Mahaffey Looking At Second Challenge To Boswell

Mahaffey Looking At Second Challenge To Boswell

Maybe this is why Leonard Boswell is in the DCCC's Front Line program for remedial help to those with special electoral needs: Congressional Quarterly notes that Mike Mahaffey, who gave The Boz a strong challenge in the open-seat 1996 race, is looking at it again.

CQ rightly notes that it's essentially a different district. But Republican readers, I'm especially curious: How's Mahaffey's standing in the RPI these days. Will the $$$ flow?

And Dems: when do we get smart about our long-term prospects with Leonard?

Progressive Caucus Responds to Blue Dogs on Health Care

Progressive Caucus Responds to Blue Dogs on Health Care

For all the noise they make, the 51 House Blue Dog conservative Democratic group is outnumbered by the 78 House members (plus Senators Bernie Sanders and Tom Udall) Progressive Coalition.

Yesterday the Progressives responded to the Blue Dogs on health care (h/t Kos):

...the overwhelming majority of CPC Members would prefer a single-payer approach. If a single-payer plan is not enacted, we agree with President Obama that there must be a robust public health insurance option like Medicare offered alongside the private plans....

The CPC believes the public plan should provide a guarantee of coverage, affordable, high-quality and accessible healthcare, and lower costs regardless of income, health status, race, employment, or gender. We strongly oppose any conditions or triggers undermining and limiting the availability of the public option.

Full text here (.pdf)

Most of the Progressive Caucus members are from urban or majority-minority districts, but one exception is our own Dave Loebsack.

Nirvana's Novoselic Runs for Local Office

Nirvana's Novoselic Runs for Local Office

Krist Novoselic, who used to be in a band with the guy from the Foo Fighters, has been mentioned as a candidate for office before, most prominently in 2004 when he was touted as a possible lt. gov. of Washington. Now he's finally making his run, and it's for...

County clerk?

He’s running against County Clerk Kay M. Holland, who was appointed to the post in January after the former clerk retired.

Novoselic keeps his hand in music, playing periodically, but is clearly attached to his rural life and the sense of community he’s found.

The county is the third smallest in the state, with a population of less than 4,000 people. The county seat, Cathlamet, numbers just 565 people.

The duties of the office appear to resemble Iowa's clerk of court duties.

There's more to the story. In Novoselic's announcement post, he barely mentions the office itself and instead discussed the details of Washington's "top two primary" law. He's running under the designation "Grange Party," which is a state-level progressive group.

"My problem is not really with a top two runoff election," writes Novoselic. "My issue is with the way candidates can appropriate the name of a private group."

"The Grange is a non-partisan organization that DOES NOT offer candidates for public office. And the Grange may spend time and money to try and make this clear through media communications. However, under state law in Washington, the Grange cannot rebut my party preference on the public ballot – the only place a voter is guaranteed to see my claim."

Oh, how many times we've had the same problem in Democratic primaries around here.

The "Grange Party" run is in spite of the fact that Novoselic is -- this is the Coolest. Thing. Ever -- chairman of the Wahkiakum County Democratic Party. Way cooler that what we got.

The incumbent is also a Democrat, filling a vacancy by appointment, and she calls Novoselic a "nice guy." The scale is so tiny that the politics of celebrity matter little; reading between the lines, it sounds like Novoselic is running to get sued and challenge the law.

Freak Power On The Prairie

Freak Power On The Prairie: The Campaign I'd Like To See

In 1970, the greatest writer on the planet, Hunter S. Thompson, ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado. The campaign, prefaced by his amazing article "Freak Power in the Rockies," seemed outlandish, but the premise was very serious. Aspen had changed and the counterculture was unrepresented in local government. As the Doctor wrote:

Aspen is full of freaks, heads, fun-hogs and weird night-people of every description…but most of them would prefer jail or the bastinado to the horror of actually registering to vote. Unlike the main bulk of burghers and businessmen, the dropout has to make an effort to use his long-dormant vote. There is not much to it, no risk and no more than ten minutes of small talk and time – but to the average dropout the idea of registering to vote is a very heavy thing. The psychic implications, “copping back into the system,” etc., are fierce…

And we learned, in Aspen, that there is no point even trying to convince people to take that step unless you can give them a very good reason. Like a very unusual candidate…or a fireball pitch of some kind.

"Freak Power" outlines a campaign of outlandish and legally questionable promises that exaggerated, yet illustrated, the very real problems. Traffic congestion was addressed by a pledge to tear up and sod the streets. Abuse of the land by developers was greeted by a proposal to rename Aspen "Fat City" and tearing down all buildings that blocked views of the mountains. Thompson only moderated his views by pledging not to use drugs while on duty. The platform was combined with a very basic, practical, we outnumber them get out the vote program. Thompson came dangerously close to winning.

