I attended the event this evening and while George did not make any comments that sounded like “Hey, I want to be your next President”, this was definitely seemed like a pre-exploratory event. He had some great comments about the current state of affairs, and took questions which I also think he answered well. Some in New York (see comments on this post) have speculated about him running for other posts in that state, others have suggested he could be a possible contender for President in 2012. Even if he does not run for anything, he certainly provides a strong sense of some of the things the GOP needs to do to take back the People’s Government.

There were about 90 people at the event tonight, including a number of Republican/Conservative activists that I’ve gotten to know, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Joseph Heuertz (and other leaders) of the Drake College Republicans, John Bloom, Polk County Republican Chair (along with probably a dozen members of the Polk County Republican Central Committee, one of the sponsors of the event), Steve Rathje, David Van Ahn, Kim Schmett, Ed Failor Jr. (Iowans for Tax Relief), Craig Robinson (The Iowa Republican) and [...]

We’ve finally given birth to our first regional site “The Conservative Reader: Iowa“. Henceforth, the site you are currently reading will be focused on international and national topics, and stories that are specifically tied to regional topics will appear in an appropriate regional site.

We expect that there may be times when a regional story will warrant national focus, and as such we may promote the story either by reference or by elevating it to the national site. For instance, if a story related to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojavich’s improprieties in selecting a Senator to replace Obama were to appear in an Illinois TCR site (we don’t have one yet), it would likely get placement on the national site, or at least promotion on the national site if the story were on a strongly localized angle.

TCR’s Iowa site will be covering the same types of Iowa focused issues that have appeared on this page in the past. We plan to provide Iowa-based news feeds in the near future, as well as opinion feeds from other Iowa sources. We will [...]

Yes, I am specifically attached to this race since I live in the district currently served by Leonard Boswell (D).

Leonard came into office in 1997. When he first entered Congress, he promised that he would serve no more than 4 terms. He has served 6 already. He votes along party lines over 95% of the time. Although he has supported President Bush on some key bills that served a more conservative agenda, he also voted with Bush on the $700 Billion Bailout. Reviewing his record, he appears to be both socially and fiscally moderate to slightly liberal.

Kim Schmett (R) has served as the chief administrative law judge with the Iowa Department of Inspections and[...]

From IowaPolitics.com:

McCain campaign: Governor Palin is returning to Iowa
10/31/2008

Join us for a Road to Victory Rally with Governor Sarah Palin

Monday, November 3, 2008
Grand River Center
500 Bell Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Doors open at Noon
Program begins at 2 p.m.

If you have questions or concerns please call the Iowa McCain-Palin Hotline: (515) 418-9322

Tickets are free and can be picked up at the following locations during the following times:[...]

The biggest fraud in this election appears to be the use of polling numbers to disorient and discourage (mostly) Republican voters.

How many times have you heard three or four different sets of polling results in for the same state in the same time period? Keep an eye on the organizations providing the information. I doubt that any partisan organization is going to avoid showing numbers favorable to their candidate, but the largely liberal media is clearly having a heyday pushing numbers that just don’t add up. Even this week here in Iowa, polling supposedly puts Obama 12 to 13 points ahead of McCain.

So why was Obama planning to come to Iowa this week? (that[...]

Talking Heads:
No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin yet
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The House of Representatives today passed the Senate version of the $700 Billion Bail-out.  For now, it’s over.  Bush signed the bill shortly after the vote, and we have not seen nuthin yet.
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the [...]

Our US Senators have approved a version of the $700 Billion Bail-out Bill that provides some new features:

New tax breaks for businesses
Raising the FDIC deposit insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000

Normally, I am all about tax breaks for businesses.  I think that is one of the best ways to stimulate growth.
And without a doubt, raising [...]

My cohort DJ is going to disagree with me.  Just you wait and see.
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Today did not scare me.  It did surprise me, because I didn’t think that Congress had the ability to face down the President, Treasury Secretary and their own part leaders all at the same time.  (For the votes [...]

I’ve got a car load of people, four tickets, and tank full of gas.  We’re heading up to Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thursday morning.  They will be appearing at the airport there with the event starting at 8:00 AM (so we’re leaving town around 5:15 AM, with my eyes half open). 
You may wonder why on earth I [...]

On the Republican side, the increase in McCain’s position in the polls, slow as it is in coming, is a reflection of the unity that is starting to build within the Republican Party.  I think what you’re really seeing is that as the various state conventions come to a close, and people have finished jockeying [...]