The last thing I want to read about is how smart Doug Gross is. We know, he tells us all the time. I really don’t need Doug telling me little insights about his relationship with Branstad either. To be honest when Doug said, “If one of us grunts, we know what the other means,” all sorts of strange images popped up in my head.

I’m just thankful they didn’t talk about Roederer’s love affair with Project Destiny, the failed property tax scam that would have been a taxpayer bailout of companies like Principle Financial. Its people like Gross and Roederer who make people like me queasy about Branstad’s return to politics.

In addition to Branstad’s campaign manager and running mate, the only other new names that were mentioned in the article were Bruce Rastetter, Roger Underwood, and Teresa Wahlert. These are not new names. Rastetter and Underwood is a long time GOP donors, and Whalert is basically Gross’ political sister as both had strong connections to Marvin Pomerantz.

We all know that these people are involved in the campaign, so this article doesn’t tell us a damn thing. What I want to know is why didn’t the Branstad campaign want to promote any new faces that are involved in his 2010 campaign?

If it were up to me, I would have talked about people like, Carmine Boal, who help shape policy for the campaign. What about the business leaders who participated in his Vision 2020 Policy Conference? Who advises him on social issues, immigration policy, and other issues? I would be truly interested in stuff like that.

I think the Branstad campaign has actually done a good job of reaching out to get new people involved, but you wouldn’t know it by reading this article. Instead, we learned that Doug Gross and Terry Branstad know what each other means when they grunt. Awesome. Where is my absentee ballot.

TMI

After reading this article, this is the image I have of the Branstad troika.

Ames, IA – Congressman Tom Latham, Honorary Chairman of For America’s Republican Majority, announced on Thursday the winners Thursday of the For America’s Republican Majority’s Iowa FARM Team project’s unique online contest – Iowa Republican Idol.

The online contest, held at the organization’s website IowaFARMTeam.org, asked Iowans to cast their votes for their favorite Iowa Republican House and Senate State Legislative Candidates. The winners of each the House and Senate Iowa Republican Idol contests will be receive a $5,000 contribution from For America’s Republican Majority for their campaigns.

Thousands voted over the past two months and Iowans have chosen Kent Sorenson (Iowa Senate District 37) as the winner of the Senate Republican Idol contest with 37% of the votes cast and Walt Rogers (Iowa House District 20) as the winner of the House Republican Idol contest with 16.3% of the votes cast.

“Congratulations goes out to Kent and Walt and their dedicated supporters for standing up for their candidates in a year where Iowans and Americans are calling for strong, common sense, conservative leadership to address the problems we face,” said Congressman Latham. “The team at For America’s Republican Majority is working to plant the seeds of change both in Iowa and across this great nation to strengthen and rebuild our party by supporting candidates dedicated to the common sense Republican ideals of limited government, personal responsibility and economic opportunity for all. November’s election will be an important time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work it will take to protect the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.”

The online poll also included a straw poll for the Republican nominee for President in 2012 which was won by Governor Mike Huckabee with 25.5% of the vote of participants.

Since 2005 For America’s Republican Majority has been dedicated to electing principled leaders to office. Once these leaders are successfully elected they will become fierce advocates for the ideals of the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan that have made our nation great thereby rebuilding our great nation and returning America back onto the path towards promise, prosperity and individual freedom.

Additional information about For America’s Republican Majority – or to find out how you can support the effort can be found on the organization’s website at: www.IowaFARMTeam.org

Photo by Dave Davidson

A couple weeks ago at the Iowa State Fair, I asked Congressman Braley if he supported the mosque, or the “learning center” as the liberals now call it, at Ground Zero.  Braley avoided giving a direct answer.  He said that it’s a local issue that the people of New York have to deal with.  He then argued that the proposed mosque really isn’t at Ground Zero, and finally, he defended the placement of the mosque based on freedom of religion.

Two of the three arguments that Braley gave that day clearly show that he supports the mosque.  That is why the title of the article that I wrote was, “Braley Supports Ground Zero Mosque, Says it’s Just a Local Zoning Issue.”  If he opposes the mosque, he should have just said so.  Like too many politicians these days, Congressman Braley wants to have it both ways.