Iowa City's "freaks" are the students, perennially left out of local government. As we saw in the 21 bar vote in 2007, a We Outnumber Them strategy can work in Iowa City politics as well, as long as there's a compelling motivation to vote. So we know the strategy can work. All we need is the Thompsonian "fireball pitch," which I hereby propose.

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Iowa City is a college town. This is a strength, not a problem. We need to embrace our strength. Anyone who says they love the Hawkeyes yet complains about the students will be exiled to Marengo, which is what Iowa City would be without the undergrads, and forced to miss the first quarter of all home games while stuck in an I-80 traffic jam.

Downtown is a place to go out, not a place to shop. Retail moved west in 1998 when Coral Ridge Mall opened, and ain't never coming back unless we bulldoze the entire Pentacrest to make it a flat, free parking lot (which would be filled by 7:30 every morning with University traffic). But accepting our new condition has been delayed a decade by the over-representation of downtown retail on the city council.

The 21 year old drinking age is an unenforceable law, and if the state of Iowa wants us to enforce it they can foot the bill. A law that cannot be enforced is a law that can't be respected, and breeds contempt for the law and the legal process in general.

The council's January organizational meeting will be held at the State Capitol in Des Moines, where the new council will address the "underage drinking problem" (sic) by lobbying the Legislature for a law consistent with the 18 year old right to vote. Once that's addressed, then the city can address the legitimate issue of alcohol abuse without age in the way.

In the meantime, the fine for PAULA will be reduced to one dollar cash, payable immediately to the officer in beer-soaked quarters. Tickets will be issued on site and redeemable for a cab ride home (recipient responsible for own tip and puke cleanup). Proceeds will be used to retrofit sidewalks made of that spongy stuff from the Ped Mall playground, so falling drunks will suffer fewer injuries.

The vacant site of the former Vortex will be converted to beer truck parking. Instead of unloading trucks mid-street, a fleet of Cooper Minis will shuttle deliveries to the bars, one keg at a time.

Likewise, since marijuana prohibition is also unenforceable, the fine for simple possession will be reduced to $5, in honor of the nickel bag, and the charge will be renamed Stinking Up The Great Outdoors. Officers issuing such tickets will be required to sing the Subway Five Dollar Footlong song, complete with hand gestures and dance. Tickets will be redeemable for said sub, as recipients will no doubt be hungry, dude.

Recipients will also be issued towels to stuff under their dorm room doors. The University will be reimbursed for the higher water bills resulting from RAs flushing joints, the preferred legal response back in my day.

With these changes, jail crowding on weekends should be less of a problem, but any overflow can be housed in the football dorm, which is just easier for everyone. Work release for games will be considered.

The city will make up for the lost revenues by increased tickets for anti-bike offenses like blocking sidewalks or refusing to share the road (a share of all proceeds donated to the Donald Baxter Legal Defense Fund).



Officers will also occupy their time by posting signs at all entrances to University Heights reading WARNING: SPEED TRAP.

The city charter will be revised to expand the council to 25 members, roughly one from each voting precinct. Districts will be drawn to maximize representation of previously under-represented groups (no student has been on the council since the present district system was enacted in 1975). With a city of 60,000, and about 25,000 students, that should translate to about ten students of 25 council members.

Terms will be shortened to two years with all seats up each election, allowing students to vote and serve more often and making the council more responsive.

The larger council will require a move out of Harvat Hall. Meetings will be held on the dance floor at Brothers, with the mayor chosen either by direct vote of the people or a dance contest. Harvat Hall will be converted to an alcohol free fun center, "Planet H." It will then be rented out to the University six months later when Planet H closes for lack of business.

Rent control failed twice in the `80s so we won't go there. Instead, rental permits will require landlords to live one month per year in one of their rental properties, on the average income of their tenants. Ramen noodles--you'll love `em.

Normandy Drive will be recommissioned as a water theme park to compete with the Amana water slide, with whitewater rafting every decade or so with each 500 year flood. The new amusement park will be expanded by installing a roller coaster over a re-opened Hutchinson Avenue hump.

Finally, to complete the park, Marc Moen will be commissioned to build the world's tallest building, on stilts, on the Fine Arts Floodplain, and our nickname will change from "Athens on the Prairie" to "Dubai on the Prairie."

Iowa City race taking shape

Iowa City council race taking shape

Iowa City's last two city elections have both smashed turnout records, but those votes were driven by referenda: the 2005 public power meltdown and the 2007 21 bar failure. This year, it looks like the council is the only game in town. Could we see three open seats?

With Mark McCallum's entry into the District B race, the business/conservative slate seems to be set, which likely means that incumbent Connie Champion is stepping down after three terms.

