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Archive for April, 2006

750 Laws Not So Concrete to Bush

Published by

Chase Nordengren

April 30, 2006 in Bush Administration, Congress, NSA Wiretaps, National Security, Supreme Court and Torture. 4 Comments

The Boston Globe writes up a claim by the administration to overrule 750 laws, both foreign and domestic, a move predicted by this blog over and over again.

I still fail to understand on what grounds the administration feels the power to reach this far. Certainly the political capital doesn’t exist. If Congress flips in 06 (becomming more possible every day), it could quite seriously backfire. It is an intellectual fervor - one that starts with the Project for a New American Century and extends through the President’s governing style. It is philosophical, not intentionally evil, just philosophical. It is, however, a philsophy that must be balanced.

Why We’re Not Getting Alternative Fuels

Published by

Chase Nordengren

April 28, 2006 in Congress and Energy. 9 Comments

As Congress pretends to gear up for yet another gas price crisis, note this Dana Milbank column on the energy hypocracy of Congress:

Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!” charged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. “They are too cozy with the oil industry.”

She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 mpg) — even though her Senate office was only a block away.
…
At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (Topic A: gas). The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg).

America may be addicted to oil, as President Bush puts it. But America is in the denial phase of this addiction — as evidenced by the behavior of its lawmakers.
…
After lunchtime votes, senators emerged from the Capitol for the drive across the street to their offices.

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) hopped in a GMC Yukon (14 mpg). Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) climbed aboard a Nissan Pathfinder (15). Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) stepped into an eight-cylinder Ford Explorer (14). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) disappeared into a Lincoln Town Car (17). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) met up with an idling Chrysler minivan (18).

Milbank does give credit to Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), who drives a Prius hybrid and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) who walked the block away from the photo op.
It demonstrates once again that we get leadership which reflects us. It is far more than symbolic to suggest that leaders ought set a good example. Of course, to make that happen, we have to put the pressure on Congress to actually lead instead of react.

Ingles No Necessita Los Leyes

Published by

Chase Nordengren

April 23, 2006 in Immigration. 2 Comments

With apologies for not blogging of late, I had to return to mention this opining by Reason editor Nick Gillespie on Rep. Tom Tancredo’s English as the National Language amendment:

Christ, it’s bad enough that we have to eat foreign food, live in states with Spanish-derived names, and answer that extra question about which language to use at the ATM. (Thought experiment: How much is that extra second or two of time slowing down the U.S. economy and driving down our productivity, precisely at the moment when the Chinese are breathing down our necks like a bunch of post-industrial railroad coolies? You can be damn sure that the Chinese government doesn’t allow ATM users to pick their own language.)

All the greatest minds of the second, and probably last, American century—Lou Dobbs, Arizona Sens. McCain and Kyl, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, Ann Coulter—concur that becoming fluent in English should be a condition to live in these United States. (The visionary Dobbs, channeling the great American-turned-English poet T.S. Eliot, goes farther still, deriding St. Patrick’s Day celebrations just as Eliot rightly attacked the “apeneck” Irish for their self-evidently subhuman nature.)

It’s embarrassing enough—humiliating really—that the United States doesn’t have a state religion, which would facilitate community and national identity. We can at least have an official language, and it’s a damn good thing that everyone agrees it ought to be English, since most of us speak it already, and it’s probably pretty close to what “American” would sound like if we hadn’t been British colonies originally.

Thank merciful God somebody has a sense of humor about this. I still don’t understand what Republican philosophical tenant allows for the creation of a law to, as Aaron Sorkin put it, defend the language of Shakespeare. And, not to go Henry Higgins on everybody, but if our heritage is our language, we seem to have done a pretty good job tearing it up ourselves.

IA-Gov: Nussle to launch ad on Sunday

Published by

Chris Woods

April 21, 2006 in 2006 Governor's Race, Budget, Bush Administration, Fundraising, Iowa politics, Nussle, Jim and Republicans. 1 Comment

From the Register:

“Republican candidate for governor Jim Nussle is expected to launch the election-year’s first television advertisement Sunday, more than six weeks until he knows who his Democratic opponent will be.

The 30-second spot focuses on four issues the 8-term congressman from Manchester has identified as his campaign priorities: Education and health care reform, renewable fuel expansion and economic development.

The ad will run statewide, at an initial cost of more than $500,000, for several weeks, aides said.

“Since we don’t have a primary, and we have a great team with Bob Vander Plaats, we’ve actually been able to turn our attention and sole focus toward November’s general election,” Nussle campaign manager Nick Ryan told reporters.”

