getting earmarks to fund Iowa projects in the omnibus spending bill he voted against.

Chuck Grassley posted my all-time favorite tweet by him, indicating that Iowa Republican lawmakers felt ignored by business lobbyists.

Steve King took credit for stimulus funds that will help widen U.S. Highway 20 in rural northwest Iowa, even though he voted against the stimulus bill.

The Wall Street bailout didn't look any better to me several months after it was implemented.

On my 40th birthday I posted a list of 40 good bloggers over 40, though it turned out a few of them were younger than I realized.

Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana rolled out the "Moderate Dems Working Group."

Some important news flew under the radar: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced "a new partnership to help American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs."

The House passed a bill that would levy a special tax on large bonuses awarded by financial institutions receiving bailout funds. Republican Tom Latham joined Iowa Democrats Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell in voting yes; Steve King voted no.

The Obamas announced plans for an organic garden on the White House lawn.

Chuck Grassley commented on AIG bonuses and medical marijuana, as Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus chair Bob Krause announced plans to run against Grassley in 2010.

The White House held a regional forum on health care reform in Des Moines.

Bleeding Heartland user Iowan made the case for Congress to support the large increase in clean water funding in President Obama's budget proposal.

The cover story for the Atlantic Monthly promped me to make my case against Hanna Rosin's case against breastfeeding.

Representative Steve King promised to pay back property taxes he owed in the District of Columbia.

A group promoting the use of chemicals in agriculture got bent out of shape by First Lady Michelle Obama's plans for an organic White House garden.

Tom Harkin worked on compromise language to get the Employee Free Choice Act through the Senate.

April 2009

Chuck Grassley voted for the Wall Street bailout but didn't like the idea of the federal government bailing out U.S. automakers.

A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey indicated that Iowa contains 42 of the 150 watersheds that create the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.

The House approved President Obama's budget, and the Iowa delegation split on party lines.

Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said they wouldn't settle for health care reform with no public health insurance option.

Food Democracy Now advocated changes to current rules, which allow "large corporate farms to take advantage of [federal] subsidy loopholes that place independent family farmers at a serious competitive disadvantage."

Guest poster RDemocrat wrote about child poverty in rural America.

Guest poster RDemocrat discussed prospects for punishing American companies that committed fraud in Iraq.

Guest poster The Electrical Worker wrote about efforts to help workers in the renewable energy manufacturing sector to join labor unions.

Soft-drink makers pitted public health advocates against "moderation moms" and "hard-working families."

On April 15 I posted some links related to the federal and Iowa tax systems as Mike Huckabee and Representative Steve King appeared at a "Fair Tax" rally in South Carolina.

News emerged that "The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year [...]."

President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released a blueprint for a new national network of high-speed passenger rail lines.

Leonard Boswell advocated normalizing trade relations with Cuba.

Scientists isolated one cause of the "colony collapse disorder" affecting honeybees.

Norm Coleman's refusal to accept the result of the Minnesota election did lasting harm to Al Franken's seniority.

Chuck Grassley's comments on how to address the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage didn't please red-meat conservatives.

El Tinklenberg, former Democratic candidate in Minnesota's sixth Congressional district, donated $250,000 in unspent campaign funds to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, prompting this post on the need for progressive activists to donate strategically, not emotionally.

President Obama came to Newton, Iowa, for Earth Day.

Bleeding Heartland user Elise wrote about Chuck Grassley's "then and now" position on using the filibuster to block presidential appointees.

I was on the receiving end of an unethical push-poll/fundraising call from Newt Gingrich's American Solutions organization and wrote up their pitch to small donors.

Senator Arlen Specter left the Republican caucus to become a Democrat and claimed that he would outrank Tom Harkin in the Democratic caucus.

Chuck Grassley voted no as the Senate finally confirmed Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary.

Arlen Specter's party switch created a chance for Chuck Grassley to become ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but taking that chance would mean giving up the ranking member slot on the Finance Committee.

President Obama held a press conference to mark his 100th day in office. I liked how he said that bipartisanship isn't "simply being willing to accept certain theories of theirs that we tried for eight years and didn't work and the American people voted to change."

May 2009

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke reversed a Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act protections.

After Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement, I posted thoughts on criteria the president should use in choosing his replacement.

Tom Harkin and Representative Dave Loebsack spoke out in favor of a public health insurance option.

