IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

Barack Obama is holding a discussion with Democratic governors
tomorrow in Chicago, but Iowa Gov. Chet Culver won't make the event.
Obama wants to discuss non-Washington centered ways to pump up the
economy, so he's going to pick the brains of governors. Dealing with
the flooding situation in Iowa, however, will prevent Culver from
participating with the Dem Party presumptive presidential nominee.
Culver has been playing his schedule close to the vest, not going out
beyond the next day. We just learned at 5:30 p.m. that he'll be
kicking off an agricultural flood damage tour tomorrow morning at
roughly the same time Obama holds his event. Then Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty
Judge and Iowa ag industry officials will have more sessions
throughout the state.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Chet_Culver

Outside of the comments made by Wally Horn (Iowa's version of Ray
Nagin) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal's (Iowa's version of
Kathleen Blanco) opportunistic push to raise taxes and have the state
spend it self into dept, I have been impressed with out leaders at the
state, local and national level. The federal government's response has
been much better than Katrina. There is no doubt in my mind that Iowa
is benefiting from Jim Nussle's position as the OMB Director and his
closeness to the President in this great time of need. Governor Culver
has stepped up, and Senators Grassley and Harkin have preformed well.
Unfortunately, my opinion was changed when Governor Culver's office
released to the media that John McCain disregarded Culver's request to
stay away from the flooded communities.

Labels: Chet_Culver, John_McCain, Mike Gronstal

The day before President Bush is set to tour flood damage in Iowa,
Gov. Chet Culver said he wants the federal government to pick up the
entire tab for emergency response efforts and debris removal related
to the disaster. "As governor, I am committed to doing whatever it
takes to help rebuild our state," Culver said in a statement. "Over
the past three weeks, I have seen the strength and resilience of
Iowans firsthand. I know we can meet the challenges that this year's
severe weather has created, but we can't do it alone." Typically, the
costs of a natural disaster are shared among federal, state and local
governments, but Culver cited the magnitude of the flooding disaster
and its costs as a reason the federal government should pay a larger
share.

Labels: Chet_Culver, George_Bush

I know I've made fun of our Big Lug, aka Chet Culver, in the
governor's office a few too many times, but I think he's done a good
job in recent weeks showing Iowans that he's on the job when disaster
strikes. Sure, a cynic like myself has to admit there are clear
political benefits for an elected official to show up for photo-ops
amid the rubble or a chopper ride over swollen rivers, complete with
flight jacket. And, honestly, recovery operations go on whether he or
she shows up or not. But we expect our leaders to give a damn when
we're hurting, and Culver has shown skill in that role. He's
crisscrossed the state in recent weeks, surveying the damage, lending
comfort to victims and promising that state government is awake and
working.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Gov. Chet Culver said he knows he'll be criticized for deciding to
veto pay increases for statewide elected officials and House File
2645, which dealt with public employee collective bargaining, but
chalks it up to just doing his job. "There will be those who criticize
my actions. That is to be expected," Culver said at a 4 p.m. press
conference today. "That is a part of my job. As Harry Truman said,
'the buck stops here.'" Culver cited input from "thousands of Iowans
who have written, emailed and called me during this constitutionally
mandated review period." "While I have always been a strong supporter
of workers rights and collective bargaining, a close examination of
House File 2645 shows that it is not in the best interests of the
taxpayers of Iowa to let this legislation become law."

Labels: Chet_Culver, unions

Iowa's highest and mightiest gathered Saturday night in Coralville to
honor a groundbreaking physician and two political leaders who have
continued their public service despite their rejection by Iowa voters.
The annual Hoover-Wallace dinner raised over $57,000 for the
Borlaug-Ruan International Internship Program and honored former
congressman Jim Leach and former Senator John Culver for their public
service, and Dr. Ignacio Ponseti for his pioneering method of treating
children born with clubfoot, a congenital bone defect. The guest list
was a who's who of Iowa politics, including Governor Chet Culver, son
of the former senator.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Jim_Leach

Gov. Chet Culver won't veto the ill-conceived, anti-rural and
laughably hypocritical imposition of Prohibition-era busy-busybodying
ban on smoking in Iowa's taverns. bIn fact, two of Culver's top
spokespeople already are on record heralding this week`s passage of
the strict smoke ban that, of course, exempts the money-minting
casinos, but tells owners of bars in Audubon and Carroll and Storm
Lake and Denison, places often peopled with a majority of smokers, to
get health-club, celery stalk-sucking religion by July 1. Culver's
surrogates tell us to expect Iowa's Democratic governor to sign House
File 2212 next Tuesday amid much fanfare and here-heres.

