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Gronstalling in the Iowa House
When the current legislative session began four months ago many of us around the state were full of hope and optimism. With the newly elected Republican majority in the Iowa House of Representatives we believed that we would be able to advance an agenda that furthered the cause of freedom and in the process actually defend the rights granted to us by the US and Iowa Constitutions. However as we draw near the end of the session, the hope and optimism we felt is quickly fading to despair and anger as we seem to have been betrayed by those in which we placed our trust.
Case in point is the Articles of Impeachment against the four activist justices that remain on the Iowa Supreme Court. In December three freshman Representatives announced their intentions to draft the aforementioned articles in an effort to hold the Supreme Court accountable. Unfortunately, because such a step was unprecedented, it has taken longer than anticipated to draw up the articles. Be that as it may; Representative Shaw, in conjunction with four other State Representatives, filed the resolutions necessary to begin the impeachment proceedings yesterday afternoon.
Upon hearing that the resolutions had been filed a little bit of the faded hope had been restored. We felt that we were finally going to have a victory in the defense of our states constitution. However, it appears that two Republican members of the House are willing to stand in the way of resolutions, thus disregarding the oath that they took to defend the US and Iowa Constitutions.
In a statement he made to the Des Moines Register this morning, Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen asserted that he “agrees with much of the reasoning behind the impeachment resolutions, I disagree with the remedy.” It is easy to understand the meaning of his words here. The basic principle behind his comments is that yes he agrees with the need to hold the Iowa Supreme Court accountable, he just doesn’t have the moral courage to stand up and do the right thing.
And in an effort to keep the resolutions from being debated Speaker Paulsen assigned the resolutions to the House Judiciary Committee. A committee that is not scheduled to meet again this session. Another obstacle standing in the road of the resolutions is that the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rich Anderson from Clarinda, has steadfastly stated that he would not allow the impeachment to leave his committee.
Unfortunately at this time it appears that the impeachment resolutions will not be brought to the House floor for debate. In an act of political cowardice, Speaker Paulsen deliberately sent the resolutions to a committee that he knew would not meet again this session. In an act of political cowardice Speaker Paulsen sent the resolutions to committee chaired by a representative that he knew would not stand in the way of the resolutions.
At this point the only hope that we have of getting these resolutions brought to the floor for debate is if we exert some pressure on the Iowa House. This means that we need to move heaven and earth to ensure that we call not only our representatives, but also Speaker Paulsen and Representative Anderson. It is my understanding that they are the only individuals in the Iowa House that can bring forth the resolutions at this time. Below you will find the contact information for both Paulsen and Anderson. Please take the time to contact them and tell them that the defense of Iowa’s Constitution and the separation of powers is a worthwhile endeavor for the Iowa House.
Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen
Email Address – kraig.paulsen@legis.state.ia.us
Phone Number – 319.294.2602
Richard Anderson
Email Address – Richard.anderson@legis.state.ia.us
The California Clown Comes to Iowa
As I mentioned in a post yesterday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was due to be in Iowa today for a series of events in the Des Moines area. The California Democrat has been under fire recently for alleging that the Bush administration had misled her about interrogation techniques. The problem is that it wasn’t the Bush administration that was briefing her, it was the CIA and they say she was fully informed of the methods the agency used to interrogate high profile terror prisoners. She has vehemently denied repeatedly that she was briefed about the methods, even going so far as to say that the CIA had lied to her.
Her first event of the day was a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the home of former Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Roxanne Conlin. The event was to be invitation only so as to ensure only hard core Democrats attended. It wouldn’t do to have any unseemly questions asked of the Speaker. Another stipulation of this event was the requirement of a minimum $2,500 donation by the attendees. I have yet to hear a report on the attendees to this event, but I believe I can confidently say that Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley, and Dave Loebsack were in attendance to this demonstration of elitism.
Later in the day Pelosi took part in what The Des Moines Register calls an education round table with several other prominent Iowa Democrats at Amos Hiatt Middle School in Des Moines. From the commentary in the Register it would appear that this event was little more than a staged appearance with loyal followers praising the Democrats for the stimulus plan.
An interesting side note to the story here is that prior to her trip to Iowa Pelosi announced that she would not submit to an interview. Apparently Pelosi learned that one of the issues she was to be questioned on was her ongoing feud with the CIA. After the event at the middle school Pelosi did hold a press conference where one of the reporters in attendance managed to ask a question about the controversy. Pelosi apparently attempted to dodge the question by asking some of the other reporters on hand if they had any questions. When this attempt failed Pelosi was forced to answer the question. In her response Pelosi asserted that the criticism from Republicans was nothing more than a distraction designed to take attention away from the Democrats “successes.” This woman amazingly refuses to see that she has been caught in a lie. She keeps digging herself a deeper and deeper hole. Before long it will be too deep for her to dig her way out of it.
