OK, political junkies, show us your stuff. Who will win the high-profile primaries in Iowa today?

By that I mean, who will win the Democratic primaries in Iowa’s third and fourth Congressional districts?

Who will win the Republican primary in Iowa’s second Congressional district? (Iowa Independent and the Des Moines Register have profiled the three candidates seeking to take on Congressman Dave Loebsack.)

UPDATE: I forgot that you can also predict which of these three Republicans will become the chump who’ll be lucky to get 40 percent of the vote against Tom Harkin this November.

I will update this post later with my own predictions for the Congressional races.

John Deeth has an outstanding post up going over some of the key primaries in the Iowa House and Senate races. I don’t know enough about those races to make my own predictions, but I encourage you to mention them in your comments if you want to test your prognosticating skills against Deeth’s.

SECOND UPDATE: Finally ready to post my predictions.

Although the GOP establishment seems to be behind Eichhorn for Senate, I’m guessing that Steve Rathje will win that primary. I give him zero chance against Harkin.

In IA-02, I think Mariannette Miller-Meeks will win. I doubt she will give Loebsack much trouble, and I’ll explain why another day.

In IA-04, I think Becky Greenwald will win with at least 35 percent, enough to avoid having to pick the nominee at a district convention. I say this because she’s raised a lot of money, she has the best connections in the southern part of the district, and it doesn’t hurt to be one woman running against three men in a Democratic primary.

In IA-03, I think Boswell will win but by less than 10 points. To be more specific, I’ll go with 54-46 as my guess.

Mike Lux also thinks Boswell will win but warns that his “over-reaction” will make it closer than it should have been:

Boswell’s over-the-top negative campaign against Ed has caused a serious negative reaction, and has got everyone talking. I talked to at least half a dozen people who said they were planning to vote for Leonard, but have switched to Ed because of the mailings, and even Boswell’s supporters have been made nervous and set on edge by the mailings.

I have not seen the Fallon campaign’s internal numbers, and I do not know enough about the process that generated them. My impression is that they did some kind of random selection of voters from the database and then had people call to check their preferences (correct me if I am wrong). My worry is that a lot of polite Iowans may have lied about their intentions when called by someone from the Fallon campaign.

I wrote last week that Congressman Leonard Boswell’s closing argument is “I’m loyal, he voted for Nader.” A radio ad I heard in the car on Monday confirmed that impression.

I couldn’t jot down notes and have been unable to find an audio file of this ad on the web, but I will update this post with that information if someone can send it to me.

The ad used a female voice-over rather than Boswell’s voice. The first part of the ad relayed positive information about the incumbent:

-The teachers have endorsed Boswell because of his work on education.

-The nurses have endorsed Boswell because of his work on health care.

-Working families support Boswell because he stands up for them.

-Al Gore and Tom Harkin are also supporting Boswell.

Then the ad shifts gears with language about how it’s a different story with Ed Fallon. Fallon supported Ralph Nader over Al Gore in 2000. Because Fallon campaigned for Nader instead of Gore, Democrats have been stuck with eight years of President George W. Bush, with a lousy economy and an unending war in Iraq.

All of the above is a paraphrase based on my best recollection. If anyone else has heard this ad (or better yet, has a recording of it), I would love to post a more precise version of its contents.

On one level, I am not surprised that Boswell is talking about Nader in his radio ads, because that is clearly his trump card.

On the other hand, I expected Boswell to stick to all-positive advertising in broadcast media. Typically an incumbent does not go negative on a primary challenger unless there is some concern about the outcome.

By the way, on Saturday and Monday I didn’t receive any direct-mail from either Boswell’s campaign or the anti-Fallon group Independent Voices.

As far as I can tell, the Boswell campaign’s attempt to draw a contrast between Boswell and Fallon regarding methamphetamine got no traction in any Iowa mainstream media. Please correct me if I am wrong, and let me know if you have seen media reports on that issue in the past couple of days.

UPDATE: Boswell’s campaign manager Scott Ourth sent out his final mass e-mail yesterday. I’ve put the full text after the jump.

