Our jihadists friends over at Century of the Common Iowan have a great calendar of Presidential wanna-be’s bi-partisan travels through Iowa during the Independence Day events.
We hope to have Real Correspondents at several of the appearances.
We hope to have Real Correspondents at several of the appearances.
35 comments:
Chairman,
give us an update on what is afoot at the Polk County level...how are your new officers, what are the previous officers up to, what plans does Polk GOP have to host candidates this summer...
HJK
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sen. Barack Obama outraised Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by $10 million in second-quarter contributions that can be spent on the Democratic presidential primary contest, aided by the contributions of 154,000 individual donors.
Obama's campaign on Sunday reported raising at least $31 million for the primary contest and an extra $1.5 million for the general election from April through June, a record for a Democratic candidate.
Clinton's campaign announced late Sunday that she had raised $21 million for the primary. With general election contributions added, aides said her total sum would be "in the range" of $27 million. Candidates can only use general election money if they win their party's nomination.
Obama's whopping amount ensures his place as a top contender for the Democratic nomination. It steals the spotlight from Clinton, his main rival. And it establishes the two of them as the fundraising juggernauts of the entire presidential field.
Among other Democrats, former senator John Edwards (N.C.) finished third in the fundraising race this quarter, meeting his $9 million goal after a last-minute appeal from his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, that played off of controversial remarks by conservative television commentator Ann Coulter.
Obama became the first Democrat to surpass $30 million in a quarter during a non-election year, a feat his campaign said was accomplished not just with help from wealthy, traditional donors but also with a strong showing among small contributors.
The Illinois senator trails Clinton in most polls, but the favorable performance reported yesterday is expected to increase the pressure on Clinton's team.
Obama was able to outrun Clinton, of New York, even after she began turning for fundraising help to her husband, Bill Clinton, the most prolific money-raiser in Democratic history.
The former president will join his wife today in Iowa for their first high-profile joint campaign appearance.
Obama's performance was built on the strength of 154,000 new contributors, giving him well over a quarter-million donors since he started the race.
The vast majority of Obama's donors gave in relatively small amounts, the campaign said, meaning they can be tapped several more times. The average donation was $202; individual donors can give up to $2,300 under the law.
"He has the unique ability to inspire people to do things they've never done before, and that makes it so much easier to raise money when people are excited," said Kirk Dornbush, Obama's fundraising chief in the South.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Scott Rasmussen’s first law of politics is that America’s politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are. That law was clearly demonstrated earlier today when the United States Senate finally surrendered to the American people on immigration.
Politicians may make things messy for a while, but over the long haul it is the American people who determine the nation’s fundamental policies.
The final Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll before the vote found that just 22% of Americans supported the legislation.
No amount of Presidential persuasion, Senate logrolling, and procedural tricks was able to overcome that solid bi-partisan lack of public support (although it’s breathtaking to consider how close a determined leadership could come to passing such an unpopular bill).
Among the public, there is a bi-partisan lack of enthusiasm for the Senate bill.
It is supported by 22% of Republicans, 23% of Democrats, and 22% of those not affiliated with either major party.
It is opposed by 52% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats, and 48% of unaffiliateds.
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Monday, July 2, 2007 12:32 a.m. EDT
McCain Plans Major Staff Shake-Up
John McCain's campaign, trailing top Republican rivals in money and polls, is undergoing a significant reorganization with staff cuts in every department, officials with knowledge of the shake-up said Monday.
Some 50 staffers or more are being let go, and senior aides will be subject to pay cuts as the Arizona senator's campaign bows to the reality of six months of subpar fundraising, these officials said.
Officials said the fundamental leadership of the campaign will not change; Terry Nelson, a veteran of President Bush's winning 2004 campaign, will remain campaign manager but may volunteer his time instead of drawing a salary.
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Monday, July 2, 2007 1:28 p.m. EDT
Tom Tancredo Rips Rudy Giuliani on Immigration
Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo criticized two of his GOP rivals on their commitment to combat illegal immigration.
