Bob Krause is Making Contact in Iowa

by Paul Deaton

“Bob Krause’s strength is the constant stream of policy statements coming from his campaign on topics that range from veterans’ issues, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to releasing the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help consumers deal with oil price speculation.”

It is a clear spring day, the kind of which there are too few in the season. I am taking a break from the chain saw and other outdoors work to post about U.S. Senate candidate Bob Krause and his campaign.

Along with a group of veterans, I had lunch with Bob at the Perkins Restaurant off Fleur Drive in Des Moines. At the time he was chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus and we had just finished a meeting at the nearby Iowa Democratic Party headquarters. I recall that particular lunch was interrupted 3 or 4 times by his mobile phone as he was in final preparations for his bid for the senate. It has been a year since that luncheon and it is ironic that we dined at what must have been the same Perkins Restaurant where Roxanne Conlin is said to have settled the Comes vs. Microsoft class action lawsuit. Krause’s campaign has struggled to gain recognition in Conlin’s shadow ever since she announced.

Bob Krause’s strength is the constant stream of policy statements coming from his campaign on topics that range from veterans’ issues, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to releasing the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help consumers deal with oil price speculation. His policies find sympathetic ears. He has been a constant critic of the incumbent and regardless who wins the primary, this steady drumbeat will have benefited Democrats.

Another strength is the diligence and persistence with which he has traveled the state talking to Democrats. He publicizes events on his web site and in social media when the corporate media fails to give his campaign equal treatment. The hope for a Krause primary victory must lie in these personal contacts. It is clear he has support among veterans and his personal appearances will likely garner additional support. The strength of his policy statements will also win some voters. One assumes he has developed a winning calculus for the primary, even if it is hard for a campaign outsider to discern it.

According to opensecrets.org, Krause has raised $18,280. If this is it, then the kind of statewide advertising he needs will not be possible. The campaign will have to rely on his personal network of contacts. It would not be the first time shoe leather, travel and hand shaking turned into a surprise victory. We wish Bob Krause the best in the 59 days remaining in the primary
campaign.

~Bob Krause lives in Fairfield, Iowa with his spouse Vicky Matthiessen-Krause. He is a Democratic candidate to be the junior United States Senator from Iowa. He faces Roxanne Conlin and Tom Fiegen in the Democratic primary on June 8.

Check out Bob Krause’s  website or contribute to the Krause campaign at KrauseforIowa.com