This year, Vander Plaats will see the primary through to the end. If he wins, he will have finally secured the Republican nomination. If he loses, his decade-long quest to lead the state of Iowa will be over. 2010 is likely a make or break year for Bob Vander Plaats. It’s either win or go home.

Since he first came on to the political scene ten years ago, Vander Plaats has impressed Republican activists with his speaking abilities. He has also proved himself to be a capable fundraiser. In each of his three gubernatorial campaigns, Vander Plaats has been able to raise a significant amount of money.

While raising money hasn’t been Vander Plaats’ problem, spending it has. In his 2006 campaign, Vander Plaats raised over $800,000, but his off year expenditures totaled almost $600,000. Vander Plaats showed a similar pattern in 2009.

Vander Plaats raised $600,000 last year, but he spent $400,000. That’s almost more than all the other Republican gubernatorial candidates spent combined in 2009. Campaigns need to spend huge amounts of money in the final two to three months on radio and television ads. They need to spend money on direct mail, phone calls, and absentee ballot programs. Yet, Vander Plaats is once again in a familiar position: months away from an election with limited funds. That means he has to bet heavily on his grassroots support.

Even though Vander Plaats finds himself in a familiar position, his 2010 primary campaign is his best campaign to date. Unnoticed by many in the GOP and members of the media is the number of people Vander Plaats is attracting at his events across the state. Branstad is also attracting large crowds at his campaign events, but Vander Plaats seems to have a spring in his step lately.

What’s interesting to note is that, in previous years, Republican candidates didn’t hold a lot of town hall style forums like the events Vander Plaats and Branstad are holding. If they had, not many people would have probably shown up. The 2010 gubernatorial campaign looks more like a presidential caucus campaign than ever before, candidates are drawing respectable crowds as they travel across the state, the campaigns are visiting places on the map that are represented by black dots, not just the yellow hues that indicate an urban area.

With Mike Huckabee’s upset Iowa Caucus victory still fresh in the minds Vander Plaats and his staunch supporters, it’s no wonder that his campaign thinks that they have a shot at a huge upset on June 8th. There are more parallels between Huckabee and Vander Plaats than just the fact that Bob chaired Huckabee’s caucus campaign.

Like Huckabee, Vander Plaats is an impressive communicator. Likewise, his campaign is perceived as being the underdog in the race, which means volunteers and supporter tend to work harder. Vander Plaats is also the social conservative in the race. While many candidates try to woo the GOP base, primary voters usually gravitate to the more authentic pro-life, pro-marriage candidate. In the Republican primary for governor, that’s Vander Plaats. This same factor was in place for Huckabee in the lead-up to the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Yet, before the Vander Plaats crowd starts predicting that an upset is in the making, they must remember this is a primary, not a caucus. Twice as many people will vote in the Republican primary for Governor as voted in the 2008 Republican presidential caucuses. If Vander Plaats is able to generate the same 40,954 votes that Huckabee received in the caucuses, it will probably only get him 20% of the vote.

Winning a primary and winning a caucus are two different things. In a caucus, a candidate like Huckabee can survive on a shoestring budget, catch fire, and win. That can happen for a number of reasons. First, there is no early voting in a caucus. Not only are you prohibited from submitting an absentee ballot, but you also have to show up for a meeting at a particular time to cast your vote.

Primaries are different animals. You can vote absentee, early in the morning before you go to work, or at night on your way home. It also only takes a few minutes of your time to cast your vote. This is why having the financial resources to run an absentee program and campaign ads is so critical. If you can get someone’s attention for just a moment, you can get them to cast a vote for you.

If the 2010 Republican gubernatorial race were going to be decided at a caucus, I probably would put my money on Bob Vander Plaats. As we all know, this isn’t a caucus, it’s a primary. So while Vander Plaats might look and feel like Huckabee of 2008, he will have to produce at least two times the votes that Huckabee did in the caucuses if he wants to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Photo by Dave Davidson

Culver is pushing to expanding gambling in the state to create jobs and hopes that these new casinos will spur economic development. The Governor claims that the move will create hundreds of jobs and $250 million in economic activity.

The move to grant additional gaming licenses is in addition to measurers that the state legislature is currently considering that would expand gambling. One such proposed measure would allow casinos to use their convention facilities to host poker tournaments. Another piece of legislation would end the requirement to have casino licenses ratified by voters every ten years. Instead, a reverse referendum could be used if a community wanted to ban gambling and enough signatures were collected to get the issue on the ballot.

