Chet Up Nine

Chet Up Nine

Last Register polls out. Braley is up by a whopping 21 points, and Mike Mauro is ahead 10. Sec of Ag is a squeaker...

The Accusations Fly

The Accusations Fly

Strong words in the staff room, the accusations fly...

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" is now stuck in my head. That happened to me once back in my teaching days; I have a very vivid memory of a very tight dress with a long slit and a deliberate seat in the front row. This was before Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct" and not as explicit, but it was a definite distraction from the day's lecture. But I didn't follow up on it being too damn ethical and all. Ah, the regrets of an old man...

Anyway, in Sec of Ag the accusation is an inept hired farm hand 20 years ago vs. current Brazilian investments. It's a smudge on Denise's Green Queen image but clearly seems to be a one time incident, while Bill Northey's portfolio is in true character for Mr. Agribusiness.

In the Secretary of State race Mike Mauro is guilty of having the same last name as his brother, which is about like accusing Shirley Manson of mass murder. Meanwhile, Chris reports that the Invisible Woman is still driving around with Virginia plates. (Follow link for photo.)

Hanusa finally has a web site up; just a one page placeholder. Kind of like she's a placeholder on the ballot.

An Elephant Crackup?

An Elephant Crackup?

This could be an election headline. Predictions of GOP House losses range between:

Chris Bowers, MyDD: -26

Cook: -20 to -35 or more

Larry Sabato: -23 to -30

Pollster.com: -31

Rothenberg: -34 to -40

Electoral-Vote.com: -39 to -40

In 1994 the biggest predections were in the 25-30 range and the Dems lost over 50.

However, today's headline is NOT electoral:

Today’s elephant populations are suffering from a form of chronic stress, a kind of species-wide trauma. Decades of poaching and culling and habitat loss, they claim, have so disrupted the intricate web of familial and societal relations by which young elephants have traditionally been raised in the wild, and by which established elephant herds are governed, that what we are now witnessing is nothing less than a precipitous collapse of elephant culture.

Elephants are wonderful animals and they can't help it that a mean-spirited political party chose them for a symbol. Or Thomas Nast did anyway.

Speaking of mean spirited, there was yesterday's Steve King No quisiera Que Usted Votara story. Tom Miller responds:

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller declared Thursday that Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver has "full authority" to offer voting information in foreign languages on his office's official Web site.

Miller said that "the use of other languages can facilitate exercising the constitutional right to vote."

Anyone else notice that King's All My Base Are Belong To Me campaign screed was shipped out on congressional letterhead?

Rettig Gets (lame) Pederson Response

Rettig Gets (lame) Pederson Response

Again from the in box, Janelle Rettig:

Lt. Governor Sally Pederson called me this afternoon. It was a conference call with Pederson, Mike Milligan (Ex. Dir. IDP), Kim Painter (Johnson County Recorder), and myself.

Pederson said that she had seen the mailing, she didn't find it offensive, felt the party (or anyone for that matter) had nothing to apologize for. She was unwilling to consider that having a mailing with the headlines "Davitt Supports Traditional Marriage" followed by "protecting Children for Sexual Predators" was at all demonizing to gay and lesbian people.

She did promise to look into it more, but I was not left with much hope that she considered this important. There was a lot said but no action and no accountability.

I did ask Pederson what she thought tied the four bold headlines together:

Davitt Supports Traditional Marriage	Teaching Character Education
Protecting Children from Sexual Predators	Keeping Children Away form Adult Material

She responded that what tied it together was values.

My problem with the mailing is twofold:

1) The IDP paid for a mailing that goes against its own platform.
2) By including something about marriage for same-sex couples in the same mailing, same page directly above "Sexual Predators" the mailing ties in the reader's mind the two issues together. The fallacy that gay people are more likely to be child molesters is a deep-rooted fear that some people hold. This mailing feeds those fears. Intentional or not this is a very damaging mailing.

I'm sure some of my friends will be mad that I'm sharing this criticism of my party four days before an election. But leaders need to lead, even in the face of misguided public opinion. And if bigotry is wrong, it's just wrong. And it's even more wrong when the very people who are supposed to stand for equality instead take cheap shots.

