Take 11 minutes out of your day and check out this KWQC interview with Dave where there is no negative campaigning, just information about the issues. Topics include rural broadband, mental health and substance abuse, health insurance public option, wind energy, veterans and more.
Click on the image for the full list of candidates receiving Koch Cash in Iowa at the Center for Media and Democracy
CMD:
Since Republican Governor Terry Brandstad will not face election for another two years, the Iowa GOP’s goal is to hold the House and flip the Senate by gaining three seats.
The Kochs are backing 21 candidates for the Iowa State House and 9 candidates for the State Senate for a total of 32.
Only Oklahoma (43) and Texas (74), have more candidates supported by the Kochs.
“We’ve had very little success moving the needle at the federal level. It’s always difficult,” said Koch General Council Mark Holden to Politico recently, but “we have had a lot of success at the state level and we hope that we will continue to do so.”
In addition to state level candidates the Kochs are backing two Iowa incumbents for U.S. Congress.
Rep. Rod Blum (IA-01) received a contribution of $4,000 from KochPAC to Blum for Congress.[BFIA editor’s note: Blum’s $4,000 is the largest amount given to an Iowa candidate by the Kochs.]
Rep. Steve King (IA-04) received $2,500 from KochPAC to King for Congress.
Much of this research is focused on disclosed spending through Political Action Committee reports, but the bulk of the Koch network spending is through dark money vehicles that don’t disclose the donors or the recipients of the Koch-fueled largesse.
Spending by the Koch dark money network usually comes in the form of big ad buys on TV and the internet, framed as “issue ads” closer to elections, along with robo-calls, door-knocking with candidate-specific door hangers, rallies, and other operations that are more visible nearer to the elections.
Thom Hartmann also asked Vilsack why Iowa is the only state where virtually all of the Republican elected officials have come out and aggressively endorsed Donald Trump. Watch the video for Vilsack’s candid response.
“The big lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and all who conspire together in the art of lying.” [see below for the author of this quote].
Republicans are practiced Liars. I don’t like to give them credit and say they are masters at lying or that they have perfected the art of lying, as if it is an admirable thing. The fact is that they simply lie a lot. They have to because if people knew what they were really up to, they would not exist as a major party today. Democrats don’t have much reason to lie because they at least have an honest mission that they care about, imperfect as you may feel Democrats are.
Here’s how Republicans do it.
“In the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily. And thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than to the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters and would be ashamed to resort to large scale falsehoods. It would never come into their minds to fabricate colossal untruths and they would thus not believe that others could have the impetus to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts that prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds they will still doubt and waver and they will continue to think that there must be some other explanation for the grossly impudent lie. The big lie always leaves traces behind it even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and all who conspire together in the art of lying.” – Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler
One thing that all good political organizers know is that you never, ever celebrate until the polls are closed and ALL of the votes are counted. Yet I’ve been seeing a lot of Democrats breaking out their victory dances, long before Election Day.
They need to cut it out. NOW.
It pains me to say it, but Donald Trump is still a very dangerous candidate. His voters are extremely motivated and passionate, and he is still holding on to a lead in some crucial swing states like Ohio.
I made my new movie, “Michael Moore in TrumpLand,” because I believe that Democrats can’t rest until Trump is GONE — completely, utterly and totally defeated in the kind of landslide that Republicans will be having nightmares about for decades.
But this election isn’t just about Trump (even if Trump is still the worst.) It’s about Congress. It’s about flipping the Senate, and making previously unimaginable gains in the House and in state governments everywhere.
It’s about Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie freaking Sanders.
If we get out the progressive vote in this crazy election, we can put Bernie in power and build the kind of progressive majority we need to make the policies behind the political revolution a reality. But that is going to take a lot of work in the next [8] days. That’s why I’m asking you to support DFA’s relentless work to maximize progressive turnout in key states.
Here’s the thing about Donald Trump: He has absolutely electrified his followers, but he has also scrambled the electoral map in a way that few political pundits saw coming.