Nick Ryan had to comment because Maria Comella was out getting another speeding ticket. Seriously though, a million dollar fundraiser with the man who has damn near ruined this country (GWB for those of you who didn’t know who I was talking about) a couple of weeks ago has got to be nice to finance a major ad buy like this. Wouldn’t want to fundraise th emoney yourself — you have to call in the big guy and the crazies who support him and you enough to drop $10k for a damn picture. I’m just curious to know if he talks about his experience managing a federal budget and helping to bring about the largest federal deficits in US history.

Oh, wait, the IDP has the answer for me:

“Budget Watch: Day 1
How Many Days until Nussle Talks about the Budget?

DES MOINES – Today, the Nussle for Governor Campaign will announce they will be running campaign television commercials about Nussle’s plan for Iowa. Unfortunately, the ads fail to talk about the pinnacle of Nussle’s career, his time as House Budget Chair, perhaps because his legacy includes a $760 billion federal deficit.

“How many days will it take before Congressman Nussle talks about his role in the federal budget?” asked Iowa Democratic Party Executive Director Mike Milligan. “Nussle has touted his leadership position in past races and has called himself the ‘shepherd’ of the federal budget. He can’t continue to put a paper bag over his role as the architect of the largest deficits in America’s history.”

Jim Nussle has not missed an opportunity to tell his constituents about the power he has over the budget process.

* Nussle: I Am Budget’s “Shepherd.” The Telegraph Herald reported in September 1999 that, “Nussle would become ‘shepherd’ for the budget, he said.” [Telegraph Herald, 9/8/99]
* Nussle: “I’m the Guy Who Writes” the Budget. The Quad City Times published an editorial on October 7, 2005: “As he told us and frequently says on the campaign trail: ‘Everyone talks about the budget. I’m the guy who writes the bill.’” [Quad City Times, 10/7/05]

The budgets Nussle wrote have led to the largest federal deficits in America’s history. The Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier reported this week that Congress is using a deficit number of $329 billion, which is well short of the actual number of $760 billion. [Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 4/19/06]”

It looks like he’s taken credit for being at the helm of the budget for the last couple of years, so, why not fess up to your fuck ups now? Now, certainly the whole budget mess isn’t entirely to blame on Nussle. There is Bush, Frist, and many other Congressional Republicans who’ve screwed things up too. But this guy is trying to be the next governor of this great state. If he can’t manage a federal budget of trillions of dollars, how can he manage our meager state budget? The answer: he can’t.

Come November, whoever the Democratic candidate is, we’ve gotta to make sure this guy doesn’t get elected. Otherwise we’re screwed for the next four years.

IA-Gov: Fallon demands answers about the Iowa Values Fund

Published by

Chris Woods

April 21, 2006 in 2006 Governor's Race, Culver, Chet, Democrats, Economy and Iowa politics. 1 Comment

First, the press release from the campaign:

“State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) today sent a letter to Mary Lawyer, director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The letter was his fourth request for accurate information concerning the successes and failures of the $50 million annual program. The full text of the letter follows this release.

“If we are going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in public money, then it is absolutely critical that the money be accounted for in a way that is completely transparent to the public, state officials, and the media,” Fallon said in the letter. “The recent crisis surrounding CIETC exemplifies what can go wrong when there is a breakdown in accountability.”

On March 3, Fallon issued a request for job creation and retention achievements for Iowa Values Fund companies. IDED officials, including former director Mike Blouin, frequently claim that the Iowa Values Fund has already created over 25,000 jobs, despite the fact that IDED’s most recent report showed that only 1,282 jobs have actually been created. IDED’s response to the request indicated that finding and copying the requested information on yearly performance measures would take 142 hours, at a cost of $27.53 per hour.

“What I’m asking for isn’t exorbitant. In fact, I think it’s what every taxpayer should be asking for: accountability from their government,” Fallon said. “Instead, IDED has told me I’m more than welcome to crunch the numbers myself, as long as I’m willing to pay almost $4,000 to get the information. I think that’s pretty ridiculous.”

Responses to Fallon’s previous requests for the most recent information were met with a report from June of 2005, which does not match the numbers IDED and state officials have been using publicly. Fallon again requested the most recent available information.

“In your March 3 letter to me, you only released records up through 6/30/05,” Fallon said in the letter. “End of the year reports were due on December 31, 2005. Nearly 3.5 months have now passed.”

