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Ron Paul video casts Gingrich as flipper

November 30, 2011 By

Ron Paul’s campaign has been producing some movie-trailer-quality videos and tonight it has released a video which attacks rival Newt Gingrich for “serial hypocrisy.”

According to an email from the Paul campaign, the ad will be distributed via “a far-reaching email list of conservative voters nationally, including in key early voting states.”  The campaign will also “purchase banner ads on national and state websites where conservative readers congregate.”

“Our campaign is making a bold move to debunk the myth that the Newt we are seeing on the 2012 campaign trail is the conservative he has been touted to be all along.  This step we are taking is necessary, as voters are seeking authenticity among conservatives who are able to show a decades-long career of consistently walking the walk of Constitutional principles, limited government, and promoting sound money and economic policy. Ron Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate with that record,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With: ,

Committee realignment in Iowa Senate

November 30, 2011 By

With the exit of Swati Dandekar and the November 8th election of her replacement, State Senator Liz Mathis of Robbins, committee membership in the Iowa Senate needed a realignment.  The changes have been announced this morning.

Senate Commerce Committee
Senator Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines), will be the new chair (replacing Dandekar)
Senator Liz Mathis (D-Robbins) will be a committee member

Senate Economic Growth/Rebuild Iowa Committee
Senator Liz Mathis (replacing Dandekar) will be a committee member

Senate Human Resources Committee
Senator Liz Mathis will be a new member (replacing Senator Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville)

Senate Local Government Committee
Senator Tom Courtney (D-Burlington) will be a new member (replacing McCoy)

Senate State Government Committee
Senator McCoy will be a new member (replacing Courtney)

Senate Transportation Committee
Senator Dvorsky will be a new member (replacing Dandekar)

Senate Ways & Means Committee
Senator Mathis will be a new member (replacing Dandekar)

Senate Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee
Senator Joe Seng (D-Davenport) will be vice chair (replacing Dandekar)
Senator Mathis will be a new member

Filed Under: Legislature, Politics

“I don’t think the American people are ever going to agree to amnesty”

November 29, 2011 By

Texas Governor/GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry held a tele-town hall meeting this evening and the topic of illegal immigration was raised by Perry and then by some of the participants/callers.  Perry was hit earlier in the campaign by competitors who saw weakness in his position on the immigration issue. Tonight, Perry seems to be taking a swipe at rival Newt Gingrich who has suggested some sort of path to legal status for immigrants who’ve been in the country for years and have established roots in their communities.

During tonight’s call, a woman identified as Kathie (she might spell it Kathy or Cathy) asked for Perry’s “opinion” on amnesty.  “Do you support any type of it?” she asked.

“None whatsoever,” Perry replied. “The Dream Act that is in front of Washington, D.C. today is just a form of amnesty and I don’t think the American people are ever going to agree to amnesty in any form or fashion and, you know, the country is going to have a conversation about how to deal with immigration reform, but that is not going to happen until we secure the border.”

“So, you know, I certainly understand the media’s interest – if you will – in, you know, ‘Tell us what your plan will be to deal with these 11 or 12 million people that are already here?’ And I can assure you that we’re wise enough people to figure out how to deal with them, but it will not be amnesty in any form or fashion and I’m not going to get my eye off of the ball and the ball is to secure that border because if you don’t secure the border and if you don’t have a sustainable effort to secure the border, then all the talk that you have about immigration reform is just that. It’s just talk. It’s just posturing and I’m tired of that. I’m tired of Texas taxpayer money having to be spent to secure the border that the federal government is supposed to be doing and doing their constitutional duty.”

Earlier, during opening remarks on the call, Perry focused on border security.  He pledged to deport “every illegal criminal alien” caught in the country illegally.

“The idea that we have such a porous border today is just another example of just another example of how broken Washington is and we’ve got millions of individuals who are coming here illegally, including individuals who want to do harm to America and the Washington politicians, they posture and they talk instead of putting people on the border and assets on the border and the strategic fencing that actually needs to be put on that border to secure it and I’m the only candidate with a record of addressing border security.”