Braley is upset with a television ad that the American Future Fund is currently running that talks about his support of the mosque.  The TV ad cites TheIowaRepublican.com as its source.  Braley is now responding with a TV ad of his own.  You can watch both ads below.

Braley slanders his opponent, Ben Lange, in his ad by saying that the people behind the sleaziest ad in history are now backing his campaign.  He also tries to set the record straight by citing the very same article from TheIowaRepublican.com that the American Future Fund cited in its ad, which seems a little strange.

Once again, Congressman Braley is trying to be elusive.  Braley didn’t need to cite TheIowaRepublican.com article in his TV ad at all.  Instead he could have chosen to look straight into the camera give his constituents a straight answer.  Obviously, that would have been too simple, so Braley continues his effort to confuse people on this subject.

The mosque is one of those issues that deserve a yes or no answer.  Any married man who’s wife asks him who the woman was that he was just talking to, knows that it is in his best interest to answer his wife with a simple, direct answer.  Something like, “Her?  We worked together ten years ago, man she really got on my nerves.”

The rules are simple.  First, tell how you know her.  Second, tell her when you knew her.  Third, and most importantly, tell her that she’s not your type.  It would be wise for Braley to adopt this approach.  Instead, Braley is getting cute, and if he answered his wife like he answered the question on the mosque, he might get a knee to the groin or a drink thrown in his face.

While the TV ads duke it out over the airwaves, the American Future Fund has also been calling voters in the District.  AFF representatives have told TheIowaRepublican.com that they have placed two phone calls to voters in the district.  Each phone call went to 160,000 households, which means they are calling Republicans, Independents, and Democrats.

Braley is spending $44,000 in the Cedar Rapids and Davenport TV markets. Braley’s quick response to the AFF TV ad with one of his own indicates that he might not be as safe this fall as many people think he is.

Pollsters and political analysts around the country are getting more and more bullish on the Republicans’ chances to make huge gains in the U.S. House and Senate.  Braley won his seat in 2006, a great year for Democrats across the county, and was re-elected in 2008, a year which was even better for Democrats, and he didn’t face a tough opponent in either race.

The 1^st Congressional District is a seat that Republicans had held for decades before Braley won it in 2006. While Leonard Boswell is the top congressional target for Republicans in Iowa, Braley might just find himself in trouble this fall if Lange runs a disciplined campaign and has the resources to build his name ID across the district.

AFF Braley Call

AFF Braley 2nd Call

On Monday, Republican candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks said she would vote to repeal the entire Obama health care bill but would start with the section requiring businesses to report the purchase of any goods and services over $600. She called on Loebsack to vote to repeal the provision, too. Loebsack tried today to defend his vote for the Obama health care bill that includes a provision by saying he worked against it.

“It’s classic Washington stuff. Dave Loebsack says he tried to help small businesses but then he voted to hit them hard in the health care bill. He’s trying to have it both ways and the public is sick and tired of that stuff,” Miller Meeks said.

Starting next year, businesses will be required to file 1099 tax forms reporting any purchases of goods and services over $600 from any individual, business or corporation. Currently, businesses only need to file those forms when they buy services from an unincorporated person or business. Democrats say the move will raise $17.1 billion from tax evaders over the next 10 years but small business groups say it will be extremely time-consuming and expensive for more than 40 million businesses, including 26 million sole proprietors.

“David Loebsack can puff out his chest and claim he worked to get rid of it, but in the end, he voted for the entire Obama health care bill knowing it was in there. We’re tired of that bait-and-switch routine,” Miller-Meeks said. “He can’t escape the fact he voted to raise taxes on businesses by $19 billion, which is killing jobs and slowing the recovery. If he honestly wanted to protect small business he would’ve demanded a stand-alone bill instead of going along with Nancy Pelosi once again.”

She added, “Iowa families want results not political games. This is just like his yes vote on cap-and-tax that is going to cost the average family $1,800 a year and send more Iowa jobs overseas and exactly like his vote for a stimulus bill that indebts future generations of Americans to China while doing nothing to help ease unemployment. His rhetoric doesn’t match his record. It’s just another example of David Loebsack saying one thing to us here in Iowa and voting with the extreme left wing. Old Professor Loebsack should give himself an F because he has definitely failed the small businesses of the Second District.”