One of the disturbing things about these events today is that all three of Iowa’s Democratic Representatives were on hand to share the spotlight with the California Clown. They are blinded by the celebrity nature that surrounds the venal Speaker of the House. As these three continue to consort with the mendacious woman the corruption that inhabits her very being will undoubtedly tarnish their own reputations. Please urge these men to denounce the dishonesty that has come to characterize this Speaker of the House.
1st Congressional District – Bruce Braley
(202)-225-2911
2nd Congressional District – Dave Loebsack
(202)-225-6576
3rd Congressional District – Leonard Boswell
(202)-225-3806
Pelosi’s Psycho Circus Returns to Iowa
This afternoon the Nancy Pelosi is slated to headline a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser hosted by Iowa’s Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives (Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley, and Dave Loebsack) in Des Moines. It is expected that among the many issues that will be discussed is her support of The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, more commonly known as the Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill or cap and trade. This is the same plan that President Obama stated in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle would necessarily cause energy costs to skyrocket.
In response to Pelosi’s encroachment of Iowa the National Republican Congressional Committee has launched three new ads calling for concerned citizens to contact their representative to urge them to oppose the cap and trade plan developed by Waxman and Markey. The NRCC understands that a cap and trade program would accomplish nothing more than hinder the recovery and growth of the American economy. Below you will find the three videos released by the NRCC. After watching they please contact your local representative. Tell them that you oppose the backdoor tax that the Democrats are trying to squeeze through.
The first video is for 3rd District Representative Leonard “Photo-Op” Boswell.
The second video is for 2nd District Representative Dave “The Nutty Professor” Loebsack.
And finally the third video is for 1st District Representative Bruce “The Bacon” Braley.
Post eviction reflections from one in the “unruly crowd”
I wonder how many of the “unruly crowd” (according to the Des Moines Register of April 1) believe they are getting a bum rap for the reported behavior at the Iowa State House public hearing on House File 807?
I do and I am furious about the spin about the unruly crowd!
Speaker Murphy has this take on the lack of respect:
Murphy declared that it is a matter of respect for all speakers. He said he should have ordered the chambers cleared much sooner than he did because several of the speakers were booed.
I remember booing after the first speaker and then as we left the chambers.
And speaking of “respect”-I again will share that the legislators who were talking, eating candy, thumbing through a magazine, and on the computer also showed lack of respect. It was quite obvious to me and to others who have posted on line and called in to local radio shows that they also noticed this lack of “respect”.
And now to the April 2 Des Moines Register:
Members of the crowd applauded and booed after many of the speeches, prompting House Speaker Pat Murphy to have the audience ejected from the House chamber.
NO. There was NOT booing after “many” of the speeches. The real booing started when it was announced the group of citizens who cared enough to attend the event were being ejected!
And the biggest kicker of it all is Culver and Democratic leadership chiming in with this:
Culver said in an interview Wednesday afternoon that Murphy was “absolutely justified” in removing the crowd, particularly for safety concerns.
“Iowans want us to work together,” Culver said. “They want us to solve problems. They want us to find common ground. And I think Iowans will reject efforts to kind of make news and to try to make opportunities to fight.
“I think the rhetoric we’re hearing from the Republican chairman and some of the party activists is over the top,” Culver said.
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan released a statement Wednesday that said Republicans and groups closely associated with the party “orchestrated an event designed to mock the process.”
I was not present at this event to “fight”. I was not there to “mock the process.”
It is because our elected officials just can not get it into their spending heads that average Iowans like me are sick to death of being taxed! They are not listening. Tax and spend has become so much of their personal make up that they must lay awake at night dreaming up additional ways to tax us and then spend the money.
In hindsight, I wish I would have just continued to sit in my chair. That’s what I was doing the entire time- sitting in a chair, intently listening to each speech, taking notes, soaking up the information shared. It would have taken several law enforcement officers to haul me out of the third floor balcony. It would not have been a pretty sight.
But I was fairly dignified and got up to be herded out like everyone else around me- like the entire family sitting behind me, the college student sitting next to me on one side and the business man sitting on the other side and the guys with red “no tax on a tax” T-shirts sitting in front of me.
It was disgusting enough to be thrown out of the chamber but now to be subjected by the media and the Democrat version of events is just too much.
I am just one person- one lowly taxpayer who took the time to show up to listen and learn about House File 807. But this taxpayer has contacted family and friends. I have shared the real story about the hour I was allowed to be present with other concerned and interested Iowans.
Culver, Murphy, Kiernan, and even my legislator who did not pay zip attention to any of the speeches have drawn a line in the political sand. I have crossed over the line in anger and disgust. I do it for my children and grandchildren. I do it for my parents who have worked hard all their lives to make a decent living. I do it for my husband and for me who have several years to retirement and see our future in question.
The tax and spend policies of the current party in power must be stopped. What they are doing to us and to future generations is what is “over the top”! They can spin and spin about what kind of people attended the public hearing. They can attempt to make us all look like a bunch of radicals who were out to be disrespectful and naughty. The people who were there know the true story and we are going to be telling it in all possible ways to anyone who will listen.