These requests, along with 18 others, are included in the letter Fallon sent to Lawyer.

“I think it’s critically important that we hold our government agencies accountable, especially agencies as well funded as IDED,” Fallon said. “If the recent scandal with CIETC has taught us anything, it’s that limited oversight can create terrible consequences.””

And a quick report from the Sioux City Journal:

“The department says more than 25,000 jobs have been created or retained because of the values fund. This number includes jobs that are scheduled to be added in the next few years.

Fallon argues that the number should be only a few thousand, because most of the jobs are still on the horizon, with little guarantee they will happen.

The people who oversee the values fund say the critics are the ones who are misleading. Lawyer said Thursday that companies benefiting from the values fund face strict scrutiny about the number of jobs they will create and the wages and benefits. Companies that fail to perform can be asked to return the state money.

Some members of the economic development board said unfair attacks should not go unchallenged. They suggested that business leaders or board members should write guest columns in local newspapers to explain how the values fund works.

But some board members said the attacks on the fund are not credible enough to deserve a response. “My personal philosophy is, you don’t reply to garbage,” said board member Craig Lang of Brooklyn.”

First off, it sounds like Mr. Lang has a bit of an attitude problem. I’m not sure where I stand on the Iowa Values Fund, but I do know that some reform is needed and it needs to be thoroughly reviewed. Fallon seems to be squarely against it — from his rhetoric in statements and on the stump — but I honestly just don’t know enough about it. Below the fold, you’ll find the full text of the letter he sent to Ms. Lawyer. I plan on studying it a bit later, after a nice nap later this evening after a long day’s worth of running around.
Continue reading ‘IA-Gov: Fallon demands answers about the Iowa Values Fund’

Reflections on the Boswell-Warner event

Published by

Chris Woods

April 20, 2006 in 2008 Elections, Boswell, Leonard, Democrats, Fundraising, IA-03, Iowa politics, Republicans and Warner. 2 Comments

So, I just got home (at about 7:30) from the event at Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey’s place here in Des Moines. It was a great turnout of about 75 folks or so, so it was also pretty packed. Some of the notable guests included Patty Judge, Mike Blouin, Andy McGuire, Ako Abdul-Samad, Tom Miller, Neil Hamilton, Jack Hatch, Matt McCoy, Jo Oldson, and many others. I wasn’t able to talk to Governor Warner too much beyond the niceties of meeting in person, getting a picture with a couple of my fellow Drake Democrats who were there with me, and getting introduced to some of the other folks as one of the “leading bloggers in the community.” Boswell’s speech was moving, as he had invited his doctor there as well to make sure we all heard his proclamation that Boswell was back to 100% and ready to campaign.

I wasn’t able to ask the tough questions, but I’m hoping that in the next few weeks, I can get a Q & A session with Gov. Warner as a way to let you, my readers, pose some questions and then let him answer them. Whether I’ll do this here, on MyDD, or on dKos I haven’t decided, but count on there being some cross-posting.

Gov. Warner’s speech was enthusiastic and very appealing to the crowd. He spoke on the three reasons why we must re-elect Leonard Boswell back to the House. The other important messgae that came across in his speech is the difference between Republicans and Democrats must be shown by Democrats posing the situation like this: same-old Republicans or Democrats who look to the future. Now, I’m paraphrasing here a bit, but that was his message. Democrats are the party Americans should elect if they’re looking for change and a focus on the future–on bringing back America’s image abroad, dealing with domestic policy issues, and dealing with the fiscal problems our nation faces. He and Boswell are focused on their children and beyond. It was a call to make a difference.

Gov. Warner then highlighted his career as Virginia’s “his excellence, the governor of the commonwealth” (the official title of the governor in VA) on three important issues: 1) dealing with the deficit, 2) reforming education, and 3) bringing in 21st century jobs. In the end, he recognized his biggest complaint against George W. Bush isn’t something that he has done but rather what he hasn’t done. He hasn’t called for a time of national sacrifice or for unity. He hasn’t been straight with the American people. Now is a time for compassion and reform and unity. He would’ve done anything after 9/11 but Bush politicized everything and turned people against him. There are real problems that need to be dealt with and Americans should come together to fix them.

That’s about all I’ve got for now. It’s been a long day, but I hope this has given you some more insight on Gov. Warner and I hope it makes you interested in learning some more.

