Iowa Defense Alliance

An alliance of Iowans determined to defend traditional Iowa values.

Introducing Liberty Line

Ladies and gentleman, I would like to introduce you to Iowa’s newest political blog by sharing with you the very first post published on the site. This post will go far in describing and detailing what it is the contributors hope to accomplish.Liberty Line.

Liberty Has Some New Champions

There is a battle raging in America today. On one side we have those that would spend more and more money that the United States does not have. They would regulate more and more of our freedoms so as to fit their own personal view of the world. They would steal more and more of our hard earned money in an effort to fund their state sanctioned bribery programs. They are more than willing to sacrifice the livelihood of average hard working Americans in a misguided effort to “reform” our government. They have a tendency to willingly cede U.S. Sovereignty to a foreign world organization. This side of the battle is more about individual personalities than it is about hard and fast principles. With this side of the battle it is pretty much anything goes.

On the other hand we have the true patriots. These are the individuals that fight for the constitutional rights of every single American. They work hard against the forces of globalization. They fight against the other side’s desire to create a larger more ponderous and inefficient state and federal government. They fight in an effort to restrain the growth of government. They fight to restrain bloated government budgets. They fight through all the criticism leveled at them. With this side the battle is more about ideas and principles than it is about the individual. When any one personality begins to stand out they tend to shift to the other side of the battle because ego then takes over. The saying that really fits this side comes from Harvey Dent in The Dark Night,  “you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Unfortunately we have some of our so called leaders that are trying to straddle the fence. They want the best of both worlds. What they do not realize is that it does not work that way. Either you defend freedom and liberty wholeheartedly or you aid and abet those that want to restrict freedoms. You can rest assured that those of us at the Liberty Line will always come down on the side of Liberty and Freedom.

And now I would like to formally welcome you to the Liberty Line, a conglomeration of freedom loving Iowan’s no longer content to sit on the sidelines as our liberties are compromised in the name of political pragmatism. For the last several months we have watched as some of our most respected and principled leaders have compromised on our freedoms and liberty’s all for the sake of power. We have watched as supposed news sources turned to more tabloid like policies by publishing unsubstantiated rumors as proven fact. We watched as supposedly neutral observers launched a spin campaign that would have made Bill Clinton proud. We have surveyed the range of media options available to Iowan’s online and we have found them wanting.

The Liberty Line will be one of the most unique blogs in the state of Iowa. It is our desire to be completely open and honest. Our commentators will not hide behind a veil of anonymity. Instead they will comment about the current state of politics in the state under their real name. Furthermore we will apply this same high standard to our comment section. We believe that anyone commenting from behind a wall of anonymity is a detriment to civil and reasonable discussion. To facilitate this requirement we will require each commenter to register on the site and use their real name. Any comment that fails to fulfill this requirement will be deleted immediately and the individual responsible for the comment will be given a warning. For more information on our Rules for Participation please visit this page.

The Liberty Line will be leading the charge in defending our liberties and freedoms. We will be in the thick of the fight. The question yet to be answered is what side will you take in the battle? Will you side with the tyranny and oppression or will you stand with the new patriots in defense or liberty? The choice is yours.

July 12, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Abregar, Uncategorized | , , , , , | 4 Comments

McKinley’s Memos for July 9, 2010

Before we can run, we must learn how to walk. Before we can walk, we must learn how to crawl.

Governor Culver, late last week, issued a declaration claiming the actions utilized last winter to re-organize state government through an executive order, legislative action and an early retirement program would save $298.8 million over two years instead of his original estimation of $270 million.

Unfortunately, there was little evidence to substantiate his claims since he did not utilize numbers produced by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency. Instead, he chose to use figures produced internally by his own office. Given the serious financial mess the state is in – we can only hope his new estimates are accurate and not heightened for political purposes.

Make no mistake, the efforts taken this year to re-organize state government are only just a small first step – you might say we have begun to crawl. Unfortunately there is a long road yet to travel. Because of too much spending during the last four years by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats, Iowa still faces a $1 billion dollar deficit next year.