Labels: Chet_Culver, smoking_ban

The school election this September 9 may be the last one in a general
election year, if Governor Culver signs the election bill that passed
the Iowa Senate this week. House File 2620, which passed the House
March 24, would lengthen school board terms from three years to four,
and includes several other election items. The four year terms would
begin with the 2009 school election. Each school district must adopt a
transition plan by August 1 of this year. Districts vary between
electing members at large and by districts, and the dates of term
expiration must be settled. The bill faced some opposition from school
officials, who were concerned that a board majority could turn over at
one election.

Labels: Chet_Culver, elections

There was a terse exchange today at the statehouse as the Senate's
Republican leader tried to force action on a controversial labor bill.
The legislation would expand the subjects public employees can explore
during union contract negotiations. The bill has passed the Iowa House
and Senate, but Governor Culver raised concerns just before it was
approved by the Senate, so the top Democrat in the Senate used a
parliamentary procedure to essentially table the legislation. Senate
Republican Leader Ron Wieck of Sioux City tried today to lift that
hold and questioned Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council
Bluffs.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Mike Gronstal, Ron_Wieck, unions

Today, Governor Culver bravely endorsed higher gas taxes. Apparently
the steady escalation of gasoline and diesel prices have finally
produced what we free market advocates always knew it would, reduced
consumption of gasoline and diesel. That's what conservatives call
conservation-less consumption without any government action at all,
how existential to be sure. It seems that three bucks a gallon
triggered Iowans collective gag reflex and we are actually driving
fewer miles. One consequence of conservation is a reduction of fuel
tax revenue. It, of course, makes sense; as we purchase fewer gallons
of gas the State's per gallon based tax revenue diminishes in a linear
relationship to the decline in gallons purchased.

Labels: Chet_Culver, taxes

Congressman Steve King scored a major legal battle and, if I might
add, also a political battle today over Lug and his Secretary of State
replacement Mike Mauro. Mr. King has clearly made it a priority to
protect this very important law that he passed as a State Senator.
English only in Iowa survives and Chet Culver's obsession with
multilingual government documents, which were against the law, was
slapped down. I hope our Republican nominee in 2010 is ready to use
this against Culver. Chet Culver violated the law. I would love to see
that on big letters on my TV screen in the fall of 2010. King had been
fighting this battle tooth and nail for over a year and it was just
delightful to see a judge uphold the legislature's law, which is the
elected will of the people.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Mike_Mauro, Steve_King

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and his family stayed at Iowa real estate mogul
and major Democratic donor Bill Knapp's property during a trip to the
Sunshine State last month. But the Culvers didn't stay there for free,
spokesman Brad Anderson said. The governor paid to stay there
beforehand, according to Anderson, although he did not know the
amount. Anderson points out the families are close friends. "Bill
Knapp has been friends to his family for 40 years now," Anderson said.
Knapp co-chaired Culver's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and co-chaired
Culver's inaugural committee with his wife, Susan Knapp.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Gov. Chet Culver signed legislation Tuesday that provides nearly $5
million to Iowa counties to upgrade their voting systems to ensure
they are using machines that leave a paper trail. Touch-screen voting
machines that had been acquired by some counties have come under
scrutiny by critics who fear they wouldn't provide an accurate voting
record that could be verified in the event of a recount. Proponents of
a system that provides a paper trail point to the presidential
election in 2000, with its lengthy recount and legal battle. Culver
said the bill he signed would ensure voters in all 1,784 Iowa
precincts have a paper trail when they cast their ballot in the
November general election and future elections.