That means that on Election Day, literally anything could happen. Trump and his merry band of corrupt GOP followers could eke out a horrifying come-from-behind victory. OR, we could see a progressive wave that sweeps the nation — one that puts our greatest policy dreams within our reach.
Close elections are always, always, ALWAYS won in the field. That’s why the work DFA is doing right now matters so much. DFA members are killing it on the phones and on the doors in states like North Carolina and Nevada, where the results of races that are currently neck-and-neck will determine which party will lead the Senate in 2017.
Here is a new Monica Vernon ad. She is a Democrat running for congress in Iowa’s District 1. Please vote for her if you live in her district, and all of the other Democrats on the ballot. It’s not too late to vote early.Find your early voting location here.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to judge how the two major parties in this country view the very fundamental concept of democracy is to simply see how they treat voters.
As usual, we see Democrats busting their butts to get every eligible voters to the polls to cast their vote on or before election day. Democrats work hard to bring the polls to the people in the form of satellite voting stations or by keeping auditors offices open beyond regular hours.
Also as usual, we see Republicans doing all they can to suppress votes through physical intimidation, misleading information, wildly distorted ads or other means. Here we see the Young Turks discussing Republican suppression tactics that go back to before Reagan. These practices are still in effect today and will most likely be for a long time to come:
According to Bloomberg News the Trump campaign currently has 3 voter suppression efforts going on in swing state Florida:
“To compensate for this, Trump’s campaign has devised another strategy, which, not surprisingly, is negative. Instead of expanding the electorate, Bannon and his team are trying to shrink it. “We have three major voter suppression operations under way,” says a senior official. They’re aimed at three groups Clinton needs to win overwhelmingly: idealistic white liberals, young women, and African Americans. Trump’s invocation at the debate of Clinton’s WikiLeaks e-mails and support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership was designed to turn off Sanders supporters. The parade of women who say they were sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton and harassed or threatened by Hillary is meant to undermine her appeal to young women. And her 1996 suggestion that some African American males are “super predators” is the basis of a below-the-radar effort to discourage infrequent black voters from showing up at the polls—particularly in Florida.”
The above are just a couple of small examples of voter suppression efforts going on around the country as Republicans do all they can to keep people – the “demos” in democracy – from voting.
Even in Iowa, Terry Branstad took a swipe at driving down the vote by agreeing with the Trump campaign the the election was “rigged” and claiming that college students voted both in their college towns and in their home towns. Well, maybe Branstad did in his day, but that doesn’t seem to be happening these days. At least former Secretary of State Matt Schultz never found such a problem as he spent bundles of taxpayer money to find essentially nothing.
Up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the city clerk refused to open a satellite voting station on the university campus:
Green Bay’s city clerk refused to open an early voting location on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus in part because she feared doing so would unfairly benefit Democratic candidates, according to emails released Tuesday.
Student leaders representing a variety of political parties, including Democrats and Republicans, asked Green Bay City Clerk Kris Teske in September to open an early voting location on campus after experiencing long lines in the spring primary election. Emails also show state Rep. Eric Genrich, D-Green Bay, made the same request in August.
“UWGB is a polling location for students and residents on Election Day but I feel by asking for this to be the site for early voting is encouraging the students to vote more than benefiting the city as a whole,” she (Teske) wrote. “I have heard it said that students lean more toward the democrats and (Genrich) is a democrat.”
Meanwhile, anyone who has been a part of any Democratic effort knows that “Get Out The Vote” is one of the driving force in the campaign. Pushing for people to vote by mail, or to vote early at their auditor’s office or receiving some assurance of a voter’s intent to vote on election day itself. Such a promise is usually followed by calls just before and on election day.
For Democrats putting the “demos” in democracy is at the very base of their philosophy.
Going with the party that believes in the people seems to be the way a democracy should be run.
Here it is: Trump gets elected in a few days and we have the return of Bush administration flunkies. They will start more wars, cause more inflation, make cuts to Social Security and Medicare, refuse to enforce regulations on banks and Wall Street that will lead us back into an economy on the precipice. This should keep you up at night!