Bleeding Heartland user Elise wrote about Chuck Grassley's hypocrisy on the use of filibusters.

Mark Penn was wrong about why Hillary Clinton lost the Iowa caucuses.

The advance of marriage equality in Iowa and Vermont made it even more important to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Chuck Grassley decided to remain the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, but struck a deal allowing him to take that position on the Judiciary Committee in 2011.

Tom Harkin defended his decision to recommend Stephanie Rose for U.S. attorney in Iowa's northern district, even though the U.S. Supreme Court found that "federal prosecutors have inappropriately used aggravated identity theft laws to prosecute undocumented workers."

Survey USA found significant dips in the approval ratings of Chuck Grassley and Chet Culver during the month of April.

Tom Harkin introduced an important child nutrition bill and discussed possible grounds for compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Chuck Grassley's so-called bipartisan message on health care reform raised a lot of red flags for me.

I wondered why Bruce Braley's Populist Caucus wasn't speaking up more on health care reform.

I laid out optimistic and pessimistic views of a reported White House deal on cost-saving measures with "the presidents of Pharma, Advamed (device manufacturers), the American Medical Association (doctors), the American Hospital Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, and SEIU's Health Care project."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee kept Leonard Boswell in its "Frontline" program for vulnerable incumbents, but I argued that Boswell would not be vulnerable in 2010. (2012 is a different story.)

Chuck Grassley said he was open to compromise on health care reform.

On the anniversary of the immigration raid in Postville, Iowa, guest poster Frank Sharry profiled Steve King's extremist statements about the incident and immigration generally.

Chuck Grassley started making the case against "government-run" health care.

Hospitals and insurance companies said President Obama had "substantially overstated their promise [...] to reduce the growth of health spending."

House Republican leader John Boehner asked why anyone would want a government-run health care plan to jeopardize "the greatest health-care delivery system in the world"? I provided ten answers to his question.

Opinion poll data on the young generation painted a grim picture for Republicans.

Members of Representative Bruce Braley's Populist Caucus were among 55 House members who took a stand against the Panama Free Trade Agreement.

I received an unethical fundraising call disguised as an opinion survey for David Bossie's group Citizens United.

Appalling new details emerged about how mentally disabled workers were underpaid and exploited by a company with ties in Iowa and Texas.

President Obama made more history by nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Chuck Grassley promised not to be a "rubber stamp."

When California's Supreme Court let Proposition 8 stand, I reminded Bleeding Heartland readers that Iowa recognizes all California marriages.

Some Wall Street firms whined about labor unions questioning investment fund managers about their stance on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Howard Dean spoke in Des Moines about marriage equality and reflected on his experience after he signed a civil unions bill in Vermont.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack took a step toward undoing bad Bush administration policy on national forests.

Republican fantasies about Sonia Sotomayor didn't square with her judicial record.

Steve King recorded robocalls to identify and solicit donations from opponents of same-sex marriage rights. The National Organization for Marriage paid for the calls.

Dr. George Tiller was assassinated at a church in Wichita because he performed late-term abortions at his clinic.

June 2009

Senator John Ensign paid a high-profile visit to Iowa before anyone knew about the multiple scandals that will prevent him from running for president in 2012.

President Obama nominated longtime Representative Jim Leach, one of his high-profile Republican endorsers, to head the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Chuck Grassley said he couldn't recall or find any record explaining why he voted against confirming Sonia Sotomayor to the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in 1998. My hunch is that like other Republicans, he didn't want Sotomayor to be in line for the Supreme Court.

Chuck Grassley wasn't happy with President Obama's comments on health care reform and told the world about it on Twitter.

Leonard Boswell confirmed that he supported a public health insurance option without a "trigger."

All of Iowa's representatives in the House voted for the Cash for Clunkers bill.

A Supreme Court ruling related to a West Virginia Supreme Court judge prompted this post on the merits of scrapping judicial elections.

The Project on Government Oversight reviewed state websites, looking for resources for those who want to report fraud, waste and abuse in how federal stimulus funds are being used. Iowa's website on the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act scored well in the report but wasn't in the top tier of especially "whistleblower-friendly websites."

After a one-on-one meeting with Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Chuck Grassley said she wasn't as "aggressive" and "obnoxious" as he expected.

I wasn't pleased by the changes Leonard Boswell advocated in the climate change bill.

I warned about the dangers of a fake public health insurance option, such as regional co-ops. I also suggested ways activists could support the public option.