Labels: Chet_Culver, voting

Eastern Iowa legislators at a weekend Leauge of Women Voter's forum in
Iowa City worked to shift the rhetoric on the collective bargaining
bill. "This just allows public sector people equal rights," said Sen.
Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville. "But the press is so biased they talk about
'union demands.'" "I think it just equalizes the playing field as to
what issues can be bargained," said Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City. "I
don't understand why an equal playing field creates problems for
administrators." Governor Chet Culver has threatened to veto the bill,
saying it hasn't received enough public debate, but Mascher countered:
"It's something Democrats have supported for many many years. It
needed to be done a long time ago."

Labels: Chet_Culver, unions

David Yepsen was singing the praises of Chet Culver today for
undermining efforts to allow teachers and other public employees the
same rights as private sector employees. Apparently if this happens,
there's a chance that teachers may negotiate for smaller class sizes
as part of collective bargaining and why would any Iowa school want
smaller class sizes? Except, of course, that there is a definitive
link between class size and academic performance among students.
Yepsen also brings up the scary fact that the collective bargaining
bill would mean more binding arbitration which Yepsen is sure means
higher costs to government. However, Ed Tibbets in an exhaustive piece
for the Quad City Times shows that binding arbitration only happens
rarely.

Labels: Chet_Culver, unions

The repercussions of the Collective Bargaining Bill that was approved
by the Iowa Legislature are being heard around the state and from some
unlikely sources including city and county governments. At stake is
the ability for public employees to have the ability to go through
arbitration to settle labor disputes. Sadly, they find no friend in
Governor Chet Culver, who has threatened to veto the bill. The
governor who is feeling heat coming from anti-union groups, city and
county lobbying groups, and others who are reframing the outcome to
suggest that property taxes are likely to rise if this bill is signed
into law. The foes argue that if lawmakers do not have the power to
stymie labor costs then the cost will be passed on to the taxpayer.

Labels: Chet_Culver, unions

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has been placed in something of a corner -- by
his own party, the Democrats controlling the statehouse. Yesterday's
passage of a contentious bill broadening the list of items that can be
the part of contract negotiations by public-sector unions means Culver
will be the ultimate arbiter on whether it becomes law. Culver can
veto the bill, something Republicans are urging him to do. Culver has
quite a dilemma. He likely favors the bill, he just didn't like how
quickly it was shepherded or railroaded (the word preference probably
depends on whether you're a Democrat or Republican) through the
Legislature in a matter of days. Republicans tried a walkout to stop
passage last week in the Senate; that didn't work. So the bill passed,
27-23, after six hours of acrimonious debate.

Labels: Chet_Culver, state Senate, unions

I had been meaning to write a quick post about this but have been very busy as of late. Guv Lug is starting to run into some serious turbulence just 15 months into his term as Governor according to numbers released late last week by SurveyUSA. Culver has a 49 percent DISAPPROVAL rating and a 48 percent approval rating. Clearly, many Iowans are starting to grow weary of his big government ways. I would love to see some new numbers in a few weeks after this advertisement has had a chance to really take its full affect. Starting in 2009, when our candidate(s) for Governor get their campaigns underway, they will have plenty to run against. We just need to keep the pressure on.

Labels: Chet_Culver, polling

It's been the topic of conversation for close to a week now. Who is behind those ads that rip on Governor Chet Culver? It's a group called the Iowa Future Fund. Reporters quickly started "googling" the group on the Internet. It listed a couple of Democratic attorneys who head the group. Ooh, this sounds juicy. Could it be that Governor Culver has ticked off his fellow Democrats so much they're running attacks against him? Was it the bottle bill idea...keeping some of Iowans' deposits? Was it that combined reporting idea that Tom Vilsack could never get the legislature to pass when he held the office? Nope, not at all. It's no "D" vs. "D" fight, after all.