And it's wrong that Kim Painter can hand out the marriage licenses in Johnson County, but she and her partner can't get one.

Steve King No quisiera Que Usted Votara

Steve King No quisiera Que Usted Votara

Rep. Steve King el miércoles exigieron que la secretaria de Iowa del estado Chet Culver quite la información de votación en idiomas con excepción de inglés de la secretaria del sitio del Web del funcionario de estado.

"Ley de Iowa requiere claramente que todos los materiales de votación estén impresos en inglés," escribió a King, republicano, a Culver, el candidato democrático para el gobernador.

Culver encendió detrás que era una "tentativa desesperada" por Jones intentar y excepto la campaña de Nussle, y que la ley permite el uso de otras idiomas de garantizar las derechas de los votantes.

Los republicanos no quisieran que usted votara, los demócratas desean ayudarle a votar.

(En inglés)

Numbers, We Got Numbers

Numbers, We Got Numbers

KCCI says: Culver 50, Nussle 45. Also leads for Leonard Boswell and Mike Mauro.

Missed this a couple weeks ago but Survey USA has the Bush approval ratings; W's support is literally hiding in the mountains (UT, ID, MT, WY). Translated into electoral votes, that's 15.

Of course that's assuming he wasn't running against a nitwit like John Kerry. I hate to comment on The Comment Controversy but I will. This is all about All Your Base: it doesn't PERSUADE people, because it's incredibly bloody obvious the guy just pulled a Dan Quayle potatoe. (Anyone else remember when Bush Sr. meant to say he and Reagan had had success and he said "we've had sex"?)

But this oops gives the talk radio hosts and red meat rhetoricians something to rant about, to motivate an audience that's already made up its mind. The fact that they've latched onto something this lame, that they're making an argument this ludicrous, is a sign of their desperation.

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But my party isn't off the hook; deliberate statements are far more important than verbal stumbles. From the inbox, Janelle Rettig writes:

The Iowa Democratic Party has paid for and sent out a mailing that talks about "voting your values." It was sent to independents in Rep. Mark Davitt's race, but likely was sent into other races.

Page three of the mailing says "Davitt Supports Traditional Marriage -- Mark Davitt supports the Iowa law that guarantees that marriage in Iowa will only be between a man and a woman." This issue is immediately followed by "Protecting Children from Sexual Predators." Want to bet the tying together of the two topics was intentional? Karl Rove couldn't have done better. It's disgusting for the Iowa Democrats to feed the fires of untruths as it relates to gay people and child molesters.

The Iowa Democratic Platform calls for complete civil rights for GLBT people and "Equal marital rights for all consenting adults regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification." If these are the stated principles of the Iowa Democratic Party, how can the Party fund such mean and damaging mailings scapegoating gay and lesbian people?

I personally am quite disturbed that the Iowa Democratic Party has asked GLBTA people to step up and contribute more, volunteer more, be more involved, then they turn around and use our love and relationships to divide us. Furthermore, they have done it with money we likely helped raise.

You may know that The Iowa Republican Party recently sent a similar piece of garbage into Jim Leach's district attacking Dave Loebsack. At least in that mailing the GOP was honest about their agenda of discrimination. The Democrats tie gay folks and pedophiles into the same topic. I've been working hard to hold the GOP accountable for their mailing and now we have to hold the Democrats to the same standard.

It is wrong for Democrats or Republicans to try to win races by pushing discrimination against anyone. Shame on the Democrats for following into the game of destroying people and pitting people against each other to win races.

Janelle and her partner Robin have been working extremely hard for Democrats up and down the ticket, and she has expressed strong support (combined with constructive criticism) for Chet Culver in a recent heated discussion on the Iowa City listservs. No Iowan deserves a cheap shot like this.

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ARRRRRRRR! T' scurvy landlubbers at t' Des Moines Register finally write a story about Cap'n James Hill, t' Pirate candidate for Congress!

