Over the weekend I posted over at Bleeding Heartland noting an Edwards campaign press release that talked about a big increase in their online fundraising. There weren’t too many specifics in the release, and some folks were curious as to amounts. When I emailed the campaign, they were pretty [...]
UPDATE (4:07 PM): Duncan Hunter was supposed to be making a big announcement this afternoon, which is what I was referring to in this post. I assumed that his major announcement was that he was going to drop out. As my lovely copy editor pointed out to me, I was [...]
On Saturday night I lamented the lack of the Dodd Debate Talk Clock for the Democratic debate in New Hampshire. Thanks to MSNBC we have the breakdown of time each candidate spoke as well as the number of questions posed to the candidate. At first glance, it seemed as [...]
I offered my winners and losers of tonight’s debate over at Bleeding Heartland. Go check ‘em out and criticize me. I’m waiting.
[...]I’ll be commenting on and talking about the ABC News/Facebook/WMUR New Hampshire Democratic Debate tonight over at Bleeding Heartland. It starts in a few minutes, so head on over to BH and leave some comments (you’ve got to create an account to do so, but it is a pretty [...]
From the random asides department: Is it telling that Sen. Clinton’s thank you email to Iowa supporters went out on today (as in this afternoon) rather than the night of or the day after the completion of the Caucuses? I got my email tonight at 5:54 PM.
[...]Cross-posted at Bleeding Heartland.
Maybe I’ve missed something in my absences from blogging over the past few months, but has the Register ever really done a serious news or feature piece on Iowa’s bloggers and citizen journalists? I mean, I know we threaten their credibility and their readership by getting scoops, [...]
It is times like these when you wonder why the man still has a TV show, and why couldn’t the Secret Service have shot first, asked questions second?*
*As to the second part of that statement I am, in fact, only kidding. Kind of.
[...]With the news that Gov. Bill Richarson is laying off a lot of his campaign workers, as well as the fact that both Sens. Biden and Dodd have left the race, there is likely an abundance of campaign staffers with loads of experience sitting around Iowa wondering what he [...]
John Edwards’ Iowa Campaign Manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon was promoted today to deputy campaign manager for John Edwards for President. Congratulations to her.
O’Malley Dillon is the wife of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver’s Chief of Staff Patrick Dillon. Before working for Edwards, O’Malley Dillon worked for Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate [...]
Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein both note the importance of Barack Obama’s win in Iowa last night by emphasizing the fact that a black man just won in a state that is described as overwhelmingly white and lacking diversity.
“One crucial thing Barack Obama did last night was get [...]
Props to my former colleagues at Iowa Independent for getting the top three positions right with their last power rankings. They predicted an Obama win with Clinton and Edwards essentially tied for second place. While Edwards has enough of a lead for second, it’s small. Basically the final results [...]
From Todd Dorman this morning on his blog in his discussion of “losers” from last night’s caucuses:
“Republicans — Could this party be any more screwed up right now? Huckabee was a great caucus candidate, but he could be a general election disaster, especially if Obama wins. Romney and Giuliani [...]
You can talk about the results here on Bleeding Heartland. Or you can talk about them here. Whatever trips your trigger.
I’m amazed. I’ll have a lot of thoughts tomorrow. But wow, record turnout of Democrats and independents. The youth vote showed up. Iowans showed up, on both sides of [...]
UPDATE (8:02 PM): My lovely copy editor notes that Schiff will also be campaigning on Sunday for Biden. Oh, and Schiff played Toby Ziegler on TWW.
Looks like the cast of The West Wing might be planning an impromptu cast reunion during this Democratic primary. Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lyman, [...]
What the hell is this? Does the Washington Post really need to profile David Yepsen? To me this just reeks of more insider coverage on people who really don’t matter in the actual caucus process anymore. David Yepsen doesn’t report on the caucuses so much anymore, he just judges [...]
Or why the Register endorsed Hillary Clinton.