The Colorado congressman was in Ames, Iowa to open a campaign office and seek support for the Aug. 11 straw poll in Ames.
Tancredo said he is running for president because no other candidate has as strong a commitment to illegal immigration as he does.
He said Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, has tried to make it a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants.
"He's now happy as a clam with the idea of securing our borders and going after immigration - it's great," Tancredo said. "It's wonderful. I don't believe a word of it."
Tancredo got the biggest standing ovation on Saturday. Great speeches by all, except Romney. Tancredo and Huckabee really improved their standing with Iowans.
a snippet from OKay Henderson's blog from Saturday.
Romney touched on his private sector biography.
After briefly mentioning his work on the Olympics, he talked about running for office in Massachusetts. "Then I became a Democrat," Romney said, misspeaking. Murmurs ran through the crowd, then some laughed.
As you may know, Romney's guiding poliical principles have been quesitoned by rivals who primarily point to his change of position on abortion. Romeny continued: "I became governor of the most Democratic state in the nation...."
Mason-Dixon results showing 52% "wouldn't consider voting for" Hillary Clinton renewed some fears about Clinton's general election electability.
Matthew Yglesias comments: "Okay, I'm not a fan of "electability" arguments and this result is an outlier, but things like this ought to make people wonder if this is really the front runner the Democrats need."
(07-02) 11:28 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Republican John McCain reorganized his campaign Monday, cutting staff in every department as he raised just $11.2 million in the last three months and reported an abysmal $2 million cash on hand for his presidential bid.
Once considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain trails top Republican rivals in money and polls.
Some 50 staffers or more are being let go, according to officials with knowledge of the details of the shake up.
At its peak, McCain's payroll covered 150 staffers; this is the second round of layoffs.
McCain's campaign said it was seriously considering taking public matching funds, which Nelson said would amount to about $6 million. He said the campaign made "incorrect assumptions" about its fundraising ability.
"At one point, we thought we could raise $100 million over the course of this campaign and we constructed a campaign to fit that," Nelson said. That, he said, proved to be faulty.
The financial difficulties have fueled speculation that McCain would drop out of the race but he dismissed that notion Thursday, calling it "ridiculous."
Six months before primary voting begins, McCain is struggling for some semblance of momentum.
His popularity among Republicans has dropped since the start of the year.
He has become intimately linked to the unpopular Iraq war, and, in recent weeks, he's drawn criticism from already wary conservatives for his support of Bush's immigration reform bill.
He declined to participate in an early test of organizational muscle in the leadoff state of Iowa this summer, and, he's fighting the perception that he's yesterday's candidate.
As 2006 ended, McCain had cast himself as the inevitable candidate and built an expansive national campaign organization that melded top operatives from Bush's political team with his own base of longtime loyalists from his failed 2000 presidential run.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/02/politics/p091528D05.DTL
The McCain cuts
A senior McCain adviser tells me that every department in the campaign will be trimmed backed, including some limited cuts in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
This source said they would now run "a more nimble campaign a la 2000."
Stylistically, the early going McCain campaign more resembled the well-oiled Bush-Cheney effort than it did McCain's make-it-up-as-we-go bid seven years ago.
From expensive staff salaries to extensive consultant contracts, they had the trappings of a campaign seeking to portray the aura of inevitability.
Those days are now over, as symbolized by the decision of McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson -- a former Bush operative and somebody whose own income from the campaign raised eyebrows -- to work the next two months for no salary.
Indeed, every senior staff member will see his or her take-home pay reduced, per another senior McCain source I've spoken with.
"The pain is being felt across the board," said this person.
McCain operatives wouldn't disclose exactly who is being laid off, but I'm told that the senior communications staff is still intact.
