One Blogger's Year: 2007 In Review

One Blogger's Year: 2007 In Review

Since the caucus countdown is now being measured in hours, my year in review is going to be much less comprehensive than last year's annual blogiversary review. Still, I had some big highlights, personally, politically and professionally.

January

I bopped around downtown Des Moines with my daughter at the Culver inaugural.

The first of my many wrong calls of the year: I really, really thought Tom Tancredo was going to be the break out of nowhere GOP candidate.

John Edwards makes the first of several large-size Iowa City stops, and John Kerry bows out.

February

Bears lose Super Bowl.

SILO passes in Johnson and Linn.

Edwards hires then fires Bloggers as Amanda Marcotte gets Dooced.

Obama throws his hat in and hits Cedar Rapids the same day.

The Vilsack campaign -- remember the Vilsack campaign? -- dies. Assets later picked up at a fire sale by Team Hillary.

Dave Loebsack makes the first of two Iraq trips.

March

JCDems have mini-cattle call at off year caucus with Dodd, Durbin, Fallon and Beau Biden.

The Edwards family gets hit with the bad news that Elizabeth's cancer is back; they quickly announce John's in the race to stay.

The neo-prohibitionists get busy on the 21 bar referendum.

I buy johndeeth.com and become obsessed with Motorhead

Legislature passes same-day registration.

Zogby Iowa poll shows Edwards 27, Clinton 25 and Obama 23, which isn't all that different than what we see nine months later.

April

I turn pro as Iowa Independent launches (my number two personal life story of the year). As part of that, I run a little poll about blogging hats, which turns out to be a bigger deal than I thought.

My traffic takes off for the stratosphere on a Hillary-Edwards double liveblog day.

I meet Jimmy Carter for two seconds when he talks Palestine in Iowa City.

Every Democrat in Iowa east of I-35 attend the Obama Earth Day rally.

UI Republicans schedule then cancel 'Catch an Illegal Immigrant' day.

Stephanie Herseth breaks my heart.

Legislature wraps up and finally, after much fighting, passes the human rights bill.

The first of 639 Democratic debates introduces the world to Grumpy Grandpa Gravel.

May

I get to my first Republican event in about 15 years and see John McCain.

Thanks to a secret shortcut, Sally Stutsman's SUV wins the bike-bus-car race.

Team Hillary leaks and then disowns a Screw Iowa memo, and I try to make the case for Hüsker Dü.

Obama launches the health care plan in Iowa City, and Edwards hangs out on the Ped Mall for the first, not last, time.

June

Five of top six Dems (sans Obama) at Hall of Fame dinner in Cedar Rapids, as the Obama "keep the stage to himself" strategy starts to emerge.

I invent the term "couch potato liveblog" and Chris Dodd launches the debate timeclock.

My first encounters with the Mitt and Bill Richardson and my only Brownback and Newt moments.

Ron Paul gets lots of mileage out of not getting invited to a forum, as people start to notice.

Caucus Date Leapfrog begins in earnest as Florida jumps to Jan. 29 and Michigan starts making noise.

We first hear the phrase "Student Health Initiative Taskforce."

I crush on a bellydancer at Pride Fest.

The cool record store hates Celine Dion, but the Sopranos parody is pretty cool.

July

The Raspberry Beret makes its debut at Hill & Bill, and lands me on the front page.

A long day hanging out in Cedar Rapids watching the peace folks get arrested.

I bid farewell to the Bohemian Paradise of Gaslight Village with a double rummage sale and move to West Benton (personal highlight #3).

The harmonic convergence of movie 5 and the final book means Harry Potter rules the planet.

The state is Republican-saturated. I meet some asterisk guy named Huckabee and we chat about Zep and CCR. Tom Tancredo worries about the unborn illegal immingrants. (Missed opportunity: the slogan "Deport them, don't abort them.")

First of the two big GOP sex scandals: Vitter-gate.

My best headline of the year -- "McCain not dead, but neither was Terry Schaivo" -- turns out wrong.

My "Rudy Asked About HIV, Answers with 9/11" story gets Digged in a big way.

August

Mom and Dad have a 50th Anniversary on Ames Straw Poll weekend. Wisconsin folks say "gee, Tommy Thompson didn't do so good," and he quits the next day.

Brownback also gets burned though he struggles on for a couple months. Looking back, this is the big break for Huckabee.

The scandal of the year breaks in an airport bathroom. In happier news on the gay front, one couple gets married in a 24 hour window of opportunity in Polk County. Everyone predicts this will be a huuuuuge caucus issue.

On the Dem side, a debate in Des Moines and a five candidate labor cattle call in Cedar Rapids. I glimpse Elizabeth Kucinich, and for the first time I'm asked, "Hey, where's the raspberry beret?" Edwards outdraws Biden at the Hamburg Inn, and Dodd gets the firefighters.

Caucus Date Leapfrog goes nuclear. South Carolina and Michigan jump, and Saturday Jan. 5 for Iowa is the buzz. Dems pledge not to campaign in early states.

September

Personal Highlight Number One: On September 14 Koni and I surprise everyone and get married. Our honeymoon is the Harkin Steak Fry.

The Democratic candidate events start to get too numerous to note in a summary like this, while the Republicans start to spend time elsewhere. Rudy looks strong on the GOP side, as the religious right threatens to walk if he's nominated.

October

The Johnson County Fairgrounds becomes the center of the Democratic universe for the five candidate barbecue (Obama appears solo earlier that week). I'm a small sidebar as I blow my objectivity and win Johnson County Democrat of the Year (personal highlight #4).

Edwards picks up big SEIU endorsements in Iowa City, as labor chief rattle off the names of states faster than Howard Dean.

My liveblogging of candidate's stage music at Rudy Giuliani gets me an interview with Rolling Stone which I think is way cool (but they just use me as background).

Caucus Date Leapfrog reaches a manic peak and four Dems pull their name off the Michigan ballot. Iowa GOP settles on Jan. 3, and Dems follow suit.

Students slam the satellite voting sites for the city elections.

I break out the telescope and show the boys their first comet.


November

My front yard goes four for four as the students kill the 21 bar referendum. Matt Hayek waltzes to victory, Mike Wright wins, and Mitch Gross does what's unknown in recent memory and knocks off a Coralville incumbent.

Last major cattle call at Jefferson-Jackson. See John Edwards three times in 24 hours and nearly memorize the speech, and get the vague sense that Joe Trippi recognizes me (must be the hat).

I meet the Ron Paul REVOLution at the tailgates, and Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne at City High.

The little stacks of donkeys, dead elephants, and Chuck Norrises make their debut.

Leapfrog makes its abrupt conclusion and the calendar locks in.

I start saying things like "Awww, I just saw Bill Clinton LAST week, can you cover it for me?"

December

Oprahmania!

Down the road at Dave Loebsack's party, candidates send A-list surrogates not to speak, but just to schmooze. Later in the month, Dave makes his choice: Obama, and campaigns with him in Washington, IA.

Hillary overflows the hall and I catch the Fred for the first time. But I fail to complete the set of candidates, as Tancredo tanks before I catch him.

The new laptop arrives just in time for the schedule to get even more insane.

