Iowa Presidential Watch
Holding the Democrats accountable

Q U O T A B L E S

April 25, 2006

"Massive deportation of the people [illegal immigrants]here is unrealistic. It's just not going to work," President Bush said.

"The first thing we want is tough border control," National Democrat Chairman Howard Dean said. "We can do a much better job on our borders than George Bush has done. Then we can go on to the policy disagreements about how to get it done."

"This is a long-lead-time [oil & gas] business; the investment horizon is five, 10 or 20 years," said Daniel Yergin, chairman of the consulting firm Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "There's no switch to pull."

"Opining about the price of energy after voting to limit energy production and increase energy costs is yet another perfect example of Harry Reid's and the Democrats' overwhelming hypocrisy," said RNC Press Secretary Tracey Schmitt. "Refusing to explore, drill, or invest in new energy sources, while raising taxes at the pump, has not and will not help American families fill their tanks, or their pocketbooks."

"They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said. "In the short run, it's hard to deal with it for tomorrow. But I think windfall profits, eliminating the antitrust exemption, considering the excessive concentration of power are all items we ought to be addressing."

"To hear the Angry Left talk, Bush is as corrupt as Nixon, as evil as Hitler, and as incompetent as Jimmy Carter. Convince yourself of this, and cutting legal or ethical corners in the name of stopping him doesn't seem so bad. In other words, the Democrats are being corrupted by their own imaginings about Bush's badness," writes James Taranto in the Wall Street Journal’s " The Best of the Web."

 

J U S T   P O L I T I C S

 

Fred Barnes: it’s about turnout

Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard about Karl Rove’s most important job after the White House reorganization. The following demonstrates what Rove's new job of making sure Republicans do not have the disastrous mid-term elections everyone is predicting. The key to that, of course, is turnout. The following statement by Barnes states well the situation:

More recently, the turnout factor has been the single greatest influence on midterm elections. In 1990, 27.4 million Americans voted for Republican House candidates, and the party lost 8 seats. In 1994, however, the Republican turnout jumped to 36.3 million, and the party captured 52 House seats. It dipped in 1998 to 32 million, prompting a loss of 5 seats. But in 2002 it soared to 37 million, and Republicans won 8 House seats.

Democrat strategy

Dan Balz of the Washington Post writes about the Democrat National Committee’s meeting in New Orleans and suggests they believe that "had enough" may not be enough:

"In 2006, the veil of competency that they pretended to have, the illusion of security they ran on, is no longer there," said Robert Zimmerman, Democratic national committeeman from New York. "This is an election where the message is 'stand and deliver,' and they've not been able to stand and deliver."

But as powerful as that sentiment for change may be across the country, many Democrats see it as only one component of a winning campaign strategy. In their estimation, the message "Had enough?" is not enough to guarantee the kind of success in November that they believe is possible.

Confession & denial

Newsweek reports that confessed traitor Mary O. McCarthy now says that she didn’t do it:

April 24, 2006 - A former CIA officer who was sacked last week after allegedly confessing to leaking secrets has denied she was the source of a controversial Washington Post story about alleged CIA secret detention operations in Eastern Europe, a friend of the operative told NEWSWEEK.

Nussle's 'IOWA' mandate

The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa's Rep. Jim Nussle is introducing the "Independence from Oil With Agriculture Act,' (IOWA) which calls for a substantial increase in the mandate of renewable fuels in all gasoline in the U.S.:

He said in an interview that the current federal mandate for 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be included in all gasoline in the United States by 2012 appears certain to be met, possibly within the next year. He would like to see that mandate increased to 12 billion by 2012, he said.

In addition, Nussle would provide a permanent tax credit for installation of E85 tanks. Most drivers in Iowa use a blend containing 10 percent ethanol, which is made from corn, and 90 percent gasoline. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Vilsack returns

Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA) is returning from California this morning. Vilsack has been traveling a great deal in hopes of improving his presidential aspirations. A consequence of his travels is the fact that very little progress has been achieved in creating a state budget with the 25-25 Republican split in the Iowa Senate and Republican controlled Iowa House of Representatives.

Vilsack’s lack of attention to the Iowa Legislature has caused for little agreement and the potential for charges of incompetence. Republican political commentator Doug Gross charged on a local T.V. program that Vilsack’s style of not delegating details to staff has prevented any progress from occurring during his frequent absences.

Frist's Iowa endeavors

Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) left Iowa yesterday after making news on three fronts.

Frist was in Iowa to speak to a health care program and promoted the need for medical tort reform. The Iowa Trial Lawyers Association countered with a message that basically said that Frist was cruel and heartless for not allowing for as large a settlement as possible for those who have been unjustly injured.

The second front was being bushwhacked on the AIDS issue. Frist replied that he co-sponsored the bill that established greater federal funding for AIDS treatment programs. He also pledged the bill would be re-authorized this year. "As a physician and one who has personally taken care of many, many patients with HIV/AIDS, who has helped diagnose it (and) treat the complications, I am a strong advocate," Frist says.

The third front was Frist's comments that shortages of ethanol were contributing to high gas prices.

 

 

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