I’m not bitter, of course, but I think that it just stupid that the Des Moines Register decided to look past Edwards because he wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as 2004. When Atrios highlights Edwards’ statements on ABC’s This Week, I think we get a [...]
Kudos to the New York Times for emphasizing the importance of student voting in primaries and caucuses:
“Hammered by student groups, the candidates have reframed their statements. But the episode has left a bad taste in the mouths of many students and of the groups that have been working feverishly [...]
I’m sorry, but State Sen. Matt McCoy–whom I used to respect–keeps making real dunderhead-like moves and is seriously making me reconsider my opinion of him. The fact that the IECDB is now investigating campaign contributions that he may have funneled to Mike Blouin (during the gubernatorial primary in 05-06) [...]
Maybe this will help Congress’ tanking poll numbers. From the Register:
“The U.S. Senate killed Earthpark’s $48.3 million federal grant Wednesday, putting the $150 million project in jeopardy.
Beth Levine, a spokesman for Sen. Charles Grassley, confirmed that budget language inserted by a senator – she isn’t sure who – rescinded [...]
Cross-posted at Bleeding Heartland.
I just wanted to let you all know that I’ve joined a program with the Media Bloggers Association and Newsweek Magazine to syndicate my writing from here at Bleeding Heartland on a new special page on Newsweek.com called “The Ruckus.” That means that Iowa Caucus news [...]
Sorry I’ve been out of commission. I just finished my finals today and have spent the last few days studying. Anyway…here’s a list of tabs that I’ve had open in Firefox that I need to get rid of so my computer can run a bit faster.
Cross-posted at Bleeding Heartland.
Well, now that we’re less than three weeks out from the Iowa Precinct Caucuses, it is time for me to make a tough decision: Who am I going to caucus for?
After watching the debates, attending events, reading the profiles, and listening to my friends I decided [...]
You probably won’t hear me say this much, but kudos to Sen. Chuck Grassley for voting to hold Karl Rove and Josh Bolten in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas investigating the fired US Attorneys probe. It proves that every once in a while Grassley can [...]
In what is probably another first in the online campaign, Tom Harkin’s campaign website is now offering closed caption online video for those who are hearing-impaired. Jeff Link, Harkin’s campaign manager, sent out an email to supporters a little bit ago and that email is posted on the campaign blog [...]
Or so I say here at Bleeding Heartland.
And in case you missed it, I also told college students in Iowa that they have the right to caucus in Iowa and should exercise that right.
Looks like coverage here at Political Forecast is going to be mainly Iowa-focused for the [...]
My earlier post about Oprah campaigning for Obama has generated some interesting comment; all of them have been supportive of Oprah stepping out and speaking up for Obama. So, since it didn’t mean much to me, I wonder if it means much to you. Here’s a list, courtesy [...]
I’ll be live-blogging the Des Moines Register’s Democratic debate today over at Bleeding Heartland once the debate gets started this afternoon. I won’t be at the debate, but armchair quarterbacking from my frat house seems like it will work just fine; it is live on IPTV and the cable [...]
Maybe I’ve just been out of the loop for too long, but it is good to see that the Register is finally starting to cover Ron Paul here in the state. I’m not sure if they’ve been neglectful of him or he’s just not been here, but with his [...]
Just out of curiosity to the folks at the Des Moines Register: Alan Keyes was a participant in today’s Republican debate–why?!
Here’s a link to the Register’s standards for the privilege to participate in their debates, explaining why Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel won’t be participating.
But why did Alan [...]
UPDATE (9:58 PM): I just spoke with a few friends who have worked at or still currently work for the Register and they confirm that the paper’s policy is that those on staff should be registered as “no party” and should not be participating in primary/caucus voting which identifies a [...]
Maybe I’m just over-generalizing in my mind, but does it really surprise anyone that Rev. Mike Huckabee said that homosexuality is “sinful” and “abberrant”?
He’s a Baptist minister and is strongly courting the social conservative wing of the Republican party–which can likely account for his ascension to the top in [...]