Arguments over whether or not students should caucus. Obama says yes, others, especially Hillary, aren't so sure. The dorms are open. Oops, they're not.

Huckabee's stock rises dramatically, Rudy sinks, McCain comes back from the dead, while Ron Paul robocalls the Dems.

Jodie Foster breaks my heart.

Looking ahead to next year, looks like Ed Fallon's challenging Leonard Boswell.

John Edwards wins the stage music of the year competition with "Salt Of The Earth" by the Stones, while Tim Robbins chain-smokes.

Iowa Bloggers Get WashPo Shoutout

Iowa Bloggers Get WashPo Shoutout

We bad, we nationwide: Several Iowa Bloggers get a mention in this Washington Post piece from this AM.

Congrats to my Iowa Indy colleagues, Bleeding Heartland, Century of the Common Iowan, and Iowa True Blue on the left, and The Real Sporer and Cyclones Conservatives on the right. Quite a few others deserve a mention, but I'm not going to compound things by naming more names and thus omitting even more. Instead, let's all turn up the ZZ Top in celebration.



Here's the kind of push an uncommitted caucus goer gets five days before the caucuses. My contacts yesterday:

Saw in person: Edwards, Richardson

Mail: Biden (two cards, one each for me and Koni), Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Obama (three mailers: two for past residents of my address and one for me)

Phone: Edwards (robo and human), Dodd, Clinton (both human)

Obama, McCain Lead Newspaper Endorsements

Obama, McCain Lead Iowa Newspaper Endorsements



Barack Obama holds the lead in endorsements from Iowa newspapers with a total of nine.  But measured by total readership, Hillary Clinton has the advantage with the backing of the state's largest paper, the Des Moines Register.



On the Republican side, John McCain leads both in numbers and in total circulation.  Fred Thompson gains his first endorsement, from the Ottumwa Courier.

Dem	Total	Daily	Weekly	Readership
Obama	9	6	3	247132
Clinton	4	3	1	464370
Biden	3	0	3	23190
Edwards	2	2	0	36636
Dodd	0	0	0
Richardson	0	0	0
total	18	11	7

 

Paper	Schedule	Dem	Readership
Jefferson Herald	weekly	Biden	4866
Sheldon N'West Iowa Review	weekly	Biden	12024
Storm Lake Times	weekly	Biden	6300
Burlington Hawk Eye	Daily	Clinton	41764
Davenport Quad-City Times	Daily	Clinton	114614
Des Moines Register	Daily	Clinton	302896
Vinton Eagle	weekly	Clinton	5096
Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil	Daily	Edwards	32458
Shenandoah Valley News Today	Daily	Edwards	4178
Ames Iowa State Daily	Daily	Obama	27800
Des Moines El Latino	weekly	Obama	5000
Iowa City Daily Iowan	Daily	Obama	32930
Iowa City Press-Citizen	Daily	Obama	35498
Logan Herald-Observer	weekly	Obama	2854
Marshalltown Times Republican	Daily	Obama	22160
Ottumwa Courier	Daily	Obama	28914
Sioux City Journal	Daily	Obama	89690
Woodbine Twiner	weekly	Obama	2286

 

GOP	Total	Daily	Weekly	Readership
McCain	6	4	2	483380
Huckabee	5	2	3	62064
Romney	3	3	0	144308
Thompson	1	1	0	28914
Giuliani	0	0	0
Hunter	0	0	0
Keyes	0	0	0
Paul	0	0	0
total	15	10	5

 

Paper	Schedule	GOP	Readership
Albia Union-Republican	weekly	Huckabee	4794
Chariton Leader	weekly	Huckabee	5570
Iowa City Press-Citizen	Daily	Huckabee	35498
Sheldon N'West Iowa Review	weekly	Huckabee	12024
Shenandoah Valley News Today	Daily	Huckabee	4178
Ames Iowa State Daily	Daily	McCain	27800
Davenport Quad-City Times	Daily	McCain	114614
Des Moines Register	Daily	McCain	302896
Iowa City Daily Iowan	Daily	McCain	32930
Logan Herald-Observer	weekly	McCain	2854
Woodbine Twiner	weekly	McCain	2286
Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil	Daily	Romney	32458
Marshalltown Times Republican	Daily	Romney	22160
Sioux City Journal	Daily	Romney	89690
Ottumwa Courier	Daily	Thompson	28914

 

Rural Counties: Less Caucus Goers Per Delegate

Rural Counties: Less Caucus Goers Per Delegate

Since the Iowa Democratic caucuses are a representative democracy, not a straight one person one vote, not every caucus goer carries equal weight.  Presidential candidates are spending a lot of time in small courthouse towns, because the way the results are counted, the small counties weigh in disproportionately.

An analysis of 2004 caucus attendance shows that, on average statewide, it took just under 41 caucus goers to elect a state delegate equivalent.  The easiest county to elect a delegate was Fremont County, where 22.3 caucus goers translated into a state delegate.

The hardest places to elect delegates, in contrast, were college counties, with Johnson County far ahead of the rest.  In Johnson County, it took 79.2 people to elect a delegate, nearly twice the state average and almost four times the level of Fremont County.

Poweshiek County, home of Grinnell, and Story County, site of Iowa State, ranked second and fourth hardest.  Squeezed in at third was Jefferson County, where the meditator community centered around Maharishi International University  led Dennis Kucinich to a near-win, his strongest showing in the nation.  Luther College's Winneshiek County was also in the top ten.

Those statistics are likely to shift in 2008 with the caucuses occurring over collegiate breaks.  But even the calendar shift doesn't change the underlying fact: some counties are full of go-to-meeting activists while others have more rank and file voters.

The caucuses take place in a mythical, projected version of a general election voting population, because caucus apportionment is based on votes for the top of the ticket.  In 2004 the counts were based on votes for Al Gore in 2000 and Tom Vilsack in 2002; likewise this year's counts are based on John Kerry and Chet Culver.  In all four of those contests, Johnson County had the top Democratic percentages in the state.  While those Johnson County voters are the most likely to vote Democratic, they're also the most likely to spend two or three hours at a meeting.

Another factor that skews caucus representation toward rural counties is the state's shifting population.  Joining the college counties in the top ten list of hardest counties to elect delegates are high-growth areas in central Iowa -- Dallas, Madison, Polk and Warren counties, four of the six fastest growing counties in the state from July 2000 to July 2003 (the Census estimates closest to caucus dates).  Dallas County grew 13.2% in those three years.  But a voter who moved to Dallas County three years before the caucuses won't count in the county's presidential vote totals used to calculate delegates, because they voted somewhere else.  A voter who moved in after the gubernatorial election wouldn't count at all toward the delegate count.

The other high growth counties hurt in caucus apportionment are Johnson County again, plus Benton County.  But Benton's exurban commuters to  Cedar Rapids and Waterloo were less likely to caucus, as the county ranked 63rd in attendees per delegate.

In contrast, Fremont County, the easiest place to win a delegate, lost 2.3% of its population over the same period.  Yet voters who were no longer in the county still helped its delegate count.  Sac County, the fasted shrinking county in 2000-2003 (-5.1%), ranked number 83 on the caucus goers per delegate list.