“…We’ve got $400 million worth of state resources in our joint surge operations that we’ve put on the border, to try to stop this trafficking of weapons and of drugs and of people and I’ve got a plan to secure the border and I made the commitment that a year from the day that I take my hand off the Bible when I’m inaugurated in January of 2013, from a year from that date that border will be secure.  That border will be shut down and at the same time we’ll be deploying thousands of national guard troops to get that job done while we’re training up those border patrol agents who can dramatically increase the manpower on the border as well. Build the strategic fencing, you know deploy the different technologies whether it’s predator drones or whatever type of assets that we need to be able to give real-time, live information to our fast response teams that can shut down the drug-running and the weapons running and the illegal activities that occurring on that border.”

“And another thing is we’ve got to stop this very dangerous Obama policy that I refer to as ‘catch and release’ where these criminal aliens are detained, yet under this administration, they’re basically released into the general population with a time and a date to come back for a hearing. Under my administration, we’ll detain and deport every illegal alien that we pick up and we’ll do so with expedited hearings on their citizenship status.”

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With:

Neither IFFC nor its leader, Steve Scheffler, endorsing

November 29, 2011 By

Steve Scheffler is the leader of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition (a group that started life a couple of decades ago as the Iowa Christian Coalition).  He’s also one of the Iowa GOP’s representatives of the Republican National Committee.  In a few hours Scheffler will make a written announcement that neither he nor the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition will be endorsing one of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates.

“I have enough trust and faith in Caucus-goers that they will do their due diligence and study the candidates and the issues,” Scheffler said during an interview with Radio Iowa.  “Second, from my experience in working the conservative movement for several years, there is an agreement on a wide range of issues from economic to social issues, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those individuals in the movement come to the same conclusion on who the best candidate is.”

Scheffler said an endorsement could be divisive “and quite frankly, I don’t think staunchly conservative Iowans don’t like to be told who to vote for when they go to the Caucuses on January 3.”

The Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s decision highlights the fact that conservatives in Iowa have not settled on a single candidate.  “A lot of (the candidates) have similar stances on issues…and our best shot at making sure we have someone who comes out of the Caucuses that’s with us on the wide range of issues is to make sure that that constituency turns out in big numbers and not worry about endorsing one candidate over another candidate and causing some friction and division within the conservative/Christian community. It just seems like a diversion from what the real goal is, to turning out a lot of conservative voters to the Caucuses and trusting them to make their choices.”

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics

An open letter to Bob Vander Plaats from a secret group

November 29, 2011 By

A secretive “group” calling itself Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government has penned an open letter to Bob Vander Plaats, the GOP candidate for governor in 2002, 2006 & 2010 who is now president & CEO of The Family Leader. TFL is a conservative group that’s been leading the effort against gay marriage in Iowa. Vander Plaats said earlier this month he might endorse a candidate on his own, and he didn’t rule out giving his backing to Newt Gingrich. Vander Plaats made his statements on the eve of The Family Leader’s presidential candidate forum, in which Gingrich participated.

…Newt Gingrich didn’t sign “The Marriage Vow,” but Vander Plaats said Gingrich — who has admitted to affairs and has divorced twice — isn’t automatically disqualified from getting his endorsement or the backing of The Family Leader.

“At the heart of our faith is a thing called forgiveness,” Vander Plaats said. “…Has he asked for forgiveness? Has he demonstrated a level of maturity? Is he willing to move on? A lot of these attendees like Newt, they like his experience and they like his ability to debate and so if the focus can be on his vision for America, I think he’s going to do well. If the focus remains on his personal past, then he’s probably going to be in trouble.”