Labels: Chet_Culver

The House Environmental Protection Committee on Monday approved a bill
that would extend the 5-cent deposit to bottled water, tea, juice and
sports drinks. It's a step in the right direction, although it would
be better to increase the deposit so that redemption centers could
receive more than 1 cent for each can and bottle they handle. Governor
Culver's original bottle bill proposal would have doubled the deposit
to 10 cents, giving an extra penny to the redemption centers. However,
Culver's bill also would have returned only 8 cents of the deposit to
consumers. The other 2 cents would have gone to fund some
environmental programs.

Labels: Chet_Culver, state House

The process of getting an absentee ballot may get slightly less bureaucratic this fall, if a bill that passed the Senate overwhelmingly Monday makes its way past the House and Governor Culver. Senate File 2089 by Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, would roll back a 2004 change that required auditors to accept absentee requests only if they were on one specific statewide form. "I am just trying to restore the prior practice, which as far as I know was never a problem," said Quirmbach.

Labels: Chet_Culver, state House, state Senate

With Arizona's Janet Napolitano in front, behind her you see Chet Culver of Iowa, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Chris Gregoire of Washington, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, and Jim Doyle of Wisconsin. In town for the National Governor's Association, they took time after a Democratic Governor's Association event for a dessert fundraiser at the Capitol Hilton in DC ... This event was organized on short notice by the MidAtlantic Finance Committee of Obama for America, several of whose members I know. Originally scheduled as a high-end event ($1,000 and up), near the end there were some people admitted for as "little" as $500. While I do not know the take for the night, there were over 120 people preregistered, and perhaps one or two dozen who registered at the door. Remember, this was an event done on short notice, without the presence of the candidate. For point of comparison on fundraising, the Clinton campaign recently held 3 events in New York with HRC for which the total was about $500,000.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Governor Chet Culver spoke Wednesday morning to about two dozen
members of the Iowa State Education Association. The topic of the
local option sales tax came up during Culver's discussion with the
group. Culver indicated he was "open" to using the sales tax revenue
on teacher salaries and he urged the ISEA members to contact their
legislators and lobby on the issue. Local option sales taxes are
currently reserved for school infrastructure projects. Voters in each
of Iowa's 99 counties have approved a local option sales tax for
schools, but for a duration of 10 years. Legislators are mulling a
bill which would make permanent the penny sales tax -- statewide --
and distribute the money back to schools on a per pupil basis.

Labels: Chet_Culver, education

According to Iowa Radio, Governor Chet Culver says he's open to the
idea of letting schools use local sales tax revenue to pay for teacher
salaries. "If we can work on this in a bipartisan way and get some
consensus I'm confident we can use this as a vehicle to address a lot
of different needs and that might be one of them," Culver says. Voters
in each of Iowa's 99 counties have established a one-cent local option
sales tax over a decade to be used for school infrastructure. Culver
says he's willing to look at all options. "You know my goal, if you
will, is to make sure we're giving equal educational opportunities to
young people regardless of where they live," Culver says. "That fact
is we do have some concerns."

Labels: Chet_Culver, education

Last session, nearly all General Assembly Democrats and yes, sadly, even some Republicans voted to establish a $100 million dollar Iowa Power Fund which was something that the Big Lug campaigned for in the fall of 2006. After it passed last April, I wrote a post called "Power Fund Appears to be Democrats' Power Trip" and I cited several reasons why I would have been a staunch opponent of such a slush fund if I were a legislator. I just fundamentally do not believe that government should be getting in the way of what private enterprise could probably do much better and certainly more efficiently. I'm also yet to be convinced that there is a shortage of private capital available to fund these projects.

Labels: Chet_Culver

But if the cold and snow has you down (if it's cold and snowy where you are), I have something that will make you laugh a little bit. Laughter, as they say, is the best medicine. Brightens the spirits a bit. Ready for the laugh? Chet Culver says someday he might run for President. Yes, seriously. I read that in the Saturday paper and found myself laughing pretty hard. ... But seriously Mr. Governor, the way things are going, you'll be lucky to get another term, let alone be let anywhere near the Oval Office.