States have historically looked towards gambling in times of financial difficulty. During the farm crisis of the 1980’s, the Iowa legislature authorized wagering on horse and dog racing. In 1989, the legislature once again expanded gambling, this time allowing gambling on excursion boats in counties that passed referendums. Over time, the state has incrementally expanded gambling to the point we see today – no limit, land based gaming.

The Iowa Family Policy Center sent out a press release yesterday entitled, “Culver’s Green Job Proposal – Recycle Bad Ideas.” In the press release, Chuck Hurley, IFPC’s president said, “This is not the first time an Iowa Governor has turned to gambling revenue to make up for having grown government too fast. In 1989, Governor Terry Branstad and the legislature legalized gambling in Iowa.”

According to Hurley, “If gambling were the answer, the 17 casinos we already have, plus the lottery, should have enabled us to avoid budget shortfalls and keep from taking a hit during this recession.Instead, we know that Iowa lawmakers have become addicted to gambling ‘revenue’ and have set us on a path to higher taxes and expanded gambling. The only people who benefit from an expansion of gambling are the politicians and the gambling interests, but certainly not the people of Iowa.”

Unlike the farm crisis of the 1980’s, the budget mess that the state finds itself in now was created by Governor Culver and the Democratic legislature who went on a reckless spending spree after gaining power following the 2006 elections. For the most part, state spending grew at the rate of inflation and matched state revenues under during Branstad’s terms as governor.

When Governor Culver took office and Democrat majorities in the House and Senate were seated, spending went out of control. Fiscal year 2008 and 2009 appropriations were the highest in the state’s history. While state revenues were strong, the increased level of spending was no big deal, but when the economy collapsed in the fall of 2008, all of the excess spending caught up with them.

To balance last year’s budget, Culver and the Democrats relied on hundreds of millions of dollars of one-time money from the federal government. Now that those dollars are about to run out, the Governor is now pressuring the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to expand gambling in the state in hopes to generate more revenue. Iowa already has enough casinos in the state. There is essentially a casino within an hour’s drive from anywhere in Iowa. There are countless examples of the negative impact gambling has on the communities where casinos are located.

Governor Culver and the legislature would be better off if they would admit that they have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Instead of issuing new gaming licenses, finding ways to help casinos make more money, and expanding the lottery, Culver and the Democrats should get serious about finding ways to make state government leaner and more efficient. If they are unwilling to do so, then Iowans need to elect a new management team who will address the state’s real problem.

I don’t blame a Democrat for wanting to primary Governor Chet Culver. Culver is vulnerable, and if I was a Democrat, I’d be trying to find a way to get him off the ballot next November. Challenging Culver to a primary is smart, I just don’t know if Narcisse is the right guy to do it.

Narcisse let it be known that he’s running for Governor for almost six months now. We all assumed he would be running as an independent, then the media seized on the fact he was a Democrat. Like a fly attracted to a bug zapper, Narcisse could not resist the gravitational pull of a Democratic primary challenge.

The reason I think Narcisse is an idiot is because he said win, lose, or draw he will be on the ballot this fall. Meaning if he loses, he will just run as an independent. I don’t think running as an independent because you lost the Democratic primary makes a person look like a credible candidate. However, this is the same guy who tried to motivate a student by encouraging him not be like some former athlete who asks customers for money for wine and offering (oral sex) for money.

There is no possible way that this guy will ever be the governor, but he could have made an impact on the general election. I think this latest development benefits the Republicans. Not because he is in a primary against Culver, but because it makes him irrelevant when he ultimately runs as an independent.

Narcisse is having an identity crisis. Only an idiot would announce that they will run as an independent if he loses his primary for governor.

Mike Huckabee

Huckabee was back in Iowa last week to help Bob Vander Plaats. It’s the second time he has come to Iowa to help out. Regardless if you like the man or not it seems as if he is loyal to the people who helped him in the 2008 caucuses.

Huckabee made the list because he said that he wasn’t up to speed on IFPC’s position on sitting out the general election if Branstad win the Republican nomination. IFPC’s position has been one of the most hotly debated issues in this year. Either he wanted to avoid taking such a strong position against Branstad or IFPC and Vander Plaats kept him in the dark. Maybe that explains why the usually approachable Huckabee didn’t talk to Des Moines media on his swing through the state.