I live in Iowa House district 59, which includes Windsor Heights, Clive and parts of West Des Moines. Republicans have held this seat since before I was born, but I am convinced that Windsor Heights Mayor Jerry Sullivan has a strong chance to flip this district for the Democrats.

Judging from two calls I received in the past 48 hours, some Republicans are worried about that possibility too.

On Sunday evening I got a robocall from “Survey 2000” claiming to have a brief 30-second survey for me to answer. The first question was whether I planned to vote in the June 3 Democratic primary. The second was whether I planned to vote for Jerry Sullivan or Mark Matel in the primary. Then the push-polling started.

I jotted down what I could with pencil and paper, but the robocall voice went fast, so I don’t have anything close to the verbatim wording of the call.

One question asked whether a candidate’s position on a woman’s right to choose was important, and followed up with some language suggesting that Jerry Sullivan does not support that right.

The next question asked whether I thought elected officials should keep our taxes low, and followed up by saying that Windsor Heights property taxes were very high while Sullivan was mayor.

Finally, there was a question and follow-up information relating to Sullivan’s support for last summer’s Project Destiny referendum, which failed by a huge margin.

This call had all the telltale marks of a push-poll. No demographic information was collected, so the results could not be analyzed in any useful way by a campaign or a public polling firm. Only negative information about one candidate was pushed. In contrast, a legitimate message-testing poll, such as the one commissioned by Congressman Leonard Boswell’s campaign in January, will test positive and negative messages about one or more candidates.

I jotted down the phone number given at the end of the call. It went by fast, but I think I wrote it down correctly: 703-263-2511. I tried to call that number and got only busy signals.

On Monday at about 4:15 pm, I got a different robocall. This was not a fake poll, but it was otherwise similar to the call I received Sunday night.

This time a woman’s voice said she was calling from “Survey 2008” (which was pronounced “Survey two zero zero eight”) with important information about the primary coming up on June 3.

First, she said that Windsor Heights property taxes went from one of the lowest to the second-highest in the Des Moines metro area while Jerry Sullivan was mayor.

Then, she said that Sullivan worked to pass Project Destiny, which was supported by wealthy business interests.

Then, she said Sullivan was believed to support ending a woman’s right to choose an abortion.

The phone number given at the end of this call was 703-263-1908, which probably is a different phone line at the same office that produced the call I got Sunday evening.

First things first: I contacted Sullivan’s campaign manager and confirmed that the candidate is pro-choice. There is no basis for these calls suggesting that he would seek to end a woman’s right to choose. I suspect that they tried that line because Sullivan is Catholic and has a Catholic-sounding name, and they figured this argument would hurt him with Democratic primary voters.

A neighbor called me yesterday to report getting a nasty robocall about Sullivan. When we compared notes, it was obviously the same call. She assumed that Sullivan’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Mark Matel, was behind the call, but my hunch is that these calls were not arranged by any of the rival candidates for this seat.

I doubt that either Matel or Republican Susan Murphy have the resources to fund this kind of operation, even if they wanted to. I assume that Chris Hagenow, the favorite to win the Republican nomination, is focused on winning his primary race, although he may have raised enough money to fund calls like these.

The language on taxes used in both calls suggests to me that a Republican interest group is behind them. Iowans for Tax Relief has endorsed Hagenow, so that group might be a prime suspect. I am sure they would rather not see the relatively inexperienced Hagenow run against someone with Sullivan’s background in business and public service.

It’s also possible that the Iowa Republican Party decided to spend money on roughing up Sullivan in the Democratic primary. Presumably the seat would be easier for Republicans to hold if Sullivan loses the primary, or if they can damage his reputation among the loyal Democratic voters who show up for primaries.

The phone numbers given at the end of the calls should point toward the firm that produced them, but that would not necessarily reveal what candidate or entity paid for the calls.

If you receive calls pushing negative information on any candidate this year, please take as detailed notes as you can. That’s easier when there is a live caller, because you can ask him or her to repeat the questions. Stay on the line until the end of the call and write down the phone number, which they are legally required to give. Then contact the campaign of the candidate being attacked in the call, so they know right away what is going on.