This helps explain dynamics like three Democrats showing up within 20 hours in Carroll.  It also means candidates can't run up the score with big wins in big counties.  But paradoxically, it also mutes the impact of the holiday break in college towns -- whether 30 students or 300 show up in Iowa City Precinct 5 (all dorms and frat houses), the same six delegates are at stake.  It also helps a candidate with isolated hotspots of support (like Kucinich in 2004) and hurts candidates with low but evenly spread backing.

Ultimately, the apportionment rules mean candidates have to carefully allocate their resources and fight on all fronts at once, and part of that allocation is making the effort where the most bang for the buck is available -- the small towns.

Rank	County	Attendance (2004)	State Delegate Equivalent (2004)	Attendees per delegate (2004)
1	Johnson	11169	141	79.21
2	Poweshiek	1396	20	69.80
3	Jefferson	890	13	68.46
4	Story	5674	86	65.98
5	Decatur	437	8	54.63
6	Warren	2453	47	52.19
7	Polk	21821	430	50.75
8	Winneshiek	992	20	49.60
9	Dallas	2111	43	49.09
10	Madison	681	15	45.40
11	Cedar	766	18	42.56
12	Jasper	1868	44	42.45
13	Marshall	1696	40	42.40
14	Davis	330	8	41.25
15	Mahaska	648	16	40.50
16	Woodbury	3255	81	40.19
17	Muscatine	1404	35	40.11
18	Boone	1240	31	40.00
18	Marion	1120	28	40.00
20	Buchanan	908	23	39.48
21	Iowa	592	15	39.47
22	Greene	473	12	39.42
23	Wapello	1615	41	39.39
24	Clay	590	15	39.33
25	Adair	351	9	39.00
26	Bremer	889	23	38.65
27	Palo Alto	424	11	38.55
28	Linn	8716	228	38.23
29	Wayne	228	6	38.00
30	Monroe	303	8	37.88
31	Hardin	715	19	37.63
32	Webster	1531	41	37.34
33	Hamilton	634	17	37.29
34	Louisa	371	10	37.10
35	Washington	701	19	36.89
36	Des Moines	1879	51	36.84
37	Buena Vista	589	16	36.81
38	Appanoose	478	13	36.77
39	Sioux	398	11	36.18
40	Union	464	13	35.69
41	Dubuque	3739	105	35.61
42	Adams	177	5	35.40
43	Kossuth	698	20	34.90
44	Scott	5566	161	34.57
45	Harrison	414	12	34.50
45	Monona	345	10	34.50
47	Keokuk	344	10	34.40
48	Pottawattamie	2331	68	34.28
49	Jackson	718	21	34.19
50	Mills	333	10	33.30
51	Tama	632	19	33.26
52	Clayton	663	20	33.15
53	Ringgold	197	6	32.83
54	Black Hawk	4450	136	32.72
55	Guthrie	392	12	32.67
56	Plymouth	552	17	32.47
57	Van Buren	194	6	32.33
58	Fayette	708	22	32.18
59	Shelby	289	9	32.11
60	Ida	224	7	32.00
61	Henry	605	19	31.84
62	Cass	381	12	31.75
63	Benton	857	27	31.74
64	Chickasaw	504	16	31.50
65	Page	306	10	30.60
66	Carroll	635	21	30.24
67	Audubon	241	8	30.13
68	Howard	330	11	30.00
69	Franklin	328	11	29.82
70	Grundy	298	10	29.80
71	Wright	386	13	29.69
72	Crawford	355	12	29.58
73	Floyd	525	18	29.17
74	Cerro Gordo	1586	55	28.84
75	Lucas	256	9	28.44
76	O'Brien	281	10	28.10
77	Jones	617	22	28.05
78	Clarke	308	11	28.00
79	Allamakee	360	13	27.69
80	Butler	354	13	27.23
81	Delaware	489	18	27.17
82	Winnebago	323	12	26.92
83	Sac	268	10	26.80
84	Lee	1193	45	26.51
85	Dickinson	477	18	26.50
85	Humboldt	265	10	26.50
85	Pocahontas	212	8	26.50
88	Lyon	158	6	26.33
89	Calhoun	287	11	26.09
90	Osceola	103	4	25.75
91	Montgomery	203	8	25.38
92	Taylor	149	6	24.83
93	Worth	248	10	24.80
94	Mitchell	278	12	23.17
95	Hancock	254	11	23.09
96	Emmet	230	10	23.00
97	Cherokee	295	13	22.69
98	Clinton	1326	59	22.47
99	Fremont	156	7	22.29
	Statewide	122193	3000	40.73

Edwards Likens Message to Roosevelts, Truman

Edwards Likens Message to Roosevelts, Truman



Photo: Koni Steele

In a town named for the first president, John Edwards likened his populist efforts to three other presidents.  In the newest riff in the Edwards speech, focusing as usual on his attacks on corporate power and lobbyists, Edwards likened his message to the two Roosevelts and Harry Truman.  "We have had great presidents who have had the guts and determination to take these people on," he said.

"FDR was vilified by corporate America," Edwards told an overflowing crowd at the Washington Public Library.  "(Roosevelt) said he welcomed their hatred, because it meant he didn't make deals with those people."  He also cited Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting and Harry Truman's buck-stops-here attitude.  The Truman reference sunk in for at least one member of the crowd, who shouted, "Give `em hell, John" at Edwards as he boarded the campaign bus.

The standard Edwards speech skewed a little more toward economic issues and away from the Iraq war topic heard in larger cities.  "No corporate lobbyist or anyone who has lobbied for a foreign country will work in my White House," Edwards pledged to the crowd.  A national-dominated press corps zoomed in on this remark at a brief media availability post-speech, at which Edwards defined "lobbyist" as corporate lobbyist and left open the possibility that people who had lobbied for caused he supports would be welcome in an Edwards Administration.

Edwards also told the press that organizers had expected 75 people and got 275.  It appeared one of the basic rules of the campaign trail - book a room one size too small so it looks full - had been taken too far, as the room was about two sizes too small.  Edwards delayed the start of the speech to handshake his way up the stairs, greeting 100 or so who couldn't get in.

"I don't know what in the world is wrong with going back to a paper ballot," Edwards told a questioner concerned with election integrity.

Doreen Dewey of Davenport identified herself as "a registered Republican looking for someone to support" and asked Edwards about immigration.  "We need to help kill the reason people are coming to begin with," Edwards said, by creating a sustainable Mexican economy. "I am not in favor of a fence across the whole border, I think that's nutty," he said, but fencing should be considered in certain specific locations.  "I am not for amnesty but I am for a path to earned citizenship" that would include fines and a requirement to learn English.  After the speech Dewey seemed satisfied, but she's still trying to choose between Edwards and Mitt Romney.  "They both have solid values," she said.  "I'm having a tough time."

Richardson Takes English, Spanish Questions

Richardson Takes English, Spanish Questions in West Liberty



Bill Richardson took questions in both English and Spanish during a stop in heavily Hispanic West Liberty Saturday.

