IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

The Washington D.C. City Council has voted to allow gays and lesbians to marry today. However, DC legislation can be overruled by Congress within 30 days due to its status as a Federal District. The question is how will Steve King react? King claimed his opposition to the Iowa Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage was because they were legislating from the bench. This is a case of legislating from the legislature. King, or Tom Latham for that matter, may not approve of the DC Council's decision but it is their business to overrule the elected representatives of the people of Washington D.C. If King is sincere in his belief that the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court is wrong, he'll back the DC City Council's decision. However, if he doesn't, all these claims about defending judicial minimalism and popular sovereignty will just seem like excuses for homophobia.

Labels: marriage, Steve_King, Tom Latham

More than 25 percent of funds raised by Rep. Tom Latham's political action committee during the 2008 election cycle paid for trips to resorts around the country, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. Latham's PAC, called For America's Republican Majority (FARM PAC), raised $205,447 during the two-year campaign cycle that led up to the 2008 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that total, nearly $52,000 was spent for trips advertised as fundraisers, mostly to well-known golf courses in California. The money paid for travel, hotel accommodations, meals and golf course fees. That total represents only expenses associated with out-of-state travel and does not include fees paid to fundraising consultants or fundraisers held in the Washington, D.C., area.

Labels: Tom Latham

A few wingnuts knocked at the door of Tom Latham's town meeting in
Emmetsburg today, but Latham did not come out to play. One woman in a
Patriot Party t-shirt greeted arriving voters with a handout listing
ways to stockpile food for the coming disaster. It did not say what
disaster she was expecting. One man wondered how long before the
government starts implanting computer chips into our bodies. Another
wondered if the Congressman could go to the floor of the House and
read the Constitution aloud to his colleagues. Of course there were
the usual sneers at Speaker Pelosi and Senator Kennedy, but I don't
think the name Obama was mentioned by anyone. Latham deflected all
these ideas and insults without offending the people who injected
them.

Labels: health_care, Tom Latham

By at least one measure, Tom Latham is the worst member of Congress.
Watchdog group Progressive Punch has released its yardsticks, and
measuring member voter scores vs. voting behavior of the district,
Latham ranks number 434, with one seat vacant. While Steve King is
considered Iowa's arch-conservative based on his rhetoric, in a highly
polarized House Latham's actual voting record is very similar. Latham
ranks below Steve King because the 4th district is labeled as "leaning
Democratic" based on Barack Obama's narrow win, while King's 5th CD is
safely Republican. So Latham ranks 77 points worse than his district
for a last-place rank. Progressive Punch is notoriously tough; Dennis
Kucinich gets a three star "acceptable" rating. All five Iowa members
get a one star "intolerable," but the distinctions are clear.

Labels: Tom Latham, U.S. House

Congressional Quarterly rates Iowa's 3rd and 4th districts as among the top 100 of 435 potentially competitive U.S. House races. The individual district writeups are contained in the fun interactive map. Of Boswell, CQ sums up his relatively easy 2008 win over the unnamed Kim Schmett and notes: "Yet the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has designated Boswell as a member of its 'Frontline Democrats' program, which provides additional campaign support to incumbents deemed potentially vulnerable in the 2010 campaign. The Republicans may get a comeback try by former state GOP chairman Michael Mahaffey, who narrowly lost to Boswell in an open-seat race in 1996 and has said he'll make up his mind by Labor Day about whether he'll run again." Potential opponents Mike Mahaffey and Robert Brownell, and '06 rival Jeff Lamberti, get name-dropped. But no mention at all of Ed Fallon's '08 primary challenge.

Labels: Leonard_Boswell, Tom Latham

Iowa's two Republican congressmen have been named to a panel of 15
Republican congressmen and one Republican congresswoman who represent
rural parts of America. The House Republican leader calls the group
the "Rural America Solutions Group." Congressman Steve King, a
Republican from the small western Iowa town of Kiron -- population 273
-- is part of the group, as is Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican
from the large central Iowa town of Ames -- population of 50,731 and
home to Iowa State University. Latham, though, grew up in a small
town, as you'll read in his news release below. First, though, is the
news release from King's office because it arrived in my email box
first.

