IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

At the Jefferson-Jackson dinner on Saturday I was pleased to meet Bill
Maske of Truro (Madison County), who is running against Representative
Tom Latham in Iowa's fourth Congressional district. I don't know
whether there will be a contested Democratic primary; I didn't see
stickers or campaign literature for any other Democrat looking at this
race. ... Latham is generally considered a safe incumbent after
beating Becky Greenwald last year by 20 points in a district Barack
Obama won. Still, it will be important to have a Democrat out there
highlighting Latham's bad votes. In 2012, Latham will either be thrown
into the same district as Steve King or, more likely, will have to run
in a new third district containing Polk County. We can't afford to
leave him unchallenged next year.

Labels: 4th CD

Becky Greenwald is losing by 20 points in D+0 IA-04 and appears to
have lost all 28 counties in the district. I wasn't optimistic about
winning that race, given the lack of tv and radio advertising on her
behalf, but I thought she'd come closer than she did, with a strong
turnout for Barack Obama and Tom Harkin in the district. I absolutely
expected her to win Story County at least. Ultimately, Greenwald
lacked the resources to define her opponent or even respond to his ads
that defined her. Tom Latham's last radio ad pulled quotes from the
Des Moines Register's endorsement of Greenwald, making it seem as if
they had rejected her for toeing the Democratic line. If you heard the
ad but hadn't read the paper, you would think the Register endorsed
Latham because of his bipartisan leadership.

Labels: 4th CD

... The media buy that the Greenwald campaign unveiled and the Register crowed about was for one ad that ran just one time. The Greenwald campaign reached into the bottom of the cookie jar and gathered their change and bought one ad. There isn't much of a story here besides that her campaign is desperate and her campaign is relying on the Des Moines Register to do the work their campaign should be doing. What really should be discusses is how the 12K Greenwald blew on airing a single ad just once could have been better spent or more effective on radio in marketing terms. ... Yet the Register felt the need to do a story. It's important to note they have never done a story on Latham's ads. Heck they have been on the air with ads for the last three months so these was ample time for them to do so. On the other hand, Greenwald did three weeks of TV that ended over 25 days ago. The thought that last night's one time ad buy has somehow rescued their campaign is a complete joke.

Labels: 4th CD

There are some who believe that progressive women lost their chance to
make history in 2008 when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ended her
presidential bid, but EMILY's List organizers disagree. "If we add
nine Democratic, pro-choice women to the [U.S.] House this cycle --
and when I say 'this cycle,' I mean the entire cycle including special
elections -- that would be the second-most in the history of the
United States," said Jonathan Parker, EMILY's List political director,
during a conference call with women activists on Monday. "It seems
kinda hard to believe, but that's how tough the work is that EMILY's
List is doing. The [gains] in 1992 would be the most, of course, but
this would be the second-most."

Labels: 4th CD

Ok, wait a minute ... Fourth District Congressional Candidate Becky
Greenwald doesn't know the difference between a bill and a law, but
she is now an experienced pollster? Apparently the Latham campaign
released their enternal poll showing them with a 56 to 34 percent lead
after Greenwald released the results of a poll that shows her down
only 5 points to Latham. Both polls use a small sample size, but
Greenwald is quick to dismiss the poll showing Latham with a
comfortable lead. I was told that Becky poo-pooed the Tarrance poll by
using her grown up running for congress person voice to utter the
following gem: "I just know from my market research background that
you really need a 400 sample size," Greenwald said Monday. Say
what?!?!

Labels: 4th CD, polling

Iowans in the 4th District will probably be seeing a lot more of Becky
Greenwald in few remaining days between now and the November election.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed the
Greenwald campaign in its Red to Blue program. The distinction heralds
the flow of financial, communications and strategic support from the
national committee to the local campaign. According to the DCCC web
site, candidates "earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding
fundraising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that they
stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to
Congress."

Labels: 4th CD

Becky Greenwald and Tom Latham just debated on WHO radio. Chase Martyn
liveblogged the event at Iowa Independent. I will have more to say on
this tomorrow after I listen to the tape again, but here are my
initial thoughts. There were no major gaffes, and both candidates
presented their cases well. Greenwald did a great job of staying on
topic and bringing up the relevant facts on a range of subjects. She
repeatedly mentioned his loyal Republican voting record, including his
many votes to continue the war in Iraq, and promised that she would
get to work for constituents right away. So, when Latham brought up
the bill he co-sponsored to deal with the nursing shortage in Iowa
(more on that here), Greenwald said it's a good bill and she hopes it
will get out of committee.

Labels: 4th CD

Becky Greenwald, Democratic congressional candidate in Iowa's 4th
District, has garnered the attention of one of the nation's largest
political action committees and financial powerhouse for women seeking
public office. Today, the Washington, D.C.-based EMILY's List -- an
acronym for Early Money Is Like Yeast -- announced its endorsement of
Greenwald and Sharen Neuhardt, a candidate in Ohio's 7th District.
"Running in emerging take-back opportunities for the House, Becky
Greenwald and Sharen Neuhardt represent the dynamic, capable, and
visionary leaders we need in Congress today," said Ellen R. Malcolm,
president of the organization. "Hailing from the swing states of Iowa
and Ohio, these exceptional candidates have the passion and experience
to tackle the real problems facing their districts.

Labels: 4th CD

Maybe someone out there who knows the inner workings of EMILY's List
can explain to me why this group has not put money behind Becky
Greenwald, the Democrat challenging loyal Republican foot-soldier Tom
Latham in Iowa's fourth Congressional district. I have been going over
the list of Democratic women running for Congress whom EMILY's List is
supporting, with a particular focus on the six challengers most
recently added to this group in early August. I do not mean to knock
any of those candidates, and I recognize that every race has its own
dynamic. However, after comparing Greenwald's race to those of other
candidates, I remain puzzled that EMILY's list is not more involved in
IA-04.

Labels: 4th CD

Independent Congressional candidate William Meyers, who lost his
district's Democratic primary last month, has launched a new Web site
he hopes will become the focal point for the movement to repeal the
recently enacted statewide smoking ban. The site attacks most
Democrats in both chambers of the state legislature. The site,
RepealTheSmokingBan.org, officially went live earlier today. Meyers
said he is currently operating it on his own but hopes in the coming
days to contact interested parties who are working to overturn the ban
to inform see if they would be interested in utilizing the site to
unify the movement on a statewide basis. "I want to donate the site to
groups trying to get this terrible law overturned," Meyers said.

Labels: 4th CD, smoking_ban

Ruth Harkin, wife to U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, sent a message to friends
this week in support of 4th District Congressional candidate Becky
Greenwald. In the letter, Harkin, who is a resident of the 4th
District, tells friends that "we have been waiting for a Democrat to
represent us for many years, and this is the year we can make it
happen with Becky Greenwald." The letter goes on to provide links
recipients can click to make contributions to Greenwald's campaign. ...
Harkin goes on to provide a brief biographical sketch of Greenwald and
then gets to the "historical" aspect of the political contest:
"Lastly, I'm working to help Becky because this is our opportunity to
finally send a woman to Congress from Iowa."

Labels: 4th CD