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Thursday, September 23
Joyce Schulte Condemns King's Racist Remarks
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Sep 2004 05:03 PM CDT
 Joyce Schulte Condemns King's Racist Remarks
Joyce
Schulte, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress from Iowa's Fifth
District, is known as "the woman who's going to send Steve King to an
early retirement." And it can't happen too soon.
King
became the target of wrath, yet again, from many directions,
particularly Hispanic Congressional and community leaders, when he rose
on the floor of the House to speak in support of an amendment limiting
the use of the Mexican Consulate identification card to allow Mexican
immigrants to get driver's licenses or open bank accounts, a card that
is recognized by 160 countries and 33 U.S. states and the Treasury
Department.
During
those remarks King said that patriotic Americans believe in "cultural
continuity" and that it's time "somebody stands up and says we're going
to be opposed to this idea of diversity."
In response, Joyce Schulte issued this statement:
"I am
saddened, ashamed, and deeply angered that once again Steve King has
attempted to portray the good people of western Iowa in the same
shallow, hateful light which he shines on himself. Because he has spent
the past two years in Congress engaging in little more than
self-serving grandstanding on issues designed to drive a wedge between
us, he has brought nothing of any real value to Iowa's fifth district.
Economic development investment has been at a standstill, jobs are
disappearing, Medicare reimbursements are still far too low, the
corporate takeover of our family farms continues unabated, and our
young people still have few reasons not to move to greener pastures.
Steve
King does not represent the hearts and minds of the people of the fifth
District, but rather the limited mind and withered heart of a
modern-day Grinch, unhappy when people are happy learning to live
together, doing his best to ruin our celebration of the cultural
diversity that has always been and will always be at the core of our
society.
I
encourage the people of western Iowa to let Steve King know that we do
not agree with his perspective, nor with his methods, and that we
certainly do not want him to pretend to represent us any more. And the
way to do that is to support my candidacy as a rational, realistic
alternative to his irrational embarrassment of a career in politics."
To learn more about Joyce Schulte or to contribute to her campaign, click here.
Steve King will be on the Jan
Mickelson show on WHO Radio, 1040 or 600 WMT 9:00-11:30am Friday
(tomorrow), discussing "issues and concerns, and responding to
criticism of the recent floor speech dealing with "cultural
continuity." Progressives, start your engines....
To call in to the show: (515) 284-1040 or (800) 469-4295
Thanks to Trish Nelson of Rapid Response - Iowa for this media heads up.
Dean: DFA Commits Funds to Building Progressive Infrastructure
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Sep 2004 11:24 AM CDT
 Dean: DFA Commits Funds to Building Progressive Infrastructure
by Linda Thieman
Big news out of Democracy for America this week
During
these last six months, those of us with an eye on Howard Dean have been
present for a remarkable transformation. We watched the birth of
Democracy for America on March 18. We watched as what has come to
be known as DFA 2.0 learned how to walk. We watched as the
related state groups, such as our own Democracy for Iowa, were given
free rein to find a system that would work for us. And, after
four months of struggle and only rudimentary connection between
Democracy for America and Democracy for Iowa, we watched as DFA 2.0
passed the “survival goal” and became a real force, offering up some
real assistance to those of us on the ground.
Once
that “survival goal” was passed, DFA 2.0 suddenly blossomed. New
staffers were brought on and contact between DFA and the state groups
increased dramatically. In Iowa, Democracy for Iowa is DFA’s eyes
and ears, trained on the political scene. DFIA has vetted and
endorsed a slate of exceptional candidates (see right sidebar), and DFA
2.0 uses our slate of candidates to determine which candidates they
will help in Iowa.
Last
week, DFA announced that they would be opening up Gov. Dean’s email
lists to help our candidates. Whereas Gov. Dean promised he would
never give away or sell these hefty lists, he is having his staff send
emails from DFA on behalf of our candidates and their events and
targeting specific local areas.
Second,
DFA has opened up their blog to the state groups. Last week, over
the course of 8 days, Democracy for Iowa was featured on the Dean blog
three times, with one statewide email sent out on our behalf.
This was a feature the state groups had long been fighting for, and
indeed, it did help us reach some of our people who did not realize we
were still here. We made some good new contacts, and got a boost
in traffic at Blog for Iowa.
This
week, Gov. Dean has announced that he will be taking the slate of
candidates endorsed by the state groups and distributing a quarter of a
million dollars to help fund their races. This is big news that
will affect the Iowa races in a positive way.
It is Gov. Dean’s intention to build a progressive infrastructure, one not unlike what the ultra-conservatives have been building for the last 35 years. And supporting our state and local candidates is one way he’s going to do it.
I have
long admired Gov. Dean, not only because he has high ideals and, as
Jane Austen would say, “correct opinions,” but also because he is a
pragmatic man. He knows that our goals can be accomplished if we
are well organized and systematic, consistent and persistent – and, of
course, well funded. Democracy for Iowa strongly believes that we
have selected a slate of Iowa candidates who are that appealing
combination of high ideals, correct opinions, and pragmatism.
To contribute to Gov. Dean’s cause, click here.
Iowa Absentee Ballot Chase This Weekend
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Sep 2004 07:39 AM CDT
 Iowa Absentee Ballot Chase This Weekend
This was forwarded to Blog for Iowa from Marcia Nichols at AFSCME Iowa and Mark L. Smith at the Iowa Federation of Labor.
Participate in the Absentee Ballot Chase Weekend this week!
For more on the importance of voting by absentee ballot, click here.