Labels: Chet_Culver

The Iowa Legislature has begun what will prove to be a very exciting year for health care reform in the state. This Tuesday legislators presented a health care bill that would bring universal coverage to Iowa's approximately 45,000 uninsured children. This would be accomplished by expanding already existing programs to afford covering 25,000 more eligible kids, and providing subsidies to cover a remaining 19,000 in private plans. This goal is to be reached within three years, but in order for it to reach the Governor's desk it will need legislative support. SEIU and Iowa for Health Care are setting out to assure this support by holding its 5th Annual Lobby Day at the Capitol on February 14th.

Labels: Chet_Culver, state House, state Senate

Gov. Chet Culver, who stayed neutral during Iowa’s presidential caucus race, said Thursday he is throwing his support behind Democrat Barack Obama. Culver is traveling to Omaha to appear at a rally tonight with Obama, the U.S. Senator from Illinois who is locked in a tough fight for the Democratic presidential nomination with Hillary Clinton. In an interview Thursday afternoon, Culver cited Obama's commitment to change as the reason he is backing him. Obama won Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses, beating out Democrats John Edwards and Clinton along with rest of the field. "I think it's clear that the American people are hungry for change," Culver said in an interview with Lee Enterprises.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Chet_Culver

It appears delegate counting is a new pastime in America these days. Iowa Democrats, like their counterparts in other state parties, have a group of so-called "super" delegates to their party's national convention who get to cast their votes in Denver. How will those 11 folks vote? Governor Chet Culver is at the top of the list of super delegates from Iowa. He confirmed during a recent appearance on Iowa Public Television that he was being lobbied by both the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama camps, but he is not ready to announce a preference. Culver's wife, Mari, endorsed John Edwards in December at a rally in Des Moines. Senator Tom Harkin is a super delegate. Harkin stayed out of the endorsement game before Iowa's 2008 Caucuses and has not indicated a preference between Clinton or Obama at this point.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Chet_Culver, Hillary_Clinton, IDP

One of the raps against Iowa's bottle bill is that grocery stores are
in the food business, not the recycling business. But folks who are
in the recycling and redemption center business say expanding the
container law to cover more items would help the state's recycling
rate. "When you look in the ditches and the landfills, you see water
and juice bottles," said Jim Hansen, co-owner of the Can Shed in Cedar
Rapids. "Those are products that didn't exist 28 years ago" when Iowa
passed the bottle bill. Hansen told Iowa Independent that the economy
has also changed a lot in 28 years. "We're still unclear about the
guts of the Governor's proposal," Hansen said of Governor Culver's
proposal...

Labels: Chet_Culver

If you are already making plans for the federal tax rebate, you might
want to consider that the state of Iowa could have its hand out to
take a chunk. The federal rebates would still be subject to Iowa's
income tax unless state lawmakers and Gov. Chet Culver decide to
exempt them. That's what lawmakers did the last time federal tax
rebates were issued in 2001. Renee Mulvey, spokeswoman for the Iowa
Department of Revenue, said the tax rate would vary depending on
several factors, with a top rate of 8.98 percent. Iowa House Minority
Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said Republicans are drafting
legislation to ensure Iowans won't end up paying a state tax on their
rebates.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Christopher Rants, taxes

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver outlined his agenda for 2008 during his
Condition of the State address Tuesday morning, proposing on a laundry
list of nuts-and-bolts initiatives focusing on health care, the
environment and education. Proclaiming that "the condition of our
state is strong," Culver told a joint session of the legislature that
it is time to build on initiatives passed last year. "I believe our
goals this session are simple: protect our priorities, balance the
budget, and address some unmet needs." Culver also promised that he'd
sign a bill allowing local smoking bans if given the opportunity and
called on the legislature to raise teacher pay, restructure and expand
the state bottle bill and expand early childhood education
opportunities.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Right after Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's just-concluded state of the state
speech, House Minority Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City said he
didn't appreciate the "lecture" that ended Democrat Culver's remarks.
Culver pitched several new pieces in health care, the environment and
education, but his most extended lead-up to a point came before he
referenced changing the Iowa Right to Work law by enacting a "fair
share" aspect. That proposal -- to allow public-service employee
unions to negotiate for the right to charge a service fee to nonunion
workers -- passed last year in the Senate, but not House, and Culver
said today it would be part of creating the best work environment for
employees in the nation.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Christopher Rants