I also encourage Bleeding Heartland users to put up a diary at this blog if you receive any push-poll or obnoxious robocalls this year.

Also special thanks to the authors of Bleeding Heartland for promoting my diaries and the diaries of my opponents over the last few months.  We all appreciate your dedication to giving us front row.

I hope my next posting will be signed as Democratic Nominee.  

Thanks again and FORWARD MARCH!

Special thanks to the Midwest Democrat for their endorsement of me.

http://www.midwestdemocrat.com/2008/06/iowa-endorsements.html 

Below is a list of great Chicken Crossing the Road jokes.

I am sure Becky, Kevin and Kurt would rather you all poke fun at us in this manner than attacking each other.  The jokes below will serve as a good guideline.

Let's see who can come up with the best additions pertaining to ALL FOUR OF US CANDIDATES.  KEEP IT CLEAN, BUT HAVE FUN WITH IT.  ALL FOUR OF US DO HAVE GREAT SENSES OF HUMOR. 

Becky, Kurt, Kevin and myself have been through hell for the last few months and this evening ALL FOUR OF US are stressed to the max.  I am sure not a single one of you have any idea what we are going through this evening.  I guarantee Becky, Kevin and Kurt are just as awake and overwhelmed with anxiety as I am.  Not only have we stressed ourselves financially, but physically, and mentally.  All of our families have suffered through this process.  We have been through more than you could ever know in this quest for the nomination.  We have done this to make our nation BETTER FOR ALL OF YOU.

While we all appreciate having passionate supporters, the last thing we need are phone calls regarding cat fights on blogs.  It would help ALL FOUR OF US immensely for all of you to kiss and make up and instead channel your positive energy for tomorrow evening.

That being said, Steve I am glad you came here and posted under your real name to clear up that attempt to pit our families against each other.

Sue, (mom #2) I am glad you have done the same.

For those of you who have attacked my credibility, no it did not work.  I know how hard it is right now, because I am living it.  Your attacks do not make it any easier on the people you are representing, especially when you are making false accusations as a paid staffer. I don't know if you did the same thing with B's campaign, but I am sure he would have never allowed it if he knew.

Others with questions, please contact through my website: meyersforhouse.com and I would be happy to answer ANY of your questions.  I am not posting here to debate, but to introduce and inform and promote not only myself, but the agenda of our party.  If you would care to attack me, then at least have the guts to use your real names, as I have used mine.

Lastly, I would like to personally invite any of you to join my family, friends and I for a primary election gathering in Boone tomorrow evening.  We will be at the Colorado Bar and Grill, located on South Marshall Street beginning about 8 P.M.  Map below. 

If we don’t want to see John McCain elected president, we need to chip away at his “maverick” image and demonstrate how he has marched in lockstep with the Bush White House.

This web video produced by the Democratic National Committee is a step in the right direction:

Help this video go viral by sending the link to friends, or putting it up on your blog if you have one. Alternatively, reward good behavior by making a donation to the DNC.

Mr. desmoinesdem is reading Jan Crawford Greenburg’s book Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court. (It was reviewed here at the Volokh conspiracy blog.)

When Justice William Brennan left the court at the beginning of Poppy Bush’s presidency, Kenneth Starr was the early favorite to get the nomination, but Bush’s Attorney General Richard Thornburgh rejected him as “unacceptable” because he was not reliably conservative enough.

So Bush’s chief of staff John Sununu (a former governor of New Hampshire) and New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman prevailed upon the White House to nominate David Souter instead. Oops!

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was among the Senate Republicans who were deeply concerned by the answers Souter gave during his confirmation hearings. But according to Greenburg, Republicans

could not abandon a man the White House had assured them was a reliable conservative. Some assumed Souter was simply pandering to Democrats to get through the committee, and they refused to believe he meant what he said.

Souter was the last “stealth conservative” you’ll ever see a Republican president nominate for the Supreme Court. If John McCain gets elected, expect more like Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Greetings from the road!