Headed out

Published by

Chris Woods

April 20, 2006 in 2008 Elections, Boswell, Leonard, Budget, Democrats, Fundraising, Iowa Legislature, Iowa politics and Warner. 0 Comments

I’m headed out shortly to the Leonard Boswell fundraiser which Gov. Mark Warner will be attending. While I’m gone for the evening, entertain yourself reading about budget negotiations while most of the House and Senate have gone home for the week.

And if you’re really interested, here’s a bit more from the Register on Warner’s first real Iowa trip.

On watersheds and other methods of influence in 2008

Published by

Chris Woods

April 20, 2006 in 2008 Elections, Blogs, Iowa politics and Warner. 0 Comments

Well, like I said last night in my adendum to my Mark Warner conversation post, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal to talk to him. But I think, in retrospect, the strategy involved in his outreach to the blogosphere is critical and important. Bacon calls is a watershed moment in the Iowa blogosphere and I think that is probably the biggest thing to take out of this whole situation. Drew’s got a good post here about his contact with Nate Wilcox of the Warner campaign and his conversation last week with Governor Warner (I’m also going to insert my thanks here to Drew for passing along my contact information to Warner’s folks). So, I didn’t get ‘the scoop’ interview/conversation, which is perfectly fine with me. But I think Drew’s comments on the feeling I got during the process is pretty spot on, save for the whole boner part:

“I don’t want to speak too much for Chris, but I imagine his experience in all of this has been similar to mine. One day I woke up with an email from the Warner campaign, letting me know that he’d like to chat with me on the phone, and inviting me to his fundraiser for Leonard Boswell. I read it, smiled, and got a boner that didn’t go away for a week.”

I’m twenty years old and in the less than two years I’ve had this blog and gotten a decent interest in politics in general, I’ve watched my world and stature change and whether I like it or not, its influenced my ego. In some aspects, it probably has gotten to my head but I hope that I’m still the same honest and normal guy that I was two years ago (for the most part, at least).

I’ve interviewed/talked with two potential candidates for 2008 already: Vilsack and Warner. That’s amazing to me. Granted I live in Iowa and probably would have had the opportunity to meet the governor at least once, but still. I can’t imagine this. I’ve done a bit of work on a campaign for governor, gotten to know the candidate a very little bit, and honestly just gotten involved in the Democratic politics in this state. And all of this thanks to this site and a bit of my volunteering. Things change so fast even if you want them to stay the same so you don’t seem like you’re becoming some kind of insider.

I think the most important part of Drew’s post that deserves discussion is this:

“This is turning into something a little more ponderous than I was going for, so I’ll wrap it up. Suffice to say that I recognize that the Warner campaign is attempting to generate good will in the Iowa blogosphere (man I hate that word) and I am uneasy with that for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, but I can’t help but think that it works, too. Maybe I am too cautious about being manipulated. What are your thoughts on the situation?”

I think the caution about being manipulated is well-founded, but I don’t think that’s necessarily what’s happening here. The important thing to keep in mind is the desire to keep an open mind before picking a candidate for 2008 or letting them woo you via influence. Generating good will among activists, journalists, and even us activist-journalists known as bloggers is perfectly fine in my book. And I honestly believe that’s what’s happening here. If I were in a cynical political mood right now (which I’m not), I’d say that this is a perfect example of the Warner camp trying to buy/gain influence by using his prestige to overcome our natural defenses.

Right now, there are no rules, no standards, and no traditions when it comes to politicians, campaigns, and bloggers beyond making what happens transparent and following some kind of basic personal ethics. And even still, those are all up to personal interpretation. We’re in the middle of a media revolution and when the world changes you go with the flow and try to make things as stable as you can even if the normal rules don’t apply or don’t exist. You’ve just gotta play it by ear and go with the flow.

Now that I’ve made this about as convoluted as possible, go leave your thoughts at Drew’s place (or if you’re lazy, you can leave your thoughts in the comments here as well).

Iowa is shrinking but I want to stay

Published by

Chris Woods

April 20, 2006 in Congress, Des Moines and Iowa politics. 4 Comments

Not size-wise, of course, we’ll always be fitting nice and squarely in the heartland of America. But it looks like this state just can keep ahold of the young people born here in the state, even though the last few years the state has been working really hard to keep young people here and attract others back to the state. From this morning’s Register:

“Iowa lost residents at a higher rate than all but nine other states from 2000 to 2004, according to a new census report today .

What’s more, the pace more than tripled during those years compared with the previous decade - and it appears a generation of Iowa’s young people are taking flight.