Huckabee is an idiot for not knowing what he was walking into. You do that too many times in Iowa, and your presidential aspirations go up in flames.

Chet Culver

Governor Culver visited Iraq last week. I’m sure the trip had been in the works for awhile, but taking a trip to Iraq when the number of Iowans there is at an all time low seems pointless.

Culver also said, “I’m also here out of respect for the 18 Iowa guardsmen and women who have been killed in Iraq and in respect for their families as well and for the 200 Iowans who have been injured in this country.”

You needed to go to Iraq to do that Chet?

I used to think this guy was an astute campaigner, but lately he’s proved me wrong. The best thing that Governor Culver could do right now is be a better governor. That would mean skip the overseas trip to Iraq, stop using taxpayer’s money to campaign around the state, and grow a set and try to lead this state for the ten months you have left.

Does anyone else think that Culver’s trip and the firing of three more state employees in relation to the film tax credit fiasco is more that convenient timing? I do. This guy is never around when the media wants to ask a difficult question. I think the people of Iowa deserve to know why it took five months for these firings to occure.

Iowans will be idiots if they don’t send him back home to Virginia.

President Obama/Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi

Last week’s healthcare summit was a yawner, but Krusty Kudos to the Republicans for not doing something stupid like compromise on the Democrat’s bill. Obama came off as arrogant, Pelosi sounded stupid, and Harry Reid was pissed off. Reid is probably pissed off because he is probably the only guy in the room that’s not going to get re-elected this fall.

Anyway, instead of Democrats accepting the defeat of their massive government takeover of healthcare plan, they seem adamant to shove it down American’s throats. Regardless of what you think of the bill, doing so would be the biggest political blunder in modern history.

The healthcare debate shows the difference between Republicans and Democrats. When Republicans were in power, President Bush tried to reform Social Security. The public rejected the plan and Republicans stopped perusing it. The same is now happening with healthcare, except the Democrats refuse to listen to the people.

The Democrats are idiots if they opt for the nuclear option and shove this bill through.

Narcisse is no stranger to Democratic politics. He supported Governor Culver in 2006 and voted for President Obama in the last election. He has also served as the Co-Chair of the Polk County Democratic Party and is the former chair of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans (ICSSA).

Narcisse enters the Democrat primary less than a month away from having to submit his nomination petitions. He will have to collect 4,145 signatures to be placed on the primary ballot. That will be no easy task to meet, but Narcisse is well known in urban areas across the state through his publishing business that owns the state’s oldest African-American newspaper, the Iowa Bystander.

If successful in collecting enough signatures to be placed on the primary ballot, Narcisse will next have to find a way to get his message across to Democrat voters in the state. While Governor Culver’s popularity is at an all time low for an incumbent governor, he does have ample funds in which to wage a primary campaign.

Narcisse will also be aided by his close relationship with WHO Radio’s Steve Deace. Narcisse is a regular on Deace in the Afternoon and has been a guest on Jan Mickelson’s morning program as well. It is yet to be determined how well those radio audiences will influence the Democratic primary.

“His campaign should pay back the taxpayers for the cost of this stunt,
right after he apologizes for wasting their money.”

- Nick Ayers, RGA Executive Director

Watch the WHO-TV News Story

The Republican Governors Association today called on embattled Iowa Governor Chet Culver to reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of his transparent attempt to revive dwindling public support through an alleged economic development tour that was entirely devoid of news value and clearly intended to aid his slumping reelection bid.  Culver repackaged infrastructure projects previously announced last August in visits to several localities, at a time when Iowa’s budget deficit approaches $1 billion, citizens remain concerned about joblessness and his approval rating continues to nosedive.  Culver’s office has yet to disclose the cost to taxpayers of his campaign swing.

“No phony photo-op can change Chet Culver’s record as governor,” said Nick Ayers, Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association.  “He insults the intelligence of everyday Iowans when he embarks on motorcades around the stage staging no-news press conferences at the expense of taxpayers in an attempt to do nothing more than bolster his weak standing in the eyes of his constituents.  His campaign should pay back the taxpayers for the cost of this stunt right after he apologizes for wasting their money.”

As noted by WHO-TV in Des Moines, Culver spent time in several Iowa localities to promote state-funded infrastructure jobs he already detailed in August 2009.

“The governor made this same announcement back in August,” reported WHO’s Aaron Brilbeck, who asked Culver three times if there was any new information provided by the tour.