Branstad noted that agriculture is in the business of nourishing bodies and a major engine for job creation and economic growth.  In 1983, with Iowa in the depth of an agricultural recession, its 115,000 farmers produced economic value of $1.98 billion on 33.7 million acres of farmland.  Today, Iowa’s 92,600 farmers are producing crops and livestock on 30.8 million acres.

“In 2008, this engine of economic growth created $26.3 billion in agriculture production value in the state,” said Branstad. “Currently, increased federal and state regulatory actions have created an environment non-supportive of increased productivity, innovation and job creation.  The lack of regulatory stability is driving business out of the state and causing those who remain to limit or eliminate additional investment in their businesses and employees.”

Gov. Branstad’s proposal includes:

1.       Better use of current resources through technology and partnerships

2.       Responsible regulation

3.       Sustainable Entrepreneurship

4.       A Five-Year Strategic Vision and Implementation Plan

““In order to move agriculture forward we must address and develop a plan to enhance and invest in infrastructure state wide which will allow us to better transmit, handle, store, transport and transfer the increased production of agricultural crops, renewables, energy and value-added products,” said Branstad.

The Branstad Plan

GOAL

Iowa will lead the world in agriculture, doubling production of our crops and value-added products while increasing personal income, creating value and creating jobs.

DEFINING THE CHALLENGE

With the world population approaching 9 billion, we must double food production by 20501. As a world agriculture leader, Iowa must double our own production to feed Iowans and people around the world. Iowa’s agricultural system will be challenged to produce more with less in a manner that protects our natural resources of land, water and people.

Agriculture is in the business of nourishing bodies and a major engine for job creation and economic growth.    In 1983, with Iowa in the depth of an agricultural recession, its 115,000 farmers produced economic value of $1.98 billion on 33.7 million acres of farmland. Today, Iowa’s 92,600 farmers are producing crops and livestock on 30.8 million acres.2 While the number of farmers and acres dedicated to agricultural production has declined, Iowa’s farmers have never been more productive. In 2008, this engine of economic growth created $26.3 billion in agriculture production value in the state.3 Currently, increased federal and state regulatory actions have created an environment non-supportive of increased productivity, innovation and job creation. The lack of regulatory stability is driving business out of the state and causing those who remain to limit or eliminate additional investment in their businesses and employees.

In order to move agriculture forward we must address and develop a plan to enhance and invest in infrastructure state wide which will allow us to better transmit, handle, store, transport and transfer the increased production of agricultural crops, renewables, energy and value-added products.

DEFINING THE SOLUTION

Iowa agriculture will lead the state back in our economic recovery. As a world leader in agricultural production, a whole- system approach is needed once again to double our production of food and value-added products by 2050. Governor Branstad will work with the best and brightest agricultural minds in Iowa to create and implement a Five-Year Strategic Vision and Implementation Plan for agriculture that will incorporate research and development, technology utilization, a stable and responsible regulatory system and create an enhanced infrastructure system. This system will better handle, store, transport and transfer the increased production of agricultural crops, renewables, energy and value-added products across the state and the world.

Agriculture is about growing jobs. Utilizing Iowa’s geographic strategic advantage, it is imperative that we work closely with universities and community colleges as they educate the next generation who will manage the ag production system from the farms to manufacturing to processing. It is necessary to support the research needed to develop and discover technology that will allow agriculture to continue as a great economic driver. Access to technology allows farmers to do well and do good – using science and technology to respond to the agricultural challenge to produce more while protecting our environment and maximizing Iowa’s natural resources. We must create a regulatory system that is science-based, responsible and stable to support a business climate that doubles agricultural production.
Governor Branstad understands the importance of creating an environment that supports and nourishes an entrepreneurial spirit that will create jobs and increase a family’s income while creating value. One of Iowa’s greatest attributes has been the ability to cultivate an individual’s talents and apply them to new technologies that will ultimately feed, fuel and clothe a growing global population. Creating and supporting an attitude and atmosphere that respects people who take risks and exhibit self-responsibility begins at the top and must be encouraged at every level.