About 35,000 more people left the state between 2000 and 2004 than moved here from elsewhere in the United States. Immigrants from other countries are keeping state population relatively stable, other census figures show.

Iowa had 21,081 legal immigrants from other countries arrive from 2000 to 2004. Iowa is also home to thousands of illegal immigrants who may or may not be counted by the census.”

That’s just the hard facts. Though it has a lot of electoral/political implications beyond the immigration impact. When I saw Jane Norman’s name listed on the byline, I thought the story would be talking about some the demographic shifts that would lead to the state’s losing of a congressional seat, like she wrote back in December. Alas, there was none of that there.

I guess I just want to take this time and explain why I’ve stayed here in Iowa. I was born and raised here in Des Moines and I have to admit that I love it here. There is something about Des Moines and Iowa that’s appealing, particuarly to a kid like me who loves politics. I’ve given some thought to where I want to live after I finish college (pending I don’t go to grad school) and I’d love to stay in Iowa and work on campaigns or political issues here. Or I’d love to go to DC and work. But I’ll always come back to Iowa. Maybe it is because most of my family is still here, and was born here, so I’ve got roots and its hard to just pick up and leave.

Oh, and there’s always the Iowa State Fair.

Bargman finally realizes his CIETC salary was ‘unreasonable’

Published by

Chris Woods

April 20, 2006 in CIETC Scandal, Iowa Legislature and Iowa politics. 1 Comment

Former CIETC COO John Bargman testified for his second day in front of the Legislative Oversight Committee where he was finally pinned to the mat and forced to admit his salary was unreasonable, particularly the bonuses. To me, however, that wasn’t the most important part of the testimony. That came when he was talking about his wife, Deb Dessert, and her role in consulting for CIETC while working for the auditor’s office. From the Register:

“Last week, Bargman told lawmakers that his wife, Deb Dessert, who works in the state auditor’s office doing training and recruiting, had a contract to help implement CIETC’s accounting system.

On Wednesday, Bargman fielded more questions about her role. He said she was paid between $20,000 to $30,000 over 2 1/2 years.

Dessert began working in the auditor’s office in early 2005 and continued as a consultant for about nine months. Bargman said he was not responsible for hiring his wife and didn’t oversee her work.

The state auditor, David Vaudt, has said that Dessert was not part of the CIETC audit and that her role in creating the accounting system did not have a part in the spending on executive pay.”

First off, lemme just say how badly I want to see Deb Dessert called in to testify — or at least have her interviewed by the Department of Labor so we can get some answers. I don’t know how many times I’ve said it on here before, but how does a woman like Dessert (an accountant and an expert with these types of system) not realize in setting up the accounting system that there are just a few potential conflicts of interest involved, including working for one’s husband as well as working for the office that provides some oversight for the group you’re working for. Not to mention the fact that she had to have known about the exorbitant amounts of extra money her husband was making. So, again I say, let’s call Dessert before the committee and get some answers out of her.

Meanwhile, you can read this Register piece about the woman who claims to have written the anonymous letter in 2004 warning IWD as well as other state leaders about the stuff going on at CIETC. And, the CIETC Board will meet to do actual business today when the consider DMACC’s proposal to take over day-to-day operations and change the arrangement of the consortium. Should be an interesting discussion.

Talking with Governor Mark Warner

Published by

Chris Woods

April 19, 2006 in 2008 Elections, Boswell, Leonard, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Fundraising, IA-03, Interviews, Iowa politics, Stem Cells and Warner. 13 Comments

UPDATE: Evidently Marc Ambinder of the Hotline thinks that my talking with Warner before Yepsen and Glover is a big deal. I don’t necessarily think that’s true, but maybe next time I’ll push harder for some questions then. Oh, and Matt Stoller jokingly considers me a kingmaker since Hotline picked up the story.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Just a little bit ago I got off the phone with former Governor of Virginia Mark Warner. He called to introduce himself and just talk in general about some Democratic issues in general, where the Democratic party is going and what they can do for November, and what he’ll be talking about tomorrow at Leonard Boswell’s fundraiser, where he is the special guest. Let me just say how thoroughly impressed I was with Governor Warner. Like I said before, I’ve got no particular horse in 2008 yet (beyond Al Gore who has said he won’t run). Warner is largely believed to be a potential 2008 candidate and his Forward Together PAC is just one example of the desire to get his name out there and help other Democrats across the nation.