Health Care for America Now ran tv ads supporting the public option in 10 states, including Iowa.

National polling continued to show massive support for a real public health insurance option.

This post contained constructive criticism of the Cash for Clunkers program, for which Representative Bruce Braley was a lead sponsor.

I wasn't convinced by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's "creative analogy" comparing climate-change skeptics with opponents of genetically-modified foods.

The House approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey). I reviewed the strongest arguments for and against the climate change bill and concluded that it wasn't strong enough to be worth passing. Iowa's delegation split on party lines, with all three Democrats voting for it. Representative Dave Loebsack got an amendment into the bill "to the bill will amend the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program so that building owners receiving disaster assistance can use the disaster assistance funds to leverage additional or matching funds to make energy efficient improvements to their homes and businesses."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued reports detailing the problems with the "health care status quo" across the country.

Smart Growth America released a review on how wisely states were spending transportation money from the stimulus bill. Iowa got good marks.

Norm Coleman finally conceded to Al Franken.

Talk about missing the big picture

desmoinesdem — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:08:24 GMT

Craig Robinson has a post up at The Iowa Republican on efforts by the Scott County GOP to "turn the tide" for Republicans in eastern Iowa and statewide. The problem:

Just over a decade ago, Republicans held eight of the nine legislative seats in Scott County, today Republicans only control three of those seats. [...] Currently, Republicans control only five senate seats and sixteen house seats east of Polk County. If you want to understand why Republicans have lost their majorities, one need[s] to look at what has happened to the state of the Republican Party in eastern Iowa.
In January of 2000, there were almost 5,000 more registered Republicans in Scott County than there were registered Democrats. Today, Democrats enjoy a registered voter advantage of 8,622 over Republicans. The 13,000 person swing in registered voters explains why Republicans have struggled to win elections in Scott County, the first congressional district, and statewide.
In the late 1990's, Republican statewide candidates could win if they were able to perform reasonably well in Polk County. Many times, western Iowa counties as along with eastern Iowa Republican strongholds like Scott County could offset the margin that Democratic candidates could build in Polk and Johnson counties. Unfortunately, those were the glory days of Republican politics. In recent years, the only area of the state in which Republicans can build significant margins over Democrats is in northwest Iowa.

Here's a name you won't find in Robinson's piece: Jim Leach. In the "glory days," Jim Leach represented Scott County in Congress. But other Republicans attacked Congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks last year because she praised Leach's work (even though she disagreed with his pro-choice position). Now Christian Fong, the only gubernatorial candidate from eastern Iowa, assures voters that he is a social conservative and ducked a question about whether he'd ever voted for Leach.

In the "glory days," most of the statehouse Republicans representing eastern Iowa were moderates. But in the 2006 Republican primary in Iowa Senate district 41, right-wing interest groups helped David Hartsuch oust pro-choice incumbent Republican Maggie Tinsman. Legislators on both sides of the aisle respected Tinsman, which can't be said of Hartsuch. Getting rid of Tinsman helped social conservatives gain more power in the Iowa GOP, but I doubt it helped the Republican brand in Scott County.

The Republican Party in Iowa and nationally has simply become too conservative to compete in much of eastern Iowa. The same process has turned many longtime Republican districts in Illinois and Wisconsin blue.

Robinson praises Brian Kennedy's organizing and fundraising work as the finance chair of the Scott County GOP. He argues that rising unemployment in eastern Iowa has created an opening for Republicans in 2010. For that reason, Kennedy wants GOP candidates to focus on "job creation and the economy." But clearly, there is no room in the GOP for candidates who don't accept all of the religious right's positions, whether or not they talk about jobs.

Until the Republican Party makes room in the tent for people who admire Jim Leach, they won't regain a dominant position in places like Scott County. A weak economy can help the GOP make up some ground next year, and raising more money can improve their grassroots organizing, but that won't solve their fundamental problem.

Eastern Iowa Bleeding Heartland readers, tell me if I'm right or wrong and why.

Weekend open thread: 100 days of marriage equality in Iowa

desmoinesdem — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Technically, 103 days, but who's counting?

So far my marriage has not collapsed under the strain of sharing rights with gays and lesbians. The worst thing that's happened to me because of marriage equality was making a faux pas when I ran into an acquaintance I hadn't seen in a long time. She's been living with another woman for at least 15 years, so I asked if they had gotten married. She looked surprised, then said, "Oh, we're not...that way. I mean, I know everyone thinks we are, but we're not." Oops!

