TIR Will Live Blog Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Saturday
- Friday, November 20, 2009, 6:57
- Craig Robinson
- 620 views
- 6 comments
TheIowaRepublican.com will Cover Vice President Joe Biden visit to Iowa LIVE
While the political divide that exists between Republicans and Democrats is wide, the political community in Iowa is still rather small. When the Iowa Democratic Party announced that Vice President Joe Biden would be headlining their annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner, I sent Norm Sterzenbach, the Executive Director of IDP, an email letting him know that I would like to cover the event.
Norm is a good guy. In 2007, we both served as Political Directors of our respective political party organizations. For the 2008 presidential caucuses, the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party worked together on our caucus night media center. While Republicans and Democrats might not agree on much policy, it was great to work side by side with them during the caucuses. I’m looking forward to covering the event. I’ve only attended a handful of Democratic political events in my life, the first being Hillary Clinton’s 2008 caucus victory in Nevada (long story). Hopefully, this will be an improvement.
Anyway tune-in tomorrow night for live coverage from the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson Dinner.
Other Events I’ve been at recently that deserve some attention.
Tea Party Convention
Ryan Rhodes and the others involved with the Tea Party movement in Iowa need to be commended for their work. The convention had 50-60 exhibitors and was attended by all of the Republican gubernatorial candidates and a lot of other Republican candidates from around the state. When all was said and done, 1500 people came through the doors at the Iowa Events Center, an impressive feat on a sunny, 70 degree Saturday afternoon.
Dallas County GOP Steak Fry
How can I not write something about the Dallas County event when Pete Jefferies, the Dallas County GOP Finance Chair, took time out of the program to wish me a happy birthday on November 12th. I was caught off guard and was a little embarrassed, so I don’t remember everything he had to say, but his remarks were very kind.
The Steak Fry was a huge success. Over 120 people were in attendance. The crowd listened to speeches from Senator Grassley, Congressman Latham, Dave Vaudt, and WHO Radio personality Jan Michelson. The speeches were great. Mickelson knocked his speech out of the park, but in terms of news, Vaudt stole the show. Vaudt talked about how Culver’s deal with the labor unions could end up protecting all contract employees from having to make future concessions if revenue estimates continue to get worse. So in essence, if they ratify the agreement and Culver is forced to make additional cuts, they are untouchable. That’s just more bad news for Iowa’s schools, local governments, and taxpayers.
Breakfast of Congressmen
On the morning of the 12th, I attended a small breakfast meeting in Des Moines that was attended by Congressmen King, Latham, Fortenberry (NE), Terry (NE), and Sessions (TX). It was interesting to see our Iowa Congressman interact with their colleagues from other states. I left the event being more impressed than ever with King and Latham. I mean no disrespect to the others who were there, but King and Latham shined. Not a bad way to kick-off year 33.
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 502 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
6 Comments on “TIR Will Live Blog Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Saturday”
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May God have mercy on your soul Craig..
It would be interesting to see what either Jefferson or Jackson would think of the dem party of today!
Not to mention what the very compassionate Lincoln might think of his party today!
Con Dem, you have made a good point! However, I sometimes question President Lincoln’s true motives(the Emancipation Proclamation comes to mind for one. For those of you out there not historically minded, read it carefully. He freed slaves ONLY in the States which were in “rebellion” of the Union. The slaves held in areas that didn’t suceed were still kept in bondage!).
Ahh Timmy, AL was a very practical politician who knew what he could accomplish and who-and-how to ’stroke’ to get those accomplishments. He also was understanding of what the overall effect of [let's call it] ‘limited emancipation’ would ultimately be. I ask you Timmy, do you think any enslaved people remained-so in those states which were not in rebellion?
Know any slaves here in Iowa?
We’re all going to be slaves when these RATS are done with us.