“I’m the only Hispanic candidate,” Richardson told the crowd of about 50 at El Torito Restaurant, “but I gotta tell people because of the name Richardson.” He offered only a couple lines of the main speech in Spanish (such as “Sign a pledge card, por favor. We need you”), but answered one whole question in Spanish.

“What I’m saying in Spanish I already said in English,” he advised the mixed-language audience, before restating positions on the Iraq war that he’d discussed in the main speech. (Or so I was told; with my extremely limited knowledge I picked up “la Guerra” and “billions of dollars.”) In a handshake-length “interview,” Richardson told me Spanish questions are uncommon on the Iowa campaign trail.

Richardson also repeated his goal of finishing in the top three in Iowa. “We’re going to pull off an upset here,” he said. “Right now we are viable in most every precinct. I’ve been to 99 counties, I’ve been to counties whose name I can’t even pronounce.” He also raised the bar on himself from a top three finish in the first three states to “top two” in Nevada.
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The campaign, Richardson said, “shouldn’t be about who’s got the most money, or is part of a dynasty, he most glamorous, or a rock star,” naming no names. “I’m the rock star candidate.”

“I’m glad the people of Iowa are deciding this, not the national press,” he said, teasing Sarah Ames, the ABC reporter embedded with his campaign. Later Ames said the ribbing is part of every Richardson speech.

Richardson gave English answers to the two other Spanish questions, telling a questioner who asked about discrimination against legal immigrants, “I wouldn’t tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, gender (applause) or sexual orientation. There’s just no room for that in this country.”

The bulk of Richardson’s prepared remarks focused on his foreign policy credentials. “I’m the only candidate who took a strong position” on Pakistan in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, he said, repeating his call for President Musharraf to step down.

“We need to stand with the Pakistani people and not with a dictator,” he said. “The rest of the candidates said wait and see. They were on the side of the dictator, they were on the side of the Bush administration”

Other audience questions focused on choice (“I will appoint justices who believe Roe vs. Wade is settled law”), NAFTA (he called for renegotiation of side agreements on environment, job safety, and wage parity), and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (“I’d be a pres that would personally engage to be an honest broker between Israel and Palestine” in a two state solution, he said, but he would not cut off funding to Israel.)

Adalberto Solis, the owner of El Torito, said the Richardson campaign contacted him to set up the event after Solis signed a pledge card. He’s an enthusiastic Richardson supporter, but most of his campaigning has been one on one outside of work. “I don’t mix my business with politics,” said Solis. Perhaps hoping El Torito could become West Liberty’s version of the Hamburg Inn, he said he’d welcome any candidate.

“I was talking with the Latino people here, and nobody likes Bush,” he said. “Latino people, we come to work but didn’t care much who was the president, and I’m explaining to them why it’s important to vote.”

Solis came to the U.S. in 1986 and became a permanent resident in 1988 and a citizen in 2003. This is his first active caucus cycle. “The first time I participated, I didn’t know as much. I voted but didn’t caucus. This time I got more information about the candidates.”

Solis also likes Hillary Clinton, but said, “I think Richardson is better for the country and for Latinos.” “I asked how many votes they need to win here in West Liberty,” he added, “and they said 30,”

Unlike many Hispanic communities in Iowa dominated by recent arrivals, West Liberty’s Spanish-speaking community goes back several generations, though it’s grown in recent years. Gustavo Garcia has lived in West Liberty since 1966. Richardson is near the top of his list. “He’s got the credentials, he’s got it all.” Garcia is also considering Barack Obama, but worries that his war plan is not specific enough.

Helen Van Hoozer of Muscatine, a county Richardson leader, isn’t sure how her candidate’s heritage will help in Hispanic parts of the county, but thinks "it would be a model for Hispanic children to have him as president.” She said if Richardson were not viable in her precinct, she would go uncommitted, in the hope that she could help Richardson later in the nomination process.

Dave Bradley of West Liberty says Richardson is his second choice behind John Edwards. “We have an embarrassment of riches,” said Bradley. “I think (Richardson’s) going to do really well here.”

Boswell "Ready" But Hopes Fallon Primary Doesn't Happen

Boswell "Ready" But Hopes Fallon Primary Doesn't Happen

Congressman Leonard Boswell told Iowa Independent Friday that he hopes former gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon doesn't challenge him in next year's 3rd District congressional primary, but he'll be ready if it happens.

Last week Iowa Independent reported exclusively that the domain names FallonForCongress.com, FallonForCongress.net, and FallonForCongress.org were registered to an organization called "Fallon for Congress." Since that story, Iowa Independent has also learned that nomination petitions for Fallon have been sent to county Democratic chairs in the 3rd District for placement in caucus packets.


Boswell chats with Hamburg Inn owner Dave Panther.

"I hope he does not run," Boswell told Iowa Independnet during a campaign stop for Hillary Clinton at the Hamburg Inn in Iowa City. "It's time for Democrats to move forward." Boswell was visiting the famous political stop with Clinton's campaign chair, former Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe. "I don't know that it's going to happen, but people have a right to run," said Boswell, "and if it happens we'll be ready for it."

Fallon, who represented a Des Moines state house district from 1992 to 2006, finished an unexpectedly strong third in the 2006 gubernatorial primary with 26 percent. He led the field in the 3rd Congressional District. Fallon was seen as one of the most liberal members of the Iowa House, and if there was a 99 to 1 or 97 to 2 roll calls, Fallon was usually on the short end.

Boswell, on the other hand, is one of the more conservative Democrats in Congress. Rankings at Progressive Punch show Boswell as the 214th most liberal of 233 Democrats in Congress, and actually had him behind Republican Jim Leach for 2006. Boswell's Progressive Punch score moves up to 170th when only this year's votes are included. He recently voted with fellow Iowa Democrats Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack in a failed effort to block $70 billion in funds for the Iraq war, in contract to earlier votes for war funding.

"To get something done you can't be too far over here, too far over there," Boswell told Iowa Independent, gesturing to the left and right. "You've got to go to the middle."

Clinton Retakes Legislative Endorsement Lead

Clinton Retakes Legislative Endorsement Lead

With holiday endorsements from Sen. Jack Hatch and Rep. Mark Davitt, Hillary Clinton has retaken the lead in legislative endorsements from Barack Obama, 21 to 20.

John Edwards also picked up an endorsement Friday from Senator Brian Schoenjohn of Arlington, raising his total to 11.