I am doing my best to type this quick message on an IPod Touch from an interstate rest area (great perk for travels in Iowa).

I am the only individual representing my campaign on this blog or any other blog.  I have posted here myself (opposed to other candidates), and have used my real name.

It is refreshing to see three other individuals on this blog who have also had the courage to use their real names.  There have been individuals who have posted and have tried posting in support of me, who I have never met and are certainly NOT working/volunteering for my campaign.

As always, there seems to be a very dirty side to this game and those of you who have attempted to tarnish another using ficticious information or identities should be ashamed of yourselves. 

Greetings from the road!

I am doing my best to type this quick message on an IPod Touch from an interstate rest area (great perk for travels in Iowa).

Please note that this evening on KCCI Channel 8, all four candidates will be presented.  2 (me) candidates at 5 PM and the other 2 at 6 PM. 

I learned from Representative Tyler Olson today that the Iowa Department of Public Health has released draft regulations to implement the public smoking ban set to go into effect on July 1. Go to www.iowasmokefreeair.gov to read and comment on the regulations.

I was tough on the House Democrats earlier this year for putting so many exemptions in the smoking ban, but I understand that those were necessary to get the bill through the lower chamber.

Legislators removed some of the exceptions when the House and Senate versions were reconciled in conference. My hope is that a court may strike down some of the exemptions that remained in the final version of the bill.

For those who are still bent out of shape about the new law, I again offer my 10 suggestions to help smokers stop whining about the smoking ban.

The press release I got today from Representative Tyler Olson is after the jump.

I was at Valley West Mall today with my two-year-old, and a woman walks by holding the hand of a girl who looked to be about two or three. The girl had on a white t-shirt that said:

HOOTER GIRL

(in training)

I ask you, what kind of person would put that shirt on a young child?

It’s not the strangest t-shirt I’ve ever seen on a child. That would still have to be the toddler’s shirt that said this on the front:

Cardinal Ratzinger fan club

Putting the smackdown on heresy since 1981

And this on the back:

“Truth is not determined by a majority vote.” Cardinal Ratzinger

I am not kidding. That shirt was so bizarre that it prompted me to write a diary at Daily Kos back in the day when I mostly lurked and hardly ever wrote anything for any blog.

Consider this an open thread for discussing the oddest t-shirts or bumper stickers you have seen.

Today is the first anniversary of the death of Steve Gilliard. As I’ve written before, I loved his blog and miss his writing. You’ll see why if you click on any of the posts I linked to in that diary.

Steve meant a lot to many others too, as you can see from reading the comments below a diary I posted about him at Daily Kos.

Use this as an open thread to tell us about your favorite bloggers. Whose work should we be reading, and why?

which Dana Rudolph is hosting for the third year on this date at the Mombian blog. So far she has 28 people’s stories posted.

She explains how to contribute your stories, photos or videos here.

Please put up a comment if I have left out any important events.

Monday, June 2:

Ed Fallon will be on the 98.3 WOW FM radio station’s show Mac’s World, beginning at 1:30 pm.

Tuesday, June 3:

Get out and vote in the Democratic primary!

Leonard Boswell’s election night party will be at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, Wedgewood Room, 1000 Walnut St in Des Moines, beginning at 8:30 pm. This seems to be open to the public, as I received a mass-mailed postcard invitation.

Ed Fallon’s election night party will be right next door at the Raccoon River Brewery, 10th and Mulberry in Des Moines, beginning at 9 pm.

Wednesday, June 4:

One Iowa is holding its last volunteer workshop where you can sign up for shifts at Pride this June. There will be a quick overview and training session to let you know about what the different volunteer needs and roles will be, where to check in and check out during Pride, and how this process will work.  Immediately following will be a chance for you to ask any questions you may have and to sign up for volunteer shifts. The workshop will be at 6 pm, and you can RSVP here:

http://eqfed.org/oneiowa/event…

For questions, please contact One Iowa at (515)288-4019, or you can visit our web site at www.oneiowa.org.