So, Oprah Winfrey’s in town and going to be campaigning for Barack Obama today.
To bracket Oprah’s visit, Hillary Clinton and her campaign have brought her mother, Dorothy, and daughter, Chelsea, out on the campaign trail.
What does all of this mean?
Well, it seems to say that the campaign is looking to [...]
It is still a tight race on the Democratic side between Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama, while on the Republican side Mike Huckabee has surged past Mitt Romney to take a commanding lead in Iowa according to the latest Newsweek Iowa Caucus polling released this afternoon.
Here are the [...]
So, we’ve all heard about Mike Huckabee’s little sit-down with reporters the other night, and how he was questioned on the new NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) about Iran? And how he knew nothing about it, even though it was well-publicized all day? Well, in case you haven’t, here’s the [...]
I’m almost ashamed to say this, but Iowa’s own Caucus Cooler blog is back in action after a 7-month disappearance and I’m glad. Their coverage of the 2008 Republican presidentials can at least provide the lefty side of the blogosphere in Iowa something to argue about and harangue, as [...]
Good for Chuck Grassley. I’m betting that Tom Harkin is thinking/saying/planning on doing the same thing. David Oman has swindled enough people with this ridiculous project.
And let me just say this: I’m quite surprised and fascinated by the secrecy that Oman and the Earthpark supporters are using (and have [...]
A few days before Gordon Fischer announced he would be supporting Barack Obama for President, I ran into him at the grocery store. He asked if I had chosen a candidate to caucus for yet and I told him I had a few top candidates. Obama wasn’t included in [...]
Just out of curiosity, who will you be caucusing for? We’re 30 days away from the January 3rd precinct caucuses, and in between buying Christmas gifts and planning for the new year, many Iowans will be selecting their first and maybe second choices for their local caucus.
In the spirit of [...]
Just as a quick disclaimer, I’m going to start perusing the other blogs in Iowa and covering the 2008 race soon–I just haven’t checked them in a few months which means my reader is going to be swamped.
Anyway, Clinton Campaign Manager Patti Solis Doyle sent out an email last night [...]
First-term Rep. Dan Clute of Clive has decided he won’t be running for re-election in 2008. He says that a new job is what led him to choose the option. I’m sure being a new member of the minority party in the House didn’t help either.
That makes the list [...]
I know I’ve been gone for a while and folks probably thought this blog was dead. Not so. I’ve been busy with school. Graduating is important.
My comeback is spurred by this story on the KCCI website: “Earthpark To Meet Funding Deadline.” Really? WTF?
David Oman is the man behind this [...]
Iowans, I need your help.
This morning, the US Senate rejected the Dodd-Leahy-Specter Amendment which would have restored habeas corpus by a vote of 56-43, four votes short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a potential Republican filibuster.
You can see the full roll call of the vote here.
I [...]
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut gave what many consider to be a barn-burner of a speech on Sunday at the 30th Annual Harkin Steak Fry, and from my seat close to the stage on the press riser I’d have to agree. One of the most riveting moments was when Sen. [...]
I’ll try and post more thoughts on the Harkin Steak Fry as we go through the day. But first let me start off with a candidate who I’ve criticized before quite often: Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.
Biden gave the last speech of the day at the Steak Fry, a somber [...]
This will likely be my only post today as I’m taking some personal time to reflect today. I’ll add some of my thoughts and wrap-up reporting about the Harkin Steak Fry tomorrow.
Why am I reflecting today?
Because my brother, a reservist in the United States Marine Corps, left for active duty [...]
Sorry there isn’t video live on TomHarkin.com. Looks like uStream.tv had some technical difficulties which makes hosting a live webcast from a field in rural Iowa a bit tough.
Check out IowaIndependent.com for more coverage and some video.
[...]Lately, I haven’t been hearing as many folks on the netroots or out here in the real world calling for Retired General Wes Clark to get into the 2008 race. There were a lot of calls back in mid-to-late 2006 but Clark’s campaign apparatus and PAC never really took the [...]