Gov. Culver appeared before the General Assembly for the annual State
of the State and promptly abandoned any pretense of reality in pursuit
Orwellian socialism. Iowa is facing a horrible budget crisis. The
Democrat leadership (Vilsack, the Big Lug and the Lug Nuts) will have
increased spending between 7/1/06 and 7/1/08 by more than a billion
dollars, while revenues are hardly keeping pace. Even the Democrats
admit that the state will experience a shortfall of over $105 million.
The non partisan Legislative Service Agency predicts a shortfall of
over $344 million.

Labels: Chet_Culver, health_care

An interesting typo came into the Radio Iowa newsroom via email, from
the staff of Iowa's governor. This news release made its way here just
after five o'clock this evening, with the wrong verb in the headline:
Governor & Lt. Governor sends letters to campaign workers: Consider
Iowa! Des Moines -- Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge
sent the following letter to Iowa presidential campaign officials in
both parties for distribution to caucus campaign workers... As you start
to figure out what comes next, we hope you will consider joining those
you have met over the last year and become an Iowan yourself.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver expressed optimism that Iowa's caucuses will
retain their position as the first contest in the presidential primary
calendar in 2012. He said Iowa leaders will be able to point to the
wide-open race in Iowa this year as evidence the state should keep its
spot. "I think Iowa has made its best case ever for why we should go
first," Culver told reporters Wednesday. "We have the most competitive
caucus, perhaps ever. We have shown here in Iowa that everyone has a
level playing field..."

Labels: caucus dates, Chet_Culver

Labels: Barack_Obama, Bill_Richardson, Chet_Culver, Chris_Dodd, Hillary_Clinton, IDP, Joe_Biden, John_Edwards, Tom_Harkin

A couple of days ago we posted a story on Iowa's decline to a bottom
feeding 45th rank (out of 50) for business climate. Business climate
is a somewhat amorphous concept that considers a broad array of
factors that affect an area's desirability for business creation or
expansion. Now, after nine years of Democrat governance, which has
mostly consisted of ever higher taxes coupled with corporate welfare,
carefully targeted at very large businesses who don't need the money
but whose executives have been most generous contributors to Democrat
political efforts, to fund ever larger increases in state and local
government, Gov. Lug has discovered that businesses have fled Iowa. As
a result of business flight, Iowa is facing a major labor force
shortage for the jobs, which are mostly government or government
related, that have remained in Iowa.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson has a fascinating piece this morning
that highlights exactly what any common sense Iowan could have said at
the end of the 2007 Iowa legislative session: the Democrats are
sending the state swirling down the drain of debt. According to
Henderson's story: "Governor Chet Culver is delivering a budget
warning to his administrators. The move comes as Culver and his staff
acknowledge that the level of state spending promised by the
Democratic-led legislature doesn't match the amount of state tax
revenue that'll be collected..." I'm pleased to see that Rep. Rants is
already on the case as that is exactly what we are going to need in
order to ensure that this sort of behavior is sufficiently made known
to literally every Iowan. This is just a fantastic issue for
Republicans here in Iowa to campaign on. Rants is noted in the article
as suggesting that he believes the liberals will move to raise more
revenue through tax hikes instead of trim the budget.