Thursday, June 5:

Immigration in Iowa will be the topic of a forum at the DMACC Urban Campus (1100 7th St. in Des Moines) from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Confirmed panelists include: Alicia Claypool of the Iowa Immigration Education Coalition; David Roederer, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance (representing 16 chambers of commerce in Iowa); James Benzoni, a Des Moines attorney specializing in immigration law and an adjunct faculty member of the Drake Law School in Des Moines; and state Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames. The event, sponsored by IowaPolitics.com, DMACC and Mediacom, is free and open to the public, but reservations are required as lunches will be provided to the first 50 people who sign up to attend. For reservations call 515.226.8774 or e-mail Julie Rutz at rutz@IowaPolitics.com. Doors at DMACC Urban Campus will open at 10:30 a.m. Free parking will be available at the DMACC Urban Campus. The panel discussion will also be televised to a statewide audience on the Mediacom Connections Channel and will be available for On Demand viewing from Mediacom on Channel 1.

Derek Maurer invites anyone interested in peak oil to join him for a discussion of the topic Thursday, June 5, at 7 p.m. in Meeting Room E of the Iowa City Public Library. This will be an opportunity to learn more or share what you know about peak oil. Many Iowans are becoming more informed about the peak oil phenomenon, with its implication that the era of abundant and relatively cheap energy is drawing to a close. What can we do as a community to respond to the likelihood of this drastic change in the basis of our economy and society?

Friday, June 6:

The Matthew Shepard Scholarship Committee cordially invites you to Iowa’s 2008 Matthew Shepard Scholarship Awards Dinner. Featuring music by members of the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus, a keynote address by Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles, and presenting Iowa’s 2008 Matthew Shepard Scholarship Recipients.

Friday, June 6, 2007

5:30 PM Reception (Cash Bar)

6:45 PM Dinner and Program

$55.00 per Ticket

Hy-Vee Conference Center

5820 Westown Parkway

West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

Register here:

http://www.eychanerfoundation….

Over at Daily Kos, nyceve put up another shocking diary about the practices of for-profit insurance companies in the U.S.

Today she links to this article from the New York Times about women facing higher insurance premiums, or even being denied insurance coverage, after giving birth by cesarean:

Insurers’ rules on prior Caesareans vary by company and also by state, since the states regulate insurers, said Susan Pisano of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group. Some companies ignore the surgery, she said, but others treat it like a pre-existing condition.

“Sometimes the coverage will come with a rider saying that coverage for a Caesarean delivery is excluded for a period of time,” Ms. Pisano said. Sometimes, she said, applicants with prior Caesareans are charged higher premiums or deductibles.

This problem could affect millions of American women:

In 2006, more than 1.2 million Caesareans were performed in the United States, and researchers estimate that each year, half a million women giving birth have had previous Caesareans.

“Obstetricians are rendering large numbers of women uninsurable by overusing this surgery,” said Pamela Udy, president of the International Caesarean Awareness Network, a group whose mission is to prevent unnecessary Caesareans.

Although many women who have had a Caesarean can safely have a normal birth later, something that Ms. Udy’s group advocates, in recent years many doctors and hospitals have refused to allow such births, because they carry a small risk of a potentially fatal complication, uterine rupture. Now, Ms. Udy says, insurers are adding insult to injury. Not only are women feeling pressure to have Caesareans that they do not want and may not need, but they may also be denied coverage for the surgery.

The New York Times piece also mentions one woman who was rejected for coverage by the Golden Rule Insurance Company:

She was turned down because she had given birth by Caesarean section. Having the operation once increases the odds that it will be performed again, and if she became pregnant and needed another Caesarean, Golden Rule did not want to pay for it. A letter from the company explained that if she had been sterilized after the Caesarean, or if she were over 40 and had given birth two or more years before applying, she might have qualified.

Great news–all she has to do to get health insurance coverage is be sterilized!

Seriously, we need a national health care policy that prohibits insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

Until that happens, women would be advised to do whatever they can to reduce their risk of having a c-section.

Some surgical births are unavoidable, and in those cases it is a lifesaving procedure. However, there are ways to reduce the risk of having an unnecessary cesarean.

