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IOWA
DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
Thursday,
June 19, 2003
Among the offerings in this morning’s update:
Headline on
Yepsen column in Des Moines Register this
morning: “Dean’s caucus elixir has a dash
of Carter’s recipe” Yepsen draws
comparison between an unknown Georgia governor
who showed up in Iowa in the mid-1970s to an
unknown Vermont governor showing up in Iowa in
the early 2000s
In New
Hampshire, Kerry told supporters yesterday
that “if [GWB} lied he lied to me personally.”
Kerry added: “He misled every
one of us.”
.In Iowa,
Dean says independent Iraq probe needed
because “no one is going to trust a right-wing
Congress” to do it
Report:
Kucinich – seeking to be
commander-in-chief – “barred from seeing
classified documents because he has refused to
sign an “oath of non-disclosure”
Kerry
moves to a 10-point lead over Dean in
New Hampshire, Gephardt and
Lieberman locked in low double digits
Graham
heats up DC audience – mentioning the word
“impeachment” – but says he did not see an
impeachable offense in Iraq buildup
Proposed
Nantucket wind farm complicates Kerry’s
“new Manhattan Project” energy initiative
Grassley
seeks to end Senate tradition allowing
members to place anonymous holds on bills
What’s new?
Gephardt missed yesterday’s House vote to
permanently end estate taxes. Kucinich
voted “no” and the IA delegation split
At least two
women were crying as Gephardt related
personal trials and tribulations to New
Hampshire audience
Washington
Post’s Dan Balz writes that the Dem rivals
missed the target – the economy
Dean tells
Q-C Times he’s raised more than million
dollars from Internet campaign, says his
“strategy is the only one that can beat George
Bush”
DI editorial:
IA lawmakers have “jeopardized Iowa’s
future by refusing to renew” grant program for
state’s smaller communities
”Best of Web”
observation: Who needs Clark’s military
experience when Kerry’s already
running?
New York Times
reports this morning that GOP close to funding
2004 national convention
WHO Radio (Des
Moines): With Vilsack’s commitment
not to seek another term, gubernatorial
wannabes are already working “under the radar”
on 2006 race
Iowaism: More than 900 tractors – and their
drivers – expected in Mount Pleasant
over the weekend All
these stories below and more.
Morning Updates: … Several
newscasts this morning report that Guv
Vilsack will announce his decision today
about whether to sign, veto or item veto an
economic stimulus package The reports
say Vilsack is expected to exercise
his line item veto on some sections of the
proposal – which could set up legal
challenges that have been promised by GOP
legislative leaders …Newscasts
report that fire officials continue to
investigate a house blaze that caused the
death of a 6-year-old Muscatine boy,
Austin Walker, yesterday. Radio Iowa reports
his parents and two sisters escaped.
… Des Moines
Register columnist David Yepsen writes this
morning that
Dean
could be
this year’s Jimmy Carter – the unknown
governor who almost lived in Iowa in the
mid-70s and became president. Excerpts: “Like
Carter, Dean has worked himself into a
position where he could actually win the Iowa
caucuses. A Dean win? And upset of
front-runners Richard Gephardt and John
Kerry? Early polling in Iowa shows
Dean in third place and closing on those
rivals. No other candidate shows his kind
of forward motion. Polls show Dean
has come further in Iowa than any of his
rivals…Dean is also organizing gays and
lesbians, folks he energized when he signed a
bill authorizing civil unions in Vermont.
While Iowa’s gay and lesbian community may not
be all that large – Iowa has a way of running
off gays and lesbians – they will be a
factor in the precinct caucus fight where a
few hundred votes can make a difference.”
…
It was just a
few days ago that some New Hampshire polls
were showing Kerry and Dean in a virtual tie –
but, according to the latest American Research
Group survey, Kerry has bounded into a
10-point lead.
The
ARG poll, released yesterday, indicated that
Kerry is now at 28% to Dean’s 18%.
Actually, the outcome indicates marginal
changes since last month’s survey when
Kerry
was
leading 26%-19% --
but, to say
the least, the numbers are not moving in a
desirable direction for Dean.
