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.

The following pictures were posted on the USO Dallas/Fort Worth’s Facebook page.

The following pictures tell the story of the parade.

I’m excited about his campaign because unlike our current Secretary of State, Matt is actually talking about things that would make our elections safe and secure.  Asking a voter to produce a photo ID when they go to the polls seems like a common sense thing to do.  Unfortunately, Secretary of State Mauro thinks implementing this simple procedure is unnecessary.

My wife and I recently moved to Polk County.  The June primary was the first time that I had cast a vote in Polk County.  As I drove to my polling site, it dawned on me that while I changed my voter registration, I never took the time to update my driver’s license.  Needless to say, I was nervous about what would happen when I went to vote, especially if I wasn’t on the list of registered voters for some reason.

When I signed in, a very nice lady asked for my name and address, which I gladly told her.  She then asked to produce a photo ID, the lady next to her quickly reminded her that she couldn’t ask me that.  I think it’s scary that anyone that day could have walked in there, said their name was Craig Robinson, provided them my address, and be allowed to vote.

Showing an ID to vote makes perfect sense, so dose having a voter fraud hot-line so people know where to call when they see suspicious activities at polling sites.  That is a nothing thing that Matt Schultz will do after he is elected.  That is why I think voting for Matt on November 2^nd, and maybe sending his campaign a contribution on his birthday is also the common sense thing to do.

Happy Birthday Matt.

The following is the breakdown of Culver’s contributions in his most recent report.

Total Contributions: Terry Branstad had over 2200 people contribute to his campaign during the six-week reporting period, while Culver only had 344. While money isn’t everything in politics, it is important. Branstad’s report shows a wide swath of support around the state. To put Culver’s report in perspective, Brenna Findley had more contributors than he did.

Dependence on Out-Of-State Money: More than half of the money that Governor Culver raised flowed into his campaign from out-of-state sources. While only 19 out-of-state PACs and organizations gave to Culver’s campaign, they represent a majority of the money he was able to raise for his campaign.

Pathetic In-State Fundraising: Culver’s dependence on out of state money puts his campaign at risk of running out of money unless he can show that he is competitive with Terry Branstad. The best way for any campaign to insure it will have the necessary resources is to develop an in-state donors base. Culver only raised $187,899 from individuals in Iowa. If you take away Culver’s three largest personal contributions (Bill Knapp $80,000, Fred Hubbell $24,000, Greg Abel $15,000) he would have only raised $67,899.

Other interesting facts:

Average amount given by PAC or organizations: $13,256.41
Average individual contribution amount = $815.61
Average in-state individual contribution amount = $725.47
Average in-state individual minus Knapp, Hubbell, Abel = $267.71

Conclusion: Governor Culver has about $2.7 million in his campaign account, and while that is a lot of money, he is also spending money at a rapid clip. In the six-week period, Culver spent $1 million and is currently running a new attack ad on Branstad. If he maintains this level of spending, he will be broke before October.

While running out of money would be detrimental for any candidate, it doesn’t seem like Culver’s attacks on Branstad are making any sort of impact. As I’ve said before, if he can’t make this a competitive race, his out-of-state money will dry up and be used in other states where Democrats have better odds.

Photo by Dave Davidson

Section 14 in the documents “Statement of Principles” reads:

“The Constitution of the United States provides a system of checks and balances in our government by establishing the separations of powers into three branches.  Whereas, the Legislative branch makes Law, the Executive branch implements the Law and the Judicial branch interprets Law (according to the Constitution, not case law).  Any other form of law, such as Administrative (Executive order) and Judicial Legislation is unconstitutional and thereby illegal.”

Vander Plaats’ entire campaign was based on issuing an executive order to put a stay on gay marriages in the state until the people have the opportunity to vote on a Constitutional amendment.

Photo by Dave Davidson

Friday, June 25, 2010

Celebrating Our Constitution
Featuring Special Guests: Congressman Ron Paul and Author, Tom Woods
5:30 p.m. Reception |6:30 p.m. Dinner
Delegate Tickets: $40 | Regular Tickets: $50

Exhibit Hall C at Hy-Vee Hall, Des Moines, Iowa

*Please contact Megan Koontz at (515) 282-8105 or mkoontz@iowagop.org to reserve tickets.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

TheIowaRepublican.com Delegate Luncheon
Featuring Special Guest: Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum
Exhibit Hall C at Hy-Vee Hall, Des Moines, Iowa
Start Time: Approximately 11:30 – Noon
Cost: Free of Charge

Findley for Iowa Special Event
Featuring Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
Exhibit Hall C at Hy-Vee Hall, Des Moines, Iowa
Start Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $50

*Please contact the Findley for Iowa campaign at events@findleyforiowa.com to reserve tickets.

Three election officials greeted me as I came through the door. The first lady asked if I had my voter registration card. One of the other workers said, “He doesn’t need to show that.” Then she asked to see my ID. The other worker said, “He doesn’t need to show that either.”

I just smiled through the exchange because I think it’s so odd that we don’t have to show any ID to vote. All you need is for your name to be in the book. Since I have yet to update my drivers licenses, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t have to show an ID. I had nothing on me that indicated that I was an Ankeny resident.

He’s not always been very consistent from one election cycle to another. We all know that courts don’t make law, but it seems that, in Arkansas, the Court can raise taxes. That is something Deace didn’t have a problem with when he was backing Mike Huckabee. It’s also interesting to look at the conversation on immigration that went on during the caucuses in light of the present attacks by Vander Plaats against Branstad in the current race.

One could argue that biggest flip-flopper involved in this race isn’t a candidate. Perhaps these clips will show that everyone is capable of changing positions on issues and strengthening their stand, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are bad people, just different than they used to be.

We hope you enjoy this tongue-in-cheek look at Iowa politics.

Photo by Dave Davidson