GOVERNOR BRANSTAD PROPOSES

Better use of current resources through technology and partnerships.

• Iowa agriculture is a success story of modernization. That modernization is fueled by technology and ingenuity, something in which we must continue to support and invest. In addition to better seeds and better livestock, technology offers and supports better management practices to protect our land and natural resources.

• Partnerships between universities, community colleges and private businesses must be encouraged and supported. Government’s role is to aid– and in some cases–get out of the way so innovation and technology will grow and not be strangled.

• There is growing demand among Iowa’s small town and urban people to buy food that’s grown close to home, close enough that they can get to know the farm families who produce it. This trend produces a gateway to farming for young people with more labor than capital available, an entrepreneurial opportunity for farm and restaurant enterprises, an increase in ag-related jobs, and an increase in quality of life for Iowans in general.

Responsible regulation

Provide a better balance of regulation v. job creation

• A stable regulatory environment supports and enhances job creation and a growing business climate. A farmer / businessman should have confidence that a regulation will not change in 18 months or two weeks. When the environment is stable, people are willing to invest in jobs and business investment for growth. Responsible, stable regulation will not strangle growth, but incent it.

Expedite and clarify the regulatory process

• A concise, transparent, science-based regulatory permit process is imperative for an active and successful business climate.
• There is a need to expedite the permitting process for agriculture production if all science-based criteria have been met.

Remove the ‘gotcha mentality’ of regulatory process.

• This is a regulatory leadership issue. Create an atmosphere that respects and supports people who take risks and exhibit self-responsibility. Governor Branstad supports and will demand an attitude change that emphasizes a ‘how can we help’ mentality rather than a focus of looking for problems first, while at the same time supporting a fair and responsible business environment.

Reduce unnecessary environmental litigation

• Excessive environmental litigation adds risks and costs for production agriculture and hinders growth and job creation. It creates delays in everything from building a new road or bridge, siting a new ethanol plant or preventing new ag products from coming to market even though the safety of the products have never been questioned.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship

• Inspired, charismatic leadership is required to create a business climate that incents, supports, and celebrates those who have a vision, are willing to take a risk and create new jobs and production opportunities.

• A culture that supports the creation of jobs, creates value and creates wealth by raising family incomes is the engine for growth.

• Partner with business leaders and innovators, community colleges and university resources to create an easily-accessed mentoring corps and to support an Iowa entrepreneurial business climate.

• Iowa must continue to support and enhance agriculture opportunities that offer a direct link to consumers and add economic and social value. Iowa-based businesses such as wineries, dairies, cheese makers, and ‘pick your own’ orchards and gardens are springing up all over Iowa. We must also support and encourage agri-tourism opportunities like farmers’ markets, autumn corn mazes and other season- specific opportunities where consumers have direct contact with producers.

Five-Year Strategic Vision and Implementation Plan

• Governor Branstad will provide the leadership needed to bring together the best minds to develop a Five-Year Strategic and Implementation Plan for agriculture. This plan will address systems to better handle, store, transport and transfer the increased production of agricultural crops, renewables, energy and value-added products. Infrastructure systems such as rail line opportunities, road systems for the transportation of grain, the transmission of wind power, and increasing broadband capability should be considered.

Can the federal government exceed its constitutional limitations simply by making a treaty that gives it that power?  This question, which has been debated since the Constitution’s ratification, has taken on a greater urgency over fears that the Senate may yet try to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) this year before a new Senate takes office in January

The UNCRC has been signed by every single country in the United Nations except for the United States and Somalia.  President Clinton signed it in 1995 but never presented it to the Senate due to opposition from conservatives who argued that the treaty violated the rights of parents by subjecting such prerogatives to “the best interest of the child.”  President Obama, citing our failure to ratify the treaty as embarrassing, has promised to send it to the Senate for ratification.

But no where in the Constitution does it give the federal government any power to regulate intimate family decisions.  Of the limited, enumerated powers listed in that document, none of them give the federal government the authority to interfere with the parent-child relationship in any way.  With the exception of the Fourteenth Amendment, Washington lacks the ability to enter into a human rights treaty establishing the civil, political, economic, and social rights of anyone, children or otherwise.