Labels: Steve King, Tom Latham

By Iowa Congressman Tom Latham, Iowa's 4th Congressional District...
American taxpayers are once again being played for fools on Capitol
Hill as the president and members of Congress shed crocodile tears and
gnash their teeth over the fact that American International Group
(AIG) used part of its $170 billion grant from the Troubled Assets
Relief Program (TARP) for hefty employee bonuses. As you know, the
TARP was created last fall and is often referred to as the Wall Street
bailout. For those of us in Congress who voted against creating the
Wall Street bailout-TARP mess, this theater of the absurd is playing
just as we had predicted last fall.

Labels: Tom Latham

Although GOP leaders are boasting that zero House Republicans voted
for the stimulus bill, I have a sneaking suspicion that once this
so-called "wasteful spending" starts working its way through the
economy, Republican members of Congress will find a way to take credit
for it. We saw last fall that Steve "10 worst" King used his first
television commercial to take credit for progress toward widening Iowa
Highway 20. The TIME-21 plan approved by the state legislature last
spring -- not King's work in Congress -- made that project possible.
Nevertheless, King continued to mislead voters about his role in
moving the Highway 20 project forward. At least two House Republicans
are already playing this game with respect to the stimulus

Labels: Steve King, Tom Latham

"The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a radio
advertising blitz against 28 House Republicans who voted against the
stimulus package last week," notes Josh Kraushaar at The Politico's
Scorecard. "The list of targeted Republicans usually approximates the
party's top targets for the upcoming election. Given the Democrats'
success over the past two elections, the list shows there aren't too
many pickup opportunities left for the majority party." The companion
article lists the list and gives us some ad copy: "The following ad is
the districts of Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06), Lincoln
Diaz-Balart (FL-21), Shelley Moore Capito (WV-02), Mario Diaz-Balart
(FL-25), Elton Gallegy (CA-24), Tom Latham (IA-04)" ... So perhaps the
DCCC is taking my advice on at least one half of my two part prep for
redistricting plan. Maybe they'll follow up on part two?

Labels: Tom Latham, U.S. House

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham met with the National Pork Producers
Council recently. In the meeting, Iowa representatives from the
council stressed the importance of international trade to the domestic
pork industry, and specifically the pork producers of Iowa. Curtis
Hollis from Waterloo, Scott Tapper from Webster City, Bill Tentinger
from Le Mars, John Weber from Dysart, Mark Meirick from Protivin and
Jeff Schness from Clive were on hand for the meeting. "Amazingly, the
Speaker of the House is blocking a vote in Congress that would open
vast new markets for Iowa products," said Congressman Latham. "The
Speaker should immediately move Congress on the Columbia Free Trade
Agreement, the Korean Free Trade Agreement and the Panama Trade
Agreement."

Labels: Tom Latham

If you were a loyal Republican foot-soldier seeking re-election in a
state that's trending Democratic, where the Democratic presidential
candidate has a commanding lead over your party's nominee as well as a
much bigger ground game in your own Congressional district, you might
want to reinvent yourself. Late last week, Tom Latham did just that in
his first television commercial of this election cycle. You can view
the ad at Latham's campaign website. It focuses on a bill Latham
introduced to address the nursing shortage in Iowa. Judging from the
content of this ad, Latham recognizes that 2008 will be a big
Democratic year in Iowa. Neither the commercial nor the campaign's
accompanying press release (which I've posted after the jump) mention
that Latham is a Republican. Instead, they note that he authored
"bipartisan legislation" in a specific area.

Labels: Tom Latham

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham is hopeful that an upcoming trip by the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus into Postville will allow more people to
witness the aftermath of the May 12 immigration raid in the community,
and allow policy makers to have a better understanding of the human
and economic tolls of such a federal action. "The members of the
Hispanic Caucus will have seen firsthand, number one, the effect of
the meatpacking plant owners and, what appears to be, them knowingly
having illegal people working there," Latham said in an interview with
Iowa Independent. "They will see the impact and the consequences of
that."

