34 years for funding!!!

<snip>


In her speech today, Palin will lay out the campaign's plans to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, boost funding for special-needs children from birth to age 3 and allow parents to choose whether federal money for their child is used in a public, private, religious or secular school without navigating a cumbersome administrative process.

The federal government originally committed in 1975 to paying 40% of the cost of educating children with special needs, with the states paying the rest. But that has never happened; full funding would require approximately $26 billion a year, and the federal government currently pays $10.9 billion. The McCain campaign plans to phase in that increased money.

<snip>

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington...

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On edit:

Here's the Obama/Biden fact sheet on their plans for persons with disabilities (oh, and they have a history of working for people with disabilities so I believe them just a bit more than princess yup yup)

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityP...

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/2...

Iowa Democrats scoured public records and documented that several Republican Iowa House candidates have criminal charges in their backgrounds. Then they provided a neatly labeled binder full of records to The Des Moines Register.

Republicans are furious that Democrats delved so deeply into their personal lives by poring over public documents on bitter small-claims cases, financial woes, child-support disputes and messy divorces.

"This is the sleaziest thing I think I've heard of in Statehouse politics," said House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City.

The Des Moines Sunday Register's independent review of court records for Democrats and Republicans seeking Iowa House seats showed a handful of candidates with alcohol-related offenses, and most of those charges were older than five years.One of those candidates has a felony conviction for third-offense drunken driving.In addition, one candidate has an active warrant for his arrest in connection with a driver's license problem. Another is currently dealing with a federal violation at his workplace, the Register found.

Both parties do opposition research, but it's unusual for the information to be released collectively.

Democrats said they decided to take such a step because they believe there is an unusually high number of Republican candidates with legal problems. Voters should consider whether a candidate's history hampers his or her ability to serve the public and obey laws, said Iowa House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines. "If these candidates were elected to office," McCarthy said, "it would not be a stretch that we would need to establish night court at the state Capitol, together with a bailiff and maybe bring in Jerry Springer to cover it."

<snip>

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I don't know what to think of this - on one hand a person's life becomes an open book when they decide to run for office. On the other - shouldn't the press have been doing that work w/out the help of one party? And if I had one more hand - does EVERY act we perform (legal or illegal) in our past qualify/disqaulify us for public office?

Your thoughts?

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/09...


Braley: Congress should focus on disasters before financial crisis

DES MOINES -- Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, said disaster relief should take priority over bailing out Wall Street during a telephone news conference with reporters on Tuesday.

Congressional leaders are negotiating with the White House on a bill meant to keep financial giants on Wall Street afloat. But Braley, of Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, said lawmakers should focus on approving more disaster recovery funds before they set their sites on the financial crisis.

“If we're going to be talking about a bailout to rescue people who've been making risky decisions on Wall Street for years, that can't even come to the table, in my judgment, until we do something to help people in need in places like Iowa and Wisconsin and Texas and other places around the country who've been devastated by natural disasters and have had their lives turned upside down,” he said.

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http://www.politicalwire.com /


Quote of the Day

"Sarah knows how to field-dress a moose. I know how to castrate a calf. Neither of those things has anything at all to do with this election. But since we know so much about Sarah's special skills, I wanted to make sure you knew about mine too."

-- Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge (D), quoted by Iowa Politics, on Sen. John McCain's running mate.

I think the choice of Sarah Palin to be McCain's VP is a joke and she is being used as a pawn and a thumb to the nose w/fingers waving at voters who supported Hillary Clinton. BUT....

I can't believe some of the 'progressive' posters who think that a woman's place is at home doting over their child...especially if the child is special needs. Somedays going OUT THERE isn't worth the strokes on my keyboard.

Joe will eat her lunch at the debates and she will probably be relegated to standing three steps back and two steps to the right of McCain (Cindy's spot is two steps to the left for photo ops). They'll have her speak when women's issues are the topic and she'll take the 'women aren't people, the are pets attitude the GOP has.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail...

<snip>

Barack Obama's campaign will call next week for the creation of a new commission to revise the rules for selecting a presidential nominee in 2012 with a goal of reducing the power of superdelegates, whose role became a major point of contention during the long battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The commission also will be urged to redraw the calendar for 2012 to avoid starting the primaries and caucuses so early, and also to look specifically at assuring more uniform rules and standards for those caucuses.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the campaign will ask the national convention delegates in Denver to approve a resolution approving the establishment of a 35-member Democratic Change Commission. The charter would authorize the Democratic National Committee chairman appoint the commission soon after the election and ask them to report back by January 2010.