This thread is for anything on your mind this weekend.

I thought the American Psychological Association struck a good balance this week in adopting a resolution that rejects "reparative therapy" to change someone's sexual orientation, but "urged therapists to consider multiple options - that could range from celibacy to switching churches - for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict."

UPDATE: Congratulations to former Republican Congressman Jim Leach (IA-02), whom the Senate confirmed by unanimous consent to head the National Endowment for the Humanities. That job is a perfect fit for Leach.

Radio Iowa's Kay Henderson posted a detailed write-up with audio of Senator Tom Harkin's Saturday town-hall meeting on health care reform.

Congratulations to Jim Leach

desmoinesdem — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:10:05 GMT

The White House announced today that President Barack Obama will nominated former Republican Congressman Jim Leach to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities. From the press release:

Jim Leach served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Iowa for 30 years. He founded and co-chaired the Congressional Humanities Caucus, which is dedicated to advocating on behalf of the humanities in the House of Representatives and to raising the profile of humanities in the United States. The Caucus worked to promote and preserve humanities programs and commissions such as the Historical Publications and Records Commission. Mr. Leach and his co-founder, Rep. David Price, received the Sidney R. Yates Award for Distinguished Public Service to the Humanities from the National Humanities Alliance in 2005. During his tenure in Congress, Mr. Leach also served as Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services (1995-2001), a senior member of the House Committee on International Relations and Chairman of the Committee's Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs (2001-2006). In addition, Mr. Leach is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Vice Chairman of the Century Foundation's Board of Trustees and has served on the boards of the Social Sciences Research Council, ProPublica, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Kettering Foundation. Since leaving Congress in 2007, he has taught at Princeton University and served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Leach was one of the most prominent Republicans to endorse Obama for president last year. He was rumored to be under consideration for a diplomatic position when Obama sent him to speak with foreign leaders in Washington shortly after the presidential election. The National Endowment for the Humanities seems like a perfect fit for Leach.

Congressman Dave Loebsack, who defeated Leach in the 2006 election, released this statement today:

"As a native son of Iowa, Jim Leach has served Iowa proudly and with dignity for over three decades, and I applaud President Obama's choice. The National Endowment for the Humanities makes critical contributions to the rich cultural tapestry of our country, and with Jim Leach's experience, expertise, and dedication, I have no doubt that our nation's museums, libraries, and cultural institutions will continue to grow and excel."

Loebsack and Leach have set a fantastic example for politicians everywhere by speaking about each other with respect, both during and since the 2006 campaign.

Congressman Bruce Braley released this statement:

"President Obama couldn't have made a better choice than Jim Leach to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities. There are few individuals as qualified or as well-suited for this position as he is. I'm proud that Davenport's own Jim Leach will be continuing to serve the public in this capacity after his long and distinguished career representing the citizens of eastern Iowa."

I was raised by a Rockefeller Republican who believed in funding the arts and humanities and cringed when well-known Republicans demonized the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1980s and 1990s. Leach's commitment to supporting the humanities will serve him well in his new job.

Obama taps Leach to meet with foreign leaders

desmoinesdem — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:26:18 GMT

According to Time's Mark Halperin, Barack Obama is sending former Republican Congressman Jim Leach and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (from the Clinton administration) to meet with foreign leaders from G-20 nations in Washington this Friday.

Leach was a leading figure in Republicans for Obama and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Open Left user tietack thinks Leach may be under consideration for a deputy Secretary of State position.

Events coming up this weekend (revised)

desmoinesdem — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:18:37 GMT

Added some new events to the calendar. Note: if you would like me to cover events featuring any particular elected official, please encourage that Democrat's staff to send me notices (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com).

Less than two weeks remain before the election. If you have time to volunteer this weekend, please contact a Democratic office to offer to help. Remember, there are many ways to help that do not involve phone calls to strangers or knocks on strangers' doors.

If you live in the fourth or fifth Congressional districts, I encourage you to volunteer for Becky Greenwald or Rob Hubler. Or, contact the nearest field office for Barack Obama's campaign.

Thanks to the prominent Iowa Democrats who are campaigning with Greenwald and Hubler this weekend.

One Iowa is also coordinating a "Weekend for Equality" volunteer effort. For more information, click here.

If nothing else, vote early so that other volunteers do not waste their time contacting you.