Two wannabes –
Gephardt
and
Lieberman – continue to battle for third.
Lieberman has 11% in the June poll
(from 12% last
month)
while Gephardt
is at 10%
(down from 12%
last month). The poll shows that 23% remain
undecided.
Others:
Edwards is at 4%, Graham 2%, with the rest –
Moseley Braun, Clark, Kucinich
and
Sharpton
–
locked in a competitive battle for last
at
1% each.
Footnotes:
ARG
reports
that
Kerry’s
10-point margin over
Dean
is his largest since January when
Kerry
enjoyed a 12-point lead over
Dean…Kerry
leads Dean 31%-16% among registered Democrats
likely to vote in the primary
(which
accounted for 81% of the June sample) while
Dean
leads Kerry 26%-15% among undeclared
–
Independent –
voters
(19% of
the sample)…The sample included 600 voters –
484 registered Dems and 116 undeclared –
during 6/14-17. The margin of error +/- 4
percentage points. … “Kerry
says Bush misled Americans on war” –
headline
from today’s Boston Globe online. Coverage of
Kerry’s
appearance
yesterday in Lebanon, NH, by AP political ace
Ron Fournier: “Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry said
Wednesday that President Bush broke his
promise to build an international coalition
against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and then waged a
war on questionable intelligence.
‘He
misled every one of us,’
Kerry
said. ‘That’s
one reason why I’m running to be president of
the United States.’
Kerry
said Bush
made his case for war based on
at least two
pieces of U. S. intelligence that now appear
to be wrong:
that Iraq sought nuclear material from Africa
and that Saddam’s government had aerial
weapons capable of attacking the United States
with biological material. Still,
Kerry
said it is
too early to conclude whether the war was
justified. There needs to be a congressional
investigation into U. S. intelligence on Iraq,
he said. ‘I
will not let him off the hook throughout this
campaign with respect to America’s credibility
and credibility to me because if he lied he
lied to me personally,’
he said.” … Headline
from yesterday’s Daily Iowan (University of
Iowa): “Dean
demands probe of Bush”
Report by AP’s Iowa guy, Mike Glover,
datelined
Atlantic:
“Former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean called Tuesday for an
independent probe of President Bush's
justification for launching an attack on Iraq,
arguing that Bush misled the country and
Congress can't be trusted to
find
the
truth.
‘I think the president owes this country an
explanation because what the president said
was not entirely truthful, and he needs to
explain why that was,’ said
Dean
in an interview with the Associated Press. He
pointed to a series of assertions made by
administration figures about the presence of
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the
danger that regime posed - claims, he said,
that were made knowing they weren't true. ‘We
need a thorough look at what really happened
going into Iraq,’ Dean said.
‘It appears to me that what the president did
was make a decision to go into Iraq sometime
in early 2002, or maybe even late 2001, and
then try to get the justification afterward.’
In
the interview, Dean argued that a Republican
Congress has not shown the will to challenge a
popular GOP president, and he said an
independent inquiry is needed. ‘No one is
going to trust a right-wing Congress to do
this,’ said Dean.
He was vague on how an independent inquiry
would be structured. ‘It's not clear to me;
the special-prosecutor statute has expired,’
he said.”
… Graham
continues drive for Iraqi intelligence
investigation – brings up word that would
appeal to Dem liberals: impeachment.
Headline from yesterday’s Miami Herald: “Graham:
Bush deceived the public over threat in Iraq”
The Herald’s Frank Davies wrote: “Sen.
Bob Graham Tuesday appealed to centrist
Democrats with a low-key call for fiscal
responsibility and a hard-edged critique of
President Bush that included an incendiary
word: impeachment. Graham, a
Florida Democrat running for president, said
he recently had seen ‘Impeach George Bush’
buttons on the campaign trail. He was asked in
New Hampshire if Congress would impeach the
president ‘if in fact it was found there was
manipulation of intelligence in order to
create public support for the war’ in Iraq.