We talked some about the Republican Party and it’s war on science, particularly with regards to discussions on global warming and climate change, stem cell research, and other health issues like contraceptives and abortion. It seems that he’s been reading the blog or that it was just a very opportune coincidence, as I’m engaging in a bit of a debate with a commenter here about global warming and I had just pulled out my copy of Chris Mooney’s The Republican War on Science to do a bit of re-reading. We both hoped that the storms of the past week or so had passed and so we wouldn’t have to worry about tornadoes during the event.

We also talked about the possibilities for 2006, how badly George W. Bush and the Republican congress have hurt this country, and the momentum Democrats have come November. He’ll be speaking tomorrow about the ideas he has, that Democrats should consider, and how we can work together to take back this country. Overall, Gov. Warner was a great communicator, very energetic and enthusiastic. He’s got what it takes to be a primetime Democratic politician at the national level and his experience in the red-state of Virginia gives him the experience Democrats need with winning over folks whom we’ve had a tough time communicating effectively with lately. Like I said, I’m impressed. I’ll be meeting him tomorrow at the Boswell event and I’ll report back some more tomorrow.

Spam attacks

Published by

Chris Woods

April 19, 2006 in Blogs and Site stuff. 0 Comments

Any other bloggers here in Iowa getting a massive amount of spam comment attacks today? I average about 6-10 per day, but I’ve had at least 50 in the last hour. Maybe it’s just a wordpress thing, but it is pretty bad today.

Vilsack opposes Nussle proposal for state inspector general position

Published by

Chris Woods

April 19, 2006 in 2006 Governor's Race, CIETC Scandal, Democrats, Iowa politics, Nussle, Jim, Republicans and Vilsack, Tom. 4 Comments

The Register reports on Vilsack from the White House (or at least he was at the White House meeting with Bush today after his trips to Iraq and Afghanistan with a few other US governors):

“Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack today rejected a proposal by U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle, the Republican candidate for governor, that a state inspector general’s office be created in the wake of a job-training agency scandal.

Vilsack said he believes that internal oversight can be strengthened instead. “I don’t think we need to add another level of bureaucracy,” he said. “That doesn’t seem to work particularly well in Washington, D.C. — we still have $600 hammers being purchased by the Pentagon.”"

I don’t necessarily like the dig about $600 hammers because I think that type of argument is used all of the time (plus the fact that there is justification for purchasing expensive, specially produced products for use in certain defense areas), but he’s right about internal oversight being strengthened. You don’t increase transparency and accountability by complicating the already complex bureaucratic process — especially if you’re supposed to be a ’small-government’ conservative like Jim Nussle.

I wonder if Yepsen will get pissy and try to say that Vilsack is against it because he doesn’t want Democrats to get caught up in the CIETC mess, since we all know Yepsen loves Jim Nussle and his proposals to expand government. If Yepsen does that, it’ll be just another reason to call him an idiot.

Cityview reports the same stuff I reported last week

Published by

Chris Woods

April 19, 2006 in Iowa Legislature, Iowa politics, Iverson, Stewart, Lundby, Mary, Republicans and TouchPlay. 2 Comments

Thanks to Bacon, we find out that Cityview’s ‘Civic Skinny’ column reports this week the same thing that I reported last week: Iverson’s positioning on TouchPlay probably cost him his leadership position. While I’m not sure I got all of the details right, here’s exactly what Cityview said:

“At the surprise caucus, a no-confidence vote in Iverson passed, with ease. Then they voted to elect a new leader. That vote was extremely close, pitting Mary Lundby against McKibben (who had actually led the coup). Lundby emerged as the winner, 13-12, and by nightfall Iverson was clearing out his office in the Capitol. Why was it pushed up? A top Senate source told us that Iverson wanted to “settle” with top TouchPlay folks, giving some of his fat cat donors parting gifts, which sent Lundby looking for a platter for Iverson’s head, and that Lundby garnered support as she sharpened her sword.”

I wrote that it had to do with extensions he wanted to make towards some of the businesses involved in the TouchPlay fiasco. Bacon has the details on AG Tom Miller’s plan. Now, my source isn’t a ‘top Senate source’ like Cityview’s, but yeah, it looks like my information was right.

So, answer me this: Am I becoming more like Cityview or are they becoming more like me? I hope its not the first one.

Sorry

Published by

Chris Woods

April 19, 2006 in Site stuff. 0 Comments

I’ve been working on a big European Politics paper the last 12 hours or so and just turned it in, so that’s why I haven’t posted in a while. Posting will resume normally shortly, thanks for your patience.