Labels: immigration, Tom Latham

Braley Demands Tougher Oversight of Agriprocessors, Latham Urges Immigration Reform... Iowa -- in particular the small town of Postville -- is currently at the core of a long-waged public debate on immigration. The federal operation there on May 12, the aftermath of deportations and criminal sentencing, as well as the current silence in relation to the investigation against the employer encompass the multitude of issues surrounding immigration and emotions provoked by such government action. As local residents attempt to work through their own often conflicting viewpoints on both responsibility and reform, they need look no further than two of their own congressmen to see how differently two men can react and respond to the same situation.

Labels: Bruce Braley, immigration, Tom Latham

Much has been written, both before after after the May 12 immigration
raids in Postville, on the diversity of the community. One unique and
divisive aspect of Postville that has largely escaped most members of
the media, however, is the fact that the community is split between
Allamakee and Clayton counties. This also means that the community is
divided between Iowa's 1st and 4th Congressional Districts. The
Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant resides in Allamakee County
and Iowa's 4th District. While it goes without saying that residents
of both districts have felt and will continue to feel an impact of the
nation's largest immigration raids that netted 389 people, most of
them from either Guatemala or Mexico, only Congressman Bruce Braley, a
Democrat representing the 1st District, has voiced questions and
concerns about the activities on that day and the subsequent
aftermath.

Labels: Bruce Braley, immigration, Tom Latham

A spokesman in Congressman Tom Latham's office says the lawmaker voted
against incentives for election verification because the bill would be
a "costly redundant federal program." The Emergency Assistance for
Secure Elections Act of 2008 (HR 5036) encourages states to conduct
verifiable elections by converting to a paper ballot system, offering
emergency paper ballots, and conducting hand-counted audits. Two weeks
ago, the legislation passed the House Administration Committee with
unanimous and bipartisan support. "Congressman Latham believes it is
important to ensure the integrity and accuracy of our nation's
election process," said spokesman Fritz Chaleff.

Labels: elections, Tom Latham

By Tom Latham, Member of Congress... It is not news that America has
entered a nursing shortage. Last year over 118,000 nursing jobs were
left unfilled. Employers want to hire, but the pool of qualified
nurses just isn't big enough to fill all those jobs. What might be
surprising is that nursing schools, the very programs delivering these
qualified nurses to Iowa's hospitals, turned away more than 40,000
applicants last year alone. Why? Because they're full. The nursing
shortage isn't the problem, it's the symptom.

Labels: Tom Latham

The Des Moines Register had a lovely little chart in their Saturday
newspaper today that showed the cash on hand and 4th quarter numbers
from the five districts in Iowa but I cannot seem to find it on the
web version of the website at all. What I can tell you is that Steve
King and Tom Latham BOTH topped Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and
Leonard Boswell in fundraising in the 4th quarter which ran from
October 1 through December 31. For being in the minority party in
Washington D.C., I think that is an interesting development. Normally
it is easier to raise money when you are in the majority because, lets
be honest, you have a bit more access to the legislative calendar and
agenda.

Labels: Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack, Leonard_Boswell, Steve_King, Tom Latham

After eleven years of service and leadership on the United States
House Appropriations Committee, including positions on the
Agriculture, Homeland Security, Energy and Water,
Commerce/Justice/State, Financial Services and Legislative Branch
Subcommittees, Iowa Congressman Tom Latham was named the top or
"ranking" Republican on the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
Wednesday afternoon. Latham is one of only twelve Republicans on the
Committee who have earned such a position on the influential
Committee. "I am honored by this vote of confidence by the members of
my conference to serve in this leadership position in the House of
Representatives," said Latham...