'My answer was no, but the American people
will have an opportunity to collapse both
steps -- impeachment and removal from office
-- on the first Tuesday of November 2004,’
Graham told a couple hundred members of
the New Democrat Network meeting in
Washington. Graham, former chairman of
the Senate Intelligence Committee, did not
see an impeachable offense in the buildup to
war, but accused the administration of
‘deception and deceit’ in its foreign and
domestic policies. ‘We were sold on war with
Iraq because of an imminent threat to the
United States of weapons of mass destruction,’
he said. 'Now we can't find `Osama Bin
Forgotten' or Saddam Hussein or those
weapons.’” …
Gephardt – as
usual – was missing yesterday when the House
voted to permanently end estate taxes.
On the bill – which passed 264-163 –
Kucinich
and
IA GOP Congressman
Leach
voted “no”
while the rest of the Iowa delegation (GOPs
King, Latham and Nussle, Dem Boswell)
supported the permanent estate tax repeal.
Technically, the House bill abolishes the
estate tax and will reduce federal revenue by
$162 billion through 2013. A law passed in
2001 eliminated the tax in 2010, only to
resurrect it a year later, but the
House-passed bill would have the effect of
making the repeal permanent.
A nearly
identical bill that was approved by the House
last year died in the Senate, and this year’s
bill is expected to meet a similar fate.
…
On the Clark
Beat:
In his “Best
of the Web” column yesterday, James Taranto
wrote on OpinionJournal.com (Wall Street
Journal) – “One
can understand why Democrats would turn to a
military man at a time like this. In the wake
of Sept. 11, national security is of
surpassing importance, and the Dems are known
for their cluelessness on the subject.
But
Clark
doesn’t seem
to have any particularly imaginative ideas
about how to win the war against Islamic
terrorists, and
it’s worth
noting that military experience is no
prerequisite for excellent wartime leadership.
Abraham Lincoln served only a few months as a
captain in the Illinois militia, and he saw no
combat. FDR had no military experience at all.
Besides, if the Democrats really want a
nominee with military experience, what’s wrong
with John Kerry? He served in Vietnam, or so
we hear.” … New York
Times headline today: “For
2004 Convention, G. O. P. Raises $91 Million
in a Hurry”
Report says NYC convention organizers say
“they have received financial commitments of
about $60 million from wealthy residents and
corporate chiefs, with 15 months left to go
before the opening gavel strikes…That
figure is just $4 million short of what the
New York City Host Committee has agreed to
raise and is several months ahead of a
schedule of fund-raising goals spelled out in
the agreement with the Republican National
Committee.”
The Times said the total convention budget is
$91 million -- $64 million from the host
committee and $27 million from the city for
police, fire, emergency services and
insurance.
…
Aggressive
Internet campaign nets Dean over $1M this year.
A report by Todd Dorman in yesterday’s
Quad-City Times reported: “ As he hit Iowa’s
highways and TV airwaves Tuesday, Democratic
presidential hopeful Howard
Dean
said his aggressive Internet campaign push has
raised more than $1 million this year while
also helping attract thousands of volunteers
nationwide. ‘The difference between me and
the other Democratic candidates is they’re
using the traditional strategy of trying to
straddle an ever-smaller electorate,’ he
said while campaigning in western Iowa. He
also launched the first TV ads of the 2004
caucus campaign Tuesday. ‘What we’re
interested in doing is expanding that
electorate,’ said Dean, the former
governor of Vermont. ‘I think our strategy is
the only one that can beat George Bush.’
Dean’s campaign has used its Internet
presence as a rallying point for the creation
of small “Meetup” groups across the country.
So far, according to the campaign, more 34,000
people have joined the groups, creating an
unpaid legion of campaign supporters in many
states where Dean has no paid staff or
organization on the ground. Nearly 200 signed
up on Tuesday alone. Meetup groups gather
monthly to plan events, recruit supporters,
mount public service projects or plot other
strategies to help the campaign. More than
300 Iowans have signed up to join Meetup
groups, according to campaign staff.”