A recent report by State Auditor Dave Vaudt shows why we are in the alarming predicament that we find ourselves. Prior to Governor Culver and legislative Democrats coming into power, the state was spending approximately $1.01 per $1.00 that was coming into the state. Since Governor Culver and his fellow party members have taken over, the state has been spending approximately $1.13 for every dollar coming in.

Clearly Iowa does not have a revenue problem – we have a spending problem. During the last four years, we have seen the four largest spending budgets in state history. We have seen hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax increases and a quintupling of state debt. Without fundamental and systemic reforms, Iowa could become like California with serious structural deficits.

So where do we go from here?

  1. First, we must stop spending beyond our means. This has become a serious problem during the last four years and it is simply unsustainable. Much of this year’s spending was one-time dollars used for ongoing expenses and now Iowa’s savings accounts are dangerously low. Unless President Obama and Congressional Democrats opt to pass another bailout for the overspending states, Iowa will not be able to continue spending at the rate we have been.
  2. Secondly, we must continue to take steps to trim the size and scope of state government and continue to remove the waste and duplication that exists. We should start by adopting the over $300 million in additional savings offered by Senate and House Republicans during the last two years. Legislative Democrats either ignored the ideas or simply voted them down during debate.
  3. Next, we must stop pushing more of the burden on to the taxpayers. Iowans all over the state will see hefty property tax increases courtesy of Governor Culver this fall. Even if you only rent your property, the person or business that owns it will likely pass that extra expense on to you. Iowa already has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. We cannot afford not to be competitive if we are to grow our economy.
  4. Perhaps most importantly, we must focus on job creation and growing our economy. Right now, we have far more government than our economy can support. Creating an environment where small businesses and employers can thrive, succeed, grow and therefore hire more people is absolutely essential. Unbalanced budgets leading to higher taxes and the constant onslaught of anti-jobs legislation promoted by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats have not moved Iowa’s economy forward and instead have held it back.

The good news is that the debate in Iowa is slowly beginning to change. For the past few years, the liberals in charge of state government have only focused on spending more money, raising more taxes and fees, adding record levels of debt and promoting job killing legislation.

Finally, the discussion is slowly beginning to change. At last, we are starting to see some dialogue about actually reducing and reorganizing government – even if it is only just a small first step.

It’s time to speed up the process but that will take new leadership.

As soon as we begin to act on the Senate Republican priorities like job creation, reducing property taxes, really limiting the size and growth of state government and eliminating wasteful spending, it will be exciting to see the success our state and our citizens can attain.

We have 99 counties worth of potential and with the right priorities, the right leadership in the governor’s office and in the Legislature, it won’t be long until we can turn our current crawl into a walk and then a run.

As always, I welcome hearing from you and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us

Paul McKinley

Senate Republican Leader

www.mckinleyforiowa.com

www.facebook.com/paulmckinley

www.twitter.com/mckinleyforiowa

July 9, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Guest Commentary, Politics | , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Non-Negotiable

For several months now, we here at The Iowa Defense Alliance have been taking some heat for leaving US Senator Charles Grassley on our Wall of Shame. Our critics make the claim that we need to put party unity above petty internal squabbling. They claim that we need to put our personal values on hold to help the “team” win.

What these critics fail to understand about us is that we are a part of the new breed of voters inhabiting this state. We don’t put blind faith into candidates simply because they have an R beside their name. Instead candidates must work to demonstrate to us a reason for supporting them. Since it seems that this is a concept that is a tad bit hard to understand I will spell it out for the candidates.