By Jonathan Martin 02:58 PM
The Politico
July 02, 2007
HOTLINE
Monday, Bloody Monday
AP reports that John McCain's camp "is undergoing a significant reorganization with staff cuts in every department." 50 or more staffers are being let go, and senior aides "will be subject to pay cuts," as the camp announced raising just $11.2M in the 2ndQ. Manager Terry Nelson: "We confronted reality and we dealt with it in the best way that we could so that we could move forward."
I wouldn't say the McCain camp is dead, but I wouldn't wait till the last minute to fill out those organ donor cards.
Good luck to DCI GUY in finding a new political job now.
Don't pop the champagne corks just yet. As long as Juan Petain is in the race, he is still a threat to the country.
Jonathan Martin breaks the story:
McCain fires Iowa manager and OVER HALF HIS IOWA STAFF.
Who has ever seen a campaign come back from something like this?
Bush pardons Libby......big surprise there. After shitting on the Constitution for several years, why stop with civil liberties. Let's ignore a jury verdict and subvert the criminal courts.
Former president debuting with senator at holiday-week Iowa fundraiser
By Alex Johnson and Alison Kartevold Reporters
MSNBC and NBC News
Updated: 7:34 p.m. CT July 2, 2007
Presidential candidates flocked to Iowa for a week of Fourth of July campaigning in the state that holds the first major contest of the 2008 race, marked by Bill Clinton’s first appearance on the campaign trail with his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Campaign aides told NBC News that they had long planned to have the couple campaign together, but they indicated that it was no coincidence that the first joint appearance comes on the same day that campaign finance statements showed that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., raised more money than Clinton in the second quarter.
The timing of Bill Clinton’s debut on the campaign’s main stage has been a matter of some concern for campaign officials, who must weigh whether the former president’s star power could overshadow the candidate’s message. But the aides said the financial reports led them to conclude that it was time to “pull out all the stops.”
Bill Clinton to the rescue?
That means it’s time for the major candidates to pull out their big guns, and for the Clinton campaign, that means it’s time for Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton’s increased prominence could help Sen. Clinton close the gap. “He’s obviously a huge asset as a very popular former president,” Dean said.
Alex Johnson is a reporter for MSNBC.com. NBC News’ Alison Kartevold reported from Davenport, Iowa.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19569266/
Hey anon....
Commutations and pardons are delegated authorities to the President as laid out in the Constitution...
While you're at it..why dont you look at the folks that Clinton pardoned/commuted sentences for..they have been for far greater crimes than what Scooter Libby was convicted of.
Bush did exactly what he should've done regarding Libby. He only stepped in when the judge wouldn't delay incarceration pending matters that normally don't require incarceration. Considering this was a political witch hunt all along and the charges against Libby were false concerning Valerie it was the right thing to do. It wasn't even a pardon and nothing compares to Slick Willy's 11th hr (on the way out the door) unnaccoutable pardons and exec orders.
I think Democrats have selective memory. Here's another one for them - how's Congress doing now that they're in charge? Did they clean things up or any of their other promises?????
So Jorge Boosh commuted the sentence of Scooter. Clintler (Heil Clintler!) pardoned FALN terrorists who blew shit up in NYC.
That was AFTER he turned the DNC into a money laundering operation for the Chinese Communist military in exchange for weapons technology.
Liberals need to drink a nice big glass of STFU on this.
The Ipsos Mori poll of 2,032 adults - interviewed between 14 and 20 June - found 56% believed scientists were still questioning climate change.
There was a feeling the problem was exaggerated to make money, it found.
"It doesn’t matter whether they’re Republicans or whether they’re terrorists – she will stand up to defend this country," Christie Vilsack, wife of ex-Gov. Tom, says in her introduction of Hillary Clinton in Des Moines this evening, promising Hillary will stand up to "bullies."
Oh nice intro Mz. Vilsack, lumping Republican's right up there with Terroist or "whatever".
Mz. Clinton can't even stand up to the debate being broadcast on Fox.
What will she do when she has to confront the real enemy's of American's. Look the other way just like good ole' Bubba did? Nice try but no cigar.