… “Democratic
Rivals’ Missed Target: Economy” – headline
from yesterday’s Washington Post. The Post’s
veteran political ace Dan Balz reports: “President
Bush's economic record should present an
attractive target for the Democratic
presidential candidates. Instead, it has
become another source of division,
disagreement and, so far at least, a missed
opportunity to change public opinion. Under
Bush, the U.S. economy has lost about 3
million private-sector jobs. The unemployment
rate has risen from 4.2 percent to 6.1
percent. The Dow Jones industrial average,
despite a recent rebound, remains more than
1,100 points below the levels of January 2001.
The president's tax cuts and spending
increases have turned budget surpluses into
record deficits that some experts say amount
to a long-term fiscal crisis. In the face of
those figures, Democrats appear stymied.
The party's congressional wing, operating in
the minority, has neither the votes nor the
megaphone to carry an economic message, party
strategists acknowledge. The party's
presidential candidates speak with nine
voices, and they have failed to make the
economy a consistent and coherent focus of
their messages. Polls show that the public
neither blames Bush principally for the state
of the economy nor recognizes a Democratic
alternative. ‘There's a large part of the
Democratic Party that wants to wait for the
unemployment rate to deliver them the next
election,’ said Jeff Faux of the
progressive Economic Policy Institute. ‘Maybe
that will happen, but it's easier for them to
do that than to go out there and put together
support around some program.’ Many of the
candidates have given, at some time over the
past six months, a major economic speech, and
harsh criticism of the president is threaded
through their standard speeches along the
campaign trail. It has added up to little, in
part because no one has a full-blown economic
program. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt
(Mo.) says his proposal to provide
near-universal health care coverage amounts to
an economic program, but even some Democrats
sympathetic to it say it is more a social
program than an economic plan. Other
candidates have plans still in the making.
Beyond that, Bush has done to the Democrats
what President Bill Clinton did to the
Republicans during his second term: used his
own economic priorities to box in the
opposition.” … In New
Hampshire, Gephardt – with 10% in latest NH
poll -- tried warm touch to get voters to warm
up to him. Headline from yesterday’s
Washington Post: “Personal
Politicking…Richard Gephardt, Gambling That
Voters Will Relate to His Troubles” The
Post’s Mark Leibovich reports from Hampton,
NH: “Rep. Richard Gephardt is talking
softly, his audience rapt. At least two women
are in tears. ‘When our oldest son was 2
years old, he was diagnosed with terminal
cancer at St. Louis Children's Hospital," the
Missouri Democrat tells a gathering at a
high-tech firm. There was a tumor on Matt
Gephardt's prostate. ‘It was the size of a
volleyball,’ Gephardt says, a large
mass that filled his abdominal cavity. ‘The
doctors said we can't get it out and we don't
think chemo will work.’ Matt would be lucky to
live another six weeks. ‘We went home that
night, knelt down by the bed and prayed that
we could find an answer to our horrible
problem.’…’Today, Matt's 32 years old,
married, and he lives in Atlanta, Georgia,"
Gephardt says. ‘I get warm all over when I
see this young man . . .. He is a gift from
God.’ Asked later what they liked best
about Gephardt's 45-minute presentation,
several people cite the story of Matt.
They appreciate Gephardt's willingness
to discuss such a vital issue as health care
in such starkly personal terms. But Matt's
story is anything but private. Indeed, his
ordeal has become the very public property of
his father's presidential campaign -- his
bravery, his side effects, his three years of
chemotherapy and his 10 operations.
Gephardt, 62, has recounted his son's
story hundreds of times, nearly every day
since he began his campaign for president on
Feb. 19. It is a centerpiece of his stump
speech and any discussion of health care
reform. It also represents a bold and somewhat
risky foray into the politics of personal
pain. Gephardt is hardly the first
candidate to weave aspects of his personal
history into his campaign speeches. Abraham
Lincoln told stories of his childhood in a log
cabin. Bill Clinton's "Man from Hope" slogan
evoked both his up-from-nothing bio and the
American themes of faith and opportunity. Sen.
John Kerry (D-Mass.) speaks often about
his experiences in Vietnam. Sen. John
Edwards (D-N.C.) describes his upbringing
as the poor son of a millworker and, like
Gephardt, sprinkles his speeches with
family stories to explain his positions on
issues. But more than any other candidate,
Gephardt's campaign narrative is an amalgam of
his family's experiences and, often, its
trials.”