Tracy Russo posted over at Bleeding Heartland last night with the video of Sen. John Edwards two-minute response to President Bush’s address to the nation last night. Go watch the video — it is the kind of thing all of the candidates should be doing, if they can afford [...]
I have to admit, when I saw this email subject header from Tom Reynolds at the Richardson for President campaign I was a bit worried that Richardson was about to make another flub about which Northeastern sports team he liked over another (which he used to say he was a [...]
An enterprising reader sent me an email this morning offering his explanation as to Sen. Joe Biden’s ability to rack up the endorsement of every member of the Iowa House Democratic leadership. And it makes sense. In short:
“Hillary, Edwards, and Obama all had PACs but did not focus on candidates [...]
I’m sure I’ll have my own thoughts on this later but I’m curious for your thoughts on this question:
How did Sen. Joe Biden manage to lock up the support of the entire Iowa House Democratic leadership?
I’m serious. Of all the candidates with momentum and support in Iowa, particularly among [...]
Ok, no excuses about my absence. Getting back into the hang of things academically has been a burden the past few weeks as classes have commenced, fraternity recruitment has begun, etc. Still, I should’ve found time to post.
However, since I’ll be hosting the online coverage of the 2007 Harkin Steak [...]
I got an email the other day from Tara von Brederode, a Democratic activist from Ames, touting her blog that she does with her partner, State Sen. Jeff Angelo. If you all don’t recognize Angelo’s name, let me fill you in: He’s a Christian conservative and Republican elected official. So, [...]
Tracy Russo of Sen. John Edwards presidential campaign is live-blogging and writing about the campaign’s Fighting for One America Iowa Bus Tour this week over at Bleeding Heartland. I promoted Day 1’s entry, while Day 2 and Day 3 appear are here and here (respectively).
There is a [...]
Sorry about the lack of posts today. I’ve been working on transferring data and files over a new laptop I picked up today which will hopefully make my live-blogging and travel endeavors a bit easier. I’ll hopefully be back with some regular updates or posts a little bit later today.
[...]Am I the only one lamenting State 29’s return?
I think it is safe to say that Iowa’s blogosphere has grown enough to have diverse opinion without being over-the-top, insulting, and downright obscene.
[...]The Iraq Summer Campaign, led by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) and other organizations, is upping the ante in Iowa some more this summer by launching a two-hour phone bank operation across from the Iowa State Fair tomorrow. From the Iraq Summer group:
“On August 14th from 2-4 PM, Senator [...]
As I’m sure you’re all aware, Mitt Romney did what was expected and won the Ames Straw Poll. Mike Huckabee’s second place showing was a bit more surprising to people and has got some Democrats seriously thinking about Huckabee’s chances and what kind of candidate he would be in the [...]
I’m not in Ames today at the Iowa GOP Straw Poll fundraiser, but if you’re looking for coverage there are some amazing Iowans providing live-blogging and other coverage:
Just back from the press conference at IDP Headquarters with Gov. Chet Culver, Secretary of State Mike Mauro, and IDP Chair Scott Brennan. Culver made sure to emphasize that Iowa Democrats were still planning for January 14th precinct caucuses, but admitted the situation is and remains fluid, with a lot [...]
As John notes here, the IDP is having a press conference with Gov. Chet Culver, Sec. of State Mike Mauro, and IDP Chair Scott Brennan for a discussion about the Iowa Caucuses. The event starts in about 40 minutes and I’ll try to live-blog some of the news and [...]
As I noted in my profile piece of the launch of Sen. Tom Harkin’s new campaign website over on Iowa Independent, Harkin and his campaign decided to use ActBlue as their online fundraising clearinghouse. As I wrote then:
“The campaign is also using progressive funding intermediary ActBlue to conduct online [...]
Throwing one wrench into a bunch of gears usually complicates the machinery that’s trying to work. The South Carolina GOP officially just threw in about one hundred wrenches into a bunch of gears that make up the national primary and caucus calendar.