After failing to answer the clear question three times, a visibly angry and frustrated Culver abruptly ended the interview and hustled out of the building.  As the governor fled, the reporter followed, asking, “Again the question was, though, is this a waste of money?  At a time when the state should be saving money, is this a necessary trip?”

While Culver wasted taxpayer dollars on repeating announcements and annoying the media, the Iowa legislature continued to meet to grapple with the imposing deficit.  Meanwhile, more than a hundred thousand able Iowans suffered under the strain of unemployment.  According to the most recent data available, the unemployment rate in Iowa has risen by 78-percent since Culver took office. (Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2009).

In the meantime, Iowans have grown increasingly frustrated with Culver’s performance in office.  Since hitting his highest approval rating of 59-percent in January 2008, Culver now enjoys the approval of only 36-percent of Iowans, his lowest rating yet.

Most recently the writers of the Des Moines Cityview have said that I don’t understand what the Secretary of State does, marginalizing the Secretary of State’s role in business by saying that its only connection is maintaining a database of corporations. Those same writers said that “the Secretary of State has nothing to do with fighting for Iowa jobs…” If the Cityview were actually describing Chet Culver and Michael Mauro, I would agree. When Chet Culver was Secretary of State he did nothing to advocate for business or promote job growth in Iowa and Mauro has followed his lead, practically ignoring his role as an advocate for business.

I’m sure to the surprise of the writers of Cityview, the business role of the Secretary of State is not something I just made up. The current Secretary of State website describes the Secretary of State’s duties to include advocating for business friendly laws. “The office of the Secretary of State is now a service center for businesses in Iowa, the nation and the world and is committed to making sure Iowa remains a gateway for the world by being an advocate for Iowa business and products and making government more business friendly. Each business day the Office receives over 200 telephone calls and emails with business services related “questions. In 2008, the Office processed over 175,000 corporate and commercial documents and more than 127,000 UCC filings.

The truth is I can’t totally fault the Des Moines Cityview for their opinion. It is no wonder that the Cityview does not recognize that the Secretary of State should be an advocate for business when they are looking at the examples of Culver and Mauro over the past 12 years to base their opinions. This year the Secretary of State has proposed legislation for election laws in SF 2196, but Mauro has not proposed any legislation for small business. Last year when Iowa’s Right to Work laws were under attack and the Democrats tried to repeal Federal Deductibility the Secretary of State did nothing. The current Secretary of State is not an advocate for business or jobs; instead he tows the line of the Democrats’ attack on business by keeping silent.

Albert Einstein said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If we want different results then we must look to new leadership, not career politicians looking for retirement jobs or notoriety. It is time that we expect more from our elected leaders, including the Secretary of State. It is time for the next generation who has a vested interest in the future of our children, grandchildren, and our State, to now step up and take the lead. Iowa needs a Secretary of State that understands each of his responsibilities, including advocating for business and jobs. That is why Iowans should elect me, Councilman Matt Schultz, as a “Pro Jobs” Secretary of State, who will stand up and fight for Iowa jobs and fair elections. Visit my website at www.VoteMattschultz.com to see how you can help.

Below are videos of the speeches that Mike Huckabee and Bob Vander Plaats gave at the IFPC event in Des Moines on Wednesday. I have also posted a few pictures of Vander Plaats’ events in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday.

Bob Vander Plaats

Mike Huckabee

Cedar Rapids Vander Plaats Fundraiser

Cedar Rapids Vander Plaats Rally

Photos by Dave Davidson

Huckabee touched down at the Eastern Iowa Airport around noon yesterday. His plane was 30 minutes late, but he did spend about 15 minutes talking to the media before departing to the Cedar Rapids Country Club. Huckabee was asked numerous questions regarding the Tea Party movement and the ramifications for Republicans.

TheIowaRepublican.com asked Governor Huckabee, “This afternoon you are attending an event for IFPC in Des Moines. They have said if that, if Terry Branstad is our [Republican] nominee, they cannot support him. You have served in some capacity with Governor Branstad, so, is that an approach you endorse, or what’s your take on that?

After ten minutes of conversation about the Tea Party movement, TheIowaRepublican.com asked Governor Huckabee what makes Governor Culver a poor governor who deserves to be replaced.

