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The Politico is reporting that Sam Brownback is expected to end his bid for the Republican nomination for President tomorrow. Brownback never recovered from finishing third, behind fellow social conservative Mike Huckabee, in the Iowa Straw Poll in August. Brownback’s withdrawal from the field helps consolidate Huckabee’s position as the leading social conservative amongst the Republican field.
Brownback’s withdrawal leaves several key Iowa Republican activists up for grabs. Chuck Hurley, one of Iowa’s leading social conservatives, was a Brownback backer and will be courted by Presidential candidates seeking support amongst caucusgoers from the religious right. Another major Brownback supporter was convenience store millionaire Don Lamberti. Lamberti’s son, former Republican State Senator and Congressional candidate Jeff Lamberti, is a leading John McCain supporter. Given their family relationship, not to mention the close ties between McCain and Brownback, it’s quite possible that Lamberti will switch his support to McCain.
Brownback joins Tommy Thompson as the second Republican candidate to drop out directly or indirectly because of the straw poll. (Jim Gilmore also had a short-lived and rather pathetic bid for the Presidency but dropped out to focus his energies on trying to lose a U.S. Senate seat to former Democratic candidate Mark Warner). The Straw Poll will have once again have significantly winnowed the Republican field, depriving Republican caucusgoers of choices in order so that the Republican Party of Iowa can make a few extra bucks.
October 18th, 2007
Now that Hillary Clinton has declared that she’s going to run for President (and ruined Sam Brownback’s day too). We thought it would be worthwhile to revisit some of our past coverage of Hillary and the caucuses. This includes one post on the challenge that Hillary faces in Iowa and why the caucuses are still wide open. But for now, my biggest concern is how it looks when I have to explain that the url www.brownback.com is in my history and why it’s totally non-sexual. Hillary Clinton may be getting the attention today but Sam Brownback will still have a hilarious last name tomorrow.
January 20th, 2007
In what is either the most scathing diss track since Nas noted Jay Z took Tae Bo, or the most misguided political intervention by a rap “star” since Kanye West spilled the beans at the Grammys, hip hop heavyweight $trick9 has weighed into Iowa’s gubernatorial debate with a youtube “endorsement” of Jim Nussle.
Whatever Iowa’s biggie intended in his video, I’m thoroughly confused. You can watch for yourself, but here’s a highlight:
Jim Nussle’s got the ten commandments/ God Damnit/ You will lose/ Just give it up smooth…/ Republicans are on top and we can’t stop/ Until gay couples can’t adopt
Should we say thanks? Is this guy popular? Why is the Register covering this? Has hell frozen over?
Those are just a few of the questions that necessarily surround this brand of mega-event.
The intersection between Iowa and hip hop does, however, make one thing clear: if these are Nussle’s ideas, Iowa’s got 99 problems and $trick9 ain’t one.
October 25th, 2006
Alright, I take it back, maybe Congress.org’s Power Rankings do mean something. More likely though, it is just that Grassley’s power means something. Either way, he is using his considerable influence in D.C. to help out nearby Newton in anticipation of the Maytag plant closing. Grassley has set up a meeting with Newton Mayor Chaz Allen and the Assistant Secretary of Labor to discuss giving some assistance to Newton.
Grassley said that Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is “very sympathetic to the Newton community” and has offered to help with resources available to the department. He said he expects the June discussion to be on the opportunities and assistance available from the agency as well as other federal departments.
I would be more impressed at the lengths to which Grassley is going to help out Newton, if it weren’t for the fact that there is obviously some politicking going on here. Boswell, Newton and Grinnell’s representative, is expected to face a serious challenge in the upcoming election. So the fact that Grassley is working independently of his Democrat colleagues is pretty significant. Unfortunately, it also seems to be working. Boswell and Harkin are calling on the Department of Labor to help Newton, but Grassley setting up a meeting is clearly a lot more useful, and clearly intended to make Boswell look ineffectual.
Not that Newton doesn’t deserve the help, but there are other towns in other districts in Iowa that are experiencing equally devastating factory closures that are not getting the same attention or assistance. If the Republicans in D.C. can do more for Newton, the Dems in Iowa are hoping to emphasize their own commitment. State economic developers have agreed to set aside $10 million over three years for Newton to assist in job replacement. (TheIowa Economic Development Board has a yearly budget of about $35 million for this kind of direct assistance.) However, Burlington and other southeastern Iowa towns have lost about 5,000 jobs in the past months (compared to Newton’s 1,800) and have not received anywhere near that kind of assistance.
Obviously this is all really good for Newton, but I trust that Boswell’s constituents won’t be so easily swayed by blatant political bribery.
May 19th, 2006