Now, Vander Plaats is the target of a letter from Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government which focuses not only on Gingrich’s past, but on Vander Plaats’ past.  Read it below:

Dear Mr. Vander Plaats:

We are aware that you are preparing to endorse a candidate for President of the United States in the coming weeks.  This will undoubtedly be an important decision considering you have the ear of many Christians throughout our state of Iowa.  Our group believes that we must select leaders who not only espouse our values, but who live them each and every day.

With that being said, we have serious concerns that your endorsement may be guided, not by prayer and conviction, but by personal benefit and prior relationships.  Of which, would seem to lead you toward Newt Gingrich and, needless to say, he is not an acceptable choice among Christians.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With:

Romney pressed about ’07 statement on immigration

November 23, 2011 By

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a tele-town hall with Iowa voters early this afternoon.  A “Richard from North Liberty, Iowa” asked the following question:

“I watched the debate last night and your response to Newt Gingrich regarding illegal immigration and amnesty and then this morning on one of the national radio programs I heard a tape of you from four years ago saying you supported a path to citizenship. You know, as a rock-solid conservative what concerns me about you is you seem to change your position a lot.”

(I believe that “tape of you from four years ago” is a reference to something played on Rush Limbaugh’s Show today.  Here’s the transcript of that.)

Here is Romney’s response to Richard from North Liberty:

“I wish you could hear the whole tape. What I said is that everybody who’s here illegally should have a path to citizenship which consists of going to their home country, applying for citizenship or permanent residency just like everybody else and getting at the back of the line, so sometimes when you hear only the first part of an answer you don’t get the full picture. My view has been from the very beginning with regards to those that are here illegally that they should not have any special privilege with regards to becoming a permanent resident of the United States or a citizen of the United States merely by having come here illegally, that they should have to get in the same line with everybody else who wants to come here legally, so I would not prevent them ultimately from becoming a permanent resident, but I’m not going to let them, simply by virtue of being here illegally, get an advantage relative to those who have waited in line patiently. That’s my view. I said that last night to Speaker Gingrich. I do not favor an amnesty program of the kind that he seemed to be describing last night. I just don’t think that those that have come here illegally should be given a special pathway, a special deal that’s any different than anybody else that wants to apply to come to this country legally.”

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With:

Newt’s immigration stand “makes it harder” to back him, King says

November 23, 2011 By

Iowa Congressman Steve King says the immigration stand Newt Gingrich articulated in last night’s debate is a problem for Gingrich. Gingrich said his proposal was the “humane” way to deal with the problem, by giving some illegal immigrants who’ve lived here for years a pathway to legal status.

“I think if Speaker Gingrich had that to do over again he might couch his language differently, at a minimum,” King says. “…It is a form of amnesty.”

King says this “makes it harder” to support Gingrich.  ”That piece is something that concerns me because the rule of law is one of the essential pillars of American exceptionalism and if we let the rule of law be eroded and we allow people to be rewarded for breaking the law and by the way these people probably had false identification; they were working illegally; they maybe just didn’t get arrested in a quarter of a century, so I think that principle of the rule of law needs to be examined and I’d like to hear Speaker Gingrich speak to that.”

When pressed, King said those remarks last night “had moved a little bit away” from Gingrich.  King said all the candidates have “something to offer,” and he “hopes” to publicly endorse a candidate before the caucuses.

King made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Iowa Public Television.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With: ,

Romney giving thanks for Thune

November 23, 2011 By

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is getting the backing of South Dakota Senator John Thune — someone who thought about running for president in 2012, but didn’t.  Romney is due in Des Moines a little later this morning.

U.S. SENATOR JOHN THUNE ENDORSES MITT ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today announced the support of South Dakota Senator John Thune. Senator Thune will serve as a Co-Chair of Mitt Romney’s National Advisory Council.

“I am honored to have Senator Thune’s support,” said Mitt Romney. “On the issues that I have been fighting for in my campaign – creating a better business environment, lessening the regulatory burden, and ending Washington’s spending addiction – Senator Thune has been a leading voice in the Senate. He will be a trusted adviser as I bring this message to voters, work to reverse President Obama’s failed policies, and reform Washington.”

