Changes In Des Moines: Lamberti Runs For Congress
This hit the Des Moines Register yesterday:
State
Senate Republican President Jeff Lamberti said Wednesday he has decided
to run for Congress, challenging incumbent Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa.
Lamberti,
a veteran of 12 years in the Iowa Legislature, said he has hired a
string of consultants and has decided to take a leave of absence from
his Ankeny law firm.
He will give up his seat in the Iowa Senate to make the race.
Naturally, this means that there will be a shakeup of GOP Senate Leadership next fall – Des Moines Cityview's
“Civic Skinny” column predicted as such some time ago – keep an eye on
them for some of the better political reporting being done in
Iowa. (Cityview also keeps an eye on “who's giving what to whom”.)
Something
to keep in mind: Lamberti should answer for a little corruption
of his own coming into the 2006 race – according to the Des Moines
Register, Lamberti had his hand in directly funnelling state money to a
friend.
With
federal money cut off, [“Rock In Prevention” leader Pat] McManus sought
help last year from state Sen. Jeff Lamberti, an Ankeny Republican
whose father, Don, has contributed more than $285,000 to the group and
served as one of its honorary board members. McManus also contacted
state Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat whom McManus describes as
a personal friend.
…
By
the time [a financing] issue was resolved, the 2004 legislative session
was in progress and lawmakers had clarified their intent by stipulating
that the $400,000 would be awarded through a “sole-source contract.” In
other words, there would be no competition for the money.
(Note:
it's extraordinarily frustrating that two Democrats – including Tom
Vilsack – went along with handing over $400,000 without putting out a
Request for Proposal when we're facing much bigger issues with state
financing.)
Lamberti was also responsible for the rather silly “No Tax Under 30” proposal that garnered odd stares nationwide.
Add your “Jeff Lamberti” comments below.
Blog For Iowa 
Well, this just serves to confirm my previous theory – in order to get anywhere in the GOP, you have to have some corruption under your belt. It's like the Demerit Badge of Dishonor. It's how the Rove Machine knows they can “trust you” to cooperate. My bad.
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