<snip>

The other significant change is the call to redraw the primary and caucus calendar. The 2008 calendar drew significant criticism both for the early starting dates for the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, and also because there were so many states crowded into the first month of what turned out to be a five-month campaign.

<snip>

The other major area the commission will be asked to examine is the operation of caucuses in states that choose that process rather than a primary. The caucuses drew criticism, particularly from the Clinton campaign, which said they restricted participation and that in some states lacked the necessary infrastructure to insure fairness.

"We agree that we ought to make sure they're funded properly, staffed properly and run smoothly, and even see if people ought to be eligible to vote absentee," Plouffe said.

What if he would have won the nomination? Where would our party be?

Who would have performed better in the early states if Edwards wasn't there?

This isn't just about his marriage and his family (and that of his mistress) - when he cheats on his wife while running for President it's also about all of the people who gave him money and voted for him.

Dave Nagle, former congressman and Iowa Democratic Party chair, says Barack Obama’s recommendation to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations at full strength at this month’s Democratic National Convention “can’t be unexpected.” But he believes the national convention needs to reaffirm the calendar that set Iowa first, and not revisit the calendar again “in our lifetime.”

Nagle chaired the Iowa Democratic Party during the 1984 caucus cycle, before serving three terms in Congress. He spoke with Iowa Independent’s John Deeth:

Nagle: It can’t be unanticipated that they decided to seat Michigan and Florida, I think we all knew that was inevitable. But historically, in `84 when the national party had sued me to stop Iowa from being first, ultimately they seated us. Admittedly, they seated us in the back of the hall, but we were in there, even though we weren’t in compliance with their calendar. But the critical thing, I think, is what do they do to prevent this from happening again? I mean, if they say to Michigan and Florida, all is forgiven, you’re back, you’re full members of the party, and by the way, you can go out in four years and try to defy us again, that’ll be fine, then they haven’t solved the problem, they’ve just postponed it

<snip>

http://iowaindependent.com/3400/nagle-conv...

In case you didn't know about Obama's letter to the Credentials Committee:

http://iowaindependent.com/3373/obama-full...

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/07...

<snip>

He said "radical environmentalists" have helped worsen the nation's energy crunch by opposing an expansion of oil drilling, new refineries and the pursuit of nuclear energy. Hartsuch said he supports the construction of new coal power plants, including those proposed in Marshalltown and Waterloo.

<snip>

Unlike Braley, he said, he does not fault oil companies for making record profits. He argued profit drives capital investment and helps create more energy. "I don't buy the argument of record profits. It shows a complete lack of regard or confidence in free enterprise," he said.

Hartsuch, who has raised $16,655 through the end of June, trails Braley in fundraising by a significant margin. Through mid-May, Braley has raised $640,129.

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Matthew 25: 35-40 "‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ "

+++++

Now read this:

State admits care shortfalls at center for disabled
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...


<snip>

The president and first lady topped the list of VIPs at the "Stand for Africa" anti-malaria benefit: Condi Rice, Sam Alito, Adrian Fenty, Karl Rove, Bo Derek and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "There's nothing more tragic than a young baby dying of a mosquito bite," said the president, who in 2005 launched a $1.2 billion initiative to fight the disease. As usual, Kuwaiti Ambassador Salem al-Sabah and wife Rima brought in the big guns: Oil execs who donated $1.6 million, legendary Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour. . . and the third annual installment of what we like to call "Administration Idol": OMB Director Jim Nussle strumming a country tune as his wife sang. (In '06, Rice played a piano duet with Marvin Hamlisch; last year, Josh Bolten played guitar behind Randy Travis.) "Mrs. Bush, let me apologize in advance," said Karen Nussle. Oh, it wasn't that bad!