The Vander Plaats campaign did a good job of utilizing Huckabee’s time in Iowa. They visited the two largest communities in the state. In Cedar Rapids, they held a fundraiser that cost $1,500 per person or $2,500 per couple. The rally later in the day was free, as was the IFPC event in Des Moines, however, contributions were solicited at that event.

While Vander Plaats got a lot of mileage out of Huckabee’s visit in terms of events, the media had limited opportunities to ask Huckabee and Vander Plaats questions. Members of the media were allowed to cover all of the events except for the fundraiser, but not allowing them the opportunity to ask questions of Huckabee and Vander Plaats in Des Moines and at the rally in Cedar Rapids might have cost them some media coverage.

The press coverage of Huckabee’s visit to Des Moines was more about Huckabee reminiscing about his time running for president than about the guy he traveled to the state to help get elected governor. The press availability in Cedar Rapids yielded stories about what Huckabee thought of the Tea Party movement and IFPC’s marriage initiatives. In most of the stories thus far, Vander Plaats is merely a sub plot.

What the Vander Plaats campaign needs more of than anything is an infusion of cash and a bunch of earned media. There is no doubt that Vander Plaats was able to raise money, attract larger than normal crowds, and get some media coverage, but the question remains whether or not he has what it takes to truly challenge former Governor Terry Branstad in the primary.

This morning’s Des Moines Register show just how the unions operate. A state worker by the name of Joe Anderson, who has avoided joining AFSCME for the past 13 years until he joined the union last year, emailed the union about a work issue. Danny Homan, the leader of AFSCME accidentally included Joe in an email to some AFSCME field representatives that read, “A scab, take your time responding to him.”

So here we have an actual union member, who already pays dues, that is treated like dirt because he only recently joined the union. How on earth can the Iowa legislature in good faith force all state employees to pay union dues after seeing a glimpse on how these the current non-union workers will be treated?

This is nothing more than a money grab from the unions and everybody knows it. Last year AFSCME Council 61 spent over a million dollars on political activities and lobbying. Homan’s salary in 2008 was $97,599. According to the Legislative Services Agency, the unions already collect $5.7 million in union dues from its members. If the fair share bill is signed into law the unions will receive a windfall of an additional $5.3 million a year.

In 2005, then Republican State Senator Mark Zieman called state employees “bottom feeders with their hands out.” Democrats and union leaders chastised Sen. Zieman about his remarks. When he stood for reelection, his comments were once again made an issue, and he ultimately lost his reelection bid.

Zieman’s comments were in poor taste, but Homan’s comments deserve swift action. How can we stand by and allow the administrator of the state’s largest union deny benefits to a state employee who is in good standing with the union? The appropriate thing to would be for Governor Culver to demand Homan’s resignation.

As Governor, Culver should stand on the side of the state’s employees, not the unions that fill his campaign coffers.

Chet has been traveling the state for the past two years either promoting high-speed train travel or his I-Jobs borrowing scheme. One of the advantages an incumbent governor has is that he can travel the state on the taxpayer’s dime and stop in to tell local folks what a great job he’s doing for your community.

This practice only works because the media blindly follows most elected officials around like a lost puppy. WHO TV’s new reporter, Aaron Brilbeck asked a simple question, “Was this a waste of money? With the state’s budget problems, is this a necessary trip?

Good job out of the new guy at channel 13. I’m always leery of a guy who parts his hair down the middle, but if that’s what it takes for a reporter to have the stones to ask good questions, I’m all for it. Brilbeck’s bio says that he has taken two self defense courses and has been shot at twice. I also think he can probably out-run Culver. Good job out of him.

Governor Culver, you’re an idiot for getting pissed off and running away from a reporter when asked a simple question.

Kathie Obradovich

Kathie has returned from her vacation. She was in Puerto Rico.

I don’t hold it against anyone for taking a vacation, but do we really care where she was. Do the 114,000 Iowans who are out of work really care that the Des Moines Register’s political columnist can afford to head off to Puerto Rico? I doubt that they do.

However, since Kathie has made her little vacation public, I’d like to know who she went on vacation with. I doubt that her lobbyist husband would pull himself away from Iowa during the legislative session.

Anyway, Kathie is an idiot for thinking people care that she was on vacation. Nobody missed you. I can’t think of a single column you have written in the past year that was actually worth a crap. Here’s a thought, have a take, and don’t suck. The gospel of Jim Rome has worked well for those who have adopted it. Give it a whirl. You need to become relevant before the caucuses roll around Kathie…