	Total	Senate	House
Clinton	21	11	10
Obama	20	7	13
Biden	16	2	14
Edwards	11	3	8
Dodd	3	2	1
Richardson	1	0	1
Kucinich	0	0	0
Gravel	0	0	0
Uncommitted	11	5	6
Total	83	30	53

 

Name	District	Home County	Endorsement	2004 Endorsement
Sen. Herman C. Quirmbach	Senate District 23	Story	Biden	none
Sen. Dr. Joe M. Seng	Senate District 43	Scott	Biden	none
Rep. McKinley Bailey	House District 9	Hamilton	Biden	new
Rep. Doris Kelley	House District 20	Black Hawk	Biden	new
Rep. Roger Thomas	House District 24	Clayton	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Polly Bukta	House District 26	Clinton	Biden	Dean
Rep. Dick Taylor	House District 33	Linn	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Lisa Heddens	House District 46	Story	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Bruce Hunter	House District 62	Polk	Biden	Dean
Rep. Kevin McCarthy	House District 67	Polk	Biden	Lieberman
Rep. Jim Lykam	House District 85	Scott	Biden	none
Rep. Mary Gaskill	House District 93	Wapello	Biden	Kerry
Rep. John Whitaker	House District 90	Van Buren	Biden	Gephardt
Rep. Mike Reasoner	House District 95	Union	Biden	Lieberman
Rep. Eric Palmer	House District 75	Mahaska	Biden	new
Rep. Dennis Cohoon	House District 88	Des Moines	Biden	Edwards
Sen. William A. Dotzler, Jr.	Senate District 11	Black Hawk	Clinton	Gephardt
Sen. Roger Stewart	Senate District 13	Jackson	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Michael Connolly	Senate District 14	Dubuque	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Wally E. Horn	Senate District 17	Linn	Clinton	none
Sen. Rob Hogg	Senate District 19	Linn	Clinton	none
Sen. Dennis H. Black	Senate District 21	Jasper	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Jack Hatch	Senate District 33	Polk	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Dick L. Dearden	Senate District 34	Polk	Clinton	Gephardt
Sen. Staci Appel	Senate District 37	Warren	Clinton	new
Sen. Becky Schmitz	Senate District 45	Jefferson	Clinton	new
Sen. Gene Fraise	Senate District 46	Lee	Clinton	none
Rep. Roger Wendt	House District 2	Woodbury	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Mark Kuhn	House District 14	Floyd	Clinton	Gephardt
Rep. Todd Taylor	House District 34	Linn	Clinton	none
Rep. Swati Dandekar	House District 36	Linn	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Paul Bell	House District 41	Jasper	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell	House District 45	Story	Clinton	new
Rep. Mark Davitt	House District 74	Warren	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Mary Mascher	House District 77	Johnson	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Vicki Lensing	House District 78	Johnson	Clinton	none
Rep. Cindy Winckler	House District 86	Scott	Clinton	Dean
Sen. Jeff Danielson	Senate District 10	Black Hawk	Dodd	new
Sen. Tom Hancock	Senate District 16	Dubuque	Dodd	new
Rep. Ray Zirkelbach	House District 31	Jones	Dodd	new
Sen. Brian Schoenjahn	Senate District 12	Fayette	Edwards	new
Sen. Daryl Beall	Senate District 25	Webster	Edwards	Dean
Sen. Keith A. Kreiman	Senate District 47	Davis	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Wes Whitead	House District 1	Woodbury	Edwards	Gephardt
Rep. Andrew Wenthe	House District 18	Fayette	Edwards	new
Rep. Bob Kressig	House District 19	Black Hawk	Edwards	new
Rep. Ro Foege	House District 29	Linn	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Art Staed	House District 37	Linn	Edwards	new
Rep. Geri Huser	House District 42	Polk	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Nathan Reichert	House District 80	Muscatine	Edwards	new
Rep. Kurt Swaim	House District 94	Davis	Edwards	Edwards
Sen. Steve Warnstadt	Senate District 1	Woodbury	Obama	Kerry
Sen. Rich Olive	Senate District 5	Story	Obama	new
Sen. Bill Heckroth	Senate District 9	Bremer	Obama	new
Sen. Robert E. Dvorsky	Senate District 15	Johnson	Obama	Gephardt
Sen. Tom Rielly	Senate District 38	Mahaska	Obama	new
Sen. Joe Bolkcom	Senate District 39	Johnson	Obama	Dean
Sen. Frank Wood	Senate District 42	Scott	Obama	new
Rep. Brian Quirk	House District 15	Chickasaw	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Deborah Berry	House District 22	Black Hawk	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Pam Jochum	House District 27	Dubuque	Obama	Kerry
Rep. David Jacoby	House District 30	Johnson	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Tyler Olson	House District 38	Linn	Obama	new
Rep. Mark Smith	House District 43	Marshall	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Donovan Olson	House District 48	Boone	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Helen Miller	House District 49	Webster	Obama	Gephardt
Rep. Janet Petersen	House District 64	Polk	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad	House District 66	Polk	Obama	new
Rep. Elesha Gayman	House District 84	Scott	Obama	new
Rep. Wayne Ford	House District 65	Polk	Obama	Edwards
Rep. Paul Shomshor	House District 100	Pottawattamie	Obama	Lieberman
Rep. Marcella Frevert	House District 7	Palo Alto	Richardson	Dean
Sen. John P. "Jack" Kibbie	Senate District 4	Palo Alto		Kerry
Sen. Amanda Ragan	Senate District 7	Cerro Gordo		none
Sen. Matt McCoy	Senate District 31	Polk		Kerry
Sen. Thomas G. Courtney	Senate District 44	Des Moines		Gephardt
Sen. Michael E. Gronstal	Senate District 50	Pottawattamie		none
Rep. Dolores Mertz	House District 8	Kossuth		none
Rep. Tom Schueller	House District 25	Jackson		new
Rep. Pat Murphy	House District 28	Dubuque		none
Rep. Jo Oldson	House District 61	Polk		Kerry
Rep. Rick Olson	House District 68	Polk		new
Rep. Philip L. Wise	House District 92	Lee		Lieberman

Thompson Adds Three Legislative Endorsements

Thompson Adds Three Legislative Endorsements

Fred Thompson has picked up endorsements from three state representatives - Kraig Paulsen of Cedar Rapids, Jeff Kaufmann of Wilton and Jamie Van Fossen of Davenport -- bringing his total to six.

Mitt Romney still has a prohibitive lead with 16, followed by John McCain with eight.

	Total	House	Senate
Romney	16	12	4
McCain	8	5	3
Thompson	6	6	0
Giuliani	3	0	3
Huckabee	3	2	1
Cox	0	0	0
Hunter	0	0	0
Keyes	0	0	0
Paul	0	0	0
Tancredo	0	0	0
Uncommitted (so far)	30	21	9
Total	66	47	20

 

  