Announcing his support, Senator John Thune said, “The next election will be the most important in generations. We can choose to continue on the same path with four more years of President Obama’s failed policies or we can choose a leader who has the needed experience to lead an economic recovery. Mitt Romney has shown throughout his life in the private sector, as leader of the Olympics, as governor, and in this campaign that he will not back down from difficult challenges. His plans to revitalize the private sector and restore our country’s fiscal health are drawn from his 25 year career as a conservative businessman. Washington could use these commonsense principles at such a critical time.”

Background On Senator John Thune:

Senator Thune Was Elected In 2004. He serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, Budget, Commerce, Science & Transportation, and Finance Committees. Since 2009, Senator Thune has served as Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. Prior to his election, Thune was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With:

Conservative group takes Cain, Paul off their list

November 22, 2011 By

The group that hosted Saturday’s “Thanksgiving Family Forum” featuring six GOP presidential candidates has released its narrowed-down list of candidates it might endorse.  See details below. The Family Leaders’ board of directors met Monday, hence the reference to “tonight” in one of the quotes, although this news release came into my email box today.

THE FAMiLY LEADER BOARD OF DIRECTORS NARROWS CONSIDERATION TO BACHMANN, GINGRICH, PERRY, AND SANTORUM

Pleasant Hill, IA – The FAMiLY LEADER Board of Directors is very reflective of the Iowa caucus goer and are still praying for clarity on whether or not to endorse a candidate and, if they endorse, who to endorse.   

Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO, remarked, “We had a very healthy discussion tonight regarding our leadership role in the 2012 presidential caucuses.  In many ways, what the board did tonight is typical of the Iowa caucus process.  They fully understand the importance of this election and the weight of their leadership.  They want to make a wise decision.”

Each individual of the seven member voting Board of Directors expressed many positives of Representative Ron Paul and businessman Herman Cain.  The stumbling block for the board regarding Representative Paul dealt primarily with “States’ Rights” as it pertains to the sanctity of human life and God’s design for marriage.  Regarding Mr. Cain, the board cited a narrative of questions versus clarity on the key issues of life, marriage, foreign policy, and presidential readiness.  The board did not give consideration to Governor Romney.

Last Saturday evening’s Thanksgiving Family Forum was designed to bring clarity and closure to the decision-making process for The FAMiLY LEADER and for many Iowa conservatives.  Although the forum was monumentally successful on every level, each candidate’s superb performance has made this process most difficult.  The board concluded this is a good dilemma due to having many principled conservatives in the race.

“As difficult as this first step proved to be in narrowing the field to four, the next step of final selection and recommendation to our supporters will be tougher.   Congresswoman Bachmann, Speaker Gingrich, Governor Perry, and Senator Santorum all have many presidential traits that will serve our great country well.” commented Vander Plaats.

The board has committed to be prayerful, diligent, and expeditious in reaching their final conclusion.  No timeline was placed on a decision

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With: ,

DNC vice chair accuses Romney of “deceit” (audio)

November 22, 2011 By

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, says the basis of a new Romney ad is “factually incorrect.” 

“When I see that Mitt Romney has had a clear sail to say whatever he seems to want to say — and then, by the way, reverse the position the next day — I think the free run is over for Mitt Romney…Mitt Romney’s on my mind today because he ran an attack ad against the president and once again is basing that on something that is factually wrong. The great thing about people in Iowa is that they have a lot of different political opinion, but one thing they agree on is honest and common sense…and Mitt Romney has started his campaign in Iowa with deceit and it’s about time that we called him on it.”

Rybak just spoke at a news conference staged in Obama campaign HQ in Des Moines, IA.  He opened with comments, many of which were directed at Romney. A reporter followed up by asking why he had been so focused on Romney.  This is the AUDIO of his answer, transcribed above.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics Tagged With:
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