IOWA/NATIONAL
POLITICS: … WHO Radio (Des
Moines) reports that Vilsack’s
announced decision to not seek another term
has given possible gubernatorial wannabes
“plenty of time” to lay the groundwork for the
2006 campaigns. WHO quotes Drake University
political guru Dennis Goldford as saying
several candidates are already engaged in
preliminary planning “under the radar.” Among
the prospective candidates mentioned: For
the Dems – Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson and
Secretary of State Chet Culver. For the
Republicans – Des Moines attorney (and 2002
GOP gubernatorial candidate) Doug Gross,
Congressman Jim Nussle, first-term Congressman
Steve King and Sioux City businessman Bob
Vander Platts, who was defeated in the GOP
gubernatorial primary last year.
This
morning’s headlines: Des Moines
Register, top front-page headline: “Sources:
Governor to veto cuts…What Vilsack
Wants: Economic stimulus plan and property tax
restructuring…What Vilsack Wants to
Veto: Income tax cuts and specific business
regulations” Quad-City
Times, nation/world online stories: “House
panel approves rural health provisions” &
“N. Korea entraps U. S. in a dangerous
corner” Daily Iowan
(University of Iowa), national/world
headlines: “Troops kill 2 protestors in
Baghdad” & “Bush raps Iran nuke plans”
Top stories,
Sioux City Journal online: “Despite
Harkin’s complaints, Senate panel approves
agriculture nominee Thomas Door” & “Kerry
says Bush misled Americans on war”
Omaha
World-Herald, nation/world online heads: “Bishops’
credibility on the line” Report says that
despite progress in implementing some reforms
called for a year ago, the image of Roman
Catholic bishops hasn’t improved much. & “Hispanics
now largest minority in the U. S.”
New York
Times, top online headlines: “Hussein’s Top
Aide Has Been Caught, U. S. Officials Say”
& “Report by the E. P. A. Leaves Out Data
on Climate Change” Chicago
Tribune online, featured headlines: “Police,
pastors patrol tense Michigan town” & “Bush
warns against nuclear arms in Iran”
Iowa
Briefs: … WHO-TV (Des
Moines) reported that a new hospital for
West Des Moines might be build sooner
than planned. The report said Iowa
Health-Des Moines indicated that a large
private contribution -- $15M from the Myers
family, which owns Regency Homes – will
jumpstart the plans. Construction could
begin next spring and open 22 months later …The
Quad-City Times reported that Eagle Foods is
closing nine stores – including Eagle Food
Centers in Davenport and Iowa City.
The grocery chain, which filed for bankruptcy
protection in April, still has 50 stores.
… From the
Korean Front: VOANews (Voice of America)
reports: “Foreign ministers from Asia, Europe
and North America say the Korea Peninsula
should be free of nuclear weapons and are
calling for more negotiations to end the
standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.
The call came during a meeting of the ASEAN
Regional Forum in Cambodia. U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Powell says he believes a
diplomatic solution to end North Korea's
nuclear program is still possible but warns
the situation is
dangerous. Mr. Powell made the remarks at
the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Phnom Penh
on Pacific Rim security issues. The ASEAN
Regional Forum brings together the 10 members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
with 13 partner countries, including the
United States, Australia, and Russia. All
the regional powers agree the nuclear threat
from North Korea must be solved through
dialogue.”
… “Vision
Iowa ignores rural areas that need funding”
– Headline from editorial in yesterday’s Daily
Iowan (University of Iowa). State lawmakers
jeopardized Iowa's future by refusing to renew
funding for the Community Attraction
and Tourism Program as
part of the state economic-stimulus package.