Please post a comment or send me an e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) if you know of another important event I've missed.

Saturday, October 25:

Iowa Veterans for Obama will be collecting clothing for Disabled Veterans of America across the street from Hy-Vee Hall at 777 Third Street (corner of 3rd and Center) in Des Moines, beginning around 10:30 am.

Tom Harkin and Becky Greenwald will hold a pre-GOTV rally at 2:30 pm at Iowa Central Community College, Career Ed Building Rooms 108-110, One Triton Circle in Fort Dodge.

Rob Hubler's campaign has the following public events scheduled:

1 p.m., Sioux City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests: Governor Tom Vilsack and Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan
The Sanford Community Center
1700 Geneva St, Sioux City, IA
2:30 p.m., Le Mars Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan and HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton
Plymouth County Democrats office
27 Central Ave Northwest, Le Mars, IA
3:45 p.m., Orange City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan, HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton,
HD 4 candidate James Van Bruggen
De Koffiehoek & Bistro
819 Lincoln Pl SE, Orange City, IA
5 p.m., Sheldon Rally for Real Representation. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Family Table Restaurant
710 2nd Ave, Sheldon, IA
7 p.m., Fundraiser and dinner with Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
(free will offering graciously accepted)
Minerva's Restaurant
1405 Highway 71 N, Okoboji, IA

Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach will also headline two Republicans for Obama events:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH, 2008
10:00 AM
Supporter Coffee with Congressman Jim Leach
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
517 1st St. NW
Mason City, Iowa
12:00 PM Noon
"Republicans for Obama" Event with Congressman Jim Leach
Location TBA
Waterloo, Iowa

The Motor Mill Foundation will host a benefit concert by Big Blue Sky at the Elkader Opera House at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 25. There will be a guest appearance by singer/songwriter Dave Moore of Iowa City. Doors open for a silent auction at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. All proceeds go to preservation of the Motor Mill Historic Site on the Turkey River near Elkader. For details, go to www.motormill.org, or call Larry Stone at 1-888-807-1828.

Sunday, October 26:

Rob Hubler will attend a House Party with Senator Mike and Connie Gronstal at noon. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan. 220 Bennett Avenue,
Council Bluffs, IA

At 1:30 pm, Scott Brennan will thank volunteers in the Council Bluffs office of the Obama campaign, 117 North 16th Street in Council Bluffs.

At 3 p.m., Hubler will hold a rally in Sioux City (details TBA)

Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players will perform at Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines (lower court) at 1 pm. Bring money even though the show is free, because you'll want to buy some CDs.

Monday, October 27:

Congressman Bruce Braley will debate his Republican challenger, David Hartsuch, on KUNI radio from noon to 1 pm.

The Department of Natural Resources will be holding another public meeting to discuss proposed rule changes for public lands (see above) from 6-8 pm at the Dickinson County Community Building, 1602 15th St., in Spirit Lake. For more information, contact Inga Foster at 515-281-8967.

From the Sierra Club of Iowa's e-mail loop:

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Dry Run Creek Watershed Management Project will be the topic of a lecture hosted by the University of Northern Iowa Department of Earth Science at 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 27, in Latham Hall, Room 125.
Rebecca Kauten, UNI alumna and urban coordinator in the Watershed Assessment and Monitoring Section of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will speak on "Water Quality in the Built Environment: Examples from a Local Watershed Project." Her presentation will focus on Dry Run Creek, an impaired watershed, and efforts to implement best management practices in the drainage basin.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jim Walters, professor and head, UNI Department of Earth Science, at (319) 273-2707.

Leach holding Republicans for Obama events

desmoinesdem — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:40:46 GMT

In August, former Congressman Jim Leach endorsed Barack Obama for president and spoke at the Democratic national convention.

Today and tomorrow Leach will hold Republicans for Obama events in Iowa:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2nd, 2008
11:30 AM
"Republicans for Obama" Discussion with Congressman Jim Leach
City Hall - City Council Chambers
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, Iowa
Doors open at 11:00 AM
5:00 PM
"Republicans for Obama" House Party with Congressman Jim Leach
Home of Ginger Marie Pasch-Renaud
413 S 28th St
West Des Moines, Iowa
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 2008
9:00 AM
"Republicans for Obama" Coffee with Congressman Jim Leach
History Center
615 First Avenue SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Doors open at 8:45 AM
12:30 PM
"Republicans for Obama" Lunch with Congressman Jim Leach
Home of Kirsten Adams
25107 189th St.
Bettendorf, Iowa
Doors open at noon

Do you know any Republicans for Obama? Among the Republicans who caucused for Obama, I am curious about how many will stick with him for the general election.