Hill, 42, acknowledges that there is an underlying reason to his campaign- a desire to write a book about his experience running for office and maybe even get himself a job as journalist.

Hill will continue his campaign through next week even though he seems a lot more like Don Quixote than Jean Lafitte, the gentleman pirate of New Orleans who helped save the United States in the War of 1812.

That Onion article the other day saying the Republicans were putting all the party's money into just one race? Here's a REAL poll: "In Arizona's 5th congressional district, a new SurveyUSA poll finds Harry Mitchell (D) inching ahead of Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ). Mitchell leads 48% to 46%..."

15 years later, remember victims of Nov. 1 shooting - Opinions

15 years later, remember victims of Nov. 1 shooting

I was on the air when it happened...

Louie Kneecaps, GOP Donor

Louie Kneecaps, GOP Donor



The payday and car title loan issue is on the table:

Rod Aycox, who owns Loan Max, a car title loan company, has given $250,000 to Republican legislative campaign efforts. House Democratic Leader Pat Murphy contends Rants has single-handedly blocked efforts to regulate interest rates charged by such companies.

'Apparently it's been money well spent,' said Murphy.

With a Democratic Senate Joe Bolkcom should have more luck leading this issue through.


Obamapalooza hits the old press: the band lineup includes Culver, Harkin, and The 'Sacks (Loeb and Vil).

Register sums up the Loebsack race nicely:

Leach has continued to strenuously object, most recently calling the war the greatest foreign policy mistake in U.S. history.

But McCabe said that's no longer adequate. 'I have voted for Leach, but I would like to see the Democrats take over Congress,' she said.

As good as that is, Mike Mauro gets the quote of the day:

I want voter registration to be easy,' he said. 'The other side ... they'd like to see it be more difficult... I think the message is that the fewer people who participate, they believe they'll be able to win elections easier.

And just for fun The Onion looks at the national scene:

With just seven days remaining until the mid-term elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee has allocated its remaining $256 million cash-on-hand to Arizona incumbent J. D. Hayworth's campaign, in the hopes of retaining at least one House seat. "Considering Rep. Hayworth's strong stance against terrorism and this infusion of money, we're feeling really good about this race," said White House chief strategist Karl Rove, who is personally managing the remainder of Hayworth's campaign from his Scottsdale office."He's going to be in a very competitive position if he spends just 90 percent of this money attacking [challenger Harry] Mitchell."

Hayworth will be joined at campaign events this week by 23 prominent Republicans, including Dick Cheney, John McCain, Bill Frist, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Nugent, and Rupert Murdoch.

In a poll released today, Mitchell leads Hayworth by six points.

Obama in Iowa City Sunday

Obama in Iowa City Sunday

Well placed sources confirm reports that the Barack Star, Senator Obama, will be in downtown Iowa City Sunday night (~8 PM) with Chet Culver and probably many others. Hoping to provide some coverage either live or via a guest blogger.

Happy Halloween: Amateur Month for Junk Crawlers

Happy Halloween: Amateur Month for Junk Crawlers



A non-political lead today:

The costume raid on second-hand stores extended past Iowa City's downtown. Popular items at Goodwill Stores, 985 Hollywood Blvd., included retro clothes, masks, wigs, and "all types of dresses," manager Mary Ann Garver said.

"October is our biggest month for sales," she added.

I don't do my usual junk crawling in late October; I'm too busy and the stores are too busy.

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On to the politics:

The Gazette (useless "E-Edition" only) fuels an Obama in Iowa City? rumor, I'll keep you posted. Nussle launches an All My Base Are Belong To Me tour and Bob Vander Plaats is Halloween scary:

``Everything we hold dear is pushed to the center of the table,'' Vander Plaats said, listing education, the economy, and the ``culture of life'' issues of abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriages.

The DI looks at the lowest profile election of all: Judicial retention.

Only four judges have failed to win retention since 1962, according to the Office of the Iowa Secretary of State, with the last occurring in 1994.

All 78 judges up for retention earned scores that demonstrated their competence, according to the Bar Association survey, with no judge garnering below a 71 percent rating.

