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Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
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paul ryan 
Fri Apr 05, 2013 at 17:48:00 PM CDT
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Appearing on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program today, Representative Steve King (IA-04) acknowledged that the open U.S. Senate race will be a "slight uphill battle" for any Republican, but asserted that he can see a "path to victory" if he decides to run.
I am still 100 percent convinced that King will opt out of the Senate race eventually, citing personal reasons (not political reality). Nevertheless, his comments on the Senate race are worth reading closely, so I've enclosed them below. You can watch the whole interview or read the full transcript here.
King claimed to be unable to think of any positions he has taken that are "out of step with Iowans." Near the end of this post, I've suggested two issues that would become central features in Bruce Braley's case against King.
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Sat Mar 23, 2013 at 20:35:00 PM CDT
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The U.S. Senate approved a budget for fiscal year 2014 at 4:38 am on Saturday after voting on amendments for most of the night. The budget passed by 50 votes to 49 (roll call). Iowa's Senator Chuck Grassley and the rest of the Senate Republicans voted no, joined by four Democrats representing red states. The rest of the Democrats, including Senator Tom Harkin, voted for the budget.
As is often the case, Senate votes on various amendments were more interesting than the final party-line vote on the budget. Follow me after the jump for details on how Grassley and Harkin voted on some of those amendments. I've also enclosed statements from Grassley and Harkin.
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Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 16:40:00 PM CDT
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The Republican National Committee released a so-called "autopsy" on the 2012 election results today. You can read the full report on the "Growth and Opportunity Project" here. I've posted a few excerpts, links and thoughts after the jump.
Any comments about the GOP's rebuilding and rebranding effort are welcome in this thread.
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Wed Jan 02, 2013 at 07:20:00 AM CST
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Iowa GOP Chair A.J. Spiker spoke for many conservative Republicans yesterday when he urged members of Congress to vote against the "ill-advised" deal to avoid tax increases. "The so called "Fiscal Cliff Deal" will only hurt middle class families, continue out of control government spending and fails to address the $16.5 Trillion Federal deficit [sic]," Spiker said in a statement.
Republicans Tom Latham (IA-04, IA-03 in the new Congress) and Steve King (IA-05, IA-04 in the new Congress) voted against this bill. So did likely 2016 presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Rand Paul in the U.S. Senate. However, in a surprising move to me, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan voted for the deal. I figured Ryan would end up with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and most other House Republicans, who objected to the lack of spending cuts. Ryan later told reporters, "I am not afraid of anything, I think it needed to pass. [...] I wanted to stop a big tax increase."
Any comments on the long-term political implications of yesterday's votes are welcome in this thread. Rubio has already warned that the deal will hurt small businesses and future economic growth. He is wrong about the impact on small businesses, but economic growth probably will be weak during the next few years, which will vindicate his views in the eyes of conservatives.
UPDATE: A few more House Republicans who voted no may run for president in 2016 or 2020: Mike Pence, just elected governor of Indiana; Tim Scott, just appointed U.S. senator to replace Jim DeMint of South Carolina; Jeff Flake, just elected U.S. senator from Arizona.
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Sat Nov 03, 2012 at 19:25:00 PM CDT
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President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney both headlined rallies in Dubuque today as two new polls showed the president ahead in Iowa.
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Thu Nov 01, 2012 at 06:35:00 AM CDT
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Four new Iowa polls were released during the past 24 hours, and both Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's campaigns have scheduled multiple rallies in Iowa this week. Follow me after the jump for clips on those stories and related news.
Any comments about the presidential race are welcome in this thread.
UPDATE: Added another poll below and excerpts from a new Romney campaign memo on Iowa.
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Mon Oct 22, 2012 at 06:35:00 AM CDT
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Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan did his first campaign swing through western Iowa yesterday. Highlights from his speeches in Council Bluffs and Sioux City are after the jump.
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Thu Oct 11, 2012 at 19:55:02 PM CDT
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In a few minutes, Vice President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Paul Ryan will debate in Danville, Kentucky. I will update this post later with highlights. Meanwhile, share any comments about the debate or the presidential race generally in this thread.
I've been watching the third debate between Leonard Boswell and Tom Latham on Iowa Public Television tonight. You can use this thread for comments about the Congressional candidates' debates.
UPDATE: Added a few thoughts after the jump.