Proponents of the UNCRC and other similar treaties argue that the Constitution does not place any restrictions on the ability of the federal government to enter into a treaty.  For instance, then-Secretary of State John Foster Dulles infamously stated in 1952 that:  “Treaties, for example, can take powers away from Congress and give them to the President; they can take powers from the states and give them to the Federal Government, or to some international body and they can cut across the rights given the people by the Constitutional Bill of Rights.”

Tragically, Secretary Dulles did not reach this conclusion out of a vacuum.  Years before Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in Missouri v. Holland (1920), had upheld a treaty that regulated the hunting of migratory birds because, according to the Court, a treaty could provide Congress with the power to regulate an area that the Constitution otherwise denied it.  The Court later affirmed this theory in United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936).

The Supreme Court finally reversed direction in Reid v. Covert (1957) when it ruled that “no agreement with a foreign nation can confer power on Congress, or on any other branch of Government, which is free from the restraints of the Constitution…There is nothing in this language which intimates that treaties and laws enacted pursuant to them do not have to comply with provisions of the Constitution.”

The cause for so much confusion over the issue is the language of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in Article VI.  The Clause proclaims that all “Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance [of the Constitution…] shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”  Because treaties were declared to be the supreme law of the land only if they were made “under the Authority of the United States” rather than pursuant to the Constitution, many have argued throughout the years that the federal government’s treaty making power was not bound by the Constitution.

But, as the Reid Court noted, “the reason treaties were not limited to those made in ‘pursuance’ of the Constitution was so that agreements made by the United States under the Articles of Confederation, including the important treaties which concluded the Revolutionary War, would remain in effect.”

As those who drafted and ratified the Constitution made clear, the phrase “under the Authority of the United States” did not mean treaties could be made that violated the Constitution.  At the Virginia ratifying convention, Governor Edmund Randolph responded to the fears of Patrick Henry and George Mason over the treaty making power by arguing that, “[b]eing creatures of that Constitution, can [the President and Senate] destroy it?”

George Nicholas agreed, contending that the federal government can “make no treaty which shall be repugnant to the spirit of the Constitution, or inconsistent with the delegated powers.”  Joining him, James Madison stated:  “Here, the supremacy of a treaty is contrasted with the supremacy of the laws of the states.  It cannot be otherwise supreme.”

Thomas Jefferson argued that “I say the same as to the opinion of those who consider the grant of treatymaking to be boundless.  If it is, then we have no Constitution.”  Elsewhere, Jefferson stated that “surely the President and Senate cannot do by treaty what the whole government is interdicted from doing in any way.”

Alexander Hamilton, nationalist though he was, argued that the “only constitutional exception to the power of making treaties, is that it shall not change the Constitution…”  Later, he wrote that “[a] treaty cannot be made which alters the Constitution of the country or which infringes any express exceptions to the power of the Constitution of the United States.”

The power of the federal government to enter into treaties with other nations is limited to those specific, enumerated powers given to it by the Constitution.  If that document does not grant the federal government the authority to regulate in a particular area, then it is powerless to accomplish such a feat by its treaty making power.  The ability to ratify treaties simply does not grant the President and Senate the authority to rewrite and supersede the Constitution absent the amendment process.

I’ll just let you know who it is, it’s Ed Rendell – Now Give Me My Tickets!

Please join me in entering this contest.

This year’s JJ speaker was born in New York City in the mid 20th century

Answer: Born January 5, 1944

This year’s speaker has never attended or spoken at our Jefferson Jackson Dinner

Answer: Yep

This person made a cameo appearance on-screen in a blockbuster hit of the 90s.

Answer: Well of course it’s a film about homosexuals. Rendell was in the movie Philadelphia.

This person has never worked for Saturday Night Live and is not Rudy Giuliani (Al Franken, though born in NYC, had already been eliminated as a past JJ speaker.)

Answer: OK, it’s not Alec Baldwin, who was and born in New York, damn.

This person is an avid sports fan.

Answer: Rendell is a big Philly’s fan.

This person served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Answer: 1968-1974

This person is married with one son.

Wife: Marjorie Rendell

Son: Jesse

This person has held local, statewide and national office in their public career.