<snip>

http://www.dmcityview.com/skinny.shtml

This week: a slogan, a bad driving record, a missing news story

Leonard Boswell has come up with his slogan for battling and belittling primary opponent Ed Fallon: Doesn’t Play Well With Others. That’s the message in an e-mail Skinny saw from the Boswell campaign. The heart of the e-mail: “Ed was a State Representative for 14 years before he ran for governor. With that much experience in the legislature, isn’t it odd that very few of his colleagues stood behind him in his race for governor? The truth is he has no major legislative accomplishment to show for his time in office. He is not someone who works with others.” The e-mail doesn’t mention that Fallon carried the district in the three-way gubernatorial primary. … Boswell got a bit of a break last week when former legislator George Eichhorn said he’d run against Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin. That means there will be a primary for the Republican nomination — one or two guys nobody ever heard of also are in the fray — and Skinny’s highly paid political panel says that means Republicans aren’t likely to cross over in the June primary to vote for Fallon, a bit of political mischief because Republicans believe Fallon would be easier to beat in November. That’s too bad; Skinny loves mischief. One problem, of course, is that so far no Republican has come forth to run for the Congressional seat. …

...It seems like only last week Skinny was saying that Republican legislator Scott Raecker was considering a run for governor. It seems like only this week we’re saying he isn’t running. “I am not considering a run for governor,” he e-mails Skinny. “Your source is incorrect. And if you would like to verify the fact you can certainly call my wife. Have a good day.” It was a good day until we got the e-mail. We’d like to know who to call — we doubt it’s Raecker’s wife — to figure out who’s financing those anti-Culver TV spots, but whoever it is has a sense of humor. The ads say they are paid for by the Iowa Future Fund, the name of a PAC that until a year or so ago was a Tom Harkin PAC. But he didn’t renew the name, a fact that some mischievous Republican must have noticed, so it was picked up to be the front for the anti-Culver spots. Skinny loves mischievous Republicans. …

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More at the link

http://www.dmcityview.com/skinny.shtml



Leonard Boswell apparently has signed Scott Ourth to run his primary campaign against challenger Ed Fallon, Skinny hears. It’s one of those cozy deals Skinny loves. Ourth, a Democratic operative who has worked for Gov. Chet Culver and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and who ran Boswell’s 2000 re-election race, currently is director of public affairs for Warren County and apparently is taking a leave from that job. The chairman of the three-supervisor board in Warren County is Kevin Middleswart. Middleswart’s wife, Delpha, is a $40,000-a-year office manager and scheduler in Boswell’s Des Moines office. It’s all one big happy family. Unless, of course, Boswell loses. Then it’s one big unhappy family. … Meantime, Skinny hears there’s nothing to the rumor going around that Courtney Maxwell Greene is going to challenge Republican state senator Pat Ward in November. The former Channel 13 newswoman intends to stay right where she is as Culver’s press secretary, her friends say. … But woe-beset Culver aide John Hedgecoth has been shuffled off to the Public Health Department, Skinny hears, as his various woes mount. … Skinny also hears that Republican representative Scott Raecker already is considering a run against Culver in two years — one of a dozen or so Republicans thinking the Big Lug is vulnerable. Others mentioned include likeable Ag Secretary Bill Northey, not-quite-so-likeable Congressman Steve King, likeable Auditor David Vaudt (see below) and others of various degrees of likeability. “And before the session is over, you might see some Democratic legislators , too,” says one Republican legislator who says there’s lots of dismay with the governor on both sides of the aisle. … One thing encouraging Republicans: A new Survey USA poll shows Culver with only 48 percent approval — and 49 percent disapproval. That’s a huge swing from the 59-34 favorable rating of just a month before. “The word is getting out,” says one worried but disaffected Democrat.

<snip>

A Skinny source says: “Don’t believe it if you hear there’s been a rapprochement between Culver and Gronstal.” Skinny doesn’t know if that’s true, and doesn’t really care, but just wanted to use the word “rapprochement.”…. Safest bet of the week: Jeanie Kunkle Vaudt, an assistant attorney general and one of 18 persons who has applied for the opening on the Iowa Supreme Court, shouldn’t rush out to buy any robes. Vaudt is smart and nice — but she’s also married to State Auditor David Vaudt. David Vaudt is a regular critic of Chet Culver. Culver appoints judges. Skinny loves payback. … That Survey USA poll shows Chuck Grassley with a 68 percent approval rating, Tom Harkin with 58 percent. That’s strong for both — Republican Grassley always runs better than Democrat Harkin — but is particularly good news for Harkin, who has no serious opposition in his run for re-election this year.