You know how to stop it. Get Out and Vote!!!
Were you paying attention last week?
1) Hillary Clinton had some help doing the heavy lifting in New Hampshire last week from what New England senator?
2) Target has pulled what common Halloween mask from its store shelves due to recent incidents around the country?
3) A boy named Sue: In his address at Gettysburg, Pa. last week Donald Trump threatened to sue what group of people right after the election?
4) What long term GOP congressman is advertising using pictures of himself with Obama as his re-election chances sink?
5) Governor Branstad said he is willing to talk about minimum wage after election. How do the states that border Iowa compare to Iowa’s minimum wage?
6) In what country did the jack-o-lantern originate?
7) Last Wednesday was what President’s birthday?
8) October 26th, 1881- The “most famous 30 seconds in history” takes place in Tombstone, Arizona. What is the name of that incident?
9) “I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.” Senator Mark Kirk made this disparaging remark to what opponent of his?
10) Halloween is one sweet day. Annual sales of Halloween candy in the US is about how many dollars?
11) What Trump surrogate told Megan Kelly that she was “fascinated with sex” during an interview on Fox News?
12) Robert Velline, aka Bobby Vee, died last week ion Minnesota. Who suggested that Velline change his name to Bobby Vee back in the late 50s?
13) Corporate News is trumpeting the increase in rates for what program?
14) He helped start the SDS, was a member of the Chicago7 and fought hard to get the US out of Vietnam. What radical icon died last week at 76?
15) What group is threatening to sue the DCCC over ads that link them to Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump?
16) A man dressed as a construction worker destroyed whose star on the Hollywood walk of fame with a pneumatic drill?
17) What brewery has seen a precipitous drop in sales after its owner endorsed Donald Trump?
18) October 31st is the last day in what ancient calendar? (hint: what ancient society began celebrating Halloween)
19) Protestors in North Dakota have been arrested on private land. Meanwhile in Oregon, protestors who took over public land were found (guilty / not guilty) by a jury Wednesday?
20) What surprising group of people have not contributed to the Trump campaign?
Something’s wrong kids – the trees used to be bare by now. Some have barely turned color this year so far.
Answers:
1) Elizabeth Warren
2) Clown masks – there have been many incidents around the country of people dressed in clown outfits attacking people.
3) Women who accused him of groping them
4) Darrel Issa in San Diego. Obama has called Issa out on this
5) All have higher minimum wages than Iowa
6) Ireland
7) the next president, Hillary Clinton!
8) ‘The gunfight at the OK corral’
9) Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth has ancestry that fought in the Revolutionary War. Her mother is from Thailand
10) $2 billion
11) Newt Gingrich.
12) Bob Zimmerman who later changed his name to Bob Dylan
13) the ACA. While rates went up, so did subsidies.
14) Tom Hayden
15) Republican congressional candidates
16) Donald Trump
17) Yeungling’s in Pennsylvania. the owner Richard Yeungling told Eric Trump they were behind his dad and word leaked out.
18) the Celtic calendar.
19) not guilty
20) his children. Not a penny. Guess they don’t want to throw their money away?
Interesting that Halloween is a major end of calendar year celebration much like Christmas (derived from the Saturnalia) is
Videos like this make it pretty plain that Donald Trump’s candidacy is purely a lark. He stands for nothing. His motives are personal and profit driven.
Trump has no interest in governing, and little interest in even learning how our government works. He cares little about millions of Americans who struggle day to day to make ends meet.
Hillary Clinton as noted by Trump himself is a good person who cares about Americans. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised that in the solitary confines of the voting booth he doesn’t vote for Hillary himself.
Clinton has spent a lifetime working to improve the lot of everyday Americans. Trump has spent a lifetime doing whatever Trump feels like doing. Some of that has resulted in some very embarrassing revelations and even several lawsuits against him.
Hillary Clinton has put forth policy statements explaining her goals for America. Most of Clinton’s goals have to do with restoring middle America and bringing equality to all Americans.