The program was more integral to Iowa than
Vision Iowa. It provided smaller amounts
of money for projects that were not only
situated throughout the state, they were more
essential to the future of the state -
whereas Vision Iowa created a few bloated
urban projects that sometimes had no local
backing. The 3-year-old
community-attraction program has ladled out
$36 million in grants for projects in
communities across the state…Community-attraction
funds have literally saved Iowa communities…Most
[Vision Iowa requests] ask for state-generated
funds to be diverted to areas already
generating money. The future Coralville and
Iowa City did not rely on the Iowa Child
Project, nor has there been a communitywide
grass-roots movement calling for an indoor
rain-forest. While these projects would
have created jobs and possibly generated
tourism, they aren't the main goals of Vision
Iowa. It was created to enhance the quality
of life in Iowa - the entire state.
Quality of life is considerably higher in Iowa
City and other urban areas than in communities
struggling to just survive. The
community-attraction program did more to
enhance life in Iowa with less money. Our
lawmakers' decision will only increase the
inequities between urban and rural Iowa that
Vision Iowa helped accentuate,” Today’s
editorials:
… Today’s headlines, Des Moines Register:
“Prepare for ‘Perfect Storm’ in winter
heating bills…With gas in short supply,
Iowans should start insulating…Iowans don’t
have to be reminded of how bad it could be.
Two years ago, a wicked combination resulted
in some four-digit heating bills.” & “Try
the Ford idea again…A broad sharing of
reward ultimately benefits everyone.”
Editorial, noting centennial of the Ford Motor
Co., said: “The conventional approach today is
to hold wages down as much as possible and to
skew the rewards of an enterprise toward a few
people at the top. It’s the opposite of the
Ford idea of sharing the wealth, enabling
those at the bottom to buy more, ultimately
making everyone better off.” … The fourth
annual Hy-Vee Classic – a stop on the Women’s
Senior Golf Tour – continues at the Hyperion
Field Club in Johnston today through
the weekend. The golfers arrived yesterday to
participate in practice rounds and special
activities yesterday with the pro-arm events
today and tomorrow. … Radio
Iowa’s Todd Kimm noted that the Iowa games
summer sports festival doesn’t begin until
next month – 7/18 – in Ames, but that
preliminary competition in basketball will be
start with four regional events. The
competition will involve all age groups – from
fifth graders to the adult divisions. The four
regionals this weekend will be in Council
Bluffs, Davenport, Storm Lake and Cedar
Falls. Two more regionals will be held the
following weekend in Des Moines and
Iowa City.
… DSM 7 a.m. 68, partly sunny. Morning temps
across IA at 7 a.m. mostly in upper 50s and
lower 60s – from 55 in Sheldon and 57
in LeMars to 68 in Des Moines
and Knoxville. Today’s high 82, partly
sunny. Tonight’s low 52, clear. Friday’s high
82, sunny. Friday night’s low 58, partly
cloudy.
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Where’s
Abe? Ironically, two items in today’s report
mention Abraham Lincoln. Can you find
them?
…
House committee denies Kucinich push for Iraq
intel.
Headline – “Congressional
Committee Rejects Bid to Force Administration
to Release Iraq Weapons”
From VOANews (Voice of America) report: “A
congressional committee has rejected an
attempt by a Democratic lawmaker to force the
Bush administration to release intelligence
information it used to justify military action
in Iraq.
The
Republican-led House International Relations
Committee voted unfavorably along party lines
on a ‘Resolution of Inquiry’ proposed by Ohio
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, saying other
investigations made it redundant.
In early June, Mr.
Kucinich
announced he would use a rarely-employed
procedure to force the administration to
release all intelligence it had on Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction. However, since
then the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence has already begun its own inquiry
involving classified information. A similar
inquiry is underway in the Senate…Mr.
Kucinich,
who is a Democratic candidate for president in
2004, was not present for the session.
However, other Democrats spoke in support,
arguing that the committee could not go on
record simply rejecting the resolution…A
resolution reported unfavorably to the full
House of Representatives means it will not be
taken up by the full chamber unless Mr.
Kucinich
presses the issue and requests it be placed on
the House schedule.
Even if the
international relations committee had given a
favorable recommendation to Mr. Kucinich’s
resolution, the congressman is barred from
seeing classified documents because he has
refused to sign an ‘oath of non-disclosure.’”