I wrote a bit about the planned announcement [...]
Mitt Romney’s five sons are patriotic Americans who support our nation by working to get him elected, instead of serving in the armed forces. From the AP (and confirmed by folks on the ground):
“Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons’ decision not to enlist in [...]
As you may have noticed, Sen. Tom Harkin’s staff just ordered an ad that went up on the right side of the page for the 30th Annual Harkin Steakfy in Indianola this September 16. All of the major Democratic presidential candidates will be there and Sen. Harkin will gearing up [...]
Sorry about the difficulties many of you likely saw over the last few days. I came down with a rough case of laryngitis that took me away from my computer and email access so I wasn’t able to be informed about a problem renewing my hosting account and domain name [...]
Greg Sargent’s got the best write-up of the GOP blockage here.
And in response, Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid has pulled the Defense Authorization bill and it appears that he won’t bring it back to the floor until he can be guaranteed an up-or-down vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment [...]
When discussing the news that Mitt Romney paid almost as much on for makeup as John Edwards did for a haircut, Marc Ambinder writes:
“There is a difference in the political reality: fairly or unfairly, a healthy chunk of the national political press corps doesn’t like John Edwards.
Fairly or unfairly, [...]
Just yesterday my colleague and friend Ben Weyl posted a story over at Iowa Independent about Mitt Romney’s lack of action to prevent porn being shown in Marriott Hotel’s while he was on the company’s board, and his current campaign stump rhetoric of attacking pornography in today’s society. The [...]
The polls opened in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties Tuesday morning for residents to vote on a proposed local-option 1 percent sales tax increase that would boost funding for cultural amenities and trails while lowering property taxes in the tri-county region.
The plan, known as Project Destiny, was created by business [...]
DesMoinesDem has the details over at Bleeding Heartland; Sen. Harkin is remaining neutral. Make sure to check out the comments for my take on the endorsement, as well as what I see developing over at Harkin Re-Election Campaign HQ.
[...]Tomorrow, Saturday, June 30th, is the second quarter deadline to report fundraising totals for all federal candidates.
The Iowa netroots and liberal blogosphere grew rapidly during the 2006 cycle, and we helped make a difference in taking back Iowa’s legislature and maintaining Democratic control over the governor’s seat. In the 2008 [...]
As I reported over at Iowa Independent on Monday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is close to (if he already hasn’t) entering the top tier of Democratic candidates, particularly because of how well he’s doing in Iowa.
Earlier today, Professor Charles Franklin over at Pollster.com noticed the same trends [...]
Unfortunately, I’ve never been one to get highly involved with city politics here in Des Moines. Whether it is the apparent non-partisan nature of the battles that brew over city and local government or whether its the fact I like the statewide issues more, I don’t know. But I guess [...]
Sen. Barack Obama has finally gone on the air in Iowa, airing two new documentary-style ads about his work in Illinois as a state senator and his days as a community organizer. You can see the ads below:
Carry
Choices
Obama joins former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Chris [...]
President Bush hit a new low in his approval rating in the latest Newsweek poll — 26%!
Somebody get that guy a pony.
Oh, and the Iraq war situation and its handling only gets a 23% approval, with a 73% disapproval rating. I wonder just how much it is going to [...]
Dar Danielson of Radio Iowa brings the disappointing news that Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is likely going to vote to confirm Jim Nussle as the next Director of the Office and Management and Budget.
I can clearly see how playing politics with his confirmation probably isn’t the best political strategy, [...]
Cross-posted at Iowa Independent.
A new Mason-Dixon poll released Tuesday shows the top-three Democratic contenders are in a close race in Iowa, with a surprising 27 percent of voters declaring themselves “undecided” nearly seven months before the nation’s first presidential caucus. On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain seems to [...]