Corporate media has for the most part ignored these statements claiming that she refuses to take stands on many issues. They do so only to feed their horse race reporting to increase their advertisement revenues. Donald Trump has only made broad, non-specific statements on policy showing his ignorance on both government and policy.
Back then when Donald Trump says he believed Hillary Clinton was a good and smart person, he was speaking the truth. Since then Trump has gone into almost full time lying in his outrageous attacks on Clinton.
Republicans have made little secret that they plan to impeach Hillary Clinton almost as soon as she removes her hand from the bible to shake the hand of Chief Justice Roberts. That is if they control one or both houses of congress.
If you think that Republicans treated Barack Obama badly (and they certainly did) just wait until you see how they plan to treat Hillary Clinton. In case you haven’t noticed they have been warming up and rehearsing for about 25 years.
Honestly, I believe that if most ordinary people, male or female, woke up daily to the vile hate, character assassinations, bullying and misogyny that Hillary Clinton has for the past quarter century they would somehow run away and hide out. Yet Hillary Clinton has shown incredible strength, fortitude, resolve and grace throughout these years.
Despite the effort and money expended to stop Hillary Clinton for 25+ years she has shown the world over and over just what an indomitable spirit is like. They hated, she became first lady. They hated and lied as she and her husband worked through family issues in public. They hated lied and distorted and she became a top senator from the state of New York.
They hated, lied, distorted and attacked. She may have lost the Democratic nomination but agreed to help her rival as his Secretary of State, They hated, lied, distorted, attacked and investigated as Hillary became one of the most successful Secretaries of State ever and a grandmother.
They continued to hate, lie, distort, attack and investigate to the tune of thousands of wasted congressional hours and millions of wasted taxpayer dollars and they found nothing as Hillary became the Democratic nominee for president.
Now some 25+ years into their hate fueled waste of time, energy and taxpayer dollars Hillary Clinton stands at the precipice of achieving the nearly unbelievable task of becoming America’s first woman to be President of the United States. Women in cradles and women nearing the grave will celebrate an achievement few ever thought they would see – a women president.
Yet those who have spent their lives harassing, hating and stalking Hillary Clinton will not give up. Maybe they couldn’t stop her on the way up, but now that she has achieved the very pinnacle of success their mission will be to make her the first victim of impeachment ever. After years of failure all their hate will be paid off by getting their prey at the height of her glory.
Don’t be at all surprised to hear stories of Republican lawyers meeting clandestinely to draw up articles of impeachment even before the election has taken place. This is a dream that won’t die but won’t happen if they procrastinate. So even as voters wait in lines to vote, plans are being set up to bring the new Clinton Administration to an abrupt end.
Why should this surprise anyone. Do you not remember that even as Barack Obama took the oath of office in an inauguration attended by the largest crowd ever Republicans were meeting over dinner to plot their strategy to make Obama a one term president through obstruction beyond anything that had ever been done before.
One of the best ways to prevent Republicans from bringing government to a halt for yet another presidential administration is to simply not vote for Republicans in the first place. Republicans will not need a majority to obstruct congress and the administration. We saw that in 2009. But their goals become much more difficult when they are in the minority. And their insane dream of impeaching Clinton at the outset will at least be delayed.
Be sure to get your friends to vote and vote for Democrats from the White House to the State House to the court house.
As the week ends it slowly comes out that Republicans will only fill judicial openings if there is a Republican president making the nominations. Senators Cruz and McCain have both stated this. While Senator Grassley denies that he will continue obstructing the constitution, we have only his previous actions to go by. Those actions include his leadership of the current obstruction going on now. Surely more will jump on board after the election thus creating a true constitutional crisis.
Republicans do not want to govern. They do not want to work with the people to come to good, practical solutions to human problems. Republicans want to rule based on some form of a distorted moral code which lines up with no moral code found in any ethics systems anywhere. Input from the ruled is not part of the program.
Governor Kim Keynolds: (515) 281-5211 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Iowa Members of Congress - Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) - Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) - Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) - Rep. Zach Nunn (R) Iowa US Senators - Senator Joni Ernst (R) - Senator Charles Grassley (R)