Posted By: Tikki | July 02, 2007 at 09:37 PM
The key is that the Hillary campaign once again shows its utter viciousness...its intention to simply play in the gutter, to practice the politics of fear and divisiveness.
That's exactly the opposite of what this country needs now. We need unity, and she brings polarity.
Does anyone in their right mind assume that she can unite the country, or could get anything of significant merit accomplished?
Posted By: commenter | July 03, 2007 at 12:11 AM
Hillary Clinton will "stand up" to "terrorists"? Hahahahaha.
Hillary Clinton will diplomatically request "dialoque" with every sworn enemy of the United States and will invite other like-minded fools (e.g., European leftists and other international America haters) to share in her utopian fanaticism.
Evidently, Clinton "thinks" that declaring that terrorists have the same "constitutional rights" as American citizens means she is "standing up" to "terrorists". Interesting....
Posted By: Tom | July 03, 2007 at 12:12 AM
Bill Clinton introduced Hillary at their first joint campaign appearance in Iowa this evening, lavishing praise on her.
"I would be here tonight if she asked me if we weren’t married," Clinton said, calling her "the best-qualified, non-incumbent I have ever had a chance to vote for for president in my entire life."
Mrs. Clinton has been trailing in the Iowa polls behind former Senator John Edwards, and at times she has run third after Senator Barack Obama as well.
The effort to overcome the slow start got under way in earnest on Monday night when, standing on bales of hay and surrounded by several thousand people at the Iowa State Fairgrounds here, she and her husband held hands as they waved, their smiles wide.
At times he put his hands on her shoulders and her back as they listened to Ruth Harkin, wife of Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, endorse her.
so does ruth harkin endorsing hillary give tom harkin cover?
http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/clintonpardon_grants.htm
February 18, 2001
My Reasons for the Pardons
By WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
HAPPAQUA, N.Y. — Because of the intense scrutiny and criticism of the pardons of Marc Rich and his partner Pincus Green and because legitimate concerns have been raised, I want to explain what I did and why.
First, I want to make some general comments about pardons and commutations of sentences. Article II of the Constitution gives the president broad and unreviewable power to grant "Reprieves and Pardons" for all offenses against the United States. The Supreme Court has ruled that the pardon power is granted "[t]o the [president] . . ., and it is granted without limit" (United States v. Klein). Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared that "[a] pardon . . . is . . . the determination of the ultimate authority that the public welfare will be better served by [the pardon] . . ." (Biddle v. Perovich). A president may conclude a pardon or commutation is warranted for several reasons: the desire to restore full citizenship rights, including voting, to people who have served their sentences and lived within the law since; a belief that a sentence was excessive or unjust; personal circumstances that warrant compassion; or other unique circumstances.
The exercise of executive clemency is inherently controversial. The reason the framers of our Constitution vested this broad power in the Executive Branch was to assure that the president would have the freedom to do what he deemed to be the right thing, regardless of how unpopular a decision might be.
blah blah blah....money money money. I had to build my library. I had big time legal bills to pay. I had a wife to elect to the senate. I had places to travel to, chicks to see, material goods to acquire. I had to feed by insatiable vanity.
Both sides are crooked when it comes to pardons. It's an archaic throwback to the power of the king (apparently the Framers weren't that upset with granting "king-like" power to the Executive). I guess it gives both sides something to bitch and moan about when it's the "other side" that does it.
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 3:05 p.m. EDT
Hillary Defends Pardons, Blasts Bush Decision
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a distinction between President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - which she has harshly criticized - and her husband's 140 pardons in his closing hours in office.
"I believe that presidential pardon authority is available to any president, and almost all president's have exercised it," Clinton said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This (the Libby decision) was clearly an effort to protect the White House. ... There isn't any doubt now, what we know is that Libby was carrying out the implicit or explicit wishes of the vice president, or maybe the president as well, in the further effort to stifle dissent."
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