Yepsen gets it half right

Yepsen gets it half right

The Overrated One is expecting a low turnout primary. He's probably right but he's got a few things wrong. In mock tribute I'll do this in bullet points:

He's blaming the CITEC scandal, but to me that seems like inside the Des Moines Beltway stuff. Out here in the People's Republic of Johnson County it's a nonentity.

"If a dispirited Democratic base stays home in November what should be a great year for the party in Iowa may prove to be one Republicans can survive." That would be true if it were even remotely applicable. But everyone I talk to in the Blouin, Culver and Fallon camps is united on one thing: the need to beat Jim Nussle. Some indecisiveness in June is no indicator of a weak November.

Yepsen does acknowledge the spirited 1st CD primary but doesn't apply the old Tip O'Neill "all politics is local" wisdom to other spots. Maybe that's because of his Polk County perch; if I'm right the only contested local race they have is the primary for Fallon's House seat. (I stand corrected but I'll bet it's nowhere near as hot as Newport Road) Here in Johnson County this isn't the "governor's primary", it's the "county attorney and supervisor election." Despite an apparant tendency to undervote by crossovers (my oft-repeated historic stat: in 1998 we had 1000 more votes for county recorder than for governor) this magnifies Johnson County's influence in a state primary. In 2004 we had the highest turnout in the state. I don't mean percentage; I mean more voters than Polk County.

Who does that help? Blouin's organization? Fallon's committeds? Culver's name ID? Sal's tenacity?

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Didn't write about the Friday Night Concert yet; it was more of the same faces. Crowd was a bit smaller due to the holiday weekend and the different music. Instead of high school jazz and the parent rich crowd we had blues rock and a verrrry attractive and talented lead singer. Interesting: a couple of my friends in the Culver camp who read last week's post went out of their way to tell me they'd be there. Attempts were made to interpret my green and gold hat as Culver support but it was really intended as Packer support. I'm being scrupulously chicken on public support but will stick my neck out for Dave Loebsack, Mike Mauro, and all other uncontested Dems. Gutsy, I know.

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Speaking of Mauro, the Underrated One, Mike Glover, picks up on the real issues in the Secretary of State race:

Polk County Auditor Michael Mauro, unopposed for the Democratic nomination, points to his role in boosting voter turnout in the state's largest county, and takes pride with expanding the absentee ballot effort by making request forms available online.

Republicans Chuck Allison and Bob Dopf say they are worried about ballot security and argue that the dramatic expansion in the use of absentee balloting should be slowed or stopped.

Or: Democrats want to help you vote. Republicans want to keep you from voting.