Local – District Attorney and Mayor
Statewide – Governor
National – DNC Chair, kinda weak don’t you think?

This person endorsed Hillary Clinton in her bid for President in 2008.

Answer: Rendell Endorsed Hillary

This person is married to a federal judge.

Answer: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. – Nominated by Bill Clinton.

Rees was also classified as a moderate, and as the campaign drew on, it became more and more apparent  that Rees’ views on everything from cap and trade to gay marriage were out of step with most Republican voters.

Still, Rees was respected by his primary voters for the way that he presented himself out to the voters.  While most Republicans disagreed with his positions on the issues, they appreciated Rees’ honesty and the way he approached his campaign.  Unfortunately, Mark Rees’s honesty is now being questioned after he endorsed Congressman Leonard Boswell, the incumbent Democrat, over Brad Zaun yesterday.

Rees was one of six candidates who participated in a candidate forum sponsored by IowaPolitics.com.  In the forum, all of the candidates were asked if they would support the eventual nominee.  Rees said, “In terms of who I will support should I will not receive the nomination, I will support the nominee.”

At the March forum, Rees also said, “I believe that Leonard Boswell has become quite ineffectual and that he doesn’t represent the Third District anymore.”

Obviously Rees has changed his tune on Boswell.

In endorsing Boswell yesterday, Rees said, “Boswell’s lifelong record of service to this state and our country is rarely seen in politics today.  His character, judgment, and integrity are without question. I trust Congressmen Boswell. I trust him to listen to his constituents and place our interests above his Party. I trust him to make sound, solid decisions void of any self-interest. And above all else, I trust him to always represent this state with honor and integrity.”

The Zaun campaign was also quick to call out Rees’ hypocrisy.  Zaun’s campaign spokesperson, Robert Haus said, “When he announced his bid for Congress, Mark Rees said, ‘I am proud to say these [nominating] signatures were collected one door and one handshake at a time.  The people I met were eager to share their opinions and ideas, but most of all their frustration with career politicians and business as usual in Washington.’ –theiowarepublican.com, March 18, 2010.”

“Mark has now thrown his support behind a 14-year, career politician who embodies ‘business as usual’ in Washington, DC.  Apparently the frustrations Mark heard at the door have been forgotten for political expediency,” Haus concluded.

Rees’ flip-flop will probably bring previous party registration back the forefront in future primary campaigns.  Rees had been a registered Democrat before launching his bid for Congress.

Given the timing, Rees’ endorsement is little more than a simple press release supporting Boswell, who is trying to do everything he can to shift the focus away from his liberal voting record.  In recent polls, Boswell has been shown to be trailing Brad Zaun by as much as 10 points.  Only 31 percent of those surveyed believe that Boswell deserves to be re-elected, while 62 percent want to give someone else a shot.

“Salute to Freedom” Event, Friday, September 17

DES MOINES – Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn today announced Governor Sarah Palin will be the Party’s special guest at the upcoming Reagan Dinner: A Salute to Freedom.

“The Iowa GOP is pleased that Gov. Palin is traveling to Iowa to join the battle to return principled, conservative leadership to Iowa,” said Chairman Strawn. “Our economic and personal freedoms are under attack in Washington, DC and Des Moines. I know Iowa Republicans will be energized and motivated by Gov. Palin to stand up and fight for these principles all the way to Election Day and beyond.”

The Reagan Dinner: A Salute to Freedom will take place the evening of Friday, September 17 in Des Moines. The exact time and location will be announced closer to the event. Tickets for the Reagan Dinner are $100 each, or $1,000 for a table of eight.

Strawn noted that while the former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential nominee is popular among Iowans, the current economy is challenging for many Iowa families who may wish to attend. That is why the Iowa GOP is offering Iowans an opportunity to volunteer through any of its ten statewide Victory Centers in exchange for a ticket to the Ronald Reagan “Salute to Freedom” Dinner.  For additional details regarding volunteer opportunities, Iowans should contact their local Iowa GOP Victory Center in: Ames, Cedar Falls, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Iowa City, Marion, Mason City, Ottumwa, Sioux City and Urbandale.

Tickets can be reserved by emailing RSVP@IowaGOP.org or by calling 515-282-8105.