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Mon Oct 08, 2012 at 10:10:00 AM CDT
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Fewer than 30 days remain until the presidential election. Any comments about the race in Iowa or nationally are welcome in this thread. I've compiled recent news, analysis, and advertising after the jump. I will update as needed, especially if any new Iowa poll comes out today. Gallup's national tracking poll shows Mitt Romney gaining ground since last Wednesday's presidential debate.
UPDATE: Rasmussen Reports has President Barack Obama leading Romney in Iowa by 49 percent to 47 percent, based on a survey of 500 likely voters conducted on October 7 (margin of error plus or minus 4.5 percent). Rasmussen's previous Iowa poll had Romney leading 47 percent to 44 percent.
SECOND UPDATE: Added latest national polling data at the end of this post.
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Wed Oct 03, 2012 at 14:55:00 PM CDT
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I thought Mitt Romney made a strategic error in choosing Paul Ryan as a running mate. However, after listening to clips from Ryan's campaign stops in eastern Iowa Monday and yesterday, I can see why many consider Ryan an asset to the Republican ticket.
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Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 06:55:00 AM CDT
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Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan campaigned in Des Moines yesterday, while Vice President Joe Biden kicked off a two-day swing through Iowa in Burlington. I've enclosed highlights from both men's speeches after the jump. I'll update this post later with clips from Biden's events today in Ottumwa and Grinnell.
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Tue Sep 11, 2012 at 08:05:00 AM CDT
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One of Republican Mitt Romney's latest television commercials in Iowa asserts that cutting government spending and eliminating the federal deficit will create 130,000 jobs in Iowa. Meanwhile, in states with more military bases and defense sector industry, Romney campaign advertising promises to create hundreds of thousands of jobs by reversing planned cuts in defense spending.
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Tue Sep 04, 2012 at 16:55:00 PM CDT
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Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan just wrapped up his event at Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids, the first stop in a two-day swing through Iowa.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Added clips from Ryan's rally in Adel.
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Sun Sep 02, 2012 at 08:15:00 AM CDT
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Getting out the vote early was a major theme of President Barack Obama's campaign rallies in Urbandale and Sioux City yesterday. Democratic candidates for other offices need a strong early vote as well, but there's no sign the president is concerned about electing Democrats up and down the ticket.
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Wed Aug 29, 2012 at 09:20:00 AM CDT
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Normally I am a political party convention junkie, but I haven't watched any of the Republican National Convention so far. Judging from media accounts of the prime-time program, it seems that Ann Romney gave a decent speech, dwelling on the theme of love, after which New Jersey Governor Chris Christie talked mostly about himself and said Republicans need to seek respect, not love. He also praised presidential nominee Mitt Romney for being willing to tell the hard truths about how to fix the deficit, but naturally, didn't share any details on those tough budget cuts to come.
Any comments related to the GOP convention are welcome in this thread. Many links and news stories related to the Iowa delegation are after the jump.
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Tue Aug 28, 2012 at 20:55:00 PM CDT
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President Barack Obama held a campaign rally in Ames today, drawing a crowd of approximately 6,000 on the Iowa State University campus. I enclosed the transcript of the president's remarks at the bottom of this post. As in all his campaign speeches, he framed the election as a "choice" between two paths, rather than as a referendum on his performance. Obama also emphasized his administration's efforts to make college tuition and student loans more affordable.
The president will need strong turnout in places like Ames this November, because yet another Iowa poll shows the gap between Obama and Romney within the margin of error.
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Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 12:41:40 PM CDT
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For the past ten days, GOP strategists have worried anonymously that Representative Paul Ryan's presence on the national ticket will hurt Mitt Romney's campaign, especially in the must-win state of Florida. One of the top Democratic talking points of the last year and a half has been Ryan's plan to "end Medicare as we know it" by forcing future retirees to purchase government-subsidized private health insurance.
Romney's strategists seem to have decided that the best defense on Medicare is a good offense. A television commercial launched last week attacked President Barack Obama's record on Medicare, and a brand-new spot echoes that charge. Both videos are after the jump, along with transcripts and one of the Obama campaign's response ads.
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Mon Aug 20, 2012 at 12:25:00 PM CDT
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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has tried to keep his campaign focused on economic and fiscal issues, but President Barack Obama's latest television commercial in Iowa spotlights abortion rights and federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The video, annotated transcript, and related news are all after the jump.
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