The scheduling is as follows in each of the headquarters:
Friday, September 24th - 10:00 am - 8:30 pm
Saturday, September 25th - 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sunday, September 26th - Noon - 9:00 pm
If volunteers need absentee ballot pickup training, they should show up at 9:30 am on Friday and Saturday.
Ames office - 319 Clark Ave - 515-268-0313
Burlington office - 100 N 4th St. - 319-752-3071
Carroll office - 511 N Main
Cedar Rapids office - 120 3rd Ave SW - 319-363-5078
Clinton office - 224 22nd Place - 563-242-9064
Council Bluffs office - 500 W. Broadway - 712-388-1009
Davenport office - 1416 W 16th St. Suite 103 - 563-322-1693
Des Moines office - 1408 Locust St. - 515-558-9580
Des Moines office - 5661 Fluer Drive - 515-244-7292
Dubuque office - 1198 White Street - 563-557-1007
Ft. Dodge office - 1026 Central Ave. - 515-576-3145
Fort Madison office - 738 G Ave - 319-372-7483
Grinnell office - 926 Main St. - 641-236-3533
Iowa City office - Old Capitol Mall, 201 S Clinton St. -319-337-8683
Independence Office - 118 1st St. East - 319-334-2152
Ottumwa office - 205 East Main St. - 641-683-1372
Mason City office - Bldg. 9, 2nd St. NW - 641-424-5519
Marshalltown office - 12 W Main St. - 641-752-2172
Muscatine office - 208 Pine St. - 563-264-1964
Newton office - 108 W 3rd St S - 641-787-0316
Sioux City office - 617 Douglas St. - 712-258-6581
Waterloo office - 501 Sycamore - 319-236-9989"
Kerry Leads in 11 of 16 Swing States In New Zogby Poll
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Sep 2004 04:01 AM CDT
Kerry Leads in 11 of 16 Swing States In New Zogby Poll
Ruy Teixeira, Emerging Democratic Majority
The Zogby Interactive Poll of LV's (likely voters) was conducted for the Wall St. Journal Sept. 13-17.
Kerry's leads (%):
Arkansas 0.1
Florida 0.5
Iowa 3.0
Michigan 6.0
Minnesota 9.7
New Hampshire 3.6
New Mexico 12.7
Oregon 12.0
Pennsylvania 3.1
Washington 8.7
Wisconsin 2.4
Bush's leads (%):
Missouri 5.4
Nevada 2.2
Ohio 3.3
Tennessee 5.5
West Virginia 12.4
Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation and the Center for American Progress
 The "Price/Hightower Election Analysis"
by Dr. Alta Price, MD, and ok, Jim Hightower, too
As for what is happening on the ground, DFIA Co-founder, Dr. Alta Price
has a theory that she calls the "Price/Hightower election
analysis."
I'll let Alta continue in her own words:
I thought this [Price/Hightower election analysis] was mine, but Jim
Hightower said the same thing in my living room, so I'll give him
credit, too - LOL.
Just look at the 2000 election,
which Gore won by 500,000 votes. Here's who will vote for Kerry: all
the Gore voters, most of the Nader voters, a number of
Republicans/Independents who voted for Bush last time, people in the
military, I.T. workers with no more high-paying jobs who voted for
Bush, Log Cabin Republicans, 18-22 year olds (more than 50% of whom are
going to vote this year), every Muslim American, my secretary, who must
be nearly 60, and wants to vote this year for the first time in her
life and asked me for help getting registered, and I'm sure I'm
forgetting some groups.
Bush maxed out in 2000. Unless
someone has run into a lot of Gore voters who have told them, "Oh, this
time I'm definitely voting for Bush"...? Have any of you? Do you
possibly know LOTS of people - Republicans perhaps? - who have told you
they'll be voting for Kerry? I do.
I predict Kerry wins in a landslide (which we need to counter any
October surprise or touch-screen voting machine hanky panky - I admit,
those things may make the election "close"). And Kerry has Iowa in the
bag.
And if you're STILL worried and scared, this letter from Michael Moore may be just the thing for you....
 Put Away Your Hankies: A Message from Michael Moore
by Michael Moore, of course
The Republicans Never Give Up, and Neither Will We
Dear Friends,
Enough of the handwringing! Enough
of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you
down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK? Bush IS a goner
- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyaching and stop shaking like
a bunch of nervous ninnies. Geez, this is embarrassing! The Republicans
are laughing at us. Do you ever see them cry, "Oh, it's all over! We
are finished! Bush can't win! Waaaaaa!"
Hell no. It's never over for them
until the last ballot is shredded. They are never finished - they just
keep moving forward like sharks that never sleep, always pushing,
pulling, kicking, blocking, lying.
They are relentless and that is why
we secretly admire them - they just simply never, ever give up. Only
30% of the country calls itself "Republican," yet the Republicans own
it all - the White House, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court
and the majority of the governorships. How do you think they've been
able to pull that off considering they are a minority? It's because
they eat you and me and every other liberal for breakfast and then
spend the rest of the day wreaking havoc on the planet.
...Kerry has brought in the Clinton A-team. Instead of shunning Clinton
(as Gore did), Kerry has decided to not make that mistake.
Traveling around the country, as I've been doing, I gotta tell ya,
there is a hell of a lot of unrest out there. Much of it is not being
captured by the mainstream press. But it is simmering and it is real.
Do not let those well-produced Bush rallies of angry white people scare
you. Turn off the TV! (Except Jon Stewart and Bill Moyers - everything
else is just a sugar-coated lie).
(To read moore of the Moore missive, click here.)
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