My experience on these: They almost always average 80% yes, 20% no, and a close to 50% under-vote rate (i.e. people leaving them blank).

And the Register looks at all three of Steve King's opponents, which has the effect of reducing Joyce Schulte's stature to the level of the two independents. I remember a high on the ticket race once where the challenger to a very popular incumbent tried to shame the incumbent into debating by staging a forum with a half dozen third party opponents and an empty chair; the whole thing collapsed into a farce that climaxed with one candidate singing "God Bless America" in closing remarks.

Cheryl Brodersen, aunt of a young moman murdered by Israeli bulldozers, gets off the best zinger:

Brodersen opposes the massive U.S. border fence Congress already approved with King's strong support. "The joke in Denison is they are just waiting to see how tall to build the ladder."

Note to Roy Nielsen: Think about primary challenging King in `08...

New Majority Watch Polls: Even More Democratic Pickups

New Majority Watch Polls: Even More Democratic Pickups

On the charts, in the margin:

IA-02: Leach (R) 50%--48% Loebsack (D)

Not as good as ahead one, but it shows that wasn't a fluke and Dave can win this.

From the inbox: Ed Fallon says "don't write me in" and even puts it to music. Cole Porter's music, actually. Not that I've heard anyone actually discussing it.

More Fox news (I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist) from Gazette and Register.

Michael J. Fox Update

Michael J. Fox Update

Nate Koppel is liveblogging for Chris.

Eight Days Out

Eight Days Out

This blog is likely to suffer over the next eight days, as I do it on my free time and I have very little of that any more.

Over 1100 voters yesterday at the four Johnson County Hy-Vees. Satellite voting takes elections to where people live their real lives.

The AP has a story on election returns at auditor's web sites:

More than half of Iowa's 99 counties will use a Web site to post results - a number that's grown gradually in the past few years.

Polk County, among the first in Iowa to launch a Web site, has relayed live election results since at least 2000.

Which is great, Mike, but Johnson County's had a web site since 1997, and was posting returns on a Gopher server (anyone else here old enough to remember that?) as far back as 1993.

One interesting side effect has been the slow decline of an old tradition: the crowd in the courthouse (or rather the Administration Building) on election night. Used to be throngs of folks eagerly awaiting each precinct. But with live internet and cable TV, most folks just stay at the victory party (it's always the "victory party" even if you lose) rather than rubbing elbows with the other team, and the crowd has dwindled to a handful of traditionalists and reporters.

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The Polk County Auditor gets a couple other metions this morning including a well-deserved Register endorsement:

Mauro has been the elections chief for the state's largest county for more than 20 years. He has done the job competently, with openness and high ethical standards. Those are standards all Iowans should expect from the next secretary of state. Mauro would meet them.

And Mike met with The Invisible Woman at a forum. Hanusa would rather those 1100 busy Hy-Vee voters would make an extra trip:

Hanusa expressed concern about the prevalence of absentee voting - originally intended as a tool for the infirm or those who would be unable to make it to the polls on Election Day.

"There need to be safeguards in place to make sure the requirements ensure legitimate voters and protect against fraud," she said. "It needs to be looked at."

Mauro, who said 72,000 Polk County residents cast early ballots for the 2004 general election in which President Bush won a second term, countered that absentee voting was safeguarded and that it is well-accepted by the public.

"Early voting is here to stay, and we need to take the 'absentee' out of it," Mauro said. "I think people like it, and I think it works."

Helping you vote vs. making it harder for you to vote. Maybe the easiest choice on the ballot.

Driving by Republican HQ the other day I saw a cluster of signs by the road: nothing for the Invisible Woman. And they had signs along the road for one of their supervisor candidates - but not the other. Is the local GOP undercutting one of their own candidates?

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Packers Keep Ball Rolling With Win Over Cardinals, Favre scores a rushing touchdown and attempts a Lambeau Leap, and I miss it all. If they keep winning, I may just have to quit watching.

Sioux County: Life On Another Planet

Sioux County: Life On Another Planet



"I really respect the fact that President Bush prays for the country."

