Candidates and Choice: Concise Summary

Candidates and Choice: Concise Summary

With all the flapdoodle about conflicting statements, whether or not to reply to surveys, and the wording ("choice" vs. "abortion") in various press releases, the Register sums it up in the sidebar with bullet points.

Where they stand

Jim Nussle would ban almost all abortions, including for women who have been raped.

Chet Culver opposes any changes to state law and would keep parental notification.

Not perfect - I'd like to be playing offense on choice, not defense - but still a clear distinction.

---

Speaking of surveys, a couple more bullet points:

Ten years ago when I was running for the Iowa House, the state party higher-ups advised me not to respond to Vote-Smart type surveys, or generally any organizational survey that didn't have a sure-thing endorsement and a check on the other end. I know I didn't DO the Vote-Smart survey; what I don't remember is if I even GOT it. I was nominated late, at a post-primary convention. There was a long stretch when I didn't show up on the candidate lists and I missed out on a lot of mail (that was in the infancy of the internet - though I DID have a campaign website, waaaaay back in 1996). I know I tossed a few from the Christian Coalition and the like; nowdays I might have filled them in with over the top lefty rhetoric just to get `em mad. But nowdays I no longer have illusions about winning an election - learned that lesson the hard way.

And if they want my over the top lefty rhetoric they can just read this blog - which seems to be the case since lately my top referrers have been Krusty and the Johnson County Republicans. `Preciate the link love, my winger friends... I always said that people who care about the process yet disagree have a lot more in common than people who don't participate at all.

The user-surly Gazette proves that it CAN do it right if it wants to - it just doesn't want to - with a link-loaded, survey-rich voter guide. Full of mistakes and 404's at the moment, but unlike the rest of the site it's free.