I advise women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant to strongly consider using a midwife for your prenatal care, labor and delivery. Most midwives have a far lower cesarean rate in their practices than obstetricians.

One New Jersey hospital that has a thriving midwifery program has the second-lowest rate of c-sections in that state, “despite serving a low-income urban patient population that is more likely to have high-risk pregnancies.”

Hiring a certified doula to help the mother during labor and delivery has been shown to reduce the rate of cesarean births as well. You can have a doula assist you whether you are under the care of a midwife, an obstetrician or a family doctor, whether you give birth in a hospital, a birth center or at home.

You should also seek information about the c-section rates of the hospitals and birth centers in your area, if you have a choice. As I mentioned  in this post on cesarean births in Iowa, the percentage of babies born by c-section can vary widely from hospital to hospital.

For more information on cesarean births and the benefits of having a doula, click here.

Congressman Leonard Boswell’s campaign put out a press release on Saturday seeking to contrast the incumbent’s record with Ed Fallon’s record on fighting methamphetamine use in Iowa:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          

May 31, 2008

CONTACT:

Betsy Shelton, 515-238-3356

Boswell Committed to Fighting Iowa’s Meth Crisis

Des Moines, IA – Today Polk County Attorney John Sarcone and Dave Murillo, President of the Des Moines Police Burial and Protective Association, praised Congressman Leonard Boswell for his important work and leadership in fighting Iowa’s methamphetamine crisis.

Boswell thanked Sarcone and Murillo for their support.  “John Sarcone and Dave Murillo are out there fighting the meth epidemic every day.  I will continue to do all I can to help secure funding to provide law enforcement with the proper tools and training to end the manufacture and use of methamphetamine.”

“Congressman Boswell has been a staunch ally and supporter of law enforcement during his tenure in Washington,” said Murillo.  :He is a rarity in politics today as he is man of his word.  Leonard has taken a strong stand against the illegal narcotics trade, and the manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs.  Leonard has always been a huge supporter of law enforcement and public safety.”

“Congressman Boswell was ahead of the curve on fighting the meth epidemic when he co-founded the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine,” stated Polk County Attorney John Sarcone.  “He secured funding for the Drug Endangered Children program which has dramatically helped law enforcement get special services to children whose parents used and manufactured meth in home.”  Sarcone added, “Ed Fallon has never championed any cause for law enforcement. Leonard has always been there for us and his fight against the meth epidemic is a perfect example of his support of law enforcement.”

During his legislative tenure, Fallon opposed appropriations to fight the growing meth epidemic and to establish mandatory jail sentences for persons found in possession of methamphetamine.  Fallon also voted against increased funding for law enforcement in the fight against meth.  He was one of only six House members to vote against a $3.3 million plan to fight Iowa’s meth epidemic with a combination of treatment, education, and tougher enforcement measures.  At the time, Fallon told the Cedar Rapids Gazette, “This bill is the easy way out.”  Fallon was the only House member to oppose an increase in penalties for people manufacturing meth in the presence of a minor.

Congressman Boswell served as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, and has championed legislation that has successfully clamped down on the meth labs that threaten Iowa’s communities.  Boswell has long been a leader in the fight against methamphetamine use.

I was not living in Iowa in 1999, when the legislature approved the $3.3 million bill on methamphetamine. I was unable to find the article quoting Fallon on the Cedar Rapids Gazette’s website. However, when I contacted Fallon’s campaign for a comment on this press release, they forwarded the entire article to me.

Here is a larger excerpt from the Cedar Rapids Gazette article from March 16, 1999:

Detractors of the bill said it will add burden to already overcrowded county jails and courthouses and mask the inadequate response to treatment with get-tough enforcement measures that are easier to tout politically.

“In my very strong opinion, this bill is not going to do it,” said Rep. Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines, one of six representatives to oppose the measure. “This bill is the easy way out. If this legislation is going to be taken seriously, we’re going to have to appropriate quite a bit of money.”