The Register looks at Sioux County, the evil opposite of the People's Republic and the most Republican place in Iowa. It's so Republican that Jim Nussle is even willing to be seen in public with George W. Bush here next week.

This is why Democrats in Johnson County have to work their butts off till and on Election Day, to make up for about 15 counties like this. This is where the Republicans are playing their base strategy:

The campaign schedule of Nussle and Vander Plaats shows the significance of northwest Iowa. They campaigned last week in Spencer, Cherokee, Sioux City, Sioux Center and Storm Lake.

"They were here early and often, and they're coming back again, and that's going to energize the base here," said state Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan Republican.

To fire up the GOP base, the party has been holding the equivalent of pep rallies in western Iowa communities, featuring King and other GOP leaders.

"We talk about the red-meat issues of importance to Republicans, and remind them of the values that Republican candidates will defend," said state Sen. Jeff Angelo, a Creston Republican.

Those issues include illegal immigration, abortion, gay marriage...

This is where they think Steve King is a good moderate.

Put it this way: if Sioux County were sawn off the rest of the state and annexed to South Dakota, John Kerry would have won Iowa. The Sioux County Bush margin was more than the STATEWIDE margin.

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No more Robot. No more BLINK tag. If you missed it, you missed it.

Register Endorses Chet

Register Endorses Chet

Uses the phrase "big lug" at least twice: Highlights:

"Culver has taken his working knowledge about state government and molded it into proposals on education, economic development and renewable energy. He correctly identifies renewable energy as a historic opportunity for Iowa to remake its economy, and he has presented reasonably detailed ideas for helping it happen."

"Nussle has been part of a Republican inner circle infamous for all-out partisan warfare and fiscal irresponsibility. And his views against abortion in almost all circumstances are extreme. It takes a leap of faith to believe he could give up his partisan habits and govern Iowa in an inclusive, moderate manner."

"Making such a leap isn't necessary. The other candidate doesn't carry the Washington baggage and has prepared himself better for the job overall."

"Chet Culver is the choice."

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Congressional endorsements are clouded by the misguided endorsement of Leach. Why?

They endorsed the Democrats in the other four races and thought they needed a token Republican?

Endorsing a clean sweep would have been a powerful statement. A token Republican is still a Bush enabler, to be judged by the company he keeps.

The old last refuge of scoundrels, Objectivity and Moderation.

But if you believe in "moderation," then what is needed is a counterbalance to Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. What is needed is a Democratic Congress and Dave Loebsack.

"Jim Leach was the only member of the Iowa delegation to vote against the war in Iraq. That alone is reason enough to re-elect him."

But keeping his party in power, keeping his vote for Republican control, for Denny Hastert, only prolongs that war. A vote for Leach is a vote for Hastert, and, as the Press-Citizen wrote last week:

It would it would seem that some of the more radical proposals Leach has offered would be much more likely to come to pass if the U.S. House was under Democratic control rather than Republican control.

A vote for Leach is actually a vote against Leach.

Loebsack gave a nice talk this morning at the Johnson County Dems' get out the vote training, as did Mike Mauro, Joe Bolkcom, and the staffers extrodinaire.

Highlights from the Register's four Democratic House endorsements:

"What really sold us on Bruce Braley was his respect for the U.S. Constitution, which he called "one of the greatest documents written in the history of mankind." He recognizes the responsibility of Congress to uphold the Constitution and exercise oversight of the executive branch - a perspective sorely lacking in today's Washington."

"Jeff Lamberti argues he should be elected because 'people are ready for a change.' Iowa does need change. So does the country. But it won't happen if people send yet another toe-the-line Republican congressman to Washington.

Leonard Boswell's experience and personal connections with people all over the world make him the better choice for representing Iowa and the country."

I thought it was Dave Lamberti?

The shocker is Selden Spencer:

"The greater good of this country outweighs the benefits of Latham's experience and seniority. Spencer was right during a recent meeting with the Register when he noted that the current Republican leadership in Washington has failed the country. And Latham has been part of the problem."