Name	District	Home County	Endorsement
Sen. E. Thurman Gaskill	Senate District 6	Hancock	Giuliani
Sen. Mary Lundby	Senate District 18	Linn	Giuliani
Sen. Jeff Angelo	Senate District 48	Union	Giuliani
Sen. David Hartsuch	Senate District 41	Scott	Huckabee
Rep. Dwayne Alons	House District 4	Sioux	Huckabee
Rep. Carmine Boal	House District 70	Polk	Huckabee
Sen. John Putney	Senate District 20	Tama	McCain
Sen. Larry McKibben	Senate District 22	Marshall	McCain
Sen. Pat Ward	Senate District 30	Polk	McCain
Rep. Mike May	House District 6	Dickinson	McCain
Rep. Bill Schickel	House District 13	Cerro Gordo	McCain
Rep. Steven Lukan	House District 32	Dubuque	McCain
Rep. Rod Roberts	House District 51	Carroll	McCain
Rep. Walt Tomenga	House District 69	Polk	McCain
Sen. Dave Mulder	Senate District 2	Sioux	Romney
Sen. David Johnson	Senate District 3	Osceola	Romney
Sen. Brad Zaun	Senate District 32	Polk	Romney
Sen. James F. Hahn	Senate District 40	Muscatine	Romney
Rep. Dave Deyoe	House District 10	Story	Romney
Rep. Tami Wiencek	House District 21	Black Hawk	Romney
Rep. Chuck Soderberg	House District 3	Plymouth	Romney
Rep. Ralph Watts	House District 47	Dallas	Romney
Rep. Dave Tjepkes	House District 50	Webster	Romney
Rep. Christopher Rants	House District 54	Woodbury	Romney
Rep. Jodi Tymeson	House District 73	Madison	Romney
Rep. Linda Miller	House District 82	Scott	Romney
Rep. Steven Olson	House District 83	Clinton	Romney
Rep. Rich Anderson	House District 97	Page	Romney
Rep. Greg Forristall	House District 98	Pottawattamie	Romney
Rep. Doug Struyk	House District 99	Pottawattamie	Romney
Rep. Royd Chambers	House District 5	O'Brien	Thompson
Rep. Kraig Paulsen	House District 35	Linn	Thompson
Rep. Clel Baudler	House District 58	Adair	Thompson
Rep. Jeff Kaufmann	House District 79	Cedar	Thompson
Rep. Jamie Van Fossen	House District 81	Scott	Thompson
Rep. Sandy Greiner	House District 89	Washington	Thompson
Sen. Mark Zieman	Senate District 8	Allamakee	(ex-Brownback)
Sen. Jerry Behn	Senate District 24	Boone
Sen. Steve Ketteriin	Senate District 26	Sac
Sen. Ron Wieck	Senate District 27	Woodbury
Sen. James A. Seymour	Senate District 28	Harrison
Sen. Nancy J. Boettger	Senate District 29	Shelby	(ex-Brownback)
Sen. Larry Noble	Senate District 35	Polk
Sen. Paul McKinley	Senate District 36	Lucas
Sen. Hubert Houser	Senate District 49	Pottawattamie
Rep. Henry Rayhons	House District 11	Hancock
Rep. Linda Upmeyer	House District 12	Hancock
Rep. Chuck Gipp	House District 16	Winneshiek
Rep. Pat Grassley	House District 17	Butler
Rep. Dan Rasmussen	House District 23	Buchanan
Rep. Dawn Pettengill	House District 39	Benton
Rep. Lance Horbach	House District 40	Tama
Rep. Polly Granzow	House District 44	Hardin
Rep. Gary Worthan	House District 52	Buena Vista
Rep. Dan Huseman	House District 53	Cherokee
Rep. Clarence Hoffman	House District 55	Crawford
Rep. Matt Windschitl	House District 56	Harrison
Rep. Jack Drake	House District 57	Pottawattamie
Rep. Dan Clute	House District 59	Polk
Rep. Libby Jacobs	House District 60	Polk
Rep. J. Scott Raecker	House District 63	Polk
Rep. Jim Van Engelenhoven	House District 71	Marion
Rep. Rich Arnold	House District 72	Lucas
Rep. Betty De Boef	House District 76	Keokuk
Rep. Tom Sands	House District 87	Louisa
Rep. Dave Heaton	House District 91	Henry
Rep. Cecil Dolecheck	House District 96	Ringgold

Caucuses Are Representative Democracy, Not Undemocratic

Caucuses Are Representative Democracy , Not Undemocratic

In a recent New York Times piece, several veteran Iowa journalists label the Iowa Democratic Party's nomination process "The Undemocratic Caucuses" and argue that the press should press the Democratic Party vigorously for the release of the first round vote totals.

In our quadrennial Iowa civics lesson, we're reminded that the Democrats report delegate totals, not vote counts. That's not good enough for Gilbert Cranberg, former editor of the editorial page of The Des Moines Register, Herb Strentz, former executive secretary of Iowa's Freedom of Information Council (and a former editorial mentor at Iowa Independent), and Glenn Roberts, former director of research for The Register.

"As nongovernmental organizations, political parties are free to adopt whatever rules they favor," they write. "But the press does not have to be a party's silent partners. The news media need to quit tolerating the practice of denying the public access to factual information about how much support each Democratic candidate actually has on caucus night."

That information would certainly be interesting, but labeling the process itself "undemocratic" is unfair. The caucuses are as democratic as it gets. But they aren't a direct democracy -- they're a representative democracy. A complicated, multi-level representative democracy, but still a democracy.

Those delegates that the national press views as mere number complicators are living, breathing people, neighborhood level leaders elected to represent the Democrats of their precinct at a county convention. This convention chooses the district and state convention delegates that choose the national convention delegates. And it's the national convention delegates, not the raw vote count, that determines the nomination.

The county convention also has some statutory authority. If there's a vacancy in a courthouse office and a special election is needed, there's no primary. The county convention chooses the nominee, and in a county dominated by one party, that can be decisive. In my county, conventions have nominated three county candidates in the last dozen years. Conventions can also choose nominees if a primary is indecisive and no candidate wins over 35 percent. After a four-way split in the 2002 primary, the 5th District Republican convention essentially elected Steve King to Congress.

In any representative democracy, there are variations in turnout. Birds of a feather tend to flock together, so any districted election system tends to lump similar types of people together. Look, for example, at the U.S. House. Within a state, districts have the same census population, and each district gets one representative. In California, 2006 congressional district turnout ranged from 61,000 to 276,000 in 53 districts with the same on-paper population.

In more homogeneous Iowa, voter turnout in 2006 varied from 180,399 in the 5th District to 223,082 in the 3rd. Reporting the raw vote totals gives us a Republican lead -- 522,388 to 492,937 -- but obscures the more important fact that while Steve King ran up the score, the Democrats won the close ones and earned three seats to the GOP's two.

Who would you say won that contest? Would you consider a "Republicans win" headline misleading?

Cranberg, Strenz and Roberts, in demanding the raw vote count, in effect want to write that headline. They prefer the simpler totals the GOP provides. But the Republican vote count is not directly connected to the nomination process. After the presidential vote, which the GOP openly calls a "straw poll," county convention delegates are elected without presidential preference. By that time, any untold number of people have gone home.

Sports fans, look at it this way, what would you rather read: the team's won-loss record, or points for and against? I remember a couple years back, at midseason my beloved Green Bay Packers had a 2-7 record while outscoring their opponents. We had a fluke 49-3 win, and lost all the close ones. (This year things are much happier, despite that loss to the %$#%! BEARS Sunday.)

In an earlier story, I compared two Johnson County precincts with the same number of delegates. Iowa City Precinct 18 is an activist hotbed, and 534 people attended the 2004 caucuses. North Liberty Precinct 1 is full of new voters, and only 171 attended. But based on voting behavior in 2000 and 2002, each had ten delegates. Those ten delegates represent the Democratic voters of the precinct -- ALL the Democratic voters, both the activists and the once every four years people. You could argue that in this sense, the caucus numbers are more representative than the raw vote count, because they are inclusive of the weak general election voters that the Democrats depend on in November.