Labels: Tom Latham

In his first direct email to supporters since leaving the race for the White House, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, has used the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade as a fund-raising catalyst for his political action committee (PAC). The email, prepared and paid for by the Restore America PAC, a group identified as Brownback's "leadership fund," describes the ruling "that haunts us to this day" as being perpetrated by "activist judges." ... According to Federal Election Commission filings, the Restore America PAC began 2007 with just over $10,000. It ended the third quarter with just over $1,000 in cash. In the past, however, Brownback has used PAC funds to support Iowa candidates. Contributions of $1,000 were made to congressmen Steve King and Tom Latham and former state Sen. Jeff Lamberti during his unsuccessful bid for Congress.

Labels: Sam_Brownback, Steve King, Tom Latham

Last month, Selden Spencer surprised many when he announced that he
would not run again in Iowa's 4th district. That left Democrats
searching for a candidate to unseat Rep. Tom Latham, who votes with
President Bush nearly 90% of the time. I know party leaders have been
asking different people about a possible run, but with no luck.
William Myers from Humboldt is an Iraq Vet who is considering a run,
but he is virtually an unknown among Democratic activists in the
district. Also, Kevin Miskell, who is Vice President of the Iowa
Farmer's Union, is considering a run, however rumors have it that
party leaders in Des Moines aren't jumping at him possibly running.

Labels: Tom Latham

I received a letter from the Selden Spencer campaign saying that Dr.
Spencer will not be running for Congress in Iowa's 4th District.
Spencer cited personal and professional reasons for his decision. Dr.
Spencer had this to say in the letter... "This remains a crucial time in
our history, a time in which we struggle to regain the soul of our
nation..." In 2006, the deck was stacked against Dr. Spencer's attempt
to defeat Rep. Latham. Spencer entered the race late, he didn't get
much support from the state party (because they were already investing
in the 1st and 2nd districts and protecting Boswell's seat in the 3rd
district), and he didn't have any name recognition at all. When put
together, Spencer had a hard raising the money needed and a hard time
getting his name out there to voters.

Labels: Tom Latham

... after several Senate Lines in which we listed the ten most competitive race alphabetically, this week's installment kicks off our attempt to rank them based on their likelihood of switching party control next November. ... 10. Iowa: Sen. Tom Harkin (D) presents something of an electoral conundrum. On one hand, he has held his Iowa Senate seat since 1984. On the other, his reelection percentages suggest vulnerability -- 54 percent in 2002, 52 percent in 1996, 54 percent in 1990. Unfortunately for Republicans, close doesn't count in politics, and they have yet to figure out the formula to beat Harkin. The national party seems committed to trying again in 2008. Rep. Tom Latham (R) is their preferred candidate, but Rep. Steve King (R) and former Rep. Jim Nussle, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006, are also mentioned. We fully expect Republicans to find a serious candidate and for that candidate to make a strong race against Harkin. But beat the incumbent? That's another story.

Labels: Jim Nussle, Steve King, Tom Latham, Tom_Harkin

Everything that Cillizza writes is correct, however I don't think there is anyway that Latham or King give up their safe seats in congress to run against Tom Harkin. I also don't think that Republican activists in Iowa are excited Jim Nussle running against Harkin. The only way that I can see Nussle running against Harkin is if Rudy Giuliani is the Republican nominee for President. ... Since I'm a kind and generous person, I thought I'd throw out a few names that should be konsidered. Ron Corbett – Former Speaker of the Iowa House, Former Cedar Rapids Chamber President. ... Bob Vander Plaats – Bob is a perennial kandidate, he has spent the last six years running for Governor or Lt. Governor. Part of me thinks that some people might have grown tired of Vander Plaats, he does has a following of social konservatives that can not be ignored. ... Bill Salier – Bill gave Kongressman Ganske a tough primary fight in 2002 even though he was probably outspent 1000 to 1. Salier is another champion of grassroots konservatives and is now reengaged in Iowa politics, after agreeing to chair Kongressman Tom Tancredo's presidential kampaign here in Iowa.

Labels: Bill Salier, Bob Vander Plaats, Ron Corbett, Steve King, Tom Latham, Tom_Harkin