Labels: Chet_Culver, Christopher Rants

Something about how Chet Culver describes gay marriage always struck
me as funny, but I could never quite put my finger on it. I knew
there was some dog whistle politics thing about it, and today with
this whole new gay marriage flap I finally realized what it was.
Check out this quote: "I have said personally that I believe marriage
is between a man and a woman, and I've been consistent on that. At the
same time, I think it's important we let the judicial process work
itself out here," [Culver] said. Do you notice it? The guy never
makes any judgment at all. He believes that marriage is between a man
and a woman, not necessarily that it should be. And, I think we can
all agree, he is correct for the state of Iowa. Marriage is indeed
only between a man and a woman.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Why would a national organization with national name recognition
choose to hold its first presidential forum in Iowa? "This forum is
clearly another example of why the Iowa caucuses are so important,"
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan said following Monday's
event. "Not only do organizers understand that presidential candidates
are in our state, but it is a reflection on the fact that if the Iowa
people are supporting an event, the candidates know it is something
they should also be supporting." "Is there really any other place in
America where you could get 2,700 people, a former governor, the
current governor, at least one Iowa congressman and four Democratic
presidential candidates to come together on a Monday morning to talk
about cancer?" asked participant Ellen Jeffers. Gov. Chet Culver and
United States Rep. Dave Loebsack set out the importance of the event
and Iowa's role in raising the national conversation.

Labels: Chet_Culver, IDP

If they have a confessional at the Iowa Department of Revenue, this would be a good time to remodel it. Nobody will be using it for the next 13 weeks or so. Governor Culver has signed the tax amnesty bill, SF 580. The bill forgives penalties and 1/2 of the interest during the amnesty period, which runs from September 4 thorugh October 31 of this year. The Governor's website touts this as a "one-time" amnesty. Yes, one time, just like the last one in 1986. The Tax Policy Blog has a post on the policy implications of tax amnesties: "What we wrote in 1985 holds true today: if lawmakers decide to implement tax amnesty programs, they should be accompanied by fundamental tax reform that makes the tax code simpler and easier to comply with." Iowa has gone in the opposite direction, adding more loopholes targeted tax incentives to its tax law while doing nothing to lower rates or broaden the tax base.

Labels: Chet_Culver, taxes

... The Des Moines CBS affiliate's poll of 600 likely voters found that 46 percent approve of how Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is doing his job. Another 32 percent disapproved and 22 percent were undecided. The Democratic governor's backers shrugged off the relatively low approval rating, arguing that the poll was designed to survey likely caucus-goers and was not an accurate snapshot of Iowans in general. The poll's marquee feature was the latest standings in the presidential horserace. ... If there are Iowans out there who voted for the big lug and are now unhappy with those accomplishments, they weren't paying very close attention. Maybe some folks are unhappy about things he didn't mention much on the campaign trail. He pushed for politically radioactive pro-union "fair share" legislation, although lawmakers eventually shelved it. His party, which controls the Legislature, approved a budget that increases state spending by 9 percent even while experts warn of economic storm clouds in the distance.

Labels: Chet_Culver, polling

You write capitol, I write capital. Depends on the state, apparently. I suspect Iowa has it wrong, although as someone who is bailed out by copy editors, I'll not make a major point of it. But let's rehash the American Heritage Dictionary. Capitol — The building in which a legislature meets. Capital — The town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity. In a release yesterday, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who assumed the governorship in January, announced launching a new venture that will bring the state's heavyweights and resources out to various Iowa towns. In announcing the new Capitol for a Day pursuit, Culver said many Iowans traveled to Des Moines to visit the "beautiful state capitol" (spelling could be right, could be wrong, depending on what he meant) during the legislative session, and now "it is time to bring the state capitol to the people of Iowa." ... Unless Culver means that he's bringing the capitol building out on the Iowa stops, he should make it Capital for the Day. But let's not call the whole thing off, because the Capital for the Day is a fine idea.

Labels: Chet_Culver

Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear just got caught lifting part of Chet Culver's energy policy text. ... Obviously, neither candidate had any idea that the text was going to be used in multiple places, but it's a pretty inexcusable mistake on the consultants' parts. In a world with the Internet, someone in Kentucky might be able to find out what a candidate in Iowa is saying, and vice versa. Quoting, again, "Beshear's campaign manager, Jim Cauley, said the campaign saw Culver's plan for energy online 'and we liked it.'" Go Chet!