Cranberg, Strenz and Roberts also raise the point:

It is possible that a second or third-tier candidate could garner a surprising 10 percent or 12 percent of the popular vote statewide and get zero delegates. (That's because to be in the running for a delegate a candidate must have support from at least 15 percent of the people at a precinct caucus.) He or she may have done two or three times as well as expected among Iowa's Democratic voters and get no recognition for it.

That's true. Is that fair? Maybe. Because what does a surprising 10 percent mean in terms of real progress to the nomination? Zero. Once upon a time, the caucuses were measured as a small first step, and the national media prominently kept track of delegate counts toward the nomination. Now, the early states are an end in themselves, but at the end of the day it's still that delegate count that really matters.

It would be nice to see the two sets of numbers, raw vote and delegate count, side by side, treated equally. But does anyone really believe anyone would pay any attention to the the result that in the official sense matters, the delegate count? Cranberg, Strenz and Roberts openly acknowledge, "Little or no attention is paid to the Republican delegate count, which the press does not even bother to report."

Of course, all this side steps the real reason the raw vote isn't reported: New Hampshire thinks that's too much like a primary, and the convoluted results are one of the prices we pay for being first.

The Uncommitted Option

The Uncommitted Option

Most uncommitted supporters this late in the game are either the genuinely undecided or party leaders who want to maintain neutrality. But Ed Flaherty of Iowa City hopes the Uncommitted group reaches viability and helps take the nomination process to the national convention.

"Having the Democratic convention truly decide the nominee takes away five months of sliming and smearing that the Republicans intend to focus on our nominee," said Flaherty, "and will make the process of selecting a Democratic nominee a truly national effort between March and August." With the Republican field in flux, Flaherty noted, "Who knows, maybe the Republican process may also have to go to convention."

"It's somewhat oxymoronic to be passionate about being uncommitted, but I believe it's the right place for me, and should be a welcome spot for other fervent supporters of a single candidate who need a home when their group proves to be not viable and they don't have a clear number two in their heart," said Flaherty, a retired Iowa City banker and peace activist. He spoke at the Johnson County central committee meeting earlier this month and urged supporters of non-viable candidates to consider uncommitted if they could not in good conscience back any viable candidate.

An uncommitted group can be formed at the second-choice or realignment stage even if there isn't one to begin with. Party rules specify that there can be only one uncommitted group in a precinct.

Flaherty says he doesn't have a favorite candidate, "though I admit that I would like to see someone from the second tier of candidates rise." He says he hasn't made any major effort to campaign for uncommitted but has had a lot of one on one conversations with activists. "If uncommitted is not viable, folks should go with their best judgment, and be pragmatic as to where can they be elected as a delegate, if in fact they want to be."

Uncommitted actually won the caucuses in 1976, though Jimmy Carter's strong second was the key milestone in his road to the White House. The last strong uncommitted showing was a 12 percent second place in 1992, the year Tom Harkin ran for president and won Iowa overwhelmingly. In 2004, only 0.1 percent of delegates statewide were uncommitted.

Johnson County elected scattered uncommitted delegates in 1996 when Bill Clinton ran unopposed for re-election, though reports of this were delayed until after press deadlines. Johnson County also chose one uncommitted delegate in 2000 (a labor activist who did not support his union's endorsed candidate chose uncommitted as a lesser step than open opposition).

With their straight one person, one vote system, there is little strategic imperative to vote uncommitted in the Republican caucuses. "No preference" was at 0.4 percent statewide in 1996.

Newspaper Endorsements Start Piling Up

Newspaper Endorsements Start Piling Up

The big one -- the Des Moines Register -- dropped last weekend.  But as editorial board meetings wind down, newspapers across Iowa are starting to line up behind the presidential candidates.  The Democratic side shows a Barack Obama lead, six to four over Hillary Clinton (though she got the Register endorsement).

The Republican contest is closer between Mike Huckabee and, despite his relative lack of campaigning in the state, John McCain.

Dem	Total	Daily	Weekly
Obama	6	4	2
Clinton	4	3	1
Biden	2	0	2
Edwards	1	1	0
Dodd	0	0	0
Richardson	0	0	0
total	14	8	6

 

Paper	Schedule	Dem
Sheldon N'West Iowa Review	weekly	Biden
Storm Lake Times	weekly	Biden
Burlington Hawk Eye	Daily	Clinton
Davenport Quad-City Times	Daily	Clinton
Des Moines Register	Daily	Clinton
Vinton Eagle	weekly	Clinton
Shenandoah Valley News Today	Daily	Edwards
Ames Iowa State Daily	Daily	Obama
Des Moines El Latino	weekly	Obama
Iowa City Daily Iowan	Daily	Obama
Iowa City Press-Citizen	Daily	Obama
Logan Herald-Observer	weekly	Obama
Sioux City Journal	Daily	Obama

 

 

 

GOP	Total	Daily	Weekly
Huckabee	6	2	4
McCain	5	4	1
Romney	1	1	0
Giuliani	0	0	0
Hunter	0	0	0
Keyes	0	0	0
Paul	0	0	0
Thompson	0	0	0
total	12	7	5

 

 

Paper	Schedule	GOP
Adel Dallas Co. News	weekly	Huckabee
Albia Union-Republican	weekly	Huckabee
Chariton Leader	weekly	Huckabee
Iowa City Press-Citizen	Daily	Huckabee
Sheldon N'West Iowa Review	weekly	Huckabee
Shenandoah Valley News Today	Daily	Huckabee
Ames Iowa State Daily	Daily	McCain
Davenport Quad-City Times	Daily	McCain
Des Moines Register	Daily	McCain
Iowa City Daily Iowan	Daily	McCain
Logan Herald-Observer	weekly	McCain
Sioux City Journal	Daily	Romney

Christmas Eve Links

Christmas Eve Links

A couple share-worthy items while we're in the calm hurricane eye:

An interesting argument on fuel economy from The Daily Score:

We should stop trying to design a techno-magic "car for the future." It really won't end our oil addiction or save us from climate change. At least not until we've done the dull and unsexy work of boosting fuel economy at the bottom of the fleet, where it matters far, far, far more.

You save more fuel switching from a 15 to 18 mpg car than switching from a 50 to 100 mpg car. So here's my new policy proposal. While CAFE standards (fleet averages) are groovy, what we really need to do is simply outlaw vehicles that get below, say, 15 or 18 mpg.

He does the math. Assume 15,000 mils a year. Going from 15 mpg to 20 mpg saves 250 gallons (15,000/15=1000, 15,000/20=750). But going from 35 to 40 mpg only saves 54 gallons (15,000/35=429, 15,000/40=375).

Of course, there's different kinds of 15 mpg cars: brand new armor-plated Hummers driven by rich people, and old beaters driven by poor people.

The video game industry doesn't like Hillary; is she to video games what Tipper Gore was to rock?

Wayne Ford Endorsement Gives Obama Legislative Lead

Wayne Ford Endorsement Gives Obama Legislative Lead

With Sunday's endorsement from Rep. Wayne Ford of Des Moines, Barack Obama takes the lead in endorsements from Iowa Legislators with 20 to Hillary Clinton's 19.

Clinton still leads the Iowa Senate with 10, while Joe Biden has the most House endorsements with 14.

Rumors had abounded that Ford was planning to endorse Clinton immediately after the Dec. 1 Brown and Black Forum in Des Moines, but on Dec. 4 Ford issued a non-endorsement, saying, "In my opinion, none of the candidates aggressively dealt with the problems in the urban communities."  In Sunday's Obama press release, Ford said Obama will be "a President who can successfully expand economic opportunity and access to affordable housing for every American - including those who live in urban communities."

The release also noted that Ford's endorsement gives Obama support from all four of Iowa's African-American legislators.

In addition to Ford, Obama recently picked up support from Council Bluffs Rep. Paul Shomshor, while Biden added Reps. Eric Palmer of Grinnell and Dennis Cohoon of Burlington.

Only 14 of the 83 Democratic legislators remain uncommitted, including House Speaker Pat Murphy and Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (whose family members are backing Clinton.)

	Total	Senate	House
Obama	20	7	13
Clinton	19	10	9
Biden	16	2	14
Edwards	10	2	8
Dodd	3	2	1
Richardson	1	0	1
Kucinich	0	0	0
Gravel	0	0	0
Uncommitted	14	7	7
Total	83	30	53

<

Name	District	Home County	Endorsement	2004 Endorsement
Sen. Herman C. Quirmbach	Senate District 23	Story	Biden	none
Sen. Dr. Joe M. Seng	Senate District 43	Scott	Biden	none
Rep. McKinley Bailey	House District 9	Hamilton	Biden	new
Rep. Doris Kelley	House District 20	Black Hawk	Biden	new
Rep. Roger Thomas	House District 24	Clayton	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Polly Bukta	House District 26	Clinton	Biden	Dean
Rep. Dick Taylor	House District 33	Linn	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Lisa Heddens	House District 46	Story	Biden	Kerry
Rep. Bruce Hunter	House District 62	Polk	Biden	Dean
Rep. Kevin McCarthy	House District 67	Polk	Biden	Lieberman
Rep. Jim Lykam	House District 85	Scott	Biden	none
Rep. Mary Gaskill	House District 93	Wapello	Biden	Kerry
Rep. John Whitaker	House District 90	Van Buren	Biden	Gephardt
Rep. Mike Reasoner	House District 95	Union	Biden	Lieberman
Rep. Eric Palmer	House District 75	Mahaska	Biden	new
Rep. Dennis Cohoon	House District 88	Des Moines	Biden	Edwards
Sen. William A. Dotzler, Jr.	Senate District 11	Black Hawk	Clinton	Gephardt
Sen. Roger Stewart	Senate District 13	Jackson	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Michael Connolly	Senate District 14	Dubuque	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Wally E. Horn	Senate District 17	Linn	Clinton	none
Sen. Rob Hogg	Senate District 19	Linn	Clinton	none
Sen. Dennis H. Black	Senate District 21	Jasper	Clinton	Kerry
Sen. Dick L. Dearden	Senate District 34	Polk	Clinton	Gephardt
Sen. Staci Appel	Senate District 37	Warren	Clinton	new
Sen. Becky Schmitz	Senate District 45	Jefferson	Clinton	new
Sen. Gene Fraise	Senate District 46	Lee	Clinton	none
Rep. Roger Wendt	House District 2	Woodbury	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Mark Kuhn	House District 14	Floyd	Clinton	Gephardt
Rep. Todd Taylor	House District 34	Linn	Clinton	none
Rep. Swati Dandekar	House District 36	Linn	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Paul Bell	House District 41	Jasper	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell	House District 45	Story	Clinton	new
Rep. Mary Mascher	House District 77	Johnson	Clinton	Kerry
Rep. Vicki Lensing	House District 78	Johnson	Clinton	none
Rep. Cindy Winckler	House District 86	Scott	Clinton	Dean
Sen. Jeff Danielson	Senate District 10	Black Hawk	Dodd	new
Sen. Tom Hancock	Senate District 16	Dubuque	Dodd	new
Rep. Ray Zirkelbach	House District 31	Jones	Dodd	new
Rep. Bob Kressig	House District 19	Black Hawk	Edwards	new
Sen. Daryl Beall	Senate District 25	Webster	Edwards	Dean
Sen. Keith A. Kreiman	Senate District 47	Davis	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Wes Whitead	House District 1	Woodbury	Edwards	Gephardt
Rep. Andrew Wenthe	House District 18	Fayette	Edwards	new
Rep. Ro Foege	House District 29	Linn	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Art Staed	House District 37	Linn	Edwards	new
Rep. Geri Huser	House District 42	Polk	Edwards	Edwards
Rep. Nathan Reichert	House District 80	Muscatine	Edwards	new
Rep. Kurt Swaim	House District 94	Davis	Edwards	Edwards
Sen. Steve Warnstadt	Senate District 1	Woodbury	Obama	Kerry
Sen. Rich Olive	Senate District 5	Story	Obama	new
Sen. Bill Heckroth	Senate District 9	Bremer	Obama	new
Sen. Robert E. Dvorsky	Senate District 15	Johnson	Obama	Gephardt
Sen. Tom Rielly	Senate District 38	Mahaska	Obama	new
Sen. Joe Bolkcom	Senate District 39	Johnson	Obama	Dean
Sen. Frank Wood	Senate District 42	Scott	Obama	new
Rep. Brian Quirk	House District 15	Chickasaw	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Deborah Berry	House District 22	Black Hawk	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Pam Jochum	House District 27	Dubuque	Obama	Kerry
Rep. David Jacoby	House District 30	Johnson	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Tyler Olson	House District 38	Linn	Obama	new
Rep. Mark Smith	House District 43	Marshall	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Donovan Olson	House District 48	Boone	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Helen Miller	House District 49	Webster	Obama	Gephardt
Rep. Janet Petersen	House District 64	Polk	Obama	Kerry
Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad	House District 66	Polk	Obama	new
Rep. Elesha Gayman	House District 84	Scott	Obama	new
Rep. Wayne Ford	House District 65	Polk	Obama	Edwards
Rep. Paul Shomshor	House District 100	Pottawattamie	Obama	Lieberman
Rep. Marcella Frevert	House District 7	Palo Alto	Richardson	Dean
Sen. John P. "Jack" Kibbie	Senate District 4	Palo Alto		Kerry
Sen. Amanda Ragan	Senate District 7	Cerro Gordo		none
Sen. Brian Schoenjahn	Senate District 12	Fayette		new
Sen. Matt McCoy	Senate District 31	Polk		Kerry
Sen. Jack Hatch	Senate District 33	Polk		Kerry
Sen. Thomas G. Courtney	Senate District 44	Des Moines		Gephardt
Sen. Michael E. Gronstal	Senate District 50	Pottawattamie		none
Rep. Dolores Mertz	House District 8	Kossuth		none
Rep. Tom Schueller	House District 25	Jackson		new
Rep. Pat Murphy	House District 28	Dubuque		none
Rep. Jo Oldson	House District 61	Polk		Kerry
Rep. Rick Olson	House District 68	Polk		new
Rep. Mark Davitt	House District 74	Warren		Kerry
Rep. Philip L. Wise	House District 92	Lee		Lieberman