So while the Boswell press release gives the impression that Fallon was not interested in fighting meth use in Iowa, the context makes clear that Fallon opposed the bill because it did not do enough to address the problem.

Did the 1999 legislation solve the meth use problem in Iowa? Apparently not, because a state government report issued in October 2004 determined that “Methamphetamine has become an increasing problem in Iowa over the last 10 years.”

Since that 1999 bill was enacted, the Iowa legislature has addressed methamphetamine several more times. The most significant effort seems to be Senate File 169, which passed the legislature unanimously in 2005. Instead of increasing the penalties for manufacturing meth, that law sought to restrict access to a component used in manufacturing meth. State Drug Policy Coordinator Marvin L. Van Haaften reported to the legislature the following year,

Senate File 169-unanimously approved last year by the Legislature, signed into law by Governor Vilsack, and implemented May 21, 2005-classified the key ingredient used to make methamphetamine (meth) as a Schedule V Controlled Substance. Commonly referred to as Iowa’s pseudoephedrine (PSE) control or meth lab reduction law, this statute removed all cold and allergy products containing PSE from store shelves and placed the vast majority of them behind the pharmacy counter to be dispensed on a controlled non-prescription basis.

Between June and December 2005, Iowa meth lab incidents plummeted nearly 80 percent compared to the same period in 2004, as shown in the month-by-month comparisons from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement below.

[…]

The imprint of Senate File 169 on public safety may be summed up best by one of the State’s top prosecutors. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa-Charles Larson-has stated publicly that in his many years of public service in the criminal justice arena he’s “never seen one law have a larger impact on reducing crime.”

It’s certainly worthwhile to reduce the number of meth labs operating in Iowa. But did the 2005 law reduce meth use or meth addiction in this state?

Not according to the state drug policy coordinator’s 2006 report:

Verbatim drug treatment survey comments:

• “Our meth clients have large numbers of special needs that overwhelm our case managers…Treatment is taking longer because of reduced cognitive ability, which needs to be addressed in order to obtain participation in the treatment process.”

• “The number of female clients reporting meth usage has increased.”

• “Our available data indicate no substantial change in the areas outlined in this survey since the pseudoephedrine control law has been in effect.”

• “I have actually had clients tell me that the law has impacted the ability to make meth in northeast Iowa, and therefore the availability.”

• “The State must understand that while the new law regulating the purchase of pseudoephedrine has worked to reduce the number of meth labs in the State, the incidence and prevalence of meth abuse continues to rise. This is not a failure of the law, but the realities of the epidemic.”

All signs point toward a continued strong demand for meth in Iowa. At best, meth use appears to be holding steady at a relatively high level. At worst, more Iowans are getting hooked on this super-addictive stimulant.

Sounds like Fallon was right in 1999, when he called for allocating more resources to treating methamphetamine addicts.

Here is a link to a pdf file containing Marvin L. Van Haaften’s report from January 2006.

Iowa Voters has an important post up reminding us that Iowans can register to vote right at the polling place on primary day.

If you know people who are not planning to vote this Tuesday because they are not registered, or have moved since the last time they voted or caucused, be sure to let them know that they can still participate in the primaries. Iowa Voter writes:

These late registrations have tougher rules because you must prove your identity and residence in the precinct. Use your driver’s license or other government-issued photo id card. If the card shows an incorrect address, you can use other documents to establish your address: your lease, utility bill, bank statement, government document, or paycheck that shows your address.

Use this information to help get out the vote for the candidate of your choice.

Click the link to read how Iowans can also register on election day by having an already registered voter in the precinct vouch for them. I wouldn’t gamble on every polling place worker understanding this aspect of the law, though.

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Six months ago I made my first official contact with each and every Democratic County Chair, introducing myself, and my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives.  Six months later, Chairpersons in key counties still deny me access to their Democrats.  I have asked multiple times, and even done so in my email newsletters, viewed by thousands of Democrats in the fourth district.  Additionally,  my email news program allows me to track who opens the emails, the date and time they opened them, links they may have clicked on, and who they may have forwarded the emails to.

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