<snip>

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More good stuff at the link!

Two pieces for your review:

First from the Iowa Independent:

Boswell Campaign, State Rep Accuse Fallon of Hyprocrisy

http://iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?di...

<snip>

The battle of words rages on in Iowa's 3rd District, with the campaign for incumbent U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell issuing a letter to Democratic primary challenger Ed Fallon railing on contributions from Democracy for America, a national progressive political action committee founded in 2004 by current Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

"In light of your criticism of Leonard Boswell for accepting support from Political Action Committees (PACs), I was rather dismayed to see you accepting support and soliciting money for your candidacy from a PAC," wrote JoDee Winterhof, a senior adviser for the Boswell campaign.

Her words in the letter were echoed by one of Iowa's state lawmakers.

"You can't bash PACs and then enlist their support in your campaign," said Des Moines State Rep. Bruce Hunter. "It's like having your cake and eating it too. By keeping the money, Ed is being disingenuous."

<snip>

Fallon was endorsed by DFA on Thursday. The national grass-roots organization encouraged its membership to contribute $20.08 to Fallon's campaign and to "support a Democrat with the backbone to stand up for progressive values." More than $10,000 was raised within two hours of the DFA's e-mail announcement to 675,000 supporters. Within the first 24 hours, according to Fallon, contributions neared $19,000.

<snip>

++++
Second - blog post from the Common Iowan:

Will Boswell be Writing a check for $540,000?

http://commoniowan.blogspot.com/2008/02/wi...

<snip>

Fallon countered back saying that he has never taken money from a PAC and never will...

"I've never taken contributions from lobbyists or PACs, and I won't in this campaign either," Fallon said. "We're pleased to receive the endorsement of DFA, which urged its individual members to make contributions to my campaign through ActBlue, an online clearinghouse for donations to Democratic candidates."

<snip>

There is a huge difference between Boswell accepting checks written directly by corporate PAC's and a PAC asking its individual members to donate to a campaign. Since so much of Boswell's money is coming directly from a PAC, it draws questions to whom Boswell actually represents. Fallon's donations come from real people, not an accounting department

<snip>

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Iowa DUers thoughts????

(and this time Biden comes in third!)


http://cornellsun.com/print/26919

Political Gestures: Eric Kollig '08 points out Joe Biden's favorable policies

Dems Take Sides in Caucus-Style Debate
By Brian Racow

As the country prepares for the excitement of “Super Tuesday” next week — in which 24 states will be holding presidential primaries for both the Republican and Democratic candidates — the Cornell Democrats attempted yesterday to recapture the prevailing national political passions of early January by staging a mock Iowa caucus.

“The Super Tuesday primary dilutes the importance of those states’ votes, and it’s already assumed that New York will go for Hillary Clinton,” said Cornell Democrats President Randy Lariar ’08. “The Iowa caucus has the advantage of being examined more in depth by the press and the candidates.”

Members of the C.U. Dems met in Rockefeller Hall to act out the process of a precinct-level caucus, like those that took place at some 1,700 localities across the state of Iowa on Jan. 3. Despite the fact that many of the Democratic candidates have now dropped out of the race, all of those who were on the ballot in Iowa were represented at the event. In a similar fashion to the actual caucus, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won by a clear margin, with nine out of 20 possible mock delegates. However, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) placed better than in real life, finishing in second with six delegates, as did Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), who finished in third with five delegates.

In recent decades it has become tradition for Iowa to be the first state to conduct its selection of delegates to send to the national convention, and so receives a significant amount of media attention as a perceived early indication of national voter preferences. Excluding this year’s results, the Democratic candidate who won the highest percentage of Iowa’s precinct caucuses also won the Party’s nomination six out of nine times since 1972, and many political commentators attributed Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) successful 2004 campaign for the Democratic nomination to his surprise defeat of front-runner former Vermont Governor Howard Dean in the Iowa caucus.

“We’re holding a presidential caucus in the way that took place in Iowa so people become aware of what the caucus system actually entails on the ground. Members of the progressive community will be able to debate, discuss, and vouch for the candidate they support in front of fellow progressives,” said Ethan Felder ’09, communications director of the C.U. Dems.

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