Just a quick plug for a website that contacted me today. The guys over at Reality Check ‘08 are keeping track of flip-flops and inconsistencies from the major presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. They’ve got a sleek set up and seem to be really engaged and [...]
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson’s presidential campaign says they have a major announcement to make this afternoon at 2 PM Central Time, according to Marc Ambinder. He doesn’t speculate as to the substance of the announcement.
Dave Price here in Des Moines says he’s expected to announce that he [...]
I was just perusing links for the site today and I happened to find out that Political Forecast has been nominated for the Koufax Award for Best Coverage of State or Local Issues in 2006. I’m not sure who nominated me, or what prompted them to, but I really appreciate [...]
Cross-posted at Iowa Independent.
Now that Republican presidential front-runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have said they’ll skip the Aug. 11 Iowa GOP Straw Poll, the party’s top fund-raising and early-testing event for the January Caucuses, the big question is what’s next?
Iowa GOP officials still expect the Straw Poll to be [...]
Check out the news over at Iowa Independent.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Latham is stupid enough to challenge Harkin. He’s been a do-nothing Republican Congressman for years and has enjoyed his status without having to do much to maintain it. Not to mention the fact that Harkin [...]
McCain’s out and the news is at IowaIndependent.com.
Is the Iowa GOP Straw Poll effectively dead? Or does this leave an open spot for Fred Thompson to come in and give Mitt Romney a run for his money? And how does this all affect the January caucuses? More to come [...]
Maybe it’s just me, but when the moderator of a debate gets more speaking time than 4 of the 6 major candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination I think there is something wrong. Check out iPol for the details.
It might be time to reconsider just how much [...]
I’ve got the news over at IowaIndependent.com — expect a more detailed analysis/post later on.
[...]Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., are the front-runners in Iowa to win their respective party’s caucuses in a new poll released Monday by Public Policy Polling (PPP), based in North Carolina.
Edwards leads all Democrats at 31 percent with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack [...]
I’ve got the quick hit news post up over at Iowa Independent. Check it out.
Let me elaborate a bit on Thompson’s perceived candidacy, or what I see from it:
He’s the guy on the Republican who seems like he motivates the party faithful to turn out and talk Republican politics [...]
Presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd is the first presidential candidate to speak out today on the news today that the goals set up by President Bush for the Iraqi government as part of his surge plan are likely to be missed by the end of this summer. Instead, [...]
In a day of big news on the 2008 trail (new Dodd ad, memo about Clinton campaign pondering skipping Iowa, Edwards giving a big foreign policy speech, etc), here is something worth recognizing as a standout point: Sen. Christopher Dodd is going to vote against the [...]
Ed. Note: This is an expanded version of the original quick-hit post I made for IowaIndependent.com.
Will Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani actually compete in the Iowa GOP’s Straw Poll? Over the past couple of days, speculation has emerged over whether or not the former New York City Mayor will [...]
I’ve got the details of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s impending visit to southwest Iowa this weekend over at Iowa Independent. If you’re in the area, make sure to check out the events.
[...]The Iowa Dept. of Human Services is expected to gain an extra $115 million more come July 1st, thanks to the passage of the cigarette tax this past March in the legislature as well as the creation of a Health Care Trust Fund.
The cigarette tax legislation created the standing appropriation [...]
According to Marc Ambinder at the National Journal’s Hotline On Call blog, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) will begin airing television ads in Iowa come tomorrow. Dodd will be joining former Senator John Edwards and Governor Bill Richardson as the two other Democratic candidates who have begun airing ads [...]
Smokers in Iowa helped increase state revenues by over $40 million in April, according to a new report released today by the Legislative Services Agency.
During the month of April, the cigarette tax and tobacco taxes were two of the highest generators of revenue, with corporate income tax being 47.2 [...]
I just wanted to let those of you who didn’t already know that I’ll be blogging for Iowa Independent this summer through a position as a “fellow” at the Center for Independent Media’s New Journalist Program. Make sure to check out the disclaimer I’ve posted in the middle column, [...]