…
Kerry finds energy dilemma in own backyard
– of his Nantucket retreat. Online
headline from The Hill in DC: “Wind farm is
an issue for Kerry” Report by Sam Dealey:
“A renewed plea by presidential hopeful John
Kerry (D-Mass.) to redouble efforts at
using renewable energy has elicited
criticism that the senator has failed to push
adequately for such innovations in his own
backyard. Speaking in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, last Friday, Kerry
called for a ‘new Manhattan Project’ to
decrease the nation’s dependence on foreign
energy sources and go easier on Mother Nature.
‘We can generate more and more of our
electricity from wind, the sun, forest and
farm products,’ Kerry said. ‘I believe
we can and should produce 20 percent of all
our electricity from renewable sources by
2020. Twenty by 2020 — now that’s a clear
vision for America.’ It turns out, however,
that it’s not such a clear vision for all.
A huge proposed wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal,
seven miles off Nantucket Island, has met with
fierce resistance, including from some of
Kerry’s well-connected constituents and
neighbors, who look askance at the idea of
peering at a 130 whirling turbines from their
luxurious vacation retreats. Some residents
in nearby Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard,
replete with well-heeled castaways and summer
vacationers, say the wind farm would mar the
view of the sound. Kelly Benander, a
spokeswoman for Kerry’s presidential
campaign, said the senator is ‘waiting to hear
about the results from the environmental
impact statement.’ She said he would announce
his decision when he sees the results.
Benander declined to say whether Kerry
would endorse the plan if the environmental
impact studies turn out favorably for the
massive project, known as Cape Wind. Vocal
opponents are not waiting for such results.
They include retired CBS anchorman Walter
Cronkite, who has a home in Martha’s Vineyard,
and members of the Kennedy family. A
number of roadblocks have been thrown up to
try to delay the project or ban it outright.”
puh-leeeez...!
…
Grassley pushing proposal to clear Senate
legislative roadblocks. The Washington
Times – headline, “Resolution seeks to end
hold on bill” – reported yesterday:
“Legislation gets secretly bottled up in the
Senate through a murky process, according to
senators who blame special-interest groups and
staff for putting holds on various bills.
At times, ‘I don't even realize I have a hold
on something,’ Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West
Virginia Democrat, told colleagues yesterday.
He and other senators talked about the secret
process during a meeting of the Senate Rules
Committee, which is considering legislation
that would put an end to the "anonymous holds"
that have been an unwritten tradition in the
Senate for many years. A nomination or a
legislative bill can be blocked from reaching
the floor for a final vote if a senator or
staffer informs leadership — sometimes in
writing — of an objection. Holds last
indefinitely and are sometimes used as
leverage to win some other battle entirely
unrelated to the bill or nominee being held up.
Though some senators choose to make their
holds public, they are guaranteed secrecy if
they do not. Senate Resolution 151,
introduced by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa
Republican, and Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat,
would end the secrecy of such holds by
requiring a senator to note his or her
objection publicly in the Congressional Record
within two days of lodging it with leadership.
The bill's sponsors, said Sen. Gordon H.
Smith, Oregon Republican, are ‘asking us to
match our courage and conviction with our
conduct and do it in the light of day.’”
…
More than 900 tractors – are expected
to descend on Mt. Pleasant between now
and Sunday as two Iowa radio stations begin
their annual tractor rides through southeast
IA. The two rides – with 450 tractor drivers
each – are sponsored by sister stations WHO
Radio (Des Moines) and WMT Radio (Cedar
Rapids). On Sunday, WHO’s “Great Iowa
Tractor Ride” will head west and north through
Salem, Fairfield, Eldon, Ottumwa and
Sigourney. At the same time, the WMT will
go east through Burlington and Fort
Madison. Tractor pulls will be held Sunday
for participants of the tractor rides before
they depart on their respective routes Monday
– with older, slow-moving tractors going first
– before most Iowans have their first cup of
coffee…For those unable to get to southeast IA
this weekend, there’s the “KGLO Tractor Ride”
that starts in Mason City on 7/20 and
travels through northern IA and southern MN.
to read past Iowa Daily Reports
THE
CLINTON COMEDIES: