The Harkin Steak Fry: Then & Now
The annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, draws a large crowd of diverse Iowa Democrats, each with her or his own memories and reasons for attending.
Dave Leshtz (left) and Senator Tom Harkin
I've
been to many a Harkin Steak Fry over the years. Among the most
memorable ones for me were the ones that featured James Carville, Paul
Wellstone, Congressman John Lewis, and an enormous crowd for Bill
Clinton that blanketed an entire hill (Clinton shook every single hand
in that crowd). But last year was the most memorable.
As a staff person for Gov. Dean, I was in charge of filling a school
bus with undecided caucus-goers who would ride with him from Des Moines
headquarters to the Steak Fry. It was a brief but great moment to
see the bus pull into a muddy parking lot and to watch 25 elated Iowans
disembark with broad smiles and thumbs up after spending an hour with
Gov. Dean.
–Dave Leshtz, Coordinator, Iowa Fair Trade Campaign, Iowa City
As I
look forward to the Harkin Steak Fry this Sunday I remember that it was
just one year ago, at this time, that I made the decision to support
Howard Dean. As a new member of Howard Dean's “Iowa Medicine
Cabinet,” I was invited to a meeting with Joe Trippi at Dean
Headquarters right before the Steak Fry. It was great to meet
other friends from around the state who were also supporting Dean and
to hear Trippi tell us about the ground-breaking use of the Internet in
the Dean campaign.
Afterwards
we boarded a bus that took us to a rally with Howard Dean across from
the site of the Steak Fry. There was a big enthusiastic crowd.
Everyone was very upbeat despite the rain and the mud. Howard
really fired up the crowd. I hope we can recapture that sense of
excitement on Sunday. We need that to motivate us to get out and
win this election.
–Elaine Baxter, former Iowa Secretary of State (1987-1994), Burlington
Iowa is
a swing state, and we are all working SO hard. Free time is something
we may rediscover on November 3. And Indianola is SO far away from the
Quad Cities. BUT, we LOVE Tom Harkin… and we can tell people about
Democracy for America and Democracy for Iowa…and our intrepid Molly
Regan, Deaner extraordinaire, candidate for Soil and Water Conservation
Commission, finally came up with the best excuse for making the
trip…The next steering committee for Regan for Scott County will be on
the bus from Davenport to Indianola this Sunday. So please join us!
–Dr. Alta Price, MD, Co-founder, Democracy for Iowa, Bettendorf
Click here for more information on the Harkin Steak Fry.
DFA HQ asks that we wear DFA or DFIA gear, but not Dean campaign gear. “I'm a Dean Democrat” is great!
Democracy
for Iowa will have a booth at the Steak Fry. After you pass
through registration, stop by the DFIA booth in the horseshoe of
tables. You can pick up flyers, signs, and buttons, and we'll let
you know where our group is going to stand for the rally.
Blog For Iowa 