  1. We want smaller government. That is we don’t just want to stop the growth of government, we want to contract it. We want the candidates that we support to pledge a desire to shrink the federal state or federal workforce. We want the candidates that we support to pledge to eliminate and reduce the size and scope of the federal and state bureaucracy.
  2. We want lower taxes. We understand that this would end up being a result of the implementation of number 1. However it would be foolish to not articulate this idea. We want any candidate that we support to pledge to work to lower the tax rates for citizens across the board without regard to their income or wealth. We believe in treating all citizen’s equally.
  3. We want increased governmental transparency. With the ridiculous program enacted by Iowa Governor Chet Culver we have come to understand that transparency is more than just allowing the citizen’s of Iowa to have access to copies of government documents. It also means not enacting policies that would only serve to hinder the flow of information from the government and the population. Instead we should be working on policies that actually free up the passage of information.
  4. We want a government that spends less. The only source of revenue for any government is to take it from its citizens. And we do understand that a small measure of taxation is necessary for a government to defend and protect its citizens. However we firmly believe that in the United States the tax rate is much too high, not to mention the fact that it is an unfair and regressive tax system. We want any candidate that we support to pledge to completely reform the US tax code in order to make it much more simple and fair.
  5. We want a government that gets out of the business of picking winners and losers. This means that we oppose the usage of any and all subsidies. In our humble opinion a subsidy is nothing more than a form of bribery. In the case of a subsidy the government gives taxpayer money to another individual or entity to entice them to undertake a venture or project that they would not normally embark upon because it is not economically feasible. We want any candidate that we support to pledge to end the usage of subsidies at all levels of the government.

I could go on, but you should get the picture here. The Iowa Defense Alliance is not a rubber stamp. We will hold all candidates accountable to the same standard; Democrat or Republican; left or right. And because of this you will know where we stand. Our core beliefs and values are not negotiable. So I suppose that the message that I would like to convey to our critics is don’t blame us, we didn’t change, Grassley did.

July 5, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Abregar, Politics | , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Tea Party: a wake up call!

I started my 4th of July by reading the Des Moines Sunday Register, specifically the ‘Your 2 Cents’ Worth’ comments. In case you missed this part of the Metro and Iowa section here are the words that caught my attention.

“We just had our first sweet corn and hate to have the cobs go to the landfill. How about if we all donate them to the tea-partiers for use in their outhouses? If they want the 18th century back, they can have it.”

Signed: “Ames guy”.

Ames guy is rude and crude and probably not worth the attention I am giving him with my post. Rather I wish to high light an awesome writing by Karen Miner Hurd entitled “What the Tea Party Stands For”. I will share a portion of her great article below and you may read the remainder of it here.

The absolutely amazing thing about the entire Tea Party Movement, which has grown exponentially, is the unity and deep conviction of those involved. The Tea Party movement is drawing people from all political stripes, social causes, and income brackets. It is drawing people who have never participated in any kind of political or grassroots movement before. What we have in common, and what holds us together, is a very deep love for the uniqueness of the United States of America, a desire for the limited government that our Founding Fathers created, a fairly “strict” interpretation of the Constitution, a belief in capitalism and free enterprise and a strong sense of personal responsibility. Tea Party Movement people are feeling an urgency. They are sensing that we must take action NOW, not next year.

As the article states: “The Tea Party is a wake up call to all Americans.” Some of us seem to be waking up faster than others, especially one guy in Ames, Iowa!

July 4, 2010 Posted by callmecrusader | Politics | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bob Vander Plaats and Independence

It has been a week since the 2010 Iowa GOP State Convention.

A week where the winners (Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds) and their devoted supporters continue their verbal and written assaults on the loser (Bob Vander Plaats) and his also devoted supporters.

Like clock work more stories are posted on the Terry Branstad blog site that pretends to be the place where Republicans can get their news. Many of these stories and the comments that follow are really character assassinations. It is evident that when some my fellow Iowans do not like what someone says or believes they take their precious time to sit hour after hour to post in order to out do each other with vile comments. Iowans like Danny Carroll, Bill Salier, and Steve Deace all get copious amounts of typing time as their names are repeatedly dredged in the gutter of unkind and unflattering words and opinions.

There must be a great amount of pleasure that is obtained in winners that still focus so much time to harangue on the losers. I had mistakenly thought that winners celebrate and savor the victory. Obviously this is not the game plan for Terry Branstad and his supporters. Winning was not enough. There is more skin to scalp and more hearts to hurt or turn to stone.