I remember where I was when I got the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated and where I was when I got the news about the horrible events of Sept. 11. And I will remember being a part of a great group of Iowans at the State House who showed up and cared about an issue only to be evicted and then put down verbally by the media and the democrats.
Anger can and will produce action in the next election process!
Nazi Germany Comes to Iowa
Last night I had the unique opportunity to attend my first public hearing at the Iowa State Capital. I had visited the capital before, but never on such a momentous occasion. So I must thank House Speaker Pat Murphy for ensuring that this event would indeed be a most memorable one.
As most Iowan’s by now are aware Speaker Murphy in a fit of anger expressed his totalitarian tendencies by evicting the very taxpayers that pay his salary. The audience of last night’s hearing has been termed unruly and rowdy by some in the media which is just not the case. Sure the crowd cheered those that opposed the Democrat’s proposal, but the audience respectfully waited until after that person was done speaking. When someone spoke glowingly of the Democrat’s proposal the crowd waited until the speaker was finished then let the House know how they felt. The only thing that got interrupted was Speaker Murphy’s cat nap back in his office. In fact the only time that the public was accorded the honor of seeing the Fürher was when he cleared the gallery.
The actions of the Democratic majority last night are indicative of their overall beliefs. They don’t want to listen to the public, if they did the public expressed itself very well last night. As has been pointed out Speaker Murphy obviously believes that the Iowa House of Representatives is his House rather than the people’s House. Murphy’s actions from last night will only make the upcoming tea parties that much sweeter. People of Iowa it is time to take our House back.
IDA Caucus Countdown #3: Newt Gingrich
Dec 28
Posted by Al Bregar
Entering this caucus season I did not have former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich ranked very high on my preference list. To be frank, I really did not know much about him beyond the fact that he was the architect of the 1994 Contract with America, a policy that was instrumental in allowing the Republican Party to regain majority control of Congress for the first time since 1969. My original opinion, prior to doing any major research, was that Speaker Gingrich was nothing more than a washed up political hack attempting to make a comeback. Upon doing just a small amount of research I learned much more about the former Speaker, both positive and negative.
Among the first pieces of information that I discovered, although it seems to have been common knowledge to those that had been active in politics for far longer than I have. Speaker Gingrich’s marriage infidelities have been well documented and disseminated, particularly now that he is running for the Republican Presidential nomination. It is widely known that Gingrich is on his third wife after having two affairs while married to his previous wives. I find his actions during his first two marriages absolutely abhorrent. However it does appear that Gingrich has learned from past mistakes as he has been married to his current wife, Calista, for close to twelve years. And while it is impossible for a mere mortal to know what is in his heart; it is not hard to forgive him for past transgressions.
One of Speaker Gingrich’s greatest assets is his mind. In my honest and humble opinion, Speaker Gingrich is quite possibly the most intelligent man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The vast amounts of knowledge that his mind holds is absolutely breathtaking. Never before have I seen an individual with the ability to accurately utilize facts and figures contained within his memory without the use of a memory aid. However this very same intellectualism that he holds can lead him astray. There are times where he lets himself be duped by faulty information.
One such example is the issue of Global Warming. In 2008 Gingrich filmed an ad with then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging people to contact their leaders to address Climate Change. It is clear from the video that Speaker Gingrich had indeed bought into the theory of manmade climate change. That is until he decided to run for President. In July of this year he told Politico that he “regretted” the ad and that he did not think that scientists have proven the theory to the point that action was warranted.
Another area that Gingrich’s intellectualism may have caused him some headaches is the issue of healthcare, in particular the issue of Obamacare. On his own website Speaker Gingrich has posted a video in which that he claims that he is opposed to the Obamacare health insurance mandate. He asserts that it is not just wrong, but unconstitutional. That was not the case; however, in 1993 when Gingrich proclaimed that he supported the idea that individuals be required to have health insurance. On May 15, 2011 on an episode of “Meet the Press” Speaker Gingrich continued to assert that he was indeed supportive an individual mandate.
I have to admit that I do love the idea of Newt Gingrich debating President Obama. I have absolutely no doubt that Gingrich would dominate Obama. But the problem with Newt is his baggage. In a general election campaign the Democrats would shred Gingrich’s credibility beyond the point of no return. Speaker Gingrich also seems to have contracted Romney Syndrome, the ability to change one’s position on a particular issue and still deny that it is a flip flop with a straight face. It is these flip flops that cause me the greatest concern because it tells us that we do not actually know where Gingrich stands on the issues. We only know where he claims to stand on the issues. So the primary reason that Gingrich placed third is the fact that I find it difficult to trust him. Seems to be a lot of that going around this year.
Posted in Commentary, Iowa Caucus, Politics
1 Comment
Tags: Al Gore, Climate Change, Contract with America, divorce, Individual mandate, Infidelity, Intelligent, Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown, Jon Huntsman, marriage, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Newt Gingrich, Obamacare, Republican Revolution of 1994, Ron Paul, Speaker of the house