Jim Leach a leading figure in Republicans for Obama

desmoinesdem — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:23:29 GMT

John McCain's commercials seek to plant doubt about whether Barack Obama is "ready to lead," but some seasoned moderate Republicans aren't fooled. Former Congressman Jim Leach was among the prominent figures who formed "Republicans for Obama" today. A press release from the Obama campaign in Iowa is after the jump. Key excerpt:

"I have no doubt that Barack Obama's leadership is the leadership we need and that the world is crying out for," said Leach. "Barack Obama's platform is a call for change, but the change that he is so gracefully articulating is more renewal than departure. It is rooted in very old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition. There's an emphasis on individual rights, fairness and balance at home and progressive internationalism."

You can download the Republicans for Obama conference call here.

The Associated Press has more on Leach's endorsement:

Leach predicted that many Republicans and independents would be attracted by Obama's campaign but said his decision to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time wasn't easy. [...]
"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally," said Leach, who has long been an opponent of the war in Iraq.
"We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that," he said. "He recognizes that a long-term occupation of Iraq is not only expensive, it's extremely dangerous to the American interests."
[...]
Many Republicans argue that GOP candidate John McCain has an edge when the debate turns to foreign policy because of his long experience in dealing with such issues and his record as a career military officer and prisoner of war.
"There's a distinction between trumpeting issues and realistically looking at effectiveness," Leach said. "I have never known a time period where the American brand has been in less repair."

David Yepsen recently opined that "it's too early to count out McCain" in Iowa, but I see little reason to keep Iowa in the swing state column.

McCain has trailed Obama in every Iowa poll and will be unable to compete with Obama's ground game here. Now he won't even have the respected moderate Leach to help him in vote-rich eastern Iowa.

John Deeth has several Republican reactions to Leach's endorsement of Obama. I had to laugh reading comments that cited this as evidence that GOP moderates are "far to the left" or that conservatives were right to lose faith in Leach.

Memo to Republicans: if Leach were an isolated case, your party wouldn't be getting crushed by the Democrats in voter registration:

None of the states viewed early this year as competitive in the presidential campaign has swung more decisively than Iowa since Bush's re-election, based on a comparison of voter registration statistics. [...]
In Iowa, the number of registered Democrats has increased 16 percent since mid-2004, according to statistics from the Iowa secretary of state.
Trailing Republicans by roughly 8,000 in the summer before the 2004 election, registered Democrats now outnumber them by more than 90,000, according to statistics reflecting changes in July.

GOP leaders would do well to ask themselves why they have lost so much ground to Democrats. But if they'd rather discount Leach as less than a real Republican, that's fine with me.

CONGRESSMAN JIM LEACH ENDORSES SENATOR BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT
Des Moines, Iowa - Today, the Obama campaign announced that former Iowa congressman Jim Leach endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President. Leach also joined former Rhode Island Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee and prominent lawyer and former White House intelligence advisor Rita E. Hauser to announce the formation of Republicans for Obama.
"I have no doubt that Barack Obama's leadership is the leadership we need and that the world is crying out for," said Leach. "Barack Obama's platform is a call for change, but the change that he is so gracefully articulating is more renewal than departure. It is rooted in very old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition. There's an emphasis on individual rights, fairness and balance at home and progressive internationalism."
"Congressman Leach is well-respected across the state of Iowa by Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike, and we are honored to have his support," said Obama Iowa State Director Jackie Norris. "This election is about changing the way Washington does business, and many Republicans like Congressman Leach understand America cannot afford another four years of the failed policies of the Bush Administration."
Across the country Democrats, Independents, and Republicans are coming together in support of Senator Obama to bring change to Washington. Obama has a strong record of bringing people together from the left and the right to solve problems, leading with superior judgment on foreign policy issues, and demonstrating fiscal responsibility.
Leach represented southeastern Iowa in the US Congress from 1977-2007 and earned a reputation as one of the most respected foreign policy experts in Washington.
Click here to download the Republicans for Obama Conference Call: http://my.barackobama.com/page...
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2008
CONTACT: Jenni Lee, (515) 447-4611