Iowans who attempt to learn more about this millionaire from Minnesota will be seriously concerned about his history, or rather his lack of it. What they see on his website and in local press coverage seems very wholesome and respectable, but it represents an extremely shallow view of the candidate's real story, and red flags pop up all over the place, if you research his background with any due diligence.
According to the Mitchell County media, and his own web bio, back during the first Reagan administration, Kurt Meyer was “an administrator” at Wistar Institute, whose history of culturing and bio-engineering diseases like rabies and anthrax, puts them right in the thick of the era when Rumsfeld made those now-infamous deals to provide Saddam with the bio-WMD that he used against Iran and the Kurds.
A second big red flag; Meyer is very wealthy, which by itself should not represent an issue, or wasn't an issue until it became apparent he is willing to spend a lot of that money on his own camapign, and claim it is some sort of populist movement.
Another big red flag is the timing of his return to Iowa. Meyer moved back to Iowa from Minneapolis very recently, and got into politics immediatley in the wake of landmark changes in state political demographics that are best exemplified by Dave Loebsack's upset win in 2006 over Jim Leach.
Those who are intimately familiar with the 4th district's demographics should quite rightly be concerned that he is trying to buy this election, like some carpetbagger versin of Mitt Romney, and they should all have serious questions as to his real motives, and to his recently re-upped Iowa credentials.
The big question is whether he is a wolf in Dem clothing. His bio, as he is presenting it on his website and in his speeches and press releases, is so contrived and shallow, every reporter or political journalist in Iowa should be scrutinizing the fluff he is putting up much more closely.
Considering the spin his campign staffers have put on this latest fundraising fib, everything else should be scrutinized more closely for the truth hiding between the spin-lines.
But no one from the Iowa media is challenging his clearly contrived and sweetened image/front, it appears as if all the newspapers in the state, and in his district particularly, are foaming at the mouth in anticipation of easy advertising revenue.
Most Iowans in the district know from recent experience, the media owners they once depended on for reliable information are no longer trustworthy, esepcially concerning politics. They are not about to expose any inconvenient facts about a wealthy candidate. primarily because they want that ad money. To get it, they dance around the truth in silent complicity, the kind that we all know happens in politics.
The two references below should bring up more than a few questions from the media and the voters in general. But unfortunately, likely due to Meyer's big bucks, this is happening in a media vacuum of greed and good-old-boyism, so those questions will likely never be asked, let alone answered.
Note this part; “The nation's oldest biomedical research institution said today that it participated in experiments in Argentina last summer (1985) involving field testing of genetically engineered vaccines for animals without the knowledge or approval of the Argentine or United States Governments.”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE1DF1030F932A25752C1A960948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all
From The Mitchell County Press newspaper, quite recently
“The Meyers moved to Philadelphia in 1981 where Kurt was a consultant to
healthcare organizations and an administrator at the Wistar Institute, a
biomedical research organization.”
http://www.mcpress.com/articles/2008/02/19/news/news01.txt
That first link puts him somewhere near the top at Wistar, at the time these illegal experiments were going on, which in and of itself should give us all pause to consider this person's qualifications for representing IOWA farmers and small-town residents, and the working-class city folks in that unique, sprawling district.
And this may just be the tip of an iceberg. What else don't Iowans know about Kurt Meyer? It would benefit the voters in the 4th District for some honest journalist to find out.
campaign for over a year), Becky Greenwald, (a long-time Democratic party leader from Perry, who has been building her campaign through the county chairs) and Kevin Miskell (a Stanhope farmer, former state Senate candidate, and former VP of the Iowa Farmer's Union, with a lot of top-level party connections and an office in Ames) …
Considering his past connections, can we say the same for Kurt Meyer? His experience lands well outside the very important interests and issues of Iowa residents.
Iowa voters deserve no less.
JEP
17 Comments
don't beat around the bush
Tell us how you really feel.
Seriously, the e-mail from Meyer’s campaign didn’t claim the race was over–it said they were off to a great start but still had a lot of work to do. ThinkingIraq was the one who characterized the e-mail as suggesting Meyer had the race “in the bag.”
I don’t think that being a millionaire makes someone an illegitimate candidate. There are good progressives who happen to be very wealthy (e.g. former Senator and current Governor Corzine of New Jersey).
I am going to stay neutral in this primary, but I would urge 4th-district voters to make up their minds on issues and who would best represent them, rather than based on who has the most money or who has raised the most money.
desmoinesdem Sat 12 Apr 9:09 PM
JEP is slinging trash
JEP better learn to read. NOWHERE on this blog has anyone from the Kurt Meyer for Congress campaign claimed Kurt has the nomination wrapped up. NOWHERE! In fact, virtually everything this trasher said in his “Who is Kurt Meyer, Really” diatribe is either wholly inaccurate or grossly twisted–including that nonsense about the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, where Kurt worked for three years in the mid-’80s. That institute has saved millions of lives all over the world through such achievements as the development of the German Measles vaccine, the rabies vaccine, the cytomegalovirus vaccine (a major killer of infants) and other bioimedical breakthroughs.
Why don’t you stick to the issues instead of inventing inflamatory fictions and trashing what you claim to be the candidates’ personal qualities, about which you clearly know nothing? With a few more commentators like JEP, Bleedinbg Heartland might consider changing its name to “Bleeding Chicago Ward Politics in Iowa.”
Heartland Howard
heartland-howard Thu 17 Apr 11:26 AM
Kurt is a real IOWAN!
How can you not call Kurt a real Iowan? Yeah he moved to Philly and has been working back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota but doesn’t that strengthen his ties to the UNITED STATES? “While Meyer grew up and went to country school in the Otranto/Mona area, he graduated from St. Ansgar High School in 1972. He went on to Luther College in Decorah, where he majored in History and Political Science and graduated in 1976.” Thats from your second source. Read your facts please, the last thing we need is another person like you running the politics of Iowa through the dirt. If you want people to know who everyone is don’t be so slanted, it only makes people dislike you and further more it makes you look like an ass. Check your facts.
ancatdubh Sun 20 Apr 1:22 AM
Real Iowan?
Two Questions for “Iowan” Kurt Meyer?
Where does his son currently go to high school?
Prior to the 2008 caucus, where has he voted in the last 10 years?
jackiowa Sun 20 Apr 8:00 AM
I lived outside Iowa for 15 years
and lived overseas for nearly a decade during that time. I don’t think that makes me less of an Iowan. I moved back in 2002 and dived right in, volunteering for local campaigns for Iowa non-profit groups.
My advice is to make the case for voting for your candidate rather than trying to turn the fourth-district primary into a “who’s more of a real Iowan?” battle.
desmoinesdem Sun 20 Apr 12:27 PM
Thank you desmoindem
I agree with desmoindem that you can’t judge someone by where they place their children. Some peoples children have certain needs that need attention. I don’t think anyone should make a decision based on where there child fits best.
Also, the typo thing. About “Esterville”. Kurt has staff who are humans. Humans make mistakes, especially under deadlines. Almost every campagin has made mistakes, I wouldn’t take it as a reflection of his entire campaign. Just a typo.
an cat dubh
ancatdubh Wed 23 Apr 11:13 PM
Change the subject.
Kurt wants to revitilize the railways to transport cargo and people. I think it’s a great idea. One train company can deliver one ton of cargo 400miles on one gallon of fuel. That’s effecient. Let’s do it. Thoughts?
ancatdubh
ancatdubh Sun 27 Apr 11:22 PM
I suggest you put up a diary
with more info on this proposal. Let’s see if we can get a comment thread going on that.
desmoinesdem Sun 27 Apr 11:55 PM