At-large Incumbent Mike O'Donnell is also finishing a third term, and isn't expected to run. O'Donnell never won big in his three bids, surviving a 58 vote squeaker in 2001 over Leah Cohen of BoJames, and lost to Rod Sullivan when he tried to move to the Board of Supervisors in the 2004 Democratic primary.

Three terms seems to be an unwritten limit. Former mayor Ernie Lehman served three terms, progressive Karen Kubby served one year shy of three full terms. No one in the 34 year history of the current district and primary system has served four, and when Dee Vanderhoef tried for a fourth in 2007 she barely made it through the October primary and was last place in the October general.

Susan Mims, a former school board member, and downtown jewelry store owner Terry Dickens are already in as the likely at-large conservative slate. Yes, we have another member of the dwindling downtown retail community running. That's the traditional source for candidates like Lehman of the defunct Enzler's leather goods, Vanderhoef of Iowa Book and Supply, and Champion of Catherine's clothing.

Things are quieter on the progressive front; Amy Correia is stepping down after one term and the only candidate getting mentioned is Colin Hennesey.

Council races are officially non-partisan. But Iowa City elections typically break out on left vs. right lines, with patterns clear year after year and precinct by precinct. Areas that did well for, say, progressive council member Mike Wright in 2007, also did well for Obama a year later.

Mims and Dickens are both registered Democrats, while McCallum switched from Republican to No Party earlier this year. Many members of the business-conservative community stay registered as Democrats to participate in decisive primaries for courthouse offices.

For some reason, the City Council always draws a bigger field of no-chance self-starters than any other local office, and an October primary hasn't been avoided since 1991. Conservatives have usually done a better job uniting early than progressives have; the left has seen primary fights like Jim Throgmorton vs. Mona Shaw in 1993, Regenia Bailey's successful primary challenge to Irvin Pfab in 2003, and Brandon Ross vs. Wright in 2007.

Next: The platform I'd like to see.

June Johnson County Democrats

The Monthly Bummer: Johnson County Democrats Meeting

Only about 20 or so here as the Johnson County Dems start their June business. Takes ten minutes to get minutes approved and a few more stragglers get us up to the 30 mark. Not good by historic standards, even for the summer.

We do have more electeds this month: Senator Dvorsky, Rep. Jacoby, Supervisor Sullivan and County Attorney Lyness.

Roseman scolds us about parliamentary procedure and begs for some exec board members; the membership co-chairs and Candidate Development co-chair Sarah Swisher have resigned, leaving barely any executive board at all. Fundraising chair has been vacant since Roseman took over and nominations fall flat, again.

We now review the chair's budget, which overestimates how big an off-year barbecue can be, and his two year plan, which is pretty bare bones compared to Brian Flaherty's two years ago. Budget gets passed; plan does with a bit more dissent.

The July meeting gets moved to July 9 meaning we have no more meetings before the 4th of July parades; "a group this size would be a pretty sad parade" concedes Roseman.

Flaherty: "Do we have a point person for the barbecue?" Roseman: "We do not."

Relative newcomer Jean Falk steps up for "acting" finance chair.

Ruth Spinks praised Va Lt Gov candidate Mike Signer; there's an Iowa City phone bank for him Sunday. Brad Selken announces 4 PM Saturday Obama Health Care event. Paul Deaton announces a Physicians for Social Responsibility display at the library; the ICARE breakfast is Sunday, with a Quire concert that evening.

Blue Dogs, Boswell a Health Care Obstacle

Blue Dogs, Boswell a Health Care Obstacle

Leonard Boswell's pals in the House Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats may be the latest barrier to health care reform.

The Blue Dogs Thursday released a statement headed, "Health Care Reform Must Protect Consumer Choice, Promote Competition in the Marketplace," and signed by the group's 15 member Health Care Task Force. Boswell's not part of that subgroup, but is a member of the larger 51 member Blue Dog Coalition.

"Among their requirements," writes Congressional Quarterly, "the public plan must negotiate payment rates with providers; participation in the plan must be voluntary for both providers and patients; premiums and copayments under the plan must pay for its operations; and the plan must follow the same actuarial standards and regulations required of private insurers."

"The availability of a public option would only occur as a fallback and in the absence of adequate competition and cost containment," reads the full statement (.pdf)

"Politically, the Blue Dogs’ document sets the coalition’s 51 members squarely at odds with a group of 78 liberals in the House who have cosponsored legislation (HR 676) by John Conyers Jr. , D-Mich., that would expand Medicare to all Americans and outlaw most private insurance," writes CQ.

Those 78 Democrats include 2nd District Rep. Dave Loebsack, but not 1st District Rep. Bruce Braley.

But Boswell still seems to be in good standing with party leadership, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi is visiting Des Moines with Boswell Saturday.