I was an early and happy supporter of Bob Vander Plaats. The events I attended were times of learning about his vision for Iowa and I liked what I heard. I noted kindness, respect, appreciation, and a host of other great qualities that I believed would be a welcome change for the leadership that is so needed in Iowa.

When I read that I am a part of a cult and that Iowans that I admire and respect are treated in such horrid ways I know it is time to declare Independence.

As pointed out in this comment posted on the Terry Branstad blog site Iowa citizens like me can’t think for ourselves. We have been “brainwashed”.

Just took a look at Deace’s blog. This man is Jim Jones without the Kool Aid. His followers have been brainwashed exactly like the followers of Jim Jones.

As July 4, 2010 approaches and Americans celebrate our Independence I urge Iowans to seek freedom from the influence or control of others.

Say no to being brainwashed or influenced by Iowans who have nothing better to do than trash the good names of fellow patriots.

Say no to being pulled under a big tent where you will once again be under the influence of the elite and power hungry members of the Republican Party.

Say no to professional bloggers who assist in trashing and bashing and give free reign so that many others can trash and bash, as well.

I am too old to be naïve that any words I would write would change the hearts and minds of people who make extreme comments like the one I have shared about Jim Jones. Yet, I pledge to not kill myself because I read the awesome words on Steve Deace’s blog. I have too much heart and effort to give to local candidates and too little time to read words of hate.

Independence!

July 3, 2010 Posted by callmecrusader | Politics | , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can a 3rd Party Candidate Win the Governor’s Race?

Can a third party or independent candidate for statewide office actually win an election? This is a question I have been mulling over since the end of the primary almost one month ago. For most election cycles I would answer no, that the two major political parties have too strong of a stranglehold on the electoral system. That is they are too entrenched to effectively oust their dominance at the ballot box. Usually the best that a third party candidate can hope for is to influence the debate during the campaign by siphoning enough votes for the major party candidates to be threatened. However this year there seems to be some factors in play that may benefit the independent candidates over the established parties.

One of the biggest themes that we have seen so far this year is the overwhelming anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping the country. With our countries debt climbing at an astronomical rate, many people are associating it with the politicians that are currently in office. And while this sentiment has yet to make a major appearance in Iowa, it is simmering on the burner waiting for the right moment to boil over and take Chet Culver with it.

This should make it a cakewalk for Branstad to win the election. And under normal circumstances I would agree with that statement. However this year’s Republican primary race was particularly brutal. It was so brutal that the wounds, which would normally be healed by the time of the State Convention, have yet to heal. The sad truth is that when it comes to the gubernatorial race the Republican Party is deeply divided. Many supporters of Branstad’s opponent have openly stated that they can no longer sacrifice their principles for the sake of the party. They have vowed to either sit home on election night or they plan on voting for a third party candidate. To top it off former Governor Branstad has failed to meaningfully reach out to his opponents supporters to entice them to work toward his victory.

This year has also rewarded voters with a stellar field of independent candidates. A few months ago Libertarian candidate Eric Cooper wowed an assembled crowd at the Iowan’s for Tax Relief candidate forum in Des Moines with his bold stance on the fiscal issues that they hold dear. While he doesn’t have the name recognition of the other candidates in the race I believe that if he were to be included in any televised debates would increase is standing tremendously due to his spectacular oratorical skills.

The other wild card in this race is former Des Moines Public School Board member Jonathon Narcisse. Narcisse’s claim to fame is his trademark release of records illustrating just how bad the Des Moines School District was failing its students. Narcisse also spoke to the assembled mass at the ITR forum where he wowed the crowd with his knowledge of a wide variety of economic issues. Perhaps coupling his name recognition with his frank and outspoken nature Narcisse could garner enough votes in the general election to go home the victor.

While a victory from a third party candidate can still be considered a long shot, the pieces are in place that could result in a massive upset. All it will take is for Branstad and Culver to pound on each other while ignoring Narcisse and Cooper. However you look at it the potential exists for a third party victory in the general election.