"This editorial board was wrong in 2002 and 2004 in recommending that Iowans elect Steve King to Congress. We (hoped) that someone who's smart, well-read and well-traveled would hearken to the better angels of his nature and make Iowa proud.

We've given up that hope.

King has been an embarrassment to Iowa. This space won't allow listing all his outrageous remarks and positions. There are some people who simply don't belong in Washington. Steve King is one.

Joyce Schulte would bring a breadth of experience to Washington, and Iowa is long overdue in sending a woman to Washington."

I almost thought they might give independent Roy Neilsen the nod.

I'm not seeing endorsements for the statewide Secretaries yet, though Denise O'Brien notes an endorsement from the Storm Lake paper...

As promised: the top headline every day

As promised: the top headline every day

If You Don't Register By 5:00 today YOU CAN'T VOTE Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

Chet! Chet! Chet!

Chet! Chet! Chet!

Press-Citizen caps off endorsement week giving Culver the nod. But the overall tone of the editorial is less Vote 4 Chet and more Don't Vote For Nussle:

As much as we counsel against single-issue voting, the sheer number of such issues adds up fast. At a time when there is justifiable concern that the U.S. Supreme Court may decide that legalizing abortion should be an issue best left to the states, Nussle said he would support a South Dakota-style ban on all abortions accept in cases threatening the life of the mother. At a time when we're dealing with national and statewide questions of immigration reform, Nussle supports Iowa's English as the Official Language law. At a time when we're looking to improve Iowa's standards of education, Nussle's running mate, Bob Vander Plaats, suggests that we need to be teaching intelligent design along with evolution in public schools.

And how much did THIS play into it:

We had hoped for the chance to have Nussle explain his positions on these controversial issues in person. We met with the Green Party candidate, Wendy Barth, and the Libertarian Party candidate, Kevin Litten, but despite our repeated requests to interview Nussle, the Congressman's campaign staff was never able to find a convenient time.

Mess with the Old Media at your own risk. Which plays into the Nussle Is Inaccessible theme that the Register was playing earlier this month. Their endorsements, by the way, are tomorrow...

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Republicans are trying to buy Iowa's congressional seats:

Republican Mike Whalen of Bettendorf has loaned his campaign $250,000, while Republican Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny has loaned his campaign $150,000, according to reports filed late Thursday that reflect activity Oct. 1 through Oct. 18.

The Register article doesn't mention Jim Leach's earlier $187,000 debt to himself.

Loebsack and Leach do Iowa Press this weekend and the Register lead looks at Leach's old boss:

Leach described Rumsfeld as a friend whom he had known a long time. In 1965 and 1966, Leach worked on Rumsfeld's staff when Rumsfeld was a congressman from Illinois. In 1969 and 1970, Leach was a special assistant to Rumsfeld when Rumsfeld was director of the Office of Economic Opportunity during the Nixon administration. Leach was first elected to Congress in 1976.

Tangent: The top ten hits the week Jim Leach was first elected included:

"Muskrat Love", the Captain and Tennille

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot; one of my personal favorites with my northern Wisconsin roots, I used to have all 572 verses memorized

And who can forget: "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees!

Number One was Steve Miller's geography lesson and Free riff ripoff, "Rock'n Me." Is that rockING me or rock AND me? Steve, the route from Phoeniz, AZ to Northern California (noted for high female body temperatures) is shorter if you bypass Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta and LA. Were those stops on the Fly Like An Eagle `76 tour? And PLEASE tell us what The Pompatus Of Love is.

So much has changed in the world of music, so little has changed in Eastern Iowa congressional representation. Back to the 21st century:

Loebsack said Rumsfeld should be booted from his job for mishandling the war in Iraq and alienating American allies.

"He's mismanaged the war. He also led us astray before the war. We need the countries Donald Rumsfeld called 'Old Europe' and alienated."

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The Reg also looks at the most expensive legislative races. They include a handy-dandy chart that's unfortunately an illegible graphic in the online edition. Basically, if you're seeing the race on TV, it's on this list. TV is a hugely wasteful expense in a race the scale of an Iowa legislative race. Let's say you have a bottle of miracle spot remover. A $4 bottle will remove any stain possible in one square foot of carpet. Great, right? Catch is: to use it, you have to spray it on the whole room, so it costs $400 to treat a 10 x 10 room. That's TV in an Iowa House race.

