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War protests a dud
The news coming in from across the nation on the third anniversary of the
invasion of Iraq is that the much ballyhooed war protest gatherings fizzled
with a surprisingly low turnout – given the low approval rates for the war
in the polls.
. With a lack of unity, the anti-war movement could only hope their message
of impeach Bush, Bush lied, and sing Kum-bi-ah would catch on as hundreds
came out in city after city across America.
Meanwhile, national news on their Sunday talk shows pointed time after time
to the fact that support for the war was in the low 40’s. The setup Sunday
on the shows:
1. Have a
high-ranking military official to point out that there is a lot more good
news than is being reported,
2. Bring on
a leading congressional Democrat who would say it can’t be so,
3. Conclude
with the talking heads saying it can’t last with Bush’s poll numbers as low
as they are.
Harkin joins Feingold
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, became the first Democrat to join colleague
Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in urging that President Bush be censured over the
domestic wiretapping controversy.
"He broke the law and I don’t believe any president ought to be above the
law," Harkin told Iowa reporters.
Sen. Harkin’s Congressional carreer is noted for having supported giving
American foreign aide to such communist countries as Pol Pot’s Cambodia,
Communist Vietnam, Castro’s Cuba and other countries as well. He also went
with Sen. John Kerry to meet with communist dictator Daniel Ortega and was
present in the negotiations of an unauthorized treaty with the communists.
New Hampshire beat
Campaigning in New Hampshire on the eve of America’s invasion of Iraq were
two very opposite candidates for president. According to the
Associated Press Mitt Romney was offering praise for President Bush’s
policy of fighting the terrorists abroad:
"Fortunately we have a president who recognizes how severe this threat is
and realizes we have to wage war against such tactics and such a vision," he
said.
The other individual in New Hampshire was Democrat Wesley Clark who some
Clintonistas thought they could coat tail to the nomination in 2004.
However, his hopes have not been completely dashed by his dismal showing in
2004:
"If we pull out before there's stability in Iraq, before there's been
peacemaking between the Sunnis and the Shi'as, I do think the likelihood is
we'll have deeper conflict and it will become regional in scale."
Nelson with McCain
Iowa native Terry Nelson is being reported by the Associated Press as the
new senior adviser to Straight Talk America – Sen. John McCain's PAC. The AP
is reporting that several individuals spoke on condition of anonymity so as
not to pre-empt an announcement by McCain's committee.
Nelson, who served as the head of the Republican Iowa Senate caucus staff,
first gained recognition with Congressman Jim Nussle’s campaign. Following
this service, he was the political director of the Republican Congressional
Campaign Committee. Most recently, he was the political director of the 2004
Bush/Cheney campaign.
Recently his name was attached to the accusation of laundering money in the
Republican campaign to elect legislators in the State of Texas to redraw the
congressional election districts. Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is facing
trial in this matter.
The allegation is that DeLay raised soft money that did not have to follow
the campaign contribution guidelines and then Nelson sent hard money from
the national committee back to Texas.
Sen. John McCain is the co-author of the current campaign finance law that
most recognize as having created the largest campaign dollar loopholes in
the history of regulated campaigns.
Wrapping themselves in the flag
Democrats plan on wrapping themselves in the flag in the upcoming Easter
recess, according to the
Washington Times:
Senate Democrats have mapped a political battle plan for the March
congressional recess that calls on lawmakers to stage press events with
active duty military personnel, veterans and emergency responders to bash
President Bush on virtually every one of his national security policies.
The game plan, devised by the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid,
Nevada Democrat, is contained in a six-page memo distributed to Democratic
senators on Thursday at a closed-door meeting at the Capitol and provided to
The Washington Times by a congressional staffer.
Titled "Real Security," the political document calls for staged town hall
events at military bases, weapons factories, National Guard units, fire
stations and veterans posts.
More Iowa news
The
Washington Post reports that Terry Nelson’s move to Sen. John McCain's
campaign isn’t the only personnel news happening with Iowans:
Pete Jeffries is leaving the private sector to serve as senior
counsel to the gubernatorial campaign of Rep. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa). In that
position, Jeffries will be charged with "strategic planning, policy
development and external outreach," according to a document detailing the
position. Jeffries spent eight years on Capitol Hill as communications
director for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Ill.), leaving last year to take
a position as head of Hill & Knowlton's public policy practice in
Washington, D.C. Jeffries is no stranger to the Hawkeye state, having
attended the University of Iowa during his collegiate years. He is planning
to move back to the state for the campaign. By doing so, Jeffries
significantly boosts his value to 2008 GOP presidential candidates looking
for an experienced communicator who also knows the ins and outs of Iowa.
John Edwards
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) was in Iowa once again.
The Des Moines Register started their report on Edwards' visit to
central Iowa with the fact that he recently was in Louisiana:
"Not a one," Edwards told about 150 people at a Democratic fundraiser
Saturday night in Ankeny. "I never saw anybody working, I never saw anybody
monitoring what was going on. It's now been months since this flooding and
this hurricane occurred.
"This is a failure of presidential leadership."
Much of the Democrats' message of the week -- "Bush is incompetent" -- was
contained in Edwards' speech in Iowa:
"It's not just a void in moral leadership here at home," he said. "There's a
void in America's moral leadership in the world."
George Allen
Sen. George Allen (R-VA) was the keynote speaker at a Davenport fund-raiser
for the Iowa GOP on Saturday night. A check of the news shows the Quad City
News not reporting on the speech. Allen is considered a Washington insiders'
favorite. This is one of the first visits to Iowa by Allen.
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