July 2, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Abregar, Politics | , , , , | 7 Comments

Culver’s Incompetence Continues

In 2006 the people of Iowa elected Chet Culver with the expectation that he would faithfully and competently execute the duties and responsibilities of the office. Unfortunately he has failed miserably. Governor Culver has haphazardly blundered his way through his first, and quite possibly only, term as Governor of Iowa. He, along with his administration, has squandered away countless opportunities to be the leader the State of Iowa needs. His administration has found itself mired in one scandal after another as he has provided the state with a perfect illustration of executive incompetence. And as his campaign for reelection picks up steam he has shown that he can manage it no better than he can manage the state. Culver desperately needs a miracle if he intends to win reelection to his second term.

The latest miscalculation from Governor Culver’s campaign involves an outlandish attack on his opponent, Terry Branstad. Yesterday afternoon the Culver campaign released documentation that would seem to indicate that former Governor Branstad may have taken part in unethical use of state resources during his four terms as Governor during the 80’s and 90’s. According to documents unearthed by Culver’s campaign staff, former Governor Branstad used state resources to correspond with campaign donors as well as to research his opponents. While these allegations may be true, it doesn’t make sense for Culver to attack Branstad on these indiscretions.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believe that our politicians need to be completely open and honest with the citizens of the state. It is my opinion that if former Governor Branstad really wants to be the next Governor of Iowa he needs to answer the questions raised by these documents. In short did former Governor Branstad use state resources in order to campaign and correspond with campaign donors? Now that these documents have been release former Governor Branstad needs to be fully open and honest about them. With that being said, I think that any ethical or legal questions raised by these documents pale in comparison to the sheer number of scandals that the Culver administration has found itself in.

It is difficult to fathom just what motivated Governor Culver to use this line of attack. Did he believe that criticizing Branstad for possible ethical and legal issues would make his go away? If this was his motivation I think it will ultimately fall upon deaf ears. After all it is Governor Culver’s administration that has stumbled from one scandal to the next with little to no end in sight. Even if Governor Culver himself had no part in any of the scandals, it is his decisions that put these people into positions that they in the end abused. In fact it is my humble opinion that if Culver was using this issue to deflect from his own ethical and legal anomalies I believe that it will backfire. I think that rather than deflecting attention to Terry Branstad’s history, it will cause the Culver administration to come under even more scrutiny. And that is something that Governor Culver does not need right now.

July 1, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Politics | , , , , | 4 Comments

Republican Party of Iowa: Divided or United?

Now that I have had an opportunity to sit down and think through my experiences from the 2010 Republican Party of Iowa State Convention I believe I can accurately convey my thoughts and conclusions from the event. First off, I believe that Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn and the State Central Committee need to be commended. They did an excellent job in organizing this event in order for it to be the success that it was. They have set the benchmark that all future conventions will be judged by.

Now if you were to judge the mood of the delegates by some of the articles written about it you could come to conflicting conclusions. If you were to believe this article written by Craig Robinson at The Iowa Republican, the Republican Party in Iowa is united behind its candidates. And if you were to believe this article written by Des Moines Register political director Kathy Obradovich, you would come to the conclusion that the Republican Party is still greatly divided. Both of these articles hold a measure of truth, but neither of them is totally correct.

Let’s start with the unity that was evident at the convention. The Republican Party is energized for the first time in years. It isn’t due to the gubernatorial nominee. The reason the party is showing any signs of unity is due to the emergence of solid young conservatives running for statewide office. Brenna Findley and Matt Schultz have begun the process of healing the rift in the party by reaching out to voters that may feel disenfranchised by the results of the primary on June 8th. They have been largely successful in recruiting these voters and giving them something to be excited about. The base of the Republican Party has found the future of the party and they are coalescing around those campaigns.

In fact, in my opinion the only rift that really remains in the party is at the top of the ticket. This rift is not entirely due to the brutal primary, it had been simmering for years as Iowa Republicans lost election after election. Rather than looking for ways to win in spite of the challenges that they face, the factions within the party began placing the blame for electoral losses on each other. They completely forgot the Republican mantra of personal responsibility. And it appears that the current gubernatorial nominee has not learned anything from this exercise. Prior to the State Convention Terry Branstad’s campaign has failed to make any meaningful overtures to the supporters of his opponent, Bob Vander Plaats. Perhaps if in the time between the primary and the State Convention the Branstad campaign had made some sort of effort to bridge the gap the floor fight for the Lieutenant Governor nomination would not have happened.

Now the Branstad campaign is sending Kim Reynolds to the counties that Bob Vander Plaats won in an effort to win his supporters over. I believe it may be too little too late for this gesture. The lack of effort prior to the State Convention will only make this effort look like an afterthought. I believe that Vander Plaats supporters may see this move as nothing more than pandering to them to get their vote. The weeks ahead will tell us if this effort was successful or if it was a wasted effort.

Despite the rift at the top of the ticket the Republican Party of Iowa has a lot going for it going for heading into the general election campaign. It has the able leadership of Party Chairman Matt Strawn. It has the principled conservative candidates in Brenna Findley and Matt Schultz. And it has a strong cast of candidates working hard toward returning control of the legislature back to the GOP. Despite all the commentary on a divided party, 2010 looks like it will be a great year for the Republican Party of Iowa and the citizens of the State of Iowa.

June 29, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Abregar, Politics | , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Iowa GOP: Divided We Stand…and Proud of it

After the Republican primary on June 8 I had sworn off attending the state GOP convention which would have only been my second convention as I am fairly new to the process.  During my first convention in 2008 I had to control my gag reflex from the realization that John McCain was our nominee and I wasn’t about to endure the same self-inflicted pain by attending this convention with our newly (but yet repeatedly) elected gubernatorial nominee.  I had given up a lot of personal time during the primary and I was going to sacrifice no more of it, especially for a party that was STILL headed down the tubes and too stupid to know any better.

But what got me up on Saturday morning from my family’s camper and made me drive to downtown Des Moines unshowered and unkept was not for the party but to help my fellow patriots send another message to the GOP in Iowa that I knew would once again land on deaf ears, and also to line up behind warriors like State Representative Dwayne Alons in his very lonely quest for principles in the party.

I realized the unprecedented move to nominate Bob Vander Plaats for Lt. Governor from the floor and override Terry Branstad’s choice of Kim Reynolds was a bold one but I had no idea what the outcome would be.  This nomination happened less than a month from a bitter primary in which a former four term governor and standard-bearer of the Republican party spent over 2 million dollars to only get 50% of the vote in a high turn-out primary.  What many Branstad apologists don’t want to admit is that 100% of the voters who went to the polls on June 8 knew who Terry Branstad was and half of them still rejected him.  Bob Vander Plaats did not have the luxury of millions of dollars and high name recognition but he pulled 41% of the vote because of his stance for the Constitution, God’s law, and conservative principles while rejecting politics as usual.

While it is true that Vander Plaats most likely had the most support from convention delegates to be the next governor of Iowa, I thought it would be interesteting to see how the Lt. Governor vote would go since Bob has never really shown a desire to be on the ticket with Branstad unless the former governor would champion some of his issues and Bob never campaigned to the delegates to vote for him for this position.  I also was curious about the outcome of the vote because most of Bob’s supporters don’t want to see him anywhere near Branstad and would rather he run third party.  I can also bet that many of his delegates were fed up with the party and did not attend convention, which was what I was almost guilty of.

When the final tally came in for the choice for Lt. Governor I was shocked to find out that out of over 1,300 votes Vander Plaats only lost to the hand-picked Reynolds by under 200 votes.  This was astonishing because the effort to get Vander Plaats forced on Branstad’s ticket was a small grassroots effort with no money and the party fought back fiercely by pushing Kim Reynolds with numerous robocalls and emails to delegates.  Unprecedented, indeed.  A divided party, indeed.  A message that will be 100% ingnored………..100% likely.  I am told that about 40% of the delegates left before Branstad gave his speech.  I wouldn’t know since I was one of them.

Of the short time I attended the 2010 Iowa Republican Convention here are some observations:

1.  When the gray-haired people pass on there will be no one left except  for the college kids working for the establishment, which are not very reliable since they may go work for the Democrats also if the price is right.
2.  One of the few not white people in the room was heard to be saying, “The unions screwed me, the Democrats screwed me, and now the Republicans screwed me.  Where do I go now?”
3.  I regret my vote to put Steve Scheffler and Kim Lehman in the position of National Committeman and Committeewoman.  One cannot serve two masters.
4.  Steve King, the champion of the Republican base, is slowly becoming what he has been fighting against.
5.  As suspected with John McCain and proven with Terry Branstad, the second place on the ticket is just window dressing to be shaped and molded and for photo-ops.

Because the old guard of the GOP fails to see that the political climate and this next election is not about who endorses who or a single candidate but instead about the issues and preserving our republic for our children, they will continue to drown in their own irrelevancy while most of us move on.  When Terry Branstad was asked if he was worried about the base not falling in line he responded, “Who else are they going to vote for?”  What he doesn’t realize that the decision looming ahead of us is not who we are going to vote for but how we are going to change our voter registrations.  “Independent” or “no party affiliation” is the tough choice I have to make next and not who I am going to vote for in November because whoever wins, we still lose.

June 28, 2010 Posted by Iowans Rock | Iowans Rock, Politics | , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Branstad’s Lieutenant Governor Mistake

As most of you are by now aware, Republican Gubernatorial nominee Terry Branstad announced his selection for Lieutenant Governor Nominee in one Kim Reynolds. I will admit that on the surface the selection of Kim Reynolds has the potential to energize the Branstad campaign in much the same way that John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin two years ago gave his campaign a boost. However once you take a step back and look at some of the consequences of this pick it is easy to come to the conclusion that this was Branstad’s one of the few mistakes his campaign has made.

Issue number one that will haunt the Branstad campaign is the fact that Senator Reynolds has been arrested for OWI on two separate occasions, the first in 1999 and the last in 2000. First let me state that I believe that Reynolds has successfully put the incidents behind her as the last event happened ten years ago. I believe that she has made amends for her indiscretions and successfully combated her alcohol addiction. Still there are a large number of Iowan’s that will be unable to forgive Reynolds indiscretions. This will hurt Branstad and his campaign.

With his selection former Governor Branstad has irrevocably tied his campaign to the eminent domain issues raging in Clarke County. For more information on this issue read this and this. Given the fact that Senator Reynolds represents Clarke County in the Iowa Senate her silence on the issue is puzzling. Some Iowa Republican’s rightly point out that one Senator does not have all that much power to change the law. However, what those same Republicans fail to realize is that as Clarke County’s representative in the Senate she had at her disposal a pulpit from which to decry the actions taken against property owners in her home county. Her silence on this issue inevitably leads one to ask which side of the issue she really stands on. And by association the same question will now be asked of former Governor Branstad.

Another aspect about this selection that is troubling is the fact that Branstad chose a sitting Senator as his running mate. With a Democrat majority in the State Senate the Republican Party needs all the hands they can get. Now if Branstad were to win the general election a special election will have to be undertaken at an additional cost to the State of Iowa. To add to this the Republican Party will need to recruit a candidate in an attempt to hold on to this seat in what I have been lead to believe is a Democrat heavy district.

The Branstad campaign has enough baggage as it is, it did not need anymore. Yet that is just what they got with his selection. As I stated above I don’t find the OWI’s troublesome considering the fact that they happened about a decade ago, however some Iowan’s are not as forgiving as I am. I do however find the silence on Clarke County’s eminent domain issues troublesome. And I find it worrisome that Branstad would select a sitting Senator in the middle of what could be a huge Republican comeback. In all I think this was a horrible decision by the Branstad campaign and I firmly believe that it will cost him at the ballot box in November.

June 24, 2010 Posted by Al Bregar | Abregar, Politics | , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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