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Living a political life I miss out on a lot of normal life in even-numbered falls. Things like Halloween and the World Series. I didn't really zoom in on either until I took a couple of rare free hours for an all too necessary trip to the laundromat and saw folks marching to the bars in costume and caught a few innings as the Birdies beat the Kitties.

And of course, being a junkie of my own ball game, I paid more attention to the political ads than the baseball. The new Nussle ad is bizarre:

I'm Jim Nussle.
Negative campaigning is bad.
My wife version 2.0 loves me.
Here's some pictures of horsies and puppies and some pretty music.

I don't recall if there were actual puppies, but you get the idea. Looked like a stock Iowa tourism spot with a new voiceover. And I'm not trying to pick on anyone's marriage - my own attempt failed - but if you're going to campaign on "family values" (sic), if you're going to film ads with your own special needs child, then you get back what you dish out.

Anyway they're singing a rousing chorus of "We Are The Champions" in St. Louis and Johnson County Treasurer Tom Kriz, a major Cards fan, is no doubt elated today. A tall cold Bud toast to the Cardinals.

The DI actually has a story today

The DI actually has a story today

If You Don't Register By Saturday YOU CAN'T VOTE Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

Making Loebsack's Case While Missing The Point

Making Loebsack's Case While Missing The Point

The Press-Citizen does a very good job of making the case for Dave Loebsack...

The Loebsack supporters' third argument is the most effective: If Leach is going to be at odds with his party on so many issues, wouldn't it make sense to vote for a candidate whose party actually advocates those same issues? As powerful as the office of U.S. Representative is, a lone representative can accomplish little without caucusing with other members and without appealing to the party leadership.

Indeed, it would it would seem that some of the more radical proposals Leach has offered would be much more likely to come to pass if the U.S. House was under Democratic control rather than Republican control. This is especially true of his 'Declare Democracy and Get Out' call for an immediate drawdown of our troops in Iraq...

but then reverts to that old crutch of Objective Journalists: We luv moderates.

But that doesn't mean that we should punish Leach for speaking his mind to his party's leaders. Although we would agree that Leach could be a more active force for his moderate politics, he is hardly without influence in Washington. He still has the ear of the key decision makers, including that of his former boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld...

Which would explain why Leach hasn't joined Loebsack in calling for Rumsfeld's sacking.

Muddled moderation might have had a place back in the disco era when Leach was first elected, but these days the parties actually stand for something, and Leach chooses to stand with Bush and Rumsfeld and Hastert and Steve King.

Federal campaign finance reports show Loebsack outraising Leach:

Loebsack reported to the Federal Election Commission that he received $52,000 in contributions between Oct. 1 and Oct. 18. Reports were due Thursday.

Leach said he received about $16,000 in the 18-day period.

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The struggle continues: Thanks to the New Jersey courts, gay marriage moves to the front burner. Register rounds up Culver and Nussle. Chet's wrong, Nussle's waaaaay more wrong. Or: Chet wusses out, but Nussle really means it.

I'm tired of settling for wussing out. Ultimately we need to get to the point where an Iowa politician can say publicly "I fully support gay marriage" without it being political suicide. I'd like to see it just because it makes the theocrats so disproportionately mad, and their faces turn the loveliest shades of red and purple.

While Culver has slammed the door in the faces of Iowa's gay community in opposing marriage, he is at least anticipating a less bigoted future. In opposing a constitutional amendment, Culver leaves that door unlocked. He supports some expansion of rights, which may be akin to letting folks sleep in the barn. Second class accomodations but somewhat warmer that the snowbank. Nussle chases gay Iowans off the farm with a shotgun, locks the door, throws away the key, and nails it shut.

True, neither one invites folks into the house for dinner - but do you see a difference?

Like I Said Yesterday

Like I said yesterday, this should be the headline every day:

If You Don't Register By Saturday YOU CAN'T VOTE Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!