Labels: Chet_Culver

Senate Republicans who voted to scuttle Gene Meyer's appointment to lead the Iowa Department of Public Safety are certain to face some pretty intense lobbying over the next 24 hours to change their minds. Meyer fell two votes short Tuesday night of the 34 needed for confirmation, thanks to 18 Republicans who voted no. ... GOP senators have been receiving calls from prominent West Des Moines business leaders urging them to reconsider. Gov. Chet Culver held a news conference Tuesday morning decorated with more state troopers and law officers than you would find at a crime scene. Some House Republicans also showed up to chide their Senate colleagues. Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby says lobbying won't work. Senators are sticking to their guns, arguing that a longtime insider like Meyer would make a poor director. But more than a few Statehouse types are wondering whether Senate Republicans picked the wrong fight.

Labels: Chet_Culver, state Senate

Senate Republicans are demanding affirmative political action and have accused Governor Culver of regionalism in his Board of Regents appointments. Not one of the appointees is from western Iowa, home of the University of…? ... Nobody said living the life of a minority is easy, even in the world of politics. No? Just ask gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered persons in Iowa, who can't even get basic protections against discrimination added to the state's civil rights code. And now, having only suffered three harrowing months as the minority party, the Iowa GOP has had enough and intends to stand up for their rights. ... The GOP may want to consider other solutions before drawing a line in the political sand. For instance, they should inspire a succession. Just as West Des Moines succeeded from Des Moines and created its own governing municipality, western Iowa should do the same. Western Iowa can formulate its own government leadership and build its own University.

Labels: Board of Regents, Chet_Culver, state Senate, University of Iowa

... What a difference a week makes! Just 10 days ago, Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby was praising Gov. Chet Culver for his four nominees to the Iowa Board of Regents. ... Within hours praise had turned to grumbling as the Register announced two of the nominees "gave almost as much to [Culver's] gubernatorial campaign as more than 100 new appointees to state boards and commissions combined." ... For those wanting to make an issue of the campaign contributions, there was also another big roadblock: the other two nominees to the Board of Regents weren't supporters... they weren't even Democrats. ... When it became obvious that Iowans weren't buying the 'buying appointments' memo, a new complaint emerged. If confirmed, the new Board of Regents would have no representatives from Western Iowa serving. ... When the nominees appeared before the House Education Committee, Evans highlighted his governing role at Coe College while also pointing out that he was originally from Early (Sac County) in northwestern Iowa and continues to maintain a family farm in that area.

Labels: Chet_Culver, University of Iowa

So just how close will that vote be tomorrow at the Statehouse to up the cig tax? Governor Chet Culver with his Catholic, former smoker, Lt Gov Patty Judge, by his side, told us that the Catholics are behind the effort. That's an argument I haven't heard so far in this debate. But Tom Chapman, the Exec Director of The Iowa Catholic Conference, said this is a pro-life issue. A higher cig tax will stop people from smoking, so it will save lives and it will help insure the uninsured and Catholics, he says, believe in covering the uninsured. Jamie Van Fossen, the anti-taxer and Catholic Republican Rep. from Davenport, called the approach, "interesting". He doesn't remember learning the parable in Church of the importance of raising taxes.

Labels: Chet_Culver, cigarette tax

From the Des Moines Register: ... Culver said residents needing shelter or facing other emergencies should call 911, despite assertions from at one least one local official that the influx of calls was jamming phone lines. Anyone who cannot through that line, state officials said, should call 211 or their city or county's emergency services agency. They said information is also available at www.iowahomelandsecurity.org. ... Why is staying in a house without electricity "unacceptable" in this day and age? 70 years ago, only about 11% of farmers had electricity, yet they didn't die. If somebody has a fireplace, drinking water, food, and supplies then they can manage just fine in 30-degree weather for the next week or two.

Labels: Chet_Culver

No amount of government involvement is going to make life fair. However, the brain trust of Gov. Chet and the Dumbocratic Iowa legislature are proposing a "fair share fee." Union members pay union fees and while non-union members do not because they are NOT members. As the decision to join the union is a choice, it makes sense that the fees associated with it should also be a choice. But if the Democrats have taught us anything in the last few years, it's that only one issue [abortion] is about choice and all other decisions should be government mandated.

Labels: Chet_Culver, fair share